anzoid

@AndyTravis yeah, kinda want it too, but just bought a Steinberger Spirit, literally today... hot rod yellow XT2 incoming tomorrow...

Just found this on a... ummm... differetn bass forum: "According to pickups (K&M), stringholders, bridge and knobs in my opinion this is a Fixer without logo (the other logo that also appeared on these models was "Bass Collection"). It is a cheaper copy of the ExFactor made in Japan in the last 80's probably by Headway/Deviser, the same Factory that made Riverhead basses in the same years."

Just popped up on eBay: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/bass-guitar/113318860989?hash=item1a625498bd:g:yPoAAOSwcWJbyYol Apparently a Bass Collection... certainly not a real Kubicki Factor... but what the heck is it? It's not a Kubicki Blaster (somewhat legally dubious Far Eastern sort-of licensed copy), and is more Steinberger than Kubicki in terms of tuning... Any ideas? Currently at £80... no doubt will climb higher.

Current thinking having been through rather too many basses in the last five years (which perhaps coincides with finding Basschat... hmmm) is that my recently acquired EBMM Sterling in pacific burst with maple neck/fretboard is "the one". It just feels right - the neck is slimmer than a Stingray which I find more comfortable and the raw wood (or the seeming lack of any coating...) is magic. This particular one is relatively lightweight - a hair under 4kg, but the balance on the strap makes it feel like nothing at all. And it looks so good. Sounds alright as well Plenty of growl and the three-way switch gives a bit of variety (not much, but a bit). At the moment I can't imagine moving it on... but have to admit I've said that before...

I was a bit interested until I read "...the main thing to note on this bass is that the headstock has twisted slightly, see image". Yup... no thanks. Also no particularly good pictures of the defret, though it looks like it wasn't done professionally - but if the price is right, and the twisted headstock isn't a deal killer , at that price a re-fret might be worth it. But then I never quite understand the "Bids + Make an Offer" thing - is the seller expecting offers below the minimum bid price, or higher? Cos in that case you might as well bid and hope you're the only one interested in a 1975 Grabber with a twisted headstock...

😆 Fair enough

@cetera Just out of interest - in the condition it was in, how high might you have bid for it? (I'm not the seller or anything!) I find pricing stuff for eBay hard when condition is good (as that looks to be), but not amazing. Feel free to just to tell me to MYOB

I bid on this the second time it came round, but didn't go up to the reserve price (didn't think it was worth more than the sum of its parts...)... and then it came round again, also with a reserve (I think) so this may be the fourth time round - and he got less (though not much...) than I would have paid. I also didn't push up my bid because I did some reading up on installing Status necks and there are (apparently) risks of splitting the carbon fibre if you don't do it properly, and there weren't enough photos to verify that as far I was concerned - I could have asked I suppose, but I lost interest with the constant "Reserve not met" messages.

Someone from here though, or a coincidence that it went today... hmmm... where's the Sherlock Holmes emoji when you need one??

Damn, that's killed the resale value on an amp I was about to sell

@TheGreek - guessing it's heading your way?

From the looks of it the second, lower coil switch has been swapped out for the small pot (hole widened perhaps...) and the other knobs are a bit of a mixture. Initially thought the plastic knobs might be EMG but on looking further... nah, they're not And the metal ones (as you mentioned) don't look like the ones in your photo either... shame, could have been a nice bass for someone, but I guess at least half the appeal of a vintage Aria is that it's correct!! I suppose if you were happy with the mods, got a better price to reflect those mods... might be worth it.

Really interesting - I wondered about the model name when I googled it and Google asked "Do you mean SB-900". So it looks as though the seller doesn't really quite know what he's got...

I once managed to find and buy a strap hook as used on the Steinberger Synapse basses. Fitted it to a Spirit 4 (or 5) string that I subsequently sold. Was very effective, Wish I'd kept at least the hook @MPU - these look pretty sweet. Can you mount it using the rear strap button hole or does it mean drilling new holes? Also, does it swivel like the originals - i.e. are there other parts required to make the hole thing pivot?

Not my cup of tea but I know there's some love for these around these parts. Is the price reasonable at £525... no idea myself http://xelectrical.com/item/Aria-Pro-II-SR-900-10919 And should is be SB-900??

@blablas - did the jack socket that was in the bass work OK with the BTC system, or did you have to buy a new one? So, is it TRS or just TS for the jack? (And final question...) did you swap out the pups or leave in the Steinberger ones? @MPU - interesting gadget - do you have more photos?

You guys are amazing!!! Thank you @Planemo and @blablas

That one went quick!! When I looked it still had the price rather than the usual "SOLD" they stick up when something is... um... sold Four strings is my absolute limit these days, but that was a sweet looking bass, and the John East preamp did seem like an interesting addition over the usual Ibanez preamps which, from my experience, can be a bit "meh" at times.

This has recently popped up at Bass Direct: http://bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Ibanez_SR1006_EFM.html at just under £600

This place is amazing - bass and plumbing advice in the same thread We did try some Mr Muscle but without a lot of success It just sat in the trap and came back up through the plughole. Weird thing was even before doing that the trap was clean and I had drained the pipe out and tried to snake it... There's a plumber working at my parents-in-law's place today just down the road and he's hopefully going to come and have a look. I've written a list of all the things that I've tried to do, so hopefully he'll have an idea. And on to basses... not seen that eBay thing before - for that money could be worth trying one of those bodies because if I mess it up totally then that's not too much money down the drain (pun mostly intended...)

I may well be asking a lot of questions... anyone know anything about plumbing (just as an aside...)? Spent some time (between bursts of DIY) costing out my proposed bass... probably should have done that first Wondering whether the best thing might be to get hold of an already mostly functional jazz bass and mod the heck out of it. I could get 90% of the way to what I'm looking for based on a stock Fender MIM Jazz - and the last step could be sanding down the body and doing my own paint job. Or does that sound dumb?

And thanks for all the comments, advice and encouragement. This may yet see the light of day!

Well, you guys have convinced me that I might actually possibly be capable of doing this... and my timing is so bad it's unbelievable... the project seems as though it might be DOA anyway Looks like we're going to have a large plumbing bill sometime in the next week. Bath won't drain, I've taken everything apart as far as can go (surprised myself on that one too...) snaked the top of the pip and there's no blockages at the top... will have to check in the garden when the rain stops... and then probably call in a plumber anyway. Such is life

You underestimate how absolutely cack-handed I am with a drill It is a thing to behold. As @BreadBin says - I'm down in Somerset, lovely little town of Frome. I think the most basic part of the project is getting the body sorted along with the neck with the holes in all the right places for putting it together. I'm guessing the body in NYC cab yellow is going to be the expensive bit I'm confident I can build it if all the guide holes are there - and can source most of the hardware as funds and time allow (this may be a long term project...

Not sure if this is the right place to put this and not even sure how this works on BC. I have an idea for a bass (a jazz bass) but have the technical skills and aptitude of a squashed hamster when comes to actually putting stuff together (I can do things like change a BBOT bridge to a Gotoh,, replace a passive wiring loom - really basic bits, but anything more than that and my confidence (and ability) dives. What I'm looking for is a Jazz Bass bitsa... Body - lightweight, sprayed in NYC taxi cab yellow (also seen called Hot Rod Yellow and Graffiti Yellow) Maple neck, maple fretboard. Hipshot Ultralight tuners in black Gotoh 201 bridge in black John East Retro-01 (black plate and knobs) SD Quarter Pounder jazz pickups Schaller strap buttons in black. White pearl scratchplate (or carbon fibre black...) - either way, standard Fender Jazz size/shape. Black neck plate, or, even better, ferrules and metal inserts on the neck for bolts. So, any thoughts on getting this done. I could put the parts together if everything was pre-drilled with holes in the right places (at a push I could probably install the machineheads from scratch - the bridge... not so much :D) Are there builders here who would be interested in this and could work with me to do this, or get part of the way there? Ideas as to cost of body painted to spec + neck (all the other bits I've got a rough idea of...) Thanks