LeftyJ

Very cool! The shape reminds me of a Warwick Dolphin, but without the "belly".

I would message Delano to ask them if the pickup covers are available separately. Maybe they can send you one? As for the sound, I would imagine a broken cover wouldn't affect the tone of the pickup. It's just a plastic casing, and it's not shielded on the inside, so it wouldn't affect the magnetic field of the pickup in any noticable way.

I wanted to go over, but only managed to get Halfway to Kevin. Kevin can wait.

I think what you're describing is the JB75-US/FC, which was a Japanese domestic market only-model and a bit of a limited edition based on the regular JB75-US. Rather than an ash body, the FC has an alder body. The colour is Old Lake Placid Blue (OLB) and is unique to the Japanese models. They come stock with Fender USA 70's RI pickups and excellent hardware. My only complaint was with the stock potentiometers, they were a rather on/off-job on my lefty (but that may have been due to reverse-wiring standard righty logarithmic pots instead of mounting reverse-log pots. I have since sorted this on mine). I have a regular JB75-US from this era (I think it's a 2003) and I love it. It's heavy (mine is ash) and the neck has the appropriate 70's style U-shape so it's fairly thick but narrow at the nut. I love mine! I did add a few modifications though: Badass II bridge; Hipshot X-tender, and while I was at it I changed the other 3 tuners to the same model Hipshot; MEC reverse log pots and a De Gier / VanderKley FatBoost. I had a battery box routed in the back, originally to mount an Audere JZ3D preamp, but I hated the Audere and never quite got it to sound the way I wanted. So back to passive it went, but with a switchable 6dB bass boost. Here's mine, before the preamp was added:

I have one 3HE EBS headcase that currently only houses my HD350, and one 4HE SKB case that houses my Ampeg SVP-CL and SVP-PRO, a Korg DTR1000 rack tuner and formerly my Sennheiser EW300 IEM G3 in-ear transmitter, but currently an SWR Grand Prix that doesn't get used.

I don't have much of a band anymore, but when I played in a metal band and a pop noir band (think Nick Cave) at the same time, I definitely needed different basses! In my metal band, I mostly played a Warwick Streamer LX5 and sometimes a MM Stingray 5. In the pop noir band I almost strictly played 4-strings, and varied between an Ibanez MC924, a Rickenbacker 4003 and an Italia Torino (semi-hollowbody). That band really needed a very old school tone, and when I recorded basslines for an album with them I was told my bass (MC924) sustained for far too long so I cut up a dishwashing sponge they had laying around and used it as a mute. Amp-wise I used the same gear between bands: my EBS HD350 with EBS Proline 4x10. In the metal band, I started using an Ampeg tube preamp later on but up until then, the EBS worked fine for both. Prior to that I used an Ashdown ABM300 C210T combo and ABM115 Compact extension cab, but with the metal band it always drowned in the mix so I sold it in favor of the EBS.

Very nice! If that's a factory fretless, that would make it an RS940

If it wasn't so ultra thin.

I like it! With those big routs you suddenly have a lot more options than just split-coils too. You can fit J pickups, many types of humbuckers or any combination of those.

That looks incredible! I had never heard of either cottonwood or camphor, but they look stunning. Especially that fingerboard!

Ah, I think I know the one Did you buy that from Rob @Bonin-in-the boneyard?

Don't think so, I bought it here in the Netherlands and the previous owner has had it for quite some time. It's this red one:

Best: a 2001 Warwick Streamer LX that I've been playing almost exclusively since I got it, unless I need a low B. Brilliant bass! I'm trying to think of my worst purchase, but I don't recall buying any other bass related stuff this year. I suppose my worst bass-related purchase was a guitar, a MIJ Jackson DK2

Do tell

Nexus were based in Belgium for several years, until the Belgian owner and the Polish luthier split ways after a business dispute. They're cool, and they've had some pretty cool ideas too, like a fretless bass with a granite (yes, you read that right) fingerboard and a bass with fretted and fretless bits next to eachother long before Ibanez released the Ashula.

The JC effectively is a Les Paul Signature Bass

A 6-string, fretted version of the Jaco Pastorius tribute Jazz Bass, still with his name on it instead of mine, just to p*ss off everyone that ever said "Jaco only needed four". Seriously though: I'd love Rob Green to build me a lefty, headless 5-string version of the classic Status Series 2000 model, with the pickups in the Chris Wolstenholme positions but with the controls simplified with the mid boost/cut pot between the bass and treble controls rather than placed by itself, and with the mid frequency knob moved to the inside of the control cavity as a set-and-forget option, with a slightly more subtle and useful filter sweep.

Pretty diverse here: the Netherlands (an Ellio Martina bass and two Koch amps), Sweden (several EBS amps and pedals), Germany (two Warwicks and an Esh), the UK (two Statii), the USA (a Longbow and a Peavey amp), Mexico (two Taylors), Japan (several old Ibanez and Squiers), South-Korea (a Cort and a Tokai) and China (another Squier). I've previously owned gear made in France (Lag) and the Czech republic (Furch) too. To be honest, I don't care a lot

You forgot to add "...for now".

I don't have any signature basses, but if the features suit me I'd have no trouble buying one and playing the heck out of it! To me, a signature bass should be more than just a special finish on a tried-and-true design though. I'd like the bass to actually offer something different, be it in the electronics department, the design or the neck profile or whatever. For example, the Miller Jazz is based on a bass that Marcus Miller has actually used for ages, which is instantly recognizable as his bass because it has been very visibly modified to his personal taste and offers a cool preamp option not normally found on any factory Fender. There have been many I'd fancy, like the Reverend Mike Watt signature Wattplower, the Chris Wolstenholme Status (which differs from a regular S2 in the pickup positions and the mid control), the Fender Roscoe Beck or the Marcus Miller Jazz. Of this list, the only ones available lefthanded are the Wattplower (only 8 lefties made) and the Status. Which may be one of the reasons I'm not very likely to actually end up with one!

This reminds me of the thread earlier this year by a bassist who was asked by his fellow band members to "go buy a Dingwall" because it suited their band better in their opinion. Crazy!

I've been using Italia leather straps for a long time. They come in two widths, 2.5" and 4", and with a choice of a rough suede backing (that won't slip on your shoulder) or smooth glove leather. I love them, they look great and my oldest one has served me for 15 years already without any noticeable deterioration. They're not cheap, and they've hiked their prices over the past few years, but they regularly have discounts for "returning customers" - so now I have 8 https://www.italiastraps.com/

Yes On a more serious note: I would never play a reversed righty. If I really wanted something (and could afford it) I would keep searching and make sure I'm ready (financially) when one pops up. I don't like playing a bass upside-down, there's just too many drawbacks and ergonomic quirks that I couldn't get over: - the knobs getting in the way; - the jack being on the wrong side and the cable getting in the way; - not having side dots facing the correct way; - not (or barely) being able to use it on a strap; - having the deep cutaway on the wrong side of the bass; - not being able to properly rehearse and gig with it; - having to modify a bass to accommodate reverse stringing, and then later having to mod it back again before being able to sell it. I wouldn't want (and can't afford) to spend serious gigging bass money on a bass I won't actually gig with. I know you're referring to the Warwick Thumb NT5 you posted a thread about earlier. Since it has a Just-a-nut 1 and a bridge with saddles you can easily change the order of, you wouldn't be modifying it. The other factors would still stand though. You know what I really hate? Coming across your dream bass for a decent price, and finding out some righty put a drill to the lower horn to add a strap button . I would never want to be that guy

Just leave the headstock off then: Bass in question is a Kiesel Type X bass. It's not one of their regular models, but they will build them on request. It's headless, and presumably balances very well. To be honest though, I personally think it looks much too compact to really look cool. I also think the forearm carve on that bottom left pointy extention looks weird!

940 for one of these is a great price, and those old wenge necks are fantastic! 1999 is just before they switched to thicker ovangkol necks.