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 My new Davison Bass!

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Chowderboots
EricHaven
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EricHaven
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EricHaven


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Age : 57
Location : Birch Bay, WA

My new Davison Bass! Empty
PostSubject: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyTue Oct 12, 2010 2:07 pm

It finally arrived yesterday, and....I am surprised at just how well made this thing is for only $167 shipped! It turned out to be better than I expected! It's really light and comfortable to hold. The body and neck are really well balanced, and it has no neck dive whatsoever. The gloss black finish is flawless. The bridge is a really solid and heavy hunk of metal, and I would be more than happy using it were it not for the fact that I am going to throw a trem into the bass. The tuning keys are solid, and resemble enclosed Schecter's. All of the frets are seated well, and the neck joint is solid. The neck itself does need to be tweaked with the truss rod, but it runs straight, and there is but a touch of finish on the back, which makes the neck really slick and fast in my hands. The narrow spacing is really comfortable to play on.

Of course, it does have some minor issues, as one would expect from a bass made overseas for so cheap. The back of the headstock feels rough, as though it wasn't sanded properly. The screws holding down the neck pickup aren't tightened all the way down. The pickups themselves are basically trash, as they are simple single coil J's, and they don't pick up the B string all that well. But since I am going to replace the electronics, this isn't a concern.

My only possible worry is the backwards pitch of the headstock, as I don't know who much havoc this will wreak upon the tuning stability once I throw the trem into the bass. It's not extreme, but it's not straight like a Fender would be, either. I think I can deal with it, but only time will tell. If worse came to worse, I would throw another neck on the thing. Hell, I only paid $167 for it, so changing the neck would be no big deal. Again, this would be worst-case scenario.

The Davison logo was dark gold, and as I suspected, it was painted right over the gloss back of the headstock. A little scraping with my thumbnail removed it, and I am going to put on some sort of Alien Probe logo in it's place.

Like I have always said, I am of the belief that if you start with a sound neck and body, you can turn it into anything you want. I can honestly recommend Davison for anyone wanting to go this route.

My new Davison Bass! MyDavisonBass001

My new Davison Bass! MyDavisonBass002

My new Davison Bass! MyDavisonBass003

My new Davison Bass! MyDavisonBass004
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Chowderboots

Chowderboots


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyTue Oct 12, 2010 2:44 pm

Not bad, man! Can't wait to see what you do with it!
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Darkstrike




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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyTue Oct 12, 2010 2:46 pm

Good to hear you're happy.
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EricHaven
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EricHaven


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyTue Oct 12, 2010 6:36 pm

Thanks Guys! Wink

I tweaked the truss rod, and adjusted the action. I cannot believe how easy this bass is to play! The neck straightened right out, and I have super low action now. To be honest, the string tension is less than what was on my SX. A good sign, for certain! Laughing
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amimbari

amimbari


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 12:13 pm

what ?!? you couldn't plug it in to your amp and play it in the first 5 minutes...what's all this tweaking stuff???

j/k. at least I know that your first experience with a Davison unit was the same as mine... good quality for what it cost, but junk hardware easily replaced.

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EricHaven
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EricHaven


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 12:18 pm

Laughing

I kind of expected the Davison not to be plug-and-play anyways. From all of the stuff I read on the web, the story was pretty much the same. Great bass for the money, needing to be tweaked a little out of the box, electronics aren't all that great, etc. Exactly what I encountered with this bass.

I still can't believe how low the string tension is on this thing! I was playing it this morning, and I can do really extreme string bends that my SX couldn't do. I'm not sure why this is, and I can't think of any factors that might make the difference. Maybe due to the Davison having a two-octave neck? I dunno. scratch
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amimbari

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 12:23 pm

could be 40-60-80-95-125 stringset and not 50-65-85-105-130?

time to find some dualrail 5string Duncans Smile
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EricHaven
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EricHaven


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 1:23 pm

Could be, but I have no real way of telling. I have the bass detuned as we normally do in Alien Probe, so my B is actually down to a B flat, and it doesn't seem to suffer from any excessive flopping around, which I half-expected it would be.
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amimbari

amimbari


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 1:42 pm

find some hot pups for the b-string lack of volume and overall better tone, a 7415 for 100 bucks and there you go...

I keep my Jackson at Bflat standard, but I know it has a .130 on it. but your also talking to the guy who takes a 40-95 set and tuned it to DGCF Smile

if I find ANYWHERE a black 7415 for 100-125 used in perfect condition or new for less than 150 I'll just buy it instantly keep it and when your ready ( provided you didn't already find one ) and sell it to you.


tongue
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EricHaven
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EricHaven


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 2:50 pm

Thanks Mike. I'm already planning on dropping about $190 for a black 7415, but I would gladly pay less for one if I could.

Since Andy is giving me his custom eight-string humbucker, and also ordering me an EMG, methinks I'll get that B string to sound perfect. In compensation, I ordered him a pair of Seymour Duncan Invader 7's. For this, he's giving me his pickups that he built/ordered, and he'll do all of the routing work on my bass to drop in the pickups and trem. I really think I'm getting a great deal on this.
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Chowderboots

Chowderboots


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 6:02 pm

Exactly what EMG are you getting?
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EricHaven
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EricHaven


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 6:14 pm

Um....to be honest Martin, I'm not completely certain. But since Andy has a deal with EMG, they have his ordering records, since he used to order the pickups for Zakk Wyldes guitars that he worked on. So he will simply ask them to send him the same bass pickup he ordered the last time. I asked him what he thought it might be, and he thought maybe it was the EMG 40 something or another...??? I will know for sure once it arrives in the next couple of days.

As long as it's the same one in Doug's bass, then it will be perfect, and I will be sure to let everyone know the exact model number. Wink
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madmike

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 7:15 pm

perhaps your experience with the wild bend has to do with the frets. brand new / never played / fresh polished / super slik? i mean ... any bass i have ever bought had been someone elses or on the stores floor being played by every 16 year old that couldnt afford it. i never had a bass with brand new frets till i got the warmoth neck. i experienced the same thing ... but they were also SS frets.

that is definitely a plus about ordering from a direct ship company ... the bass is UNTOUCHED brand new (unless the UPS guys played it).

glad you dig your new plank eric. i think you made the right choice ... i like this one better now too.

cant wait to see the mods.
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tekkentool

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyWed Oct 13, 2010 10:50 pm

madmike wrote:
being played by every 16 year old that couldnt afford it.
Twisted Evil
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amimbari

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyThu Oct 14, 2010 4:36 am

tekkentool wrote:
madmike wrote:
being played by every 16 year old that couldnt afford it.
Twisted Evil
ya right after the 16 year old was eating some icecream from McDonalds...
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EricHaven
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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyThu Oct 14, 2010 7:57 am

EWWWW....I can see the grease stains from here! Shocked
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Chowderboots

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyThu Oct 14, 2010 7:08 pm

I'll have you know it was a Carl's Jr., thank you very much! Razz
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madmike

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyThu Oct 14, 2010 8:06 pm

every bass i buy has had 850 gagillion people's hands all over it ..........

when i get it home, i take it all apart and clean and polish everything to get the grease, boogies and germs off it. also gives me a chance to do any immediate mods, new strings and a set up.

obsessive?

Twisted Evil

eh.

perhaps the next bass i buy will be a factory direct shipped ... unless i find a vintage i want.
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EricHaven
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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyThu Oct 14, 2010 11:32 pm

Given my Sicilian roots, as well as my history being a rock musician, my bass is probably in jeopardy of being hit with an assortment of pasta sauces, JD and ale, olive oil, and possibly Dr. Pepper! Laughing
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amimbari

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyFri Oct 15, 2010 4:49 am

EricHaven wrote:
Given my Sicilian roots, as well as my history being a rock musician, my bass is probably in jeopardy of being hit with an assortment of pasta sauces, JD and ale, olive oil, and possibly Dr. Pepper! Laughing
ya but you can change the strings before you play it...try asking a GC employee to change the strings on a cheap unit "just" so you can play it....hahaha not a chance unless the unit is 3,000.00
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EricHaven
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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyFri Oct 15, 2010 10:05 am

About the only thing I would ever ask a GC employee is "where's the bathroom?" Laughing
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madmike

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyFri Oct 15, 2010 3:54 pm

to GC employee ........

"does your mom know your not home for dinner?"

or ...............

"your kiddin ... right?"
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tekkentool

tekkentool


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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyFri Oct 15, 2010 4:08 pm

EricHaven wrote:
About the only thing I would ever ask a GC employee is "where's the exit?" Laughing
Fixed that for you...
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amimbari

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyFri Oct 15, 2010 4:11 pm

well as in as many threads as i have read on TB I wonder how insulted and how it would affect ANY sale of an item that is to be touched by multiple people if they had signs all over the place that said:

"Please use our sanitizer stations before playing any stringed instruments"
(and enforced it)

great idea on paper but practical? f-no.
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amimbari

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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyFri Oct 15, 2010 4:12 pm

hi tek it looks like your online right now also Smile
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EricHaven
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PostSubject: Re: My new Davison Bass!   My new Davison Bass! EmptyFri Oct 15, 2010 7:48 pm

You Guys are totally cracking me up right now! Laughing

Actually TK, the very first thing I educate myself on whenever I step into a GC is the location of the exit! Laughing Of course, I haven't stepped into a GC in probably over a decade, since I find no redeeming value whatsoever in doing so. I would rather play kazoo music in my car for several hours.

And I think it's a given that any time you walk into a music store, you will probably pick up an instrument that has been in many hands, so I think it prudent that folks be aware of this. I didn't think about it until I got into ordering stuff online. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing to buy something off a rack, just as long as you know what you are buying.

My very first beloved Yamaha BB300 was purchased in a local music store that had a flawless reputation, and since they had just received a shipment of them, mine was still in one of several boxes that were stacked on the floor. So mine had never been touched by anyone except for the people who built and packed it.
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