GuyR

It won't be the last one you buy, however nice it is.

4 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

I might sign up and just knock one out online, surely I'd get a second or two in before I got the plug pulled on me?

You'll probably win a preamp and a set of crap 45-105s

10 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Sounds like you’ve found some lovely gear.

If I lived in Bristol, I'd go to every one. From London, it's a bit of a mission.

Have you bought anything there?

22 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

I’ve rarely seen a bargain there, but the instruments do seem reasonably priced. 

I do remember a man dressed as a cowboy winning a guitar (some Gibson Ltd Edition) fist pumping in the middle of the auction room.

That was great to see, as it turns out he’d been searching for this particular guitar for over 20 years!

I bought a lovely 66 Tele for £5500. Not player grade. A 62 slab Jazz bass, modified but very nice £1700. The '60 Esquire custom in the current catalogue was bought in the auction about 5 years ago for about £5800, the same auction where a Rick Turner Renaissance bass sold for £600. All including the commission. 

It depends on your definition of a bargain, but I invariably wish I'd taken more money with me.

The auction where I bought my tele had a 56 esquire, body only refin, for £6k and a lovely body only refin slab 62 Jazz at £3720, which sold in the Gallery for around £7k a couple of weeks later.

1 hour ago, Burns-bass said:

I’ve been to this auction a few times. Don’t forget there’s a 24% premium on top you’ll need to pay. There are few bargains to be had there, but it is quite a lot of fun!

I have bought very well there, and seen a lot of excellent value for buyers. I have also seen plenty of buyers get carried away.

Agreed, it is an enjoyable way to buy, if you are level headed and set limits.

Sublime

I bought my 79 fretless Stingray on a whim in 2013 and sold it for +40% last year. I guess that's a reflection of the market.

I have the old A5 fretless, not ultra. It is slightly neck heavy, but not to any significant degree. I mainly use mine acoustically, as the fundamental tone is so good. 

Not sure how the ultra electrics compare, but the A5 is a great bass that does a decent DB tone, played over the fingerboard.

I have always liked surf green.

Btw Bubinga5, your old Sei Jazz 5 is sitting on the sofa next to me. In case you wanted to keep track. Very lovely.

I would do the minimum to make it A1 functional again. Refret, no problem whatsoever. New pots, fine if the originals no longer serve their purpose.The fact that the potential may be there for a future owner to expose a rare foam green finish will already make it more commercially attractive without you having to take the chance of doing it yourself. 

Balance the risks and potential rewards; how pleased would you be if the foam green is able to be made presentable? How disappointed will you be if you take back the refin to find the green is not viable and your history of ownership has been irrevocably erased?

No choice if it were mine. I'd leave it. And foam green is my absolute favourite custom colour.

one other question; What colour is the guard? If it is white, that would make it more likely the green is original.

If this was on the wall in the Bass Gallery at £2600, it would be gone within a week.

Why is it still here?

Will the Harrisons open a museum of counterfeit and stolen vintage guitars there?

Have just bought Carl's Sei Bass. The bass is exactly as described and Carl was a pleasure to communicate with, meet and do business with. A very satisfactory transaction all round. Thanks Carl.

5 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

It’s been a few weeks now since I got this 62. Settled with a set of Thomastik flats and been playing this one the most out of my basses. 

I’m constantly drawn to the resonance and tone - vintage and vibeing on the neck pup and super articulate and full with both on (I don’t/can’t do Jaco...so no solo’d bridge). And that neck...

Seeing his for sale page blank makes me wonder how many he makes a year???

I think most sell during manufacture, so never appear online.

With good reason.

I wonder what proportion of custom builds are with the original owner?

I am not generally a seller, but moved my custom build on after 6 years. I simply preferred other similar basses so it wasn't getting any use.

I have played other basses by the same maker I much preferred to the one I received. Nothing wrong with the spec, just the natural variation you get between otherwise near identical instruments. I was fortunate enough to get my outlay back, minus shop commission, when I sold. 

Buying any bass sight unseen is risky. Adding the element of uncertainty in speccing something where you have never tried all the ingredients together previously increases the uncertainty. The element of guesswork combined with the natural variation in the woods/other components means you would be fortunate to get exactly what you hoped for. On the plus side (my preferred outlook) you could get something better you didn't know you wanted, but of course the opposite could as easily be the case.

None of this will be sufficient to deter me from trying again.

Lovely looking bass. Great price.

23 hours ago, BassApprentice said:

That was a top quality day out! Getting to see Santana and Clapton with my Dad was pretty special 😁

And Chas & Dave on the small stage. A quality day out indeed. 

Saw him at Hyde Park in 2018, on the same bill as Gary Clark, Clapton and Santana. He was sublime. So glad I made it......

2 hours ago, PaulWarning said:

the Beatles aren't like Clapton at all, they broke up at the end of the 60's, who knows what they would have achieved if they'd stayed together?

Mediocrity?

If I had won the lottery, I wouldn't be buying "off the peg"

7 hours ago, Chiliwailer said:

Is that the one Andy had? If so, it used to belong to my mate and is an absolute beast - loved it. 

The very same. I was initially drawn by the vulgarity of the finish,  it is also a great bass.

Update on the incoming side. This morning a contractor doing a house clearance for me asked whether I would like a Roland bass cube 30, in the original box, for nothing. Difficult to say no to an offer like that.

Fairly minimal as usual

Out. 62 Jazz Bass

In. CS stack knob gold sparkle Jazz Bass, 65 Strat. 

5 hours ago, police squad said:

nice collection

Thanks. It kind of happened by accident. 

Here are a few of mine

62 Casino, 65 Strat, 66 Tele. Quite happy with current setup.

Just now, Chiliwailer said:

For me, Clive Brown does a relic that’s closest to the real thing - but he doesn’t make guitars or basses, so Bravewood have definitely got the prime spot and huge resect from me. 

Agree re Clive Brown. I have played a 65 CAR Strat he had completely refinished, neck and body. To me the finish was indistinguishable from my 65 CAR. His work is outstanding. I tried a blonde tele of his also that had a sublime checked body refin? He understands subtlety, has zero online presence, no contact details, but still has an 18 month waiting list.