Jellyfish

In my humble opinion, Bass Direct, but I live in Birmingham so, naturally, it's the only one I've been to.

Haha, well what I mean is that it's sort of missing what modes are i.e. Same notes, same order, different starting point. I just thought it might clear it up as it made it clear for me in the beginning. Of course, going into the whys and why nots was the next part.

I have a small bit of advice. When I was learning modes with Anthony Wellington, he stated the dictionary definition of a 'mode' and related it to maths. It helped me understand them more.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1376491642' post='2174807'] To be pedantic, going custom means there's 100% chance of getting [i]what you asked for[/i], which may or may not be the same as getting exactly what you [i]wanted. [/i]Personally speaking, I have absolutely no idea what the spec of my ideal bass would be. I'd have no idea where to start. Going custom is brilliant, so long as you really know what you want. In this specific case the OPs requirements seem to be "jazz bass, four strings". Not really specific enough for custom! [/quote] You're right, but if you take a look at the custom builds that are going on currently, a lot of them are rather vanilla apart from the exotic wood tops and fret boards. I agree though (about not knowing what you'd want) but it's definitely an option to consider as, if you pick a good luthier/builder, you will have a lifetime of support so long as you own one of their instruments. Or at least that's how I feel with my custom build.

Any bass that doesn't have a 'body curve'. I'd never think about touching a lot of the basses that are held in high regard on here, mainly because of how ugly they are; Wal, Alembic, Ken Smith and the majority of single cuts (the only ones I've seen that I like are custom builds).

[quote name='bagsieblue' timestamp='1376519090' post='2175549'] Good points above. EBay certainly, unfortunately, is a wider audience. Maybe people get excited and caught up in bidding as well?? [/quote] I think that trend is slowly falling behind with sites like Goofbid, where you can make an account and automatically snipe auctions 2 seconds before the end. It happens rarely and mainly on items that are desirable I think.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1376487878' post='2174722'] Or save the effort and waiting by just setting fire to loads of money! [/quote] But then you wouldn't have an extremely awesome bass guitar at the end of it? If you go custom, there's 0% chance of you getting something you didn't want.

Commission a custom one!

It's brilliant isn't it? Although I'm a massive Soilwork fan and his stuff has always been a bit similar.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1376265276' post='2171600'] What a horrible situation. It also strikes me that people in the USA seem to have very few consumer rights. Thank god for DSR in the UK! [/quote] On the flip-side, isn't the process of getting your money back in a sort of small claims court type situation easier in the USA? It's a shame to hear stuff like this, especially considering the amount the guy paid for it. I don't know much about Alleva-Coppolo, apart from the fact that they're supposed to be a premium brand, but it seems odd that the luthier wouldn't want to offer a premium service along with his instrument, regardless of it being pre-owned.

Lovely! I'm guessing the top looks a lot nicer in person.

You obviously took it to the wrong person then.

For those who are fans of curves.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1376165546' post='2170500'] So just under 9lb..? That's workable. Thanks. [/quote] Sounds about right. That's heavy to me, but then I don't play Fender's (which I know can vary quite a bit!)

The V4 in our shop (sunburst) has been £175 for about 4-5 months now. I eye it up every few days but try and convince myself that I don't need it. They are brilliant basses though. It's quite heavy, but the neck is impressively comfortable.

[quote name='bagsieblue' timestamp='1375999138' post='2168553'] I think that is a fair comment. It also goes someway to showing how much the manufacturer 'values' the bass. [/quote] Having them package it in a soft-case of their choosing also shows how much knowledge they have about how susceptible their instruments are to damage if package properly. In all honesty, I'd prefer my gear in a soft-case, or no case at all, as long as it arrived undamaged. I don't want to pay extra for a hard-case I didn't choose. Not only that, but as I stated before, there isn't a fine line between your bass getting damaged in transit and it arriving safely. If the courier does something that could damage your bass while it's in a soft case, it would probably damage whilst in a hard-case too. Not always, but in most situations.

[quote name='mart' timestamp='1375974402' post='2168159'] Yes, I think that's definitely true. And the instrument moving around within the box is definitely an issue. I remember buying my first expensive new Warwick, and it came in a flight case, which had a dent in it. But it was a dent outwards - so the instrument had clearly moved around enough to actually push the case out. It is a heavy lump of a bass, but still ... ! [/quote] Actually push the case out? Holy moly!