LeftyJ

I currently only play bass guitar, but used to own an EUB (a Big Kydd converted to lefty for me) for about a year that I've gigged with a few times. In the end I found myself playing it very little, and I found myself able to mimic the tone very closely with my fretless Sandberg Bullet 5, so I ended up selling it and have not regretted it. From the money I got for it I bought my Rickenbacker 4003 and I couldn't be happier.

[quote name='mrcrow' post='519317' date='Jun 20 2009, 03:30 PM']always a wal[/quote] Same here. Preferably three: a Mark I fretted and fretless and a Mark II 5-string

Yes, the current models have thick and wide necks. I have a 2008 and in feel it's closer to a P than anything else in my collection.

If you like the Ibanez SR505, you may also like the Cort Artisan B5. It's very similar specwise, but besides mahogany it's also available with an ash body. It has the same Bartolini MK1 electronics as the Ibanez, and it's built on the exact same production facility of Cort in Korea. Very well-made, great feel and a very punchy and versatile tone. It's also more affordable than the Ibanez.

Love the Tyler! Does it have that incredible Demeter preamp?

[quote name='Hellrazor' post='500090' date='May 28 2009, 06:39 PM']Here's mine, it's actually an '04 S1 USA body with a Geddy neck and a Badass 3. Bit of a FrankenGeddy really but sound fantastic - just love that neck![/quote] I like the look of that better than a singleply. I do not like how the strings travel over the pole pieces of the pickups though, and there's a lot of fretboard width left above the E-string. Doesn't the BadAss 3 have more grooves so you have some room to position the strings better? With the stock '75 reissue bridge of my MIJ JB75-US the strings wouldn't travel over the pickups properly either, but when I had my BadAss II installed I requested to have the saddle slots filed to accomodate perfect travel over the poles.

Lovely! I don't like the tortoise guard though, I would replace that with a prettier tort (darker and with a less 'painted on' look) or another black 3-ply. But otherwise, nice collection! I bought a MIJ '75 Jazz reissue last March, and I love it. They're incredibly well-made instruments and they play and sound amazing.

So do I, it is an incredible bass, especially at the price I paid. It plays great, sounds great, and the electronics are brilliant! The controls consist of volume, passive tone and a pickup selector switch (unfortunately no balance pot), and a 3-band EQ with a master preamp boost/cut control so you can dial in any EQ setting and then set the active level at the exact same level as the passive output. Why didn't anyone else think of that? That feature has only been available briefly, in 1982 a new more ergonomic version came out with different pickups (a split-coil and a J-style singlecoil) and a different preamp with a pickup balance pot instead of the preamp boost/cut. I've only had it for just over two weeks now, but that was long enough to decide this is a definite keeper! The electronics didn't work properly at first from 20 years of lying in its case unused, but the active/passive switch and the pickup selector switch are now replaced (luckily the brown switch tip fits on the new switch too) and all works like it should.

Thanks! But I'm afraid that one's not going anywhere but here for a long time I've only had it for a short while now, I bought it on [url="http://cgi.ebay.de/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180333894807"]eBay[/url] in March. It's a great bass. I had the original '75 RI bridge replaced with that Badass II last week because of an annoying buzz in one of the saddles, and I have some Hipshot tuners and a D-tuner waiting to be installed. I also added the pickup cover, because I love the look and it doesn't interfere with my playing. This baby will be seeing a lot of playing time!

My 1981 [b]Ibanez MC924[/b]. 5-piece maple / walnut neck with ebony fingerboard and mahogany body wings with ash facings (front and back), Ibanez Super-4 singlecoils in brown bakelite casings coupled to an amazing preamp (with a JRC4558 opamp, like a Tubescreamer!) and a big brass AccuCast B-bridge. Incredible bass. I had long lusted for one but was unable to find one. I was pointed towards this one by someone on a Dutch bass forum. I hesitated at first because a fellow forumite was interested, but when he pulled out I took my chance and bought it at an absolute steal. With original case, and original receipt from 1981! My 2008 [b]Italia Torino Bass[/b]. Semihollow body with a laminated spruce top, laminated maple back and sides and a solid maple center block, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard. Bound top, back and fingerboard, and pearloid block inlays. Pickups and hardware are all by Wilkinson. Incredibly affordable, and incredible fun to play! My [b]Sandberg Bullet 5 fretless[/b]. Sandblasted swamp ash body, one piece maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, ABM Mueller bridge, Sandberg tuners, Noll preamp with 2-band EQ and Delano J-style pickups.

Here are some pics of some of my basses Click for a bigger version. My [b]Ellio Martina Forza[/b], custom made. Swamp ash body, 5-piece maple/purpleheart neck with maple board, coiltapped singlecoils (switchable from 7200 to 9200 windings for more output and more pronounced mids) wound by Ellio himself in ebony casings, Aguilar OBP-3 preamp, ABM Mueller bridge and Schaller tuners. My [b]Fender JB75-US[/b], made in Japan. Ash body, one piece maple neck with walnut skunkstripe, white bindings and pearloid blocks, Fender USA '70s Jazz Bass pickups, upgraded with a BadAss II (the original '75 reissue bridge had a very annoying buzz), Hipshot HB-2 tuners and a BT-2 X-tender (the Hipshots were yet to be installed when these pics were taken though). Two of my [b]Ibanez ATK's[/b], a '96 [b]ATK300[/b] and a '98 [b]ATK305[/b], both MIJ (I have a second ATK300, a '97). Ash body, 3-piece maple neck with maple fingerboard, bigass bridge, ATK triple coil humbucker and the ATK preamp with 3-way selector for the pickup. More in the next post because of the 10 picture limit per post

[quote name='jonsmith' post='511962' date='Jun 12 2009, 12:23 PM']If it's a 75 then it will have the old style truss rods (there should be two if it's a genuine Rickenbacker).[/quote] Did the 4001 already have two rods by then? I thought 4001's had one trussrod and therefore wouldn't accommodate the use of roundwound strings because of the higher string tension, and that the 4003 was introduced to address the need for a Ric that could take on roundwound strings. When was the 4001 modified to two trussrods?

Love mine too. I bought it online without any real knowledge about them, after playing a '78 4003. Mine is a brand new 2008 4003. From what I gather from other Ric-enthousiasts, the 2008 model goes back to vintage specs in various ways, including the neck profile, walnut headstock wings, full width triangular inlays, plexiglass trussrod cover and pickguard and a 'vintage switch' which activates a condensator in the signal chain of the bridge pickup that cuts some lows on the bridge pickup and emphasizes the high mids and highs. It's a fantastic instrument, I had to get used to the feel of the neck profile and I had to experiment a little with the placement of my left hand, but it's well worth it.

[quote name='Rebel' post='511513' date='Jun 11 2009, 07:34 PM']there's a guy who makes Jazz Deluxes on leftybassist.com his username is Rodent, he works for a company called Regenerate Guitar Works and the stuff they sell comes in both righty and lefty.[/quote] The guy IS Regenerate Guitar Works

Then get one! Worked for me!

[quote name='steve-soar' post='510818' date='Jun 11 2009, 01:58 AM']1. Instruments. Decent gear for lefty players is at an all time high.[/quote] I agree, but that's all thanks to the internet IMHO. I would not have been able to gather the same amount of lefthanded gear I have now without internet. Stores in a range of about 50 km around my location rarely have anything fancier than a Squier Precision Special, a cheap-ass Washburn or a Stagg. And with a little luck you may find a MIM Fender Jazz, or a lefty Yamaha BB. Every bass I currently own was bought on the internet or located with help from the internet and bought at a store at whose website I found it. Otherwise I would still be haunting classified ads in newspapers, harrassing stores throughout the country, or ordering a custom made instrument or a factory instrument at a 15% upcharge and having to wait for months, having to make a deposit of (often) half the price, and if you cancel your order because it turns out you don't like the bass as much as you were hoping when it finally arrives, you lose your deposit...

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='509289' date='Jun 9 2009, 06:30 PM']I'm also strongly against this, and lefty players in general. They'll be wanting to vote next! [/quote] ...but seriously though, that made me LOL

Why does it have to be either an original, or a luthier-made bass? What's wrong with Fender's own reissues? The MiM Classic '70's Jazz Bass is a very good bass and Fender did a very good job catching some of the magic of a real '70's Jazz in it. The MIJ '75 Jazz is also well worth checking out. And if you're willing to spend serious money you could also look at the American Vintage '75 Jazz Bass, they're incredible basses. I believe there's one for sale on this forum right now.

1 made here in Holland (my Ellio Martina) 1 made in Germany (my Sandberg Bullet 5 fretless) 3 made in the USA (my Rickenbacker 4003, my G&L SB2 and my Longbow 5 made in Japan (my 3 Ibanez ATK's, my Ibanez MC924 and my Fender '75 Jazz reissue 2 made in South-Korea (my Italia Torino and my Cort NTL-B FL My guitars (I did not vote for those) were made in the USA, Mexico, the Czech republic, Japan, Korea and China.

If you can handle the tight stringspacing (they have the regular 4-string neck width) they're definitely worth checking out.

I'd love to see how they compare to a MIJ '75 Jazz RI. In price, the MIJ is somewhere halfway inbetween the MIM and the MIA. I wonder if the same goes for quality and workmanship. I've heard lots of good things about the MIM and in its specifications it's actually closer to a real '70's Jazz than the MIJ, if only because of the authentic pickup placement (on the MIJ, the bridge pickup is in its regular '60's position).

Both share the same set neck construction, the difference is in the hardware: the Contemporary has the same pickups and hardware as a German-made 500/1 whereas the Icon has Chinese-made hardware and electronics. Interestingly, the Contemporary also has a solid maple sustainblock, whereas the Icon is a full hollowbody.

I got a lefty 1981 MC924 today, in like-new condition (including the original lefty case, in perfect shape) at an incredible price. The electronics need some attention, but other than that it's perfect! Pics soon.