stingrayPete1977

I would get one of those cheap copy bridges off ebay as they have the extra metal that the pre EB bridge has for the spring plate to wrap around, it will be floating in fresh air else wont it? Get the kit then just bond 4 matching nuts into the body to create the captive threads, there is not much tension on them really. The only thing is that it wont be reversable as the holes will all be on show if you put the old bridge back on. Should be good though or just get a pre EB you know you want to! btw I have bought another one OT but as an avid fan David Barron has a track on the front of next months Prog Magazine with some top notch bass playing by a certain someone this time, its that track from the video we did but the proper version with my lines etc.

Cool, Plectrum mystery continues and original frets then

Well the top coat has a few damaged areas which appear to show maybe 3 layers of paint its hard to tell, there are also a few areas that have bubbled up which might suggest that that newer coat was not prepared fully in those areas. It could be a factory extra top coat to cover a poor first attempt even its hard to say even after stripping it to pieces, the finish itself is certainly not a rattle can effort or anything similar. Did it have all the body dings on it when you had it or have they appeared more recently? I might have the areas repaired or just leave them as battle scars, I even found a red plectrum behind the pick guard which might be yours then The honey coloured neck and headstock with the worn through area behind the playing area are both really nice and give it that vintage feel that a classic Ray or similar reissue bass just cant recreate. I presume its had a refret and new varnish on the board but its been done well apart from a few stray dribbles of varnish that I have now sanded off. All in all its never going to lose any value and its a pre EB you can use without fear of collecting the odd ding, a 70's pre EB in black with a black guard will always be cooler than a fridge

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1351351282' post='1850458'] The Musicman database is pretty accurate - in fact totallly so!! You are right though - the trans logo (Ernie Ball applied over the Musicman name) as on my Classic (attached) was only used for a couple or three years - resurrected for the Classic series in 2010. [/quote] I meant comparing serials to the database rather than the confirmation from ernie ball, I see a lot of comments from people who have looked at basses either side of their serial and dating it from that, those pre EB bridges can pop up all over the place!

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1348480737' post='1813983'] its basschatter anthorpe and that's my old pre-eb [/quote] And guess who has got it now? I thought I had seen the same name on here as the ebay seller at the time, I have stripped it all down to photograph everything, cleaned it all up, re soldered the earth as it was only hanging on by 2 strands and put it all back together. New strings and set it up just how I like it and its a nice bass, I would date it as '79 not '80 as the newest date I can find is the on the pots of '79 with the neck being '78 hence the early logo. Its not as nice as my '82 to play plus my '82 is mint but for £1200 I cant lose can I? Thanks Anthomp Anyone know anymore about the finish? I am guessing it was always black but that it had a new coat of paint a long time ago?

[quote name='thunderbass1' timestamp='1351027090' post='1846487'] You see I LIKE a white scratchplate on a 'burst ray... [attachment=121904:HH Stingray.jpg] [/quote] So did John Deacon

Funky looking bass but we need to see the logo to be more accurate, the bridge serials are very hit and miss IMO, the rear logo makes it at least '87 and the four bolt no later than '91 but a close up of the logo should date it even closer as the little mens jumpers can even give the game away! Thermos flask and adanoids at the ready

I think anything along the lines of a John East or any Musicman replacement preamp or pickup is just going to give you more of the same? Mcnach loves Rays like me so a Ray with added Ray is a good thing but if you dont like the sound more might actually be less? Even Passive modded Rays sound quite Ray like to my ears even cheap copies have that sound in some way probably the pickup position more than anything? Get a P bass pup installed in the P bass position and a scratchplate made to fit and then fit something like a John East P bass preamp, its all reversable other than the body route that will be covered by the pick guard should you wish to sell it, we have seen them before in the FS already done

In that case they are just gunstock oil finished up to the headstock then its a satin clearcoat finish over the whole head and logo area, you can see the join after a few years on most of them.

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1350751825' post='1843100'] The maintenance instructions for them say the necks should be regularly treated with gunstock oil so I'm pretty sure it's not a matt or satin varnish. [/quote] The Classic series Rumple is talking about are gloss varnish to mimic the pre EB

I think Mark at bassdirect does them? I think you get the spring plate, thumb turns and a set of pads maybe even spare pads too

In answer to your question I am affraid the answer is yes I am seriously thick thankfully for me I am not a condecending little prick

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1347016359' post='1795999'] By "Cheap" I meant "Inexpensive", not "crap quality". [/quote] Very sorry I will try again with your own quote, so Lakland Skylines are inexpensive at £1250? Better?

Nice reply unsubscribed.

[quote name='4StringFortress' timestamp='1347037357' post='1796352'] A lot of the price comes with the name, its a bit like cars, for instance Skodas are made in a VW factory so you get the same build quality but because of the name the Skoda will be cheaper. Iv played a few Tanglewood and Hudson basses and both seem great to me although with the Hudson you can get models in different wood types and stuff but its mostly cosmetic differences. [/quote] I don't really agree with this as afaik no bass companies make there cheap versions in the same factory as the expensive ones (maybe some Japanese ones?). Squiers are not made in the USA factory and badged Squier in the same way cars are. Doesn't make them bad basses I just don't agree with the analogy

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1347016359' post='1795999'] By "Cheap" I meant "Inexpensive", not "crap quality". [/quote] Are Lakland skylines cheap at £1250?

I think your at a dead end here mate, we don't know your level of skill even for simple tasks so something we might take for granted could result in you ruining this bass, your going to have to either teach yourself or pay someone to sort it out for you IMO . The only good news is that I'm sure that bass could be made good for little cost I reckon I could adjust everything on that bass to beyond playable and Mel would have it sorted and gig ready in an evening

See what your all doing is getting confused with someone being the writer or composer or whatever you want to call them and just being a singer, in the same way that I am a bass player they are singers. It doesn't stop you being allowed or able to write and compose your own material alongside. If you have heard the song in any other form and that gave you the initial idea and it contains the same lyrics or distinctive melody it's a cover, end of. This thread has a whiff of people feeling that they should get some recognition for putting a different spin on other peoples songs in the dog and gun, If you feel that it takes away some of your right to call yourself a proper musician or hurts your ego in some way because you can't lay claim to any original work I can't really help other than to say have a go and see what you can come up with.

I still don't see the confusion, even if a famous person or band does a version of someone else's song it's a cover. It's black and white in my opinion

In a race..... to the buffet maybe, I'm only15 stone so I still have a chance of winning too!

Sounds ok overall, there are some c# 's missing IMO but that might just be the bass?

[quote name='jezzaboy' timestamp='1346874404' post='1794403'] Don`t know about "the dots" Pete, but here is a link to the chords. Don`t know how accurate it is though. The good thing is if it`s not the right chords, you can transpose it up or down at the top of the page to suit. [url="http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/b/bluetones/slight_return_crd.htm"]http://tabs.ultimate..._return_crd.htm[/url] [/quote] Ta mate I will have a peep at that I can always noodle over the chords and bobble my head about in a 90's indie band fashion