Jono Bolton

I'd value it at the cost to replace it as well. My P Bass was an ebay bargain so I got it for less than £200, but to buy one new would cost me between £390 and £440. I put a price of £425 for it as I know I could find a replacement for that cost. My head was a bit more difficult as it's no longer in production. Again, mine cost me £100 but I've seen them go for more than that so I put down a value that I know would get me a replacement; finding one is the tricky bit!

New Moon looks good; to cover my bass and head for all my needs is a baffling £25 a year with no excess I gather this is due to the value of my gear, but that seems incredibly cheap to replace approx. £700-worth of stuff.

I have a small run of gigs next week and I'll be taking my P Bass and my head with me. Is it possible to get insurance just or the 4 days I need it for, or am I as well just getting a normal policy i.e. for the year? I've used Music Guard before but probably wouldn't go back to them as I've heard some stories about them being difficult to work with (although I never had to make a claim off them). I'd need something that covers theft, damage etc, including while it's in the car and venue. Any suggestions?

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1456561101' post='2990231'] I've had all the CV models they made. The Olympic white Jazz, the Fiesta Red Precision, even the blonde natural 50's Telecaster style one. The good thing about them is that they are probably made in one of the best factories in China, the woods used are good and the built and finish are excellent for the price. However corners are cut in two areas, the pickups and wiring are cheap, and the machine heads are also substandard, they'll do but, they are not for the long run the pegs slip and don't stay in tune that well. On the other end they come with some excellent bridges, which are as close as possible to a Fender high mass bridge. And if you got a bit of cash they make a great benchmark for modding. In all of my CV's I've changed pickups / pots and wiring, as well as original reverse tuning Fender machine heads and a proper bone nut because the plastic one that they come with, it's also a bit meh! After that you've got a bass that can be on par with both American and Japanese Fenders and miles better than all those Mexican Fender put together [/quote] I'd echo all the positives here, but disagree with the negatives. The pickups are (supposedly) made by Tonerider; apparently their pickups are made in the same factory. The pickup in my Matt Freeman (from the same factory) is great. The neck is cracking. The wiring and pots are cheap but perfectly usable. I bent a tuner and replaced them with a set of Schaller BMLs (which drop straight in), but found that originals held the tuning a lot better than the Schallers do, and were a lot more accurate. YMMV, but I've found that it was fine as stock. I wouldn't have replaced the tuners had I not bent one. A lot of reviews say the high end Squiers like the CVs are good "for the money" which I actually think does them a disservice; they're good instruments full stop.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1456176116' post='2986358'] If he'd left the originals on (these are an "upgrade") they'd have been a better fit. Pickup looks like a Dimarzio Model G. Probably doesn't justify the ambitious price tag though. J. [/quote] No doubt, he says he'll include them and I'd be inclined to put them back on if the price were a bit more reasonable.

Spotted this neat Gibson copy earlier, and it looks nice. I can't help but think that if he flipped the machine heads upside down they'd be a better fit. https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/172105239676

Bet you get some neck dive off that.

[quote name='Handwired' timestamp='1455308713' post='2978147'] I [i]was [/i]selling this but I've now decided it would be a grave error. [/quote] Good shout!

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1455286241' post='2977820'] Same one. I do like that. J. [/quote] Me too. I've offered him a trade but he's got a cash buyer coming to look at it first. Hopefully they don't take it as I quite fancy one of these.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1454893896' post='2974009'] A Patriot (B/B/M) has just turned up on my local FB music gear group for £150. No room or money for another bass though. Arse. J. [/quote] Is it this one that's now on Gumtree? https://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/1987-us-peavey-patriot-bass-guitar/1154788520 I contacted the guy but think I might miss out on it.

[quote name='borntohang' timestamp='1454586081' post='2971020'] Ryan has a signature coming out too so I assume it's on the same basis as the matching Biffy Clyro sigs from a few years ago. The Cribs are pretty huge; it won't surprise me if they turn out to be quietly steady sellers. [/quote] That's horrid. Half Mustang, half Jazzmaster? Mustmaster?

Here's the original: http://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/272039573127

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1454545734' post='2970793'] Youi don't see many of these this side of the Atlantic. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Peavey-Patriot-Bass-Guitar-1987-USA-super-ferrite-pickup-Rare-/262274184080?hash=item3d10c27390:g:W0MAAOSwL7VWsgNZ [/quote] This one very recently was one the other side of the Atlantic; all those pictures are the original seller's. I think it was about £170 plus shipping, customs etc, but handwired on here has (had?) one for £195 in the Basses for Sale section. In black too, not that ugly brown. The Fury is very nice though. The price is daft, I've been struggling to shift my Foundation at £150.

I sort of like it, but not enough to drop any serious money on it. The bridge is the same as the one on the Classic Vibes/Matt Freeman/James Johnson basses so presumably it'll be a well made bass, even if it is a bit of an ugly duckling in the range.

I bought some new flat-top knobs to replace the wee dome-tops that were on my P Bass but I can't get them to sit straight. They're split, splined shafts on the pots and they're push-on knobs but I'm guessing that when putting the knobs on one side of the pot shaft inward and causing the knob to then sit at an angle. Are there any fool-proof tricks to getting them to go on straight?

Thanks for the comments guys! Fatback, this one came from down south so probably wasn't yours but the cab came from Edinburgh way. I used this to record at the weekend and it sounds dynamite, although anything was preferable to going straight into the desk again. Might even re-record a track we did last month if time allows. I have a gig next Tuesday and can't wait to use it, even if it does weigh the same as a small car. I've also cleaned the tolex with black boot polish and took the rust off the screws and corners so it looks good as new now!

I acquired this from kaygee at the start of December but it took a knock on transit and wasn't putting out any signal. After a visit to a mate of mine it's now firing on all cylinders. First up, this is loud. And heavy, but mainly loud. LOUD. It can run a 2 ohm load but at it's debut at band practice tonight I ran it through an unknown, 4 ohm 2x15 cab and I only had it up to about 5. As a reference, I play in a hardcore band with a very heavy-handed drummer and a guitarist who doesn't believe that turning down is an option, and I had no bother with being heard. Everyone loved the tone of it, even our guitarist who is dismissive of everything. The relatively low power ratings (220 watts at 4 ohms, 300 at 2 ohms) are very misleading. I'll need to invest in some decent ear plugs. I don't think I've even begun to scratch the surface of the tonal possibilities available. The Pyramid function of channel B allows you to boost or cut particular frequencies (I think!), you can use the knobs alone or in conjunction with a 6-band EQ, and the foot switch allows you to switch between the two channels or combine the two. I've been using channel B and then combining it with channel A for a bit of boost for certain sections of songs as I'm not a big pedal fan. It does things my old Ashdown could only dream of. In an ideal world it would have a mute switch, a jack for the foot switch rather than a DIN-plug, and a detachable kettle lead rather than a hard wired plug but they're minor gripes and you forget about them once you're plugged in. I'm very pleased with it!

I've got a Peavey 2x15 cab that's had the speakers replaced at some point with some Behringer PA speakers. They're not bad, but they're 3 ohms, wired to 6 ohms. There's a couple of sets of Black Widows on eBay at the moment; 1 set of 1505s and one of 1508s. Does anyone know what model would have been originally in the cab? Would either be sufficient for putting in there?

Squier. Take it with a pinch of salt, but since I got my Matt Freeman I've been entirely GAS-free. I like it better than the US Standard Precision I had a few years ago which was also very nice. For me the Squier is the best, but what's best for me may not be best for you etc etc.