EmmettC

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1460064453' post='3022362'] I've got major GAS for a Hagstrom Viking in black... [/quote] I tried a Hagstrom Viking a few weeks back and I really liked it, if there was a 5 string I would get one today.

I'm always surprised when rough but all original basses (mostly 70's) sell for less than refinished or modded examples. I was looking at the American Vintage '74 Jazz bass recently, but you can pick up a well used original 70's Jazz for the same money, definitely seem to be fetching less money at the moment.

I play mostly weddings and functions, it pays for the basses that are probably too nice to be used at weddings and functions.

But you can always put it back to standard and sell the pre-amp seperately, or keep it for the next bass.

The John East MM pre is great, if the bass plays nice then it can only be improved by the East pre.

I have a very beat up '72 precision, it came with a Dimarzio pickup fitted (also cream), I recently fitted the original pup, for about twenty minutes, the Dimarzio is much nicer, I couldn't get it back in fast enough. I love my Fender, but I doubt it's any better than a decent 70s Japanese made P. It is pretty light though.

[quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1459777819' post='3019482'] I dunno, punching horses is a young mans game. Maybe I should go back to nailing squirrels to wooden boards like my dad. [/quote] That's more social anyway, if you're lucky there might be a few sessions local to you where you get a couple of free beers for taking part.

[quote name='keefbaker' timestamp='1459775937' post='3019457'] Thing is, back in the 70s there were only about 10 people punching horses, now there's horse punchers everywhere and you can't even get someone to watch you punch a horse for free anymore. [/quote] I blame the internet, it's hard to get your horse-punching noticed when there's just so much horse punching going on. I was thinking of starting a tuition website though scottshorsepunchinglessons.com, lots of youtube clips and some lessons on theory and technique.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1459775037' post='3019437'] Do people even get paid for that anymore? [/quote] It's hard to become pro now, there's so many people willing to do it free.

As a pretty busy musician, with nice gear, I have insurance, but most of the musicians I work with don't. I'm sure if someone made it easy for them they would get it, but it's too complicated for most people to bother. I do wonder how many people are gigging enough to merit getting insurance though? Filled out the survey though.

God I wish I didn't have GAS at the moment, I've had my Sandberg TM5 for a few months, I've gigged it a lot, and it is a lovely, lovely playing bass, but, I think the MM humbucker is too close to the bridge, I need it to be about 1cm towards the neck. It's almost perfect, but not quite. I might go back to using the Stingray 5, but that's so ugly. I need a Stingray 5 Classic, and maybe an Overwater Jazz. I also NEED a 5 string P...............and a fretless..................I want a valve amp..................

Fenders (and Squiers) are really wide apart from the Dimension Bass, Musicman seem to make the most comfortable (to me) neck, it's a lot narrower than a Fender, but still enough space for my chubby fingers. For under £500 I would recommend an Ibanez ATK, they feel very similar to a Musicman, and they look great.

Yea, it was a bit of a trek, but we do travel a lot so I'm used to it now.

I have bought a few things from Mark in the past, the only time there was a problem was buying a Nordstrand pickup, he sent slightly the wrong model. I called him and he sent the correct one right away, before I sent the wrong one back to him.

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1459075944' post='3013278'] Belter last night, had my favourite drummer and we all bought our A game. Was a late finish once you account for the clock change, but very enjoyable night nonetheless. [/quote] Ditto on both counts for me, best gig in quite a while (also one of my favourite drummers). The only drawback was finishing at one, put away my gear and it was twenty past two with a three hour drive to go.

Contact the seller, the term B-stock generally means ex-display, sometimes in their own shop sometimes by the manufacturer, or possibly it has been bought and returned by a previous customer. Chances are whenever the decision to make it B-stock was made it was given a once over and cleared for selling. They probably just missed the truss rod problems, they were most likely looking out for dings and electronic issues that are far more common. I'm sure if you contactvthem they will attempt to rectify the problem, if they don't then you have every right to return it for a refund. If they don't help you I would suggest it is probably worth naming and shaming to prevent others having the same problem, but give them a chance to fix it first, we all make mistakes, the important thing is how we deal with them.

I have a roadster, much cheaper but the same silhouette, it has the Ibanez heart shaped machine heads that look great. Lovely bass, by the way.

It's noticeably deeper than a modern Jazz, but really comfortable. It's my favourite Fender Jazz I've ever played, if only they did a 5 string. There's a Sunburst one in Red Dog Music in Edinburgh that has caught my eye, but I almost exclusively use 5 strings now. If you buy it online you have 2 weeks to try it and return it if it doesn't work out.

I had a Jazz with a P neck for years, it was the only neck I had at the time, but it worked really well for me. Tim Commerford from Rage Against The Machine used Jazz basses with P necks before moving to Laklands.

I really like plain(ish) basses, I love the look of a Stingray or a jazz, I'm really partial to Sunburst, and I think a nice piece of Ash is the best looking wood to make a bass out of. Electronics aside, making what I consider a nice bass is a pretty simple task. That said, I don't think that a Natural Ash Jazz is necessarily more playable, or better sounding than a flame maple topped through neck with a figured fingerboard. In fact working out how all the different woods for the top wings and through neck work together could make the bass a lot nicer sounding, and perhaps because it doesn't have a traditional shape it might be better balanced. There is a place for all kinds of builders, and everyone has different taste in looks and sound, but I definitely don't think one luthier is making more playable instrument just because they don't use exotic woods.

I like overdrive from time to time, but I found in a metal band with 2 guitarists filling the sound with distortion that a clean fat bass tone worked better for me. I would definitely recommend trying a nice drive or distortion pedal, but only use it if or when you feel it's appropriate.

I sold an EBS cab to Sveinn a few days ago, he's an easy guy to deal with, great communication and no problem arranging to meet up. I would be happy to deal with him again.

I would expect a reasonable discount to buy a bass without the original bag or case. I would just store the case, but then it's there if I sell it on.

Oiled necks.