GuyR

Martin at The Gallery in Camden. You can't go wrong.

I bought a Strat for my nephew from Jon a little while back and forgot to leave feedback - I have no manners, blame the parents - He is a great guy to deal with. Recommended

Bought Adam's '64 Jazz Bass. As described and a very pleasant afternoon spent trying the rest of his collection. Recommended. Thanks Adam.

Not bass related -'66 Telecaster

Owning vintage basses is in my experience a very rewarding thing to do. My recommendation would be to save a little more and buy an all-original example. Refrets or minor hardware changes are not the end of the world, but if the body or neck are refinished, however many original parts you source to stick on it, it is still fundamentally undesirable to most vintage buyers. I have three pre cbs jazz basses, all original. I am just about to buy a refin pre cbs strat - mainly because I will never be able to justify to the chancellor £10k+ for a fully original one, when it is not my main instrument. To me, the only reasons to buy a refin Fender bass are that it's either so cheap it would be rude not to, or that you'll never be in a position to by one with the original finish

I have an A5 fretless - It's easy to play and sounds much better than the mid-range price would suggest. I'd swap it for a Rick Turner renaissance bass any day. Or, following my usual pattern, find a spurious justification for keeping both.

Signed. 8000+ now

I have a fretless A5. Great sound, brilliant for noodling unplugged, very good value second hand.

Have a top quality tech like Martin Petersen look at it and do the work if required - a well respected name for the refret is reassuring for buyers. I bought the bass you alluded to in your post for £6500, the fact it was refretted bothered me not in the least as all else was in order and it is a fantastic player. Any bass worth playing will eventually need refretting, so I see it as a wear and tear item. I have two other pre cbs Jazz basses, one with the original frets, which is the least good of the three. Great player 100% Original finish, original components are my criteria. Missing covers, finger rest, few wrong screws, wrong case, I can live with. Chiliwailer is absolutely correct in his post

I noticed that one just after it had finished. If it is real, I hope the seller never finds out what he was selling - that would really take the gloss off your day...........

Two come to mind - Quite recently an early 70s fretless Jazz bass modified with an extended fingerbard by Ned Callan and formerly owned by Dill Katz, which I had seen played live on many occasions - on ebay with starting price of £600 it received no bids. I phoned the seller the day after the auction finished and it had just been picked up. Turned out it was only two miles away. Gutted. Oh, and there was a '66 sunburst Telecaster I had on long-term loan, for which I couldn't find the £180 my friend wanted.

Bravewoods were £1500 when I bought my last one - still good value for bespoke. I did manage to buy another for £1000 second hand. Never tried limelight, but Bravewoods are v good.

Happy to send a picture, but no idea how to post one. If someone doesn't mind sending me a message with their email address, I'll be please to send an image.

I ordered a stack-knob jazz in surf green, aged white guard ,matching headstock and one-piece maple neck. Very happy with the result. You won't regret ordering

Headphones 100%. There is absolutely no justification for upsetting your neighbours. Your idea of what is loud and your neighbour's are likely to be different and ultimately, it is the opinion of the party suffering nuisance that is important, because they are the ones suffering stress and anguish, whereas the only stress you have to endure is to plug your headphones in.

John Elliott is advertising a '66 slab-body precision relic on his site, no pictures yet

I had a bass de-fretted at Andy's in Denmark St in about 1985, rare bass, regretted it ever since. Don't do it. I had it re-fretted at the Gallery. Super job but still not the same bass as before. Buy a spare neck if you have to, but why not use the best excuse to buy a new bass. You know it makes sense...

I have two Bravewoods - A Strat I bought second hand (Second hand seems an odd concept when describing a reliced guitar) and a Jazz bass. I ordered that new (surf green matching headstock, stack knob, one piece worn maple neck) and have had it for a year or so. Both are fantastic sounding resonant instruments that really have a convincing aged feel about them. They do not look out of place next to pre cbs originals. I think £1500 is good value for a properly hand-made custom instrument, I would have no hesitation in ordering another.

I have been trying to wear in my JVs or the last 30 years, but they still look exactly the same, despite my best efforts, due to the bomb-proof finish. I like my Bravewoods.

I have always tried every example of the bass in the shop, including whatever they would admit to having in stock. I'd much rather have the bass I preferred, even if it is the display model.

If you customise your Fender bass by less than10% you don't need planning permission, but you will need a Building Regulations certificate, issued once it has been inspected by your local Council. This does not apply if you modify it in a conservation area, in which case you will need the permission of the Conservation Officer. Pre-CBS basses are usually listed Grade II, and protected by English Heritage, which means it is a criminal offence to modify them

Bit of bog reading bumpf....No.2 is interesting to me as Tony was a friend of my fathers, I used to drool over his cars when he popped over when I young 'un! Surprisingly few boutique bass in there, with most being mass produced fodder. - About four years ago, I was lucky enough to be looking around Ronnie Lane's Mrs' loft -long story- and came across the (sadly empty) case for a Zemaitis acoustic bass. I wonder whether it was one of these