NancyJohnson

Owned a Lakland Skyline DJ5 a few years ago and have played other Lakland Skylines and their US versions; if you're going to a public forum for affirmation that ANY manufacturer's USA Series models (at $4-5K a pop) really worth double/triple the price of the Korean/Indonesian versions, then you already know the answer. Sure these companies (Sadowsky/Lakland/Lull/Sandberg etc) have a business in which their core models are largely based off Fender copies, but at ridiculously expensive prices. As I've posted elsewhere this week, the market has swung from original basses and cheap copies thereof, through to original basses and very expensive copies thereof; the bass market is broken. We've already proven that people can't even identify the tone of their own basses in a blind test, I'm sure that the temptation of custom colours, clay dots etc. are really worth the extra £££. Just go with the cheaper models. You won't notice any discernible difference, your bandmates/audience/soundguy won't give a rats what you're playing. As an additional bonus you won't lose so much when you sell it on!

Struggling to remember, but aside from my old Aria (which I still own) my only other Fender copy was a £65 Columbus Jazz Bass that I started out on. Reckon that taught me enough about how little the difference was between cheap copies and the real thing. Fast forward 40-odd years and we're at the point where there's the real thing and some very expensive copies. I honestly don't get why people will pay equivalent Fender money for a Limelight and then put a Fender decal in it. WTAF? I can see Winyard have posted here, credit to them, but how anyone expect people to shell out £2k+ on a Precision bass copy is beyond me, especially considering anyone who is adept enough with drill and screwdriver could put together something similar from parts for £200-300 and then dragged behind a car for a mile or two. Don't get me started on tonewoods; most people here couldn't tell the difference between ash or alder.

Lemonrock has been kicking around for years, while it can't hurt to set up a profile, I doubt that any of the things I've done in the last 15 years has come from the site.

I had a Streamer five-string about 20 years ago. Bolt on version. Body was cherry. Just used to use Mr Sheen on it once in a while. Worked fine. I just don't get all this, 'Ooh, use a lemon oil, but make sure it's applied with a lint-free cloth.'. It's wood. Mr Sheen. None of my kit get grubby/manky. Where are you guys playing? A slaughterhouse?

It is a bit of a tired old question, but the answers do ebb and flow: Mick Karn Glen Matlock Stuart Hill (Shudder to Think) Pete Vuckovic (3CR) Muzz Overend Steve Priest Colin Moulding

Strings aside, little actual desire for anything new although you can never say never. If, for instance, my amp went, then obviously that's a necessity over GAS, right? Put me on the list.

I wouldn't expect any reply from Fender any more than you'd expect to get a response from Ford about that peeling paint on a 50 year old Mk 1 Escort.

What would I do with it? Strip it, get it finished in a vintage blonde/olympic white over sunburst and knock the blone/white back a bit.

Even after decades since the last Bell catalogue was published, I'm constantly amazed by how little that was produced by some manufacturers (cough, Gibson, cough) officially made it to this side of the pond. You'd see stuff in the Bell catalogue and in the more serious print matter (like Beat Instrumental) and as a doughy-eyed teenager you'd just take it that this was everything that was available. In my head I'm still hardwired to believe that Fender only produced sunburst basses and that a Gibson Flying V bass was a myth. While I was a fan of Mott The Hoople and was aware of the Thunderbird shape but didn't have a clue what it was (different times, kids); I remember getting a copy of The Runaways Live In Japan and working out that it was a Gibson. It wasn't in the Bell catalogue (yes, I know about the reintroduction dates), so it wasn't really on anyone's radar.

I haven't subscribed to any print material of a musical perspective for many years; I'd say with some confidence that we've kind of evolved past the necessity of picking up a magazine for information. There's two primary sites globally this one and that other one, and collectively we have thousands more people working on providing content than any magazine could dream of.

The WiLDHEARTS.

The finish looks similar to Overend Watt's Thunderbird II - there's a quote somewhere from him about poorish (Gibson) QC, airplane/gig travel (hot/cold cycle), damp storage.

I'm listening to Third Eye Blind today. Fairly decent alternative rock.

@cetera May have mentioned I sourced one of these for a mate who lives about half a mile from you. A couple of years ago this was. Can concur it's a delightful thing; I've asked him for first dibs should he ever think about selling it. He's got waaay too many (budget) guitars and following a bit of inheritance is slowly clearing the junk and upgrading, so I suspect it may come my way at some point.

Can I ask where you're located? I was trying to get a scratchplate cut for my Cruisebass; no intention of screwing it in, just double-sided tape. I've not been able to facilitate a schematic of the plate.

I owned this Scarab too.

I remember someone selling one of the B12 12-string basses on here years ago, kind of Jeff Ament spec (matte black). I just didn't have the money, it was bonkers cheap at something like £1.7K. I think about it quite often and wonder where it ended up.

My Cruise bass. Yummy. I was thinking about moving this one on, but it's just too nice.

We had a drummer that we needed to let go. Nobody had the guts to do it so we broke the band up and reformed it a few weeks later. Singer and guitarist were behind the plot, but then the singer didn't want anything to do with the sacking. He was a lovely guy, just not good enough. Always late, gear falling apart, couldn't remember the material. A few weeks before the break, we gigged at the Half Moon in Putney and he missed most of the soundcheck; we borrowed the headliners drummer (a young French lady) and we sounded fantastic. He turned up a few minutes before end of our check. Singer wasn't convinced so we rehearsed with a different drummer just to prove a point. Interestingly, guitarist is on a new project and said things weren't going well with him drummer, he sent me a text saying he was so desperate he nearly called the guy we dropped. Sometimes it's just too hard to sit someone down and be brutally honest with them. Sometimes you have to do things differently/covertly.

This is the first year I didn't even bother to record it and fast forward through it on New Year's Day. The tiniest of nods to the 2022 show, Rachael & Vilray. Just beautiful.

I dug out my FBIV yesterday, primarily for a quick service/set up. Man alive. It's been in the case for about a year. Still in tune. Plays as beautifully now as it did when it went away.

It's not hip to criticise. The Hoot' is as outdated and banal as Andy Stewart's Hogmanay TV shows and needs to be consigned to the bin. It's a music show for people who don't really like music.

Lest we forget, the original Thunderbird pickups weren't designed as being bass-specific; they were just leftover from lap-steel production instruments and just paired up.

This in a nutshell. The only reason they reissued the NR Thunderbird about ten years ago was they were likely all over the bass forums and saw that the Bach models were gaining traction and saw there was money to be made. Gibson really don't care about the bass side of their business; it's a great pity that Agnesi and Co don't sit down with [us] and say why they're uninterested. I'm just flicking through Rob's Gibson Bass Book. I'd be happy to see a few period correct reissues; EB-2, Thunderbird II, either of the Grabbers, The Ripper, 20/20 or the EB-650.