molan

I responded to an ad from a guitarist who said he'd send me the cords to his songs. Based on the songs I think they would have been faded orange, worn through around the knees and too short - revealing his fair isle thick woollen socks. . .

Not that I'm trying to defend him but there was a time when all Rickies with this body shape were called 4001's even though the name had been changed to 4003 years previously. I even remember retailers displaying 4003's as 4001's for a while. Mind you, this was about 25 years ago, lol

Of course, there's always this one to tempt you. . . http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/TPP-Fender-Rawhide-Custom-Telecaster-Tele-Brazilian-Hide-top-Hardcase-/300784922702?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item46082db04e

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1350608286' post='1841288'] That sea foam green '63 is mind blowingly beautiful! [/quote] Possibly my favourite ever Fender colour I quite like it from this angle:

The Carvin BX500 is pretty cool. 300W at 8 ohms & 500 at 4ohms but will also go down to 2ohms (where it's limited to 500w). Reason for stating this is that it means you can run a single 4ohm cab for smaller gigs and get the full 500w but also have the option to add a 2nd 4ohm cab for bigger gigs - no extra power but the additional air movement will definitely make it feel louder & give more throw etc. Not sure about portuguese pricing but the Carvin is about £350 over here - it's also USA made as far as I know (and it doesn't have that rep, undeserved or not, for cutting out like the PF series does).

[quote name='RichF' timestamp='1350743371' post='1842946'] if the geezer has £1500 and wants to spend it on something lovely then Barrie has just pointed him in the right direction - Ampeg B15N. Oh yeah! Then it begins. Only problem is you need a fcuk off good bedroom to deserve one o them bad boys. I imagine Molan Heights as a trendy loft or baronial mansion, with its vintage fenders, Foderas and Ritters. Maybe we're OK cause "Pete Bigmatch" sounds like a guy ready to do business. [/quote] Sorry to shatter your illusion but Molan Heights is an end of terrace council house on a slightly run down estate (albeit in a nice area) It is entirely owned by us, without a mortgage, though

Ok, so this is a bit of a 'left field' answer but if you want to spend up to £1,500 for something to use at home then you could try and hunt down a lovely old Ampeg SB12 or B15N combo: http://www.andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=188 http://www.andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=332 http://www.andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=316 These are absolutely lovely things to have in your home and just ooze mojo & class - check out some of their amazing history of use on so many classic recordings. I have a pristine '67 and I love it Highly unlikely that it's going to leave my house very often but I like it so much that it doesn't really bother me - every time I walk into my study it makes me smile, how many amps do that every day?

I wouldn't like to play his "real Mexican Fender Tele" if this one is better than it. . .

I often use the full boxed set as my 'keep me awake' music for long distance journeys in the car The only, slightly, annoying thing is that the 5 albums are on 4 CD's so I'm not hearing them exactly as they were planned, lol.

Interesting that the most battered looking bass is getting the most love from the BC collective - looks like we are still rather fond of a genuinely old & abused beauty

A family of Fenders gathering to watch telly together, big daddy '63, lovely wife '64, evil uncle '65 and little youngster pimped out '71. . .

Was this Yolanda Charles' bass? I think it was up at £6,500 but was about to be withdrawn.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1350493912' post='1839692'] Forgive me for asking, but are you guys playing authentic 60s music on these - I could imagine the sound fitting a Beach Boys tribute or something, but NOT a Beatles one. I like the 71 - lovely wood - not so sure about the metalwork though but it's your bass etc. Is that one ash and the others alder? I also like the LPB. [/quote] No 60's music here, the only one I've played on a lot is the '63 and that's mostly been rock/funk type stuff Funnily enough I've never really thought about playing a particular bass for a style of music based on its age. Only time I can think of was for some Motown & Stax where an old '63P really nailed the core tone. The '63 & '65 are mine and the hardware on the '71 wouldn't be my first choice (although I'm actually warming to it, lol). Not sure about the body wood but it does look like it's probably ash. Given the age it would have been a trans white / blonde I think.

Should be able to add the Herbie Flowers Rep next week & can put my '78J in the ring as well. I've really got the sound of each bass firmly established in my head now. So much so that I heard something earlier & decided to play along and immediately knew that the '64 was going to sound best. I then tested each of them & I was right

[quote name='SoVeryTired' timestamp='1350473267' post='1839255'] I'm not one for the deliberately relic'd basses, but that LPB is sweeeet! [/quote] It's not deliberate - it really has been played a lot, lol

I've borrowed a couple of old Fenders to compare to my two and it's really interesting to play them back to back. Each has their own distinct sound & character & each feels slightly different to play. I have my personal favourites, based more upon tone than looks, but thought I'd ask the BC 'massive' which one they thinks looks the most attractive. . . Top line details are: '63 Sea Foam Green - old refinish showing wear, amazing neck, great snappy tone, really good for more agressive rock or slap - my 'reference' vintage J '64 Three Tone Sunburst - newer refinish, slightly faded 3TS, wider than standard frets, neck refin in gloss, bright and very full sound, goes deeper than the '63 but doesn't quite have the zing at the top end '65 Lake Placid Blue - another old refin and this one has seem some serious wear, all those dings are genuine & not a fake relic job, neck is also a refin but nicely worn and has a great profile, darkest sounding of the bunch, would probably work really well with flats '71 Cherry Sunburst - refinished a while ago and heavily modified, all hardware replaced but body, neck & pickups original, super thin neck re-profile with binding in natural maple and neck sanded smooth, really nice to play and the tightest, most focussed of the 4, relatively low output requires some bottom end boost to compete with the other 3

I reported it as fraudulent last night - hope no-one has paid up for it yet

The thing that would concern me is that the seller uses 'we' inferring it's from a dealer of some kind. If so they wouldn't let an original '58 run on an open auction like this. And then there's the issue of zero feedback for 2 years (and actually only 1 item in 2010, everything else is older than 2008) and all old feedback is for trainers, old nokia phones etc. It wouldn't have tempted me to open my wallet. . .

If you like the Wal filter based tone controls then am Alembic might work for you. Some of them can also be very heavy and/or oddly balanced but worth looking out for a nice one

If it didn't have the protective film it could get scratched in packing (I know how easily this can be done). Better to suffer the joys of peeling plastic than getting annoyed that your new bass has scratches on it

I moved to 5's when I was in a band with a female singer who kept dropping the keys on everything she sang to a point where I was 'falling off the end of the fretboard' (our male singer didn't have this issue and de-tuning my bass would have messed up quite a few things for me in covering his songs). I used various 5's for a while and really got to like them. I discovered that I much preferred narrower 17mm spacing though. When the female singer left I didn't really need the B any more and went back to 4's. Now I tend to use the skinniest necks possible on a 4 & 5's feel huge to me. Generally much happier with my 4's now - only vague thing tempting me to a 5 is a narrow spaced 33" scale E to C. This is, of course, something I'd hardly ever need or use but I like the 'idea' of them, lol.

[quote name='Shockwave' timestamp='1350251415' post='1836498'] Hmm, I may have to make the trip! I reckon A Wal might do me good. As long as its not a club neck one. But the cost is enormous! Rob. [/quote] The Wals are really interesting to play but generally too heavy for me The dark horses, although certainly not shrinking violets (sorry on a bit of a metaphor kick this evening it seems!), are the Ritters. My personal #1 bass is a Ritter Cora 4 string. Solid flamed maple body, ebony board, super-slinky neck & 33.3" scale. When I first saw them I thought they looked cool but had no idea they would play / sound the way they do. As my sig may imply I'm currently selling basses en masse simply because the Ritter seems to have ousted almost everything else I've owned. There's still some passion for really nice vintage Fenders, my '63J is #2 bass at the moment but the only thing I have any sort of GAS for is possibly another Ritter but in different body woods to give some more sound options. They are serious money of course but, by flogging almost all my other gear, I feel i can justify the expense PS - The invite to Bg is not so I can flog you anything, it's genuinely meant as an offer for you to have a good blast on a few interesting basses without any hassle / pressure to buy