Old Horse Murphy

I think it is localised and I've never had any issues with UPS before. I had a delivery of a package I ordered from Poland on Monday via GLS/Parcelforce that arrived today and that was the one I was expecting issues with. It's just me airing a bit of frustration that it's about 30 miles away but managed to make it across the Channel on time. Oh well, I guess this is potentially how it's going to be when dealing with Europe from now on....joy.

So I ordered a guitar from Bax Shop last Wednesday and was advised it had shipped via UPS on Thursday, with a delivery date on Tuesday 14th December. The tracking link has confirmed the parcel is in the Cardiff depot but has been "delayed" since then due to "operating conditions" with no indication whatsoever of when I can expect delivery. There appears to be absolutely no way of speaking to anyone to get an appraisal of what's going on. Now, I know that the world is in a pretty awful predicament at the moment (especially South Wales being hit particularly hard by rapidly increasing COVID cases) and I appreciate all I have to be thankful for, but it appears every other courier, including the much-derided Parcelforce is managing to muddle through and deliver to schedule. UPS has always been on my list of gooduns and I was wondering whether anyone else is experiencing the same.

This is my local music shop who have decided to move to an online-only presence sadly. I always used to pop in when I was in town and they're a great bunch to deal with. I've seen this bass on the wall there and while I've never played it, it's looks a good one to me.

I never found out the name of the colour so you're probably spot on. I always hoped it was called something like "smacked derrière red" or "whore red" or "50 year old senior executive after running for a train red"

Here you go Chris, not the best photos but you get the idea!

My main bass is now a SR5 Special and I really can't fault it. I've had a few Classics and as good as they were, I never quite gelled with them. They can be a bit uncomfortable with the lack of contouring and I found them really quite heavy too. All that said, they are beautifully built and play like a dream. Congrats on your good news. It's about time 2020 played fair!

No, it was in Brighton/Hove

Lovely Col. I still hanker after the natural one I sold you all those years ago

Well, I had one of these a while ago in Pillar Box Red with a beautiful maple neck. It was stunning and played superbly but weighed about 10 and a half pounds which was too much for me. I loved it though and the sound from the 2eq preamp was just so right. Anyway, this one came up a short while ago for a very good price and weighed in at just a shade over 9lbs but even from the photos I could tell it was absolutely filthy. I spoke to the buyer though and negotiated a good price for it and thought I'd take a chance. It arrived yesterday, scarily, by Hermes, so I wasn't entirely sure it would ever arrive. Anyway, it did and after renewing my tetanus shot, I went about taking it apart for a good inspection and a clean. It's all-original but the previous owner must have sweated like a horse (think Barry White wearing a Cagoule while doing star jumps in a sauna and you have the right idea). I replaced as many screws as I could as they were rusted through and gave the pickup a good clean with a toothbrush and a bit of WD40 as the pole pieces were black. The neck is good and the frets are fine, but the body has take a bit of a bash over the years but it looks like good honest gigging marks to me. The back however looks like to was played by C3PO with his shirt off. Buckle rash? It looks more like woodworm. Nonetheless, it's going to be played, not displayed. I restrung it and then went about intonating it and setting up the action. It was a nightmare: everything was okay apart from the A string which kept choking out around the 9th fret. I tried everything from adjusting the relief, saddles, adding a shim and even tapped the frets with my wife's crafting hammer but it was no good. It was only then that I noticed the brand new A string from Ernie Ball had dents all the way along it. I replaced it with another string and well, problem solved. After all that faff, it plays great and sounds really, really good. I'm very pleased with my afternoon's work.

Smurfs aren't cheap to milk. You need specialist equipment or farmers with very small hands. The cost soon mounts up

I've owned a couple, including the Rimini now owned by @TheRev. They're my favourites of the range and but I love their quirkiness. Build quality is excellent and they're easily on par with Reverends for example. Funnily enough I traded my Fender Tele for a Gibson SG but I also got this Maranello as part of the deal. It's very, erm, shiny and I don't think it's really for me, but it plays and sounds amazing.

I have a 5 string and used to own a 4 string too. Through a combination of adjusting the truss rod and the saddles (and a bit of back and forth) I got probably one of the lowest actions I've ever had on a 4 string.

I bought a Gibson J45 a while ago that came in a lovely deep Gibson case. The previous owner must have smoked 80 a day as both the guitar and case were (and still are) reeking of cigarettes. The guitar (now known as "Smokey": I thought "lung cancer" or "COPD" wasn't quite as catchy) is getting there slowly but the case has been relegated to the garage. I've tried leaving it open out in the fresh air, Febreze etc. but as yet it's still honking so I'll watch this thread with interest...

Being the proud owner of three expensive Gibsons, I'd say that you got off lightly in terms of shoddy finishes 😉

I loved this one but they appear to have missed it off

I feel your pain. I live in Monmouthshire and although we're not locked down currently, we will be from 6pm Friday. I've not played one of these but Ive owned a couple of the new US Specials and one is my main bass now. Music Man seems to have really upped their game recently so I'd imagine you'd get quite a lot of bang for buck from these.