wesfinn

I used to work as a builder for mike for about 5 years. the company goes by the name if Iceni, the Zoot bass is a particular style which you have in your avatar. theres a few types, Zoot performer, chaser, deluxe, custom. up till about 2006 they transfered over to having angled headstocks from the older flat style with string trees. the funkmeister is the jazz style with sweeping heel, music man style headstock. the groovemeister is the newest addition and is a P bass style. the boudica is the most out there bass with the extended horn, 28 fret extended range. hope thats some help! somewhere i have lots of in progress shots of iceni basses from my time there so if a thread is started i can add them on if i find them! wes [quote name='lemmywinks' post='492443' date='May 19 2009, 03:50 PM']The Funkmeister is listed on the Zootbass website, under the big "Zootbass" banner. Mine doesn't say Zoot on it, just a little Iceni logo on the rear. It is a Zoot though.... I'm well up for the Iceni/Zoot/Mike Walsh/Whatever porn thread, even though i'm probably gonna move mine on...[/quote]

thanks guys...im not looking to buy one from him i saw he had a p bass he had done up on ebay which was olympic white over candy apple red with heavy reliccing....it looked so nice i have fender custom shop custom order 59 p bass on order and am having the same finish on the body and the headstock. i want to see more pics of the one he did so i have something in front of me to know roughly what im buying haha! cheers wes

just been to witham to see mike this morning. he was working on your bass..it's very er interestingly nice! it's been a very fast build too! hope you enjoy it!

Hi all. im trying to find a website for a guy from kent (i think) whose name is alan. i saw one of his basses on ebay once it was a squire that had been refinned and relic'd and it looked amazing. but i can't remember the guys full name or if there was a website..does anyone know who im talking about??? im not sure if he does it as a bhobby or if its a business or not. cheers wes

you can get yourself a custom spec custom shop fender..thats what im doing. the price is really good at the moment as fender custom shop stuff hasnt gone up like the rest of fender so you'd get some change back from £4k and im told ill recieve mine within 4 months!! i just got an awesome zoot funkmeister (super jazz) too, they are well worth a look. youd be looking at under 2k for one of them.

i have an 18v emg running my fretless zoot funkmeister and i can get such a great range of tones with that and the aero pickups. in my zoot groovemeister P bass i have an obp 3 aguilar with emgs but this is only 9v, this bass is RIDICULOUSLY high output and i cant really have the volume past a quarter on the bass unless i want more cabs to go to the hospital! awesome range of tones though! shame the aguilar doesnt have a trim pot for the gain! if you want more head room 18v is great but isn't nessesary of you want a big sound. just get an aguilar pre amp!

Hello all. As chief in charge of the bass department here at GAK, I feel I have to stand up for my humble little shop. Also, it may have been myself who started this all off with the slighty off-the-cuff "conservative" remark! Sorry to anyone who feels offended by the comment, I assure you that no harm was meant. Here are my thoughts on the situation: Firstly, we stock what we stock here at GAK because we know what sells. We've been here 18 years and we'd like to think we've become fairly knowledgeable in terms our stocking profile. Yes, we have A LOT of Fender. This is because we sell A LOT of Fender. For example, we currently have 10 USA Standard Jazz Basses in stock. I can almost guarantee that we will have sold all of them before the month is over. I also currently have two absolutely stunning secondhand Moon JJ-4s. Both are fantastic and I have them up for a reasonable price but no-one seems to be interested. This what I think was meant by the "conservative" remark. The Moons are a blinding bass but because they lack the magical Fender logo, they are incredibly hard to sell. Having said that, one brand that has sold extremely well for us is Mark Bass. As I'm sure you're aware, they were fairly unknown in the UK 5 years ago but have now become one of our most successful lines. Proof that with the right support from the manufacturer, the UK distributor and the customer, new brands certainly can find their place in the larger retail stores. I think what I am trying to say is, yes, bigger independant shops and chain stores have to be very careful about what they stock. Fender, Ibanez, Yamaha, Warwick and MusicMan are always going to be great sellers and they are obviously going to remain in the list of brands we stock, but we are open to ideas and suggestions. If there is something you want me to try and get in, come and talk to me about it. We aren't a supermarket. We are still an independent shop with knowledgeable employees and control over our own ordering. Thanks for listening. I hope to speak to you guys a lot more in future and I hope we can try and accommodate some more of the basses that you want to see on the shop floor. Many thanks, Mark Packham GAK Bass Dept.

[quote name='thepurpleblob' post='460541' date='Apr 12 2009, 01:22 PM']I'm guessing they know what sells and doesn't stay hanging on the wall for years. It's a similar argument to "why are they closing my school/railway station etc.". Because you didn't use it!![/quote] +1 Exactly! this is why there are custom builders out there for those that want something out of the ordinary! having worked in music retail for years and also having been a builder for mike walsh i have realised that basses that are a bit more 'out there' i n terms of design are a big gamble for the retailers as they are expensive to have in stock whereas that money could go to a larger quantity of basses that would sell.

personally i think the roadworn series is pretty good. they all feel really nice to play and sound good. fender werent going for a vintage correct instrument just something with a bit of vibe for the people who can afford the £2K + for a custom shop or an original. Though i don't own one, nor will I, i'd say they play and feel twice as nice as the highway one in my opinion. they are only up at that price because of the dollar to pound at the moment anyway. the only thing that would put me off is the fact that all of the relicing is 'templated' so youd have to add a bit of your own distressing to have a more unique one. but yeah nice mexican basses if you are looking into one, the telecasters feel nice too!

it is possibly the most beautiful bass i have ever seen, although it is the biggest price tag ive ever seen too! credit crunch must really be hitting the guy hard!