Paul S

[quote name='~tl' timestamp='1359289497' post='1952451'] BUT, I would like the result to still have the Fender logo and serial number on the back of the headstock and to be as "legit" as possible. [/quote] That wouldn't be a problem - you can have a waterslide transfer made up including all the original spec details then send it off to whoever refinishes the neck to stick on there before the final coats. I had one made when I refinished the headstock of a Fender Precision Lyte from red to natural.

Wishbone Ash! I saw them back in the 70s during the 'Live Dates' album era. Top band. Which version are you seeing - I think Martin Turner's Wishbone Ash are round my way - same for you? Phoenix is an absolute masterpiece imo. [url="http://youtu.be/MVUx4zxd7VA"]http://youtu.be/MVUx4zxd7VA[/url]

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1359278520' post='1952290'] There's a marathon on eBay with a BIN of £700 at the moment. [/quote] Plain daft. Wish I'd kept the Hayman now!! I have a Westone Pantera Deluxe bass X790 which, in 1987, was the flagship model for Westone and one of Matsumokus finest! Maybe that will increase in value nicely, I don't know - it isn't why I bought it. But a lot of the better Matsumoku stuff is slowly gaining momentum.

I don't know what the ceiling is going to be but Shergold/Hayman guitar/bass prices seem to be on the up over the last couple of years. I bought a Hayman 4040 bass about 5 years ago for around £200, sold it 3 years ago for much the same. Last one I saw on eBay went for over £500. Marathon basses seem to fetch around £350-£400.

If you find a source for a battery cover I'd love to know - my B-Bass is missing its one.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1359125989' post='1950287'] Many BCers probably know this but i've just found how to tell if your guitar or bass is made of plywood without taking the neck or pickguard off. [/quote] Saw it in half and see if it is stripey in the middle?

Indeed they do sound immense. I don't have the Jack, but I have the B2A and B-Bass, which are essentially all the same thing +/- various lumps of wood. Great basses, huge sound. My B2A goes to every gig as a back up as I can fit it behind the sun visor in my car.

Interesting. Do you know the weight of one of these?

My current band we all select tracks we like, we all get veto if we don't like them. Singer gets ultimate veto if he can't sing them. The other band I was in (past tense) we all picked tracks we liked and were thought suitable for the band and the singer would veto them because 'he knew what the audience wanted'. He now has his own choice of set list. And a new bass player.

I have a 1984 Westone Thunder Jet bass that cost me £72. High mass bridge cost me £10 on eBay (original BBOT was a bit rough on my hand), secondhand SPB-3 cost £40. Sounds brilliant. A secondhand P-retro was the icing on the cake, though.

Being a cheapskate I made one from the end of an old leather belt - surprisingly little difference to the one in that pic, it would seem! It does dull down the attack considerably.

Picked it up this evening. E 6 figure serial number, MIJ Squier Jazz bass. Filthy dirty with a bowed neck (E string was tuned to about B!!) tone pot doesn't seem to work. Apart from that I think I may have struck lucky. Weighs a touch over 9lbs, so on my limit for comfort. Feels nice to wear, though. I'll give it a good clean and take some pics over the next few days. It is in extremely good, unplayed condition - hardly any fret wear or buckle rash, just a few dings but it is 25-ish years old. Nicely built. Neck stamp says Z JB 355, if that means anything. Braided brass strap from bridge pup to bridge and some holes where a pup guard would have been fitted once. Metal plate inside the control cavity. Nice little touch was the neck plate (unmarked) has a plastic washer so it doesn't stick straight into the wood. There are pics on the 'net of similar looking basses that were called a 60s re-issue or something - anyone know anything about these? Are there any particular things I should be looking for?

Early Animals stuff too. There is a fantastic live version of Tobacco Road by them on YouTub done slow and moody - Eric Burden's singing is really great on this. Johnny Winter (anyone mention him?) does it similarly. And Richie Kotzen, for an updated one. I went through a similar proceedure all over christmas, with an 'audition' with a blues band last week. I considered myself a blues fan but actually hadn't gone back far enough - Howlin'Wolf, Freddie King, Willie Dixon etc. It was a fascinating exercise and made me appreciate those old players a lot more. Most of what Eric Clapton, Peter Green, Gary Moore et al play are just a copy and paste of people like Freddie King. The audition was 'interesting' in as much as the rest of the band couldn't play very well. I am amazed at how people have the confidence to want to put togther a band playing guitar based music when they are unable to play properly themselves. The drummer said 'I haven't played with real people for opver 14 years. Still, I've always been a bit of a busker'. And it went downhill from there. Anyway, I digress. You'll have a blast listening to and learning all this stuff - I did.

I am an idiot and have done it loads of times, so I guess it is idiot-proof. Screw back until tight.

I had one for a couple of years. A bit more on the neck - it is VERY slim and skinny, like the Geddy Lee bass, skinnier than your average Jazz bass. For me this was the best thing about the whole bass. Mine had a grounding hum - I didn't ever bother about it but some of the models did this. The next guy in the ownership chain sorted with a little extra shielding. . Vast array of sounds - front pup, back pup, both pups, in series or in parallel, active or passive. Some might say it is unneccessarily complicated. 2 band eq is IMO the weakest point of the whole thing with two strange rollers and rather vague centre indents. The looks won it for me at the time I bought it but, if I am honest, I would probably go for a Squier Jaguar now if I wanted that same shape - much more straightforward.

I think it is unprofessional and disrespectful to both other bandmates and the people paying to see you. With my former 'party' band I've played gigs where either singer or drummer, luckily not both, were pissed and I spent the entire gig waiting for the next train crash - missed verses, coming in at the wrong place etc. It puts the whole band out and makes everyone look cheap.

This is all rather encouraging! The serial number I was given equates to mid 80s Fuji-Gen. I have two other basses of similar provenance that are really nice so I'm really looking forward to picking it up on Tuesday. I just hope it isn't too heavy!!

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1358604821' post='1942064'] Although this deals with MIJ 80s Squier Stratocasters it's a fascinating read: [url="http://planetbotch.blogspot.co.uk/2011/12/truth-about-1980s-squier-strats.html"]http://planetbotch.b...ier-strats.html[/url] Hope it helps. [/quote] Wow, complicated stuff. I just skimmed it but even so the convoluted variety seems endless. [quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1358605396' post='1942078'] So if you have a E series with a great neck and it sounds good then you've a great bass. If I wanted something collectable and a bit special I would look for a 1st edition squier series JV. Otherwise, to be honest they all are pretty good- why did you get it for not much? Cos people look at the bit that say Squier and think that it's rubbish - ignoring the fact that a good one, and a good fender japan neck will be on a par with a new USA std one (IMO etc) [/quote] I will be collecting it on Tuesday, so hopefully in a position to know whether or not is is just a bargain, or an absolute steal

The massed brains of Basschat will know this. MIJ Squiers, mid 80s. JV, SQ, Silver Series and E series. What is (are) the difference(s)? Apart from the letters that the serial numbers start with, obviously. They seem to command different price levels - why? I just bought an E Series Jazz for not very much and wondered why? Just luck or are they really not worth much? Thanks!