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Just got home from taking part in a Bandeoke. I suspect the sudden arctic chill had an impact on the audience numbers, but those there enjoyed it. I used my Bugera Veyron T, and it didn't just look lovely but sounded ace too. Put a Bass Centre P Bass into it via the Zoom B6. Oh my goodness that's a great pedal. The envelope filter I used was head and shoulders above any I've gigged with - and believe me I've had more than a few. So simple to tweak on the fly, and so many great sounds. I'm a very happy bunny. Nice to get paid on a Thursday too.

My new stingray special

Looking through the comments, I'm feeling really old (which, of course, I am) In my day, when there was very little choice, my friends and myself (who were attempting to form a band, but as 13 year olds couldn't afford any decent instruments) would religiously watch TOTP, and salivate over our chosen instruments when they appeared. The majority of basses on show were P basses - they just looked so futuristic and "other-worldly"! Imagine when we got word that our local music store had got one in and it was on display in the window. I spent what seemed like hours standing outside that shop, drooling over that sunburst P bass. It took me about 4 years before I was in a position to indulge in the ultimate retail therapy and actually buy one... on the "never never", of course! For about the first year It lived in the corner of my bedroom, so If I woke up in the middle of the night, I could turn the light on and admire its wonderful curves. Now, 53 years later, that very same P bass is on view in my lounge. It's served me well, and continues to do so🙂 It was the single most important purchase of my life! I can't say it was "on a whim", but it was most certainly "cos of its looks"

Mike’s been busy making a bass shape from bits of wood. I think the fingerboard is going to be pretty special in an understated but classy way…:

My Joyo Ironman board is complete. Tuner arrived this morning. Well. I might get the flanger and swap out one of the drives. My rule has been to buy all of them used, pay no more than £25 a pedal, or £30 including postage. On a Harley Benton Spaceship (the littlest one), the whole thing powered by a rechargeable battery pack. It sounds ace.

I'd love to have te chance to hate gigs. I'm currently bandless and can't find any local bands recruiting a bass player except teenage pop punk bands, I could really hate gigging with them straight away but I'd rather a nice grunge or metal band to gradually build a healthy dislike for gigging.

U.K made Chowny CHB-2 bass ready for the show this weekend! Proudly made in the West Country. Hand tinted 3-tone burst in Amber/Cherry/Black. Come and play it! We WANT you to!

NGD = New Gadget Day in case you were wondering! I used to have a fantastic switchable mute on a nice Bacchus jazz bass I had years ago. I found it really useful but I sold the bass where it was installed and although removable I didn't fancy risking any damage to the bass so it went away with the instrument. I have tried using various types of foam since which normally works just as well but can have a tendency to mess with intonation and I always lose the foam at some point. Recently playing my Musicman bass with built in mutes has reminded me of the usefulness of the Bassmute so I put up a wanted ad for one, not expecting to find one any time soon (I've been looking on and off for a while) but then @2x18 came through with the exact model I needed, even the right colour. A deal was done, it's here already and I've bunged it on my bass. It sounds delightful; position 2 mutes everything a small amount and the G string a bit less for 'accents' (each pad is adjustable) and position 3 mutes everything. bit more. I can palm mute but something about the angle my wrist ends up at, especially when sitting (which is where I do most of my planing, naked) isn't comfortable enough given how comfortable everything else is, and I'm a lazy git really. Couple of pics below. Thanks again BC wanted section!

I have the Photo 👍 I need to pop out for a few hours and will set up the thread on my return 🎤🎤

I have always thought that the only way to put a stop to him is using the press . We need a local paper or ideally TV or Radio in his area to start the ball rolling then others will pickup on the story. I have spent some time researching a number of journalists who have covered online fraud including Facebook marketplace. I will try contacting two in the next few days. If his local BBC radio station has any form of consumer program how about all of us who have been scammed contact them? As he's not a business I doubt local trading standards will be able to take any action. Once the press get involved, senior police will instruct that action must be taken, never known it fail....

Ibanez & Univox came from two separate manufacturers, both are easy to ID, and these basses aren't the same as either. Two main differences between the Ibanez you linked (a model 2388B) & the FG bass you're looking at - first the Ibby's a bolt-neck, secondly it has checked binding which the other one doesn't. Ibanez Fakers were made by Fujigen Gakki & there were many design tweaks during the life of the models, (through-neck & bolt) which ran approximately from 1971-1978, but they all featured the same tight-patterned checked binding, which was unique to the Fujigen-made basses. There are other differences but they're hard to point out in the pics you have. There's unfortunately no way of knowing what the original brands were - I presume you're not in the UK, so what's most likely is that they will have originally had had a name used by an importer/distributor local to you. Very few brands on 70s MIJ guitars are anything to do with the manufacturer - and that includes well-known names like Ibanez, Greco or Univox. The basses you're looking at were sold under potentially hundreds of different names worldwide - I've seen them as Shaftesbury, El Maya, JHS, Cimar, CMI, & various others. You mention a lawsuit - this is a massive myth in the history of 1970s Japanese copies, and the truth is no lawsuit ever took place. What happened was that in 1977, Gibson's then parent company Norlin made threats towards the US operation of Ibanez' parent company, Hoshino, regarding the headstock shape of their Gibson copies. No legal action took place as Hoshino had changed the design of their headstocks a year earlier. Absolutely nothing else happened, no-one sued anyone, no other manufacturers were involved - and don't believe anyone who tells you different!

Here's a yank board. I built the board itself out of scraps and parts except for the power port and toggle that I got from West Coast Pedalboards here in the US. I recently bought a Phase 90 but havent decided where to place it and if I want to add a gnarlier fuzz. That 5th gear is awesome but subtle to OD- nothing like a distortion or higher..... I have a Zoom Ms-60B as a back-up board but will probably sell as my B1Four that I practice with is more familiar (silent practice with headphones.... Bought the dang thing second hand for like $70USD and was probably the best purchase I made other than the Labella DTFlats I bought for both basses that I play... )

Me neither, always pre-owned, but a black/gold is on its way from Germany. I think these may become quite sought-after. Thomanns said they had 20 in black but would be no re-orders once they had gone. Ive a JV from '82 so it was only right to have this from '21 (as I think they are dated) Delivered - set up like donkey. 7/64the at 17th on the A, unmeasurable relief at 7th, plus the A rings when played open. Will set up from scratch with flats and then judge it properly.

Similarly there's a certain bass in The Bass Gallery I have absolutely fallen for, but it's way overpriced. Stupidly I don't even want to highlight it here in case someone does buy it. The bank card is at the ready and I'm about to start drinking. 😁

Blubbery Hill - Fats Domino

So you’re telling me that Basschat got closer to a lawsuit from Rickenbacker over 70s copies than the companies making them ever did 🤣

Thanks Dave, I quite enjoyed going back, remembering those days as I was writing🙂 😄 In the early 80s I went through a period of tinkering with it, so, sad to say, it's had a few mods(?): DIY respray (no longer sunburst🙁) Refret & relacquered neck Badass bridge Couple of micro switches - series/parallel & switchable tone Apart from that it's all original😁 Anyway, here it is in all its bastardised glory...

Embracing the early 90s futurism of this Bass (seems to me it wouldn't be out of place in the Back to the Future 2 version of the future) with glowing fret and knob markers: ....am tempted to get carried away and go full-on Tron style and add purely cosmetic glowing lines and dots on the pickups and bridge and headstock. It's hardly a subtle looking Bass so not much point holding back!

Collecting a ABMIV 600 head on Saturday - I blame everyone on here for this purchase 😀

Never mind all that old cobblers. Let's see it!! 🙂

Oh, there are so many of these responses I empathise with! Turned 59 a month ago. Back around my 50th birthday I commissioned an ACG custom build as my LAST bass - no band, no gigs, bedroom playing only. In the next month or so I'll be taking delivery of my 5th Zoot custom, none of which I owned on my 50th birthday. I've even started looking lasciviously at the new TE head FFS! 1200w for more or less exclusive bedroom use - I need my bumps felt. I'm going to the Guitar and Bass Show in Liverpool tomorrow - God knows what will be on the shopping list after that!

These, and the Marcus Miller Jazz, appear to be THE signature basses out there that appeal to a wide host of bass players whether they're fans of the artists or not. Really cool basses!

Just bought this, but it had absolutely nothing to do with the signature. Wouldn't be caught dead in Calvin Kline jeans or Yeezy sneakers.

I'm well impressed at the people suggesting that the OP use an £850 head as a "backup amp". I'd prolly be inclined to buy something rather cheaper. For £219 you can buy a brand-new Trace Elf, which will not only do everything you are likely to need in an emergency, but is also easily small enough to fit in the front pocket of your gigbag. Job done.

I'm in this WhatsApp group that was initiated by a few members of leftybassist.com, called "Lefty Bassists United", and if I thought that forum was bad for my GAS, that WhatsApp group is all kinds of worse! Turns out a few of these guys are buying and selling a LOT more than they show on the forum, and it's incredibly GAS-inducing on many ocassions. I've been able to withstand it so far, but this one guy who I've started calling Paulo the Enabler reached out to me privately last Saturday to tell me "I remember you saying there's this one bass you've been fancying for a while. I've got one that I've owned for maybe 3 months, but I keep playing my homemade shortscale more. Fancy a trade?" So naturally I did the right thing and quickly regained my composure, did not stray from the Holy Path of Gear Abstinence and definitely and defiantly did NOT succumb to temptation, and under no circumstances will there be a NBD thread in my near future. Nope.

I've just joined the ranks of Ibanez owners with an SRF705, which is jolly nice. The piezo bridge was a significant factor in wanting this. If only they'd put piezo bridge saddles on the EHB1505 and done a fretless version...

OK guys ....... woo hoo dive in

Can't add much to that list - although I have seen one (can't remember if it was real or copy) which had been converted to string-through-body. IMO Hipshot's the best choice, unless you're one of the .0005% of players who make use of the mutes. As well as giving you individual string height & spacing, lack of the mute assembly makes pick playing easier and allows for palm muting, which is borderline impossible with the standard tailpiece. It's also the only option which doesn't require drilling new holes or any other mods. Put one on my Kasuga Faker & it's a great piece of kit.

Don't use heavy gauge strings. There are a few ways of addressing tail-lift: If it happens, just buy another tailpiece and put that on to start from the beginning again. Don't over-tighten the 3 screws under the bridge. Get a Hipshot replacement bridge (if you like the look of them). Put an extra two screws through the end of the tailpiece to bolt it back down (unsightly, but RIC did it on some). Get a RIC v2 bridge, which eliminates the issue; it does need new holes drilling, though. Come up with a Heath-Robinson fix of your own, for example slotting a bent-steel bracket under there somehow. Get a custom made tailpiece which is stronger (I looked into it, but a local aluminium workshop wasn't interested in doing a short run of them). Put a Badass or Schaller 3D bridge on the bass - it does need the under-bridge bays to be filled in, though. Geddy Lee had a Badass on his and RIC themselves used Schallers on the 4004 and 4003/5 models. (Some folks even put Kahler whammy bridges on their Rics.)

Ok so I kinda tidied it up a bit

I enquired about this one when it was first listed, should be interesting to see what it goes for https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/304421939691?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=8k7fKvkMSE2&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=1wDkd4CjTIi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

This might be...the perfect collection? I thought I was doing pretty well but this is just faultless.

Now that is a nice looking P bass

Nah Steve, I get that entirely

I was probably about 14 (that's close to 50 years ago now) when, at the house of a school friend, we went into his brother's bedroom and opened a case to reveal his brother's sunburst Precision. It was, and remains to this day, the most beautiful man-made thing on the planet. I never tire of looking at one. Ok, that all reads rather unfortunately, so I'll quit while I'm behind.

I usually just put a bit of sellotape over the record tag... 😁 (Sorry, bin 20 years since I last used ProTools, and that was tracklaying for TV - no idea!)

A mate passed this on and I thought it might be worth a look for any Dingwall fans...... https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/news/141580/ TL:DR 7th April Sheldon Dingwall is chatting about basses in the Epsom guitarguitar. If you can't make it then you can watch it on the gtrgtr Facebook page.

Yeah the pictures are terrible... On my end theyre abit better, but they size down when I post them here. I'll try to get more picks, or maybe pick them up for cheap. I think it'd be cool to have them for use in our rehearsal space, it would save me from dragging my 4003 there every time. I dont want to leave it there because there's other bands that use it aswell. If they're in decent shape, with no tail lift etc, would they compare sound-wise to my 4003? What do you guys consider the best vintage copy? Thanks so much for all the information! I've never done a proper deep dive on the actual "lawsuit" of the "lawsuit era", so I figured there must have been atleast one suit, but no! Haha! Fun fact fo'sho. Ok so, basically these are "no name" high quality through neck rick copies from the 70s, then? I know there were a few big brands who made rick copies, but had no idea there would be this many. Especially not this hard to distinguish from the real deal! Seems like they're either pretty rare, or a very well kept secret.. Or maybe they all fell apart or got new TRCs like these ones... Funny thing is, I only really started looking at and comparing real and fake ricks about a week ago. Last night, what I now consider a poor fake popped up on a local sale-site. Dude claimed it 100% real, and very good condition for about 1000€. I saw it right away. Bridge was wrong, the back of the neck was wrong, looked set, plus more minor details. Kinda funny, because a week ago I would probably have fallen for it! The guy literally said "No it's real, it's a chinese rickenbacker". I thought that was just a running joke.. My guess is it was a rockinbetter with a swapped TRC. Do they still make those? Again, thanks for all the info, I'll do my best to get more pics, and/or get em for a decent price!

I live an hour outside of Portland (Oregon, there are others in the US) and owned a fretless TB2000 for forty years. If you get any leads feel free to PM me and I'Il see if I can help. I'll keep an eye out and spread the word as much as I can in any case. Best of luck!

The top might look a bit like this.... I don't know whether to change the orientation of the grain on this build? Maybe diagonal to follow the body shape? I'm doing a lescaster that I'm going to do the top in a chevron pattern?

Great work all around!

Well, that's a turn-up. Thank you, everyone

Just bought an affordable ticked to this club with an Ibanez GSR205b. I wanted a bass to see if I can get into five strings, but at a price I would not really regret. I couldn't be happier with the choice, great value for money. I am particularly impressed with the neck, not only because it is slim - this is just a know fact - but because it came (I understand straight out of factory, although I bought it in a shop) with a very low action with minimal buzzing. Height for E at 12th fret 2.5mm, and relief... little more than 0.05mm. Basically flat! So I guess very good fretwork. Strings feel low tension, which I like, although this may be an impression I get because of the low action. Does anyone know what these strings might be?

Vintage wiring and decent Korean pots. Overall quality and playability as good as the original Chinese CVs. Keeper.

Just got sent this 🙂