Leaderboard

@PatrickJ and I were talking about how many basses I’ve got through. We had a laugh, I shared ridiculous purchases (the Samick I bought when bladdered which I then Sold to @lee650 the next day) among others... So - from memory... Kay precision - gifted by a family member, was firewood, basically... Yamaha bb300 Japan - Bought in May 1997 for £99 in Sound Control - I resprayed it, shoved a mudbucker in it, stupid move. Sold to a mate... Washburn xb100 - Bought from A1 Music in Manchester, it was transitioning to Academy Of Sound, I’d actually gone to buy a Hohner B2A I’d seen that week, but it’d sold Jackson c5p - Bought by my uncle for me, ended up owning this 3 times, used as PX fodder towards a USA jazz, bought back and then sold...and then given back to me and then sold... Schecter model t Robert DeLeo - Used money from Saturday job, took ages to pay off, had it a week, returned it and traded with Jackson c5p towards Jazz bass Fender American standard jazz bass - traded two basses for it, found I snapped g strings on it - probably poor technique at the time...this was at Sound control Warwick corvette - Traded the jazz for this, kept it for years, played it up until 2009 when I sold it, this was at Academy of Sound Spector NS-94 - bought from the short lived Manchester bass centre. Had LED’s in the neck, bought on the day I saw the blue Tune bass I’ve got on the way...swapped for an amp at Spectrum Music in Whitefield. Fender Marcus Miller Jazz Bass - First Purchase when I worked for Dawson’s, kept it for about 5 years, sold to Nick Smith Epiphone Jack Casady - Lovely thing, sold to @Etienne Fender 50’s classic P - Bought for me by a girlfriend, was a nice bass... Fender Japan 62P - Bought from Ishibashi, never got on with it. Lives in Oldham now. Fender 75 Jazz FSR limited - Lovely thing, sold to @LukeFRC Squier 83 Japan p/j - Wish this was still here, miss it hugely. Still belongs to a basschatter, who won’t sell it back 😞 Jackson c20 - bought on a whim, returned shortly thereafter, just not as nice as the c5p Hohner B2A - got one eventually, took to Edinburgh and sold to a basschatter while I was drunk on a stag do - great bass. Rickenbacker 4003 - Never meet your heroes, couldn’t get on with it. Kept in a case and sold. Musicman Stingray 3eq Piezo - Great bass, absolutely skinted myself to buy this... Musicman Bongo HH - Bought for my 21st Birthday, sold in dark times... Hofner Violin “cavern” - Sold to the same guy who has my old blue Japanese 62p, bought silly cheap, sold for not much more... Jaydee Supernatural - Another “never meet your heroes” moment - didn’t make sense in the band I was in, sold at a loss Ken Smith Burner Artist - Lasted a week, gutted...my ex announced £1000’s in debt the day it arrived, sold nearly every bass I had to resolve Musicman Stingray Classic - Got for my 29th (I think) second best stingray I owned, but definitely the nicest one. Musicman Stingray 2eq - Trying to recoup the stingray classic I missed, not as nice Status Kingbass Artist - Got this from @MB1 who relieved me of a Stingray Classic; found the body and scale too small... Status Groove Bass - arrived damaged, but a great bass, sold cheaply, would love a 4 Fender Geddy Lee Japan - Bought on a whim, sold soon after, loved how it looked, neck too skinny... Fender Nate Mendel - Mega light, lovely bass, replaced bits on it and then sold to @lee650 Sandberg California 5 - didn’t get on with it, bought in a rush as the Stingray 5 I was after had sold... Yamaha TRB5p2 - should’ve tried harder with this, beautifully made, just heavy and a bit uninspiring. Fender Roscoe Beck V - Bonkers thing, great great bass - again, would like a 4 string version Peavey g bass - thought it’d be like a Flea bass, wasn’t...looked ace though peavey gv bass (owned this twice) - Great bass, I sold because I stopped playing 5’s Self build plexiglass P - crazy heavy, 14-15lbs Self build p/j with limelight neck - great bass, swapped for BEX4c Self build p/j duck Dunn - lovely thing, was proud of this... Farida j fretted - still here, made for me when I worked for their uk distributor Farida j fretless - as above...Ebony board Farida fjb6 red - a project I never started, bought and sold within a week Farida fjb6 white - Used for the neck I still have and sold with a fretless board Mike Lull 5 jazz - Excellent bass, one of the nicest 5’s I’ve ever played Fender mex p/j deluxe - should’ve kept this, nice bass Fender roger waters - Not for me, made it into a 57 black’n’gold thing. Swapped for geddy no.2 Fender geddy Lee mex - nicer than the Japan one I had, didn’t last though... Fender custom shop 64 relic jazz (twice) - bought from @three, sold to @binkybongo (who was the original owner...) and then sold back to Loz...then I bought it back From Bill...very odd. Nicest Jazz ever...now belongs to @Normski Fender custom shop 64 NOS - meh, traded for 2 basses at GBBL. Fender custom shop 55p relic - Excellent bass, sold to @Beedster - was made for the CS trade stand at Musikmesse Fender 1977 p - lovely thing, best late 70’s I’ve seen/played... Fender 1975 p - great old P, comfy, barky, woody... Fender Japan Fretless P 70’s - Heavy, but gorgeous sold to @mcnach Fender PBAC fl - Bought out of curiosity, nice thing. Fender power jazz special - Lovely, no need for it though really... Epiphone thunderbird classic - bought at a crack converters, loved it but looked silly on me Epiphone thunderbird non reverse - bought because I wasn’t sure how stupid I could look twice over... Dearmond star fire - Just 🤷🏻‍♂️, looked ace, can’t remember much about it... Sadowsky metro J - Mega Bass, wanted a P/J Sadowsky metro p - Still here, love it Status guy pratt - loved it, couldn’t justify with the Sadowsky being so lovely (and similar) and to cover a bill 🙄 Status smart bass - Looked great, sounded great - hated the ‘square’ feeling neck... Epiphone jack Casady blue - to replace the gold one I should’ve kept. It’s ace. Spector Euro 435lx - Brilliant bass, flippin loved it. Sold because a car went pop. Turns out I could’ve kept it. Fender Marcus Miller white - now with @bassfan Fender Marcus Miller natural (refin) - Went mad on this, spent silly money doing it up and fitting posh guts...just wasn’t as special in the end and I preferred it as a stock bass, should’ve just had a respray done and kept everything else stock, lost its character Modulus Flea Bass - Still beating myself up over this, don’t talk about it Yamaha bb200 - bought for the neck, arrived damaged, sold cheap Yamaha bb300 - To replace my original bb300, was ace, sold to @bigsmokebass Yamaha bb350f - what the 200 neck was for...should’ve kept it, nice bass, just needed frets Yamaha bb425x - decent workhorse Yamaha bb415 - as above, both did plenty of gigs Yamaha bb1100s 1986 - dreamboat, second favourite BB I’ve ever owned Yamaha bb1100s 1988 - not as nice as other one Yamaha bb1024x - Hard to discuss Yamaha bb614 - recorded with this, nice Yamaha bb414 - This bass makes me smile Yamaha bbg4a2 - 🤷🏻‍♂️ Nice enough, bland... Musicman 1994 stingray 2eq - Best Stingray ever...sold because I’m a tit Godlyke disciple - Should’ve kept it, just an absolute banger...went to @bassfan when I got his Flea...easily one of the best put together basses I’ve owned. Washburn sb40eq - Mental Graceland esque bass, sounded ok, sold to a guy who runs a Washburn museum in America 😳 Aria sb700 - FFS, should’ve kept. It was pristine. Aria sb1000 - Alright, preferred the 700 in the end. Aria Steve Bailey - Bought in haste, sold at a similar pace, turns out it was a scarce pre production bass. Still 🤷🏻‍♂️ Guild b30e - best acoustic bass I owned, bar none Tacoma thunder chief - arrived smashed from Mansons, gutted Fender mex 60’s burgundy FSR - nice, but got the CS so fell out of favour Sigma acoustic bass - decent cheap ABG Yamaha attitude special - great bass, the purchase was laboured and got messy and the seller absolutely soured the whole experience and I sold it on after 2 months because it did my head in that I’d given a scoundrel cash for it Yamaha attitude standard pink - great bass Yamaha attitude standard black - Just, a bit nicer than the pink, dunno why Yamaha attitude plus - Was sent back, unfortunately Yamaha bb714bs - Sold to the wonderful @leemarseillebass - should’ve kept it but these things happen PRS EBIV - Again, never gave it a chance, and I would probably enjoy it more now. Nice thing... Yamaha rbx360 (think it was a 350) - got it cheap, did it up, sold it... Fender Stu Hamm Urge - too little Self build billy sheehan wife bass - Madder than a box of frogs, needed a push across the finish line, sold to @ceteraat a significant loss 😂 Yamaha BEX4c - Lovely thing, useless for the band I was in, sold, regretted Hohner Bbass natural - corking bass Hohner Bbass Black (still have this at a mates) - bought for buttons and was ultimately bollocksed, is now sanded to bare wood (maybe primed) and is just a body and neck...should actually finish it Fender AVRI 62P - sold, don’t know why, a nice bass Fender Roadworn Jazz - bought when I had a period without the 64 CS. Lovely thing Danelectro 59dc bass - Chased, chased and chased, got one - sounded like 60’s soundtrack basslines...sold when I realised the body was too small Breedlove 5 string bass - Did 3 gigs with a soul singer, sold it at a loss Ibanez BTB676 - taken in trade against TRB5PII, just too many strings, took ages to sell too... Gear4Music acoustic 5 (defretted) - just messing about with defretting, worked out well, sold it and made money Samick HFB-590 - 2 bottles of merlot, eBay and idiot at the helm...sold the day it arrived to @lee650 Oldfield acoustic bass - stolen by a crackhead, best thing for it...used to replicate a double bass on the cheap, the trubass strings were probably worth more... And a Tune bass arriving this week. please...if you can...share your list of shame. and if you’ve bought a bass from me, and it’s not on the list, please mention it. im so ashamed. never once have I said any of this has made me a good bass player.

In my 25 years as a founding member/bassist in KISS tribute 'Dressed To Kill' we were more than aware of the issues here. It was a mutual respect arrangement. We paid tribute to KISS, appeared at KISS product launches and helped promote the band when their UK/European record & PR companies were doing sod all, kept their name alive and spread the word.... We wore the outfits, played the iconic instruments and had the famous lit logo, drumhead logos, pyro, blood spitting, fire breathing etc.... BUT.... our name was sufficiently different (an 'album name' and a play on our 'look') and we NEVER sold any merchandise with the KISS logo or make-up prominently displayed. We ALWAYS made it clear that we were a KISS tribute.... and always supplied our set lists to PRS for the original artist to get fair payment for our live performances. As a result, they treated us fairly, always recognised us at gigs/events and even went as far as to keep a 'secret eye' on anything we were doing song/arrangement-wise. Really.....!! We had it on good authority that they copied a breakdown I wrote into the live version of 'God Gave Rock n Roll To You'.... and their Manager Doc McGhee also asked my direct opinion on adding Beth back into the live set....based on the perceived popularity of the song in our shows....

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Simple yet elegant I reckon.

For completeness and as a 'How To' guide for @Jus Lukin I'll confirm all of this when the real strings have been fitted, but this is how I would do it with what I've done with the test strings. Below assumes that the bass has already been intonated and therefore the tuner holders are already clamped in their playing positions: 1. Normally, the ball-end socket blocks are going to be in the right place - because normally you will have recently loosened the strings. But assuming that I'm starting from scratch, I would unscrew the brass block, then reattach and screw it on around 3mm to ensure that enough thread is in the block to start off with: 2. Then the ballend of the string is pushed through the tuner holder: 3. The ballend is hooked into the holder and the unit pulled into the holder: 4. The string is pulled straight, the position to the end of the clampblock noted and the string is clipped at this point: 5. The string is fed through the clamp block until the string is straight and then clamped: 6. String is tightened to pitch: I trimmed and fitted all four strings in less than two minutes. Oh, did I mention that I love the Nova system...? . Ref intonation, if you were, say, fitting a different gauge or make of strings, you would leave them overlength, tune up, check and/or adjust the intonation, then, when the tuner block was secured in its final position, just loosen, unclamp, shorten and reclamp.

I think everyone should go back and write a line about each instrument 🎸 @AndyTravis you can have an extension of one month

The back of the bass is now in it's final colour (hi-gloss black) and I'm currently working on the top edge fade colour. Here are some progress pictures showing how the T.bird pickup routing went, and what the top will look like when finished, but like I said, I still have some edge (burst) fading to do to the top.

While it looks bad, I started in 1989 so this is 31 years of shenanigans which, in my mind, makes it look like a semi-reasonable number to work through. Most have been moved on. In roughly chronological order... and with apologies to your broadband... (all but the first two are the actual instruments, those two pics were found on a quick image search today) Aria Pro II XRB-2 - First bass, bought in 1989. Butchered it as I learned how to do setups, electrical work, added pickups, made fretless. Sounded nice though. Aria Pro II Laser Electric Heritage - 86-87, ish I think. Nice bass. Meaty. ESP 400 Series - 89, they think. I love this bass. Still the one by which all others are judged. Rickenbacker 4003 - 92. Saved for a long time for this. Loved it, especially the sound, but was just an uncomfortable bugger to play. Still miss it though. Squier Precision - mid-90's. Cheap second hand purchase for a specific band. Sounded great. Ibanez SR3006E Prestige - 2003, I think. Always wanted an SR, went with a 6er for some reason. Lovely bass but more than I could handle at the time. Fender Japan 62 RI Fretless - 2004, I think. Lovely bass, imported it from Japan. Hotwire Custom 5 - Custom made with Q-Tuners and a Noll pre. Never liked the neck. Eventually found the sweet spot with a Warmoth neck and East Filter pre-amp in it. Bacchus 04 Standard 5 - The best 5er I have ever played. Brilliant instrument. Lakland 55-02 - I never really felt I got the best out of this. Would love to try another one, or perhaps a 44-02 instead. Bacchus Venus 5 - Lovely bass but couldn't get on with the slab body. Fender Jazz - 77. Weighed a ton and worth far more in cash than as an instrument. EBMM Stingray 3EQ - Early 00's, IIRC. My first Ray. Really nice but sold on when I got the Godlyke 4 Aria Pro II SB-R80 - 83. Great bass but couldn't get past the dead coils. The replacement Armstrongs didn't sound the same. Sadowsky M4 - Early 00's. I don't know why I moved this on and miss it. Great instrument. Bacchus Woodline P Classic 07 - Loved it but separating from the missus proved very expensive so it was one of many which were sacrificed to raise solicitor cash. Godlyke Disciple 5 - 2005ish, I think. Lovely neck but never got it to sound the way I wanted. Godlyke Disciple 4 - A few numbers away from the one above. Came stock with Barts. Lovely neck, sweet tone, still have it. King Billy - Home made bitsa. I'm in the process of putting a MM in place of the P Warwick Streamer LX - 01 I think, great tone, huge neck. Fender Japan Mustang - 07. I'm 6'3". Byeeee. Bacchus 24 05 - Super light, plays wonderfully. Great bass. G&L L2000 - It's an 81 SB1 neck on an early 90's L2k body. Massive sound. Warwick Streamer S1 - 91. Bought in a dreadful state and I restored it. Love it still. Ibanez SR1300PM - 94, I think. Lovely but the wenge neck was too skinny for me. Peavey Rudy Sarzo - 89. Always wanted to try one but never bonded with it. Warwick Streamer LX JazzMan FL - 05. Ovangkol neck, ebony board which was lined before I got it. Status S3000 - 91ish. Bought from an Elvis impersonator in poor condition - both Elvis and the bass. Flat backed D neck. Mayones BE4 - late 90's, I think. Schaller hardware and MEC electronics. Basically a Warwick and sounded like it. Fender Japan Geddy Lee Jazz - Mid 00's, I think. Nice bass but you're no ESP. Aria Pro II SB600 - 1979 bolt-on with a dead coil. Swiftly moved on. Ibanez SR800LE - 89. Always wanted one of these. Insanely good basses for the money. Alembic Orion - 04. My friends call it El Presidente. Nuff said. EBMM Stingray 2EQ - 96.Battered but a superb player. Lost to the separation cull. G&L L1000 - 1980 3 digit serial, beast sounds out of it. Culled. I'm starting to cry. Charvel JP - 1990. Bought as a fretless. Resto job. Really nice bass. G&L El Toro - 85. Nice, but another cull victim. PRS EB 4 - 01 Loved this bass. They're massively underappreciated. Missed it a lot. Ibanez Roadster RS924 - 1980. Heavy, but sounded great. There's no mystery why this lot were killing Fender at the time. Yamaha BB1100S - 85. It has been in the wars but came through it. You know the score with these basses. Jackson Kip Winger - 91. Crazy shape, high quality, could barely give it away when I needed the cash. Ibanez SR1000E - 89 Great basses. GMR Bassforce - Really nice bass, very slim neck. Yamaha TRB6 - 95. Bought at a price I couldn't refuse. Neck is as wide as a motorway. Built to last. Bacchus Grooveline - 04. Another repair job. As Stingrayish as you can find with a J sized neck Ibanez SB900 - 91. Slim body, fast neck, means business. ESP Horizon - mid 80's. Dusty Hill vibe. Aria IGB-CST - 91 Billy Gould model. Massive high output pickups. Yamaha BEX4 - Bought on a whim but surprised by how good it is. Bass Collection SB311 - Always wanted to try one. Far better than their prices suggest. Hotwire Force Pro - Alumitones bring thunder. Blade B4 - 91. Recent addition. Lovely, lovely instrument. PRS EB 4 - 01. Missed the old one. This one's a little plainer but it delivers. Hamer Chaparral - 90. This is a great bass, lovely neck.

Do you really want me or @cetera to put our list of basses here again ?

Is he one of those kinds of people who don’t like you using their toilet when you visit? 🤣 I’d quietly break off communication with him and let him make any moves towards friendly reconciliation. Who needs any more negativity in their life at the moment?

Let's make it more fun by marking the ones we still own in bold More or less in alphabetical order: Aria Pro II SB-1000 (with two extra pickups added) Carvin B4 Carvin LB75 (flamed walnut) Carvin LB75 (all black - bought back out of sellers' remorse) Condor Jazz Bass Condor Jazz Bass (bought one back after regretting selling my first bass. The second one was awful) Cort Artisan B4 Cort NTL-B fretless acoustic Ellio Martina Forza 5 (The One Bass. I'll never sell this one) Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray5 Esh Stinger Fender Japan 57 Precision reissue Fender Japan 75 Jazz Bass reissue G&L USA SB-2 Hohner B2A Ibanez ATK300 Ibanez ATK300 tuned to D Ibanez ATK305 Ibanez RS924 Ibanez MC924 (1981) Ibanez MC924 (1983) Ibanez SR800LE Jan Bak Precision Bass Kydd Big Kydd EUB Longbow 2-string fretless Mr Bassman No Sweat (Human Base) Rickenbacker 4003 Sandberg Bullet 5 fretless Status S2 Classic bolt-on 4-string Status S2 Classic bolt-on 5-string Warwick Streamer LX4 Warwick Streamer LX5 Yamaha TRB5II amber Yamaha TRB5II trans blue All lefties obviously

OK.... I held back..... but I can't help it.... I'll bite.... Current collection: (PRE-KRAMER) SPECTOR SB-1 USA 1976 Active (Walnut/Maple) (PRE-KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA 1986 Active (Cherry Sunburst) - Hazlab ?(KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA 198? Active (Black) - Hazlab (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA 1987 Active (Black) - Hazlab (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA 1987 Active (Gloss White) - Hazlab (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA 1989 Active (Tobacco Sunburst) - Hazlab (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA 198? Active (Red/Black Lava Crackle) - Hazlab (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2 USA 198? Active (Red Stain) – Hazlab (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2A Active (Gloss White) – K-Haz/EMG upgrade (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2A Active (Black) – K-Haz/EMG upgrade (KRAMER) SPECTOR NS-2A Active (Black) – K-Haz/Spector SPECTOR NS-2 USA 2001 Active (Holoflash Black & Abalone) - ? SPECTOR NS-2X ‘Spectorbird’ USA 2012 Active (Tobacco Sunburst) SPECTOR Euro CR 2001? Active (Holoflash Black) - Tonepump SPECTOR Euro CRFM 2001? Active (Purple Stain) – EMG SPECTOR Euro CRFM 2004? Active (Emerald Green Quilt) – EMG BQC SPECTOR Euro CRFM 2004 Active (Plum Stain) – Aguilar SPECTOR Euro 2007 Active (Gloss White) – SNC Haz SPECTOR Euro LX 2012 Active ‘Ian Hill’ sig (Black) - Tonepump SPECTOR Euro LX 2017 Active ‘Rachel Bolan’ sig (Black/Silver sparkle)- TPump SPECTOR Euro LX 201? Active (see-thru Black Quilt) – Hazlab! SPECTOR Euro LT 2019 Active (Violet Fade) - Darkglass SPECTOR Euro Classic 2020 Active (Solid Red) - EMG (arriving in a few weeks time!) SPECTOR JA-CR Euro RI 2008 Active w/Badass (Gloss White) – EMG BTS SPECTOR JA-CR Euro RI 2008 Active w/Badass (Black) – EMG BTS SPECTOR Legend 4X Classic Active 2012 (Holoflash Black) – EMG DC/Tonepump STUART SPECTOR DESIGN NS-4 Euro Active (Red Stain) DINGWALL D-Bird 2019 (Blue/Purple Colourflip) WAL Mk1 Fretless Active 1982 (Mahogany with Stained Maple facings) WAL Mk1 Active 2000 “Geddy Lee” (Black with Gold Hardware) M.V. PEDULLA Buzz Deluxe Fretless 1989 (Black) FENDER Jap Precision ‘70’s Reissue “Phil Lynott” Alder/R-wood board (Black/Mirror) FENDER Jap Precision ’62 Reissue Alder/Rosewood board (Vintage White/Red Tort) FENDER FSR Precision ‘70’s Reissue Ash/Maple board (Natural/Red Tort) FENDER FSR Precision P/J maple board/blocks & East preamp (Sea Foam Green) FENDER Jap Classic ‘70’s Precision maple board & blocks (Sunburst) FENDER Jap Jazz Bass Special ‘Duff McKagan’ (White with black neck) JACKSON "Kip Winger" HB Signature Model Active (Cherry Lacewood) JACKSON TBX-Pro ‘Jacksonbird’ Active 1 of only 56 made (Black) JACKSON Ontario ‘Concert Bass’ 1987 Active (White) HAMER Impact USA Active 1991 (Black & Gold ‘Marble’) HAMER Impact USA Active 1991 (Red) HAMER Impact USA Active 1990 (Copper/Gold) HAMER Scarab USA ‘Rick Savage’ Active late 80’s (White) KRAMER Forum I Active late 80’s (Flipflop Blue) – damaged headstock KRAMER Ferrington Electro/Acoustic (Black) ESP The Surveyor 1984 (Blue Stain with Blue fingerboard!) ESP PPJ-160 ‘Masayoshi Yamashita’ Signature Model 1985 (White) ESP/Zep-II PPJ-160 ‘Masayoshi Yamashita’ Signature Model - Active (Black) PEAVEY RJ-IV “Randy Jackson” Signature Model Active (Red Sunburst) PEAVEY RJ-IV “Randy Jackson” Signature Model Active (Grey/Silverburst) PEAVEY “Rudy Sarzo” Signature Model Active (Dark Natural) TOKAI ‘Hard Puncher’ P Alder?/Maple board early 80’s (Black/Mirror) TOKAI Works TW801? Active 1987? (Black) FERNANDES MV-65NS “Nikki Sixx” Non-Reverse Spectorbird 1989 (Black) FERNANDES MV-65NS “Nikki Sixx” Non-Reverse Spectorbird 1989 (Black) FERNANDES MV-65NS “Nikki Sixx” Non-Reverse Spectorbird 1990 (Black) MUSICMAN Sub Stingray 4 (Black/Mirror) YAMAHA BB3000 (Black Sparkle) ARIA CSB ‘Black & Gold’ (Black) GUILD Pilot Active (Purple Burst) GUILD Pilot Active (Red) HAGSTROM Super Swede “Rutger Gunnarsson” Signature Model(Mahogany) ITALIA Imola GP “Ricky Phillips” Signature Model (White) EPIPHONE Thunderbird Vintage Pro 2018 (Black) EPIPHONE Thunderbird Vintage Pro 2018 (Tobacco Sunburst) HOHNER B2A ‘Steinberger’ Active (Black) HARLEY BENTON Standard Series P Bass (all-Black) ROCKINBETTER "RonnieBarker" Ricky copy (Jetglo) FELINE/SPECTOR "Gene Simmons SB-1" Hybrid. Active 1977 (Black) FELINE/KRAMER "Gene Simmons Axe" Active 1980-Copy (Black/Silver) PUNISHER "Gene Simmons" Ltd. Edition (Signed/#’d 0007) Active 1997 (Black) AXE "Gene Simmons" Ltd Edt (Signed/#’d 163 of 250) Active 2000(Black/Silver) CORT “Gene Simmons Axe-2” 2010 (Black/Silver) CORT “Punisher GS-2” 2011 (Black) STACCATO MG Active (Black/Magnesium Alloy/Numbered 22 of 34 USED to own (basses in bold I'd like back!): 2 Kramer Spector NS2A (Red Stain) 1 Kramer Spector NS2A (Teal) 1 USA Spector NS4 (white) 1 cherry Spector ReBop 1 red Spector NS2J-CR 1 natural Spector Euro LX 1 blue stain Spector NS2 CRFM 1 Poplar Burl Spector Euro LX 1 Zebrano Spector Euro LX 1 Dark Cherry Spector Euro LX 1 blue stain Spector NS2000/4 1 black stain Spector NS2000/4 1 cherry Spector Euro5 1 holoflash Spector Rex2000/4 1 black stain Spector Rex2000/4 1 black stain Spector Legend 4X 3 DeArmond Pilots (black/white/red) 1 Epiphone Goth Thunderbird 1 Feline Spector (black) 1 Aria CSB360 (cherry red) 1 Ibanez Destroyer (black) 1 Bass Collection (black) 1 noname P bass 1 Charvel Model 3A (purple) 1 Kramer Forum IV 1 Kramer Forum III 1 Fernandes Spectorbird 1 Fernandes Spectorbird ¾ scale thru-neck 1 Jackson Kip Winger (lacewood) 1 Jackson Kip Winger (White) 1 Jackson Kip Winger (Black) 1 Nightingale Harlequin 1 Hohner B2A ‘stick’ (black) 1 Musicman Stingray SUB (black) 2 Hartke XK4 (black) 1 Kay starter bass (cherry sunburst) 1 Avon Grabber coby (natural) 1 Washburn Scavenger (black) 1 M.V. Pedulla Fretless ‘Buzz Deluxe’ 1989 – got it back now! 1 Mighty Mite Precision 1 Schecter Model T (cream) 1 Fender Jazz Bass Special 80’s Jap original – got a replacement now! 1 Fender Jazz Jap Geddy Lee 1 Fender/Allparts Jazz ‘70’s (Vintage White, maple board/white blocks) 1 Guild Pilot (black) 1 Ibanez Soundgear SR1000? Custom Active 86? (Painted by Yoshiki 1988) 1 Tokai ‘Hard Puncher’ P/J Alder?/Rosewood board 80’s (Red all over) 1 ESP Horizon Custom Active 1990? Ebony Fingerboard (Cherry Sunburst) 1 Dingwall NG-2 Active 2018 (Purple) 1 Frankenstein Billy Sheehan ‘Wife’ Bass (Aria/Fender/Allparts clone) 1 G&L Tribute L-2000 (big logo 2003 Indonesian) 1 Archer KS3 ‘Kasim Sulton’ 1 Bass Collection Rickenfaker

Many of my eBay/Gumtree/FB Marketplace* bargains have been instruments that were bought new and then left on a stand in the bedroom/living room/kitchen* for many years accumulating grime. Yours is not an unusual experience, many people do not realise that there is some effort involved in keeping an instrument in good condition. *delete as appropriate.

New Headless Birthday Bass Day! Thanks to the sterling collaborative efforts of @Paul S and my lovely partner, I got this for me birfday! It's a Riverhead Unicorn RUB1090, from 1985-ish. I've wanted one of these since I tried one at the old Bass Centre in Wapping in 1985, and sadly found myself unequal to the £500 price tag! They don't turn up too often & I've missed out on one or two, including this one when it first came up a few months ago. Happily Paul gave me first refusal - and a great excuse to get it at no personal expense! So everyone's a winner! This is in nice condition for a 35-ish year old bass. A lot of these are pretty tatty, seemingly the factory finish wasn't too durable, but this has had a decent refin at some point, over the original matt black. The hardware's in near-new condition, which I'm surprised & very pleased about - many of these have corroded-looking metal parts. There's a little bit of fretwear, mostly under the E & A around the first 5 frets or so. A fret level/dress would help but I don't know if I'll bother - Paul's strung it with flats & the slight acoustic rattle doesn't seem to be audible when plugged in. Actually this is the first time I've had flats on a fretted bass in about 15 years & I'm surprised how well they work on this! Through my little Yamaha THR10 it sounds nice & full, with a bit of a Jazz growl to it. Pickups are passive single coils & fairly close to J positioning. First impressions are that it's a bit nicer to play than my Hohner B2A or Cort Space headlesses - the chunky pickups provide a more natural feeling hand/thumb position and the narrow (39mm nut) but fairly deep neck makes it feel pretty substantial. Very early impressions, I may try a bit of recording with it over the next few days. On the whole, I'm chuffed to bits!

A tiny amount will make a huge difference. Imagine the neck pivoting on the outer end of the neck pocket, now lift the heel end of the neck even half a mil and think how far the headstock end will move. You definitely need to get those inserts flush or ever so slightly sunk into the neck. You can run the side of a bank card across the neck to check that they don't protrude. Don't try to counter the problem by adding a shim somewhere else, you'll just be chasing the problem around in circles. The phrase, 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it', springs to mind here, but that's no help I realise. Also it's good to learn about these things and you don't learn without making a few mistakes, I applaud anyone who gets stuck in and has a crack. Get that rogue insert screwed in more or filed flush and I'm sure things will look better. 🙂👍

... having first shªt in his slippers. (Possibly OTT?)

Looks like they got Pearl Necklaced.

Red = still have it. 4 strings unless otherwise stated. 1964 Höfner Artist - bought for £20 from my school metalwork teacher in 1982. One dead pickup, the other not great. Currently feeling inspired to do a restomod. Columbus Jazz - after I got the Wal, I lent this to a supposed friend who promptly left town with it. I hope it exploded in his hands, thieving bastid. 1980 Wal Pro 2E - my first love, my pension plan, my most prized possession. Jaydee Roadie 1 fretless - my first fretless bass. Very lovely instrument, I fitted an EMG pickup after the original died, and a Hollis preamp. Last seen in @doctor_of_the_bass's hands, I believe he moved it on too. Squier HM-5 5-string - my first 5-string. A good introduction but not exactly inspiring. Gave it away after I got the... Maison 5-string (Bass Maniac/Bass Collection clone) - ...which I bought in Jakarta while I was on a business trip out there. Back when it was dead easy to take instruments onto planes. An excellent instrument, punched well above its budget weight. Tobias Pro 6-string - beautiful instrument, completely hamstrung by its weedy, pathetic pickups and feeble EQ. I fitted a new preamp but it desperately needed pickups... a set of EMG-45Ps would have brought it alive but I just couldn't afford them. Sold it to @brycebites, he hasn't been here for quite some time alas. Yamaha RBX765A 5-string - bought on the spur of the moment... it was red, and I fancied another red bass to go with the Wal and the Tobias, plus I needed a 5-string. Jon Shuker defretted the neck for me and it made a really great fretless. @Witters has it now. Sei Flamboyant 5-string - oh god it was beautiful... I just couldn't get it set up though, and rather than give it it to a tech who knew what he was doing I just sold it in a fit of pique. I frequently kick myself for letting this go. Overwater short-scale (in bits, long-term restomod project) - back in the 80s, Overwater made a bunch of guitars and basses for school music programs, and this was one of them. 32" scale, mahogany with set neck, single pickup. Once I finally get some gig money coming in, I'm hoping to get @Andyjr1515 to work his magic on it. Status Series 1 'thru neck' 5-string - saw this at a really good price and couldn't resist. What a fantastic instrument. I replaced the rusty black bridge with gold single bridge pieces, and also fitted gold tuners & knobs while I was about it. They looked brilliant with the quilted maple top. Squier Jazz - great neck (see Bitsa P below), nasty plywood body. Did the job for a while. Shuker custom 5-string - I'll let the picture speak for itself... Ibanez BTB406QM 6-string - having sold the Toby some years previously, I fancied a 6-string just to noodle about with at home and when this came up stupidly cheap I snapped it up. It's really scruffy cosmetically, but plays and sounds fine. Sire V7 ash 5-string - loved the look of these the moment I saw them, and grabbed one immediately. That was 2015 and it's been my go-to gig bass ever since. Tanglewood TRB-CE 'Rosewood Reserve' acoustic - a surprise birthday gift, and what a surprise. One of the few times I have been utterly lost for words. Harley Benton JB-20 (in bits) - one of the infamous 'deko' basses, cost me 20 quid. Unfortunately, unlike many people I really DID get an unplayable one the neck had a sizeable hump in it. Still on the lookout for a replacement neck. OLP Stingray - really fancied a 'Ray, was looking out for an OLP or a Vintage on fleaBay and this came up at a good price. Turned out that the neck was a real Louisville Slugger, not to my liking. However... see 'JayRay' below... Bitsa P bass - the neck for my old Squier Jazz mated with a no-name body bought off fleaBay for 20 quid. Scratched my P bass itch very nicely! I have since fitted the original pickup from the OLP 'Ray. 'JayRay' fretless - on a whim, bought this lovely Jaydee fretless neck from @greenolive and mated it with the body of my OLP 'Ray. The results are better than I could possibly have hoped for. EMG-HZ pickup, one of these days I might get round to fitting actives... a 3-band with sweepable mid would be ideal, for my money it's the best type of EQ for a fretless. Really lets you home in on the mwah. Westone Thunder 1-A - very gratefully took this off @Moos3h's hands a couple of years back. I've had a soft spot for these ever since Rockschool! 👍 and it's great to have one finally. As a P bass, it totally and comprehensively blows my bitsa P out of the water. And it's red! I've fitted gold tuners, because it looked daft with chrome tuners and a brass bridge & knobs. I wanted the collar to match the cuffs, as it were. An absolute keeper. 'don't call me SkaBass' bitsa J bass - had an old J copy hanging around for yonks, finally got round to doing something with it. one of you folks - I forget who - gave me the idea for a 2-tone theme which, given that I'm in a ska band, was absolutely perfect. The results aren't luthier-quality, but I don't care. It's all my own work and looks & sounds the business 😎 The only things I really really really want to add to this list are: Wal Mk3 fretted 5-string 1965 Fender Jazz, CAR, matching h/stock

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Lol! The list of basses I used to own is as long as the list of basses I still own...... i.e. loads!

Don't get me started! As a former music shop owner I have a real problem with the concept that once something has spent a nanosecond hung up on the shop wall it becomes ex-demo, and yet everyone loves the idea of being able to try new stuff out. Funnily enough I dien't last very long in that game - it would have been fine without the punters 🤔

Man it was a late one... So I waited 2 hours and unclamped. The fretboard slip is actually even smaller than I thought. Pretty much zero and no gaps either. So feeling okay now I think I might also get away with the headstock thickness. 12mm is minimal, but just enough for the Gotohs.

Not many I hope! I used to sign whatever name popped into my head. One woman in Iowa had Frank Muir autographed across her left boob, I don’t suppose there’s much demand for reruns of Call My Bluff in the Midwest.

Just write: P Bass. x 367654890543256854 jazz bass x 2

Pearl scam.

Pearl Jam don't like their fans getting ripped off. Their one band war against Ticket Master in the 90s started over a 1$ admin fee that Ticket Master wanted to charge people for tickets for a free concert that Pearl Jam were putting on and rapidly escalated to Pearl Jam boycotting every Ticket Master associated venue in the US and testifying before congress over Ticket Master's monopoly. https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/pearl-jam-ticketmaster-1995-boycott-booking-fees-gigs-ticket-prices-a8989516.html

Soooo ....this isn't about about dogging then?

Okay, next bass build will need the Nova system. This is a really smart solution.

I have to say I thought it was akin to a fly complaining to the hippo when the hippo waggled its ear to dislodge it.

I think the letter from them to Pearl Jam was a very classy act, no moaning whinging or insults at all.

That's where we all started - perseverance, my friend...

One of my friends has a MM Ray - he's happy to play my basses but if I touch his it's like I touched his children...

Mine is the pride of my small herd...........................

it was worse for the top shelf mags 😂

In all honesty, if you offered me a choice between two cabs, one of which sounded a bit better than the other, but my amp was to wide for it, and produced The Dreaded Overhang...I'd go with the other cab. Yup, I'm that shallow... 😕😁

I should hit #50 this year . Green = still here.

or 'quite spiffing' :)

the problem with our conversation is that I now feel like I've not experienced enough and despite literally getting a new bass last week I'm browsing the For Sale section! My modest bass history Fender Jazz Black Top (MiM) Fender Precision Deluxe P/J Special (MiM) Ibanez GSR200 - my first, £60 off eBay. Ibanez SRF700 fretless Lakland 44-01, Spalted Maple finish - I still regret moving this on Mayones Jabba Standard 5 String MTD Kingston of some kind, I sent it back after receiving it as there were multiple finger prints in the paint finish Sandberg Cali II VS4 Sandberg Cali II VT4 Sandberg Cali I VM4 Shuker Jazz (Custom Build) Spector Legend of some kind, I took it back the day after getting it as the electronics were wired out of phase and the preamp seemed a bit buggy. Warwick Corvette GPS 5 String

I have a spreadsheet (!). Will add tomorrow.

I must be old, or been away from UK for too long, but what is GLWTS? Great Looking Without Tortoise Shell 😀 Not sure how to record and post. Again, could be an age thing!

A quick update - I’d asked politely to be refunded, which appears to have fallen on deaf ears. I called my bank who have raised a complaint with the guilty party. In the meantime, the bank have refunded me £110 whilst they look into it all. I’ve sent them the details of this thread as well, which the bank were happy to be told about. PayPal, as you expect, were not of great use as I authorised the payment, but my bank were sympathetic. May be an avenue worth taking if anyone hasn’t already.

Please check out the latest video featuring Abigail Zachko and Colin Cunningham.