project_c

I love my acoustic bass, so I'm going to recommend that you at least go and try one before making a decision. Mine sounds amazing plugged in, it's really satisfying to play and it's not just a hollow db tone, it's a proper woody growly bass tone. I suggest getting a photo of the neck to see how high the action is, because that can make them unplayable, but I'd say it's at least with considering.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1390615937' post='2347692'] I have a feeling you ended up with mine if you bought from Kelso on Basschat. I'm glad it get's played everyday......sniff [/quote] Yep, that's the one! It sits in the middle of my living room, gets a lot of love and admiration from visitors. It was already scuffed when I got it, I might try to give it a clean now that I've seen how nice they look new. (Any ideas on how to remove scuff marks from tweed?) [attachment=153158:bassman.jpg]

Actually it's the neck that really impressed me on the Marathon, it was similar in feel to my '83 Precision (Fullerton re-issue I think), but with narrower string spacing. Felt great.

Looked like it was in pretty good condition too!

I have one of these, and I love it, I play through it every day - that's a ridiculous price for a brand new one! I think I paid a £100 more for mine and it wasn't new. To be honest I'm surprised these never became more popular, they sound super good. Possibly originally too expensive and way too heavy for regular gigging, but the 15 especially just has something special about it.

wow! maybe she realised it was a bit too cheap and pulled it before anyone could bid.

That price seems about right, I think they were asking for around £115 in the shop, I paid £100 after a bit of haggling, which makes it just about fit into the 'impulse purchase' bracket for me. it's not 'charity shop' cheap, but it's by far the least I've ever paid for a bass. The crap old strings do contribute to the nice tone, I totally agree. I also think new roundwound strings sound terrible on acoustic basses, I have no idea why they come with those. But there are other contributing factors, like the small body, the short scale and the low action, which means that it's easy to play, and that probably allows me to play better. Like I said, I sat there for a while trying another 4 or 5 acoustic basses which were all over £250, and they all felt horrible in comparison, crazy high action, woolly tone, awkwardly large body (I'm short so size is an issue for me), really the only reason I bought this bass was because I was surprised how good it felt playing it. I haven't put the preamp through its' paces really, and I don't think it's anything spectacular, but I set the volume about half-way, boosted the bass a little bit and that's it, it sounded pretty damn good. The neck, the frets, the nut and the fingerboard are all fine, I can find nothing there worth complaining about, the body seems fine, I can't find anything to criticise there either, the bridge saddle sounded a bit rattle-y at the E string when I first got it, but I loosened the string and gave it a clean, and the rattle stopped. And yes, the dot markers are in the right place too. The only thing that seems weak on the bass is the tuners, they're fine but they do feel pretty cheap. I personally don't care about this too much, it doesn't affect anything apart from having to have a quick tune-up before you start playing, but it's nothing drastic, the bass pretty much stays in tune. If you're playing epic 8 hour long gigs with it, you might want to think about swapping them out though… Other than that, 3 days in and I'm still happy with it!

Wasn't really looking for an acoustic bass, but I had time to kill yesterday and I stumbled across this thing in a second hand shop in Brighton, it's a cheap short scale acoustic that sounds remarkably good, and much to my surprise, plays better than any other acoustic bass I've ever tried. I have no idea what 'Artisan' is and I generally don't have more than a passing interest in acoustics, but this bass was cheap and felt so perfect I couldn't resist. It has a very satisfying tone, very upright-ish near the neck, and super punchy by the bridge, even with the crappy old strings on it, I couldn't believe it when I plugged it in. So much so that I've decided to leave the knackered strings on there. Because I was so sceptical, I then tried every other acoustic in the store, and none of them came close in tone or playability, let alone price. The short scale makes it really easy and fun to play, the action is remarkably low for an acoustic (check the pic below), and the preamp sounds pretty good. So all in all, a totally unnecessary purchase but it was not expensive, and it's really loads of fun to play, both unplugged or through an amp. [attachment=153043:ab1.jpg] [attachment=153044:ab2.jpg]

[quote name='ash' timestamp='1390067784' post='2341165'] I actually bid 258 in the end as the postage was cheap and won! [/quote] Nice one, post some before / after pics if you decide to repair it!

[quote name='CliveT' timestamp='1389782181' post='2337756'] I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the TE Commando and the Bassman TV. They both have the same passive tone stack I believe so how did they compare? [/quote] Well, I think the Trace combo sounds very different to the Fender Bassman TV, but here are some general thoughts: - The Trace combo is a lot older, and perhaps a bit less 'refined' tonally (depending on your requirements), and it can also a be little hissy. The Bassman TV on the other hand is really quiet, no background hiss even at loud volumes. The Trace does feel cheaper than the Bassman, but that's because it is. The Bassman has a much richer and more defined sound overall, but the Trace has a character all of its' own. - Overall, because of the extra EQ options the Trace combo is a whole lot more versatile than the Bassman. The Mid-shift button changes the tone completely, and the mids in general - to my ears - sound much more punchy and snappy than on the Bassman. The combo responds really well to aggressive or dynamic playing, it's really satisfying to play through. - Having said that, the Bassman TV just sounds really nice by default (check out the Ed Friedland clips on YT). The EQ section does very little to alter the overall characteristics of the combo, a bit of boost / cut, but overall it's the same tone, whatever you do with the EQ. It gets really nicely gritty when pushed a bit harder or when you play an active bass through it. Essentially, the Trace has a more versatile and lively mid-range, while the Bassman has a rich vintage Fender tone that just sounds good, but it's perhaps a less exciting tone than the Trace. In all honesty I really like both, I've kept them both and play through them all the time, I can't bring myself to get rid of either.

Interesting! Seems awfully expensive but I clearly still have a lot to learn about the value of Shergolds. The guy at the shop turned my offer down by the way.. (..which is just as well because I had to spend ALL (!) of my £400 bass money on a dentist today. So no new bass, but I do hopefully get to keep my teeth for a few more years.)

That's Denmark Street for you..

To complicate matters further, I stumbled upon this today, Shergold Marathon (or is it a Modulator? I'm sure it said 'Marathon' on the body), hard to see from the pics but it's the one with 2 humbuckers and 3 x 3 way switches, in really good condition - although the cracks on the neck pocket were also on this one on both sides. The cost was £670-ish, well over my budget, (and I suspect somewhat overpriced too), it felt and sounded super good though! Very different vibe to the single humbucker version. [attachment=152362:photo.JPG]

Thanks! I will offer him £350 max, which is less than what he wants, but probably still a bit more than what it's worth, and if he's not interested, I'll just have to leave it..

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1389481424' post='2334743'] Good thinking. Just pick a mint one up for £170. [/quote] Well, as Beedster said one did go for £275 less than a couple of months ago, it's certainly not "mint for £170", but it's also a whole lot less than £400! I'm pretty sure there's no 'definite' value on these things, they are nowhere near as in demand or clearly defined in value as old Fenders for example, so it seems like there is a bit of room for haggling there. I just had a look at recently sold Marathons on eBay, and one went for £485, another seemingly identical one went for £275, and another went for £403, but that's with a Linear 100 amp (whatever that may be..)! So that's quite a lot of variation in price even between those 3 basses.

[quote name='namefail' timestamp='1389479595' post='2334724'] project_c just say the word and I'll think of it no more. And I don't have the cash having bought an ashdown EB combo and a bass since last pay day. [/quote] No, you go for it - it looks great but not one I'll be going for, it's just a bit too far gone with mods etc from what I'm willing to take on as a project I'm afraid!

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1389473969' post='2334632'] There's one currently at £150 that would need fretting and electrics also [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shergold-modified-Fretless-Bass-Guitar-/191032662549?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c7a6f1a15."]http://www.ebay.co.u...item2c7a6f1a15.[/url] If I were looking for a Marathon I'd get in touch with the seller of that one offline so to speak and get it up to Bass Doc sharpish [/quote] Thanks for those - yeah I think I'll keep an eye on eBay, I think I can hold myself back from throwing away £400, especially if they can still be had for reasonable prices elsewhere. That white fretless looks way too far gone for me to tamper with, but it will make a nice restoration project for someone.

Keeping an eye on resale value means you don't have to hoard stuff you never play any more, because you can't sell it. Doesn't mean I'm buying the bass as an investment, but we all know how GAS works, (not to mention limited studio space in a London home).. resale value is important to me.

[quote name='namefail' timestamp='1389438786' post='2334113'] So this bass has been sitting unsold for about 2 months and the stores response is to raise the price again. Were I in your shoes I'd make a similar offer assuming he set it up (Is the neck still in need of a tweak as per your other thread?). Good luck. [/quote] Yeah, it's been unsold for ages, but the guy swears it'll go at that price. He was referring to one that went for £400 recently on ebay, but I'm thinking that was with a case, cover, and without having been beaten to within an inch of its' life.. I haven't tried any serious bartering yet, because the more I see this bass, the more I see little problems with it that make me unsure, but there is something about it that keeps making me go back to it, it's very playable and difficult to put down once it's in your hands. The action was significantly lower since last time I tried it so it must have been tweaked, although I think it could still do with lowering a bit. One other potentially serious issue, depending on your outlook / preferences was that the frets were pretty worn out too. So I'm pretty sure I'd have to factor in a trip to the Bass Gallery for an overhaul to the cost as well. The frets are not a huge issue for me but it's all stuff that has an effect on resale value, and anything around £400 is more than just an impulse 'let's-just-buy-it-and-see-how-it-goes' kind of purchase.

Ok - I'm going to stick with my original intention of offering around £340 / 350 and see what happens.. cheers!

Yeah, maybe not worth starting a whole other thread, sorry.. But I didn't see the crack in the neck pocket last time, which I think changes things quite a lot, what are your thoughts on that? Repair worthy, or doomed to snap off in my hands?