ZilchWoolham

They're definitely niche, but I can see them appealing to modern metal players. I must also congratulate them on making the world's first non-Euclidean necks. They look completely and utterly unplayable. My hands are hurting just looking at them. I can't conceive of anything more uncomfortable. Are they forged by Shub-Niggurath herself or retrieved from the depths of the sunken city of R'lyeh?

That would be a shame. One thing I actually respect Gibson for is their refusal to stamp their non-US guitars with the (lone) Gibson brand. Makes things less confusing. If you're buying a Gibson, you're getting a US made guitar. You might not be getting a good guitar, mind, but it will be made in the states.

There are very few instruments I can't enjoy in the proper context, but pedal steel guitar gets awfully close, probably because I haven't really heard them outside of country. If someone were to plug one in to a plexi on full whack and pour out some blues I probably wouldn't mind it.

Craigslist has never really caught on in the UK, and as a result, it's populated mostly by scammers, as others have stated above. If it looks to good to be true, it absolutely, definitely is. The site is just an older looking, older feeling, less functional Gumtree anyway.

Discreet, I think you're replying to arguments nobody here has even put forth. At most, some people are considering if a ban on instruments with fake logos (which may or may not be criminal) would be a good idea, for the benefit of buyers everywhere. I think this is a very pertinent discussion, considering we are on Basschat, and the insinuation that those who do object to fake logos are sheltered and fragile people with no experience of "real" issues is downright insulting, which I'm suspecting was your intention, although of course I'd gladly be proven wrong.

Like previous posters, I don't think there's a problem with sellers on BC trying to swindle anyone with fake Fenders, but it could be a problem further down the road, since we don't know what will happen once it's changed hands a couple of times. I'm perfectly fine with people playing and owning instruments with fake logos, but I don't think you should sell them on with the logo intact, even if you advertise them as such, simply because the next owner might not be as honest as yourself.

"Solid body again" he said, tapping a hollowed out body made from dried porridge.

Agreed, shameless really, but now it's gone!

I'm wondering if maybe there should be some criteria imposed for inclusion. Perhaps I should at least try to organise the list in some way beyond alphabetical order. It's getting to be quite long now, and I think there's a rather large discrepancy between some of the shops listed in terms of relevance to bassists (particularly those looking for vintage gear). Some deal exclusively in vintage basses, while others have as few as three used basses in stock. Any suggestions welcome!

Now that's diversity.

That is correct. I don't know why they have it that way, but that's how it's been done ever since the series' inception. The V prefix has remained the same, too. EDIT: To nail down a specific year, anyway. I'm sure some changes have been made over the years. For guitars the fret markers at the twelfth fret were changed to a more accurate position in 1998, and I assume the same happened to the basses.

Updated with three German shops! One was brought to my attention by @Creeper in this thread; the other two I found while Googling vintage Hamers. Overall, the prices aren't... well, the lowest I've seen. Occasionally, with smaller establishments, there are deals to be made, but I'm not familiar enough with German customs to assume anything. Vintage Guitar in Oldenburg does have a rather extensive stock.

Was it still functional afterwards?

Well, if the Antiques Roadshow hasn't convinced you to go to more car boot sales, this thread definitely should!

It definitely sounds like an active Jazz and a passive Precision, and as a matter of fact, I prefer the Precision! I think, at least for now, you just prefer the sound of a Jazz bass. But, like chris_b said, there are many variations on the Precision, and you could certainly find one that's closer to your ideal tone.

The active/passive terminology can be a bit confusing as a bass can have active pickups but a usual passive tone circuit, which is what it seems Aidan has, or active pickups with an active pre-amp/tone circuit, or passive pickups with an active pre-amp/tone circuit. EMG's active pickups all have a built in pre-amp that doesn't offer any tone-shaping, but is simply there to boost the signal to a usable level. Passive pickups work on the principle that with more windings, the output is increased, the mid-range is boosted and the highs and (I think) lows are tamed. Because an active pickup uses a fewer number of windings and instead uses their own preamps to boost the signal, the output is high while being significantly more detailed in the far reaches of the audio spectrum. This, as far as I know, all happens within the pickup itself. Then the signal can be fed either to a normal passive tone stack (EDIT) tone/volume combo, directly to the output, or to an active EQ system. Some of the basses we call active, though, don't actually have active pickups, but rather traditional pickups fed into an active EQ. I'm hoping I didn't just add to the confusion here!

Without having heard them, I'm going to guess that what you're hearing is really just the tonal difference between a Jazz bass with (presumably) active pickups and a passive Precision. Ballsy and punchy means different things to different people, but a Jazz bass normally has a sharper attack than a Precision, and with EMG's that difference should be even clearer. It makes sense that your Jazz seems a bit deeper, too. Do you usually play with both pickups turned up? This scoops a lot of the mids out of the sound, leaving more room, so to speak, for the lows. With the bridge pickup solo'd, you're getting mostly a lot of (very) high mids. As a contrast, the Precision is quite heavy on the low mids. To me, a Precision is punchier than a Jazz, but that's because I define punchy as having a beefy, prominent midrange.

I'll have to list a few, for different reasons. Elvis Costello because My Aim Is True is my first musical memory, and my first musical enchantment. The cover got so worn out you could take the record out from all sides. That's where it all started for me. In fact, some of my earliest memories altogether are of listening to Elvis Costello. Devo because they got me through my later childhood and early teenage years. I took to the whole concept, and they gave me the strength and motivation I needed to Be Stiff and not bend over. Jethro Tull because I started listening to them just as I had become decent enough at guitar to give songwriting a try, and because they opened up a new world of music to me. No one has had as big of an influence on my songwriting and acoustic guitar playing as Ian Anderson. Playing Tull songs is also how I first started singing - as it turns out, my range is very similar to that of Mr. Anderson, although I can't reach quite as low as an A1! My favourite band, still.

Have you tried a B neck? Found on most 70's Precisions, as Bridgehouse pointed out, and most modern non-reissue Precisions have at least a similar width. I used to think that I was only really comfortable with Jazz necks until I tried several new Precisions and realised I hardly noticed a difference. They don't feel nearly as enormous as a 50's C neck. Then, of course, you also have to consider the profile and thickness front to back, which can vary considerably even among necks of the same width.

Don't really see the problem to be honest. It's just a sample library, no?

Does it turn me into Glenn Cornick?

Great find! Nice stock, and fairly priced, too. A wunkay for €wunkay and an early Spector for €1250 - both sold, though.