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Bassix 'Bassmaster' EUB F/S


bassjamm
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Hi all,

I bought this from eubassix off here earlier this year, and since having it, it's had about 4hours of play...so i've decided to sell it.

I don't too much about it really, but i've got all the details below, thanks to eubassix (also the pics, thanks mate). I've taken it up to Geoff, (think his username is geoffbassist) in Leeds, he plays upright and electric professionally up in those parts, he really digged the sound this thing produced and said that it felt quite authentic.

A quick summary of the info below would be to say that it has 3 different pickup options, a piezo in the hollow chamber, a piezo in the bridge, and a magnetic at the end of the fingerboard (body end not headstock end). You have an on board eq system and pickup pan for the acoustic chamber piezo and magnetic pickup, and you then feed that signal from the jack, and the Bridge piezo signal, via jack, into the K&K Pre-amp that velcros onto the back...you can then mix the signals there before sending the final sound to the amp...suffice to say, it sounds wicked!!!!

Here's a more detailed description:

“Bassmaster” eub (electric-upright bass) hand-built by Alan Hatswell of Bassix. Bass is about 5-6 years old, ¾ size, and its construction and pickup system really sets it apart from most other eub’s.
There's a magnetic pickup across the heel of the neck and a piezo located inside the acoustic chamber. These signals are able to be blended using the knob on the front. This is then routed via a 3-band EQ and a ‘pre-shape’ knob to the ¼ " jack at the rear. This combination provides for the acoustic 'air' and authentic / acoustic tone(s) that many eub’s lack. In addition, there's another piezo moulded into the bridge, which gives a lovely 'mwaah'. Either of these outputs give a great useable tone, but blended together produce sounds as close to a real upright bass as you're ever likely to get.
This is able to be done using a small battery powered K&K preamp (Velcro connection to the back. The bridge mounted piezo jack connection also fixes by Velcro to the side of the bass). This requires short leads from the piezo and rear-socket, then an output jack/jack to your amp, but the sound quality is exceptional. Of course, it’s also possible to use a single output from either (depending upon your preferred/required tone) OR an independent lead from each if your amp has the facility OR a split jack+jack/jack (such as those used on the Chapman Stick)
The instrument has a fair few scratches and chips (see photos) but these are all cosmetic, mainly due to the composite construction. The tuners are Schallers and work smoothly. It is currently fitted with Astrea strings (as recommended by ‘Bassix’) which work well and are probably the cheapest you’ll find at about £40/set.
It comes with a fleecy zip-case, and with the end-pin retracted it'll easily fit into a small family car. The overall length (with end-pin retracted) is 69”, with a 42” scale. Max. width is 13” and depth 7”. The eub weighs 14½ lbs.

(.. NOTES...)
Astrea strings (as recommended by Alan). They're the cheapest you can get, but I imagine they're probably quite high tension.
Use a couple of very short leads - it kept things nice and tidy.
With regards to the action, and the pickups - they're as they were when Alan completed it. The tape behind the f/b is new, but it just replaced the tape that was there originally and was starting to look a little ragged.
1) The foam strip keeps/kept the wires in the acoustic chamber together, to stop them touching the Piezo mounted near the soundhole.
2) The front blend knob is activated - it's something which is more apparent playing at volume. If you (very gently!) tap the body near the soundhole, you'll hear quite a loud signal from the piezo. You can roll this back using the blend on the front. I always played with it wide open.
3) The 'blend' on the control module is, in fact, a pre-shape. My preference was to run the EQ almost flat and have the pre-shape turned all the way clockwise. That seemed to be the best match to my amp.
The foam strip.. as far as I'm aware, there's nothing scientific about it (if you know what I mean) - it's only function is to hold the wires together to stop them rattling off the bady (which would be picked up by the piezo). I suspect a bit of tape would also do the trick.
End-pin... yes - forgot to mention that - a spanner is required!

Hope that all makes sense guys and girls!!!

Some pics:

[attachment=3990:eub_2.JPG] [attachment=3991:eub_3.JPG] [attachment=3992:eub_4.JPG]

[attachment=3993:eub_7.jpg] [attachment=3994:eub_8.JPG] [attachment=3995:eub_9.JPG]

[attachment=3996:eub_10.jpg] [attachment=3998:eub_12.jpg] [attachment=3999:eub_14.JPG]

[attachment=4000:eub_15.JPG] [attachment=4001:eub_16.JPG] [attachment=4002:eub_17.JPG]

[attachment=4003:eub_18.JPG] [attachment=4004:eub_19.JPG] [attachment=4005:eub_20.JPG]


As for pricing, i'm asking a fairly firm [b]£420[/b], it comes with a padded case, and it's certainly value for money at that! I'm not all that willing to post it as it's a fragile and rather large instrument as you can imagine, but i am willing to travel if needs be, i live in Grantham, Lincolnshire, i don't mind driving a reasonable distance as long as i ge my travel expenses covered.

Lastly...i'm away tonight untill the 15th Dec, but i thought i'd get it up here for you all to see before i go...i'll try and get online whilst i'm away, but i'm not sure i'll have internet access, so please bear that in mind.

Any questions, feel free to ask...

Many thanks
Jamie

Edited by bassjamm
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In case it helps anyone, I was the original owner of this bass. I used it extensively live and in the studio over a number of years. Over that time, I fine-tuned how I used it, settling on the the K&K which really brings out the organic tone.

IME it sounds far more authentic than most EUBs which tend to be upright electric basses.

[url="http://www.stevedaggett.co.uk/clips/if-only-i-could-make-you-talk.mp3"]You can hear a clip of it here.[/url]

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote name='overwater#1' post='105814' date='Dec 18 2007, 10:59 AM']Ahh... I was quite interested in this last time it was up for sale. Although Id rather get a full acoustic for orchestral also.. Erm, will be in touch if hasn't sold in new year..! :huh:[/quote]

Wicked :)

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  • 2 weeks later...

[quote name='Gray' post='114925' date='Jan 6 2008, 07:58 PM']Hi Jamie,

You woudn't be interested in swaps for power amps etc (please see my for sale listing) would you ?

Cheers

Graham[/quote]

Hi Graham,

Thanks for the offer, but i'm more in need of the cash at the moment, however, none of what you have on offer at the moment is on my list of needs/wants. Thanks for putting it out there though.

Jamie

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Hi mate,

Erm...i guess if push came to shove i could make something happen on the courier front. It's not neccesserily packaging it, it's more that it's a fragile instrument and no amount of packaging can alter that. I'm just concerned that due to the nature of the instrument, packaging and shipping might not be wise.

All i can say is that i am more than willing to commute in order to sell this, as long as travelling expenses are met, i can travel to deliver/meet up, no problem with that.

If you're serious about this, then please do let me know and we'll see what we can do.

Thanks
Jamie

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi guys and gals...

Just to let you know that this is still available, however, i've just moved house, so i'm without a regular internet connection...i'm available on my mobile though, which is 07921 081 006, feel free to call and ask any questions as and when!

Thanks,

Jamie

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