BassAgent

Added a second short scale to the collection, next to the Mustang. I've always wanted a Höfner Club and finally pulled the trigger on an Ignition SE. I have considered the Contemporary but I wanted a full hollow Club I'm really really surprised by the quality, actually. The finish is immaculate, the frets are really good and it sounds great. I did put some Labella flats on it.

Yes and no: I received the fiver for a review, and bought the four string afterwards. I can't imagine they've hand picked a fantastic green four string and sent it to me.

Well, I actually ordered two at the time (a 4 string and this one) and they were equally good. So lucky twice?

Any second hand Yamaha or Cort. If you want to go new: Harley Benton indeed.

I have a 5 string from the second batch which is absolutely flawless. Frets are perfect, electronics are great, bridge is perfect, no complaints whatsoever.

Hm yeah that's also a possibility but I really like the looks of the HB1's, and the body is quite heavy so there's no need for lightweight tuner for better balance.

I have this amazing USA Lakland Joe Osborn. I love absolutely everything about it. However, I'd love to make it even prettier by giving it lollipop tuners. It carries Hipshot HB1 (reverse) tuners which of course work fine. I have contacted Hipshot if the keys can be replaced, but they can't. I'd have to order a whole set of new tuners from them which in itself is no problem, but they don't seem to offer lollipop keys on the HB1's (only on the HB7's). Is there a drop-in replacement for these tuners with lollipop keys?

It's funny: recently, I had two incidents of people spontaneously complimenting me on my bass sound. First instance was when I just bought my USA Lakland, which is absolutely fabulous. Second instance was last weekend, when the guitar player of my ABBA tribute said "dude, this bass is amazing". It was my 1970. And I must say: I was actually pretty surprised by how well it worked. Amplifiers can hide a lot of imperfections on a bass, but the real test is playing it with in-ear monitoring, as we do with the ABBA tribute. And the low-mids on this bass are just...oh boy. So phat. So punchy.

Isn't it great to have a child's toy that sounds thát good?😎

I wouldn't count on it. Fender hasn't even officially announced it.

Looks like a spam bot?

I'm not surprised.

So apparently, Fender is going to announce a new Vintera series later this year. With this time: -Competition stripe Mustangs -LPB Jazz -Telecaster Bass -VI And: the reintroduction of rosewood instead of pao ferro. https://guitarbomb.com/2023/07/22/leak-fender-vintera-ii-series-is-back-with-rosewood-fretboards/

That is absolutely one hundred percent Hal Blaine.

Nijmegen, so if you start driving now you might make it😁

Quite bodyshaming that.

Alright let's not derail this thread any further (although I really enjoy all the VI talk). I'm going to take the 1970 Jazz to a gig tomorrow and the 1966 Jazz as a backup. I've never taken two vintage Jazzes to a gig (because I've always only had one) so I feel pretty fortunate.

Actually pretty surprised that many here seem to think it's a surprise that a guitar player plays bass now and then. Really, is it surprising that Hendrix or Page played bass? Now, this was a surprise to me a few years back. Adele plays bass!

I just had a visit from the owner of the VI. He told me the instrument probably hasn't had any strings since about 1985, so I was the first person to play and hear it in almost 40 years🤩 His face when I played it was absolutely priceless. He ultimately wants to sell it, so I'll be selling it in a while, he's waiting with it for a bit due to personal circumstances. But man, was he happy. And so am I.

Yeah but "Entwistle had one too" is a phrase you can use with practically any bass.😎

Yes, the VI. It's literally a bass guitar: tuned like a guitar (EADGBE) but an octave lower. You can still buy a Squier reissue model of this instrument, Fender also made a Japanese reissue and a Pawn Shop version (with a Jazzmaster pickup in the bridge position). The Beatles used a late 60's VI on the Let It Be sessions:

It's finally finished. The early 1963 VI I've been restoring for the last few months. It belonged to the owner's father and had been in the owner's attic in this crappy old gigbag for the last 20 years or so, with no strings. The bridge had disappeared, the foam on the mute had perished and I had no idea if the neck was still okay and if the electronics were still working. The body also looks like it had been suffering some mild moisture damage, so I was wondering if it had affected the hardware. So at first I cleaned it, bought a bridge and strung it up; very carefully, because I didn't know what the neck would behave like after such a long time without any strings. Would it warp? Become a bow and arrow? No idea, so I gradually applied tension to it, a little bit extra every day for about a week. And lo and behold: the neck held perfectly fine. The tremolo works. Two out of three pickups worked. The pots and switches are fine. Only thing that didn't work is the neck pickup, which had to be rewound. And last week, it was finally finished. Well, almost. I haven't bought the foam for the mute yet; it's pretty hard to come by here in NL and I'm paying half of the purchase price in shipping if I get it from Germany. The owner is coming by tonight to see it in the shape it is now. He hasn't seen it since november so I'm very curious about his reaction. And now: photos of this very special instrument!

Eight!

It most definitely is!

This is absolutely perfect. The checking, the colour, the birdseye in the neck, everything.