Kev

👍 Good to see things are looking a little better in there.

Oh yikes, what is going on there? For what it's worth, the non original stacked pot visible in that pic indicates it likely isn't even a 2 band preamp in the bass, so nothing about that area is period correct or original, except perhaps the pickups

Yeah, basically I would buy it expecting the preamp to be entirely non original. I wouldn't attach too much value to that, personally, but I guess budget for replacing it if its a mess.

Quick look online this is the kind of thing I'd expect to see in a 1990 Thumb Cavity:

There is an awful lot going on in there. It doesn't look original to me, the 2 band MEC preamp from that era is a black box filled with white epoxy, rather than that circuit board, and is usually attached to the base of the cavity, rather than the side. I'm almost certain Warwick/MEC were not using those detachable cable sockets in 1990. And the left pot looks much newer than the rest. The only thing I recognise is the thick white pickup wire. Warwick did change things up often though.

The "cheap" one, but probably more expensive than the SUB was when new! They were effectively a US built Sterling, in that it was just a step down from a proper 'Ray.

Me too. Not the forum for this kind of discussion guys, so time to put this to bed.

My experience is quite a grinding feeling when bending strings on fanned frets.

Stick me on the list, I reckon I may do quite well this year

Do me a favour; open it up and have a look at the circuit board, and see what it says.

By any measure, any bass that can be set up well is good enough, regardless of brand, quality, woods, electronics or anything else

I've switched between regular and multi scale instruments enough over the years to answer closer to No. There are too many variables beyond the scale length that determine how a bass plays and balances between strings.

What I'd also add to the above ^^^ is specific to the StingRay Special; for me its head and shoulders above any other 'Ray variant I have played, be it USA Classic, old series, Sterling or even the old SUBs and OLP licensed models. I can't even pin what it is, but it just has a premium "feel" to it that I don't recognise from before. The higher end Sterling models seem to be great instruments for those who don't want to spend US prices, but as with the majority of brands, it just isn't quite the real thing. I would always go for a used USA 'Ray over a new Sterling for the same money.

It's like any other brand. The USA StingRays are obviously built to a "higher" standard in the US with "better" parts and materials. What that means to you is what it means to you, and it won't be the same as other people. Personally, my StingRay Special has hardware, electronics and a finish that is unavailable with the cheaper Sterling line, so to me its worth it.

Yeah that's fair enough, but response time to emails and enquiries is almost always how I guage my initial impressions of a guitar shop, so in that respect they have fallen behind almost anyone else. I've also made a number of offers in the past on instruments, both by email and on Reverb, and to this date not a single one has ever been responded to. Offers expire on the Reverb platform and emails go unresponded. But if they have such high walk in trade, I guess internet trade may not be their target. But back on topic, I think if Bass Direct had a proper website with stock built in, with a backoffice synced to support it, theyd be in a much better position. No excuse for telling you something was in stock when it wasn't, but a computer giving answers would be a big help.

I've had little dealings with the gallery (I live 10 mins from Bass Direct so haven't had much reason to), other than any time I've emailed them, I've either had no response or a response days later. Bass Direct usually respond within the hour on a working day.

Personally I have had nothing but positive experiences with Bass Direct. Ploughed thousands into them over the years and always been happy. I don't rate some of his staff too much, but Mark is a great guy. Highly opinionated and blunt, but that's just who he is, and I'd rather have that than a salesman. None of the advice I've heard him give has been in the vein of trying to get you to spend more etc. If he's getting a new website, that would be a huge improvement for sure, as the current leaves a lot to be desired.

Ah nice one buddy, glad you enjoyed 😁

Honestly, many couriers are really delayed at the moment, absences from COVID are nightmare. Many couriers are stating clearly on their websites now that they cannot guarantee their usual service. Hermes Next Day is dodgy at the best of times, absolutely NO chance at the moment. A delay of 3 days is common. I posted something first class signed for last Friday, and it is yet to have arrived.

Exhausting indeed. Gotcha 👍 To the OP: did you discover what courier was used and their tracking number?

I can only assume something has been lost in translation, because nothing i said warrants that response, at all. You were merely wrong in what you said, and I assumed companies like P2Go must operate differently in Europe than in the UK.

I just mean, by going to one of the broker services here (just remembered you're not UK based), you pay less for the same service you'd get direct with the courier. They're literally just a way of booking, taking advantages of the discounts they get for their booking power, and no they're rarely interested once you've booked, mainly because they have as much influence as you over the courier you choose.

That's not true. The Brokers just buy services in bulk, you're getting the exact same courier service you would if you went direct, and I'm not sure I know of any courier that doesn't appear on some service like P2Go.

Hermes are having problems at the moment, lost two of my parcels end of last year, and a few more took a long time to delivery, 5 weeks being the longest. If your friend used a Hermes service (which may have been the cheapest P2GO offered) buckle up, you could be waiting a while, and they will do absolutely nothing to help you.