Chris2112

Great shop, well run with helpful staff! I loved the Status S2 they had in there recently, it was a brilliant bass.

Really good website, and really good basses!

I must have got one of those when they first came out. It was so "first gen" that it didn't even have the Wilkinson pickups! The neck pocket was slightly shoddy, however there was some flame in the maple of the neck which was nice. It sounded pretty dire now that I look back, and played awfully as I strung it with Rotosound Steve Harris flats, which sounded crap and were unbelievably stiff.

[quote name='JMT3781' post='919705' date='Aug 9 2010, 03:30 PM']Ibanez BTB 6 string... dreadfull thing. It was one of the first ones they made... the later ones were far better in every respect[/quote] I had a first generation BTB405QM. I think it must be about 8 years or so since I bought it...it was some years ago now! Great bass, really loved it. Didn't really know what to do with the dual band mid control at the time but I recall it did sound awesome!

[quote name='peted' post='898248' date='Jul 18 2010, 06:08 PM']This is exactly what intrigues me - is it worth getting an Accountant when you're just earning a few hundred quid a year? What's the threshold?[/quote] I'm not sure thats worth it - at the very most, hire an accountant for an hour at the end of the tax year, present them with your books and proof of expenses and ask them to do the number crunching so you can present a feasible looking tax return. You'll pay your £30 or £40 and at least you know your stuff is sorted.

Aye, Gary can play alright! Never been a huge fan of his tone but he can find his way around a fretless!

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='910493' date='Jul 30 2010, 06:08 PM']I don't think I've had a bad bass - this is the one I'd rank lowest...(bitchin' case though eh?) [/quote] You've been lucky, because that looks incredible!

Two - my fretted Kubicki and fretless Alembic. If either were to fail, the other could step in and the gig would be saved. They've never failed me yet though!

For me, John is one the greats of fretless bass playing, alongside Jaco and Bakithi Kumalo. He just has such a wonderful vocal thing going on. Never before have I heard someone so able to make the bass sound like a human voice and he really can get right inside the instrument and make it touch your heart, which is incredible. His playing on Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights" is my favourite of his. I only wish I liked the rest of Kate's stuff so I could hear more of him! He is cruelly underrated! The phrase in this at 02:24 is so powerful and perfect it is heartbreaking. Absolutely incredible.

Aye, I had heard he had done his back and hands in due to his atrocious technique on the drums! Doesn't look comfortable at all!

[quote name='Paul S' post='917695' date='Aug 7 2010, 08:49 AM']Here it is (well, half of it) in action last month, together with a bit of a bass face: [attachment=55938:Stanford...030710rc.jpg][/quote] Thats one flat EQ!

My Kubicki Ex Factor is 32" scale. You don't really notice the difference apart from on the body, where the gap between the bridge and neck is noticeably smaller. In terms of tension, the 2" difference seems minimal and it doesn't feel loose or flappy whatsoever. So for me, it's something that works very well.

I've been playing through a Trace Elliot rig for years now. I had Ashdown Electric Blue stuff before that and while it was ok at the time, it was blown away by this Trace Elliot rig. The head, a GP7SM 300, cost me £100 and the cab cost me £250. I fancy getting a Hartke head just for a change of tone but this stuff works really well - sounds incredible and never fails! It weighs a ton but it always delivers, and thats whats important to me.

I've not had any trouble with mine, perhaps the wires in yours were loose? There is a little bit of "normal" singlecoil hum but it's certainly quieter than my Vintage Modified Fretless and Classic Vibe jazz were!

[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='813409' date='Apr 21 2010, 09:22 AM']They've had £2000 of mine for 7 months or thereabouts and I don't even get mails to say that nothing is happening yet with my bass... just cold silence. Rubbish.[/quote] You're getting a Hyper bass for £2000?

I got this Hohner jazz bass for £90 a couple of years ago! I think says "HZ" on the headstock. Bought it on a whim as it was so cheap, never regretted it. At the time I had a Squier Vintage Modified jazz bass which was good, but this was much better. It's heavier, for a start and has a much thicker, middier tone, whereas the VM could be a bit thin and clangy. The Hohner felt much closer to a Fender in terms of weight and tone. It had an ebonol fretboard too much like the Squier. I eventually took the scratchplate off and I prefered the look then. I had a good bit play with it before my fretless Sabre and fretless Alembic came along and relegated it!

Yes, I too had heard of the build quality issues. Stuff like necks delaminating and frets popping out. Poor fretwork I hear was a big issue, which for a run of 42 basses, must mean there are a few bad eggs! Mark was using them live for the Night at the Proms shows in the late 90's along with his GB basses. His tone was truely dreadful with both of those basses! Thats reason enough to avoid them! Mark must have been going through a funny patch!

I was just discussing Hartke amps with Stuart Hamm the other day, as he's been a user of them for a long time. He likes them, I like his sound (we're both Kubicki players!) so I'm thinking of getting a 3500 as an alternative to my Trace Elliot head.

[quote name='wombatboter' post='903008' date='Jul 23 2010, 11:35 AM']I recorded a short medley of two "Shadows"-themes with my Wal bass... the soundquality is not superb and the playing could be better but it was just for fun :-) Don't know how to embed so here's the link.. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYppWzAVsWY&translated=1"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYppWzAVsWY&translated=1[/url][/quote] "Apache" was the first song I ever played live! Although without the solo bass arrangement, of course!

My thoughts are always with putting a new board on rather than defretting. A decent job on a defret (frets skilfully removed and replaced with "lines" made of maple, say) is a big job that only very talented luthiers can pull off. As Howard has said, the inlays may also frustrate the process.

Looks funky, but I always think EB made Musicman basses even better, and certainly more consistent in terms of quality! But if it plays and sounds as good as it looks, hubba hubba...get some fusion cranked out of that!

I always thought the "stack knob" configuration on those jazz basses was a good idea, surprised it didn't catch on!