Mrbigstuff

Bargain when Ken Smiths are now £8k at bass direct!

No, just limited companies. Sole traders/ partnerships/ public entities are exempt.

Hi Basschatters, The ear padding (no idea the real term) is starting to crumble on my AT headphones. Can these be easily replaced or is it a case of throw away and buy new?

I was going to mention this. Wish I’d kept mine and swapped out the pickups and preamp.

My preference is for ebony boards. You get a great thud and zing that I’ve found lacking in other examples I’ve played.

I think you will be better off with an all graphite/ carbon guitar, wood clearly isn’t for you.

I don’t think the neck and finger boards have been one piece since the early 50s.

Especially with someone on eBay trying to get nearly £5k for a ‘91 model.

Yeh, I should say that really. As mine was fretless it made it a little more challenging getting the intonation right on the stretch

I’m pretty sure it was made in 2006. When I got it (without testing it first) I found that the truss rod and jack socket needed replacing, but once that was done at the gallery there were no further issues. I think a lot of love for the earlier Warwick’s is mostly down to the slimmer necks.

Yes, they’re exceptional. The fretless I had is the only bass I’ve regretted selling but I had to get a deposit for a flat at the time. As those have mentioned already, it’s very difficult to play standing up because of how it sits on a strap. The one on BD isn’t a bad price because 8 years ago I sold it for £1200 and that didn’t have the hard case, and they will be making commission.

Some of the Denmark street shops still sell vintage gear. I occasionally browse Wunjo, No. Tom, and Hanks.

I hope he’s reading this then, he might have a new number 1 😂

Best tell Nathan East, he must have ruined thousands of records with his stupid sound 🙄

That one was an early Jazz model with Ken Armstrong Pups and a J retro. The tone was deep and mellow and the fit and finish was perfect (although a previous owner had taken a few chunks out of it). It was still quite heavy though. Overall it was very very good but it’s when I learned I don’t favour 19mm spacing or 35” scale length, even though the B was tight and resonated effortlessly. My current Overwater was my own custom build and the guys made exactly what I wanted. Also, as I’m not playing weddings anymore I don’t need a 5 string jazz bass and my next bass will hopefully be something different.

I’ve found that a lot of the “boutique” basses tend to be predominantly 35”. I had a 35” 5 string Overwater and looked like one of the seven dwarves on stage.

Warwick’s are brilliant fun and have bags of character. Some had their issues such as a rubbish jack socket that wears quickly and trusrods that would snap, but all repairable. Late 80’s/ early 90s have the best reputation but I really enjoyed owning the mid 2000 ones I had. For 5 string models they have very narrow string spacing which isn’t to everyone’s taste.

Bass direct and the bass gallery do have a wonderful selection which is part of the reason I shop at bass direct, because I can’t remember the last time I had the same strings twice in a row. On the flip side, I think we should praise any store that offers good service. It is also misleading because the .co.uk would usually indicate a UK based company. I came across the website above because they had a Japanese KS Burner bass which you rarely see in the UK.

I haven’t had a 5 string bass in 7 years. Has it stopped me playing bass? No Have I stopped GASing for a 5 string since? No

I love the look of the 60/70s Fenders with the ashtrays but I’d too have to take them straight off

Had a look on the site and they offer 30 day returns if not unhappy and organise/ pay for the return.

Hopefully it’s in a hard case?

Just my 2 pennies - have the values just risen to match the modern equivalent? The Fender Vintera range now retails for a similar price. It’s similar to the s/h market of the older USA Fender deluxe basses now advertised for around £1k, as well as the American Vintage series, and Musicman USA Stingrays. They all used to be advertised considerably cheaper, but since the new prices have taken a leap, so has the older gear. So not necessarily investment material, but just following the times were now in.

Marcus Miller signed Sire basses? I had an early V7 but must have just missed out on the first batch.