ead

Our band started about 5 years ago. The front man left after 2 years. Finding a singer was impossible, although we kept on going as a 3-piece band for a year or so. In a seriously poor piece of timing the singer returned to the fold, and the drummer left on the same day (excellent drummer too). We did find a new drummer (also on this site as he plays bass too) fairly quickly. The original drummer then asked if we would forgive him as it was the worst call he had ever made. A couple of very awkward phone calls later (drummer 2 is a top banana) we are back in the Mark 1 line up. We are all on "are you feeling lucky, punk" type "contracts" now!

[quote name='EddyGlee' post='1169664' date='Mar 20 2011, 04:33 PM']I used there Standard Gauge Nickel Swing Bass Sets years ago and thought they sounded great, and better still they were easy to get hold of, but had to stop using them because of there inconsistency from pack to pack.. had quite a few sets with a dead E string from new, tried using them again years later and found same problem occasionally, so decided it was too much of a risk buying them. don't know much about there other sets but has anyone else found this with there Standard Nickel Swing Bass sets ?[/quote] I'm a reasonably recent convert to Swing Bass Nickel user and so far have not experienced this. I've probably had 3 or 4 sets now; I'll keep an ear open for this happening...

It's got us wondering about doing something similar... Great to hear you had such a positive experience.

I play "clean" 95% of the time, and certainly for all our original material. Occasional use of a distortion pedal if we're doing Time is Running Out by Muse as the intro justs sounds weird without it Other than that I own a Chorus pedal that is in it's box, and I do have a Hartke Bass Attack for its DI ability.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1169701' date='Mar 20 2011, 05:07 PM']What I find interesting about Fenders is that (for a long-running, mass-produced item) virtually no two are the same! In terms of features, fit, finish, timber/parts, they all seem to exhibit some differences, and that's ignoring the place of manufacture, strings and any other aftermarket bits and bobs that have found their way onto them (Scratchplates, Bridges, EQs, etc.)[/quote] Hence my observation on quality not necessarily being top of the list. This could cause one to raise an eyebrow as most customer surveys show people rate quality and service abrove price. [quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1169701' date='Mar 20 2011, 05:07 PM']It easily justifies its place in the collection, even though it's outnumbered by "better" basses. In the end, you just have to seek out the right one for you. Fortunately, there's so many and so much variety that there's bound to be one that's ideal. Unfortunately, there's so many and so much variety that it may take some time....[/quote] Absolutely, each to their own I think.

Probably worth considering the hard nosed economics of all of this. Pricing is affected by a number of different things, for example: Demand vs Supply curves, input costs, taxes, perceived values, competitors etc. I sounds like the demand/supply is fairly well balanced in that you don't have to wait months for an instrument to be made before you can purchase it. There's also this thing called price elasticity that seeks to describe/model the effect of a price change on demand, so if a small change in price causes a disproportional change in demand, then there is a degree of price in-elasticity, and vice-versa. I think I've got that the right way around as I'm not an economist! I suspect Fender, along with most other commercial organisations, are trying to find the price point just before any further price increases starts to affect demand in a non-linear way. Fender can obviously trade on their history and brand name to keep their prices high (anybody seen a P&L for the Fender subsidiary - that would be quite revealing). Although when you look at some of the BBOT bridges they used (c.f. Rickenbacker awful bridges) then you could suspect that quality has not been the main driver for them in the past. I don't know what the newer high mass bridges are like though. I think it would make for an excellent econimics project for an undergraduate!

[quote name='flip' post='1167399' date='Mar 18 2011, 04:53 PM']Blimey, these look lovely! I see they have lightweight bodies in the specs, what sort of weights are they clocking in at?[/quote] My Contemp Jazz 4 weighs in at 10lbs on my scales.

[quote name='vsmith1' post='1166966' date='Mar 18 2011, 12:21 PM']Thank you for your great review. I was already chomping to get my hands on the same model (but in blue) and I'm just waiting for my local dealer to get them. Could you answer me some details: Do you get any sort of gig bag? I am wondering if I need to add in the price of another gig bag or case. What sort of strap locks or fittings for the strap? I do have schaller strap locks and would be wondering again if I need to swap out the supplied fittings. I agree that a small manual of some sorts would be useful. Clearly they need to update the website with the 2-band 3-band EQ error, and specify the finish of the neck as you pointed out it is matt rather than gloss. Did you also try any of the other models and what made you decide on the Contemporary J? Thanks[/quote] Thanks for you comments. To answer your questions: No gig bag or hard case is included. The strap fittings look fairly standard (although I'm no expert) with nice long screws though. I had some spare black Schallers which went in no problem as my other basses have them so I can swap over easily as I only have the one comfort strap. The main drivers in my decision making process were firstly budget i.e. <£600 so that narrowed it down to 3, and secondly some variety in tone to what I have already. My other 2 basses are P-J and I wanted a different sound so that knocked out the Trad Jazz design and although I was tempted by the Artist, ultimately there were some great comments about the Contemp. Jazz on this forum from the lucky individuals who were able to try them ahead of the London show. I was hoping to go down myself to verify this but wasn't able to so I just took the plunge. Absolutely no regrets though! Hope that helps.

[quote name='Floyd Pepper' post='1166820' date='Mar 18 2011, 10:57 AM']I'm hoping to take my Aspiration Artist out for a full test run at rehearsals next week so maybe I can give some feedback on that. (loving the J/MM pick up config though! ) In the meantime, here's a pic. [attachment=75052:DSC_6865.JPG][/quote] Beautiful looking bass. It was touch and go for me on an Artist, but ultimately I thought that the dual Humbuckers would suit the band and me more. I can't see the series/parallel switch for the MM pickup that is shown on the blue bass in the publicity shots though?

Review added. I thought I'd do this after band practice last night (full electric) as I should probably be thinking about other things during the gig this evening Think of it more as an "initial impressions" rather than based on months of playing the bass. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=127755&st=0#entry1166665"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...=0#entry1166665[/url]

[b]Overwater (by Tanglewood) Aspiration - Contemporary Jazz 4-string[/b] [b]Reviewer background:[/b] I have been playing bass for around 6 years, five of which have been with the same rock band. We play a mix of as much of our own material as we think we can get away with at a gig, plus covers. My main weapon of choice, and thus my main frame of reference, is my Spector Legend 4 (with P-J pickups and 3-band EQ), but I have a Yamaha RBX270 fretless (upgraded) that gets used too. Basses that I have owned but that are no longer in my possession include a Squire P-bass (my first bass), Washburn Force 4, Peavey Cirrus BXP 5, and a Rickenbacker 4003. This is my first review, so please don’t throw things at me! [i]Reviewer ability score: 6/10 if I’m being generous [/i] [b]Purchased from:[/b] The Bass Merchant who were very efficient. I had actually ordered and paid for the bass before it was in stock and have phoned a couple of times to check everything was OK. The Staff were universally excellent and very patient with me. [i]Score: 9/10 – I would have liked an order acknowledgement, but they are apparently not sent when payment is by Paypal.[/i] [b]Price:[/b] £579, post and packaging were free of charge. The box was of good quality and well wrapped. The bass arrived undamaged 24 hours after it was sent. [i]Value for money: 8.5/10 – In the price range that I can afford this is the best built bass I have ever handled. I also have in mind the RRP of a Spector Legend that is comes quite close on general quality to the Aspiration. To me it also sounds great (see below).[/i] [b]Features:[/b] From the Overwater site: Machine heads: Deluxe J style Neck: One piece maple natural gloss Fret board: 22 fret maple, 19mm string spacing at the bridge, 38mm nut, pearl block inlays Body: Light weight poplar, flame maple top, gloss transparent finish Bridge: Overwater Electronics: 3-band active, Overwater “soapbar” humbucking pickups Controls: Volume (pull for Bright), Pan, 3-band EQ Strings: Overwater – Light gauge nickel 40/60/80/100 Scale length: 34” In terms of the bass I received: The neck has a satin varnish (which I prefer in any case); the EQ is actually a 2-band system (which, if I remember correctly, Chris said was designed specifically for the Aspiration series basses) that is mentioned in some of the posts on the “Overwater by Tanglewood” thread by Stu from Overwater as being an error in publishing the specifications. The Contemporary Jazz is a very substantial bass and to me seems bigger in real life than it looks in the pictures. I measure the weight at 10lbs (the same as my Spector). [i]Score: 8/10 – fine for me, but some may have been tripped up by the advertised 3-band EQ.[/i] [b]Action, fit & finish:[/b] The bass arrived very well set up. I understand that the whole of the first batch were set up in Carlisle by Chris and his team, and this was one of the reasons that I wanted to get a bass from this batch. I would describe the action as fractionally high for me, but nothing to get excited about as this is obviously a very personal choice. I don’t slap/pop and so my preference is for a slightly lower action. The workmanship looks excellent and there has clearly been a great deal of attention to detail (hopefully the images will show this). The various articles in the press would appear to be spot on in that respect. The neck appears to be very well set into the body. There are no gaps that I can see; dead straight too. The frets were nicely dressed with no sharp edges. I played each string on each fret to check for any dead spots and buzzing but couldn’t find any at all. The bridge looks very solid. I recall reading that the first batch of was machined from solid and that subsequent deliveries will have a cast bridge. Either way this is a very substantial and well designed unit (no through body stringing option). The machine heads work smoothly. [attachment=75035:OW_CJ_06.JPG] [attachment=75037:OW_CJ_09.JPG] The battery box and control cavity are very tidy, and mean quick and easy battery changes (unlike my Spector where screw drivers and finger nails are required to change a battery). There are two trip pots in there but I’m not sure what they do. [attachment=75036:OW_CJ_08.JPG] Being a bit picky I would observe that two of the control knobs are at different heights (by about 2mm). Whilst the finish is generally excellent there is some very light scratching where a Jazz pick guard would normally live, I think this will polish out though. Other than that, general fit and finish are excellent. [i]Score: 9/10[/i] [b]Sound quality and playability:[/b] Now for the tricky bit! This is always very subjective but I’ll do my best to report as I found. For reference I use a GK MB500 amp through two Ashdown cabs, a 1x15 and a 2x10. With all the controls set flat the bass produces a bright, punchy tone with an underlying warmth and balance. I normally used medium gauge nickel strings so the light gauge may be why it sounds a little brighter to me than I’m used to hearing. The pickups produce a strong signal with no obvious gaps in the frequencies I was hearing. Rolling the pickup pan to the neck pickup and backing off the treble whilst boosting the bass changes things completely. The result is much darker with “growl”, and the ability to produce a good “thump”. The response of the EQ is quite pronounced and I felt that reducing the bass boost a little was a better compromise. Conversely using the bridge pickup only, with enhanced treble and cutting the bass produced very bright results that were a bit too jangly for my taste, although I thought there was a bit more body from the lower frequencies than there was treble in the opposite situation above (if that makes sense). The EQ seems quite sensitive with even 50% of the available adjustment making a substantial difference to the overall tone. To my ears is less is more, small adjustments producing very useable results. For my own settings I’m drifting towards the pickup pan slightly favouring the neck pickup, a small boost to the bass and a little nudge on the treble being all that is required. The “pull for bright” option I guess is aimed at those players favouring the “slappity/poppity style that is very alien to me. When nobody was watching I did try a few pops and the sound was most nice and bright with some good “snap” to it. This probably tells you nothing so I’ll cease and desist and move onto more familiar ground. In common with most Fenders (IMHO) the bass does require a little support when playing the bass on your lap. The headstock is quite long and, coupled with the traditional offset waist of a Jazz bass, contributes to the tendency to “dive”. On the strap however it feels well balanced. Overall I think this bass is very flexible and easy to adjust on the fly, but remember to make small adjustments! It has a distinctive tone and I found no problems at all playing and being heard through my normal rig in a rehearsal situation. In fact I backed off the gain slightly as this bass appear to have plenty of headroom. [i]Score: 8.5/10[/i] [b]Reliability/durability:[/b] Clearly too early to say, but nothing has fallen off yet. Given the attention to detail noted above I don’t expect anything to fall off either. Hopefully the finish will also maintain its lustre, although I’m sure the UK manufactured Overwater basses might well do better in this respect. [i]Score: 9/10 – So far so good.[/i] [b]Customer support:[/b] Given that my experience in customer service in action is limited to Spector, who frankly are peerless in this respect (hats off to PJ), my contacts with Overwater and Chris May have been mostly enquiries as to when the Aspiration series would be in the shops. In that respect they have been excellent given that they must have been up to their necks preparing for the launch whilst being pestered by prospective customers. Include in this the vagaries of a very long supply chain and the fact that this is the first time Overwater have produced basses in the far east, I have to say well done! If I was looking for areas to improve upon I would say that there was a slight disconnect between the desire to stimulate interest whilst keeping customers engaged and the limited amount of information that was published in the run up to the launch. I think that from a Customer Service point of view time will tell on this range and I’m not sure as yet whether any problems that may occur will be handled by Overwater or Tanglewood. Hopefully Overwater’s established reputation will ensure prompt and professional problem solving for customers (I have no experience of Tanglewood other than a very quick response to an e-mail about the range). From a personal point of view I would have liked a brief User Guide just to explain the controls and the purpose of the trim pots in the electronic cavity as I don’t know enough for this to be obvious to me. Maybe it’s just me though! [i]Score: 9/10 – Very good so far. No details on whether the Overwater 5 year warranty extends to this series, or indeed how to register ownership.[/i] [b]Overall rating:[/b] I have not had the pleasure of owning or even playing a boutique bass. My opinion therefore is based on my experience of intermediate/mass market instruments that I have tried in stores before spending my hard earned cash. In terms of the quality of the instrument this is the best bass I have ever owned. You can feel the care and attention to detail that has gone into making it and it is a genuine pleasure to play. I do not sit naturally in the Fender camp, but this bass is distinctive and I like the design and feel of the instrument. Do I feel like an Overwater customer? On balance, yes I do. It also now makes me wonder what a “full chat” Overwater instrument must be like, and I think this is exactly the intention (and the reason for the series name come to think of it) in developing these basses….Matron, my pills please… [i]Score: 61 /70 or 87%[/i]

[quote name='Rich' post='1165331' date='Mar 17 2011, 07:45 AM']Nah, give us a full review. Pleasepleaseplease.[/quote] OK, OK, OK, I'll do my best The band have a gig on Friday night at which I feel a certain inevitability that the OW will be plugged in, so I'll think about a report after that (and the 6 Nations on Saturday...) although be nice as I've never done a review before and my bass playing ability would fall into the "must try harder" category

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='1165033' date='Mar 16 2011, 09:40 PM']Same colours as my wife - black and blue (if she doesn't let me buy one)[/quote] Hang on, I thought you were niceguyhomer

After several hours noodling and playing I have to report that it's a great bass. Slick neck, excellent tonal variety with the 2-band EQ. Beefier than it looks on the pics, very solid hardware although I swapped the strap pins for a some black Schallers I had spare. I live in fear of doing a full review incase silddx does a "BGM post" style job on me To all those on the fence I would say "go for it".

The entirely wonderful Mrs ead has, after much grovelling due v insecure job situation (and having sold 4003 and a Cirrus BXP 5) consented to the acquisition of.... [attachment=74928:OW_CJ_01.JPG] ....(just landed) - Thank You Bass Merchant, excellent people. She is officially top banana of the week Now trying to think of credible reasons to leave work early

I was the owner of a Cirrus BXP 5, very nice bass, but sadly moved on due to circumstances heading my way. I tried a few and IMHO the Peavey had the nicest B string in the price bracket. (I tried Ibanez, Yamaha +1 one other I don't recall). A bargain for £220 I thought.

[quote name='martin lee' post='1163574' date='Mar 15 2011, 07:49 PM']Hi Ead, I do believe there has been some miss information regarding the contemporary jazz bass circuit, its actually a two band. Volume(pull bright), pan, treble, bass. hope this helps [/quote] Thanks very much for the info, I just assumed I was thick

Just having another drooling session (sorry I can't help it, it's my age) on the OW site. For a non-adept such as myself, could somebody clarify how the controls work on the Contemporary Jazz? The blurb says Volume (pull for bright), 3-band EQ and pickup pan, but there are only 4 controls?

[quote name='redstriper' post='1162618' date='Mar 15 2011, 12:38 AM']you kids crack me up [/quote] +1 I was 50 last year and my bandmates are in their 30s. Don't know why they put up with me really

My Yamaha RBX270 (air-free) is pretty light and very comfortable with my 4" wide padded strap.

[quote name='rasher80' post='1156618' date='Mar 10 2011, 01:58 PM']I'm not the best bass player ever....[/quote] I'm certainly not! Good luck with it, and please let us see what you get.

Hey Dan, my mum was born in the Bay of Whitley! Sorry, as you were. Btw, my RBX270F cost a massive £90 (since upgraded pups, bridge and rewired from VBT to VVT)

There has been a really interesting series of articles on this topic in BGM recently - called something like "But this one goes to 11". Worth checking out as it will definitely inform your choices. If you don't buy it PM me and I'll scan and e-mail them for you.

[quote name='TRBboy' post='1155214' date='Mar 9 2011, 12:56 PM']Yamaha RBX270 is virtually unbeatable for the money, easy to hotrod too. I bought one for £70 off Gumtree last year and did it up.[/quote] +1 to that. I paid a clearly over the top £90 on evilbay for a fretless (now also modified)

I was in your position a couple of years ago. I bought a cheap Yamaha RBX270 (lined - sorry guys) and have loved learning to play it - although as a violin player the concept of unlined fretless instruments is established. For establishing muscle memory and listening/general practice purposes I found playing along to scales I had recorded on a fretted bass very useful.