LeftyJ

Is it that new tulip-shaped monstrosity?

Nice job, by the book! (courtesy of @NikNik)

Ooh, I love that! That's the first time I see one with two pickups in that layout. They posted one earlier without a pickguard and with a true bridge pickup, but this is new to me. Very nice! Sorry for the poor resolution, it's the only pic I could find:

Just make your own A guy I know built one as a tribute to Steve Harris, but painted it in the colours of his local pro club ADO Den Haag. I think he later also added a custom decal with the Fender badge but in his local dialect (in The Hague that would be "Fendâh"). I think it's awesome

I've never pledged allegiance to any specific brand or model. I've owned lots of different types, and still do. Different tone and feel makes me want to play differently, and I like to switch. I do favour basses with a Jazz Bass pickup configuration, but I like to meddle with humbuckers, both longscale and shortscale basses, both 4- and 5-string, both headed and headless, wooden or graphite neck, active or passive, and I like them all equally much. My current favourite is an active shortscale 4-string with two J pickups and narrow 16.5 mm string spacing.

@leftybassman392's old Regenerate Axiom is for sale, due to the passing of its latest owner: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284963014186

Interesting to see a lefty 6-string Combustion too! So far I had only seen 4- and 5-string Combustions and NG2's/3's. Shame it's hanging upside-down

The barrel saddles (instead of threaded) and the smaller Gotoh GB10 tuners with narrower tuning posts give the '57 away as likely a PB57-53, which is in fact not made of alder as the website suggests, but of basswood (which could explain the weight). It's the most basic and affordable version of the PB57. The ones to look out for are the ones with period-correct hardware, which do have alder bodies. At 799 GBP this PB57 is well overpriced IMO. The same likely goes for the E-series PB62 as well, as the little sticker with the 55 on the back of the headstock could designate it as a PB62-55.

He only started his company in 2010 though, and not in the UK but in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. This site pictures a fairly modern build with a serial number of #51: https://jedistar.com/jgs/ I Googled a bit, and apparently there is a Jim Cairnes who was a pickup designer for Burns, but also dabbled in luthiery. Maybe there's a trail worth investigating? https://jedistar.com/jim-cairnes/

I believe the CW only has a front and rear facing glued on? Hence the black tummycut and forearm contour. Would have been extra cool if the facing followed the forearm contour.

I got an email a few days ago from KLOS guitars, announcing they're considering selling aftermarket necks. The accompanying picture showed a Strat with their own proprietary headstock shape, which is... less than thrilling. But they included a link to an online questionnaire and one of the questions is about the headstock shape (whether to use their own, or one matching the instrument it's meant for). Might be interesting to those of you considering a neck swap: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScknOTzlKQTuHNZdGlzOQRbTuBYO_bcxowza_ryg1utKejftA/viewform

I'm a huge fan of the EBS Drome. Not the Chinese-made, tolex-covered Drome Classic (which doesn't have a tweeter) but the Swedish-made, carpet-covered Drome and NeoDrome. I've owned a Drome 12-150 for years, and only sold it because I found a NeoDrome (same amp, but with a neodynium speaker which is 1 kg lighter) at a steal. They're no longer available new, and were pretty expensive for what they are, but can be found used at great prices. They're portable, the 1x12 is not too big (the 1x15 is, though!), they're built to last, have no annoying cooling fan, and sound brilliant. Very effective and versatile EQ too. There's an extra handle at the bottom to slightly tilt the combo backwards, and it has a clever monitor input so you can use your own amp as a monitor on stage (the input sits behind the XLR out in the chain, so the line out signal is unaffected). Only downside is it has no external speaker output, but it delivers the full 150 watts to the internal speaker at 4 Ohms and is pretty loud by itself. I've used mine as a bass monitor at club shows and had no trouble hearing myself clearly.

Opeth - Blackwater Park Dead Letter Circus - The Catalyst Fire Dredg - Catch Without Arms The Gathering - If_Then_Else

I love the look of that chrome pickup cover and window on the LP Jr. Classic T-bird style! Much nicer than the stock black pickup cover.

Used to have this ATK300L with an Ibanez sticker on the front and a very tiny pentagram sticker on the tip of the headstock. Incidentally, the sticker worked best on a lefty: One of those basses I wish I had kept. I still have the ATK305, but that 4-string sounded so much better! Warmer, fatter. I had too many 4-strings while almost exclusively playing 5-strings, so I decided it had to go - I had another ATK300 too that didn't sound anywhere as good as the one is this pic.

I've always thought the Cort Curbow looks a bit misproportioned, with its tiny body and long neck. I bet they make for a great fretless bass with that ebonol fingerboard and just a bridge pickup though.

My "one that got away" was a Wal Mk 1 with shedua front and rear facings that I believe I attempted to buy on this very forum for 1700 GBP years ago. I had already transferred the money through PayPal, when the seller suddenly told me the deal was off. He had already packaged the bass and taken it to the post office, but had some issues there because of the size of his package (ha!). He told me he saw it as a sign that he shouldn't part with it, and decided to keep it. He transferred the money back to me (again through PayPal) minus almost 100 GBP in transfer costs, conversion rates from Euro to GBP and back and I then had to struggle to get that back. And there was a Status S2 Classic 4-string that I narrowly missed out on at first, but was still able to buy 11 years later (!) when it popped back up for sale on the very same website (leftybass.com).

Just make sure it's not a composite or graphite bass then

I just sold it last year because it didn't get enough use, but this was mine. I generally don't like pointy shapes but I have a weak spot for the Ibanez Iceman and this Esh Stinger is more or less a reversed Iceman. It was comfortable too, and sounded and played great. It derives its name from the piezo bridge, which adds attack and "stings" through any mix. It was one of the last German-made ones, before they moved production to the Czech republic and eventually disappeared entirely (again).

Depends on the gig for me. I generally prefer 18-19 mm, but in my previous metal band I used to play with a pick a lot and the narrower string spacing of my Warwick Streamer LX5 (16,5 mm) made this a lot easier for me. My Status S2 Classic 5-string has 17,5 mm spacing and feels very natural for both fingerstyle and pick.

Closest I've got is this G&L in Bel Air Green.

Take a good close look at some of the hardware, and make sure it's a "proper" German Warwick and not a Rockbass. If it has a maple neck and a one-piece bridge, it's a first generation Rockbass. Stay away, it's WAY overpriced in that case. If it has a maple neck and the two-piece Warwick bridge, it's a second generation Rockbass and more than decent but you could do better on the price. If it's a wenge neck, SCORE. If it's an ovangkol neck, there are some things to look out for: - the original brass Just-a-nut with individually adjustable saddles is brilliant. The JAN3 is also great, whether plastic or brass. The JAN2 was a POS: the height-adjustable piece is held in place by two plastic tabs on the outer ends which are very prone to breaking. When those are gone, it inevitably needs replacing because it won't stay in position when tuning and will mess up your intonation, so you'll be looking at some extra costs and work which could bring the price down; - the stock Warwick tuners are sub par quality, and the tuning posts can snap off without warning, as @grenadillabamaalso pointed out. I have two Streamers from 2001 and 2003 which still have the stock tuners without issues, but on the Warwick Facebook page I've seen many which broke right off. Original Warwick replacement tuners are cheap and can be ordered both in Warwick's excellent webshop or at Thomann, but there are drop-in Gotoh replacements which are a major upgrade; - truss rods from the late 90s and early 00s were less than great. Sharing pics would be appreciated!

I once received a Warwick Streamer LX by mail packaged in just its gigbag with a DHL label clung directly on the fabric, and with an old t-shirt around the tuners for extra "protection", and it came out fine. I recon an empty gigbag should be good with just the clingfilm recommended above

I'd love to try a current Rick 4003. I bought one new at Guitar Guitar in 2009 when the exchange rate of the Pound vs Euro was at an all-time low, but after the initial novelty wore off I loved the tone and looks, but hated almost everything else. I hear they have much more comfortable neck profiles these days, and the new bridge with individual saddle height is a huge upgrade. Mine had a wide, flat, D-shaped neck which felt almost square to my hands (flat back - they're rounder now), and the bridge only sat on the tailpiece on its two height adjustment screws and would rock forward and backward when tuning or adjusting the thing. The bound body edges also weren't for me, I would go for a 4003s now.

Every time I see these mentioned I need to do a double take as my mind wants to read this: