ARGH

Well Jim caters for different tastes regarding design. What would you like?

He has a windy thingy with a counter. All I know is that mine is going to be coil tapped,and 3bnd 18v eq'd,switches,dongles and gubbins that go boom and attack the elderly and infirm at 40 feet as well as children from rough housing estates. We might have to go through a few prototypes to get exactly what I and we are looking for tonally,but being as its wonderously 'grey' 'no rules' area stuff for all concerned,half the fun is trying stuff out,and seeing whats best,considering the the amount of "NO you shouldnt do that,it cant be done" Im hardly in a rush. I think the strings are a smidge heavier than that .165 .135 etc etc,I dont really want to think to heavily about it,as thats Jims job. Any more excitment and I would have to retire to San Moritz.

Hey cetera,when did you flog the destroyer? was it an old model from the 80s?

Its next after the Acoustic that Jim has to finish,so say its gonna be another 2 months,maybe less? 6 weeks?,getting parts has been a beef,sourceing strings for the scale length was a nightmare affair (35") but we think we have the problem sussed thanks to Conklin. Its just problem solving and time. Heres a taster,this is three octaves of Purpleheart, that took about 8 weeks to arrive from the USA (slots cut) its unshaped,but the 36th fret is correct. The splinter beside the slab is a cut,but unfretted,Lespaul fingerboard in rosewood,just to appreciate the size of what we are building here.

Check him out [url="http://www.guitarrepairman.co.uk"]http://www.guitarrepairman.co.uk[/url] trust me its 'Made to be played'.

Jims latest custom job for a client 6 String fretless,Bookmatched Buckeye Burl top with matching headstock (again bookmatched) and pickup covers (P/U's made in house) Walnut body,Wenge/Sycamore neck. Note:- The tail piece,its Buckeye again,sandwiched between 2 pieces of Wenge.

Yeah sitting during "Rehab..." He often uses an EB2 as well,tasty player,wonder who he is,he has some serious soul grooves down.

Tool are a great band

Hello you! One and all,nice to be on here. Big bassy hugs xxx

Its very clean,very fast,and very easy to use,and it gets rid of stubborn dried on stains that most powders leave behind! Add some to your wash now!

SO PARTY DOWN!!!! (Butt shaking)

My List Hohner HP Bass.(£169.95p) I remember everything about this,it being my 1st instrument,1 piece maple neck with 'skunk stripe',20 frets,3ply white scratchplate,and Schaller hardware...oh and it was red. I hassled my parents for about 10 months for a Bass,and it had to be a P style instrument coz I was mesmerized with Steve Harris, I remember having having stinking flu and it was the 28/11/1991 or maybe 1990? Grunge hadnt kicked in yet,good ol mum and dad wanted me to have the J style Marlin (that was 40 odd quid cheaper) to sooth the possible fad that their son was having,I remember it was the 1st time I'd ever really sat and picked up an instrument (except horrendous piano lessons,though many years later they proved to have been a great idea...thanks mum!!) and the insistance I had to have a P...any P not a jazz A P!!!! So Dad splashed the cash,with a cynical look (that 'Well this might be the biggest financial cock up before christmas' one) I forwent xmas prezzies yet I didnt care that year, I had a Bass...and bought my 1st practice amp and cable and case with relatives xmas cash,a Rhino 15w with 8" speaker (£75),its sitting beside me right now,its still crackly and has the treble knob missing and cracked corner protectors,but it has been terribly faithfull and travelled with me no matter where I live. I took it to Gerry Bix in Bideford for a set up (nut problems) 3 years later,1st time I'd ever had a pro setup job,made a massive difference,I took my music GCSE with it,it was around that time I'd discovered that Ps have a pants slap tone,but were amazing for tapping and solos,I remember using standard rotos for years on it,until I discovered extra light guages,I think I was using a 35/30 as D and G in my final term (too much Les/Sheehan) and I always used rotos "Coz Steve does". Kay Eb0 copy (£25) Warped neck,bought from a schoolchum coz it looked like Jack Bruces Gibson,though quite how veneer sunburst looks like a worn cherry,in my mind I will never know. useless above the 7th fret,did one recording in school on it and it was destroyed.Cheap short scale poo. Satillite P bass copy (£99?) I was using my Hohner in college,and it had BAD pickups,microphonic,awful (I'd never plugged into anything louder than my praccy amp) and was told to 'Get something better' by the college tutors,so I bought this for about 90 quid,the fingerboard was a mess,but it was my 1st SOLID wood bass,natural Heavy as Ash body and maple and teak throughneck,and Lespaul style gold knobs,i got a fretjob done on it,to try and rid me of the buzzing but in reality it needed a new fingerboard and I didnt have a hope in hell of getting £150 to get it done. It had a Brass nut and a massive bridge with brass saddles and very very stubborn machineheads,at 11 1/2 lbs it gave me a bad spine and helped my 1st band play live (though I was singing and I lent it to another kid to play with live). I regret selling this Bass as it was very good,at what it did,it sounded nice through a cranked amp (I'd discovered Black Sabbath,Joy Divison,and The Sisters of mercy by now). It was the beginning of the ARGHs love affair with distortion,and the birthpangs of that never ending arguement that sadly haunts me "Bass SHOULDNT sound like that" and its other derivitives. SO WHERE ARE WE NOW??? ah yes... Aria Pro II MAB20 Fretless (£God knows..fretted neck was about £90) I was going to be a singer,Bass was taking a backview,I had flogged the Satillite to a guy called Shane for £235 quid,how,dunno,but it was not worth that amount,but hey thats business and the Hohner was never being used,so I took the cash and traded it in (The neck was warping,and I was getting into slim necks) and thought I would become sensible and buy this Aria Fretless (David J of Bauhaus the guilt rests upon you!) and "ITS GOT 2 PICKUPS,SO THATS BETTER" it was a falsehood,it was black and that was goth,but I soon discovered (I'd also discovered Steve D of Sadus/Death) that I REALLY REALLY SUCKED AT FRETLESS!!!! It was passive,and soon found out that single coils are noisey horrid things and that just coz it looks right dosent mean it is right and if your fave player has one dosent mean you should,i struggled at blues jams with it,and realised all the chordial Motorheadesque stuff I was doing for the past few years was utter rubbish on this instrument in its present state,at this time I'd moved out from mum and dads in the hills and got a barjob,and shared a house in town,so with the cash I bought a fretted neck. And would switch to and from with this bass over the next 2 years. Ibanez 886 6 String Bass (£699) Ok,This was what I call a total 'Male chicken' buy My mate had a 5 through college,that I was deeply jealous of (coz it was black and made by Aria,and Jeff Walker of Carcass had one,and it had a 2 octave neck,and 2 pickups (so it was BETTER!!) So I HAD to go and buy the most serious looking instrument in the town,Hell I was the most serious 'musician' in town And this was a hard lesson lernt,I could have spent 200 quid more and got and Alembic 'Spoiler' but no,I had to have a 6 (Dream Theater and Les again) and I was always playing in 3 pieces so I thought I would find the space sonically. SO I got it,and it was a case of,'Oh my god..what have i done'. I was not used to narrow string spacing at all,or the ultra big neck,and the price of restringing was a hard burden on the the young ARGHs wallet. Anyway,I had at least a 'WOW' factor at jams,and some guys started to take me seriously and I ended up in Leicester trying to form a metal band with a mate (by now I am 20) and we were stuck there in a freezing cold house,getting nowhere in a hostile city,that was not going to pay tuppence attention to a Scottish bloke and a skinny blackclad bumpkin. BUT SOMEWHERE ELSE DID. Mate got a call,to help out/audition with a signed band,that had fired their guitarist,and were under orders to 'GET A DEMO DONE OR YOUR OFF' by the record campany in Yorkshire. Mate goes,gets job,says "do you guys have a bassist?",turns out they'd always had to blag 'session' players (re:mates) guess who just fitted into the picture,I was later to find out why they never had a permanant Bassist as the Guitarist recently fired was a total W***ER!! SO off I went up north with 6 string in tow,lucky for me the drummer was a prog fan and a few Dream Theater licks plus the demo tunes recorded in my 1st pro studio (couldnt get any bigger half my record collection was recorded in this place!) And I got the job. I quit and walked away 5 months later (They wanted the old guitarist back...my mate left,I stuck it out...i found the above) anyway,the bass sounded awful on the record or rather the sound was ok,it just was REALLY tempremental in the cold and it was a cheap active,I was really uncomfortable playing it,so I wandered down Humberstone,to a small shop in late 98 and traded it for .... Ibanez 84 Musician (Trade in + 4 sets of strings) Natural finish,Felt good,Sounded good,cased,better active,LOUD!!! I defretted it in early 04,I rehearsed and jammed with this instrument alot until 01-02,and its made a comeback this year when I get bored onstage when playing fretted (I am better now I promise) It served my Geezer fixation coz it looked vaguely like his BCRich. Probably the heaviest bass Ive owned,not one for long wedding gigs,but really good for nearly all situs wether or not I need a fretless,it would be very faithfull for the next few years. Cant sell it,feels right! Which makes me baulk at the unknown reason I went out and felt the need to buy this.... 80s Aria Pro II SB (£350??) Twin pickup John Taylor job,I probably bought it coz it was throughneck active and lighter and looked like my Ibanez, it had a nice thin neck and a black stain finish and it sounded RUBBISH,awful awful awful WHY WHY WHY!!!! ARRRRGGGHHH KAK. used twice......traded that with the other Aria I still had and got..... Fender 96 USA P-Bass (£295+2 trade in's) Got one on a recommendation in early 01,Best thing I ever did,its pretty much paid for my morgage,took a month to pay the cash,and it was underpriced,its the mutts,its been always good,sounds right,ITS BLACK!! and covers all ground,heavy as...and has been modified,But it will never be sold,has been hurled accross stages,hit,kicked,headbutted,dropped (Keys player) and thumped,and still keeps going,Its even had the law on its side (thats a long story). Its sitting beside me now and has probably done the most mileage/gigs. I always use this on unknown gigs,because it dosent ever fail,it also drew me to start using Elites strings (string through body bridge) because Rotos were never long enough,even with the silk sliced.Its had a Dimarzio fitted for the last 4 years,new scratchplate,jack socket,nut,and is probably going to have a refret in the next 2-3 years. It causes relief in many an engineer,because it just sounds good (esp with the SansAmp) Its also compounded my naffed up spinal problem,so I bought this... THE CRITTER A hybrid copy thing made by Chris Wright (Status) and Paul C (Arrowhead guitars) I was needing something lighter,and after extreme pain after a 3 set wedding gig in 04 I bought this off of Chris via ebay,its essentially a Ritter copy shape headstock and body,with the neck dimensions and electronics of a Status. It weighs nothing,and has the Mark King 18v Active system with mid range boost,its polite,not very aggro,but does get me the Entwistle tone Ive been hunting for onstage,I think about flogging it now and then,buts its a workhorse,it does have a wide neck with a few deadspots,and is quite quiet and reserved for an active,doesnt have a supaphat low end like the Fender,but I can live with its faults,my spines thanked me ever since. 1950s German Ply upright Cant believe this was destined for a skip in Bradford,my friend Lily Bennet(Probably the best acoustic instrument repair person in West Yorkshire),bought it in a very delapidated state,and remade a bridge,set the soundpost and bassbar,planed the fingerboard (Its rosewood) given it a new nut and cleaned up the headstock,It was a birthday prezzie to myself over 2 years ago,and has been a strength builder. I urge everyone to play the upright at least once,its where Bass is really 'at',its finish is nearly non existant,and its looks as if its been through a few wars,but its tone is amazing and clear for a cheap Upright (The E is very defined in the lower range,rather than being a toneless boom) I busk on this around Yorkshire. Say hello if you see me. Great for slow Blues. Dark Hollow 'Templar' 5 string Fretless Strange one this , www.thedarkhollow.com explains it all they are a father/son operation in Ohio,but its rustic,has no trussrod,passive big walnut body,ugly as sin,and a massive massive neck with the thickest slab of purpleheart for the fingerboard you've ever seen.I contacted the makers about making another instrument for me and they reply was "Thanks,but we cant do to much at the moment because the farm has been snowed infor the last few weeks!". but the tone is beautiful,so natural,Its very earthy sounding and the neck is quite similer to an uprights dimensions,if I ever joined a folk band or started doing 'world' music,I'd bring this along. Quite why I felt the need to buy 2 fretless 5s in a week i can only put down to my mental condidtion AP fretless Another ebay oddity,I bought it for parts,for naff all,got home and plugged it in cynically... Now every band Ive played in with a keys player always has had the keys guy asking/begging me with the question "Do you have a 5 string?" And I apologised and said no,well,now I had one,and this was a monster,18v EMG pickup,smooth as ebony fingerboard,its rough as to look at bodywise as its a bedroom jobbie,but its tone is earth shaking with so much heft,i hardly need to touch the eq,the 1st time i hit that low string with the C and D the band lit up,It convinced everyone and myself this was now the standard.Active as hell,shifts air....serious AIR. Balances well,and I can now cope with narrow string spacing. This is the household walkabout fave after the Fender. proves risks are worth it with an unknown quantity,its also unlined and has massive WOW factor on gigs (just remember to bring a chorus with me each time). The Low B woke me back up to the possibilitys of the extended range,as everyone was smiling about the new lows,I wondered what it would be like to have more, And as I didnt like down tuning my instruments and restting them up for the various gigs,and I was getting REALLY bored playing a 4 string,and its restricted narrow range,I heard more,and wanted likewise,It brought me to think big mad and ARGH....In the end I bumped in someone who was as daring and wouldnt say no to my ideas Jim Fleeting 9 String (NYNERA) Coming soon,3 octave,Tulipwood body,Active...cant wait