wesfinn

so I have been playing this bass pretty much exclusivley for the last 3 months and i thought i would put a little review of how it has been for me. SOUND: The sound I've been getting from this is quite simply 100% P bass! My style and sound favours very much more to having the tone completly rolled off most of the time. However I always bring it up to about 3/4 for tracks when using a pick. The Pickups are quite powerful so i usually roll the volume back a smidge where it defintly sounds sweetest. sounds great for most styles rock, jazz, pop, blues etc. BUILD: The best made Fender Instrument I've ever had my hands on! everything is spot on. excellent fret work, neck profile exactly as i asked for it to be made. FEEL: I did think it would take a while to get used to the relic finish neck but i can honestly say I havn't really noticed it. very smooth, definitly feels natural. perfect weight for me too at 9lb's. OVERALL: This is by far the best bass I have owned. A real players bass with plenty of vintage vibe without the issues of finding a decent original. I am very happy with the speed that Fender took to make this (3 months) and shall be ordering a custom build 62 Jazz in gold sparkle with matching headstock as soon as I can!

if the screw is snapped flush to the surface you can try heating the remaining screw with a soldering iron. occasionally the screw will expand enough just enough to slightly force itself back out of the hole, allowing you to use some pliers to remove it. This doesnt always work but is worth giving it a go as it means not having to take a drill to the neck!

a always slightly roll back from full. I get a sweeter tone that way. plus my p bass clips a bit with the volume on full.

I have to drive from brighton to near bath and back every week to rehearse. its a 350 mile round trip which takes about 3 hours each way! It is a bit of a chore, especially today trying to navigate the m25 in torrential rain in the dark, couldn't see a thing! gives me plenty of time to think about stuff thats for sure!

selling my 1982 sienna burst p bass with maple board. it was so nice.although heavy...i miss it so much though!

my advice is to learn another instrument. learning multiple instruments can really push you and change your perspective of how creative you can be. also as others have said writing and recording is another good way of progressing yourself. Personally I havnt pushed myself to prgress as a bassist in about 5 years. I've got to a level where i am comfortable in technical ability and now only concentrate on timing and feel. like learning to play behind and infront of the beat, that was probably the best thing i have ever got to grips with. Not being super technical can be very rewarding and it's certainly worked in my favour for getting sessions and work. good luck and hope you climb over your musical wall soon! wes

it's a form of cramp. its when you play too hard or too much and lactic acid build up forces your tendons to contract. used to happen to me all the time, i went to the docs about it and he just said not to play so hard. havnt had the problem in years now. just had to change my technique a little and not press down so hard.

beautiful bass, wonder how it sounds and feels.

Jay Z was aweosme though, i don't think the bass player was required to do anymore than he did. looks into it to me.

[quote name='Mykesbass' post='645288' date='Nov 4 2009, 02:37 PM']I felt the Foo Fighters first song was hampered by the fact they were a 7 piece. Strip it down to 3 and then they'd have to find some energy from somewhere! Can't comment on Sting as I fell asleep (oops, that's probably a comment). Mike[/quote] i'd agree. the session muscians didn;t seem to add much to the overall sound there. doesm't really feel like your watching the foos.

for me it would be 1)my first gig when i was 14, i'd only been playing for 3 weeks before and had to learn 26 songs! (badly i might add, but i had a blast!) 2)the first time one of my old bands got radio 1 play (though i missed most of it trying to find a cassette to record it!) 3)playing 02 wireless on the saturday night 2007 then going and watching Daft Punk soon after. 4).........

I've AB'd a few of these with the korean lakland skylines and the Indonesian built basses win hands down. much more attention to detail especially on the fretwork. the new basses have lovely rolled edge finish on them which is what i prefer and the necks feel a lot nicer.

you could get a much better fender custom shop bass for similar money!! Doesnt look that great to me

[quote name='kingofthestuntmen' post='642008' date='Oct 31 2009, 05:00 PM']Hmm..? I think not, but then all [i]I[/i] have to compare it to is; [/quote] This looks awesome kingof!

the only open string i ever use is the E string. I also generally only use the bottome 2 strings unless i really have to or am playing octaves....poor technique I know but it's all part of my sound! (i don't really like treble )

I have been playing as a pro for the last 4 years with 2 major label pop bands, the first of which didn't break and I am now in another for the same label and have been for 10 months. The album gets released early next year. If this is the route you are looking at then i recomend you do a lot of networking and sign up to sites such as starnow.co.uk and ukmusicjobs.co.uk as major labels always put casting calls up on sites like this. you have to pay a motnhly fee to reply to the castings though. For auditions make sure you really listen to the tracks you are sent and learn the parts that are on the record, don't try and add flashy parts and licks into the tracks when you auditions this will be frowned upon, however have a couple of fills/licks up our sleeve incase they ask you ad-lib. Be polite and on time and make sure you have all of your gear in good working order. I also work in GAK alongside playing as a pro as money can sometimes be a little un-stable depending on whats happening wth the projects. I also find it keeps you grounded, as playing pro can go to some peoples heads (I've seen this a lot!) Most importantly just have fun wth it!... oh and keep money aside for the tax man wes

[quote name='crez5150' post='366195' date='Dec 30 2008, 02:16 PM']What about that bloke who was in Bros?? [/quote] don't be dissing Mr Logan jay!

Roadworns are really good. I've played a fair few as i work in a bass shop they have varied as to how good they are, but we've had asome absolute crackers in! especially the 50s P bass, superb tone for the money! they are all template relic'd though so they all generally look the same which is the only downside, but you can always add to it. wes

OH MY!!!! I want it...i want it....what can i sell??

yeah could be anything between 79 and 82 as this serial number was for all of these years. i had a sienna burst one in better condition than this. looks lovely though. i reckon the guys just mis-typed.

[quote name='ase_one23' post='624415' date='Oct 12 2009, 09:01 PM']ahem. i'm asking how it sounds i dont care if there's a small pixie in there who listens to the note played then sings it back an octave higher - long as it sounds cool![/quote] yeah im with you on this one! i dont know how it actually works, i havnt asked him. i like the pixie idea though, some say that there is a miniture 8 legged cat inside that meows the octave back to you through a tiny mega phone.

theres a sound clip on his website. click the 8 legged cat www.bigfootengineering.com its done with a guitar but it should sound great with a bass!

Hey all just to give everyone a heads up. theres a new company just started up in sussex by my friend. his website is bigfootengineering.com. His first pedal he is releasing will be the octopuss. I'm should be road testing this for him in the next few weeks. its the worlds first powerless (no batterys or p/s required!) octave up pedal, to use it you need to have it after a decent distortion pedal. sounds quite exciting so ill keep you all posted on how it sounds!

the seller is new kings road guitar shop in london, they specialise in selling vintage and rare instruments silly high prices. they have a few nice old fenders on ebay at the moment but they are always over priced. you could probably haggle it down a fair bit.. but theres always someone out there with more money than sense who won't question the price. if i had the money i'd definitly buy it!