lowregisterhead

NOW SOLD For sale is an early GB Spitfire 5-string. As lovely as it is, I find myself gravitating back to my Laklands, so I’ve decided to put it up for grabs. It’s 35” scale, 19mm spacing at the bridge, and weighs in at a very comfy 4.1kg. Let me start by saying that this is still, in the main, a lovely bass. I bought it on here a little while ago, and it came to me with a recently re-finished neck, but the body was still in need of a little work, showing a few dings, chips and cracks in the lacquer commensurate with its age, as well as some fading in the finish. As all of us will know, there’s a long-standing tradition with musicians the world over to tinker with their instruments. I like to work on my basses, mainly by doing my own set-ups, or to experiment by installing new pickups, preamps etc., usually with reasonable success. I rarely go much further, as that generally requires specialist equipment and a level of skill and patience that I lack! However, Bernie’s pickups and preamp have a very particular tone, so I thought, “I could fit some new pickups and a different preamp if I route the cavities a smidge - what’s the worst that can happen?” and got my Dremel out. The result is a bass that now has much greater tonal variety IMHO, but now has some additional cosmetic issues with the body, thanks to the routing bit working free of the drill on two separate occasions and causing a bit of damage, which I've tried to show in the photos. The accuracy of the pickup routing leaves a bit to be desired as well, if I’m honest. I've fitted a new pair of Nordstrand Big Singles, and a second-hand John East Uni-pre 3-band preamp with a passive tone control and a low battery indicator, which came out of another bass I bought a while back. The original GB pickups and preamp are also included in the sale. The various issues are reflected in the price I’m asking, and as the body was in need of a refinish anyway, perhaps it’s not too much of a disaster - a relatively small investment could bring it back to its former glory in the hands of someone who actually knows what they’re doing! If you're not unduly concerned about the cosmetics, it's a playing great bass as it stands, of course. I’ll put up a YouTube video shortly so you can see how it plays and sounds. There’s no case included, but as the neck is a snug fit, and attached with threaded allen bolts making it a breeze to remove and re-fit, I can ship it with the neck off packed with lots of bubble wrap. UK shipping is included in the price. Sorry, but no trade offers please.

No, sorry. UK shipping only as per the description I'm afraid.

NOW SOLD Right then. I said to myself a long time ago that I would never do this, but I need to have a clear out... Up for sale is my 2007 Lakland DJ5 with a bound maple board with white pearloid block markers, in a very subtle black sparkle finish, and a matching headstock. Over the years I've upgraded the pickups to Delanos, and fitted a John East DJ Retro preamp with a separate battery box. The original pickups (Hansons, not Aeros) ended up in a project bass I sold several years ago, but the original plate with the passive pots is included in the sale, along with a second scratchplate in white. It has the standard Lakland specs: 35" scale, 45mm at the nut, 74mm at the 12th fret, 19mm spacing at the bridge, with bridge and thru-body stringing. This is one of the earlier Korean made Skylines, and as such is a little heavier than some at 4.5kg, but it really sings, and has a great openness and clarity of tone, and no dead spots, which is the main reason I've kept it all these years, as well as the legendary Lakland B string. It has a few scratches, a few very minor dings, and a little fretwear, as shown in the pics. Anyone who knows about Lakands will be aware that the Skyline range can be a little variable, but this is an exceptional example. It comes complete with a Levy's Lakland-branded gigbag.

For sale is a really beautifully built custom 5-string in the style of a Musicman Stingray 5, by UK guitar maker Graham Pollard. Going by the date on the back of the headstock, it was made in 2002. It's a beautifully made bass, but having bought a couple of other new basses recently I need to reduce the numbers a bit, so I’ve decided to move it on. It’s in excellent condition for its age, and seems to have had very little use over the years. There's no discernible fret wear, only a few tiny marks on the body that are pretty impossible to photograph, and a couple of small chips in the lacquer on the lower edge of the back of the neck, shown in the photos below. The neck has a very slim profile, with a beautiful birdseye maple fingerboard. It's 35” scale, 50mm wide at the nut and 74mm at the 22nd fret, with 18mm string spacing at the bridge, adjustable with the Schaller roller saddles. It’s fitted with a Seymour Duncan BassLines pickup, and their STC-3M4 3-band EQ with a 3-position single/series/parallel switch. When the volume pot is pulled up, it switches in a 'slap contour' setting, with boosted lows and slightly scooped mids. The original Schaller tuners made the neck dive a little, so I fitted a set of Hipshot Ultralites which solved the problem. It now weighs in at a very svelte 3.8kg. The original tuners are included in the sale. NOW SOLD.

SOLD!! That was quick... For sale only: Carvin JB5 in natural finish with a maple board. I haven't had it long, it's lovely to play with a nice low action and sounds phenomenal, but I need to have a bit of a clear out, so I've decided to move it on. It's 34" scale, 45mm at the nut, 19mm spacing at the bridge, with bridge or thru-body stringing. I put a new set of D'Addario nickels on it recently. It weights in at 4.3kg on my bathroom scales, and sits on a strap or the knee very nicely. It has an 18v two-band active circuit with a tone control that is also a push/pull pot for active/passive. Controls are master volume, pickup pan, tone, treble and bass cut and boost (stacked). It's in excellent condition, with only a couple of very small dinks on the body, and no visible fret wear. It also comes with a rather nice plush-lined Carvin rigid gig bag. It's a lot of bass for the money! UK shipping is included in the price. No trades offers, please.

For sale only: 2 x Bass Array 12-3 cabs, one slant front and one flat front, both with covers, as new condition. Withdrawn from sale for now.

That's very nice. I'm not really a P-bass man, but you've got me looking at the Maruszczyk website for twin pickup versions! GLWTS.

Lovely. I have a real soft spot for Ibanez basses from this era - I had a Roadster RS900 and a couple of RS924s back in the day. Just out of interest, just when did the RoadstEr become the RoadstAr??

Fabulous basses, especially the earlier ones. Exceptional build quality and big, fat tones for days. Also, that's a very reasonable price - and with LEDs as well?? If I didn't already have one, I'd pull your arm off! GLWTS.

Well that would explain it! Can we leave feedback too?!? 😄

Multiple PMs sent, one with an offer. No response. I suppose this could be why the bass still unsold after nearly three years! 😉 It is still for sale, isn't it??

In 1980, having just discovered Brand X and Percy Jones and not being able to afford a Wal, I ordered a fretless Shergold exactly the same as the one in the ad above. It arrived a few days later, so I picked it up from the music shop and rather unwisely took it straight to a gig. I had a quick noodle in the dressing room and remember thinking "it's got dots on the edge of the fingerboard, how hard can it be??". Once the band launched into the first number, I realised the enormity of the task, and staggered off the stage at the end of the set drenched in the sweat of sheer terror. Great basses though! GLWTS.

The best quote I could find for shipping to Greece was £35 for *each* speaker, uninsured. Shipping them as one package was over £200 because of the combined weight.

No, sorry. It would be just too expensive I'm afraid.

My old bass! An really excellent instrument - I only let it go because I got Stefan at Bogart to make me a 35" scale version. GLWTS.

Hi Ziggy I've used both, and they are heavier, but the Prolines have noticeably more headroom and heft than the Neos. The high end on the Neos also sounded a lot more brittle to my ears. Definitely worth the extra weight, IMHO!

Another reason why I love this site - you get replies like this! That's a great story about how Neil came into possession of the bass. He had only just got it when I met him, so it must have been the result of a liaison in the very same club, Tiffany's in Bridge Street in Newcastle, now long gone, sadly. It was an interesting gig, like Sodom and Gomorrah with red velour seats and plastic palm trees!