UK Basses? Anybody?

[Stev187]

Hello!

My son is a Peter Hook fan, so we ordered a UK bass magazine with Hooky on the cover. Inside are ads for basses we've never seen over here. Anybody play Fret-King or Bass Collection basses?

I love these two and would love to hear more. I have pals (mates, I guess we should call them) in Manchester, and I have a fantasy of having them get one for me.

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The Detroit bass looks so cool, and it has a funny significance for me. I grew up in Detroit but didn't learn about Techno until I traveled to England. The Super 80 just looks... unique.

Anybody play one of these? Is the Super 80 as heavy as it looks? I posted about the Detroit bass a while ago... crickets.

--Steve

 

[SpitfireCWII]

Chris Wolstenholme (Muse) played Bass Collection basses on the album Showbiz. They can stand out in a mix, ive never heard of fret king though.

 

[Musky]

Chris Wolstenholme (Muse) played Bass Collection basses on the album Showbiz. They can stand out in a mix, ive never heard of fret king though.

I might well be wrong, but I'd imagine he played the Bass Collections made in the nineties by SGC Nanyo in Japan. The current Bass Collection instruments seem to be imported by the same people but otherwise have no connection. The SGC Nanyo instruments have a great reputation for quality even though they sell for a pittance nowadays.

 

[bassfraggle]

Ooo - I've got a Fret-King Super 80.

I love it, but yeah, it is heavy! I've got a decent thick leather strap for it.

Great classic tones, some interesting combinations can be made with those three humbuckers. Excellent build quality too. The shape is kinda unusual but very comfy to wear. Quite a chunky neck, much thicker than my Rockbass.

 

[Stev187]

Ooo - I've got a Fret-King Super 80.

Thanks for responding!!! Pics?

Yes, it looks heavy.

--Steve

 

[bassfraggle]

Here ya go;

Crappy old pic, I'll see if I can take a better one tomorrow!

 

[pklima]

Bumping this thread because - big neck, P pickup and mudbucker? Seems tempting.

 

[SoVeryTired]

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(Also available in sunburst)

 

[SoVeryTired]

I've tried a P/J 4-string Fret-King (Perception, I think) and yes, it was pretty heavy and substantial. Not really for me but it was definitely a well-made instrument.

Oooh, check this - mudbucker and two mini-humbuckers...

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[pklima]

Yup, that one looks great too, though I see it costs about three times as much. That one with the comically auto-translated Polish page is definitely looking good, though.

 

[SoVeryTired]

Yup, that one looks great too, though I see it costs about three times as much. That one with the comically auto-translated Polish page is definitely looking good, though.

I accept no liability for bad translations.

They seem to do four different ranges with different price points. The basses are quite nice, but I was getting some serious guitar gas looking at some of their strat, tele and firebird variants.

 

[pklima]

My parents live in the UK, that would make picking up one of these much easier. Hmmm... worst case I end up using just the P pickup 100% of the time and the other pickups still look cool.