Rick's Fine '52

[quote name='Doddy' post='1351575' date='Aug 25 2011, 05:47 PM']I disagree with this. A nice instrument may inspire you to pick it up often,but it won't make you a better player-that is down to what you play/study on it,not the cost of the instrument and how often you pick it up.[/quote] I think you've over analysed. I think he simply meant (Correct me if I'm wrong Molan!), if you have an instrument that inspires you to pick it up and play more frequently, with added enthusiasm, then it will improve your playing. As with anything, the more you do it, the better you will become. If i analyse what [i]you[/i] said, becoming better does not depend at all on what you play/study. If your'e studying stuff thats beyond you, and you dont understand it, it could de-motivate you and make you less interested and worse as a player. Similarly, if you simply play open E all the time, it won't make you better either, but then I'm over analysing. Sorry, in one of them moods today!!

[quote name='daz' post='1350562' date='Aug 24 2011, 06:22 PM']makes no diff, if i saved for years or won [i]el gordo[/i], bases are for playing. Guitars [i]on the wall [/i] as ornaments is silly, unless they are just hung there to keep them from the dog chewing or cocking a leg on them, or the missus knocking it over whilst doing the hoovering.[/quote] Why is having a bass on the wall silly??, I never understand people who say things like that? It's nonsense. It’s all relative surely. My passion is Vintage Fender Basses, I love them, I’ve spent many years buying and selling them (Mainly buying them, I find it very difficult to sell!). It is anything but silly. If it makes me happy, then it isn’t silly. I have a collection that is worth a few quid, and yes I have spent considerable amounts on individual guitars, because to me, they are worth it. Anyone who collects anything, will tell you that the chase for that Holy Grail item is part of the fun, and I’ve met numerous, fantastic people during that process. All my basses are worth considerably more than what I paid for them, and they are worth considerably more than if I’d put the money in the bank, and I’ve had the benefit of playing and enjoying them for that time. They are a great investment, if you buy the right instrument of course, and you know your stuff. Is it ‘silly’ of me not to take my near mint ’52 to jam night at the Dog and Duck? No, of course not, surely a no-brainer? It should be in a museum! I have other instruments that are far better suited, and easier to play, that I can drag down the Dog and Duck. ‘Basses are for playing’ I hear you cry? Yes, of course they are. My ’52 was meant to be played in 1952. Almost 60 years on though, and it’s become an instrument of significant interest. If it was a house, it would be Grade 1 Listed, and rightly so. I’ve said this before, but it’s the same with cars. Cars are for driving? Yes, of course they are. But if you were fortunate enough to own a 1962 Ferrari 250 GT Daytona, worth £3m, would you use it for the school run? No. Would you use it for the weekly shop, and leave it in the multi-story next to Aldi? No, of course not. No difference. If antiques was your thing, and you had a 15th Century silver spoon, worth £5k, would you use it everyday to stir your coffee?, what?, No?, but spoons are meant for stirring surely! It’s a simple case of Horses for Courses. Whatever floats your boat (Bass wise that is). I think people who pay £1500 for a Rickenbacker 4001/3 are ‘silly’, they are ghastly, ugly contraptions. Players who buy Gibson Thunderbirds should seek psychiatric help, and as for those who pay top dollar for headless Status basses, words fail me, they’re not even basses, they look like shovels, with strings! Like I said, we’re all different, and thank God we are too, because the world would be a dull one if we all played Precisions (Although it would be a more attractive one! ). Having expensive basses certainly doesn’t make me/or make me think I am, a better player, I’m not, I’m pretty crap, but I love playing, love collecting, and love owning these instruments. My JV Jazz is arguably the cheapest bass I have, and it is one of the best sounding, and definitely the nicest to play, out of all my basses. So it’s not about the sound or playability either. As for hanging them up so the missus doesn’t knock them whilst hoovering, obviously I am loaded, so we have cleaners who do that for us. And for those who are concerned at that statement, don’t worry, I never allow the cleaners into the East wing, where the studio, well, one of the studio’s is located, so that’s never been a problem! Oh, and before you hit the ‘reply’ button, yes, that last paragraph was a joke!! Rick.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1342396' date='Aug 16 2011, 08:47 PM']I think it's bollocks, just like a Badass bridge, and adds nothing to the sound, except maybe 1 millisecond more sustain. Same with 'bolt on' vs 'thru neck'.[/quote] Absolutely, couldnt agree more. Leo started with a string through, and changed to a top loading simple top bridge in 1957 (I've read that this was more to do with the cost of producing the ferrules, and routing, and the fact that a threaded 4 saddle bridge offered more precise intonation, and had nothing to do with sustain), Fender still sell most basses with an identical bridge, i guess if fender have sold the same bridge (Virtually), for 55 years, it must be pretty decent! Badass bridges look horrible in my opinion, i certainly wouldnt even show a bass one of those, let alone actually fit it. I've played identical basses with and without them, and heard no difference. Regarding someones comment on string-thru offering more sustain, this is true, my pre-57 basses have more sustain than my '58 & '59, as do my Tele basses, its marginal though, and nothing to analyse too much. Age of strings in my opinion influences sustain far more than anything else. From my experience, most players i know have their basses poorly set up, people often dont tamper with bridges because they dont know what they are doing, if you take time to properly set up any bridge arrangement, it will make an improvement. As for the comment about string angle etc, etc, i fell asleep halfway through that particular explanation. I think, from only a few months on this forum, that either i'm not geeky enough, or some people have too much time on their hands. Don't get me wrong, i love my basses, but plug a well set up Precision into a bassman amp, and thats all you need, it sounds like a bass should. But then this Forum would be pretty sh*te if we all had the same opinion!!

[quote name='KevB' post='1342801' date='Aug 17 2011, 09:56 AM']A good quality picture of a Rickenfaker with 'F**K YOU JOHN HALL' under it. And sell them on eBay.[/quote] Perfect! I'll take a gross of those.....Ta. "Bass........The Final Frontier" (Not a very novel idea I know, but no-one else mentioned it yet!)

Odd one this, as from the pic you say its a Vintage, but it doesnt look very 'vintage', neither the tuners?, looks like a late 70's Gibbo though, surprised at getting one from the US, the customs charges and duty taxes must've cost as much as the bass? Look forward to 'the reveal' though!

[quote name='Immo' post='1338768' date='Aug 13 2011, 02:04 PM']I guess in future basses like this 58' P-bass will be treated as holy artifacts by bassists of the 24th century, held in sealed, bulletproof glass cases with controlled atmosphere and surrounded by a cult following... ...no, wait, it happens already.[/quote] I think its inevitable that anything significantly rare, completely original, and in excellent condition, will require preserving, and looking after. I think its a good thing, and only right that they are, and they should be respected, and not misused. They should be played though, although not every day, and not in a sweaty, smoky pub. There are other instruments that are more suited to that. (For that reason i have excellent relic copy versions of my oldest basses). If you were fortunate enough to own a Ferrari 250 GTO, you wouldnt use it for the school run, or leave it in a multi-storey car park, to be scratched, or leaving it susceptible to unneccesary damage. Use it, but with respect, care and caution, they should be played, but they should also be preserved for future collectors, and indeed, points of reference. I have a few vintage Fender basses that you could argue should be in a museum, but then i wouldnt enjoy them, i'll leave that decision for future owners, should they so choose.

[quote name='gregsguitars' post='1337701' date='Aug 12 2011, 02:42 PM']So [url="http://www.premierguitar.com/Magazine/Issue/2011/Aug/1958_Fender_Precision_Bass.aspx"]Premier Guitar magazine[/url] did a spread on my 58 Precision bass.........[/quote] Nice bass...not as nice as mine , but very nice bass!

[quote name='Johnston' post='1325631' date='Aug 3 2011, 01:32 PM']I suppose it could be natural if the owner was a plumber and was using the neck as a head shield when soldering pipes.[/quote] Having looked again, the work he´s done to the back of the neck is inspired, if he´d continued with the whole neck, he could have passed it off as an exotic wood, the likes of which, Alembic would be proud!!

[quote name='Johnston' post='1325631' date='Aug 3 2011, 01:32 PM']I suppose it could be natural if the owner was a plumber and was using the neck as a head shield when soldering pipes.[/quote] It´s a fair point, well made, i take it back. I´ll contact the seller, and advise him/her to list it under the correct heading, that being, ´used welding equpiment´and not, musical instruments. An honest error methinks.

There are some, good, genuinely authentic looking relic´s out there, although thre are far more bad úns, how about this one, without doubt the worst i´ve seen, some people have genuinly missed the point about what a relic look is supposed to replicate; [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Squier-Affinity-Standard-Strat-Neck-Worn-RELIC-/190561927794?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2c5e604272"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Squier-Af...=item2c5e604272[/url]

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='1323112' date='Aug 1 2011, 02:20 PM']For a late '64/early'65 I would have expected the neck to have pearl dots.[/quote] Pearl dots started in December ´64, so this could be one of the last clays, which would tie-in with the pot dates.

Is it just me or is something odd about this? I know Stanley is pretty well known and stuff...ahem...but regardless of who you are (And especially if you are fortunate enough to have space for lots of guitars), if Jeff Beck specially commissioned a bass guitar for you, including name plate inlay etc, in the style of your own bass, including headstock shape etc, surely you´d keep it wouldnt you?? Maybe its the cynic in me, but i fear someone has seen a bass that is slightly clarke-esque, and for 25$, had a nameplate made, and inlaid into the fretboard, add nearly $3000 to the price, and 3 lines of celeb-story, and voila, instant celeb guitar. I really hope I´m wrong, I´m clearly far too distrusting, but why would Stanley give it up??

Pics look great, been looking forward to seeing this. Is there any of the date stamp left at all? I´m a sucker for sunbursts, although it may look odd on this, if the grain shows through too much on the finish, as its a 3 piece body, which is probably why it was Oly white in the first place. Depends how good the repro guard is, but if it looks good, then you can´t go wrong with oly white, also you can be satisfied at restoring it back to its original appearance. Difficult to date accurately, without stamps, but from what you say, and the pot codes, late ´64 seems right, looks like the decal was replaced during the neck refin also, so hard to tell from that, although its right for a late ´64/´65. The tuners are also correct up to early ´66. Good luck with the rest, if i see anything around that may be of use, I´ll let you know. Nice project.

If you´re a late 80´s baggy, then you´ll love this, great amateur filming as well, makes me want to learn piano too, just so i can play this!! Beautiful, Sunset Sunday stuff for sure.. Can you beleive it was 21 years ago!!! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0pQOkyNQ0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0pQOkyNQ0[/url] Don´t know how to upload it so the picture appears?, anyway, have a gander..

[quote]I would upload a pic but the only one I got fails as it says the file is too big[/quote] Is this one? [attachment=85696:blackbird.jpg] Not everyones cup of tea though. thunderbirds are an aquired taste, and not easily sold, i think a black gothic one would be even more difficult. especially as they do an epiphone version which looks the same for £170. As someone else suggested, its probbaly worth about £600, finding a buyer may be more tricky. The bay will always provide its 'real' value though. Good luck with the sale, if you decide to part with it.

[quote name='mart' post='1314996' date='Jul 24 2011, 06:55 PM']I would say they are proper playable instruments. I've never played a high-end mandolin or mandola (only sub £200 instruments), so maybe it wouldn't meet your standards if you are used to high class instruments. But for me it is a perfectly ok beast. I have read lots of comments about the pickup not detecting the E string well enough, giving an unbalanced sound, but I haven't had that problem - I've tweaked the set-up and it all sounds fine. The only slight issue is the intonation. I've got the 8-string and it only has a 2-screws for moving the saddle, so you can't set the intonation precisely (whereas the 4-string has 4 individually adjustable saddle pieces). But it's not yet enough of an issue to make me buy another bridge. I guess, at the end of the day, it depends on your needs. I play lots of bass, quite a lot of guitar, but only play mandolin/a for about one song every year or so. If your main instrument is a mando, you probably shouldn't be looking at these things (except possibly as a 4th or 5th instrument!) And the fact that I can play it sat on the sofa means that I'm picking it up to play much more often than my traditional-shaped mandola. So that's gotta be a good thing.[/quote] Thanks Mart, useful info. I only play bass, and l just fell in love with this mini firebird/T-bird. Playing it was fun, with little two finger chords, but i've never played a mando, so was considering 'branching out', there price was £129, which i thought was a steal for aelectric one that looked this good. I may have a punt!

[quote name='mart' post='1312385' date='Jul 22 2011, 09:34 AM']I recently bought a Mandobird on a silly whim. It is a very silly instrument indeed, but in a grey depressing world, it's fantastic to have an instrument that makes me giggle every time I think about it! Another major advantage is that I can play it sitting down, whereas I could never find a comfortable way of holding a traditional mandolin/a when seated.[/quote] What are the mandobirds actually like?, I'm a bass player, and was in Denmark St at the weekend, and their everywhere, had a little play, and it was very cool, but as you say, very silly, and i nearly bought one, but thought i'd sleep on it, and i'm glad i did! I'd still like one, but wondering if they are worth £130?? Are they actually proper playable instruments, or a bit of folly?? Thanks in advance.

[quote name='markbass555' post='1312601' date='Jul 22 2011, 12:16 PM']Just back from Florida and look what followed me home. Tried to shush it away a few times but it wouldnt listen ..pesky thing so had to give it a new home Its a Fender custom shop 55P bass in blue metal flake and it has been lighlty reliced. [/quote] Nice bass, odd that it has a rosewood board though??

[quote name='chris_b' post='1306115' date='Jul 16 2011, 07:43 PM']Me too, but does that make him a crook? Early custom colours in "good" condition are rare which is why these basses are expensive. Also they've moved on and their purpose now is for collecting not playing. If you don't know your knobs from you elbows you're probably not going to spend that sort of money on a bass. The lengths that collectors will go to ensure that what they are buying is correct would, I imagine, rule out something as silly as wrong knobs on a $24,000 bass.[/quote] The bass looks right to me, the knobs are clearly not original, and the fact that he states they are, mean you'd have to question his knowledge. To be honest though, anyone spending $24k on a bass, would know their onions, and would carry out all neccessary checks before buying, if the knobs were the only issue, then that wouldnt put a collector off, as you can source those reasonably easily. I think $24k is high though, but they dont turn up, so little benchmark, so you advertise it high, and see what reaction you get. The top collectors will be aware of it, and will enquire regardless, so it will sell at the 'right' price anyway. 3 knob J's staretd in November '61, and the last dated stack knob I've seen is August '62, so a long transition period. '61 3-knobs are very sought after. there are many fake '62 stack knobs out there though. When demand grew for stackers in the late eighties, people bought 3 knob slab boards, and sourced stack knob controls, and put them in. This is difficult to prove, which is why '60/'61 stack knobs are worth far more than '62's, especially veneer board examples!! This is a very rare bass though, and worthy of a high 'starting' price. As stated by above, these basses are not for taking down the nag's head for jam night. They are collectors pieces to be played, and enjoyed. Same as any rare, collectible item. You wouldnt use a Ferrari 250GT California for the school run would you, does that mean its a waste?, not at all, it should be cherished and looked after, and used sensibly, and with care. If you have $24k to spend on a vintage Jazz, then this is the one. Condition is simply stunning, this is the real deal, and Holy grail of Jazz's. [url="http://www.gbase.com/gear/fender-jazz-bass-concentric-stac-1961-sunburs"]http://www.gbase.com/gear/fender-jazz-bass...ac-1961-sunburs[/url]

[/quote] To me, black wouldn't look right with a honey coloured body. [/quote] Its a matter of taste obviously, but Fender's colour combi of choice for natural/blonde, has always been a black guard, from the 50's through to present day.

[quote name='Rich' post='1312511' date='Jul 22 2011, 11:16 AM']Ever since playing Si's Shuker P-5 earlier in the year, I've been GASsing for a P bass of some sort. Anyway, as an experiment I've managed to score a cheap P body (manufacturer unknown) from fleaBay and I'm planning to put the neck from my Squier Jazz on it. The body is in a natural finish but the lacquer is quite dark, like a rich honey colour. The question is... which colour scratchplate? My favourite is pearly white but I don't know if it'd work. I don't like tort plates, so that's definitely out. So, audience... given the choice of [b]3-ply black[/b], [b]3-ply white[/b], [b]pearly white[/b] or [b]pearly black[/b], which would you choose? Or is there something else you'd consider? (brass? sexy but expensive)[/quote] Black guards look nice with natural, in the Marcus Miller/jazz style, or for something a bit different, a gold anodized guard would like nice (£15), but in my opinion, only with a maple neck, rosewood necks in my opinion don't look great with natural bodies full stop. So if your squire neck is maple, then eiether black or anodized would look great.

[quote name='shortstuff' post='1304999' date='Jul 15 2011, 07:01 PM']Hello all, I have had my left handed bass for approx 20 years now. I got it for my 16th birthday, its a 70's Yamato copy of a Fender Jazz bass. (I think it may be one of those pesky Lawsuit guitars??) I've always looked really odd playing it, I'm only 4ft 11, so its practically as big as me. Sadly its been in its bag more than plugged in, as due to a badly broken wrist about 5 years after getting it, I couldn't bend my hand enough play it for a long time, so it got loaned to my lefty cousin to use- at least it got some action! I can play again now, and *just about* remember the notes to The Black Crows 'Hard to Handle' and some basic rock n roll, but thats it. I can't remember enough from way back when to play along with my boy, and don't have time to re-learn. I have 2 left handed sons, so kept it in case they wanted to play, my youngest, 9, has taken up lead, though my daughter, who is 18, plays a 'normal' bass... (she's right handed). I'm here because I have searched the internet, and can't find much, if any info about it. I have a friend interested in buying it off me, but without knowing its worth, I'm stuck! So I'm hoping you guys will have the knowledge I need.[/quote] Here's a similar one, only sold recently for about £100. these jap fender-a-like basses are not overly valuable i'm afraid, but if it plays and sounds nice, thats all that matters really; [url="http://cgi.ebay.de/Yamato-Jazz-Bass-70er-Jahre-Made-Japan-KULT-/180671010556"]http://cgi.ebay.de/Yamato-Jazz-Bass-70er-J...T-/180671010556[/url]

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='1285580' date='Jun 28 2011, 07:33 PM']I was thinking of having a punt on [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/62-fender-fullerton-re-issue-precision-bass-/140569627805?_trksid=p5197.m7&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D1%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D970536329219169960"]This[/url] but he describes it as a Custom shop which it doesn't seem to be and also as a Fullerton reissue. I thought Fullerton referred to the reissues made in the old Fullerton factory in the early 1980s? Yet he says in the text it's a 2002. Have I missed something or is it just an AV reissue[/quote] Its not a custom shop, and its not fullerton. Its a regular AV RI. And its clearly a 2005 model. £1000?, not a chance, especially with the thumbrest moved. You can get a Custom Shop for his Buy Now price. I'd be surprised if this went for £700. You can get an 80's fullerton for a grand. The pickguard is also totally the wrong colour, doesnt look good at all.