pieterv

Thanks for that. Great to practice site reading.

Yeah, the Fender Bass book says "late 1960s".

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300470910267&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...ME:B:SS:GB:1123[/url] What do you think? What about the decal on the headstock? When did they switch to the bigger logo? Thanks, Pieter

Saw this listing for a Warwick FNA Jazzman: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Warwick-FNA-Jazzman-5-string-8yrs-old-Warwick-Gigbag-/270595193781?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3f00bafbb5"]eBay[/url] Thought it looked familiar, then remembered: [url="http://www.freeads.co.uk/uk/av/music/guitars/5041573/warwick-bass-guitar/view"]Freeads link[/url] Same picture, but very different locations. Might have an innocent explanation, but with a very low feedback rating, better check before you bid.

Yes, I think you are right to be suspicious. If they are genuine they could sell for much more, so why would they sell them at these prices? Pieter

When I was looking for my bass I compared a MIM and a USA and there was quite a marked difference (so my generous wife bought the USA as a combined birthday Xmas pressy!). Pieter

[quote name='Bassassin' post='750077' date='Feb 18 2010, 06:51 PM']It's possible that US Ebay has different regulations than UK - it certainly does in many other areas, particularly the fee structure. J.[/quote] Well, I dealt with Ebay UK (sorry, maybe I was a bit unclear. With USA I meant the bass was supposed to be an American Fender). Pieter

Interesting case. I have heard it said more than once that Ebay/Paypal is weighted in favour of the buyer. I had the following expereicne buying a supposed USA Fender Jazz. When I got it it sounded awful. Taking it apart showed tiny pots (definitely not the type fitted by Fender) and a neck pocket date that didn't match the neck serial. When I contacted the seller he seemed genuinly shocked and asked for photos to back up my claims, which I sent him. He handled it like a gentleman and offered a refund on return of the bass, which I received. So, honest guy. He said he bought it years ago from a respected local music store! He did sent me a copy of an email he received from Paypal asking for advice. They said it was basically up to him if he wanted to refund or not (despite pretty strong evidence on my part that this was a fake with a genuione Fender neck). So, things worked out OK for me due to an honest and fair seller, but it made me doubt Paypal's "buyer-bias" a bit. Anyone got further experience with this? Bassassin's experience is quite shocking, extreme buyer support! You would have expected them to look into this a bit more (like damaged packaging, etc). But any buyers who haven't received support? Pieter

If you decide to go for a Jazz bass, try to find a store that has both the MIJ and USA so you can compare. I found there was a big difference between USA and Mexican, but MIJ is supposed to be very good. Still, better to listen and make your own mind up. Made in USA will be slightly over your budget, but you could always look at second hand if you do decide it sounds much better. Good luck, Pieter

Thanks for the ideas.

There don't seem to be any budget valve bass amps (around £200), so I was wondering if it would be possible to convert a guitar amp or combo to bass use. Where are the main differences, in the amp or the speaker? The Fender Bassman was used many guitarists, so some bass amps can be used for guitar. What about the other way around? You would probably need another frequency response from the amp, would you be able to change this by adjusting filter capacitors? What about the speaker, could you stick with the same driver or would that die a quick death? Bass cabs or combos are closed back (apart from a smallish hole) to dampen the speaker, I read, so would modifying the cab in that way be sufficient, or would you also need another driver? Any ideas? Anyone actually done it? Thanks for any feedback. Pieter