spinynorman

+1 on USPS. They're way cheaper than anything else I've found. Last bass I shipped in Europe the cost had almost doubled, but from what I can see on the USPS site their charges haven't changed.

So what's this? Apart from an EB3 copy - what's HB? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/EB3-BASS-GIBSON-COPY-HB-CHERRY_W0QQitemZ160295338844QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item160295338844&_trkparms=72%3A1431|39%3A1|66%3A2|65%3A12|240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14"]H B EB3 copy[/url]

I suppose playing a bass that is physically uncomfortable for you could help develop your technique, but it might also cause you to give up in frustration. You're supposed to enjoy playing, it's not meant to be a miserable chore. You can get a J-style bass for so little money on-line, it doesn't seem worth struggling.

On eBay RF auctions are likely to get pulled for trademark violation, especially in the US, but it does happen here too. Just makes them a little harder to sell, so it's something to bear in mind.

Fender 8250s - says Taperwound on the packet [url="https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/591-fender_250_taperwound_bass_45_110_"]https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/products/59...nd_bass_45_110_[/url]

1A Fretless - doesn't matter so much where you put your fingers, so you can play faster. And no speed bumps, so you can play even faster. 1B Headless - you don't have to tune them. Because there aren't any tuners. Or is it just that I can't find them? 2 Electro-Acoustic - depends whether plugged in or not. Unplugged they're quiet. Plugged in, they howl like a really pissed off werewolf. 3 Short scale - not so far to go, so you can play faster. 4 Red - does colour affect tone? Discuss. 5 I'm just trying to work out if the loss on my pension fund is greater or less than the fees I've been charged by the managers. But I'm fine, really. Not at all bitter, or twisted. If it's speed you want, go for a red fretless shortscale.

[quote name='Rumble' post='316076' date='Oct 27 2008, 07:01 PM']Simple question: Having decided to go back to a jazz after having a go with a Stingray, should I shell out £250 on a cheap (eg Squire CVJ, VMJ, or Fender MIM) and put some mods on it or just spend the extra on a nice Japanese or US one? I'm quite into the idea of doing some of my own mods, but can't help but wonder whether the 'cheapness' will show itself in things I can't really influence (i.e. fret dressing, neck-body joint, deadspots etc...) What d'ya reckon?[/quote] The question for me is: why the switch to the Stingray and why the switch back? If you had a Jazz before and liked it, why not go back to what you had? Depending on your motivation, the answer might to mod a "good" Fender or even go for a Jazz-based non-Fender.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='315873' date='Oct 27 2008, 03:14 PM']I've been toying with the idea of getting one of these, so this thread is a boon! Interesting to see what Mike Watt has had done to his. I'd be concerned if the Pick-ups are [i]that[/i] mismatched. It could be more readily altered by having 2v 2t and a blend instead of the 4-way.[/quote] The Gibson EB3 and the Epi (Japan) Elitist EB3 had a choke on the neck pickup, which cut the output and stopped it overwhelming the rather weak bridge pickup when they were on together. There's also a neck-pickup-solo-with-choke position on the varitone knob, which I guess was so the front row of the audience wouldn't evacuate their bowels if you switched from bridge to neck. I had an Elitist EB3, but rarely used anything except the full on mudbucker. I don't know how the standard Korean/Indonesian Epi is wired.

Here's what the man himself said about his EB3 on Talkbass. I just think if you're coming to an EB3 because of Mike Watt a standard one, Epi or anything else, isn't going to cut it. watt 09-08-2002, 07:07 AM hi, what I got in my eb-3 is a blend control where that four-way switch was. I have a bartolini pre-amp too so the other controls have changed too. there's a boost/cut control for mid, bass and treble. the fifte knob is a master volume. one problem w/the eb-3 is the serious pickup mis-match: the neck one is so much more powerful than the bridge one. the pre-amp buffers both pickups and makes them equal in sense of blending. another problem w/a volume for each pickup too is that when you have to come up or down in level, you lose your mix between the two pickups - that's why I like only one volume knob.

I used to have a 1970s Japanese EB3 copy which was short scale and had a black EMG Select humbucker in the bridge position, so it would have been a good start for a Mike Watt lookalike. It's the only bass I regret selling. The long scale EB3 just looks wrong to me. I'd keep watching eBay for a Japcrap one.

I've got a MK IV Mondeo estate which is huge. There's room for 2 Ashdown Mag cabs and a 2U rack case plus sundry stands and bits bags without putting the seats down. And it does 45mpg on diesel. It's easy to find in a car park as well, because it sticks out by about a foot from everything else.

Didn't know it existed. Great link, thanks.

I've heard the same argument for roundwounds being worse for fret wear than flats. Yet I've bought several 1970s vintage basses, all strung with rounds, and no signs of excessive wear. The only wear I have seen is of the fretboard itself. So, I don't claim any great expertise, but it just seems to me these issues must only show up with very heavy use over a long period of time. I have a set of Fender 7250s which have black silks. They're nickel rounds, sound good to me, and not expensive.

I've got a Rebop 5, currently strung with roundwounds of unknown origin. Normally I have my basses strung with flats and I was just wondering if anyone here has played a Spector with flats. If so, would you recommend it and which brand/type?

I had one that arrived in a large cardboard box, similar to a removal company packing case, but not as strong. The seller had just dumped the bass in the box with no padding at all, so it was leaning at 45 degrees inside the box. The courier took a lump out of the body and I wonder if later problems I had with the neck were related to the journey. I think the seller was annoyed because he didn't get the price he wanted. Another one arrived in a iMac G3 Server carton with several inches of neck and the headstock poking through the top, wrapped in a bin liner. No damage to that one, amazingly.

We were contacted by a band who turned up to play at a pub we were due to play a couple of weeks later, and they'd found it closed. Just shut down by the brewery, no one bothered to tell the bands they'd booked.

I've got a Korg DT10 in the signal chain. I tried it on the tuner/lineout jack and couldn't hear any difference, apart from you lose the mute. Tunes a B no problem. Soundslive have them for £50.

+1 Black. No contest.

I wonder about vintage instruments as any kind of investment strategy. In 1973 I bought a Gibson J50 acoustic guitar for £150. It's now worth about £800, which is a stunning return of 5% compound growth. So I've had the use of it over that time, and if I'd bought the Martin, which was a similar price, I might have got 6% out of it. Anyone who bought it now would be lucky to get any return out of it at all, as the value hasn't moved for at least 10 years. My best bass cost £250. The others cost more. That probably should be telling me something.

I've always shipped - and been shipped to - tuned to pitch and never had a problem. I had one bass shipped to me neck off and it was a PITA, especially as it was a Spector and all the bridge saddles fell off when I unwrapped the body. Shipping costs are going up rapidly - I shipped one to Spain in Feb for £45 via Interparcel/UPS. In September the same service to Italy was £75.

The advantage of something like Auctionsniper is it bids for you at the last minute, regardless of whether your PC is online, offline, crashed out or what. Another good thing about it is you can cancel your bid at any time before it fires, so no more worries about the drunken bid you regret next morning - unless you forget about it, of course. And the charges are pence. The psychology of sniping is that people instinctively bid what they think they need to win the auction, not the maximum they'll pay. So if there's a bid there, they'll beat it. If there's no bid, they'll guess how high they need to go. My guess against theirs - just like poker really.

Cosmetically challenged apparently, though doesn't look that bad. Jap, but shouldn't be crap. 300 quid, though, by the time you've paid customs. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300261211094&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020"]Red Burny Thunderbird[/url]

I've got a pre-2004 Rebop 5, which doesn't have the fancy finish, it's just a plain lump of alder, but the knobs are solid metal. When I got it (used) the shafts of the pots were all cracked, I suppose because the grub screws holding the knobs on were over tightened. It actually feels huge to me, but that's probably the 35" neck. I really haven't decided how I feel about it. It plays well, but I don't think I like it being active.