Ou7shined

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1319053779' post='1409462'] Strong words mate. I suppose you are entitled to your opinion, and yes this guy is not very good at relicing but to suggest he is deliberately involved in deception or is in any way nefarious is slander. Where's the love buddy this guy might be sitting at home reading these posts crying on his sander. [/quote] I have absolutely no love for the guys work but I have no opinion on the bloke himself. If anything I've been harder on the poor mugs who buy his shyte. Consequently if he can find any slander in what I have said then he's welcome to come and do something about it. I see the [s]destruction[/s] work he's doing as the bass equivalent of cut 'n' shut. He makes an absolutely mockery of the luthiery and finishing business. I honestly hope he does see this, then perhaps he can dry his eyes, have a rethink and come back once he's learned how to do the job properly.... but somehow I reckon he just hasn't got an eye for it.

Definitely the Jag engine analogy... but it depends on your replacement pups... just because they are popular you might only be putting in a stock a Focus engine. The Jags of the pup world are your Duncans.... your Bugatti's are you Nordies, Delanos and Fralins etc.

[quote name='phsycoandy' timestamp='1319051279' post='1409417'] Top Guy, fear not! [/quote] Guy as in gal.

The Aguilar pre's are a great choice. It's quite simple, just choose the one which matches your current control set up (if you are happy with it the way it is). Your bass has 5 controls consisting of 4 pots with one concentric. The OBPs are very easy to customise to your own needs. I think you will be looking at the OBP-3 (but maybe you should check yourself)... which I'm a big fan of. [url="http://www.bestbassgear.com/aguilar-preamp.htm?_s_ref=ILML1dgFS&kw="]http://www.bestbassgear.com/aguilar-preamp.htm?_s_ref=ILML1dgFS&kw="aguilar%20obp-2"&c=10702341451[/url]

A unique feature that Blondie had which might be a clue to her origin is her bridge - very similar to the Fender one only there is a screw in the middle on the front edge. I've never seen this bridge before. Sorry for starting a new post. I'm on my phone and it's just easier.

[quote name='Slipperydick' timestamp='1319047069' post='1409342'] No mine fit about right. Are the pups original ? the ones that came with mine were rubbish, So I put Kent Armstrong 10Kohm vintage ones on it. [/quote]I've got no real way of knowing if they are original or not but they are very old and my gut feeling is that they are. Underneath they are white, that cream colour you see on top is genuine mileage. There are no "new" screw holes in the wood which you often get when new P pups are installed. There was a bit of masking tape which acted as insulation where the 2 pup's wires are joined together, it too is very old in fact it is just a dried up husk of a bit of paper so I took it off.

[quote name='LawrenceH' timestamp='1319044220' post='1409304'] Are they DiMarzio pickups?[/quote]Yes they do appear to be.

[quote name='Slipperydick' timestamp='1319036597' post='1409178'] Somebody suggested it might be a Marlin. But I'm not so sure myself. Looks nice, and if I'd spotted it on ebay I might have been tempted. mine looks like somebody tried to relic it - with a cheese grater. It came with a set of machine heads that look like Schallers ( big nuts on the front, smaller back plates ) and Precision type knobs. And yep, old type Fender bridge fitted straight on, so did a Fender thumb rest which I had so I stuck it on but tbh dunno why, never use it. Wonder why yours has what look like Gibson knobs. [/quote] Yeah I think the Gibbo knobs were an add-on. Not now though as this is how she looks today... Mine has the vintage style huge plate tuners which are 100% original as there are no other screw holes in the back of the head. Not that I would mind some Schallers on there like, but these are working perfectly, if a little pitted, which I can put up with considering her age. I doubt very much that's she's a Marlin as any I've seen have been a little thin, Blondie is big and chunky. Note how the lower horn and p/g don't quite match up. Is yours the same?

[quote name='lemmywinks' timestamp='1319024834' post='1408964'] I think a quick look at these beauties puts everything into perspective: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CUSTOM-BUILT-BASS-GUITAR-L-K-/180739108368?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a14e3ee10"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2a14e3ee10[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CUSTOM-BUILT-GOTHIC-COFFIN-GUITAR-L-K-/180739108112?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a14e3ed10"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2a14e3ed10[/url] This seller is local to me, it's actually quite disturbing knowing this sort of thing is going on just down the road from where I'm raising a child. He's listed some even worse horrors in the past, one was a Vintage V940 he'd butchered beyond recognition into a wreck of a bass that looked absolutely awful. Many of his "efforts" sport that lame "custom" paint job too, looks someone has eaten a jar of Black Jacks, drank a pint of milk and then thrown up over them. At least the cack-handed relics can be sanded and restored. [/quote] To be fair that's not really the same thing. These are custom builds of a ..ahem... certain competence, whereas the OP is about the current trend of wrecking something in order to make it look like something that's worth a lot more (the seller even says that) but failing.

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1319028022' post='1409023'] Thanks. Apparently the satin finish on the neck becomes smoother, something like that. Those who seem to have owned one for years have never had proper 'wear' on the paint. [/quote] I always wonder why people have reservations over painted necks but don't have any problems over clear coated necks. Fair enough if an oiled finish is your thing but painted ones (which probably have the same clear coat over the top anyway) always seem to have negative press implied toward them for no tangible reason other than you can see them.

[quote name='the boy' timestamp='1319023354' post='1408936']Hi Neepheid my comment wasn't directed at you specifically I simply think that some posters on BC seem to think that they have the definitive opinion on all things bass. We don't know this guys circumstances and threads like this don't help him sell his bass. I think fraud and underhandedness should be outed but some bloke trying his hand at relicing in an honest way should be left to it. This guy has had a few other relics in the past and they've been not bad. Anyway thats my 2 pennies worth.[/quote]The guy doing this has zero skill or aptitude for this kind of work and is just buying up tatty basses battering them up worse in a rough aproximation of what the pros do, to make a fast buck out of people who don't know any better. That just my 2p.

If it's not utterly broken, you could simply try pushing the contacts back into place.

[quote name='Slipperydick' timestamp='1318966888' post='1408440'] I'd be interested to know what it is. I made a bitsa using what looks like the same body, - extra screw in the scrathplate and neck end truss rod - Never managed to find out who made it though I still have the neck which feels nice, kinda like a bassball bat. [/quote] Well I've gotten her home and given her the once over - ie. completely stripped all the components and serviced them (the bridge is a bit knackered so for now I've put on a Fender '70's RI bridge on - imagine my shock when the screw holes lined up exactly) flushed off 30 odd years of crap and put it all back together but this time as something working and playable. And the result is (as I thought from the pics) she's a lovely wee bass with a nice old school but chimey P bass sound. The body is a gorgeous one-piece Ash and by my reckoning the neck is a 5-piece. The controls are very responsive - the tone control has a very wide control sweep on it so it requires just a little winding back to keep it playable. Yes the neck is a baseball bat in profile and oddly quite Jazzy front on 39mm at the nut up to 62mm at the heel. The frets are minuscule, the tiniest I've ever seen. And finally there are no markings on it whatsoever, no dates or nothing - apart from there are patent pending stickers on the rear of the pups. But I've nick-named her Blondie.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1318963194' post='1408380'] Has anyone considered putting him in touch with Darth for his next project? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/230686759312?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649"]http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1555.l2649[/url] [/quote] Although he'd be asking a fortune for it seeing as it really is a genuine relic.

Anyone have any ideas about [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160662447838&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123"]this[/url] one?

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1318944940' post='1408060'] It says it's a squier in the listing. [/quote] I know.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1318941838' post='1407998'] No it wasn't, much to my disappointment. Fact is... look at my basses, see which one have stayed and which ones have been sold on? You see.. we try, until we think we have found the best only to realize that some are difficult to place in a real band situation despite the initial impression we get, the 3 Dingwalls for instance are win win win same as my two new Fender American Standard and the PRS will be cremated with me. The rest are in my will for my son to inherit when I kick the bucket. [/quote] Haha I love the majestic plurals. ...or is it Gollum.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1318940345' post='1407947'] Oh f*** me Gareth, don't say I didn't warn you, a Bongo yes it has a nice sound, I know cause I've had one with the piezo which really saved the day. but that's one usable sound and one only that's good out of it, with the pan in the middle both humbuckers full on, the rest is bloody boring and the pickup pan is really cack, no use at all. You get one only sound out of it and it's a booming great sound I give you that, but one you can only use in one contest, one style, i.e. attack and destroy but for the rest no subtelty, not a lot of soul from it. You'll soon get bored of it and your band will hate you, so will any sound man. Remember the 18V preamp is on permanently no option to go passive on the Bongo, so no chance for you to get a nice vibey mellow vintage tone out of it. On your head be it! As I've said to you if you must get one of the modern EBMM basses go for a Big Al SSS ffsake! But it's your money and I see another EBMM going back to sender from you, mark my words. [/quote] Not exactly the swiss army of basses you used to think it was then. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/78040-recommend-me-1-bass/page__p__751165#entry751165"]http://basschat.co.u...165#entry751165[/url] [quote name='Grand Wazoo' timestamp='1266601209' post='751165'] [b]MusicMan Bongo 5HH does everything, swiss army knife type of bass.[/b] [/quote]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1318938623' post='1407900'] Why anyone would buy one of these "reliced" monstrosities when you can have your fill of old school tele headstocked, not split P shenanigans with any one of these... ...is completely beyond me. [/quote] There is a bandwagon which has been jumped upon "ooh look at me, my guitar is all knackered, I must be a serious musician". Ironically, it's poorly executed examples exactly like this that are ringing the death knell for the silly craze.

It's not even close to a '51, you can see the Squier metallic blue under the (what doesn't even look close to) surf green (which appears to be yellow in one pic )..... and yet some sad eejit will inevitably buy it for more than the price of a decent Squire.

Here you go mate. The body looks something a little .... (well it did but it's been resting sans clamps for a couple of days) ... it will receive more guitar like curves any minute now in fact. Oh and just to clarify, it's just the fingerboard that's blessed with the eyes of birds not the whole neck. I'm still in 2 minds as to whether it will go but we'll see.

Here's some pics from the MM shop floor... pics courtesy of musicmanbass.org

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1318880738' post='1407389'] I was alluding to theat rhyme , but surely it's "Dear Leo, dear Leo?" [/quote] I don't think Leo had anything to do with it. In his day it would have been pins - or at least that's what he used at G&L.