Sue Ryder Basses - Just Curious!

[thebrig]

A few year's ago there seemed to be a big scramble to get hold of a Sue Ryder bass, lots of glowing reports etc.

So I'm now wondering how many still have one, and your overall views on them?

[casapete]

I bought one, blue with a rosewood board. Did it really to help the charity but the bass turned out to be pretty good, especially for the price. Sold it on here ( I think) to a happy buyer. Haven’t seen any since for some reason, maybe people mainly kept them, like I should have done!

[Reggaebass]

I knew they sold guitars but I didn’t know they sold basses , there’s an old thread here 🙂

 

[PaulWarning]

from what I remember people were buying them because they were good for the price, (everybody likes a bargain) but I suspect they were soon discarded one way or another because they still weren't as good as slightly more expensive budget basses

[taunton-hobbit]

Don't get me started on charity shops & their impact on 'proper' retailers.............

😎

[mcnach]

2 hours ago, thebrig said:

A few year's ago there seemed to be a big scramble to get hold of a Sue Ryder bass, lots of glowing reports etc.

So I'm now wondering how many still have one, and your overall views on them?

 

For a £60 bass it was pretty decent, although I found the pickup a bit microphonic which is a shame as it sounded good.

I still have one. I turned it to fretless and put a Model P pickup on it. I sold three other fretless basses and kept this one. It just works and makes all the right noises, so I'm pretty happy with it. 

 

[mcnach]

44 minutes ago, PaulWarning said:

from what I remember people were buying them because they were good for the price, (everybody likes a bargain) but I suspect they were soon discarded one way or another because they still weren't as good as slightly more expensive budget basses

 

I'd disagree with that assessment. They compared positively to Squier Affinities and the like in my experience (had three examples in my hands). 

I do think that too many people who didn't need another Precision bought one, and eventually they let them go. That was certainly my case

I bought three!

I know I know.

The first one was to see what it was about and because I fancied a cheap substrate for modification. It was white/rosewood.

I liked it. I was very impressed. It actually was the first time I enjoyed playing a Precision style bass. I put a Wizard Thumper on it and used it as it was for a while. I bought a blue and another white one. The blue one had a maple fingerboard, so I swapped necks and turned the white/maple into the fretless I posted above. The blue one was stripped and became a project to turn it into a MM/P type bass.

I only have the fretless now. 

I sold the white fretted one because at one point I had something like 5 Precisions (Squier CV, Fender Classic 50s, and a few others) so I only kept the Fender because I loved the wide fretboard on that one and it was maple. I never finished the project one and sold it as parts. The fretless remains. 

[mcnach]

44 minutes ago, taunton-hobbit said:

Don't get me started on charity shops & their impact on 'proper' retailers.............

😎

 

Please let us know.

[Dad3353]

1 hour ago, taunton-hobbit said:

Don't get me started on charity shops & their impact on 'proper' retailers.............

😎

Curmudgeon. 

...

[taunton-hobbit]

15 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

Curmudgeon. 

...

Nope, I'm a 'proper' retailer ...................

😎

[Owen]

38 minutes ago, mcnach said:

I do think that too many people who didn't need another Precision bought one, and eventually they let them go.

I resemble that remark.

I did put five individual bridge saddles on it and drilled the headstock for another machine head first. I am a luthier!

 

 

[oldslapper]

I bought a bass. It was ok, but for the money it was good. Sold it within a month or so. But I bought a classical at the same time, it was superb value for money. Really well made, cut away body, sounded great and after a quick set up with new strings and lowering the saddle, played very well. Kept that for about 4-5 years. Gave it away in the end as I bought a higher end Yamaha. I’d buy another in a heartbeat, but can’t find one anywhere.

[Dan Dare]

They're OK. A pal has a couple, picked up cheaply used. He runs a few jam nights and keeps them handy as guest instruments. They do the job.

[NancyJohnson]

There was a clamour for them like bog paper at the start of the pandemic.

I never quite understood how or why it all started.  Never saw one in the flesh, headstock looked a bit shonky ('Where can I borrow a drum sander?').

[casapete]

4 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

There was a clamour for them like bog paper at the start of the pandemic.

I never quite understood how or why it all started.  Never saw one in the flesh, headstock looked a bit shonky ('Where can I borrow a drum sander?').

They were reasonable to good quality, great value for money and (hopefully) benefitted the charity too, what’s not to like? 🙂

[skankdelvar]

Well, they were ludicrously inexpensive, reasonably solid and a good platform for modding. My pal bought a Ryder Telecaster, easily as good as a cheap Squier that cost twice as much and eminently playable.

Edited June 25, 2020 by skankdelvar

[stewblack]

My greatest regret in life was missing out on the Sue Ryder bass. 

Still haunts me. 

Edited June 25, 2020 by stewblack

[Hobbayne]

I remember that after all the initial buzz had died down, there were a lot of posts complaining of fretwear.

The fret wire turned out to be quiet soft and wore down within months IIRC.

[mcnach]

11 hours ago, Hobbayne said:

I remember that after all the initial buzz had died down, there were a lot of posts complaining of fretwear.

The fret wire turned out to be quiet soft and wore down within months IIRC.

 

Is this your experience, or what someone who knows someone who played one said

I played one quite a lot for about a year and I can't say there was any sign of fretwear, and no, I don't mean the fretless one

 

 

[Dan Dare]

11 hours ago, Hobbayne said:

I remember that after all the initial buzz had died down, there were a lot of posts complaining of fretwear.

The fret wire turned out to be quiet soft and wore down within months IIRC.

I would have thought the buzz would increase if there was a problem with fret wear...

I'll get my coat 😁

[SICbass]

12 hours ago, stewblack said:

My greatest regret in life was missing out on the Sue Ryder bass. 

Still haunts me. 

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/sue-ryder-precision-bass-guitar-£99-shipped-mainland-uk/1300990108
 

If you‘re still curious...

[stewblack]

Just now, SICbass said:

https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/sue-ryder-precision-bass-guitar-£99-shipped-mainland-uk/1300990108
 

If you‘re still curious...

Blimey! Weren't they about £60 new? Shows I should have definitely bought some, if nothing else for the investment opportunity. 

[SICbass]

4 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Blimey! Weren't they about £60 new? Shows I should have definitely bought some, if nothing else for the investment opportunity. 

I hadn’t heard of them before this thread. They were that cheap? I thought 79 quid sounded reasonable.

[Cat Burrito]

Ha! Probably like many I clicked on this thread because I remember the craze. I think I was one of the minority of Basschat members at the time who DIDN'T buy one! But of course I did consider getting one!

[mcnach]

43 minutes ago, SICbass said:

I hadn’t heard of them before this thread. They were that cheap? I thought 79 quid sounded reasonable.

 

I can't remember the original price they sold (or didn't, rather, it seems) initially at, but when SR decided to sell a lot of their stock, they sold at £60. That's when they became 'a thing' here in the forum