molan

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='698692' date='Jan 2 2010, 12:51 PM']Very true! So what happened to that lovely Alembic you were selling? Were we all too traditional & cash-poor for it?[/quote] It's now residing happily in Surrey with a fellow BC'er & getting played more than it was in my house, lol.

[quote name='Musicman20' post='698688' date='Jan 2 2010, 12:45 PM']This is a stunning bass. What is the overall condition like? To me it looks great [/quote] It has a few small dings here and there but nothing remotely nasty. I know this may sound silly but the dings actually help with the vintage vibe in my opinion, lol.

[quote name='SpinalTap' post='698429' date='Jan 1 2010, 10:22 PM']Sorry if I missed it in your ad. But what year was it build?[/quote] I've done some investigating (by checking dates of about 10 other MTD's I've found!) and it looks like #855 should be around '02 / '03. Mike makes about 120 basses a year and I've found enough different basses to match this to their dates & to cross reference them all on a graph, lol. Closest direct match I found was #898 which was definitely made sometime on in '03.

[quote name='Rumple' post='698576' date='Jan 2 2010, 10:12 AM']That's an absolute stunner! Out of my league at the mo' but out of interest what is the string spacing at the bridge?[/quote] Funnily enough this bass has had the most interest out of the three I have up for sale - what a lot of traditionalists we are eh I'm fairly sure it's 19mm but I'll get my ruler out later today & have a measure up

[quote name='SpinalTap' post='698429' date='Jan 1 2010, 10:22 PM']Sorry if I missed it in your ad. But what year was it build, and wat is the weight? Thanks. [/quote] You didn't miss it and I don't actually know how old it is I'm afraid. It's #855 but there isn't an actual date on it anywhere (that I know of). I can ask MTD but not sure how quickly they'll respond at this time of year with NAMM looming. According to my bathroom scales it comes in at 8.5 lbs. If anything it feels even lighter than this because of the fantastic balance. Just about everyone that's tried it has commented on how light it feels

[quote name='owen' post='698388' date='Jan 1 2010, 09:33 PM']Do I need a new bass? No. Do I fancy that one? Yes![/quote] Lol - it's a real delight to play. If something else sells then this is the one I'm most likely to hang onto. There's something about it that just feels really nice. I don't play it very often and have never gigged it but every time I take it out the case I smile. In fact I used to leave it standing in my study just to look at now & then - definitely fits into the 'functional art' category

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='698384' date='Jan 1 2010, 09:28 PM']So how's about keeping all of these fivers and selling the odd 4 string? [/quote] You fancy the Bootsy eh John?

I'm having a bit of a New Year's 'tidy up' of my bass collection. I'm currently standing at nine basses & I simply don't have enough time to play them all so I'm going to start thinning them down a little It's a really tough call as the nine I have are all stupidly nice & it's taken me a while to get such a nice collection! Of the ones I'm putting up for sale this has been probably the toughest decision as I just love this bass & it looks great in the flesh. The pictures really don't do it justice. Overwater build quality is great as well, nothing over-engineered, it all just works perfectly The finish is quite tough to photograph as a flash makes it look whiter than it actually is. It really does have the look of an older bass so the guys at Overwater must have done something to the finish / paint to get it to look like a nice faded yellowy/white colour. The tort guard works really well against the white finish as well. It's set up pretty low and is really easy to play. Although it's a 35" Scale it somehow feels more like a 34". There's something about the way this bass hangs on a strap that just makes it feel 'right' every time you strap it on It has a set of really nice Kent Armstrong pickups and a John East J-Retro circuit which gives loads of flexibility in tonal options. I think the core tone is relatively 'dark' and quite 'Fendery' but the East really allows you to dial in a whole host of different sounds (it also has the active / passive switch for more options!). Here's a really nice video of previous owner, Simon Merrick, playing it: I'm not really looking for trades this time around as I'm trying to thin down the number of basses I have but I would consider something that was easy to sell on like a US Fender. Having said that you never know - if you have something interesting to trade then feel free to throw it at me, lol. I'm happy to ship pretty much anywhere & have no problems selling outside of the UK smile.gif I'm in no rush to sell so won't be taking 'silly' offers on the price I'm afraid. Watch this space for more basses up for sale soon!

I'm having a bit of a New Year's 'tidy up' of my bass collection. I'm currently standing at nine basses & I simply don't have enough time to play them all so I'm going to start thinning them down a little It's a really tough call as the nine I have are all stupidly nice & it's taken me a while to get such a nice collection! Here's my beloved MTD 535 - hand made by Mike Tobias in the USA. These are a totally different league to the sub-contracted MTD's that are made outside of the USA. Josh & I have traded this back & forth a few times and I've grown really attached to it. However it's not seeing anywhere near enough playing time so I'm going to offer it out & see if there's much interest: Basic specs are: 5 String - 35" Scale 21 Frets 4 coil passive pick-ups and electronics custom made by Bill Bartolini (these are much nicer than a lot of 'stock' Barts) Controls are vol / pan / bass / treble & mid with a 3 position mid frequency selector switch Buzz Feiten tuning system (I use a standard tuner & have never noticed any problems with tuning or intonation) Maple neck and board Mahogany body Spalted maple top The neck is fairly wide and shallow & the action is set really low. This bass is an absolute delight to play. I think it weighs around 8.5lbs but, if anything, it feels even lighter. The mix of mahogany body and maple neck gives the bass a huge range of tonal options. The 'stock' sound without any tweaking is smooth & controlled (not as bright as some MTD's) but you really can dial in just about any sound you'd like! The quality of workmanship on USA MTD's is seriously nice and the spalted top (with matching headstock) makes this one a real 'looker' Current new retail of one of these over in the USA is between $5,500 & $6,000 and they regularly fetch over $3,000 on the used market in the States. I'm not really looking for trades this time around as I'm trying to thin down the number of basses I have but I would consider something that was easy to sell on like a US Fender. Having said that you never know - if you have something interesting to trade then feel free to throw it at me, lol. I'm happy to ship pretty much anywhere & have no problems selling outside of the UK I'm in no rush to sell so won't be taking 'silly' offers on the price I'm afraid. Watch this space for more basses up for sale soon!

[b]Offer now accepted on this bass & it should be heading to the midlands fairly soon [/b] I'm having a bit of a New Year's 'tidy up' of my bass collection. I'm currently standing at nine basses & I simply don't have enough time to play them all so I'm going to start thinning them down a little It's a really tough call as the nine I have are all stupidly nice & it's taken me a while to get such a nice collection! So here's a beautiful Shuker in fabulous condition which is about two years old. Originally built to Zenbass' spec (with a lot of help from Jon). This is the actual bass Jon features on his site as an example of his work in the Elite section : [url="http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/boelite.htm"]http://www.shukerguitars.co.uk/boelite.htm[/url] Specs are: 5 String Elite Custom 5A Flamed Maple 3 Piece Multi-Laminated Body with Black Accents Master Grade Madrone Burl Drop Top with Matching Headstock Book Matched Imbuya Burr Back with matching Control Cavities (this bass has just about the sexiest back I've ever seen, lol) 5 Piece Multi-Laminate Neck (34") - Flame Maple/Wenge/Flame Maple/Wenge/Flame Maple 24 Fret Birdseye Maple Fingerboard ABM Individual Bridge Brass Nut Shuker 18v EQ -- Bass, Mid, Mid Freq, Treble Dual EMG Pickups - Neck - EMG 40CS / Bridge - EMG 40TW - This has a Dual/Single Coil Dip Switch High Gloss Polyester / Polyurethane finish on Body Satin Gloss finish on Neck Zen's original quote on the flexibility of this tone system really sums it up so I've taken the liberty of 'lifting' his text: [i]"The sound is quite special..I had it made wanting a smooth Jazz tone and a in your face Rock tone and it certainly delivers. The eq allows you to dial in any sound you want from Jazz to P-Bass, Jaco Honk you name it..You will find it with ease. Inside the control cavity there's a 4 jumper switching unit that allows to cut freq's that you don't want to boost. This is fantastic when in studio conditions."[/i] Having owned a lot of high end basses I can say this is one of the nicest made examples I've ever seen. It has so many nice touches and I'm particularly fond of the flamed maple body (which is really hard to get a decent photo of!) and also the neck which has lovely birdseye on the board and is beautifully flamed on the rear. It has a few minor wear marks but nothing that detracts from the natural beauty of the bass. I'm not really looking for trades this time around as I'm trying to thin down the number of basses I have but I would consider something that was easy to sell on like a US Fender. Having said that you never know - if you have something interesting to trade then feel free to throw it at me, lol. It'll come in an ABS hard shell case so I'm happy to ship pretty much anywhere & have no problems selling outside of the UK I'm in no rush to sell so won't be taking 'silly' offers on the price I'm afraid. Watch this space for more basses up for sale soon! Pictures courtesy of Zenbass:

[quote name='J3ster' post='696951' date='Dec 31 2009, 08:54 AM']I still think shipping is a deductable irrelevant cost.[/quote] I think it gets complicated when you're importing from overseas. In general I tend to think of shipping within the UK as a 'lost' cost and generally wouldn't factor it into how much a bass has cost me. However I've bought quite a few basses over from the USA and if I have to use UPS (which some sellers insist on) then it's usually about $185 (£115). When you add VAT & import duties plus the additional 'hassle' of transferring funds then I feel it's Ok to factor to some of this in. As an example I recently bought something over that cost me nearly £125 to ship, £25-£30 in transfer fees & £335 in duties & taxes. Even taking all this into account it was still cheaper than buying one in Europe so I thought it was worth it. I'd certainly feel justified in adding these costs into my valuation of the bass and, if sold, then it would still be cheaper than someone could get it locally (and I've dealt with the vaguely complicated stuff in getting it all organised & over from the USA). Anyway, just my 2 pence worth & apologies for drifting off topic! Lovely bass - hope it sells soon

[quote name='Platypus' post='696049' date='Dec 30 2009, 01:09 AM']<<<NOW SOLD>>>[/quote] Thank God I'm really trying to slim down my bass collection (and my fretless techique is rubbish) but this baby has been gnawing away at me all night, lol.

Here's my original for sale thread with some pics [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=52894&hl=sei"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=52894&hl=sei[/url]

[quote name='alanbass1' post='696301' date='Dec 30 2009, 01:27 PM']Pickup selector I would think[/quote] That's what I thought - just seemed a bit odd to have a selector rather than a blend knob?

What does the switch do?