noelk27

My one and only factory Aria Pro II five-string is an IB-CST. Not sure how many thru-neck Arias came fitted with Bartolini pickups and pre-amp. Lovely. And rare.

[quote name='pete.young' post='1090856' date='Jan 15 2011, 08:44 PM']I like a wider spacing for 5-string basses, and my TRB5P is the most comfortable 5-er I've ever played - it has a flat neck, a wide string spacing and an almost flat fingerboard (23") ... Conversely I moved on my G&L2500 because the string spacing was too narrow and the fingerboard/neck too round and radiused.[/quote] I've tried - with three different TRB five-strings - to get along with the wider neck, but keep going back to the BB5000 because there's more curvature in the neck and touchboard, and the string spacing is tighter. Then again, after a Columbus Precision copy, my first quality bass was an Aria Pro II SB - 45mm nut width, 16mm string spacing, and a U profiled neck - so that may explain why I gravitate to tighter string spacing.

Had an Aguilar last year, for around three months, but was too clean sounding for my tastes. The OC3 has an OC2 mode, but it's a too clinical (although I've kept an OC3 to use for certain situations). The joy of the OC2 is that it's musical, and you can get it to do quirky things if you really push it hard. For sure, there are better octave pedals out there, but the OC2 just has the colourful character that makes it an essential to have.

More a case of there being a lot more variety in the effects market these days, if you ask me. There are new players releasing quality pedals, and being human, we always think there's something better out there (the grass is greener syndrome). That, and it's fun to try out new things - and I think I've eventually got around to trying every octave pedal out there (but still find myself coming back to the OC2, the first octave pedal I owned, and the one that's coloured my expectations of what an octave pedal should do).

[quote name='Buzz' post='1089450' date='Jan 14 2011, 03:32 PM']Well, yes, that's the general point. You're right in that they've already been damaged, but don't forget how strings actually work. Clearing out the crud in the voids will help them vibrate a bit more freely, if only for a limited time.[/quote] The crud is not mechanical or magnetic. The void is not mechanical or magnetic. So, how exactly is it that the crud in itself affects how freely a string vibrates? The crud affects the performance of a string in a number of ways. Simply put, the crud clogs up the voids, and the clogged voids result in the mechanical bond, core to wrap and wrap to wrap, failing and the metals fatiguing (which, due to the expansion of the superficial area of the wraps, and a consequent decrease in the percentage of void to mass, has a greater affect on the degradation of a string's performance). Boiling the string might remove some on the crud, but why does the process of boiling a string only result in a temporary, at best a few days but most probably a few hours of, improved performance? It's because the clogging action of the crud is the least of the factors affecting the performance of a string, degradation of the mechanical bond and the corrosion of the metals being more significant, and it's these that result in a string losing performance. Combine that with the mechanical damage occasioned to a string by the act of stringing and tensioning, and the process of playing, and there's no prospect of boiling resurrecting a damaged string.

Does metal fatigue over time? Yes. Will a string degrade over time, ever if never previously fitted, or used? Yes. A string, correctly packaged and stored, has a long shelf-life, but not an infinite one. Many manufacturers research notional lifespans, with many date-stamping their products to assist in stock management and timeous distribution, so that end-users don't encounter quality issues.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1089440' date='Jan 14 2011, 03:23 PM']Bloody hell. That bass is a Hondo.[/quote] Just me, or does that sound like the strapline for an advertising campaign. Probably.

Give some consideration to a neck with an oval cross-section, as opposed to circular, so you can maintain a more consistent wrist angle. Also worth considering a conical touchboard - rounder at the nut, and getting progressively flatter towards the body. The two in combination made for the most comfortable neck I've played.

Hypothesising, of course, but it's entirely possible that the guitar has been damaged in transit, between his residence in the UK and his home in the Argentine. Admittedly, that a fraud of some species is being attempted is also a highly possible scenario. Request that he provides you with detailed digital photographs, with embedded time and date signatures, showing all the points he is asserting are at issue. Indicate to him that you are not obliged to issue a refund until the item is returned to you, that no refund will be considered until that time, and that funds in prospect of any full or partial refund will not be entrusted to escrow. Clearly indicate that you will have the guitar inspected by an authorised Gibson reseller in the UK, and provide him with that reseller's accreditations. (On that point, my understanding is that Guitar Guitar is Scotland's only authorised main dealer, but you may with to confirm this information with the UK distributor for Gibson products.) Clearly state that he should send the guitar to you securely packaged, using a reputable courier, and appropriately insured, and that you will not accept liable for any loss of damage to the guitar while in transit. Clearly state that you are not liable for his additional carriage costs to transport the guitar from the Argentine to the UK, and that his liability for said expenses extends to all importation fees, custom's fees, and any taxes. Clearly state that should the guitar be indentified as a genuine by the appointed authorised reseller, or, in the alternative, Gibson's appointed distributor in the UK, that all property in the guitar remains his, and that return of the guitar to him in the Argentine will be at his expense, all courier and carriage costs, including fees and taxes, to be paid by him before dispatch.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1089441' date='Jan 14 2011, 03:23 PM']I reckon the active circuit has been pulled out, and the pickguard replaced. The rest of it looks right.[/quote] Yea, the most likely scenario. And the fate another "Special", for sale here last year, had undergone. Commented that that seller might reconsider his description, of Precision Special, given that what made it a "Special" when it left the factory were the pickups and electrics, and that with a set of EMGs and modern electrics all the guy had was an 80s Precision with modern bits, and no more desirable than any other run-of-tthe-mill 80s Precision. This one still has the original high-mass bridge and tuners, although the gold finish looks very worn.

What's puzzling me is the control layout - which should comprise three control pots and a mini toggle switch, on a factory Precision Special. I'd also expect the scratchguard to be white plastic, not gold anodised. As for the colours, I've seen three different blues on Precision Special models - owning one finished in a pale metallic grey-blue, similar to this example, as well as one in a bright, rich blue, with an almost metallic flake effect - with the third variant being something very close to Lake Placid Blue, but with a fade effect.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1089214' date='Jan 14 2011, 12:29 PM']All I did was point out that ... they were identical to Cimar-branded basses from 1980 ... I also pointed out there were a lot of things about them that suggest that while they were sourced via Hoshino, they quite likely didn't come from Fujigen. Not what he wanted to hear! [/quote] A bit like the Shiro = Aria = Matsumoku logic that some people apply. As for our eBay friend, he'd have simply assumed that you were attempting to soften him up, throwing a few curve balls, to get him to part with this long-cherished prized possession he's owned for the last week, or two.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1088840' date='Jan 14 2011, 02:15 AM']Excellent detective work! ... I've swapped a couple of messages with him about this before I found out his "true identity".[/quote] You took him up on his offer to provide references then? Oh, and as for the investigative work, I cannot lie, John (BB2000) is BC's very own Gil Grissom.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1088706' date='Jan 13 2011, 10:45 PM']Ridiculous, ludicrous overprice ... I would think £150 - £175 would be a tiny bit more realistic for this example![/quote] So, a bit less that what he paid for it? [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290518930873"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=290518930873[/url]

[quote name='BB2000' post='1088821' date='Jan 14 2011, 01:07 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290518930873"]which he bought the other week for £195[/url][/quote] Accumulating to speculate - can't criticise him on that score. I'd still be doing it if I could be ars*d. Portraying the instruments as long-cherished possessions is something else - and establishing a fresh eBay ID as a front is a bit fly-by-night (as I'm betting his alternative persona has an interesting buyer's history).

It might remove some of the crud from the voids in the wraps, but that's all it does. The fact that the corrosion damage done to the string over its life by all that crud being in those voids for weeks on end, not to mention the mechanical damage caused by fretting the string, striking the string, and maintaining the string under tension, oh, not forgetting the abrasion damaged caused by dragging the string through the bridge when you first fitted it, has already been done. Sure, in the 1950s and 1960s when strings were in short supply, somewhat expensive, and entirely hit or miss as to whether you'd get a set with a lifeless constituent, then boil away, not that it ever worked, no matter how hard people tried to convince themselves that it did. Urban myth, people, wake up and smell the meths, or vinegar, or lemon juice, or whatever it is you're throwing into your string soup!

[quote name='Johnston' post='1088693' date='Jan 13 2011, 10:28 PM']Plus with the seller having (0) feed back the other day I scepticism says it was someone trying to make it hard to look up the feedback and see how much of a turn he's putting on it.[/quote] And the "no feedback phone for references" bit just adds to your sense of suspicion, huh? Yea, mine too.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1088378' date='Jan 13 2011, 06:06 PM']Just out of interest, how do you know it is the same guy? Admittedly 2 BB1000 basses coming up for sale in almost identical condition with cases and leaflet would be unusual but there doesn't appear to be a direct link... I'm not defending the seller, simply wondering what other grounds there are for doubt![/quote] From what John (BB2000) says, sounds as though he has direct knowledge of the original purchaser/current seller, so is able to join the dots for the unwitting. Reading the current eBay listing you'd certainly think that the current seller had owned the bass for the last 30 years. But, as others will no doubt point out, buying low and selling high is the secret to success in business, and being able to spin or market without actually lying would be seen by most in advertising as a good well done. [quote name='pete.young' post='1088601' date='Jan 13 2011, 09:13 PM']Now if it were a late 70's Fender in that condition, it would go for 2 - 3 times the inflated amount, so you could argue it's still a bargain![/quote] And if a Fiat 500 were a Ferrari Enzo it would be worth a cool million.

Wonder if there are a few guys, hanging around the door, drawing on a Malboro!

It's nice, but it's not £500+ nice. Polishing cloth, but he seems to be missing the rest of the tool kit. Brochure, but not tags.

Things could be worse ... [url="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110112/ap_on_bi_ge/us_illinois_taxes"]http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110112/ap_on_..._illinois_taxes[/url]

The listing also breaches eBay's terms and conditions.

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='1086165' date='Jan 11 2011, 10:14 PM']Price hikes? Your damm tootin!! £500 for a Mexican P bass in Guitarguitar? I remember not so long ago, they were about £360. Or was I imagining it?[/quote] And not so long ago many of us were congratulating ourselves on the amazing bargains to be scored from the USA and Japan, given the strength of the pound against the dollar and the yen. This is just the other side of that equation, and demonstrates the precarious nature of your purchasing power when you live in a country that doesn't produce many goods within its own borders. So, the relative price of that Mexican Pbass has less to do with price increases and more to do with the deficiencies in the UK manufacturing base. (No pun intended.)

Depends how you define "Art". If you use the "provokes an emotional response" yardstick, then sure. But a dentists also provokes an emotional response when pulling a tooth. Personally, don't doubt that creating music is artistic, or that making music involves artistry, but to my mind it's not per se art.