lowregisterhead

Very difficult to find another, they're like hen's teeth, and a custom build is over two years wait now I believe. There are a couple of LS and Z3s for sale from dealers in Belgium and the Netherlands, but in rather gaudy gold and colour shift finishes, not my cup of tea! And then there's the import duties of course, adding even more cost to an already expensive instrument. I've spoken to a luthier who's done some great work for me before, and he's willing to give it a go, so I may have to take the plunge with the third pickup. Watch this space...

Where do I start? Well, to begin with, the overall standard of build and finish is noticeably better than the Combustion/NG/D-Roc, although they're still very well put together. The Canadian made basses could be considered the Rolls Royce of the Dingwall range for want of a better comparison, and as a result start at more than double the price of the 'offshore' made basses, but they are so beautifully made. The Lee Sklar model has a dual density body, where the upper part of the body is Northern Ash, the lower part Alder, but side by side, not one on top of the other. The idea is that the different woods help balance the lower and high frequencies. From what I've found so far in the ten days I've owned it, I'd say that does seem to be the case. It has great resonance and consistency right across the neck. The LS body is slimmer than my Combustion (39mm vs 43mm) but both basses are almost exactly the same weight, just under 4.5kg. I owned an Afterburner 1 for a short while, and it was also beautifully made, but very light, too light for my liking. The Lee Sklar is also fitted with mandolin frets, which are slimmer than standard, but give the neck a very fast, slick feel. The main difference for me is the pickup configuration and preamp. The tonal character is bright and edgy, due to only having two pickups instead of three, and being fitted with a Glockenklang preamp. It delivers a huge range of tones, with the most hi-fi, glassy and crisp top end you can imagine, but is still whisper quiet even when you push the high frequencies. The EMG preamp in the Combustion sounds pretty flat in comparison. The difference between the preamps alone makes me want to tinker with my Combustion even more - I've already upgraded the pickups to Super Fatty IIs, fitted USA Hipshot tuners and replaced the bridge saddles with Babicz Solos, so a Glockenklang might well be the next addition. If I have one reservation regarding the Lee Sklar, it's that despite the tonal fireworks, it lacks a little versatility - the Combustion does a passable P-bass/J-bass/Stingray impersonation, whereas the Lee Sklar does a Stingray on steroids and a single coil bridge tone very well, but seems to lack the roundness I can get out of the Combustion from the third neck pickup. I'm considering adding a third pickup to the Lee Sklar, but it'll require some very careful routing by someone with all the proper jigs and serious skills, especially as there's no scratch plate to hide any rough edges... All the other specs are here: https://dingwallguitars.com/bass/lee-sklar-signature/

It came from a dealer in Japan. There were others closer to home (Bass Freaks in Belgium had a couple) but the finishes were a bit garish for my taste.

After two years of playing nothing but my Combustion 5/3, I just laid my hands on this Lee Sklar signature. A different animal, but a really lovely instrument, so beautifully made. Just a quick snap, which doesn't do it justice - I'll try and take some better pictures soon.

Yes, even if she ever did sell them, they couldn't sound the same in anyone else's. I still can't get my head around the fact he's been gone 12 years already.

A nice enough looking bass, used on the Rain Tree Crow album in 1991, not his Wal though. Whatever happened to it? Anyone know? Private bids, starting at 7K. https://burningshed.com/store/mickkarn/mick-karn_5-string-fretless-bass_other

...and it says he's sold 238 of them... at £9 each!

You might want to give the EBS Reidmar 502 a look - I use one with 2 x EBS 210s, it has power to spare, great clarity and really flexible EQ, and weighs only 3.3kg. It runs down to a 2 ohm load as well, and Andertons do them for just under £450. https://www.andertons.co.uk/ebs/ebs-reidmar-502-bass-amp-head

Looks not bad condition, but for that money, I'd expect it to be pristine personally. I had the fretless version around 79/80 (à la Sting and Colin Moulding) and it was lovely and so well made, but did weigh an absolute ton!

Met up with Steve in the Midlands to take an immaculate Lakland 55-02 off his hands. I got really badly delayed by diversions and traffic jams en route, but he waited patiently for more than an hour and a half for me to get there! A great guy to deal with, buy/sell with complete confidence. Thanks Steve!

The description says "Your purchase helps musicians and supports our studio!" The second part of that statement could certainly be said to be true I suppose, although their definition of support may differ. Who knows, if it actually sells for what they're asking, they could use some of the profits to help a musician, by donating it to the family of the late previous owner, for example.

Still an awful lot of spondulicks to blow on a bass sight unseen. As far as I’m aware, ‘the neck feels like an old friend and plays like butter’ doesn’t constitute a legally binding guarantee. If I picked up a bass that felt like it had a soft, greasy, dairy-based neck, the first thing I would do is check if someone had dropped a tab of acid in my tea.

Bought Mat's lovely Dingwall AB1. Took it out on a gig the same night and it was stellar, lots of compliments from band and punters alike. Mat was a pleasure to deal with - very prompt replies to PMs, and an all round nice chap when I went over to pick the bass up. Buy/sell with confidence. Thanks Mat!

Quite. I'm guessing the £35 delivery charge won't include insurance!