LeftyJ

Agreed, the price of a Nordymute is just silly for what it is. And still I bought two I've got one with 19mm spacing and one with 17mm spacing. I agree a triangular shape would have been massively better! I put mine on at an angle for that reason, but then it's not very firmly attached. They're a ton of fun though!

Interesting, I'm curious about this! Doesn't look very practical, in that it needs to be woven in, alternating over and under the strings so it's not something you place onto your bass on the fly like say a Nordymute. But it does look like a nice and simple concept that shouldn't be too expensive. Long & McQuade lists it for 7.99 Canadian dollars! And there's a guitar version too, that comes in a set of 3 (in 3 different widths for varying degrees of muting) for 7.99 as well. Not sure why the bass version costs the same as a set of 3 guitar mutes though.

Yep, the Custom Shop used to have three levels around 2000. New Old Stock, Closet Classic and Relic. They've added levels since (Journeyman and Heavy Relic).

Not sure how that's an "unexpected" bass player. He totally looks like one of us

Now I'm confused. Is this operation out of Poland the temporary one to supply their luthier / business customers while they're looking for a new suppliuer, or is there genuinely a new Polish operation that's here to stay? It sounds like they're currently only supplying to guitar manufacturers, but will restart sales to private customers again in October.

Yes, Sandberg has made several of these in the early 00's. Most I've seen had the Basic Ken Taylor electronics package (2 MM humbuckers, active 3-band) and many had a flamed maple top. I missed out on a lefty 5-string in trans blackburst a few years ago. I think they look tremendously cool!

Pianists: "Hold my beer"

Funny thing: many grunge and indie guitarists of that time started playing Fenders because they were available cheaply. Especially their offset models (Jazzmaster, Jaguar, Mustang) were available at pawn shops all over the US for silly money because they were either deemed too finnicky / complex or silly 24" student guitars that no serious player would ever want to own. Fender USA had stopped building them in 1980 by lack of demand, but it's these artists that set off the Fender offset craze, first fuelled by Fender Japan who started producing them again in the late 1980s and since the late 90s there are many US and MIM models too. Might be the same with the basses: came back in style because influential bands could get their hands on them cheaply when they started out.

Oh, that makes sense. FTFY. There's no way a store that large writes such an epic saga for every product they sell

Atelier Z Baby Z-4J represent! Easiest playing bass I own. The knobs have been replaced with Sadowsky-style aluminium knobs (Guyker) since this picture was taken, just like Atelier Z uses now (the old ones were the stock Bartolini knobs). Otherwise it's still very much the same. I believe the Baby Z (or any Atelier Z with the KTS titanium rods in the neck for that matter) isn't actually made by Atelier Z themselves but by Fujigen Gakki. Either way, it's a fantastic bass! Controls are neck volume - bridge volume (pull for passive) - stacked bass/treble (boost-only). It's quite a powerful EQ that can add a lot of oomph and a pleasant zingy top end, while still sounding very musical. A passive tone control would have been nice, but is not a must. It has a slight neck dive, but nothing that a good strap can't counter. I traded my 1981 Ibanez MC924 for it with a lefty friend of mine in the US, and I have zero regrets. The Atelier Z weighs about half as much as the MC924, and has a lovely narrow U-shaped neck that instantly felt familiar. The 17mm string spacing at the bridge took a little getting used to, but is not unlike some of the 5-strings I've owned so wasn't a huge switch. It's brilliant! If I ever find a lefty PJ version (with a reverse split coil) I don't think I could resist.

Tell me they're a Fender brand without telling me they're a Fender Brand. "Well, their latest product is called the Limited Edition Pro Plus Series Pure Metal..." Got it. I also love how the marketing department suddenly forgets it's a bass in the last paragraph, and quotes a 25.5" scale instead of 34".

The bass on the right has a far worse offense going on: laminations in the center of the body to imply a neck-through-body construction, when in reality there is a bolt-on neck - and it's not even laminated the same as the body core! Can't stand it. And relic jobs on bass models that weren't even around 40 years ago. OK, so your Ibanez Soundgear looks like it has an original 1950s nitro finish and 60+ years of wear. Just like the early ones that were still built by Leo Ibanez himself! I remember vividly. What a fitting tribute to the legend!

*cough* I'd say boutique guitars and basses are very much alive though. There are many great luthiers out there who are doing really well for themselves. I feel that especially high end Fender-derivatives are selling VERY well, but the exotic wood coffee table is still very much a thing too.

Good, because so far I think I've only bought g**t*r gear in 2025, and... *shudders* ...sold a bass! I can change, I swear! It was a fretless acoustic that I haven't used since 2015, so to be fair it was about time.