Shockwave

I might try and peek my head above the parapet for the first time in over a decade for this.

Though much of it depends on Public Transport from London Bridge and if someone has a spare space next to their rig so I can bring my Stas Pokotylo Monarch bass. 

1 hour ago, Louisfw said:

 

 

 Many thanks for your excellent reply and pictures, so much more information than I thought I would discover.

 

I've spent the afternoon looking up Lorne and trying to find out more about him. He does appear on many BC Rich forums and Facebook but I never came across any references to the bands he played in, if any. He was able to access a workshop and made the bass lying flat, at the front, with the zig-zag pattern down the fretboard. I think he made the orange bass, with holes, also.

 

When I bought the Ironbird I was only in the house for 10 minutes or so but it was mentioned that Lorne had died and that the last guitar they sold took ages to sell so they were surprised that this one had sold in 40 minutes. What happened to the others? Lorne seemed to buy and sell quite a bit. Most of his postings were around 2007, I think, so perhaps they were all sold off over the passing years. Perhaps he hung on to his favourites.

 

I knew the Ironbird was worth a bit but not that much! Very surprised!! When I got it home, I noticed that the A and D string rattled on the frets. My first thoughts were that the truss rod needs looking at. The whammy bar is also missing but hey! I found a good luthier in Cornwall and was going to take the guitar over but when I rang, he told me he had now retired. (Despite having a full-on website still up and running!) I'll look for someone else. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

Lorne had many issues with regards to women (One decided to basically steal a bunch of basses) and Substance abuse. He was gradually selling off his collection as time went on to keep his head above water. He didn't play in any bands of note, at least during his forum years. I met him twice, both times in Plymouth at his place. We spoke very often about any BCR's that became available in the UK, He was a very giving but also troubled person. I was lucky enough to own his BCR Eagle USA Custom (Wonky), His old Japanese BCR Ironbird Bolt-on and an old Japanese Mockingbird with the full electronics package (Which I believe @Mr. Foxen still has).

I was most upset to hear of his passing after years of him being quite sporadic in contact. 

The Ironbird did have truss rod issues and is hopefully okay now. 

I did offer to buy the Ironbird from Lorne multiple times over the years but he never ever wanted to sell it even in extreme economic stress. I would loved to have owned it. 

Both the basses I bought from him. 

7 minutes ago, Marky L said:

 

 

Fretless with a pick.. uhmmm.. well..

Tony Franklin made quite the career out of it 😅

Even unamplified, Yngwie appears to be intonating quite well. 

12 hours ago, MacDaddy said:

 

 

I didn't have that one, I had this one ⬇️

Amazing bass, looks fantastic and sounds like a P-bass on steroids. I only got rid because my arms were too short, I couldn't reach the last tuner 😆

I sold it to a guy worked for Therapy?.

 

Oh I didnt have a photo of our one. I just found some random one that's similar with some feet 😄

Hamer Blitz in Zebra finish @MacDaddy bought it from me, but failed to give me heads up when he went on to sell it 😛 😉

Would love to have that back some day. 

35 minutes ago, neepheid said:

 

This sounds like repairs to me - but help me understand - you bought the bass in this condition?  With missing screws in the bridge and wonky tuner?

I was unaware that it had those issues, so it was an existing condition.

I throw myself to the mercy of the court for I have sinned (Again). 

I have yet again breached Tier 2. Another Jeff Loomis Signature model guitar, but the newer one (I bought the older one in my initial Tier 2 breach). I presume that the effect of breaching Tier 2 does not cumulate into a tier 1 offense?



However I may have also committed a Tier 1 offense. 

My one and only bass has a very stiff tuner which really struggled to tune to pitch and sounds very grindy, to the point it was easily going to break very soon and I have auditions next week. Luckily a fellow Basschat member @MungoBass was selling the correct tuners required (Replacing the exact same Machineheads I already have), though in gold. So I purchased replacements from him, I didn't want to risk the tuner breaking on me whilst at the audition. Not only that but the original Chrome Bridge is missing the very essential Locking screws on all but one of the saddles. A purchase was made for an exact replacement bridge.... Which also just happens to be gold. 

Will the jury look kindly upon my predicament? 

Pmed!

I am 99% certain this is a "Swift" P bass copy. They were sold on Ebay years ago. 

Exact same headstock shape. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3k5riroRiM

Although it doesn't show the headstock in the video, the pickup cover colour matches.

2 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

Hmm, I'd be inclined to let you off with a warning in that case.  You made a good effort to get everything else bought before the cutoff if the string tree is the only thing missing.  And if I had a quid for every time I've come back from the shops and said "aw bollox, I forgot <item>!".

 

Any objections, court of dubious opinion?

I think a good attempt should be made at trying to acquire one for free first. Anyone got something in a parts bin somewhere?

I have failed on Tier 2 I am afraid. 

New Project and required a 7 String guitar to play Nevermore songs. 

Managed to snag this second hand old school Schecter Jeff Loomis Sig. As well as a 10-52 string set and .70 single string to tune down to B Flat. 

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/pre-owned-schecter-loomis-7-fr-trans-red-055384

To be fair, its a pretty good price despite the ding in the finish. These are getting harder to come by... Though the new Jeff Sig model is also very very tempting...

However I am still in for tier 1!

12 hours ago, ghostwheel said:

Think, it’s a bit strange to use locking bolts with strings through body, isn’t. 

Actually. My bass is not string thru. You can have either with this bridge. 

I have the same bridge. I just removed the locking bolts altogether. They are pointless as the bridge saddles are very stable without them. 

I had a very near miss. Was going to buy a G&L JB-2 in Pink for £300 at Andertons. But some scrote got to it before I did! 

Still in by the skin of my teeth. 

59 minutes ago, tauzero said:

A question for the court.

 

With the intention of building a 3-band preamp for one of my basses, I bought the components and PCB last year. The PCB (actually a batch of 3) was from OSH Park, and it was marked as dispatched on December 3rd with a quoted typical delivery time of 21 days. However, there's been no sign of it and the tracking says that the postal service is still waiting for it. If it doesn't arrive in a couple of weeks, would reordering the PCB be permissible?

I see no issue with this as long as the PCB is the exact same one. 

3 hours ago, neepheid said:

 

If your tech/luthier deems a new nut to be required then in their professional opinion the current nut is faulty/defective/broken. Replacing broken things on a like for like basis is ok.

 

RE: strings - some people change bass strings with wallet frightening frequency because they simply must have the zing of new strings for their sound. Also breakages, whilst rare, do happen. Some people only own one bass (also unusual but does happen ) so what are they supposed to do if that happens - give up bass for the rest of the year? These are a few reasons why strings are allowed.

I failed last years thread because I bought my one and only bass after a few years of basslessness due to poverty... But that is still a new piece of gear where non existed before.

As someone who only owns one bass... What if the bass gets run over by a truck? Apart from my carelessness about it being run over. Would it be permissible to purchase a replacement bass due to extreme circumstances? 

I guess the only permissible way to do this, if the bass is destroyed for some reason, purchasing a like for like version may be permissible as per the above example... But with the war in Ukraine going on and it being made in Ukraine... And frankly I couldn't afford a new replacement... does it have to be like for like? This may need weighing in by the jury. 

Personally I think there should be a valid Defense of "If you don't actually own any bass gear, you should be allowed to purchase one bass, one amp." (No Pedals, that's just frivolous) and not fail the abstinence thread. A Bass players social safety net as it were. 

I am in. But I fully expect to fail. I am a glass half empty kinda guy so I am never disappointed. 

1 hour ago, neepheid said:

 

My point is that it doesn't matter in this case, frivilous or not - this is a continuing job that was instigated this year - I see it the same as putting a deposit down on an item which will not arrive until next year when the remaining balance is paid.  Infractions are counted from when they are initially committed - in this case when the job was agreed with the luthier and the bass handed over for the work to be done.  They're already out for this year, but if they weren't and the refinish/nut replacement was deemed not to be a repair then it would have seen them bow out this year.  In this case, it is moot.

Further clarifications. If a bass was purchased on New Years Eve using a Pay in 3 method, in theory it is covered by this years thread correct? Even though the first payment will be sent before New Years, but not Received until the banks reopen a few days later?

To put in F1 terminology. This is unlikely to be against regulations, but is is against the "Spirit" of the regulations?

1 hour ago, bass_dinger said:

I refer the defendant to the case of bass_dinger v Basschat.co.uk 

This case seemed to establish that a refinish that was a repair, counted as any other repair, and would not result in a Gear Abstinence breach.

 

However, it will be for you to show that it was a repair...

 

 

Here is some of the offending finish issues. It's all over the edges of the bass, body and headstock. Is it neccesary? No, is it unsightly? A little. 

The nut had some uneven string spacing that I wanted sorted as well. 

That is a stonking deal. I didn't realise they would bend so much on what is already discounted for scratch and dent... I may need to try the same thing 😛

Did you contact them via Ebay or the website etc?

The Stas Bass I bought earlier in the year that saw me crash out of 2024's abstinence is being refinished and a new nut installed. It's with luthier who will sort it all out. It's unlikely to be finished until next year. Obviously it will be paid for next year. 

I throw myself to the mercy of the jury. Have I destroyed my abstinence thread participation for next year? 

Sorry for the lack of updates gents. 

The decision was made for me, my partner got fed up of me procrastinating about it and she went out and got me a Blackstar Bass Amplug2. 

It actually sounds pretty great out of the box, does what I need and does the trick for now! 

Thank you all for your input 🙂

Great deal on a lefty fretless 5 Sadowsky MetroExpress for £251
 

https://www.thomann.co.uk/sadowsky_metroexpress_21_5_hyb_bk_fl_lh.htm

Just to note I am still reading the thread and taking onboard the breadth of solutions. 

Also to the kind people who have PMed me to gift me a solution, I really appreciate it, but I am unable to accept a Gift/Charity, for personal reasons. But I definitely do appreciate it! 

8 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Tc electronic bh250:

 

aux in

headphone out

250w if you connect a cab

Toneprint app

 

its tiny 

 

 

I do like the look of them, but too rich for my blood. 

I guess I should say I am looking around £100 or under. Preferably much under. I guess the Ashdown Tone Pocket Amplifier is a possibility as they are on offer at just over 100. Maybe the Palmer Pocket headphone amp as well. But I know nothing about current technology. (I have had a long hiatus)