Matt P

Aria do a short scale igb, i had one for a while, nice and light with a good tone, very easy to play. aquired it from a young lady who decided that bass wasn't for her, i loved it though, great fun. i seem to remember it was metallic blue, almost wish i hadn't got rid of it now!

As a G**t*rist-turned-Bassist i find that I fit the same gauge strings to all my electrics (10's) (DR pure blues on a solid body and DR HI-Rollers on my semi-acoustic) my acoustics always have 12's (dr sunbeams with no exceptions) on gibson scaled guitars i have used 11's with no problem. I'd say that 11's on a strat should work well for you, and a semi with 12's will be great, maybe you need a nice acoustic for writing? (i find myself playing my McIlroy acoustic quite a lot of the time and it always inspires me although i've never written a song in my life)

my 77 precision, can't imagine life without it!

ahh fairport, i got into them a couple of years ago (december of 2009) a friend was given 2 tickets for the acoustic tour they were doing, Alnwick playhouse, we were front row centre, amazingly tight, a most enjoyable experience and then after the gig most of the band were out chatting to us, such a nice down to earth group of guys, all signed our programmes and chatted merrily about playing, giving tips and advice, we ended up on the stage chatting to the drummer while he was packing up, (we were led there by Peggy when he noticed we were missing a signature on the programmes, something like oh you're missing one, where is he, follow me we'll find him, next thing you know we're standing on stage surrounded by all the kit.) i'd have to reccommend them to anyone even if you're not a folk fan, they are an inspiration and a great example of what music should be - FUN! Oh and i think Peggy was playing 5 string Vintage that evening, sounded excellent.

sir, that is not a bass, that is pure XXX pornography! top marks for a beautiful build.

for cleaning a maple board i'd go for good old brasso, will bring up the board and the frets a treat, (i'm guessing that the maple is finished though ie has a varnish-like finish?) i don't know about lemon oil and razor blades, these are fine on a rosewood or ebony board but on maple i go for brasso every time (i'm pretty sure i saw it reccomended in a guitar magazine first)

hmm, i'd have to side with icastle, it's a lot of work and possibly won't work, i'm guessing that you might be the first person to ask this question, usually it's the other way round with lefties trying to convert right handed guitars, i can see what the appeal was though, that's a pretty guitar at a stonking price if it could be done it would be a bargain. i'd just look out for a bargain right handed guitar and leave this one for the lefties (they have a hard enough time as it is getting guitars, i once spent a whole day searching for a (red) leftie electric guitar for a friends step father, got one in the end but it took about 6 shops to find it. i got a lovely botle of malt whisky for my trouble and spent a whole day engaged in my favorite pastime!) if you want a bargain acoustic keep your eye out for an aria, i've played loads of them of every age and they have never failed to raise a grin. Matt

i've had a similar experience, i had my superfly rigged up at church and had told a friiend he could use it for a practice, i showed him how to set the eq's and gave him permisson to save settings for the next practice. he plugged in his 77 precision and set the eq and off he went. the sound was awesome and from that moment on i knew i needed a precision like his, i spent the next 6 months searching for a precision with an added jazz pickup that sounded halfway as goood as his, in the end at a party (in the kitchen obv) i told him that if he ever wanted to sell it i would give him a great price, i also mentioned the immaculate 78 precision i'd seen in our local guitar shop, he perked up at this news and said he'd have to check it out, the following monday he called me and offered me a deal, well i contained my excitement and within 3 days i had his precision, took it home, plugged in, set the amp to his settings (which i'd saved) and there it was, my perfect tone. maybe you need a stingray? (or at least the loan of one to try out.)

First Bass Owned: Aria IGB 40 in dark metallic blue (medium scale) 'Go To' Bass: '77 Fender Precision with added Jazz pup (see left<<<<) 'Your' Bass: '77 Fender Precision with added Jazz Pup (as above)

just bought a 4x8 ashdown cab, great communication and very fast delivery. a top guy to deal with, trade with confidence.

theres a nice sunburst jv ( i think) jazz in newcastle upon tyne if you can travel, it's got a tag on it for 995 i think but the price should be negotiable, it's a beaut and you'd stop me from coveting it so much. it plays very well and sounds exactly as i think a jazz should. if you want to know it's location let me know and i'll give you directions (its "the guitar shop" on old george yard for any geordies reading.) the shop can be hard to find. just to be clear i have no direct link to this shop except that he's my "dealer" and he helps me with my addiction, my name's matt and i'm a (bass)guitaraholic. Matt

As a customer of yours (last time was a trace elliot gp11 head) welcome to the forum! Matt

what a dilemma! as a 77 p-bass owner i'd stick with the fender, i actually got my natural 77 in trade for a black 78 (identical to the one you have) and it was a beaut (i wanted the natural one as it was my dream bass and had a certain mojo), the guy i traded with has a large collection of basses with a sadowsky 5 string in there. i'd say that having played them both, if i was allowed just one bass (for whatever reason) i'd go with the precision, but i wouldn't pass up the chance to add a sadowsky to the collection one day.

My modded (by someone else) '77 Precision, taking a well earned rest on my bed (soft toys not shown). my other bass is having a holiday with a friend (yamaha rbx765a) basses are frowned on in our living room so hide upstairs where it is safe. [attachment=63122:bass.JPG] apologies for the slightly fuzzy picture, i was shaking with joy when i took the picture, still can't believe she's mine.