Cuzzie

@Geek99 you little minx! @tauzero glad you picked up on it being the other end of the spectrum, maybe one would be chastised for hiding history, I don’t, it’s just as bonkers as hating a relic.

I was going along the lines of havin an older bass looking shabby, or you don’t like the colour, you refinish it and tart it up to look good as new, this providing fake new unworn lack of mojo, or fooling people that it’s been very gently cared for all these years. Of course if you flip it and talk about relickeying a new bass, then yep, the naysayers will say lamb as mutton

You are right about the sandberg - the ‘M’ pick up will not sound like a Ray, but it was never meant to - only a Ray sounds like a Ray (position , pre amp etc.) The reverse split coil works nicely in conjunction with the M pick up and they are very very fine basses. This is a fine example for sale one here

Ha!! Just ordered the Hardware in, capacitors, tone pots etc so now to complete both builds. The P bass neck pocket needs a little narrowing, just a smidge to fit the neck and then hopefully chocs away!

A relic bass is not pretending to be anything else other than a type of finish - that’s it. No more than a burst is trying to look like a massive turd, except it does. That is what is hard to understand but to coin an @Al Krow phrase/sentiment - what is Basschat without massive treads talking codswallop that not many other people care about

For situations like this it’s perfect for choice. Someone can own an iconic bass to them, at an affordable price, with less reliability issues as well. Lots of people have been comparing the car analogy and scuffing it up etc. Well, when the brought back the Ford Shelby Mustang they popped the modern engine in the old chassis and suspension - guess what, it was poo and couldn’t handle the torque, steering etc. So they made it like the old one but with new parts

A really cheap option - new/different strings?! Can be just the ticket with some judicious EQ

They could well be, but I think it was a mistake gash, but I likes the look of them!

Fried or scrambled

@Jabba_the_gut oh and very kind words form you, especially a chap of your expertise

It’s about the best out there, just as an amp full stop. Alternatives - EBS Fafner from Sweden (one for sale on here), Wounded Paw from Canada, they have pedal versions of their amp, but for my money Tech21 is king

And a 12 string bass

@Tech21NYCTech 21 dUg Ultrabass 1000

She sounds brilliant - can we have her running the country instead of our relickeyed prime minister

Pretty sure we said relickeying

I popped this together for less than a Bex mex fender pretty much, or about the same. Punch, cut, fast neck

No you got rid of the stench of turdburst well done

Take which P body you want Pop in which P pick up you want Bolt on your fave neck You can make the bass you desire

I always wondered about the writing/pronunciation could be relickeyd

@HengistPod no one disagrees with that. Gimme a shiny bass, give me a mangled bass - I am a plodder - but very happy doing so and will give it my best

@bassbiscuits we are probably saying the same thing, and I didn’t write eloquently enough as was in the middle of something. The package of vibration etc generally comes with some degree of relic as you have stated, having a worn in neck/body may make it a better instrument for you to play as a preference, and the other stuff better sounding. Yammy do their IRA and ARE on non relics, so Sandy may do the same. Metal flake finishes, binding on a bass are optional extras that cost more - it just equates to man/woman hours hence the cost - no one says on forums I hate metal flakes, why are they making their bass look like a glitter ball that’s fake flake, or the binding looks like a a bad pair of dinner jacket trousers - it’s just an option, no different to the different neck profiles, or headstocks people like for tactile and aesthetic feel

I suppose a refin is like Bass cosmetic surgery. Trying to make mutton look like lamb

But there is the crux of the matter - we all impart a ‘soul’ onto our machines because we love our basses, and there is a story they can tell possibly, or possibly not, but they are inanimate objects, and not living. Is a bass that was natural, but then asked its owner to get it finished blue, and then asked again to get it finished red fake? I honestly don’t think anyone with a relic bass is saying “Hey look at me, I played the bejesus out of this” it’s more likely someone watching them play it who does not know them presumes that is what they are conveying. If anyone takes some 0000 wire wool to their neck to smooth it out to make it more playable conveying a fake amount of play time to wear it down, or is that allowed and fair play? Its like assuming all young people wearing hoodies with the hoods up are up to no good. I presume people with turdburst are trying to convey a story that they wipe their behind with their bass every day to get that effect - I may or may not be wrong. Some relic’s I like, some I don’t, some of the myriad of other finishes I like, some I don’t - tis quite simple

Isn’t technically any finish apart from natural fake news? Why are you hiding the wood and it’s grain? Surely a relic to let the wood show is less fake as you can see what lies underneath?! We all know many manufacturers sometimes use the poorest woods in a block or finished bass to cover over this fact, or the 25 pieces they have bodged together with some blu tack and Prit stick

I get you about spending money as you see fit etc. But in the case of a Sandberg the relic’s basses are potentially better depending on your point of view as they have heat, vibration etc