Bassfinger

The Brian May signature bass is actually a regular guitar, only difference being that while you're doing the gardening it sneaks up and stabs youmin the buttocks.

I was forewarned by some chap on Youtube about the variability of MIM instruments, and that's the reason I spent the time and shoe leather. Glad I did, as an MIA one cost a little over twice as much and I'm totally confident that the individual MIM one I settled on is as good as any of the MIAs I had also tried (but was reluctant to spend the extra coin upon). I'm lucky though, I'm retired so have time to go traipsing off to different parts of the country to do nothing but look at an instrument and I realise that not everyone has that luxury. One nice thing about the CV's is that the fit and finish seem much more consistent. There is the odd horror story about, but by and large the Indonesian factory has a pretty good grip on QC. As a consequence it's much less risky buying one online.

I never made it as high as Sergeant so the answer is no, but I can Imagine. I wonder as well if it might vary with the military branch and regiment, perhaps? In the Green Jackets we'd fight anyone we could, and if no one else was available we'd happily fight each other. The Matelots aren't much better either, but I think the Crabs are a little more restrained.

MIMs can be brilliant. The issue is the typical variable Fender build quality, which for reason can be particularly inconsistent in Mexico. The very best MIMs are as good as anything else Fender have put their name to, but because of the variable fit and finish 2/3 or 3/4 aren't quite as sharp as they could be. Case in point was my Geddy Lee. I looked at 3 before finding one that was flawless of finish and rounded of tone, and id happily put it against an MIA. The other two though would have been easily embarrased by an Indonesian CV jazz... So don't dismiss MIM out of hand, just be sure to buy in person and not online to be sure of getting a nice tight one.

Same here. I cant feel two fingers on my right hand so I'm in the same boat. I can play fingerstyle, not terribly well, but all the practice in the world wont make my fingers reliably do what I want them to so I simply embrace the Tortex.

Lots came in. Precious little went out 🤔

I've vomited up nicer looking things.

Wilkinson tuners. Sure, they're not in Gotoh or Schaller territory, but theyre decent bits of kit in their own right, a good upgrade for the price of a pub lunch. They've replace the tuners on many a budget bass Ive owned and they've never failed to make me happy. Warman pickups. He'll wind them pretty much however you want them, and still undercuts the likes of Entwistle or Wilkinson. Marvel locking strap nuts and cheap chinese copies. A little less compact than the likes of Dunlop or Schaller, but very positive in operation and long lived. Best of all, the cheap chinese knock offs appear identical (and may even be from the same factory for all I know) and work equally effectively. Adagio Pro nickel flats. Oft overlooked. Incredibly cheap, but punch well above their weight in tone and durability. Slap them in upmarket packaging and people wouldn't blink at paying 50 nicker for them, but they sell for a mere 15 sovs. All these things seem underrated, yet they all serve me very faithfully while undercutting their more expensive mainstream rivals. Happy shopper.

Damn straight.

Most CV basses are still available to buy new now, albeit some colour combos and certain exact specs etc may have been dropped. That being the case it would be difficult to understand why someone wouldn't just buy a new one. When I bought a CV earlier in the year I was shopping around and found a used one that had been relic'd (or more accurately near destroyed) on sale for 1200. I thought about it for about a nanosecond before simply buying a new one, and spending the change on a hooker, some crack cocaine, and still had 20 quid left over to give a tip to the nurse at the STD clinic.

Squier 50's Classic Vibe. £330. Classic '54 transition shape, build quality and finish sufficient to give Fender USA execs PTSD, sounds authentic, looks authentic, just beautiful. It makes most £1000 basses look insulting to be asking so much more cash for so little more, if any, extra. A Lindy Fralin pickup and tort pickguard still brings the whole package in comfortably under 500 sheets. Harley Benton MB4 in black. £96 last year when an exchange rate blip brought it under the ton. Plays as well as anything costing 500 sheets, light weight, sounds really growly (new word, (c) Bassfinger industries 2021), looks mean, and is an ideal platform for cost effective modding. Fantastic. It makes the stuff from Glarry look like a hideous insult. Ideal gigging tool, and I wouldnt be so upsetmat that getting damaged as I would my Geddy Lee. Indeed, I carry the Geddy Lee to gigs in its hard case to act as a backup for the HB! When I were a wee bairn (cue sepia forum theme and Hovis advert music) there was some truly godawful about at the £100 mark, but while their is still plenty of tat there is also a raft of brilliant stuff around for under 500 quid. We never had it so good.

Thick as a Brick. Full version.

I blame the typo on stress caused by a ruined childhood.

Leader of the Pack. Thanks to Gary Glitter I never will get to play it now.

I'm not worried about their morals. So long as I'm not a drug taking alcoholic adulterer who stole just brest friends wife then I'm quite able to criticise him with some moral authority. If I become some or all of those things then I shall remain silent, but until that time I'm happy to tell folk what I think. None of that detracts from his talent, which is a different matter altogether.

Clapton has a bit of cheek to go all legal at someone when he himself shot the sheriff.

Looking at it now that pickguard qppears to be badly aligned. Even Fenders famously variable QC would surely have caught that.

Was it Hendrix who nicknamed him Eric Clappedout?

We're all MU members, so were insured individually. One if our team is an aircon engineer and has a sparkies ticket so were all PAT tested. We always check the venue has a PRS licence before we agree to play (never had a negative result on that one yet). We keep every receipt and log everything incoming and outgoing on a spreadsheet just in case were tupped by the revenue. Nothing goes on social media that isn't either us, or something we've created ourselves. While its not a business, in order to stay out or the sheet it needs to be run as such, scrupulous records kept, and all eventualities considered. Its a ballache compared to being a pub band in the 70's, but thats modern living for you.

Read his biography. He comes across as someone who simply isn't a terribly nice person. If I were George Harrison I'd have done unspeakably unpleasant things to him.

Remove the neck plate and check the rear - OE Fender ones are a solid plate, the copies are sort of almost hollow on the rear. The tuners look wrong to me, but I can't quite place them. Possibly Squier, but I wouldn't take that to the bank.

His products are a cost effective way to pep up a Harley Benton. Like the HB's, Warman pups punch well above their weight so it's a match made in heaven as far as I'm concerned. His customer service is invariably first class too.

But aren't Clapton and god one and the same?

Have they said when they will return to the status quo?

This thread title is misleading. I thought that by lefties you meant communists.