ossyrocks

That’s just what I’ve done. I’ve bought the 2016 AV ‘63 this morning over on The Fretboard Forum. I can see you’ve been looking at it and commenting, so I hope you’re not too miffed with me for buying it! Rob

I'd probably buy an AVRI too if one cropped up. I just think these MV basses are interesting, but I don't want to buy without trying first. With an AVRI, I probably would buy without holding it in my hands first, because I kind of know what to expect.

What's the nut width on the 70's one, there's no info on the MV website? Bass Direct list the '62 at 43mm, I just wondered if the '72 was narrower? My '73 P bass is 41mm. I think I can cope with the extra 2mm though. Lots of reasons ^here to just jump on one. The Fiesta Red P is under 9lbs and has £100 off because of a ding on the back of the body, which I'm sure I can live with! I rarely buy new guitars. The last ones were some Custom Shop Gibsons which were being sold off at discount prices in 2018, and I bought them because they were so cheap. I sold all three for a profit later. I doubt this would be the case for this bass though. Thanks for the help chaps. Rob

Now I feel rather foolish, I don’t know how I missed that. There are only two in stock, and they are a six hour round trip away. Are they the only dealer?

I’m looking around for something precisiony, and I’m quite intrigued with the Modern Vintage MVP4-62. However, no amount of googling is getting me any closer to finding anything in the UK. What am I doing wrong? Who has them, who’s tried one, who’s got one? Cheers, Rob

Thanks for all the advice on the LMB-3, and sorry to have hijacked the thread a bit. I've received the one I bought on ebay this week and have just tried it out. It doesn't work! Either on battery or 9v power, only the Level control functions, the rest of the controls have no effect on the sound whatsoever, in any position. I've requested a return via Ebay. A bit disappointed! I'll put an ad in the Wanted Section. Rob

I bought a TU-2 from Chris this week. He’d posted it even before I’d paid! Great to deal with. Rob

That’s great, thanks! I’m looking forward to getting used to it. Rob

I’ve just bought a secondhand LMB-3 to put together an old style Boss BCB-30 board. TU-2, LMB-3 and SYB-5. This is only my second compressor ever. I’m using a vintage P bass through a Mark Bass LM3 and a Barefaced One10 at the moment. I have a TE Elf head on the way though. It’s a low volume contemporary jazz band I’m doing. For those that have experience of the LMB-3, can you give me some pointers on where to start with it? I just want it to even out my inconsistencies, give me a little punch (but not top end), but still allow a bit of dynamic in my playing when I need it. Cheers, Rob PS. The SYB-5 is just for one tune at the moment, Chameleon by Herbie Hancock. I’m right in thinking this should be last in the chain aren’t I?

I'm actively looking for another vintage P bass, but every single one is about £1000 or more than I paid for my '73 only in February this year, and that was from ATB Guitars who I consider to be a "high end" dealer. Take that '71 at Reidy's for instance, £3999 and the fretboard is buggered. Are they actually selling, that's the question? Rob

My GAS might be terminal. There was a chap there last night with a double bass and we had a chat about it. He said I should basically just buy one. Who am I to argue?

I think I would struggle to get him to do a setup for me. He just likes bigger more interesting jobs now. If you're around the Manchester area, you could try Max Cottam? I've known him for a long time, he's done a refret for me 20 years ago which is still going well, and he's got a good reputation. This is all 6 string stuff though, I don't know about his experience with basses. Rob

He has "officially" hung up his tools and retired, but he still does a bit of work for longstanding customers. He still has his workshop and everything in it, and is still building guitars, but they are mostly for himself these days. He's just finishing a refret on a vintage 335 for me and I'm collecting it on Tuesday. I can honestly say that I've not come across anyone better in the last 30 years. His work is impeccable. One option on ^that P bass would be to replace the board. He did one recently for a friend of mine on another vintage 335 and honestly if he hadn't told me I would never have guessed it was a new board.

It might be salvageable. Someone like Ged Green could do it. He’d have to skim quite a lot off the board and then fret again. Could be expensive to do and given the price, probably not worth the money. What a shame. Rob

I did the audition on Wednesday. As I expected, I played at about 50% of my ability under pressure. It was bit hot and my hands were sweaty which made my flats a bit sticky too. But, they want me in, so it was a good result. My little Barefaced One10 with the LM3 sounded fabulous with my P bass, I don't think I'd ever need anything bigger with this band. I learned six tunes for the audition including The Chicken, which they were quite pleased that I'd picked one of the more tricky tunes to audition with. I now have another 5 to get down before rehearsal next Wednesday. I have permanent jazz earworms at the moment! A couple of the band members will be at Jazz Jam tonight in Lancaster. I'm going down and hoping to do a few tunes with some new people. I feel like I've come a long way since buying my first bass almost a year ago. Onwards and upwards! Rob

@kevin_lindsay you’re a very talented chap indeed! Some really nice ones there.

That looks lovely. Did you do the refinish yourself? I almost did a strat body myself last year, but I decided it was not worth it in the end and bought a replacement body already finished in nitro. It’s still a skill I’d like to have. Rob

I saw him play in the summer in Buxton. He’s the new bass player with The Impossible Gentlemen. He is definitely worth watching. Rob

That’s fairly true to an extent, they do all share the same basic circuits. What often differs are HT voltages, the size of the output transformer, and the speaker configurations. I also have a 1966 blackface Bandmaster head, which I currently have for sale. It’s a lovely thing for guitar, but it has a small output transformer and really doesn’t work that well for bass.