Damonjames

900 quid for a brand new 2 band Stingray is mental! I'm currently looking for one which I guess is good news for me, but a bitter pill for anyone trying to sell one!

Just to add in, I thought 700 ish quid for a stingray was pretty good value, then I saw today that PMT have them on for £1099 new!!! Given you might be able to knock some off the price, I'd see 3-4 hundred extra on a brand new one makes a whole load more sense.

Visually, it can be tough to those unfamiliar with spectors. The 5 string is easier to spot as the Korean made spectors have the same headstock as the 4's where the us and Czech ones have a pointier headstock. The key thing to look for is the carved top and back (if you looked at the tail looking straight down the neck the body is arched)the Korean ones are typically flat with a contour like a fender if that makes? The exception to this is the Korean NS2000/4 OR 5 which aslo has a carved top but a different shaped top horn. Clear as mud isn't it?

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1445896340' post='2895240'] Simple economics, more people selling than buying. However, there's also a lot of folks living in cloud cuckoo land, bumping time and again gear that can be bought cheaper from dealers or eBay with warranty and/or buyer protection. Come with the growth I guess? [/quote] This has been going on for ages also, but it's not what I am trying to get at. Take Karl's examples above, a sting at £750 seems to me to be a good deal, yet they are still hanging around for ages. Could it be that we have just reached a point where there are too many instruments out there? I remember an interview with rob Deleo for stone temple pilots talking about the late 80's and being able to pick up a pre eb 3 bolt Ray for a coupe of hundred bucks because they were everywhere... In reality, there is nothing special about most of these instruments, they are a standard production item, and anything in the 90's although being technically "old" don't have the same apeal and nostalgia as the stuff from the 60's

PS. If there is a sunglasses emoticon in the above post, it should be a B then a bracket. Damn kids ruining our language!

Please feel free to delete if this has been done, but I did try a quick search to no avail. What's up with the used gear market these days? Nothing seems to be shifting unless it's stupidly cheap or comes as part of a trade deal (as a potential buyer I'm in this position also). So what is it? A) people have no cash people expect too much for what they are selling C) there is too much out there D) people have too much stuff to justify bringing in something else? For me it's a combination of A,B and D, I don't have bags of money, but even if I did, I couldn't justify bringing another bass in without shifting one out. As a buyer, I think some people are asking too much for what they have, but as a seller I appreciate not wanting to GIVE stuff away. I am just sat back watching it scratching my head!!! Do we all just have too much stuff and are not willing to buy something unless it's an absolute steal???

eBay is just ridiculous now. The fees they charge means that everyone bumps their prices to start with.

So I just picked up a boss tu-3 tuner for £49 BRAND NEW from my local music shop. Considering these are going for 35-40 quid used, I'd say this is a bargain price! This seems to be a trend at the moment, pedals like the digitech bass synth wah going for 30 odd quid new are not uncommon. Anyone else found some bargains?

Haha, you lot are out of control!!!!

The knobs arrived!!! My euro is now back to how it left the factory!!!

[quote name='Russ' timestamp='1442435608' post='2867008'] Got a nice Spector-related story for you. Back in 2004, I found a nice blue Spector NS5-CRFM on eBay for a really good price. The seller was in the US, and wouldn't ship internationally, so I had to think of something. I was planning a little holiday in the States in February 2005, so I contacted an online acquaintance of mine in the next town over from where I was staying (Edison, NJ) and asked if she could take delivery of the bass, and I'd pick it up when I got there. So that's what happened. And a year later I married her. That special Spector ended up getting sold about a year later, as we were a bit skint and needed the cash. About a year later, whilst browsing eBay (as you do) a familiar-looking blue Spector showed up, this time for an even cheaper price. Turns out it was my old one, and it was cheap because the truss rod was broken. So I bought it and had it shipped to my in-laws' place in the US. Next time we went over to visit, I made arrangements with PJ to take the bass up to the Spector workshop just outside Woodstock, NY (tiny little town called Saugerties, with a little shop right next door run by a hippie British expat that sells British import food). They replaced the truss rod for me, then and there, for free. Now that's proper customer service, above and beyond the call of duty. And I still have that bass. Never letting it go again. [/quote] Great story!!!!!

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1442339261' post='2866222'] I'm getting a Forte 5 Helium custom built and I get regular emails from Stuart himself. Makes me feel like the dogs-danglies. With the 3 layer US/Euro/Far East product there's something for everyone and the customer service makes you feel good about your decisions. In the States they have something called the [url="https://www.facebook.com/Spector-Hang-693440367412548/timeline/"]Spector Hang[/url] where Stuart comes out and meets folk. Other companies could learn much from the way they do business. [/quote] You lucky bugger!!! I am currently gassing over the helium forte 4 SS currently for sale at bass direct, I really like that passive tone knob with the Aguilar pre!!! DROOOOOOOL

Hi all, I just thought I'd take a moment to sing the praises of the Spector bass team. I contacted PJ to try and order some replacement knobs for my Spector, as it had been fitted with some after market ones and I couldn't find the spares page on their rejigged website. He asked me to email their Czech factory direct, and they have just been in touch to say they would kindly shipped them out free of charge. HOW GOOD IS THAT????? I think a few of the bigger name companies could take a look and learn how it is supposed to be done. Great basses backed up by great customer support = someone who won't think twice about buying again. Cheers Spector!