Bassassin

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1137199' date='Feb 22 2011, 03:33 PM']He's added an extra pic now after starting a clean up job.[/quote] Yep - shows you the quality & like-new results you can get by attacking it with a Brillo pad! Jon.

[quote name='Skol303' post='1137359' date='Feb 22 2011, 05:33 PM']^ This gets a +1 from me. And let's face it, maybe Peter Hook is testament to the fact that there's more to making it in the 'music biz' than having technical chops.[/quote] And a cursory glance at most of the Music Biz for the last 40 years will show that technical chops are usually the last thing you need. I like Hooky - one of the few bassists who, whether by accident or design, has a unique style & sound which has defined most of the music he's been involved with. Unlike any number of condescending & bitter Bedroom Jacos. Jon.

To answer the question (like I didn't in my previous post), like most people I would need to be paid for playing covers, with certain occasional exceptions, like charity gigs etc. I play original material, and have done for most of the time I've been playing. Most of that material has been my own work, which I'm immensely proud of (misplaced or otherwise) and love playing & putting in front of an audience. I'm happy to do that for nothing and will continue to do so as long as I'm able. Covers are a different matter, as would be other people's original material. I [i]might[/i] gig for nothing with an originals band where I wasn't involved in composition, but I would have to absolutely love the material & the band - I can think of a couple of bands I'd do this with but there really ain't been that many. Covers is work, I played covers for a few years and it was a broadly enjoyable work but not something I'd ever do for the love of it. It would be nice to think that original music, unvalidated by media, business & familiarity, could be worth anybody's time - or even money - but the prevailing mindset is that it's inevitably sh!t until someone (who presumably knows better than you do) tells you different. And unless they do, you can barely give it away. J.

[quote name='clauster' post='1136267' date='Feb 21 2011, 09:04 PM']I've got a friend who is a backing singer in a covers band. I was asking if they got well paid for gigs. The answer: I don't know, the sax/singer keeps all the money: it's his band and he is a professional [/quote] Wow. This is both incredible & outrageous at the same time. Professional what - con artist? So is this backing singer just spectacularly naive & biddable, or has this "professional" somehow hoodwinked an entire band into supporting his career for f@ck-all? Jon.

[quote name='tino' post='1135835' date='Feb 21 2011, 05:24 PM']And knowing what a theiving B'Stard I am I got £475 for one of these on Gumtree London...[/quote] Result. People pay exactly as much as they're willing to pay. J.

These are sort of interesting - seems they were made in both Italy & Japan, no idea about the Jap ones but the Italians are Eko. If it's cheap, definitely get it for mucking around on, tidying up & flogging. These presumably are the earliest Rickenfakers, seem to be mid-60s onwards. Found this on RickResource, of all places: [attachment=72881:Shaftesb...ue_60s_1.jpg] [attachment=72882:Shaftesb...ue_60s_2.jpg] [attachment=72883:Shaftesb...ue_60s_3.jpg] J.

That B14 bridge will almost certainly have a grub screw on the side (out of shot) to lock the saddles in place once intonation's set - and you're right, you do move the saddles by hand. I've got a Hohner B2A headless & the saddle arrangement is identical on that, to be honest it can be something of a pain in the arse. Looks like all of the bridges on that page use a similar principle of not having intonation adjuster screws. Actually though, the B10 technically has string spacing adjustment - the black saddle inserts should allow a small amount of lateral movement. Might be worth keeping your eyes open for a Schaller 3D - these have roller saddles with spacing adjustment which works the same as the original bridge on your bass. Superb bridges, but curiously unpopular, meaning used ones can go for as little as £20. J.

[quote name='nick' post='1134699' date='Feb 20 2011, 07:38 PM']Here's another. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Hutchins-Twin-Neck-6-String-and-Bass-Electric-Guitar-/110651666684?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item19c35a70fc"]Strange looking Hutchins 4 + 6 string doubleneck[/url]. Quite low BIN[/quote] Holy (neck) Diver! Very cheap for such a curiosity, though. Jon.

Nah - think I'll give up on this one, it's no place for logic & rational thinking. Too much like banging your head against a brick [s]troll[/s] wall. J.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1134981' date='Feb 21 2011, 12:18 AM']what contradiction..? I never said the equation was that simple. Where did I say all expensive basses are good? That wouldn't be an assumption of yours, would it?[/quote] In what way is it an assumption? I said this: [quote]So you are still taking the "if it's cheap it has to be sh!t" line. Does it therefore follow that "if it's expensive it will be good, no question"?[/quote] It's plainly a question. If you'd expand a little on your answers & your reasons for holding your opinions, this discussion might actually become a bit more stimulating & productive than the monosyllabic contradiction it's largely been reduced to. So tell me - if you do hold the opinion that it's inevitable a cheap bass must be rubbish, why does it not follow that a dear one will be good? Why is that somehow less black & white? J.

Any danger you'd be prepared to expand on what appears to be a massive self-contradiction? Oh - let me guess... No? J.

[quote name='skej21' post='1134613' date='Feb 20 2011, 06:27 PM']Are you sure you want to take a risk on a bass that, in truth, you'll probably not have in 6 months because it'll be in a skip somewhere? [/quote] Investment potential! I've got a big loft, nice & damp. I can bung it up there for 10 years and when it comes out, it 'll be nicely mildewed, warped & unplayable (so I won't need to get my sander & blowtorch out), then I can Ebay it for loads of dosh. All it'll cost me is a couple of bob for a nice Fender transfer. And a Custom Shop one for round the back, obviously. Pays to think ahead. J.

I'll give you £70. J.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1134456' date='Feb 20 2011, 04:17 PM']but this bass is priced at a starter market with due compromises built in.[/quote] So you are still taking the "if it's cheap it has to be sh!t" line. Does it therefore follow that "if it's expensive it will be good, no question"? J.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1134253' date='Feb 20 2011, 12:53 PM']The issues I mentioned would be the basics I'd look for on any bass.[/quote] Of course - but as far as Auntie Sue's concerned, you've never seen one, never mind played one, these "issues" are therefore all in your head. According to the numerous owners, many of them simply don't exist - but you don't seem to be able - or perhaps willing - to accept that. J.

Quick heads-up for a nice-looking [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=260737267600"]Matsumoku-built Kimbara Jazz copy[/url], rosewood board/pearl blocks, running out at 8.30 pm tonight. Currently £87 and hasn't had much attention, had my eye on this but unforseen circumstances mean I'm out! Could well be a bargain, & Kimbara Jazzers already have the [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=68935&view=findpost&p=994038"]BC Seal Of Approval[/url]. J.

I don't have an Auntie Sue & have no particular interest in one as I don't really have much use for Precisions. I also haven't had the opportunity to try one. I'm perfectly happy though to accept that these are well-made, solid basses, constructed from decent materials & with a similarly decent off-the-peg specification. They might need a setup, but as I implied in my previous post - any new mass-produced bass, regardless of price bracket is likely to need some work to make it play at its best. As I always try & point out when these spurious, fatuous & bigoted you-get-what-you-pay-for rants come up, the biggest issue with the low-end is quality control - dodgy workmanship & inferior materials are undeniably more common, but the feedback from the numerous SR buyers suggests that these are largely pretty consistent. I don't know what factory these are sourced from but I'd be perfectly prepared to accept they come off the same production line as other, more "respectably" badged budget basses. A lot of people are buying them as the basis for a project but that's the case with a lot of stuff on BC - an awful lot of us are modders & tinkerers to start with and a decent bass this cheap is perfect project material. Plenty of other people are happy with the basses as they come - a setup & some decent strings results in a useable, playable and giggable bass that you don't need to worry about when you take it out - and for sixty quid that is a [i]phenomenal[/i] bargain. Jon.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1133917' date='Feb 20 2011, 12:22 AM']Not sure it would fix that - the bar is just held against the back of the bridge by the pull of the strings.[/quote] Wouldn't help one as far-gone as mine was, but if a bridge could be straightened, the bar would take & distribute the string tension & stop it happening again. I'm convinced that's why there's one one on this Westy. J.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1133873' date='Feb 19 2011, 11:15 PM']I thought I wouldn't be able to check into this thread until tomorrow. [b]Bassassin[/b] I don't have any Fenders, sorry.[/quote] I didn't assume you did - it was a metaphorical "your" £800 Fender, just like the one you mentioned. Did you read beyond the confusing part? J.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1133741' date='Feb 19 2011, 07:45 PM']Fixed that for ya [/quote] [attachment=72711:fenderbloke.jpg] I'm looking but I'm not seeing a sombrero or a poncho... J.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1132482' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:29 PM']I am so pissed off that Fender have the gaul to charge me £800 or whatever for a complete rip-off when I can get it for £60. It's not fair, I tell you.[/quote] You should be pissed off - if you are paying £800 for a mass-produced Precision, you are being ripped off - unless you find it a a hugely necessary part of owning a bass to be paying through the nose for a logo, a sticker saying "Made In USA" and for the wages of an American bloke who expects a decent pay packet. And yes - why shouldn't a Ryder P copy, if it's competently manufactured & assembled (which by all accounts the majority of them seem to be) and well set-up (which your £800 US Precision probably won't be, out of the box) play every bit as well as a "prestige" brand instrument? They're just wood & wire, after all, and in the case of any P bass, whatever the sticker says & wherever it's made, incredibly simplistic wood & wire. Jon.