TheGreek

That was my thought. Get yourself a £50 copy to take with, bring back something a bit more classy and hope for the best. Don't assume that HMC&E don't know what they are doing though, they have specialists in the value of most stuff.

Can't copy and paste from Gumtree using my phone.

Just been browsing on Gumtree and there's a quite nice looking red semi acoustic bass by Gear4Music for not a lot. I've seen loads of their gear for not a lot. I accept its probably entry level gear - similar to HB - but the difference in build quality can't be so wide that HB are regarded highly while G4M has seemingly no following. Does anybody have any experience of G4M gear?

...and don't forget The City of London. If anybody asks you how big is the City of London its about a mile and a half by three quarters of a mile.

Ain't Loch (not) Ness arily so - Jimmy Somerville and friends

It's a brave man who would do that to a Rick. Not for the dyed in the wool Rick fan but I'm sure that it will sell.

...but what a way to go!!! ROCK AND ROLL!!!

Some interesting viewpoints here. I think that it's natural for our love of music to rise and wain, finding something that reboots that love is what is important when you feel lost. Personally, even though I also have periods where I struggle with my desire to play, I really can't envisage a time where I would want to be without a bass I can just plug in and play.

River deep, mountain high - Ike and Tina Turner

Alone again, naturally - Gilbert O'Sullivan

Shoot me down - EBTG

For future reference Bernie is one of the world's Nice Guys...very helpful and extremely knowledgeable. The basses he builds aren't bad either.

I'm getting worried now... I had an OBP2 installed in my Spector 6er - three different people had a go at fitting it before a new local luthier finally managed . The process took a couple of months which affected my desire to play 6er....played it for less than an hour. I'm going to have to check if I have similar issues.

I'm getting married in the morning - trad...

Same seller of the butchered and overpriced Rick??

Cosmic Girl - Jamiraquai

The devil went down to Georgia - CDB

California dreaming - Mummas and Pappas

Size of a cow - the wonderstuff

Against all odds - Phil Collins

I bought a Kawai F2b which had a defective bridge pickup, which had a lower output. I really should have left it alone - tbh I could have lived with the lower output, especially as I'm predominantly playing 5ers now. Changing the pickups turned out to be a nightmare - I ordered a set of custom pickups which really were characterless and had to go back. Replaced these with a set of active Wilkinsons which are "fine" but not as punchy as the originals. The whole process took far longer than it should have and I'm not convinced that I've upgraded the electronics - if I was playing 4s I'd probably be thinking about a good quality preamp but since I'm not I'll leave it for the next owner to do if I sell what is an amazing bass. Images below are of the original pickups.

Fair point