Delius

Yesterday I actually went shopping for a 2nd bass (having just sold fretless number 2, I was in the market for something with frets for the first time in a while). Key factor for me was versatility between a real retro sound and a real modern sound - partly because I've been spoilt by my G&L M2000 (which I [i]did [/i]manage to get for £1k all-in by importing it), and partly because I play a wide range of styles.

I tried 4s & 5s from: Lull, Sandberg, Elrick, Dingwall, Mayones, Roscoe... and G&L Tribute, just to see how those compare to the "real" USA ones. I've got to say, I was very impressed by the Tribute range, much better than I expected.
Obviously the rest in that list are well over a grand, and most of them played nicely, but for me the Roscoes (P/J) were the only ones that hit the G&L mark in terms of versatility.

I then found a USA ASAT bass in the rack, S/H for under a grand; same electronics as the L2000. And suddenly I had "saved" £1500 compared with the Roscoe 5-string I was about to shell out on. I think I'll be looking out for one second-hand in a year or so though...

Aside from some of those already mentioned (relic work, gold hardware, headlessness) - one thing I just can't get myself to like is "wooden" pickup covers.
It's also very rarely that I like a maple fingerboard... has to be just the right combination with the body.
Silly really...

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1439208848' post='2840811']
Please play some other basses.
[/quote]
Ha! I'm sure I will at some point. I play lots of different instruments though so don't have time or space for more than a couple of bass guitars and I'm not really into getting rid of quality kit.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1439207276' post='2840784']
Ooh, I wonder what that was. Sounds lush. Or not, as it turned out.
[/quote]
Found the results of that one:
[url="https://bassclef141.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/herts-bass-bash-2014/pbass-table_different-size/#main"]https://bassclef141.wordpress.com/2014/07/10/herts-bass-bash-2014/pbass-table_different-size/#main[/url]

I've had cause to wonder before about the rather large delta in pricing on quality basses, particularly second-hand, and whether there is really any tangible difference in quality as you ramp up in price - or if it's just a case of "whatever the market will bear" against a particular manufacturer or model.

So, case in point - I've been a G&L man for nearly 20 years, and I think they are fantastic basses that represent great value for £1k-£1.5k (that said, I've only ever played Fender or G&L so I don't exactly have a lot to compare with). Looking at the marketplace and seeing basses from other quality manufacturers for around £2.5-3k, I sort of wonder even as my finger hovers over the PM button, "is it really worth double the price?". And I'm talking in terms of absolutely quality, not a personal preference thing. Say I pay £10k for a piano instead of £5k. It's almost certainly going to be a better instrument in some easily-definable way. Can this be the case with basses? As they are much simpler instruments and I would expect there comes a point where a bass just can't get any easier to play.

This is not an entirely academic question as I'm actively looking at procuring another bass! I get that buying something more expensive now probably means you can sell it for more money later, but given my general aversion to selling ANYTHING that's not really a factor here. Would be interested in people's thoughts.

Now SOLD.

Fantastic price for a superb guitar.
If it weren't for the natural finish I would be snapping this one up... someone must, surely!

Now on hold pending payment...

Well this never made it as far as a dealer. I guess we could call this an "almost two years bump".

still available?

What's the range of sounds available on one of these beauties?

[quote name='Hellzero' timestamp='1434275909' post='2798168']
Is this a Fodera ony sale place ?

You won't find a truest old Precision Bass elsewhere...
[/quote]
Best of luck, it can be a tough sell though. I spent a year trying to sell my immaculate '78 fretless - had plenty of enquiries but no actual sale... I wish you better luck than I had!

I just play my G&L. To be honest my Fender hasn't been out of its case for about 18 months - I just gave up trying to sell it!

Thanks to all for the input, very interesting.
I think on balance I might just give it a go! The idea of switching between instruments and tunings doesn't bother me and I like the points about playing 'across the neck'. Will be buying 2nd-hand anyway so not too concerned about depreciation. The notes about string spacing were very useful too.

I've heard that some B-strings are better than others. Any makes that are particularly outstanding (for better or worse) in that area?

Bass-wise I've been pretty much just playing fretless for the last 15 years, and indeed sold my fretted instruments about 5 years ago since I never used them, but have recently decided to get a fretted bass again, just to give me a couple more options and open up some different techniques.

First instinct was just to get the fretted version of my G&L M2000, or maybe their MJ4, although I'm open other manufacturers (e.g. Sadowsky, Lull, Roscoe).

Looking through the classified ads though, I see a lot of nice 5-strings out there. So that gets me wondering about maybe getting one - would be a bit more "different" from what I already have than just plonking some frets on it. The question though is, - why?

I'm not bothered about extra notes (I tune D-A-D-G, so already have an extra tone down there) but maybe I'm missing something else about interesting/useful positions etc.? I guess I'm seeing the 5th string as a bit of a gimmick but that's from a position of ignorance so I'd be interested to hear people's reasons for getting - and sticking with - a 5-string.

Any thoughts?

Lovely instrument and I would be well up for it if it wasn't for that 80s-chic transfer on the front. Which presumably is completely non-removable?

Final bump.
If I don't shift this in the next 10 days it will be going to a dealer.

Cool, thanks for that. Definitely looks close.
Have had the neck off, and there's no evidence that it's ever been a different colour.

Someone did suggest a couple of finishes that look similar to this one... unfortunately I seem to have lost the message!
If I took it apart would it be obvious whether it's the original finish?

Bump.
Apologies to anyone who contacted me about this prior to Christmas. Life has been very busy.
However, I now have both a new house and a new baby on the way, so need to shift this in the next few weeks if at all possible!
Any questions please let me know.
Dan

Sorry for delay, work has been a tad on the hectic side to put it mildly.
Have now managed to weigh the bass and it's 3700g, or 8lb 3oz in real money.
I guess that's towards the lighter end of the scale, though I've no real idea why they vary so much even from the same era.

Bump.

Bump - still here!

PM'd

[quote name='davehux' timestamp='1376505062' post='2175170']
Lined fretless necks - like L plates but less useful
[/quote]
Oh God yes. HATE them.