spinynorman

[quote name='woodster' post='1077511' date='Jan 4 2011, 04:54 PM']The way I understand it is this.... The customer standing in front of you, who has (say) bothered to get in their car and drive to your shop, is less likely to walk out and drive somewhere else while the person behind the counter answers the phone. The customer on the phone hasn't yet made up their mind if they're going to buy from you. They may be checking prices or availability but if you don't answer the phone coz you're dealing with a personal visitor, they're highly likely to call someone else for their potential purchase. In other words, the personal caller is a 'captive market' so not as high a priority as the undecided telephone caller.[/quote] All the more inexplicable that so many companies don't answer emails. Often what I do is email several companies the same question. On the basis I seldom get more than one reply, it's very easy to decide who gets the business.

I've had 2 EB3 copies. The first, the red one in the picture, cost me £150 on eBay and is classic Japcrap. Short scale, Maxon pickups (originally), bolt on neck with "Made in Japan" on the neckplate and no makers name on it anywhere. I sold it to make way for the black one, which is an Epiphone Elitist EB3, short scale, made in Japan, imported from the US, nothing to do with the long scale Epis you get here. Apparently it's the nearest thing you can get to a vintage EB3 tone. It has all the problems listed in Thodrik's post, though it's not hard to get the hang of the bridge. The four position pickup selector has the usual Gibson choked circuits which means you're probably going to get at most 2 usable positions, though yours may not be the same as mine. It was never my primary gigging bass and I found the combination of neck dive and short scale difficult to manage when switching to it for a couple of songs, so in the end I sold it. Haven't seen one for sale here since. Of the two, I really wish I'd kept the Japcrap one, which is really the only bass I regret selling. I think because the body is longer than the classic EB3 shape, and the smaller tuners, it was much better balanced than the Epi and actually very comfortable to play. The pickups were junk, but I replaced the bridge pickup with an EMG Select, which worked very well, though if I'd kept it I might now be looking for a Les Paul or Tbird pickup. The bridge was also junk, but I replaced that with a Schaller roller. I've seen lots of Japcrap EB3s on eBay, but they don't have that longer body shape, so I've passed on them. Some day I'll find one.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/sears-vintage-bass-same-kurt-cobain-nirvana-/120666036281"]Sears bass just like Kurt Cobain's[/url]

The real EB1 king was Felix Pappalardi.

[quote name='tauzero' post='1074056' date='Dec 31 2010, 11:10 PM']The shop is empty...[/quote] Perhaps a miraculous resurrection by grandpa.

You can get nickel 3-point bridges fairly easily for about £60, black ones are a lot harder to find. I remember Aire Guitars on eBay a few years back, bought a couple of things from them, prices always seemed fair.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1070250' date='Dec 27 2010, 04:38 PM']The Ibanez equivalents are on sale for quite a lot: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-IBANEZ-EB-2354-BASS-/280607271817?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item41557f2b89"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VINTAGE-IBANEZ-EB-23...=item41557f2b89[/url][/quote] Prices there seem a bit steep. And he's selling a couple of BaCH basses without warranty - one's the same price as you can get new from BaCH, the other's more expensive.

[quote name='SisterAbdullahX' post='1069295' date='Dec 25 2010, 06:41 PM']Hi, and Merry Christmas! I'm selling a bass on bc and have interest from a buyer in Germany. Anyone any idea how much it would cost to post it, roughly? Jazz Bass in Hiscox case, weight approximately 14lbs (haven't actually weighed it yet). Is the Post Office my best bet or a private carrier? Or would it be better for the buyer to arrange a courier and me just pack it for them to collect? Also, buyer wants to use PayPal for payment, would I have to pay a fee to them or is that just when selling on e-bay? Cheers, Martin.[/quote] Go to [url="http://www.interparcel.com/"]http://www.interparcel.com/[/url], in that big blue box select the destination country, fill in weight and dimensions (preferably of the complete package, or if not allow 1KG for box, bubble wrap etc), hit the Quote Me button. You'll get a number of different couriers and options, I usually end up with Interparcel/UPS Economy, which has never let me down. Remember you need to add VAT and insurance. Roughly it's £5 per £250 value for insurance. If you want to check, go through the booking process and cancel once you get to the insurance quote. I usually add a small % for packing material and contingency. I think it's better to arrange the courier yourself, as you can pick a day/time that suits you. Paypal will charge you a fee if the buyer selects an option from the Purchase tab on the Send Money screen. If the buyer selects from the Personal tab, they pay the fee. They may not be charged if their Paypal balance covers the price. With the Post Office, you have to take it to them, some POs won't take large parcels and it will most likely be more expensive than a courier, especially with tracking and insurance. Recorded Delivery tracking is very hit and miss IME.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='1067590' date='Dec 23 2010, 11:05 AM']+100. Bloody useless stuff, I love the way that if you trim the ends of the strings before fitting them (as I do because sometimes I really don't want 25 winds around the post) this crap immediately starts to unravel & fray & fall off before the strings are even on. God forbid you should ever want to remove the strings to do something outlandish like clean your bass - unless you like your strings hairy with bald patches. However I have found you can use a little bit of Vaseline or grease to stick the hairy frayed bits back down if it's not too far gone though. Just had a thought - wonder if you could burn it all off? Jon.[/quote] Dead right. The headstock end frays at the slightest touch into clumps which jam in the string tree so the string breaks when you try to tune it. But can you get the silks off at the bridge end? No way, I hacked at it with a Stanley knife till the blade broke and did try burning it off, but it just melts into a gooey nylon mess. Super glue works on the frayed bits if you're careful, though it doesn't look good close up. However that's another of my pet hates, super glue. The only thing it sticks reliably every time without fail is human skin. Did I mention I'm not feeling that much peace on earth and goodwill to all men this "holiday season" (bloody yanks).

I bet I hate them more than you. The only purpose they serve is to fray when you take the strings off, so you can't re-use them on another bass. I really hate it when they extend over the bridge saddle. Also hate the dust they create as you pull them through the bridge. The hideous colour is just the sh*te on the cake. I don't like Christmas much this year either.

I had a phase of buying pedals, more on a "what does this sound like" basis, than any serious purpose. All of them eventually made their way back to eBay and for a couple of years I was pure. Then I seduced myself into buying a Big Muff, thinking it would sound good on Seven Nation Army. It's been ok in rehearsals, but somehow in a gig I'm always disappointed with it. It may well be going the way of the others in the new year.

That isn't really a tea chest, is it? More of a customised cigar box.

My old man's a .... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Tea-chest-bass-skiffle-contra-upright-busking-gut-slap-/250741953629"]Is there a market?[/url]

Pretty detailed review of Grabber II [url="http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=1912.135"]here[/url], and pretty positive.

I'm trying to think if I've ever seen a genuine Teisco on eBay outside the US. Don't think I have.

[quote name='tom1946' post='1061249' date='Dec 17 2010, 06:40 AM']Well it didn't sell so he's put it up again! [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190480629656&ssPageName=ADME:B:WNARL:GB:1123"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...B:WNARL:GB:1123[/url] [b]Buy it now: £399!! £100 more.[/b][/quote] Nice to see someone taking the "what ebay has taught us" thread seriously. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=112988&view=findpost&p=1059399"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...t&p=1059399[/url]

[quote name='Truckstop' post='1059791' date='Dec 15 2010, 05:50 PM']I just like the way that the guy put "MINT!" at the end of the blurb when it's clearly not! Truckstop[/quote] It's in cream, so maybe it's MINT cream. Yum.

Must be a rock star, he bought 150 picks to throw into the audience.

I'd like to go back to Highway 61 sometime.