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Overwater


niceguyhomer
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I played my mate Russ' new bass last night - it was an Overwater Progress 5 Deluxe and I was really really really impressed with it. I was blown away by the tone of the thing and was just wondering if they (Progress 5s) all sound like that. I'd go so far to say it was the best bass tone I'd ever heard and I have to admit that along with the playability / quality of the thing, it's given me mucho grande. GAS

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The modern OW's are Amazing instruments, I've owned a 36 scale Progress III DLX 5 and a Perception Bolt on 5

I got a few laughs from people when I compared the build and tone of the Progress to a Fodera Emperor..... I still stand by that comment !

Your best bet would be to jump in ya motor, head up the M6 a couple of junctions and go try out some of the stock basses Chris & Laurence keep in their demo room. They are very consistent in terms of feel and playability, you can really hear the differences in the tone woods used, to me much more than any other instrument.

ATB

Mark

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+1 on Mark's comments. You need to try a few as the different woods really make a difference. My experience is that sometimes it is the less bling one sitting in the corner not attracting too much attention that can sound the best. They all feel and play great. They usually have a few there you can try. They are top blokes and know their stuff.

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A number of people mentioned Overwaters to me when I sold the Smiths. I found the sound on the instruments I have played to be a little too scoopy in the upper mids for my needs but I haven't played any recent Overwaters (ie made in the last 6 years) so I'm really curious to try some out next time I'm near a stockist.

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Yupp.... had my Tulipwood Evolution for 6+ years.... most versatile Bass I.... have had.... am never disappointed with it in any way. They put out what you put in.....the neutrality of the tone puts some people off admittedly, but this that the sound is completely processable at your amp..... further electronic adjustment is via trim-pots inside the cavity, If you need a bit more "Sturm and Drang" or "slice and dice".... this helps to personalise the instrument output etc... to your needs.

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I have heard a few, and played, and they seemed to vary in my opinion. Last night i was trying out an overwater perception delux and it was nice, but the corvett $$ that i compared it to blew it away, IMOP. Had much more balls, and a nicer more full tone. I found with the O/W turning up the bass control made it sound wooley.

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Whatever the origin of a bass, it's so personal in terms of the tone you're after. As far as I'm concerned I echo what Al kindly said about my bass, it's just jaw droppingly wonderful. I [i]expected[/i] to love it, and upon seeing it in the case at Birmingham New Street where the deal was done, thanks to Ben, I new I wouldn't be disappointed, but actually getting it home and plugging it in was just the [i]best[/i].

I've tried one or two Overwaters, and I loved them all for aesthetics, tone and playability. I'm yet to play one I don't like.

Al, I'm more than happy to bring it to one of you're gigs so you can try it live mate, so you can be sure. Alternatively I'll bring it up to your gaff and you can try it through your gear at home.

I [i]must[/i] add mate, that your Spector sounded [i]immense[/i] the other night. I wouldn't be in any hurry to move that on.

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I'm collecting my second Overwater tomorrow & really intrigued as to what it'll sound like.

I have an Overwater J bass which I really like. For me it has easily enough of a vintage vibe for my soul stuff and plenty of flexibility from the East pre if I want a more modern zing.

Here's what the J sounds like (in the hands of a far better player than me!):





The new one is a Perception 5 bolt on which I'm hoping will be my 'go to' rehearsal bass which has to stay at the studio. I did actually buy the J for precisely this purpose but like having it around the house too much ;)

Edited by molan
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[quote name='BigRedX' post='408321' date='Feb 13 2009, 10:21 AM']It's known as the Overwater Original.

Just to whet your appetite here's my two...



The fretless is apparently the first 5-string Overwater made.

Maybe time for an Overwater thread in the porn section?[/quote]

As far as I recall, this is the Overwater 'C' bass. I almost bought a fretless one off the bassist with Lindisfarne about ten years back, wished I had now.

I have a J series 5 string (35", tulipwood body, flame maple neck, rosewood board, 3tsb, Ultrajazz pup's, J-Retro) and its the best bass I have owned by a country mile and then some. I'll be gigging it tomorrow night and grinning sickeningly like a cheshire cat throughout.

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[quote name='JPJ' post='409144' date='Feb 13 2009, 11:21 PM']As far as I recall, this is the Overwater 'C' bass. I almost bought a fretless one off the bassist with Lindisfarne about ten years back, wished I had now.

I have a J series 5 string (35", tulipwood body, flame maple neck, rosewood board, 3tsb, Ultrajazz pup's, J-Retro) and its the best bass I have owned by a country mile and then some. I'll be gigging it tomorrow night and grinning sickeningly like a cheshire cat throughout.[/quote]


We named the 'Original Series' so - after the event as it were - back then ('79 when I designed it), it was just the bass we built... The C Bass was a 36" scale variant first built for freelance bass player Andrew Bodnar when he joind the Thompson Twins live band in the early 80's and tuned C F Bb Eb (4 semi-tones lower than regular tuning) and pre-dated our early 5 strings - an example of which you see here!

Chris

Edited by overwater
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[quote name='overwater' post='409328' date='Feb 14 2009, 11:45 AM']We named the 'Original Series' so - after the event as it were - back then ('79 when I designed it), it was just the bass we built... The C Bass was a 36" scale variant first built for freelance bass player Andrew Bodnar when he joind the Thompson Twins live band in the early 80's and tuned C F Bb Eb (4 semi-tones lower than regular tuning) and pre-dated our early 5 strings - an example of which you see here!

Chris[/quote]

Thanks Chris - that's what I thought, but it's always best to get the answers from the person with the best knowledge.

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[quote name='stunbass' post='408384' date='Feb 13 2009, 11:21 AM']Yupp.... had my Tulipwood Evolution for 6+ years.... most versatile Bass I.... have had.... am never disappointed with it in any way. They put out what you put in.....the neutrality of the tone puts some people off admittedly, but this that the sound is completely processable at your amp..... further electronic adjustment is via trim-pots inside the cavity, If you need a bit more "Sturm and Drang" or "slice and dice".... this helps to personalise the instrument output etc... to your needs.[/quote]


Years ago, when I was in my first "proper" band, I had the use of a Chris & Andy's bass, which I believe was the forerunner to Overwater. It had a Jazz shaped body and a Bill Lawrence Music Man style pickup and MM scratchplate. I believe it had a bound and blocked fingerboard as well. It was red with a red headstock! It was great. The thing I remember most about it was it had thin frets at the bottom of the neck, graduating to wide flat frets in the higher register. I was told at the time that this was supposed to aid intonation. I would imagine they're very rare! Anyone else seen one?

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  • 3 years later...

Hey guys,

I found this thread a while ago whilst Googling for info on Overwater Original Series basses. I'm considering commissioning one, so I've just posted a topic in order to get some info from owners. The topic can be found here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/182873-overwater-original-series-four-andor-five-string-models/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/182873-overwater-original-series-four-andor-five-string-models/[/url]

If you have any useful info you could share with me, please take a look.

Regards,

Kees

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