Roger2611

I briefly owned an Adam Thompson (local builder to Northants) fretless bass in the 80's I was told it was a custom build for someone who didn't get on with it, it was based around a Thunderbird shape but with a longer headstock and a more pronounced shaped body, it played really well and sounded great but the total killer for it was is was so big that no case existed at the time that could hold it! I soon realised it was pretty much unusable as it couldn't be transported safely, I was told by the shop selling it that the original owner had paid close to £1000.00 for the original build, I paid £250.00 for it and sold it a few months later for £200.00. So for those planning their next design, ensure it will either fit in a case or that it is supplied with one that fits the bass!

Why, just why?

We had been offered a gig in Gateshead, the plan was that the band plays in one room with the performance video linked to the "crowd" in a separate room! We decided that Northampton to Gateshead to play in an empty room was not worth doing

I had a look at them, the blue one looks nice, they look well built and a very 80's boutique shape?

Terrible! In Status series 2 (new) Status series 1 matrix (Used) Status energy matrix (used) Spector Legend Custom (used) Trace Elliot SMH 350 head (used) Smooth Hound wireless system (new) Out Fender Precision roadworn Fender Telecaster 1980's Japanese Dearmond MT77T Arbiter Les Paul Junior Westone Thunder IIa Guitar Still to go 1981 USA Fender Precision To be fair I have not spent as much as I thought as a couple of the guitars out went for very good money and the used Status and Spector basses came in for very good prices, if I shift the Precision for a sensible price I will be breaking even and selling a Mesa D800 last year more than paid for the Trace head

The Status groups on FB rave about Status Hotwire strings, available direct from Status at £14.00 a set (and even cheaper if you order in bulk) I have them on a couple of basses and so far I am impressed with the sound, feel and longevity v cost of them when compared with Labella Super Steps and Elites which I have favoured for years but seem to be getting more difficult to get easily for a decent price. As a mid priced set I would recommend giving Hotwires a go

Sad news, I did on stage effects for them when they played at the Roadmender in Northampton back in 1986 /1987

Labella do the Super Step strings, I have them on a couple of basses at the moment, nice strings but not cheap

Personally, I would walk away from anyone not prepared to take cash on collection!

Less expensive than you might think, the biggest cost to me in doing this job was importing Ebony dots from somewhere overseas, Andy actually charged me very little for the fitting work.

That was quite enjoyable and quite surprising to see Fonzi from Happy Days still so relevant to the kids in 2019!

Thanks Andy, a fantastic job again, I know it was only a vanity thing but Bass Collection SB basses always had un-dotted fret boards and, as this is one of only two SB801's to exist, I wanted it putting back to as original as possible, I have the original black knobs in the case and the remains of the original pre-amp so if someone is really brave one day they may be able to salvage it....until then the Glockenlang replacement will have to do (yes it does sound 10 times better than the aged original pre-amps!) Thanks again Andy!

It would be interesting to see who the seller is given their eBay name and the area they are in! Could it be a chance to meet the great man himself and pick up a nice amp....I am intrigued!

Just have a quick hunt through Ali Express if you want to see where this seller is getting his stock and the mark up he is adding as well!

I really enjoyed it but agree with the comment above. probably not as good as the Brian Pern series

As @BassBunny mentioned, the original Japanese Bass Collection basses take a lot of beating, definite value for money still

I play in a rock band and swear by my Mark Bass LM3 / 102p Traveller set up, but, our drummer is not overly loud! There is something about the Mark Bass sound that I really like especially when paired with a Precision, I have owned and sold a Mesa D800 as I thought the MB amp sounded better. I will add that adding a 1x15 Traveller cab to the set up actually took away the sound I love from the MB amp!

The placement of the "contoured body" decal is right strange! Looking at online images it is correct for these basses but I wonder what the story is as to how it ended up there!

"Yeah right" indeed, saw that yesterday, looking at the decal I thought, yeah right that's definitely a real Fender....not!

Improved the set up on most of my basses, sold a number of guitars off (and brought more basses of course!) set about learning a couple of bass lines I always wanted to learn....and then, bang, hit a wall, no motivation to play or practice at all and I am really struggling to overcome that now!

Sex on Fire, no KOL it's a rash you are over exaggerating again

Set Fire to the Rain, go on then Adele I'm still waiting

A couple for me: Playing main support to Midge Ure at a festival some years back was an experience Headlining a festival in front of 6000+ people was fun Recording at Sony's Whitfeild Street Studio was a scary experience especially as the Spice Girls had recorded there the week earlier Best of all was playing to 200 or so Downs and profoundly disabled kids at the Rocking Roadmender club night, the sheer joy on the faces of the Downs kids was absolutely priceless and is what making music and entertaining should be about!

Boomtown Rats Banana Republic was also a 1980 hit