Shuker Singlecut 6 - 33” scale, bolt-on, dark amboina burr top - poorly stored and in need of TLC 😢 £1300 Newquay, Cornwall

[Martyin3d]

Hi all, 

It absolutely pains me to do this, but up for sale is my much loved 33" 6 string Shuker single cut. 

I bought this bass from someone on this forum in order to try out a shorter scale length. The scale really worked for me, and so shortly after, I ordered a custom build. For a little while, I was considering selling this, but the custom build has been heavily delayed, and I have since completely fallen in love with this outstanding instrument. 

I have been travelling for a little over a year now and so the bass, along with a few other things, went into a storage unit. At the beginning of the year, it came to my attention that the unit I was renting had gotten damp and there was mold in there. 

The bass was extremely well packaged at this time, in multiple layers of tightly packed, taped bubble wrap, inside a cardboard box. In total, it was in this environment for just over a year. I'm not sure exactly when the unit started to get damp, but I'm fairly certain the box the bass was in was not exposed directly to any water, and not affected by the moisture in the air, as the box was in exactly the same condition that I left it. 

To keep a long story short, the bass was then moved, unwrapped, and for reasons I cannot for the life of me comprehend, re-wrapped in a yoga mat that had been sat out loose in the unit in the area that was most affected, and was absolutely covered in mold. It was stored in this way, unbeknownst to me, for another 2.5 months. 

The bass itself is dry, and there is no discolouration, warping, or anything of the sort. That said, it has undoubtedly been exposed to the mold from the yoga mat it was wrapped in, as well as lots of dust / dirt from being re-wrapped poorly.

I have a severe mold sensitivity and have faced some health challenges in the past because of it. And so I'm struggling to see a way for me to keep this instrument and feel comfortable with it in my space. 

From the images I'm sure you can see that with just some guitar cleaner and a few cloths, you'd be able to get this looking in such a way that you would never tell it was in this environment. But, as a simple matter of integrity, I could only sell it in good faith to someone who's OK with the environment it's been in, and what it's been expoed to. I'm assuming this will be a great deal for someone who's willing to do a little cleanup, and is not as environmentally sensitive as I am. 

I'm still not in the UK and so the bass is currently with a friend of mine in Newquay. For that reason, the it needs to be sold strictly as-seen, as I am myself only going off what I can see in the images / videos, and what my friend (who does not know anything about basses) can tell me. You are, of course, welcome to come and check it out for yourself before committing. And I would be happy to arrange postage (but again, as-is with strictly no returns). 

I have attached images and videos of it in it's current state, as well as images and videos of what it was wrapped in. These were all taken today after being retrieved and inspected by a friend. Please note that the thumbnail pic was taken before it went into storage but is a clearer image of the bass which is why I've used it there. 

 

Here are some specs: 

- white ash body
- squareish front edge (to mimic old slab style bodies)
- forearm contour, rear rib carve and rear edge rounded to 1/2"
- dark amboina burr drop top
- individual bridge rail units
- 17mm spacing
- black hardware
- 2 X EMG 45DC - neck and bridge
- upgraded 3-band EMG preamp with mid freq sweep
- satin topcoat
- 33" scale
- 24 frets
- medium frets
- 5 piece maple/wenge neck
- 20.5mm deep at 1st fret, 22mm at 12th, gentle slim C profile
- plain rosewood board
- 20" radius
- marching dark amboina burr headstock veneer
- gotoh gb707 tuners
- 57mm nut
- carbon fibre neck reinforcement
- MOP side dots
- two way truss rod
- brass nut
- satin finish

I'm sure it's obvious from the tone of this post, but I'm absolutely gutted to see this one go, and about the situation in general. Any questions, please ask. 

Note: Since drafting this listing I have been in contact with Jon at Shuker, and he's confident that due to the lacquer he uses no mold or moisture would have reached the wood, and that it should be a fairly easy job to get it back to a state where it will be a total non issue for me. (Basically he's very politely suggesting I might be over-reacting, which may well be true ;)) so with that said, I may very well go down that route, but I wanted to post this nonetheless, at least to gauge interest and explore all of my options.

 

[Martyin3d]

Following up with some better images that were taken well before it going into storage, I was taking very good care of it until this storage unit problem, so this was exactly how it looked and the condition it was in prior to being stored.

Using a followup to keep the before / after state clearly separated. 

[chris_b]

What is the weight?

[Martyin3d]

3 minutes ago, chris_b said:

What is the weight?

Definitely lighter than my old Yamaha TRB 6! But I couldn't tell you off the top of my head. 

I've just sent my friend a message to see if she has some scales to weigh it. So (hopefully) I'll let you know! 

[samkeen]

It looks very beautiful! If I may offer some unrequested advice, there are people out there who can do a stellar job of cleaning this for you. A luthier would be able to disassemble this and ensure it’s sorted properly. I’m in Devon and can put you in touch with someone here if needed! 

Edited Monday at 18:21 by samkeen

[Martyin3d]

4 minutes ago, samkeen said:

It looks very beautiful! If I may offer some unrequested advice, there are people out there who can do a stellar job of cleaning this for you. A luthier would be able to disassemble this and ensure it’s sorted properly. I’m in Devon and can put you in touch with someone here if needed! 

Thanks, I appreciate that! I am considering just that at the moment and currently chatting with Jon (who built it). I thought it might be worth posting this regardless if only to keep options open. 

[BassApprentice]

That's a nice bass you've got there.

 

Obviously these are only photos and it is sometimes harder to see the fine details and potential imperfections...but I've seen second hand basses in stores that look fat worse than this! 😂

 

But as you said, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Going to be a great outcome for either way! 

[Martyin3d]

8 minutes ago, BassApprentice said:

That's a nice bass you've got there.

 

Obviously these are only photos and it is sometimes harder to see the fine details and potential imperfections...but I've seen second hand basses in stores that look fat worse than this! 😂

 

But as you said, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Going to be a great outcome for either way! 

Yeah it really is a stunner, it plays beautifully too. Very comfortable, slim, fast neck, really nice ergonomics for extended practice, the body contours are all lovely. And I've come to the conclusion over lots of time spent with this bass, that 17mm is the absolute sweet spot in terms of string spacing on a 6er... Which is a shame given the fact that I chose 16.5 on the build ordered coming up on 4 years ago now  In hindsight I should have gotten Jon Shuker to build that one.

In terms of it's current condition, it's definitely dirty, but beyond that there's no actual damage or any real imperfections to speak of. 

The worst of it is best seen in the final video on my original post. 

[Grooverjr]

I appreciate you having to be very cautious with mould, and I know from expeience the spores are very hard to completely eliminate but I reckon if that got taken apart completely (as in the bridge removed, tuners taken out and stripped etc.), each bit cleaned with the appropriate product and then reassembled you wouldn't have a problem. A decent luthier will be able to do that and as long as the dampness hasn't warped anything you'll be able to keep a bass you love. 

[Martyin3d]

3 minutes ago, Grooverjr said:

I appreciate you having to be very cautious with mould, and I know from expeience the spores are very hard to completely eliminate but I reckon if that got taken apart completely (as in the bridge removed, tuners taken out and stripped etc.), each bit cleaned with the appropriate product and then reassembled you wouldn't have a problem. A decent luthier will be able to do that and as long as the dampness hasn't warped anything you'll be able to keep a bass you love. 

Yeah, you're exactly right about spores, which is what makes me a little nervous. But I definitely am exploring / weighing up that option. I think right now it's just about getting a feel for how far I'd need to take this process for me to be comfortable, and how financially viable that would be. I've even considered having it all sanded and completely re-finished, including the fretboard being re-surfaced and re-fretted.



 

[Kev]

If it was me, i'd weigh up what i'm losing by selling this in its current state, vs getting it cleaned up.  How much would you be listing this for in its pre-storage state?

 

If its a big difference, i'd definitely keep it and at least try and get it disassembled and cleaned up in a different environment.

[Hellzero]

Calling @binky_bass !

[binky_bass]

Saw it a few hours ago, looks lovely but I've bought too many things recently to buy anything else! 

[eude]

I'm the original owner, that was my first custom bass way back in 2006, and it's a beauty!

Shame to see it in a bit of a state, however it's a really solidly made instrument and I'm sure it will spruce up just fine. Bar all that it looks to be in decent condition for a bass that's nearly 20 years old!

 

Best of luck with it all.

Eude