#1
|
||||
|
||||
Jay Haide Basses
Hi all
I wonder if anyone here has had any experience of Jay Haide basses. I recently saw one of the standard finish Quenoil model ones in Martyn Bailey's workshop. The qualitiy of the instrument looked outstanding for a chinese bass. They go over here for about £4000-£5000. Most of the dealers that stock them claim they are equal in quality to western made instruments costing much more. Does anyone here own one or has anyone played one? Thanks Will |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
I just played one earlier in the week. Beautiful looking, it was the L'ancienne wide shouldered model with antique finishing. Sounded good but the setup on this was pretty poor (a ton of fingerboard scoop), at least for my style of playing, and it was tough to really put it through its paces. The shop was asking $6500. Maybe high for a new Chinese bass...but it was purty.
|
#3
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
I have also heard good things about the Jay Haide basses but it puzzles me every time I see a Chinese bass with a western name attached to it. Imagine an Italian Bass with a Chinese name! |
#4
|
||||
|
||||
I know of one here locally; like has been said, it looked quite nice and initially seemed to be a good instrument with potential, but after a year or so of use it had failed to "open up" and fulfill expectations, and it was sold off. I may be seeing a few more here in the near future; if so I'll post back here with photos and my impressions of them.
|
#5
|
|||
|
|||
I recently acquired a nicely antiqued Panormo model. The moisture content in the wood is disappointingly way too high for the Northeast, so I will be seasoning the bass for a while before I set it back up. The importer assured me that their shop in China is really careful about their wood drying, but methinks this is wishful thinking.
|
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Arnold, what do you mean by and how do you "season" the bass?
|
#7
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
If you put the instrument in a fairly moist room here it will slowly dry out over time. If put in a dry area, it will dry too fast and crack. Necks can warp and twist as well including the scroll area. This is have seen where the head was twisted away slightly but noticeably away from the neck. In making instruments at the prices of China, no way can they afford the time and expense to dry the wood down for 5-10 year minimum like we do here for fine instruments. If they do, it's in China's moist air. That doesn't help much once it gets here. So, regardless of a Jay Haide, Jeckle and Hyde or Hide n Seek Chinese basses, local manufacturing moisture climate is what it is. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
Ken's thesis above is spot on. I'll add that most luthiers feel it's prudent to open up the seams to keep the plates from splitting as the wood dries out.
|
#9
|
|||
|
|||
Thanks for the responses.
|
#10
|
||||
|
||||
This should be a sticky.
|
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests) | |
|
|