kiat

Guys, apologies for the lame topic name but I'm not an experienced, gigging bass player and could really do with some advice from the combined expertise from basschat folks! I'm in New Orleans and flying later back this afternoon. I have one shot at buying this bass, although I could buy it later over the phone and they could ship it, but I'd prefer to carry it back myself. Yesterday I went in and played what I'm told is a * Fender Precison body (wear, but told it was aged in factory) * Fender Jazz neck (no discernable wear) * from Fender's custom USA factory * probably early 90's * with hard case, doubt its original * $999 + sales tax of around 10% Is this fair / overpriced / a bargain? It plays beautifully, I love the action. I just found a new version close to this (no fake ageing) on musiciansfriend.com for $650! However I've only ever played Fender copies before, so don't have a great frame of reference. I have no way of knowing if all such hybrids will play similarly or whether I've got lucky and found a once-in-a-lifetime match-made-in-heaven (cheesy, but prepared to sound a jerk in case this is the bass which forever will be my main axe). I want this bass but unsure if I should be spending this kind of money on it. This is more expensive than all my other bass kit put together! (AXL player Jazz, Squire P-bass S/H, , Traynor Bloc-80B, Korg Pandora PX5D, leads). I can afford the money, but it'll severely dent my bass-buying credibility with the wife if I end up wanting another bass soon after ;-/ Thoughts?

Greetings from Aldershot! Looking forward to learning about stuff on here from folks and contributing back. Am also looking for chordal folk (guitar, keyboards, whatever!) to jam with in the area. Just worked through Ed Friedland's R&B Bass Masters book (a couple I couldn't nail). Now back to Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Been playing on and off since '85, looking back probably averages out to about 3 solid years of an hour a day. Am not a good player yet, but getting better at any rate. Practice/play about 1-2 hours a day. Style: Closest is jazzy soul. I like: Soul, funk, jazz, jump blues, cuban, some pop, a little rock (e.g. early Springsteen) Main Influences: James Jamerson, Thomas Risell (aka MarloweDK), Willie Weeks (Donny Hathaway), Duhe (Maze ft FB), Edwards (Chic), Equipment is pretty basic really, only starting to take playing seriously recently. Basses: Jazz and Precision copies (nothing fancy or expensive yet!) Amplification: an old Traynor Bloc80B bass combo, a new Korg Pandora PX5D personal amp and effects