alyctes

Thanks. I'll have a think.

What do they sound like?

At least one member here used to sell their basses in a hard case, bought for the purpose, which the seller would then send back. That worked till someone decided to keep it. (Probably an Ebay sale, but still...) The original Overwater case must be a rarity... If it was me, I'd be sourcing, and charging the buyer for, a hard case which fits the bass. I guess a generic Tbird case would do?

It appears to be made from sections of surplus kitchen worktop. (To be fair, I'm not sure that's a bad thing...)

Definitely familiar. I think I have a neck with similar headstock somewhere - the bass was cheap and not very good, I can't remember where I got it or what the make is. It had a marbled white-on-black pickguard, which I think I stil have. Full size.

Ah, OK. Wasn't sure if it was a typo. Thanks.

NR?

Fretted,. thank goodness... Good luck with your sale!

Bloody hell. With friends like that, who needs enemies?

That's an elegant solution. Good luck with your sale

I sold Carl an Ashbory. Nice guy, prompt to pay, all went well. I'd be happy to deal with him again. Enjoy

I will. But yes, sold barring the actual handover. Sorry, I'll update the title.

Sold pending. I found the second strap button, as well

Sold pending.

Thanks! I'll pass the info on.

Replied.

Kramer The Duke; very 1980s, a headless four-string aluminium-necked cricket bat. Selling as a project. Selling mostly because it's not being used and I have too many basses. I had it from a member here many years ago (about 2010 I think?) and haven't used it much. It's wearing only two strings as I had ambitions to use it for a Sandman/Morphine-style band, if I could play slide, if I knew anyone else who'd ever heard of them... The tone is quite unusual, almost like a guitar stepped down an octave. The strap buttons should be singled out for special mention - they are good for pretty much anything short of trying to knock a wall down with it. Which the head plate would probably be good for... be careful with your bandmates, it has corners. The serial number is A8147, so presumably a fairly early one. There is no trussrod; the aluminium neck doesn't need it. As far as I can tell, it's never had a thigh-pad. It's been played a lot; there are many small scratches on the front, and the frets have been levelled - there is life in them yet. There are a few dings in other places, the worst of which are around the upper "horn". There are a couple of marks on the back of the neck, but nothing bad. One of the tuners (the E) is very free-turning at the moment (i.e. without a string); I can't remember if it's like this when strung, but I don't think so. The bridge should be changed to something which matches the pup pole spacing better. The BBOT was on it when I got it; I am pretty sure it is a replacement, as it doesn't match Kramer's own marketing pics (and the bass has what seems to be an early serial number, so it is unlikely to be a result of cost-cutting). The BBOT is not ideal for roundwounds as the windings on the E string can catch on the edge of the BBOT (the E string goes through a fairly large angle). I've never tried it with flats. Shipping at buyer's cost (should be relatively inexpensive, since it's short and narrow). There's no case, but it will be well packaged. £175 seems reasonable.

I've seem pics of an Ashbory bolted to a mike stand; that sounds similar to your arrangement. I just put it on a strap round my neck, that seems to work happily. It's much better than trying to play it like a bass guitar, at least for me.

Finally screwed my courage up got round to turning the TR again. The relief is reducing and the TR feels normal, after its being loose in the neck. That felt quite odd, no resistance at all. I'm convinced it's working correctly and will get to where I want it (quickly, because the GSRM is so short and slim). I'm a happy bunny. My thanks to everyone who contributed

Anyone recommend a teacher, either online or on the south coast of England? Somewhere near Poole would be best. It's not for me, it's for a friend, honest

I follow. Thank you.

Thanks for this. I agree, the relief is too high. The neck is visibly bowed forward. There is some adjustment possible at the bridge saddles but there seems little point until the bow is reduced - I can see it's going to be too large for saddle adjustment to work. (I suspect the neck may also need a shim but that comes later.) I was not certain which way to turn the trussrod to achieve a particular effect (I know that some work in the opposite direction to the 'conventional' way). Therefore, I cautiously turned it anticlockwise (looking along the neck from the nut). That increased the bow. The TR was reasonably easy to turn, similar to those on other basses I've adjusted the TR on successfully. So, I turned it in the opposite direction. The bow reduced. This turn, reducing the bow, corresponded with the increasingly easy turn of the TR. That doesn't make sense in terms of the physics, to me; the TR should be working against the pull of the strings, so that should take more effort than turning in the other direction. That was what made me nervous. I'll give it another quarter turn and see what happens. Thanks again.

It's not the resistance that worries me, it's the lack of it. Agree, I'm adjusting the relief. Thanks for the trussrod note.

Indeed, I'm fascinated!

I've not yet dared to do so; it doesn't make sense to me. Thanks for the hint about two-way TR, though; I'll do some more reading.