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Aria ZZB deluxe bass
At one time, I wanted to be John Entwistle. How would you ever have guessed?I know very little about this one. It was pointed out to me as 'a possible' just before we had a theatre date supporting The Quireboys in 2010 and we were obliged to do it as an acoustic show. As it turned out, I didn't have the time to go check it out. So I just used a normal Rickenbacker electric bass. Later on, I went and had a look anyway. I got it 'for a song' (a bargain, considering how I sing!!) and it sounds very good. Thank you, John.
Avon EB-0 bass
My very first bass guitar, bought in 1976 or thereabouts. A basic entry-level copy of a Gibson EB-0. I wanted to play something
a bit more like Jim Lea of Slade in 1975. A couple of minor upgrades were made to it along to make it more playable. Someone
stuck a Gibson logo on this bass - the main reason I don't take it out nowadays. I learned to play bass on this instrument and
so did my daughter, 25 or so years later.
Burns Bison (reissue) bass
I bought this one from a shop in Blackpool while doing a weekend there with an old band. I walked past the shop and it was
there in a dark corner with lights on it. Oh God, it just looked gorgeous. This very retro bass looked just the part for the 60's
vibe of the group and so I called in, as soon as I got a chance, to try it out. I wasn't disappointed at all with what I heard. It has
just about every variety of tone built in that anyone could need. This bass is great for the studio. It is featured particularly
nicely on 'I don't wanna talk about it' which is one of the slower, more atmospheric songs on the first Kerbcrawlers CD.
It's great for live use, too and the only thing that could be considred a 'drawback' is the emormous body size. It weighs a ton!! The neck reach is the longest that I've ever had to use. You want neck dive? You got it. Only an idiot can't control (or complains about) neck dive, though. It sounds more like a Rickenbacker should at times than any of my 4 Ric 4003's!
This one was bought in late November 2012 from a guitar shop in Ripley, Surrey, not far from a certain Mr Clapton's house. I - honestly - only went in there for a nosey at where he would probably get some of his gear from and to buy some strings. But the action is perfect, so you can barre your chords all the way up the neck and the guitar just spoke to me... Records beautifully when mic'd up. Not stupidly expensive either.
I saw it standing there. A lovely present from my wife. My over-loud Beatles homages are that little bit more convincing, now. I don't get on with Hofner violin basses for two main reasons: The build quality of the Hofner violin bass is said to be generally crap. They are fragile, sound 'boxy' and go out of tune if you look at them. This bass has none of these problems. Just because Paul McCartney used one in The Beatles doesn't make it worth what they started charging for them.
Danelectro Longhorn (reissue):
Steve Priest from The Sweet had one of these and so I always fancied one when I first started off playing. After all, I am a pure, undiluted product of early 1970's Top Of The Pops.
The company stopped instrument production for many years, making them quite hard to find and then did a brief spell of production again. This has to have the most primitive bass bridge in the bass world, using a piece of cork! .... and it also has quite cheap looking tuners.
Despite these indisputable low budget production values, this bass has a great, solid, growling sound. Its short scale makes it very easy to play. The action is nice and low without having to fiddle with it. It also weighs nothing at all!
Dean stage acoustic guitar
The 'zingiest' recording sound imaginable, thanks to the piezo pickup. Quite a difficult model to find, too.
Eastwood Classic 4 bass
I tracked down this marvelous double cutaway Eastwood Classic 4 bass with an original black-fronted headstock and bought it in a
private sale from a chap in in Derbyshire. It's a lovely match for my white Gretsch White Falcon guitar.
Epiphone Firebird guitar:
I went out looking for a Flying V and came across this. The action was a bit high when I got it, so I did a quick set-up at home
and found the frets buzzed everywhere when the strings were set at a playable height. So... I marched back into the shop that I
bought it from and they said they'd get their luthier to go over it. A week later, I got the call to come over and collect it. The luthier told me that he had "imposed his will on it" and that what was
a piece of sh*t was now a totally excellent guitar. He loftily said the shop that sold it to me as it was should be quite ashamed of
themselves and handed me his bill for the work. I promptly handed it to the baffled store manager who was just passing (as the
guitar was brand new and obviously inside its warranty period) and waltzed off home delighted. The action is now to die for and it sounds superb.
I bought this because I either watched too many Marc Bolan videos one day, or possibly because I have a rather stupid and almost-sexual attraction towards pointy guitars. Perhaps both.
The very best thing about this bass is that it once literally gave a wuss of a guitarist that I was playing in a cabaret band with a migraine, as the look of it didn't fit in with the 60's look of the band, according to him. It's based on a 1958 Gibson Flying V, which dates it from around the earliest period of that old group's music. The arrival of the V bass heralded and definitely speeded up the end of my playing career with the be-suited merchants of 60's cheese, so I now have even more of an extra-special fondness for it.
They also objected to a 5-string Fender Jazz Bass... because it had 5 extra notes on it. Dullards. When liberated from silent serfdom and abject misery with the 60's band, I bought as many basses that I considered that they would have found repellent as I could find! All part of my slow rehabilitation to the real world and real music. Cheaper than therapy. And pointier, too.
Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV bass guitar
I blame Tom Petersson of Cheap Trick and also John Entwistle from The Who for my desire to own one of these basses.
Epiphone Thunderbird Classic IV bass guitar
Along with the sunburst T-bird above, I treated myself to this lovely bass as a reward for going through with my cancer operation.
Fender '08 USA Jazz Bass in Candy Cola Red:
Bought in Boston, USA and thoughtfully 'lost' by those 'great' and (in)famous baggage handlers at British Airways in transit between London Heathrow's Terminal 5 and Manchester on the way home. Fortunately, it turned up.... or I would have killed someone. Affectionately nicknamed 'AJ', after our lovely relative Audrey in Boston, who helped us to get hold of this bass. A black scratchplate replaced the original stock white one, before I moved on to putting a mirror scratchplate on it. It really looks The Business now.
Fender '60th Anniversary' Precision bass:
With an S1 switch to cut / boost tone. Originally, I waltzed into the shop looking for the cheaper Mexican version of the 60th Anniversary P bass in a lovely 'blizzard
pearl'
finish, but
they very cunningly flew this gorgeous (and stunningly more expensive) USA sunburst model in from
elsewhere in the
country the very same
day and fed me lots of very strange drugs that made me buy it. Thank you,
Sound Control. It's had its white
scratch plate replaced with a nicer red-ish tortoiseshell and I think that makes it look
even more attractive.
Fender Precision Lyte Bass (Toffeeburst):
I bought this bass from the now-gone Doctor Rock in Bury, for an excellent price in 1995. It was my main bass for a long time since then, although a couple of other basses have overtaken it (use-wise) more recently. Anyone who I have handed it to has been impressed with it, even though it's not the most obviously eye-catching bass I own. If a musical instrument can be said to be anybody's 'soulmate' then this one is quite possibly mine.
Fender Precision Deluxe Bass: I bought this brand new in September 2017. A bit of a techno set of switches for sound. Lovely chunky bridge and nice noiseless pickups. Interesting. Has become a go-to bass, as the sound is so rich and consistent.
Fender Deluxe Jazz Bass
This matches the Precision above. Just as techno as far as switching goes. I still have to look up what the controls do occasionally.
2018 Fender Precision Bass
Buttercream finish. Pearloid scratchplate added.
In 2021 / 2022, this was my main stage bass most of the time. I love it.
2018 Fender Player Series Jazz Bass.
Buttercream finish. Pearloid scratchplate added.
Fender Vintera Precision Bass in Dakota Red
OK, I weakened in July 2023 from the 'no more guitars' rule. So shoot me...
2017 Fender HSS Stratocaster in Arctic White
I bought this Fender on 9th Feb 2017. I have always wanted a white Strat with a maple neck and trem arm, but - seeing as I am primarily a bassist - I have just never bought one. The nearest I ever got was the Tokai, which I got as a clever trade in the late 80's - which I assure you is very very CLOSE to the real thing.
When I first started off playing, my dream guitar was on display in my local guitar shop. That white Fender Strat with a maple neck and a trem arm..... Each of those features, including the white colour, was a custom option at that point and added 10% extra above the usual cost of the guitar, pushing it up to an astronomical £424 in 1975. That was WAY beyond what I could afford, or deserved - according to the level of my ability at that point.
42 years later, I sprang for the HSS model with the Humbucker, which is ferocious. I tried it out in PMT in Manchester and paid £536.00 for it, plus my customary checker strap. Did I need it? No. But I even though was at the point where I should really stop buying guitars now, I just decided I deserved it.
Fender Deluxe Roadhouse Stratocaster with S1 switching, in Arctic White : A huge variety of sounds available via 'complex' V6 switching (that you quickly get used to). 'Large headstock' style.
Fender FSR Oceanic Turquoise 2019 Player Series Bass:
I saw this colour and had to have it. The scratchplate is the original. The same as the buttercream one above, but it feels a bit heavier and has a slightly deeper tone..
Fender Squier 50's style Classic Vibe Precision Bass:
Cool as f***. Fantastic for the money. It's just gorgeous. A lovely eye-catching finish, marvelous smooth maple neck and a great sound.
I had been looking for one of these - to replace the dearly loved one I originally owned in the late 70's / early 80's - for some years. I bought my original from a shop in Blackpool just because Dave Hill from Slade used the guitar version. After a long time searching, two turned up in rapid succession on EBay. This one dates from about 1974, like my first one. The deluxe model I've got now has edge binding, whereas my original didn't.
Gibson SGII guitar (1972)
My first decent guitar, bought brand new in 1975. It's just been refinished at Jack's Instrument Services, Manchester. I couldn't be happier with how she has turned out.
All of the parts on the guitar have been kept as original, except for the new and
improved
re-wiring of the electrics and
also the new replacement brass nut that I specifically asked for.
LEFT: As she was originally (except for replacement machine heads) and RIGHT: again in 2016.
Gibson Les Paul Traditional guitar: New - made in 2012. A lovely worn brown mahogany finish. I'm very pleased with it. It has actually made me take my guitar playing a lot more seriously after all these years.
Gibson SG Supreme Bass: I lusted after a Gibson bass when I first started to play. 30+ years later, I got one. One of only 400 made in one particular month with this unique finish and it's simply gorgeous to play. More toppy than the normal SG or EB-style bass, due to the maple top. Nice, nice, nice. All the deluxe Gibson features you'd want. The only Gibson bass I've ever played and liked.
Gordy XR Custom fretless bass: I spotted this one-off bass at the now-closed A1 Music shop in Manchester and I couldn't resist it. It has the lowest string action in all of the known Universe. Effortless to play. It's not used very often on stage, as the case is bigger than the group van (!) but I took it into the studio for use on The Kerbcrawlers version of 'Need your love so bad' and it was just the right bass for the job.
Gretsch White Falcon guitar: I decided at one point to round off my collection of 6 string guitars with the one I had always dreamed of - a single cutaway Gretsch White Falcon - so I did. This has only seen a stage on a few rare occasions, when I have cheerfully let Ian Hutchings and John Rushworth use it, but I do intend to take it out and use it more often. The Eastwood Classic 4 bass is styled after the White Falcon bass and is a lovely match to it. It is nice to see how the Gretsches have shot up in price since I bought one.
Hamer B12 12-string bass
Pretty much my 'trademark' bass, though I don't use it at every show that I do. These basses have a sound that has to be heard
to be believed. More about them here.
Ibanez SR1305 5-string bass.
I was tipped off about this one, as I mentioned one of my goals for 2019 was to improve my 5-string bass playing.
Maddog Guitars Koa top Telecaster with humbucker.
Brand new in August 2016. I got their very last one of these.
Again, Wilkinson pickups.
MadDog Sunburst Telecaster: This is the second one of these that I have owned. I took my first one to a jam night and someone else fell in love with it and asked me to sell it to him. I got seller's regret shortly afterwards and managed to find another one.
Mahalo Ukelele: A lovely present from my lovely daughter Rachel.
Peerless Standard Smoked Bass: I'd been watching this one in a local shop for quite some time. They hadn't sold it at the original asking price and as time went by,
they reduced it
a few times. I finally got it at an excellent price.
The controls take a bit of getting used to (Blend / Vol / Tone), as
does the
10lb weight.
Too tall for a normal guitar stand, too.
Very distinctive looking.
Radiotone 335 style guitar: A bit of a dilemma... I have always thought of Dave Edmunds as my favourite guitarist. That's never really changed. How to get his look and style, if not his playing technique - yup, buy a blonde 335! The trouble is that Gibson 335's with blonde bodies and dot necks were only made in 1958 or thereabouts. They cost more than some houses these days. Gibson attempted to solve that problem for me by reissuing that most desirable model, in a limited edition, at a mere £3500. I could just about afford one, but not really justify it. I had seen a Radiotone 335-styled guitar with a caramel sunburst finish and was quite tempted to buy it, because it was so close to the actual Gibson build (the purists will totally disagree with me, of course), but the colour was a bit wrong for me, so my wallet was safe for the time being, but I kept wavering towards it.
On a trip out, one day, to that same guitar store, I spotted the blonde-bodied dot neck version of the Radiotone 335 and I was utterly hooked. Having sat down with the real Gibson 335 reissue guitar as well, all I can say is that this is close enough to be a REAL worry to Gibson. It has the same build, just about and you can get every sound that the Gibson offers. And it is just lovely to play. I bought a 335 case and, of course, it fit into it EXACTLY.
Radiotone 'Les Paul goldtop' type guitar: Brand new, November 2017. Just as the Radiotone 335 seduced me, this guitar fulfilled my long-standing craving for a Les Paul Goldtop, though there is a sparkle to this finish that can be seen close-up, rather than a plain gold top. As for the build quality and sound, it is eerily close to a Gibson Les Paul. It FEELS just like a Gibson Les Paul. I had to swap out the volume and tone control knobs and the pickup selector cap to make it totally accurate looking, but that was insignificant. I got it as a bargain at a recent guitar show. I really wish I had also bought the Lemon Drop finish LP by the same maker that was on sale at the same trader's stall. Regrets...
Revelation purple Jazzmaster type guitar. One of only 20 of this model made in this striking colour. The P90's give a lovely sound, but the coil tap switch gives a dazzling array of sounds, whichever way you use the pickup selector. A brilliant studio instrument.
Rickenbacker 4003 in Blue Boy finish: The 'Blue Boy' colour option at the time was a very limited edition run (although Rickenbacker later did release a number in it as a 'colour of the year' edition). This one is a lot more rocky sounding than the fireglo. It has a lot more mid tone to it, though I have no idea why, as I have set them both up pretty similarly. The neck feels a bit thicker than my first one, which may have something to do with it. The Blue Boy colour is known to eventually go a bit green after prolonged exposure to lights, etc. Mine hasn't done that yet, some years on. Touch wood......
There's a good story about this one. It was a Christmas present. I had been burbling on that I quite fancied a Blue Boy bass thinking that it was going to be Navy Blue. I saw a bad photo of one on the net and it looked awful - almost green (they do go a bit green if you are unlucky). Lynda and I were looking at a (Sonic blue) Fender Strat in Salford that was the colour of the 'awful' one on the net, so I said I had gone right off the idea of one.
Lynda went quiet. We came home and Lynda went straight back out and when she returned, she put the bass case on the sofa and said "If it's wrong you can change it". I looked at the case and thought what is she on about, thinking it was my red one. I opened the case and immediately fell in love with it. It was not the crappy colour I had seen. It is sky blue and really hard to photograph. Lynda still probably doesn't believe that I like it. It was a total shock to me. The bass was a limited edition and became a 'Colour of the year' finish another year, so was pretty hard to get hold of them.
Rickenbacker 4003 in Midnight Blue finish: This is the one of the three plain finish Rics that I find that I go to the most. It just has that sound to it and it feels to me to be the most comfortable of the three to play... not that the others are hard to play at all! The bass colour looks different under different lights and this spectacular result is a result of a special combination varnish. A number of the Midnight Blue guitars and basses that Rickenbacker released have been subject to an unfortunate 'bleeding' problem, where the blue paint goes into the white binding. Mine too. Unfortunately, my warranty didn't cover this as my bass was apparently 'grey-imported' into the UK. It was for a long time my 'favourite' player of the first three.
Rickenbacker 4003 in Walnut finish: The fourth 4003 turned out to be the most playable Rickenbacker I have ever touched. Lovely fast maple neck and fretboard.
Used by Noddy Holder of Slade at Walsall in 1991 when SLADE played their impromptu last ever live UK stage appearance at a Fan Club function for their 25th anniversary in 1991. The group all offered to sign it afterwards, but it's a working guitar - not just something to hang on a wall, or keep in a frame - all sad and unused, so I politely declined their very kind offer, which they beamed at. Of course it looks better on Nod than it does on me.
Vintage V100MU Midge Ure Signature goldtop guitar
This is a convincingly weighty guitar, compared to the standard Vintage LP-type goldtop model, which I also tried at the store (and which Midge Ure also used on the 2012 tour). It is fitted with P90 pickups and a Vibrola arm. The story behind me going miles and miles for this particular guitar? I went to see Ultravox on their reunion tours in 2010 and 2012 and Midge Ure used two Vintage Les Paul type guitars on the latter tour. He is an absolutely impressive guitarist and as a result of the second show, I convinced myself I needed a Vintage Les Paul type guitar.
I went to Reidys music shop in Blackburn, where they have little or no idea about guitar setups or care and was put off Vintage guitars - seemingly for life. I was so put off Vintage guitars by their stock that I went to PMT in Salford and spent comparatively silly money on my genuine Gibson Les Paul Traditional guitar. It turned out to be a fantastic investment and it made me take my guitar playing a lot more seriously.
More recently I bought a Radiotone LP goldtop replica guitar at a guitar show and I thought I was 'there' as far as Les Paul guitars went.
Ian, the guitarist in my band, The Three, turned up with a standard Vintage LP goldtop and handed it to me to try out. It felt wonderful and I started to get the bee in my bonnet again (especially as I had walked past the signature model at the recent guitar show, which made me do a double-take. However, I had already put my cash down on the Radiotone LP and that was that for that day).
I ended up driving up to Morecambe to try and buy this guitar. This guitar plays wonderfully. The pickups sound great. It looks The Business and has a great sound.
Vintage VS6MRMA ICON Mick Abrahams signature SG guitar
More info about the VS6MRMA here
Vintage V130 double-cutaway in Vintage White
Warwick Streamer 'Chrome Tone'
This bass hung unloved and unwanted on the wall in a Manchester shop for a fair old time. After seeing it
there several times, I thought I'd
ask
to have a go on it. If it had been a regular wooden style Warwick
Streamer, nice as they are, it wouldn't have got a second look from me.
It's a very 'glam rock' type bass
and that was what made me look at it.
All the Warwicks I'd ever picked up had thick necks like tree trunks and this one initially seemed to be no
exception. Because of the rest
of the attractions of this bass, I was prepared to give it a serious try and see
if I could make myself love it. Fortunately, the neck width was
not such an insurmountable issue and it's nice
to play and sounds absolutely solid. It's got a lovely tone.
The band I am with plays as a three piece and this was for a long time very often my main stage bass.
It's very punchy and precise
and every note rings out loud and clear. No 'dead spots' anywhere on it. And the girls like it...
Warwick Custom Shop Thumb NT bass (gloss walnut):
A one-off unique bass from the Warwick custom shop. It probably doesn't look like it, but this is the most valuable
instrument I own.
The finish is a one-off gloss walnut. The bass has a 26 fret neck, though I have never used the full extent of the higher notes on the neck, being a proper bassist. Slips into passive mode if you pull out the volume pot. Impressive active tone boost and cut. A beautiful instrument - lovely to play.
No dots on the front of the neck. You have to know what you're doing.
The neck-through
construction is clearly visible from the rear. The woods used are gorgeous.
Westfield 'Precision bass' clone:
I bought this as a bargain specifically for other people to use at the jam nights that I am involved in. However, it has turned out to
be an extremely
pleasing bass to play, with a comfy, 70's style neck and lovely low action.
A definite keeper and maybe far too
nice to take to the
jam nights!!!
If any guitar or bass manufacturer would like to send
me something good that I would like to use, I'd be quite
pleased
to say lovely things in exchange for a freebie. Please note that I am not prepared to lie and
say something is great if it
clearly isn't.
More gear photos here.
All original text and images on this site are © www.ianedmundson.co.uk
SOLD!!
They also served.... The guitars that got away.
Every now and then I have sometimes not 'bonded' with a guitar, or for whatever reason, later on, I have come to the startling realisation that a guitar or bass hasn't been out of its case for a long time and that maybe it would maybe be of more use to someone else, who would enjoy it more and play it and it could make some room in The Vault for another one.
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Agile doubleneck bass / guitar: Number 40 at the time. Was this going to be the very last one? If I was not going to buy any more, I had to finish off with something that was rather ridiculous. Actually it could be very useful. Of course, I bought more guitars after this 'last one'... Sold, July 2020. |
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BC Rich NJ series Mockingbird bass: It was a wonderful bass to play and it sounded really nice through a desk onto tape, but I didn't really bond with it, due to my band of the time hating the look of it, because they were a set of dim inbred assholes. I ended up favouring other basses for onstage use regularly and so I sold it in March 2017. |
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Blackstar Unity U500 500w 2x10 combo
and
250ACT 250w 1x15 active extension cab: Apparently, lots of the new range of Blackstar bass gear has gone back. I can NOT recommend them, or their similarly defective, crappy and rather unreliable guitar equipment. I am bored with the way that their guitar amps are also unreliable. If anyone offers you Blackstar gear.... Laugh at them and RUN AWAY. |
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Dean Rhapsody 8-string bass: If 12-String basses are quite unusual, then so are 8-string basses. They never really caught on, despite being used by a few major stars. This one has a really big sound, coming from a pairing of regular bass strings and octave strings. I hadn't used it for the longest time and a friend was looking for something with multiple course strings. |
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ESP Edwards Cloud replica guitar: This was sold in February 2023. I absolutely loved it every time I picked it up, but I just wasn't using it like I should, after getting a couple of Les Paul guitars. I got the idea of selling it when my house needed a new roof. |
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Fender Squier sunburst Precision bass guitar: Back then, I didn't really 'collect' guitars. I wasn't gigging regularly at the time and so I swapped it for a lovely Tokai lawsuit Strat replica, which I still have and use today. I did try to track the new owner down and ask to buy this one back, but when I finally found him, he had sold it on. |
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A good friend of mine offered me first refusal on this mint condition guitar and we struck up a nice deal. A fatter neck than the Les Paul and my other SG. It took a bit of getting used to, but it has a great sound. In 2025, I had a bit of a rationalisation and put a few instruments up for sale. |
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Squier Precision Bass guitar (red): I bought this one as a backup for playing live when I was in Go Crazy. Like the sunburst one that I had previously parted with (above), it was a decent enough bass that, like a number of the others on this page, simply slipped down the ranks and out of use over the course of a few years. Precision basses are great, single pickup workhorse basses. Get a good one and you don't need anything else. |
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Fender Squier Precision Special Bass: Squiers have a reputation of being 'cheap and cheerful'. I kid you not, the better Squiers can keep up with USA Fenders. In 2023 a friend asked if I had a cheap bass I'd sell to him. This isn't cheap but it was becoming a bit surplus to requirements. Before it went, I did a setup and re-strung it and it sounded miraculous. He came with the money, so I was obliged to let it go. |
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Fender Precision Lyte bass guitar (Charcoalburst): The very same bass that had deposed the Wal (see below). I had found and bought a second one of these at a very decent price and the new one had the best sound of any bass that I had played up until that point and made this really good one sound comparatively mellow. As I got more basses, even this one sort of slipped down the ranks, so I let it go. This would become a familiar scenario. This bass was used exclusively during the recording of the Bad Habits 'Battles' album. |
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Fender HMT bass guitar: Another one that I had bought just because it looked and felt like a really cool man's bass, only to find after a while that it sounded far better for studio recordings than it did in live use. The Piezo pickup in the bridge gave it a great trebly sound, but onstage, it was a bit of a nightmare. The hollow body made it quite prone to feedback, which made the Piezo pickup whistle, so the spilt P pickup was best used in live situations, but it did not replicate the sound of the bass at low volume or straight into the desk. When you have to isolate one pickup on a bass onstage, it's not much use. |
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Hamer Chapparal 12-string bass: One of the more surprising sales I have made. I really liked this bass but (again) I was not using it as much as it deserved. I found it harder to play than my B12, because of the longer scale and so, when I reluctantly decided to thin the collection slightly and I was approached and asked whether I would sell it, this bass was a casualty. More here. |
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John Birch SCDR bass (1976): Quite rare 1976 Rickenbacker-styled bass from the very respected Midlands luthier who made some great custom guitars for Black Sabbath, Slade, Roy Orbison, Roy Wood among many others. The Hyperflux and Magnum pickups were handmade and engraved personally by the late John Birch. I was approached about selling this bass - I wasn't desperate to sell it - and I was absolutely incensed when the person who bought it from me flipped it shortly afterwards for a large profit. |
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FENDER SQUIER VINTAGE MODIFIED 50'S PRECISION BASS: People have looked at it and pretty much spat out the word 'Squier' in disgust then have heard it cranked up and have revised their opinions. This one comes with a matte finish neck and a large mudbucker pickup by Fender. Little in the way of twang, but a great, solid bottom end that is just right for a trio. I've always been happy to take the Squiers out as my main basses for the night |
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Maddog Guitars double-bound sunburst Telecaster: A workhorse of a guitar, made in Ramsbottom, which is fairly local to me. Used mainly for studio stuff and at jam nights. I have never really got on with the feel of Telecasters, but I saw this one at a guitar show and fell in love with it, then I played it... Wow. It has that classic Tele sound and is also one of the nicest looking guitars I've seen. Fitted with Wilkinson pickups. Very solid for rhythm guitar when using the bridge pickup. Almost sounds acoustic with the bridge pickup. Why did I let this one go? Good question. I had taken this to a couple of jam nights and one chap who had played it happened to ask if I was selling it. I must say I hadn't thought anything about selling it, but I mulled it over, over a weekend and worked out that I am playing either Gibson types or Strats more these days. I put a fair price to him and he pounced on it. I managed to get an identical replacement. |
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Retrovibe RV5 5 string bass:
Another naughty Rickenbacker-styled bass. This time it's a 5 string. The pickups (which are more
in the
MusicMan style) are
quite far removed from the trademark Rickenbacker sound and are twice as powerful as a Ric.
That really doesn't
make it any 'better than a
Ric' and if you want a Rickenbacker sound, you'll not get it. But it is a very nice, playable, solid sounding 5-string bass and very eye-catching.
The bottom end on this has to be heard to be believed. I find myself rolling off an amount of treble on the bridge pickup,
to get a
nice deep thick sound. Very precise and definite notes on the bottom string.
Rickenbacker used to make 5-string basses, but gave up on them for many years (only starting again in 2018), allegedly because of issues with the pickups and string spacing. Conversions are available.
Only EIGHT of these RV5 5-string basses were made. I was very lucky indeed to get hold of one. Sold December 2020 |
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Retrovibe Renegade 'Rickenbastard' : How could I pass up a shot at this one-off bass? It originally arrived with a plain black scratchplate and the black renegade truss rod cover, so I had new ones made to replace those. I opted for a mirror scratchplate and the new TRC as below, as well as genuine replacement Ric volume and tone controls. I had no intention at all of passing it off as an actual Rickenbacker. Rickenbacker - to my knowledge, anyway - never made a bass like this! I'd taken it out to a jam night and had really enjoyed playing it, but after a post on the Rickenfakers group where people expressed interest in it, I commented that I might consider parting with it. It was spoken for almost immediately. I did have a touch of seller's regret, due to it being quite unique, but it wasn't used enough and I had 4 actual Rickenbackers. Sold January 2022. |
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Rickenbacker 620 12-string guitar: Jingle-jangle, Hard day's night , Mr Tambourine Man... The list goes on and on... The guitar I bought after a previous 'last' one, a number of guitars ago. Well.... I HAD to. Over a number of years I used this for home recordings, but in the end, I wasn't using it enough and put it up for sale and it has now gone to a very good home in France. I was extremely sad to see this one go |
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Replica Prince Cloud guitar:
I only owned this for slightly less than two months. I imported it and had work done on it, but then I bought the white ESP Cloud copy and decided to sell this, as I didn't really need two Cloud style guitars. It went in just two days. A Prince tribute band bought it. |
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WAL Pro 1e bass guitar: I later bought the charcoalburst Fender Precision Lyte bass (see above) and it sounded far more gutsy than this one did, so I let it go to a guy from Liverpool. It's now worth a hell of a lot more than the amount that I sold it for, but it sounded so clean that it was not great for stage use. It was, however, a marvelous recording bass. The action was to die for and it's probably the most comfortable bass to play that I've ever owned. Used on the Go Crazy 'Coz I luv you' 45 and also on all of The Peppermint Dream recordings. The volume knobs, quite amusingly, went up up to 11. I am sure there is a good, scientific reason for that, but even now, years later, I've no idea why. |
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Vintage 12 string acoustic guitar I gifted this one on to a friend who would probably get more use from it than I would have in 2024. |
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Amplifiers, effects and recording gear
I don't ask much from my equipment. I look after it reasonably well and try to keep it working.
My current touring rig is the Hartke rig further down the page.
On the whole, I have been quite lucky with my bass rigs,
BUT I am no longer an Endorsing Artist for BlackStar Bass equipment.
If you see a picture of me using them, be assured that it is no longer the case.
Enough said.
The Trace Elliot bass rig:
"See anything green?"
These two paired Trace Elliot 715 combos were my main bass rig since 1993. I bought the first one from A1 in Manchester to use with my (then) band Go Crazy.
I hadn't reckoned on the awesome - and maybe insane - output of
Gary Burnett's Marshall Valvestate combo, so
when he got that, I was obliged
to buy another bass combo,
in order to have the slightest chance of making myself heard, as one of
these beasts alone was not
really cutting the mustard.
I wanted another one and it had to match #1. Trace Elliot had kindly (and suddenly) altered the whole look of the 715
combo
in the six months
between me buying the two, so I had to search around for another in the same
style.
A1 in Preston had one
in stock that didn't have the newly
updated amp front panel. It also had a consecutive serial number. Fabulous. I got a really good solid sound with enough thump and power behind me to keep me very happy indeed.
Gary then gleefully bought another Marshall Valvestate amp to go with his first one.
So then I ... no I didn't.
I did consider going up to a bank of four of these at one stage and was going through the maths on the likelihood of my finding another two matching combo amps, but then something happened...
The Hartke bass rig - "Shiny..."
The Trace Elliot rig was generally keeping me very happy indeed, until I took the Hamer 12-string bass out to a
jam night and sat down to play
it through someone else's 4x10 speaker cabinet. It was a complete
and utter revelation to me when I heard how very different the bass
sounded through a set of smaller speakers. Brighter and clearer.
So..... Off I trundled to Sound Control in Manchester, with a bee in my bonnet about finding a cab that would
deliver the magical sound that I had
heard at the jam night. They had a full Hartke rig comprising a
2x10 cab and a 1x15 cab, plus a rather ballsy 350 watt amplifier. There
was a deal on the whole rig
which made it quite attractive, so I took the 12er in and worried everyone in the shop with it and I
thought to
myself 'THIS is the answer'.
It wasn't. The 1x15 cab died on me twice while it was under warranty - once a couple of hundred miles from home when we were playing down the other end of the country in Hampshire, (across the village green from Alan Titchmarshes house) which was not funny at all, I can assure you.
The second time it died, I took it back and got my money back and then promptly replaced it with an incredibly heavy Ashdown 4x10 cab that always threatened to permanently bend my spine into a Z shape, every time I lifted it. While the Ashdown cab WAS indeed the answer sonically, I lived in dread fear of gigs at weekends and of lifting it unaided. So I sold that on and bought the (much lighter) Hartke 4x10 cab that I now use.
Funnily enough, we were playing in Oldham once and the guy who was employed to do our sound at the venue tried to sell us some gear, including some much heavier Hartke bass cabs. I politely passed on this most 'golden of opportunities'.
At one point I doubled the rig up for use at some of the larger gigs. It was terrifyingly powerful. Half of the full Hartke bass rig was sold in June 2016, as it wasn't all getting used, as the band I was in then was a bit feeble and having that rig onstage while the guitarist was playing through what amounted to a transistor radio just looked like bullying. I have since bought another 2x10 cab.
Using a business-like bass rig may frighten the odd Concert Secretary to death (a really good reason for buying amplifiers if ever there was
one),
but despite them often
being softies when it comes to the thought of volume, it's not too difficult to make them understand that
the
volume on
them goes from a silent, brooding 0 to a blood-curdling 10. I usually have them set on 3
at the most. I get a great full-range bass
sound with
all the tone range I want and no-one's ears need to bleed.
No-one would be unhappier than me if I ever had a bad sound onstage.
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VOX AC15C1 guitar amplifier
A brand new amp. In fact, it's my first decent guitar amp. I've always had bass amps up to now. This one will
see me out, no doubt.
Custom 'Racing Green' finish. 15 watts and a nice Celestion speaker. Built-in reverb and
tremolo. It can be as loud as hell. I upset them in the shop,
while putting it through its paces. Not quite loud enough for stage use, I use this for home playing and recording.
Fender 'Champion 100' 100w guitar amplifier:
Bought in March 2017, basically because I had been using the Vox at the jam night on Sundays and I wanted something that was a bit more powerful with twin speakers and to save on wear and tear on the Vox and its valves.
GUITAR AND BASS EFFECTS
Oh, now we are getting into a bit of a mire...
Here's BOARD 1: my studio guitar effects set-up.
BOARD 2: Stage board for bass with The Three.
Line in > JOYO TUNER > JOYO 6 BAND EQ > JOYO CLASSIC FLANGER > JOYO CLASSIC CHORUS >
JOYO NOISE GATE > line out.
I vary the basses that I take out by choosing to go either 'active' or 'passive' for the night and then select two or three to take out.
It runs like this:
Line In > Cry Baby Wah >
Donner DT deluxe Tuner>
Boss GE7 Equalizer >
Marshall Drivemaster >
Danelectro Hash Brown Flanger > Behringer Noise Reduction >
Behringer UC200 Chorus>
Behringer DD600 digital delay >
Marshall Reflector Reverb > line out to amplifier.
Two power supplies are used.
BOARD 3: Jam night guitar effects board.
Line in > Behringer TU 300 tuner > Vox wah pedal > Donner tremolo > BOSS OD3 overdrive > TC electronic Hall of fame reverb > Nano LPB Volume pedal > line out.
Roland GR55 Guitar synth:
The GK3 guitar pickup is clipped on, not permanently attached to the guitar, nor built in.
The GK3B bass synth pickup looks identical, apart from a wider pickup piece and is similarly mounted.
Bass-wise, I have a Roland GK3B bass synth pickup which is sometimes mounted on my Westfield P-bass for home recording. To be totally honest, the range of bass sound supplied are near to useless, but some decent patches may be downloadable.
I also use custom-made 'The Kerbcrawlers' / 'F*ck Cancer' / 'The Three' picks, Sennheiser microphones,
a Laney CXP 112 monitor,
(sometimes a JTS UHF wireless transmitter system)
and Hercules guitar stands.
Tascam 24-track recording console.
I bought this unit shortly after a friend of mine showed me the identical machine that he had bought.
We worked our way through the quite baffling manual - little of it is seemingly written in English - even on the English pages. Once we had done what should have been a few simple operations on it that way, after hours of swearing and throwing things about, we decided the manual was making it far too much like hard work.
Once you've learned how to set a track to record and to hit the GO button and then the stop button when you want to stop, that's all that you need to do.
The songs are recorded onto SD cards like you'd find in a camera.
The remote control for this unit is an absolute blessing.
An 8 channel desk (located beneath the recorder in the photo) for EQ-ing parts and adding effects before recording to the 24 track. Guitars are played through a Vox AC15 or Fender Champion 100 amp then mic'd with the Rode NT1 mic. Bass guitar is put through a Zoom B2 Bass Pod, normally set to simulate the Hartke rig. Outboard effects: ART Proverb 200 or mixing desk reverb. Keyboard sounds are generated via a Roland D110 sound module. Any sequencing is processed via an Atari 1040 STe computer.
Microphones:
Rode NT1.
Shure SM57 / SM58. Various others.
Sennheiser / Sony headphones.
Recording the guitar solo for a song called 'Your attention
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