tom1946 Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Anyone ever bought one of these for a project? No brainer for 49 quid isn't it? or £61 delivered [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/White-Bass-Guitar-new-with-bag-strap-and-lead_W0QQitemZ400096183984QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item5d279746b0"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/White-Bass-Guitar-ne...=item5d279746b0[/url] His guitars are junk usually but a P copy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Junk, plank, firewood, driftwood-something to stir swill with! AVOID like an army of ravenous-plague-infected-zombies-out-to-eat-you-the last living person in all of christendom. Was teaching the neighbours daughter a few years back and despite my protests and offers of lending her one of my many cheap basses that I dont even take out of the attic anymore, they bought her one of those ´Swift´ P copies in pink! I was then asked to give it the once over. It makes a fantastic place to hang a baseball cap in the corner of any teenagers bedroom, but as a bass, it is seriously a pile of sh*te! Neck was bowed, tuners are a joke, String tree kept popping out and rising up, nut likes to go walkies. electronics were awful, pickguard nearly cut my f***ing hand off. oh, and the neck didnt join the body properly (easy to move it about)-makes a good tremelo set up though Now the usual "maybe it was just a dud" argument could be proffered, but that is not the case. They are wood with crappy strings hanging off. to quote the meerkat, ´Simples!´ To prove this, another person in my neighbourhood bought both an acoustic guitar and an acoustic bass for his kids from the same guy-its a matress and guitar shop in London (better than Eddie Izzard´s bit about the shop that sells guns and banjos!). Within a week he was trying to get his money back. He doesn´t know anything about guitars (or even music-as his loud parties often suggest!) but he said they were pieces of poorly constructed sh*te Again, I´d avoid and spend the money on parts or something! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickeyboro Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 +1 Much better scouring the ads for a secondhand bass that's playable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted January 8, 2010 Author Share Posted January 8, 2010 That bad eh? I suppose it must be for that price. I once bought a couple of his strat copies and they were really bad too. Got a refund to be fair. Thanks for reminding me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basshead56 Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 [quote name='tom1946' post='705501' date='Jan 8 2010, 02:15 PM'] That bad eh? I suppose it must be for that price. I once bought a couple of his strat copies and they were really bad too. Got a refund to be fair. Thanks for reminding me.[/quote] Hey, thats just my experience of `Swift to anger´ instruments In this current climate, and indeed economic climate, the only way purchasing this would make any financial sense would be to buy it and chuck it in the fire and get the family/mates around for a sing song. fuel and a cheap night in. Now, I´m no economist or meteorologist, but thats what i´d do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 There's usually a few "proper" brands that come up on eBay for a similar price, eg Vintage, Aria, Stagg, Westfield etc. I'd keep an eye out for something like that if i was after a project bass. I played one of the Cheetah branded basses and it was ok, same headstock as the Swift ones so i presume it was the same factory. Nothing particularly good about it but seemed like it'd last for a year or two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 About 2 years ago I bought a pink one of these second-hand off Ebay for £41. It was for my Neice to have a go on the basis that if it was a 5-minute fad then it wasn't going to do much financial damage. Firstly it's a 32-inch scale. When I got it the action was appalling but after a change of strings and a thorough set-up it played reasonably well and sounded very old school. The neck was very thick somewhat like a broom handle. I also had to take a file to the fret ends as they were very sharp and would tear your hands of you were not careful. There is a photo somewhere of Dood playing it at the last National Bass Bash. It has served it's purpose very well (the novelty has worn off) however if I was looking for a project bass I would not get one of these. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry_B Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 (edited) If you can find an older Wesley bass going cheap, that might be a better option. I have one (it's the pink thing in my avatar) that I stripped back to the wood and generally tinkered with and it's not all that bad. It does feel a bit light and skinny, but then again so did my old Aria Pro II Edited January 8, 2010 by Jerry_B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 A second hand deal would be my thoughts too & I'd avoid any cheap net deals at this price. Like Obbm my wife bought a cheap pink one. I'd lie it on the floor & the cats would run under the gap between the strings & fretboard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted January 8, 2010 Author Share Posted January 8, 2010 (edited) I know what you're saying and there is a lot of good cheap stuff out there, I just wondered if anyone had experience of them and you answered my question, very emphatically Edited January 8, 2010 by tom1946 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldmanrock Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 Harrier supply basses on Ebay for around 90 quid. Surprisingly not bad! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoying Twit Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 I haven't seen one myself, but I have read good reviews ("for the price") for Johnny Brook basses. Which can be bought for £62-3 including postage. However, the good reviews I read started by describing how the buyer gave the instrument a pretty thorough setup. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Johnny-Brook-Black-Electric-Bass-Guitar_W0QQitemZ400094973565QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV?hash=item5d2784ce7d"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Johnny-Brook-Black-E...=item5d2784ce7d[/url] I found the review I was thinking of. [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Johnny-Brook-Bass-Guitar-Sunburst/dp/B0015NTHNC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1262985203&sr=8-2"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Johnny-Brook-Bass-...5203&sr=8-2[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted January 9, 2010 Author Share Posted January 9, 2010 Thanks for the input guys, this has turned into an interesting thread. I knew John Rackham who owned Wesley and have bought quite a few of his instruments over the years. His setup guy is Annie Lennox's bass player apparently, and he does a hell of a job. They do a Monarch natural bass for about £90 and there's nothing to touch it for the money, it's great! Heard of Johnny Brook but not had one..yet Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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