molecule Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 When I am released from house arrest, I plan to visit guitar shops to find a P/J bass that suits me; I don't have a P/J or a J/J in my modest collection at the moment. But yesterday, the thought occurred to me: should I be looking for a British made bass to help kick start the economy? So can anyone recommend any British bass builders? I am aware of the luxury end of the market like Wal, Overwater and Status Graphite, but are there people building basses for the ordinary player, without exotic woods and sophisticated e.q. systems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 (More subtle relic'ing is available) https://classicandcoolguitars.co.uk/limelight-custom-gallery/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) Jon Shuker will do builds as simple or as exotic as you like. Same goes for ACG although none of his body shapes are Fender copies, if that’s what you’re after. What’s your budget range? Edited March 23, 2021 by CameronJ 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ordep Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) Check Anaconda Basses. Their Essence line looks like a good value for money. Edit: Oopps, I missed the “made” part; the Essence line is made in Korea IIRC. But still supporting a small British company I suppose. Their J4 and PJ4 are currently on sale for £820. Edited June 12, 2020 by ordep 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 @Cosmicrain built me the black beauty in this pic 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 12 minutes ago, Merton said: @Cosmicrain built me the black beauty in this pic They’re both pretty cool. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Also check out @Chownybass, who are a British company although their basses are not built in the UK. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 1 minute ago, 4000 said: They’re both pretty cool. The 5 string fretless was built by an old colleague and good friend of mine, this was his first bass. It’s pretty bloody wonderful. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Just now, Merton said: The 5 string fretless was built by an old colleague and good friend of mine, this was his first bass. It’s pretty bloody wonderful. It’s very nice! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 gonna nail my support for Bernie Goodfellow's basses to the mast... GB Guitars 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Just now, EBS_freak said: gonna nail my support for Bernie Goodfellow's basses to the mast... GB Guitars I think Bernie falls very squarely into the luxury end to be honest.😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hubrad Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 1 hour ago, molecule said: When I am released from house arrest, I plan to visit guitar shops to find a P/J bass that suits me; I don't have a P/J or a J/J in my modest collection at the moment. But yesterday, the thought occurred to me: should I be looking for a British made bass to help kick start the economy? So can anyone recommend any British bass builders? I am aware of the luxury end of the market like Wal, Overwater and Status Graphite, but are there people building basses for the ordinary player, without exotic woods and sophisticated e.q. systems? I have to confess I'm a big fan of the good folks at Overwater! 🙂 The thing with going to an actual custom builder is that you can choose to have, or not to have, things like exotic woods and sophisticated EQ systems. They'll put just as much skill and attention into building a passive alder slab PJ as a bells-and-whistles bass. You're the client. Of the companies who import, I've heard several good reports of the Bass Centre models which I'm pretty sure are Korean made. Someone on here just got a Guy Pratt Betsy in the last day or two. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daz39 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Alpher too: but they are all in with wacky finishes and amazeballs looks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon. Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 1 hour ago, CameronJ said: Same goes for ACG although none of his body shapes aren’t Fender copies, if that’s what you’re after. What’s your budget range? The RetroB shape is definitely a nod, wink and elbow towards the Fender shape. Likewise the J-Type, although I'm not sure if Alan is still doing that style. Beautiful basses, but not cheap. They come up in the For Sale forum quite regularly, although I suppose that kind of defeats the OP objective. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crawford13 Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Another vote for Alpher. My PJ Mako is just perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineweasel Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 I’d be checking out the Wilcock short scales https://www.wilcocklondon.com 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fleabag Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Wilkes http://wilkesguitars.co.uk/gallery/ Sei https://thebassgallery.com/collections/bass?_=pf&pf_v_manufacturer=Sei Bass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urban Bassman Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 How about Enfield Guitars, part of the Simms LED outfit http://enfieldguitars.com/index.html The Fusion range might be a fit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 3 hours ago, 4000 said: I think Bernie falls very squarely into the luxury end to be honest.😉 Who knows given the state of the economy who will build what for what. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itu Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 (edited) ACG Alpher Anaconda Ashdown Bass Centre Burns Chowny Crimson Guitars Enfield Everson Basses (!) Goodfellow or GB Guitars (basses!) Gordon Smith JayDee Limelight McIntyre Overwater SEI Shuker Status Wal Wilcock Wilkes guitars (basses!) Zoot ...these have been mentioned so far... ...and here are some more: http://jacaranda-music.com/UKGuitars.html Edited June 19, 2020 by itu some more... 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 Jon Shuker makes the signature model for one of our famous Precision bass players, JJ Burnell. It’s sublime in both more traditional configurations and Shuker’s “carbon lyte” carbon necked, chambered body versions. or to put it another way, Jon can and will make exactly what you want with the added input of his years of experience. http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stingray5 Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I had this Goodfellow 'Player' bass on loan for a while. Hand-made by Bernie in 1987, Herringbone finish and came with a Goodfellow case. £1695. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merello Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 McIntyre in Edinburgh makes cool basses 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinball Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 4 hours ago, merello said: McIntyre in Edinburgh makes cool basses They look cool, I never knew they existed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lurksalot Posted June 13, 2020 Share Posted June 13, 2020 I don’t see that Gordon Smith have been mentioned yet ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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