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Overwater


gadgie
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About £1500...the real thing are great basses made in the UK by Chris and his team, the Tanglewoods are made abroad, shipped to the UK to be checked over by Chris and his team to ensure they come up to his exacting standards before they go out. Either way you get great QC.

I used to own a UK built custom - great Bass which I should never have sold. A friend tried one of the Tanglewoods at the LBGS at was surprised at the quality - I can't believe anybody sells one of the Tanglewoods - lot of bass for your buck apparently.

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Slightly different shape are the Tanglewoods
The Aspiration


The OW Perception (smaller, curvier body)

The OW Progress (bigger body)


The Tanglewoods have not been made for some years now. The production wasn't as straight forward as Chris had hoped. They now assemble a cheaper bass in Carlisle which has neck and body built in the Far East based on the Aspiration body.

The Insperation

Edited by BassBus
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My UK built overwater jazz bass had the very worst neck joint I have ever seen on a bass,with its 3.2mm thick poorly made shim.( which still wasn't enough to get a playable low action)
Chris May seems to think this is fine on a bolt on neck joint,I however didn't.
Personally I'd rather own a Tanglewood built bass.

Edited by artisan
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[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1465380618' post='3067630']
My UK built overwater jazz bass had the very worst neck joint I have ever seen on a bass,with its 3.2mm thick poorly made shim.( which still wasn't enough to get a playable low action)
Chris May seems to think this is fine on a bolt on neck joint,I however didn't.
Personally I'd rather own a Tanglewood built bass.
[/quote]

This has to be an exception. I cannot fault the build of my Scott Devine Perception in any way. The neck joints that Martin Lee builds are so tight they hang the basses on the wall without any bolts. I have seen that for myself.

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I'm sure you are quite correct & mine was just a one off dog.
What really got me was that Chris didn't want to put it right.When I spoke to Martin on the phone he said that the body should be replaced as the neck pocket was cut far to deep,Chris however thought it was acceptable.
I had to put yet more shimming into the neck to get the bass set up correctly,in all there was 4.2mm of shims in the neck pocket,you could actually see that the neck was sitting at an angle with little wood to wood contact.
When I bought the bass new I just assumed it needed a truss rod tweak & waited until I put a new set of strings on.
To say I wasn't impressed is an understatement,I thought I had bought a top quality bass,apparently not.
I ended up trading the bass back to the shop I bought if from,loosing £400 in the process.
I wish I'd taken it further with hindsight.

Edited by artisan
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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote name='artisan' timestamp='1465386868' post='3067714']
I'm sure you are quite correct & mine was just a one off dog.
What really got me was that Chris didn't want to put it right.When I spoke to Martin on the phone he said that the body should be replaced as the neck pocket was cut far to deep,Chris however thought it was acceptable.
I had to put yet more shimming into the neck to get the bass set up correctly,in all there was 4.2 of shims in the neck pocket,you could actually see that the neck was sitting at an angle with little wood to wood contact.
When I bought the bass new I just assumed it needed a truss rod tweak & waited until I put a new set of strings on.
To say I wasn't impressed is an understatement,I thought I had bought a top quality bass,apparently not.
I ended up trading the bass back to the shop I bought if from,loosing £400 in the process.
I wish I'd taken it further with hindsight.
[/quote]..............................So much for Overwater :angry: always thought they sounded sterile anyway.

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To the OPs original question: They say "Overwater by Tanglewood" on the back of the head, and probably something about where they're made, if I remember I'll have a look at mine at the weekend. Watch out if buying 2nd hand, I've seen By Tanglewood ones sold as if they are Overwaters.

My Overwater by Tanglewood Aspiration Elite 5 string was a complete PITA, the electronics were dodgy and the fretboard had a bump in it. That was on the second one I was sent, when Kenny's in Glasgow were selling them half price. It went back to Tanglewood for a new circuit and the guy who worked on it there said it had been "buggered about with" (I bought it new), but it came back all working nicely and at no cost. I had it turned into a fretless and that sorted the fretboard out, so I've ended up with a nice fretless, but after quite a lot of hassle and the cost of the de-fret.


My other 2 basses are Ibanez (a BTB and an ATK), that's how a factory made bass should be.

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[quote name='gadgie' timestamp='1465326492' post='3067237']
Hello BC. Just wondering how I would know the difference between a Tanglewood Overwater Bass, and a erm! Overwater bass.
Cheers
[/quote]
Mine says "Overwater by Tanglewood Guitar Group UK" on the back of the headstock.

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[quote name='Beneath It All' timestamp='1466097232' post='3073358']
..............................So much for Overwater :angry: always thought they sounded sterile anyway.
[/quote]...where mine are tone monsters which I'll never let go. :D :D Each to their own.

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Ok guys. Some info. I sent photos to Overwater and they seem to think I have a early Progress bass. It has a through neck and two pick up. Active electrics. Plays and sounds nice. Thinking is from the early 90's

Edited by gadgie
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