Beedster

Gotoh nickel lollipops are my faves by a long way, Hipshot are good however

I can hear the change in tone and sustain, but yes questions where it was recorded are spot on, as the player you can hear and feel things the audience don't 👍

Of course, change any part of the system and there's a chance you'll change one or more tonal aspects of the instrument - i swapped an ebony bridge for a graphite bridge and it sounded like a different bass at first - but those changes are not always improvements (much like a Badass Bridge on a Precision), and they don't always solve inherent characteristics of the instrument.

I put it down the the vagaries of wood, of construction, of strings and of the ear/brain complex (don't underestimate the degree to which the latter plays a role, once we hear a problem we are far more likely to keep hearing it and sometimes even exaggerate it). I've never had a DB that didn't have a few dead spots, hours of experimentation moved them around a little or reduced them a little, but now I simply accept that if B on the G string doesn't sing I use 3rd position on the D. But I'm guessing you already knew most of this so probably not much help really

These! I look at the buying habits of most of my friends - cars, tech, clothes, bikes (and we're talking £5k+ pedal bikes here) - stuff all bought for the pleasure of buying/owning them as opposed to any need and usually associated with 75% hit on value the moment they walk out of the shop, it makes me feel a whole lot better about the fact that I probably break even on the stuff i buy for pleasure, mostly music gear (although this doesn't include the recording tech I use for work on which I take a similar 75% hit on value but that to my mind is different). And I love buying bits and making basses, usually selling them for around what they cost me, but again, deriving some pleasure without incurring any costs. There are far worse ways of using cash 👍

Instrument in question appears decidedly ill looking to my eye, very pale & shiny and a little off centre? Certainly doesn't look like a quality instrument compared to what you can pick up for the same cash on eBay

Yes

Some blasts from the past in this thread 👍

Busking, especially DB, is a joyous and life affirming experience Jack, I suspect you will quickly become hooked mate 👍

Just ordered one also 👍

Yep it's mostly deliberate in my experience. Quite a few collectors/traders/speculators on eBay understand that gear listed Collection Only tends to sell at a lower price than if postage/delivery is offered, and if you're buying to sell, that's an immediate profit. Given this, a lot of sellers who listed collection only simply give up and offer to post rather than go through the grief of a difficult buyer.

That's my approach as well, never fails 👍

Now that's one hell of a bass

Psychology of collecting basses is much the same as the psychology of collecting anything, all collectors justify the need for multiple items ranging from "I need this one because it'd different to that one" to "It'll be worth a fortune one day" but ultimately it's all driven by that little circuit in our brain that drives us to seek out and accumulate resources. It was a very helpful circuit throughout millions of years of evolution, it's often quite expensive these days

And is it just me who will never buy from a seller who writes entirely in caps?

There are arguments for and against plywood bodies, I suspect this falls into the latter category 🤔

So, this short-scale thing.....? Never owned one until last week, in fact AFAIK I'd never even played one. But then @d_g listed this baby and I really found myself drawn. OK, I expected to be able to play things more easily, essentially like having larger hands which is nice. But the tone is awesome, full, fat and fast, helped along by buttery flats, Nordies and a rather nice tone circuit. A 60's Motown/70's funk machine, easy to play, looks great and weighs about the same as a bag of Walkers Salt & Vinegar. Only problem is that the neck is so bloody thin and short I'm not sure I will ever habituate fully. But I'm going to give it a damn good try

Soul to Squeeze by a country mile