Count Bassy Posted March 9, 2009 Share Posted March 9, 2009 [quote name='Ballie' post='425653' date='Mar 5 2009, 12:03 AM']Cheap active circuits or pickups are often a main downfall of a bass - take the Ibanez GWB35. Everyone who owns one replaces the p/up and circuit, then it's a truly awesome machine. Built with prettymuch the same materials used to build it's £2000 pro-level version.[/quote] I've got one of these and haven't made any mods, but I'm interested to hear more! My main problems with it are that the saddle screws adjust work down over time, but I'm sure that can be easily fixed if I put my mind to it. Generally I've found the preamp pretty useful, giving a good range of tones. The only problem I've noticed is lot of hiss when you turn the treble right up, which can be a bit annoying, but I don't tend to have the treble that far up anyway. But, having said that, I've never tried a modified one of these, so don't know what I'm missing! What pickup and electrics do people tend to upgrade these to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted March 10, 2009 Share Posted March 10, 2009 (edited) My Squier JV series precision cost me £149 back in 1984...it still does a blinding job! Edited March 10, 2009 by Twigman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted March 10, 2009 Author Share Posted March 10, 2009 [quote name='Twigman' post='430254' date='Mar 10 2009, 11:20 AM']My Squier JV series precision cost me £149 back in 1984...it still does a blinding job![/quote] post a pic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted April 28, 2009 Author Share Posted April 28, 2009 There's a lot of love on the board ATM for the Squier CV and the Vintage V4? How do we think they compare? The Vintage wins on price, but does it win on value? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='MacDaddy' post='430722' date='Mar 10 2009, 06:05 PM']post a pic [/quote] If you insist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toddy Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 Re earlier comment,,,totally agree about the old Warwick Streamer Std.. great tone, coil tap, made from solid materials,, mine has paid for itself so many times, Im never gonna sell that bass.. Even though I now have some nice gear,, most of it never comes home and I only ever see them at gigs an rehearsals... Its still my old Streamer, which I learn stuff on an play at home... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='Twigman' post='430254' date='Mar 10 2009, 12:20 PM']My Squier JV series precision cost me £149 back in 1984...it still does a blinding job![/quote] That's £360 in todays prices... can that still be thought of as a 'budget' bass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I've never spent more than £300 on a bass. Maybe £400 taking mods into account. My current main beast is an Epiphone Les Paul Standard. Bass cost £170 second hand. Unfortunately for the bank balance I augmented it with EMG-HB pups (EMG-P in a humbucker casing basically) and an EMG BQC 3 band EQ and spent £200 in the process. Oops! Just as well I love how it looks/feels, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='dlloyd' post='474267' date='Apr 28 2009, 03:28 PM']That's £360 in todays prices... can that still be thought of as a 'budget' bass?[/quote] It was budget at the time though. if you wanted cheaper you'd have to buy a Hondo or a crappy Kay (I had a crappy Kay at the time and it was just a lump of very heavy cheap wood - hardly a bass at all). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Twigman' post='430254' date='Mar 10 2009, 12:20 PM']My Squier JV series precision cost me £149 back in 1984...it still does a blinding job![/quote] That's about £350 in today's money though... [url="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/historic-inflation-calculator"]http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/historic-inflation-calculator[/url] The early 80s Squiers were only "budget" basses in relation to the Fenders they were cloning. Edit: Dlloyd got there before me .. Edited April 28, 2009 by OldGit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dlloyd Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='OldGit' post='474306' date='Apr 28 2009, 04:25 PM']That's about £350 in today's money though... [url="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/historic-inflation-calculator"]http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/historic-inflation-calculator[/url] The early 80s Squiers were only "budget" basses in relation to the Fenders they were cloning. Edit: Dlloyd got there before me .. [/quote] I used this one... [url="http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/"]http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inf...ice-conversion/[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Twigman' post='474275' date='Apr 28 2009, 03:40 PM']It was budget at the time though. if you wanted cheaper you'd have to buy a Hondo or a crappy Kay (I had a crappy Kay at the time and it was just a lump of very heavy cheap wood - hardly a bass at all).[/quote] Well that is another point - the massive increase in quality of budget instruments. However a lot of the Hondo type things were OK... My local jam has a Marlin as the jam bass. It's old, rusty and has no knobs but ... in the right hands (Burke Shelly for example), it sounds superb. Sub £200 currently? SX from Rondo Music with a better bridge, good strings and setup will easily play and sound as good as a bass that costs much more than £200. My current jamming bass is a Noname "Fecker Pretender" (AKA SX/Jim Deacon) P bass with a load of good mods including a Wizzard Thumper and Wilkinson bridge. It's great. The Yam BB414 mentioned earlier was high quality and nice but not right for me. That was just under £200 new. I've not played a Vintage (make) but they have to be worth trying. However, there's a lot more to it than simply how they play and sound so something with the right image and name on the headstock will always score brownie points. Edited April 28, 2009 by OldGit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='dlloyd' post='474315' date='Apr 28 2009, 04:33 PM'] I used this one... [url="http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inflation-price-conversion/"]http://safalra.com/other/historical-uk-inf...ice-conversion/[/url][/quote] Ah! I was looking for that one but failed to find it Bookmarked now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huge Hands Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I am not a pro by any means, but I totally love my 5 string Squier P I got for £100 second hand, especially after I added £90 of Wizards and some Labella flats. I have bought a second one (same price) which I intend to try and carve a proper 5 string P split coil into (the originals and Wizards are J pups) but I haven't got the spare cash at the moment to find the right one. Oh, and I bought my JV Jazz from our very own Bass Doc for £150, about 8 years after Twigman spent the same on his P! Not sure what the inflation boffins will make of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='Huge Hands' post='474348' date='Apr 28 2009, 04:53 PM']I am not a pro by any means, but I totally love my 5 string Squier P I got for £100 second hand, especially after I added £90 of Wizards and some Labella flats. I have bought a second one (same price) which I intend to try and carve a proper 5 string P split coil into (the originals and Wizards are J pups) but I haven't got the spare cash at the moment to find the right one. Oh, and I bought my JV Jazz from our very own Bass Doc for £150, about 8 years after Twigman spent the same on his P! Not sure what the inflation boffins will make of that.[/quote] £150 in 1992 is about £240 in 2009. So I'd say you are still well in credit with the selling price of JVs these days .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxrossell Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 My next bass is a Kramer Focus 420S Precision copy. £126 delivered with a case from Thomann. Why? Because it beat every other bass under £800 in the store, and it also beat the £900 Fender US Jazz, on feel, playability and sound through the same amp with the EQ at 12 o'clock. It's not a matter of budget. On balance I could afford to shell out on a Mex Fender, even a 70's Jazz RI or a 59 Precision RI. But they're just not as good. Yeah, the Warwick was better. Was it £700 better? Of course it wasn't. The Kramer's made from ply, it has a cheap maple neck, it's got ultra-basic hardware. It's simple, cheaply-made in the far East and no-one will ever be impressed that I have it, but I could say the same about my alarm clock and yet I trust it to get me up every morning. The notion of "you get what you pay for" is frankly laughable when considering the purchase of an instrument these days. So few big-name manufacturers are offering value for money on their high-end basses, compared to so many small brands offering sensational value for money on their entry-level stuff, that to my mind you'd actually have to be a little bit nuts to not consider getting a cheaper model. As someone else said, to 99% of the audience it's the player that makes the difference, not the instrument, so if it stays in tune and sounds good, who gives a crap what it says on the headstock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allighatt0r Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I'd like to add a +1 for the yamaha BBs! Also, the OLPs were half decent after a proper set up! Back when they still made 'em! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toddy Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbS226u_f4Q"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbS226u_f4Q[/url] Check Nathan Williams,,,, £200 Cort Bass a loop an no effects... Blew me away at the London Guitar Show... Cant seem to find a dealer tho! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcc Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 +1 for the IBANEZ SR300 series (305 in my case) and the YAMAHA BB cheapos (can't remember the model, maybe also a 300). the pickups were their weak side.... Now all my basses cost in the £400-500 range, and what I appreciate of them is quality electronics, comfortable necks and that they make me want to pick them up and play (2nd hand Status's and a Musicman SUB5). The graphite neck also means it never goes out of tune. I think that from 500 up, you just pay for amazing finishes, exotic woods and the inherent satisfaction of having a rare bass. This probably nobody will notice except for one or two drooling bassplayers in the crowd. [quote name='Toddy' post='474436' date='Apr 28 2009, 06:07 PM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbS226u_f4Q"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbS226u_f4Q[/url] Check Nathan Williams,,,, £200 Cort Bass a loop an no effects... Blew me away at the London Guitar Show... Cant seem to find a dealer tho![/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allighatt0r Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 I think a brilliant example of budget basses doing a pro job is the RickenFakers thread in the Ebay links section of this forum. Alot of them are very very good quality, and i've heard alot of reports of them being just as good as the real thing. I must get my hands on one some time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 [quote name='allighatt0r' post='474540' date='Apr 28 2009, 08:06 PM']I think a brilliant example of budget basses doing a pro job is the RickenFakers thread in the Ebay links section of this forum. Alot of them are very very good quality, and i've heard alot of reports of them being just as good as the real thing. I must get my hands on one some time![/quote] Yes, the Tokai "Rockinsbetter" is excellent - Highly recommended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 My first bass was a Hofner Senator, £15 quid in 1971. Rather startlingly 160 quid in todays money. I must have done a couple of hundred gigs with that bass. Somehow £160 quid now seems like a lot more money than £15 quid did then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flatwound Posted April 28, 2009 Share Posted April 28, 2009 CORT ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 So the new FleaBass (RRP £500) has no chance in their alleged "hard up beginners" target market? Thought not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rOB Posted April 29, 2009 Share Posted April 29, 2009 (edited) I know its been said but a big +1 for Vintage V4. A great P bass I got one the other day expecting to have to change the pickups and possibly the bridge but after playing it for a while, not sure if anything's going to need changing immediately, set up was simple and easy. have had lots of nice compliments on sound and looks from our guitarist, felt great to play and the sound fit right into the band exactly as you'd want a P bass to do. Edited April 29, 2009 by rOB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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