Beedster

Folks, I bought an new but unfinished 4/4 body/neck from a German firm in 2015, I built it up and have been gigging it since then and am thinking it's about time I applied a finish. I want to oil not varnish, what's the best bet?

You've twice sent me gear free of charge Steve, not a great business model! All joking aside, hugely appreciated both times mate, and both still in regular use 🙏

Yes, it speaks positively mate 👍 In similar vein, and I won't embarrass him by naming, but one long-standing member here bought a bass from me, sold it for more, and sent me 50% of the difference out of the blue. Did I expect him to? Absolutely not. Would I have been pissed off had he not done it? No. Did I appreciate it? Hell yes

I used to have strong feelings about/against it, but firstly it's what shops such as Bass Direct/Bass Bros do and we don't have a problem with that. Secondly (and more importantly) we never know what a person is dealing with in life, quite a few members have lost their jobs recently, or have other financial problems (divorce/increased cost of living etc), and while I've historically tended to flip basses for a loss here, if I were in a difficult situation financially and struggling to pay the bills/put food on the table, I'd have no problem doing it for a profit. I hope it doesn't come to that, and I suspect I'd probably still make it clear where the bass came from. Basschat is a strong community the members of which are 99.99% of the time highly supportive of each other, even to the point of happily donating gear and even money to other members with problems. Perhaps part of that charitable ethos is also to allow other members to make a few quid buying and selling?

….and often mistaken for fretless, testimony to his lovely fluid playing

Good old Mark Radcliffe on R6 played this and wow, I wanted to go straight to the bass room and pick up my upright, something I've not done for 6-months..... Beautiful playing, I'm going to be diving into his work today, especially a recent album of duets with vocalists from which the below is taken

Are you based in Aus? If you're in the UK, courier and import costs will be quite high and if there are any further issues with the bass and you have to return it you could find yourself out of pocket. Seems a bit odd that a reputable seller got the year of production wrong which does make me wonder if they've made any other errors? I don't know the model, but in other model/ranges an 8-year difference in manufacturing dates can mean a significant difference in quality and value

That’s probably wise, it might be fine now but might fail if it takes another bash. I’m sure it’s fixable but a risk at the price

Looks like it might have been involved in a substantial shock to the neck that’s lead to cracks around the heel?

Proper Basschat behaviour 👍

Thanks and welcome @Spodokomodoh 🙏

Were they short scale strings?

Agreed, and I wouldn't buy that particular bass, because - and I know it's not hard evidence - the images feel wrong, I can't say what it is, but given that the serial number also doesn't check out plus the seller has already provided some misinformation, I would assume that while it's not a forgery as per Andy's previous comment (why bother when for the same costs you could forge Pre-CBS Fenders), I still suspect it may not be what it is presented as. Case candy etc? Not beyond the realms of possibility that someone could buy the real thing with case and case candy, and then slip a lookalike bitsa in the case and sell it on, I've heard less plausible theories turning out to be true Not saying it's not the real thing BTW, I am saying that I certainly wouldn't buy it given the photos and details provided.

Yep probably just the slight distortion from a phone lens 👍

End of headstock looks too big to me