lemmywinks

The scratchplate is original I think, it was only the condition of it that made me think it was a replacement (too shiny!) but looking underneath it I don't think this to be the case. Tbh it matches the overall condition of the bass which is excellent. My rubbish phone doesn't really do it justice, the sunburst is much nicer in person and more brownish than red.

Although having said that I've just found this CImar with the same tuners and neck plate! https://www.coololdguitars.shop/products/1970s-cimar-ibanez-75-reissue-jazz-bass-torino-red

The first two digits on the pot code are 78 so I assumed that's when they were from at least. There's a lot of similarities between this and some of the El Maya Artist models from 1978 too. The only thing I haven't found on other basses is the 3 screw tuners which feel great despite being the 2 part shaft design, one was already unscrewing itself when I got it but fixed that now. The neck did take a fair bit of adjustment to get where I wanted it when under tension though, stuck a shim in there and it's playing great now. Pickup is very nice as well.

Some internal shots, looks original to me but not sure about the pickup, mainly because I don't know much about old MiJ stuff in general. No extra holes though. Tuners have been stripped and cleaned, truss rod moves fine (was set with barely any tension when I got it) so I've flattened the neck out. Will see if it needs a shim at all when I put it back together. That reflective sticker came off easily, nothing underneath it.

Obligartory tag for @Bassassin

Just grabbed this from my local Cash Generator, spotted it at the weekend and had a half day off work so decided to snag it as I need a boring trad bass for some upcoming dep gigs. Was £110 and they wouldn't shift on price as it had just been discounted from £140. Not sure what's original, I think the pickup, scratchplate and knobs might be replacements as they look too new but the bass overall is in superb condition for an old cheap bass. It's missing a thumb rest and pickup/bridge covers, assume the covers would have been stock. It also has a large silver sticker running under the strings by the bridge, assume this would have been disguised by the bridge cover but not sure if it's stock, had a poke and a prod and it doesn't seem to be hiding any naughty routing mods. Can't find much info on these, most CMI basses on the internet have a different logo, tele bass style pickups, cr@p tuners and that horrible forearm overspray which hides a butcher block body. This has a 3 piece body, brass nut/saddles, good quality tuners and seems very well finished overall. Truss rod adjustment is at the body end with a wooden plug at the neck and a skunk stripe. I thinksome El Maya branded instruments had the wooden plug and brass nut but not seen them on many MiJ basses. Is this 70s or 80s? Looks to have a standard sized neck plate so thinking later. Also any clue about the factory? Seen Chushin Gakki linked with CMI a bit.

The only times I've been disappointed buying blind was from big UK music chains selling "new" items and from a Thomann B Stock, all the used gear I've got has been splendid. Ideally I'd like to try every bit of kit before buying but this isn't always possible unless you restrict yourself to your local area or are prepared to write off a full day and fuel costs.

There shouldn't be an issue with discussing brexit now IMO, unsettling truths are always preferable to comforting lies.

One of the earlier Samick ones with the MIJ bridge, those J pickups are beastly as well.

There's one of the original Prometheans for sale on FB marketplace at the moment if you're still after a replacement, spotted it yesterday.

Regardless of platform for your main mix go as big as you can, it's nice to have the screen real estate for touch devices. Honor Pad 8 might be a good budget Android option, Lenovo do some larger Android tablets too. I prefer the full Windows X-Air Edit app over the Android, we have a Portege X20t-C (8gb/256gb, 12.5" screen) for our main mix and I use a Surface Go (8gb/128gb, 10" screen) for my personal monitor. Both have detachable keyboards which is handy. If I had to buy a budget tablet for mixing I'd probably just go for a used Surface Pro tbh.

We also went with the XR18 as everything is XLR. This means our keys player doesn't ask which cable to use as a way of getting out of setting up so well worth spending the extra £. You can fit the desk, a router and a power strip in a 3u shallow rack.

There's been a few cross border instruments, the country where they are finished usually dictates what the "Made in..." part says. Highway One were Z serial numbers so even the ones without the country of origin stamped on the headstock would be classed as USA Fenders. Can't remember the name of the series but MIM Fenders assembled using MIA parts were still MIM. Realistically the wood will most likely be sourced from the same place, hardware could be from either country on any model, CNC machines are the same etc.

You can get a used Highway One for about £700 when they come up for sale, that's a proper USA Fender.

Wolfgang could be playing bass like he did for Van Halen.

Saw the original lineup in the 2000s when they sandwiched an Ozzfest day into Download, Ozzy was knackered even back then but they were brilliant tbh. Love Ward's drumming. They need to reissue the World Tour '78 tshirt in brown as well, wore mine until it fell apart.

Trace Elliot 1182 Multi? Like this one? https://reverb.com/uk/item/17960758-trace-elliot-multi-stack-1x18-bass-cab

It was the SE3P I had in my old Cort, still have another one in a box somewhere. Really nice preamps.

I would get some shielding tape (dirt cheap from AliExpress) and shield the cavity btw, Artecs can be noisy without it in certain situations. I did my old Cort which had an SE-3P installed, went from noisy in my front room (tons of lights as my reptiles are in there) to deadly silent.

I've always liked Artecs, -/+ 12db according to the spec sheet: http://artecsound.com/pickups/electronics/se2.html https://www.thomann.co.uk/artec_se2a.htm I have an SE2A in my fretless and there's definitely boost available, bass frequency is 100hz so doesn't get boomy too.

Bargain for someone, high action but I guess you can check the truss rod works when you collect: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/286289076220

Some Schaller BMF in the classifieds:

One of these was the first bass I played, my music teacher at school had one. Shame this one has been butchered as they were great instruments.

This case just arrived, the Pocket Master is very snug in there. Fits perfectly upside down but is ok the right way up too. I removed the bit of elastic. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006075771241.html

I don't know if BT audio works when connected as a BLE device using the Sonic Link app as it doesn't work properly with my phone, just connecting a PC/phone directly to it as Sonic Audio works fine though.