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NBD - Shergold Marathon Mk 1A, 1979 *Audio*


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[b]NBD - Shergold Marathon Mk 1A, 1979 *Audio*[/b]

[b][url="http://www.mediafire.com/view/og8x13gr0efc8ov/Funk%20in%20Gm%20CLIP.wav"]Funk in Gm CLIP[/url][/b]

[color=#000000]A bit of 70s-style funk noodling, which will hopefully demonstrate the lovely warm, round bounce you can get with a Marathon.[/color]
[color=#000000]Direct into Edirol UA5 > FL Studio 11 with light compression. Rotosound RB45s played with a pick. [/color]
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[b][url="http://www.mediafire.com/listen/semkshl7ydgwknw/HotD_BC.wav"]Rock in E CLIP[/url][/b]

Short clip of some RAWK. Marathon > Ignite Amps SHB-1 (SVT sim)
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The history of Shergold Woodcrafts Limited and the emergence, development and demise of Hayman and Shergold Guitars and Basses are well documented on their excellent informative website: [url="http://www.shergold.co.uk/index.html"]S[/url][url="http://www.shergold.co.uk/"]hergold[/url][url="http://www.shergold.co.uk/index.html"] Guitars[/url] ...now read on.

This is a Shergold Marathon Mk1A Bass, which according to the serial number was made in 1979. It is in truly remarkable condition for a thirty-six-year-old instrument and the only real indication of the passing years is due to that which is universally known as 'The Shergold Peel' - characteristic lateral checking of the clear poly finish over time.

Apart from this, there are a couple of very minimal dings, a small amount of scuffing, a few scratches and one 7mm-sized hole in the finish down to the wood on the back lower edge of the body (not pictured). The frets show little wear, the hardware is in excellent condition and in my opinion this bass hasn't been played much over the years.

I had a small problemette with the electrics - some crackling from the volume pot which was sorted with a squirt of Servisol. There are dual jack output sockets for 'stereo' operation mode - the humbucker pickup is split between the two outputs, E-A and D-G - or normal mono mode if only one jack plug is used.

This faux-stereo operation isn't my thing, really - in any case I'm waiting on a new (mono) P Bass-style loom from John (KiOgon of this Parish), known here for the high quality of his work... which will upgrade the original 100k pots and 0.047[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]uF [/font][/color]cap to 250k CTS pots and a 0.1uF cap. This is a known and common modification to Shergold basses. I'll keep the original guts, of course...

The maple-with-maple fingerboard neck (34" scale) features a zero fret and is bound in black. It's straight, a doddle to adjust and very easy to play, though a committed Jazz Bass player probably wouldn't get on with the neck profile or width - but if you're a P man you would really love one of these. The sound is very chunky and comes in somewhere between a super pumped-up P Bass and an early Ric. Hefty, twangy, funky, bouncy, rocky... it's all in there... ;)

I'm very happy with this bass - I drooled over Shergolds in glossy magazines in the late 70s as a spotty teenager (when I was unable to afford one) and have had underlying GAS for one ever since - it will make a fantastic companion for my Hayman 4040 and, strung with rounds, will be a very useful addition to my existing armoury - which is currently wearing La Bella flats.

Where else can you buy a genuinely hand-crafted, late-seventies vintage bass of this quality for hundreds instead of thousands of pounds? You can't, that's where. :D If these were produced today to the same standards they would be prohibitively expensive. So if you're into the vintage vibe and want a proper player's bass that is totally unique and sounds amazing, but don't have the funds or the inclination to opt for the usual suspects, then you know what to do. :)























I thank you! :)

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[quote name='theyellowcar' timestamp='1433761397' post='2793646']
Very cool. Look forward to the sound clip. What's the weight like?
[/quote]

Clip link in OP.
It's a very light bass - around 8 pounds. According to my bathroom scales, anyway. :)

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[quote name='Chiliwailer' timestamp='1433762361' post='2793661']
Great review Mark, sounds lovely and big in the mix with some unique authoritative character. Nice grooves too :)
No doubt these are real gems from the past, value for money and sweet nostalgia, really happy for you pal.
[/quote]

Thank you sir... very pleased with this one, even though it's the wrong colour... ;)
Obviously not going to be to everyone's taste, but very hard to see how you could get better value for money.
Looking for a Modulator Bass now, got to get the set!

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[quote name='The Badderer' timestamp='1433757182' post='2793586']
...May have to give one of these a look next time I can buy a bass...
[/quote]
[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1433759249' post='2793617']
...I'm definitely going to try and search one of these out...
[/quote]

Thanks for the comments... not sure how many were made - they weren't mass-produced. But you do see them sporadically on here, eBay and Gumtree. In fact I think there's a white Marathon on eBay right now... :)

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[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1433770830' post='2793782']
I know you are not keen on black but to me, that looks just great. Lovely combo with the maple. Surprised at the weight, it looks like it should be a heavyweight :) Very nice and sounds great too, well worth the wait.
[/quote]

Thanks, Gary - the general perception is that Hayman and Shergold basses are heavy, but my Hayman isn't and this isn't!
They're both made from Obeche, an African hardwood used for making furniture.

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1433770451' post='2793775']


Thank you sir... very pleased with this one, even though it's the wrong colour... ;)

Looking for a Modulator Bass now, got to get the set!
[/quote]

Well, when you find that white one let me know, I'll buy it so you can pay for the Modulator!

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[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1433771576' post='2793792']
Thanks, Gary - the general perception is that Hayman and Shergold basses are heavy, but my Hayman isn't and this isn't!
They're both made from Obeche, an African hardwood used for making furniture.
[/quote]What do you know! My Dad - in 1963 or 4 found me some wood to make my first bass - he was a carpenter/joiner/cabinet maker - but said he knew about wood for musical instruments :unsure: anyway I clearly remember, he brought me home a piece of Obeche for the body & Sapele for the neck. With his craftmanship 'we' made a very nice bass out of that, my first bass B) long gone :(

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Love these, I resisted the temptation to buy one last year but it wasn't easy, the tone is amazing on these basses, and that maple neck feels really good. There's a shop in west London that has one for sale, although I still think it's overpriced, it's not in as good condition as this one.

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[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1433784018' post='2793942']
What do you know! My Dad - in 1963 or 4 found me some wood to make my first bass - he was a carpenter/joiner/cabinet maker - but said he knew about wood for musical instruments :unsure: anyway I clearly remember, he brought me home a piece of Obeche for the body & Sapele for the neck. With his craftmanship 'we' made a very nice bass out of that, my first bass B) long gone :(
[/quote]

Amazing! :) It's a close-grained wood that takes screws and nails well, apparently. It's generally considered a bit too soft for electric basses, but I think in the case of Haymans and Shergolds at least, it's stood the test of time quite well. :) I read somewhere that both Fender and Gibson have used Obeche at one time or another.

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[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1433783204' post='2793932']
Nice sounds on that bass mark, looks a cracker too.
[/quote]
[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1433785409' post='2793954']
Lovely! :)
[/quote]
[quote name='project_c' timestamp='1433791178' post='2794024']
...the tone is amazing on these basses, and that maple neck feels really good.
[/quote]

Thank you, gentlemen... it [i]is[/i] an amazing tone and the neck is fantastic. :)

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Nice one, Mark - the condition is remarkable. Spot on in all respects - how they sound, weight and neck.

I have a similar one (in much worse condition, really 'road worn') that early in life had been modded to a double pick-up by a luthier of some note Jim Cairnes. But it still sounds like a Marathon. The extra routing trimmed the weight down to 7.5lbs - unbelievably light for such a chunky bass. But the wide neck was an issue for me - Andy Rogers posted a diary on how he slimmed down a nos neck for me from 43mm to 38mm - I guess a slim neck should make it even lighter? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/261486-slimming-down-a-shergold-replacement-neck/"]http://basschat.co.u...placement-neck/[/url] It should be arriving today so hopefully by close of play this afternoon I should have mine back in action.

Edited by Paul S
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[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1433832650' post='2794257']
Nice one, Mark - the condition is remarkable. Spot on in all respects - how they sound, weight and neck. I have a similar one... But the wide neck was an issue for me - Andy Rogers posted a diary on how he slimmed down a nos neck for me from 43mm to 38mm... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/261486-slimming-down-a-shergold-replacement-neck/"]http://basschat.co.u...placement-neck/[/url] It should be arriving today so hopefully by close of play this afternoon I should have mine back in action.
[/quote]

Thank you, sir... I have been following your thread with great interest. We'll need updated pics, of course! :)

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[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1433801243' post='2794182']
Looks great. Would be interesting to see a shot of it next to the Hayman, for comparison
[/quote]



The Hayman is heavier than the Shergold, but not by much.
Now I have GAS for a Modulator - the full triple threat! ;)

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UPDATE: Originally I had planned to refinish this bass in white (as I'm not actually that keen on black basses - though am coming round to this one because it's otherwise so good), but given the great original condition of the bass I've decided that this would be sacrilege, so I'm leaving it as it is. Subsequently I've also decided against upgrading the electrics to 250k pots and 0.1 uF cap and will be leaving the stock electrics in situ. So this Marathon will be keeping it's totally insane apeshit-banana faux-stereo barking-mad stack-pot double-output jack shenanigans. At least for a while longer. :)





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