narad
Progressive metal and politics
Those who have been surprisingly paying attention to my posts the past year might know I'm on a bit of a Valley Arts kick, after coming into possession of one for a bit that was one of the best guitars I've played. I've been looking around now for the right one from the mid-late 80s, but it's tough -- they're rare, and they're pricey, and they're often overseas.
So my surprise when this bass popped up in Japan. #0066, so super early, early enough that the much loathed (but actually totally fine) Valley Arts headstock shape hadn't been developed yet, and it sports a more traditional Fender-style. Not being much of a bass player, I wasn't looking to spend a lot on it, though being super early in their build history and having obviously crazy woods did have me watching it, and over the past month I watched the price fall until finally it was sort of within reach. Not too much to say about it as I just don't have the experience to talk pros/cons of basses, but woods like these, where the entire bass body is a single piece of quilt maple, are basically a thing of the past:
If anyone knows what sort of bridge that is, I'd be curious to know. I'd like to get a new bridge and also replace the cavity cover that looks like a replacement. And maybe a brass nut, though I like the sound of it now played acoustically.
The weird thing, which sadly realizing now I didn't take a photo of, is that the headstock tilts forwards. I've basically never seen a design like that on any stringed instrument. Not sure if it has bent with age? I haven't seen that either.
So my surprise when this bass popped up in Japan. #0066, so super early, early enough that the much loathed (but actually totally fine) Valley Arts headstock shape hadn't been developed yet, and it sports a more traditional Fender-style. Not being much of a bass player, I wasn't looking to spend a lot on it, though being super early in their build history and having obviously crazy woods did have me watching it, and over the past month I watched the price fall until finally it was sort of within reach. Not too much to say about it as I just don't have the experience to talk pros/cons of basses, but woods like these, where the entire bass body is a single piece of quilt maple, are basically a thing of the past:
If anyone knows what sort of bridge that is, I'd be curious to know. I'd like to get a new bridge and also replace the cavity cover that looks like a replacement. And maybe a brass nut, though I like the sound of it now played acoustically.
The weird thing, which sadly realizing now I didn't take a photo of, is that the headstock tilts forwards. I've basically never seen a design like that on any stringed instrument. Not sure if it has bent with age? I haven't seen that either.