skej21

I think you’re missing my point. It’s not about ‘sounding better’. There’re are a LOT of old dudes who want to collect things that are like the good old days, with disposable income. When I worked in the music shop, the amount of people who bought Gibson J-45 or wanted a Fender strat identical to Hank Marvin’s etc was crazy, and with Gibson it was a standard model. With Fender, you’d end up selling something that (like you say) was “good enough” or could “do the job” functionally, but it wasn’t exacting enough for those types of people to get an instrument they were happy with. i’m not saying the range is something that personally I would like, it’s just something I think Fender would be better focusing on

I would put money on it, that they’d get more sales through that idea and reclaim more market share from people who don’t want cheap vinteras, or expensive custom shop models but would buy a Limelight or Bravewood for £1000-2000

It’s not at all close, and yes it’s cheaper… which was exactly my point. The concept I explained is assuming that the kind of person who is looking for a budget, “ball park vintage-spec” Fender would buy Vintera 🙂

This is just the kind of thing we always see from Fender, trying to chase ‘new business’. What Fender don’t seem to have tried at any point (but I think would be extremely popular!) is a step further down the ‘American original’ series. Take an iconic, genuine instrument from specific eras (let’s say, a ‘63 Precision as an example), and use advances in technology to scan the dimensions, wood types, neck profile, nitro composition etc and just recreate every exacting detail. Call it “American Authentic” range or similar and price it between £1500-3000 and offer all the classic finishes options (fiesta red etc). Job done.

Sorry, I’m an enabler haha

If you can find one, Jade Pearl Metallic with rosewood board was beautiful in the flesh! I reckon it wasn’t a very common choice though, so it’ll be pretty difficult to find one

Exactly the same. I saw the usual setups and thought I could go modern (and at times vintage) and it would somehow give me an edge or better sound than the ‘cliche’ setups. I’ve spent thousands doing it and just got back to an American Original Precision bass, Ampeg PF115HE and PF20T and couldn’t be happier. Could’ve saved myself a fortune and just bought that in the first place!

Nope, but I’ve definitely made “main bass” purchases that were attempts to chase or find that one bass I played when I was younger and couldn’t afford that SHOULD have been my “main bass”. I really needed to just save up and buy one at the start! 🤣

Nobody else finding the fact that this question is being asked by Mr Bolt-On, funny?… Just me, huh.

Stole the idea from Pinterest 🤣 only way I could keep the partner happy with hanging basses on walls!

Some nice stuff on here! Heres mine (L to R) CIJ Geddy Lee Signature Jazz MIJ Mustang Bass ACG Finn Type R SC https://www.instagram.com/p/BolhH1SFwcm/?utm_medium=copy_lin

Awesome!!! Love it

My limelight is #133 and I picked it up in 2014 (its on the left in this photo) and the relic was “light” then. Don’t think it was hugely different considering I’ve added most of the other little knocks since! https://instagram.com/p/CRldigggGeJ/

Beware, the rabbit hole! 🤣 their social media pages (Facebook mainly) show off a huge range of what they’re capable of 👍

If you want an alternative to the initial options off nitro/custom relicing spec like Limelight, but mixed with something familiar like Fender Japan quality, have a look here; https://restauracja-gitar.pl/portfolio-posts/fender-precision-bass-mij-1962ri-20153550zl-922/ They do vintage-spec refinishing (and relicing) on Fender Japan instruments. I’ve played a few (and have owned countless Japanese Fenders, played hundreds of Fender CS models and own a Limelight) and can say the quality is right up there, like CS level quality at a third of the price! They do bursts and a few other things you can’t get with Limelight. If I didn’t own the limelight before playing the few “Gitar” basses that I did, I wouldn’t have thought twice about specing a bass from Gitar Restauracja!

Stores generally are a weird place. We used to have a regular and he’d come in and purposefully try an instrument 3/4 times a week for about 8-10 weeks before buying. He’d always manage to let it pick up little knocks and scratches during his time trying it and then at the time of purchase, would say “this is shop soiled, what discount will you do?”… we soon caught on and would order a second of whatever it was he was damaging at the time so that when the time came we could deflect the pricing issue. It’s amazing the lengths and tricks people come up with to try and get themselves the best deal. The same bloke once spent an hour lecturing another customer in our shop (who was trying a quite expensive Gibson guitar that was sold out everywhere online) about how it’s a huge shame guitar stores are struggling and going online 🤣

I’d agree mostly. Only issue you have (and this is the case for almost any product, ever), is that the selection in-store, especially for basses, is pretty poor. Add to that a good in-store tech who understands how to make a bass play nicely, and all of a sudden your options become extremely narrow.

My CIJ Geddy has a neck like a pencil! 🤣

Just goes to show the importance of starting on a decent bass, you’d never need another! Me on the other hand, started out on the secondary school’s Marlin and I’d never go back 🤣

Oh thanks mate, that’s very kind. I doubt I’ll ever get that many view/likes/subs with a “no talk, just tone” approach but frankly, that’s not why I do it. All I’m trying to do is create a reference library that’s truthful and informative so I can help people who are thinking about parting with their cash!

Yeah I agree. The only dilemma is the DB 924 being 2 x 9v batteries only so hard to use it and be consistent. Thanks for the feedback on the demo too 🙂

So after picking up a classic Aguilar DB 924 from Basschat (thanks again @Chimike!) a little over a year ago and then the subsequent release of the DB 925, claiming to offer a similar 2-band external preamp with broadband boosts (bass at around 40hz and treble at 4kHz), I decided to pit them against each other and see how they compare. Might be of interest to some of you if you’re wondering what the DB 925 might have to offer!

100% agree. QC issues are just that and should be non existent on a bass at all price points. My point was more that a lot of these discussions fall down on how an instrument isn’t what the person wants or expects for their money, and that’s somehow the manufacturer’s fault.

Hmmmm I think that just shows the difference in expectations! For me, it’s not about money. What I expect from a Fender CS comes from a knowledge of what it is they’re trying to sell. In your analogy, it’s like someone buying a 1978 BMW expecting power steering “for that kind of money”, or more accurately, if BMW manufactured a 2021 historic recreation of a model from 1978 which they charged a premium for (because they had to use old/rare expertise and manufacturing techniques/materials to be as close to the original as possible), and then someone buying it and saying “well for that kind of money, it should at least have power steering and electric windows, because I’d get that on a 2021 Dacia. I can’t believe I’m going to have to fork out extra money on top to install electric windows and power steering” The answer really is pretty simple. If you know what you want, find an instrument that does that thing and THEN look at the name/price 🙂