{"id":24,"date":"2011-08-10T19:41:55","date_gmt":"2011-08-10T18:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.brucethomas.co.uk\/?page_id=24"},"modified":"2017-10-22T12:20:47","modified_gmt":"2017-10-22T11:20:47","slug":"profile-bass","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.brucethomas.co.uk\/?page_id=24","title":{"rendered":"Profile Bass"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Hear the Profile Bass<\/em> in action below…<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some customer reviews\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hi Bruce, guess what Santa brought me? \u00a0It’s ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL, hands-down the best action, set-up and play-ability I’ve ever encountered on a bass! It’s incredibly light, which is such a relief after my previous basswood monster, but has waa-ay more power. The pickups sound like bloody Jazz pickups with the belly of a split-single, how did you do that?! I’ve had two Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders on P-basses, a Quarter Pounder J-bass, J-bass Antiquities and none of them sound this balanced and bright at the same time whilst also being clean and noise-free! None of them are anywhere NEAR this good — they sound 3D! Like, they have a third dimension to the sound. So easy to get your classic tone now; all I have to work on is my playing. I\u00a0never do reviews or demos, but I have to do one on this occasion. It’s such an amazing piece, and the tuning, it’s steady as a rock! I usually have to watch the needle waggle around and hope it’s in tune, this just sits there where it should be! Thank you for giving me the tone I always heard in my head! …I forgot to mention the perfect weight and neck. Was your original Fender this light? Phenomenal instrument, better than I could have hoped for. Thanks so much for making this beautiful piece of craftsmanship!! (Steven Ellen Starrar)<\/p>\n

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Hi, Barry and colleagues. Just to say a big thank you. I received my Profile bass today, and what an instrument it is! Fantastic clarity of tone (and loud!), super smooth neck, harmonics to die for – and all this straight out of the box! And it looks simply stunning! If you’re planning on buying the Mexican-built model of a rather famous brand, do yourself a favour and buy this instead. Why buy generic, when you can have something unique, with a certificate signed by a British bass legend, no less, for the same, indeed slightly less, money? Well done Bruce and everyone at The Bass Centre! (Jonathan Reeve)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The first thing about it that stood out was that the pickup is probably the loudest P-bass style pickup I’ve ever heard, and the low end response on it is astonishing! For sure, this bass can rumble the house! But it also has a clear ringing high end when the tone control is dialed up. Also notable is the sustain, hit a note and it’ll ring for nearly a minute … The neck is great! The fingerboard width is reminiscent of a ’60s P-bass, but the neck width is somewhat slimmer, making it really easy to play\u00a0…the instrument is light and very comfortably balanced. All in all it’s a great instrument for the money, and it’s a world of fun to play. I’ve been using it nearly exclusively since I got it, and getting a lot of complements on it from other bass players. I have to say, out of the box I was a lot more pleased with it then with the last few new Fender basses I’ve bought. It certainly holds it’s own compared to other instruments of any price.\u00a0 (Scott Reid)<\/p>\n

The bass is a beautiful colour- that’s what strikes you first. Neck has a great satin finish and\u00a0shallow profile which makes it very easy to play… a very distinct variant of the “P”. Sound is very much as one would expect from a split “P” configuration\u00a0… a well-built, very playable, striking instrument. Comes with Elite Stadium 105s!\u00a0… I thought I saw John McVie playing one on Sky News today – it looked like the headstock. Anyway, having played & owned the instrument for a few months, I think it is probably\u00a0the most “Rod Mackay” bass I own & I have a lot of Fenders.\u00a0 Tone, neck profile, colour, cost.\u00a0 Good effort!\u00a0\u00a0 (Rod Mackay)<\/p>\n

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The bass arrived this morning. What a fantastic instrument. So lovely to play …\u00a0Congratulations.\u00a0 (Peter Gale)<\/p>\n

The pickup output is considerably hotter than the standard \u201cP\u201d pickups. Really a great instrument!\u00a0\u00a0… Do what you have to do to get a Profile. Bruce is absolutely correct. I\u2019ve got 2 \u201960s Precisions and they are both in the cases. I\u2019m in the US and I think I ended up spending around $900 total with the shipping and import fees. I have not came across anything in that range of price that can touch it. I got 4-year old strings on it and it sounds great!\u00a0 (Mike Miller)<\/p>\n

This bass is amazing and I make you responsible for making me total addicted to it.\u00a0 (Carsten Holt)<\/p>\n

I swear this bass talks to me \u2026so pleased ! (Barry Cartwright)<\/p>\n

Available from the\u00a0Bass Centre<\/a><\/p>\n

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The\u00a0story of th<\/strong>e Profile Bass<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the bass I used during my time with the Attractions was stolen some years ago, I looked far and wide for a suitable replacement. But as I\u2019d customized that instrument quite a bit, eventually I decided that rather than adapting another vintage bass, I\u2019d build one from scratch. When I mentioned this to my friend Barry Moorhouse at the Bass Centre in London, he reckoned there\u2019d be other people who\u2019d like one as well \u2014 he suggested we collaborate on producing a signature-model bass.<\/p>\n

Barry started looking for the best manufacturer he could find, while I set about recreating the right body shape and doing test paint mixes in various shades of \u2018faded red\u2019. But the most important thing was getting the neck profile right (hence the name) to give maximum \u2018playability\u2019.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a>After a bit of experimenting on my part and many meetings with Barry, we had samples built in factories across Europe and the Far East \u2014 we worked on everything from entry-level basses to the elite bespoke instruments. One day we were sent a bass that stood out a mile from anything else we\u2019d seen or played. Although getting the right bass was our only consideration, it turned out that this one was also one of the most affordable.<\/p>\n

Anyone who\u2019s watched the development of the Profile<\/em> Bass<\/em> over the past couple of years will know that it\u2019s not a stock bass I\u2019ve simply added my name to \u2014 but a genuine personally-developed signature guitar.\u00a0 Our intention was not to produce a replica model or a phoney vintage guitar, but to create a new instrument true to the spirit of the original \u2014 a bass that\u2019s a joy to play.\u00a0 I\u2019m happy to say that\u2019s now been achieved.
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