Chris2112

That white tiger model looks awesome. Bass Boutiques in the UK have really gotten their game together in the past couple of years, we have an awesome array of specialists importing and selling fantastic basses now.

I love Victor Wooten, he is just amazing beyond amazing. This video has an immense groove starting at 01:52. And man, when he gets into it, it flies! This has to be one of my all time favourite videos on the net, I have watched it hundreds of times. . It's not available on youtube, but if you go on itunes and search for a song called "Be The Change by Guitar Prasanna you'll hear more of Victor at his best, with a typically giant tunderous groove at the end!

Save me a seat for the next one so I can bring my ACG and Kubicki basses!

I bought my ACG Harlot here just a few weeks ago! Typically stuff does sell here, although if it's crap you might have bother shifting it!

Who are Talon?

This is something I'd love to go to, if the workplace wasn't demanding my presence there!

I've never been blown away by those Peavey basses, they've always felt a little rough in my hands and never sounded great, although I do commend Peavey for making such a product at the price point. On the other hand, I used to own an Ibanez BTB405QM...I'd probably buy another second hand if I wanted a 5 string!

Even then, these daft S2000 basses have been so vastly over inflated, along with the other Status models. A couple of years ago, when the market was great and money was flowing freely these were selling for a few hundred quid, firmly established as the poor cousin of the S2. S2's could be had for less than a grand. I was offered Kingbass #4 for £800. Now, these are coming up at ridiculous prices, well over £1000. And the value of old S2's in particular stays very strong, well above inflation. I recall someone recently saying how he had always wanted one of these but then the market priced itself up by people asking for more and more for these basses. At £1000, you could have something really good from Status for a little bit more...

[quote name='zigmondo' post='1026458' date='Nov 16 2010, 10:24 PM']Hi Chris: what a delightful predicament you are in; my heart bleeds![/quote] Funny you should mention the Harlot singlecut as I am the proud owner of the very first one made! Alan tells me there are three Harlot SC's in existence, mine, yours and another 5 string somewhere. Yours look very nice indeed, and you've taken some stunning photos of it! When I first saw the Harlot in the photographs attached to the "for sale" thread here I liked the look of it but I thought it appeared a bit "elongated" and funny looking. I still went for it, on the basis that it sounded like it would be a hoot. Only when I met Peter, the previous owner and he opened the case up did I "get" it. What looked slightly long in the pictures suddenly made great sense! The proportions are excellent, and despite being a single cut, it is small, light and balances beautifully. Now when I look at it, I smile and think "that is how you make a bass". It's a dream to play, effortless. The way the bridge sits further forward than say, a Jazz bass creates the impression that you're playing something incredible small and comfortable. I could rant and rave all day about various aspects of the Harlot and why its so good, suffice to say as I have said before, that I believe Alan is [i]the[/i] best builder in the UK today, save for the specialist products of Status Graphite...but then we're talking apples and oranges! I am so impressed with Alan's vision that I want to get in on the ground floor with a bass and have his input and skills bringing it together. I often like to sit and scroll through the gallery on the site, and I wonder where you get inspiration like that from; to feel compelled to rip up the rulebook like Alan has and create something that is utterly unlike anything else and as far from a boring old Fender as you could get!

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1026301' date='Nov 16 2010, 08:01 PM']And if you're looking at great British luthiers you've got to at least check out a [url="http://www.gusguitars.com/"]Gus Bass[/url].[/quote] I've never liked those, they just look odd and lack that cool, handmade look I love so much. Going to the point of basses that have been made for you and whatnot, I can quite easily get on with a bass that hasn't been crafted to my exact specifications; I think a lot of people get hung up unneccesarily over measurements etc etc. Like seeing a bass with 18mm string spacing rather than 19mm and saying you're not having it. It just seems silly to me, every bass feels different and I can quite easily adapt to them without getting upset over these tiny measurements. So I think if I saw a Sei made with the woods and pickups I liked I'd probably be quite happy with it!

That Sei is beautiful...if it were a 4 string I might have well been on the phone about that!

[quote name='Soliloquy' post='1026134' date='Nov 16 2010, 05:57 PM']The only bass I wouldn't buy is a Shuker, I've owned two, and played a couple of others, and really don't like them.[/quote] I can't recall John's extact prices but I do recall looking at them when they were online and thinking "hmm, thats very good for what you get". It's the same with ACG, the prices are very good. With Sei, they do seem on the pricey side and so they're not too high up my list yet. If I were to see the right one (headless) I might well buy that. Whats been up with the Shuker basses you've had? I've never played one but I do like the look of them, particularly if I could get one with Bartolini pickups...

I've just had a look at it there - to be fair, I think Jaydee is the only bass there where I wouldn't really want to buy a new, simply because I know what I want - a Mark King series I or II and there are a few about. They're not high up my list but as a huge Mark King fan I think I really have to own one at some point!

Looks like it should be fantastic when it's back in one piece!

I'm struggling to really think of any, but Chris Baio from Vampire Weekend does a good job on some of their songs!

Afternoon all. Before I get into the nitty gritty with this thread, allow me to set out my stall and explain where I'm coming from... Recently, I had a bass related epiphany when I discovered ACG basses; you can read about this here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=107600"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=107600[/url] It struck me that this was where I wanted to go with my bass collection. I have had many fantastic basses over the years but nothing with this level of craftsmanship. I have had many "handmade" basses (Alembic, Kubicki, Status) but this struck me above all else as being a beautiful, handcrafted instrument. It was also my first singlecut, something else new to my collection. The quality of the ACG has further inspired me, as I looked at British made basses as a whole, and it was not hard to reach to the conclusion that I did: That here in Britain today, we have the best bass builders in the world. Think about it: ACG, Overwater, Status Graphite, Wal, Shuker, Sei and Jaydee, to name but a few. The fact that some of these builders are no more than a couple of hours drive from my house makes me realise that legendary basses are being crafted practically on my doorstep. I'd be a fool not to take advantage of this - not only could I have bespoke basses made without paying excessive customs charges, I could have the luthier's customer service too. Alan at ACG guitars has been fantastic, I must take my hat off to him. After finding that I had bought an ACG bass secondhand he emailed me out of the blue with a manual for the preamp and an invitation to the Moffat bass bash. Since then we've talked about the bass and the possiblity of a custom order. I've spoken to Jon Shuker this week about a bass I liked off his website, and he was more than happy to give me more detailed information about it and comes across as a real enthusiast about what he makes. Similarly, Rob and Dawn at Status have always been fantastically accomodating via telephone or email. Which leads me to where I am now. Having decided to collect my "best of British" stable, I really want to order new where I can and get the spec I want. I would primarily do this around January of each year - place an order with a builder and enjoy my bass a few weeks or months later with the joys of spring or summer. I have been thinking of some ideas for a while now, although I'm not sure where to start. I'll list the sort of specs I've been thinking of below. I will obviously look for different wood choices in different basses but the other things are generally "my thing" and I'd like them wherever possible (eg headless design): *4 string, probably fretted. *34" scale *Thru neck wherever possible *headless where possible *singlecut where possible *Maple body *flamed maple or lacewood top *maple or ebony fretboard *black hardware *wenge or ebony stringers in the neck *matching or black headstock for the ACG I have considered ordering this type of thing with my wood choices: Over the next few weeks I'll be giving the specs some more thought and seeing where I end up. I'm fairly sure I'll go to ACG for the order, although I'm still considering Status and Shuker as possibles. What do you think?

I've got to be honest, I've never been blown away by GB basses, perhaps I am yet to "get" them? Even when they look pretty, I've found them to have a fairly dull tone and playablity that doesn't wow me. I think they were epitomised for me in the Mark King "Ohne Filter" DVD, where they don't sound very good at all. I'm perhaps in a minority of not being that impressed with them, but if you enjoy it then just go for it. If you can afford it, why not live well within your means?

Reading your spec list I did think of either an ACG custom build or a Dingwall. It all depends really...

I'm glad to hear Phil has got his showroom open! I really don't think there has ever been a better time for the bass market in the UK in terms of the quality of stuff we've got available, and I hope it continues to grow!

I was having a little go on the bass tonight and I've discovered a neat new trick. I'm used to thinking in terms of "absolutes" with bass EQ'ing, so I decided to fiddle around with the controls a bit more on the ACG to see what I could discover. As has been said, each pickup has a frequency filter and as a control that acts like a "boost" for that pickup. Then there is the treble and treble "boost" control to consider, along with the coil switching options for each pickup. By putting the bridge boost on full and the filter about midway, and putting the neck filter on "closed" and boosting that too with plenty of treble dialled in I had created a sort of "Geddy Lee" type sound which was most surprising, given that I play through an Ashdown MK500 which is all solid state, all clean. It had this incredible twang and attack and a solid bottom with a punchy midrange; the closest way I can describe it is by comparing it to Geddy Lee's Rickenbacker sound, or perhaps Chris Squire's Rick. Given that I was playing with my fingers through a clean amp, I can only imagine how powerful this tone would sound through an overdriven amp! I have been using the ACG for middy, modern bass tones but this discovery of a raw "rock" sound is awesome!

[quote name='artisan' post='1023608' date='Nov 14 2010, 05:12 PM']ok so mine isn't as posh as the beautys posted on here but its the best i can afford & indeed the very best bass i've ever owned. bought just yesterday from Phil at Bass Gear & yes he has some very tasty gear in stock. Sonus "import" standard,me like a lot.[/quote] Yes, please do let us know what you think of it! I was/am a bit skeptical of these, as the magic of Zon for me is those graphite necks and the Bartolini pickups, so it'll be interesting to see what they're like!