Happy Jack

Ritter basses cover such a wide spectrum that Ritters I have actually played include one of the ugliest things I've ever seen (it looked a lot like the ejected placenta just after a cow has given birth) and also one of the most beautiful basses I've ever touched, so I think I get where you're coming from. What is beyond doubt IMHO is that they play sublimely, all of them. They're not just works of art, they are actually very practical and playable instruments too. Even the placenta ... I took it off the wall at Bass Gear in Twyford simply because it looked so appalling, then I plugged it in and played it for a while. I damned near ended up buying the thing.

I've owned three Wals. Two of them I sold for £2k each which - at the time - seemed pretty ballpark. They were a Custom Fretless and the original Pro II used by Nick Beggs on Too Shy, and that was maybe 8/9 years ago. The third one, a Wal Mk.III 5-string, I sold for over £3k five years ago and at the time I felt that was an outrageous amount. I reckoned I'd paid too much for it in the first place, and I was genuinely astonished that someone else would pay the same to take it off me. In hindsight he got a bargain ...

So, out of sheer monkey curiosity, where did you find Sugar Pie Honeybunch? Was it under F for Four, or T for Tops, or numeric 4?

So it's the band leader's 60th birthday, he's been on full-on shielding for over three months, the best we can manage for a birthday gig is to play his back garden in a civically-responsible, socially-distanced sort of way, and Paul The Drums turns up without his cajon. Solution? Raid the shed, of course ...

Mine was a bit more than that, but still ballpark. And that pink Status very nearly convinced me to have the Ovation done in the same colour. Working seperately, Chris Bowling and @Silvia Bluejay persuaded me not to.

Quickest way into peak Yes for a newbie ... get Yessongs, the triple live album. Seriously.

He was probably miming. Badly. 🤣

I'm rather fond of Ovation Magnum basses. I particularly like the outrageous styling of the Mk.II but there's nowt wrong with the Mk.IV either ... they share pretty much everything except body shape so they sound and play the same. I have one of each, but while my Mk.II is in a varnished natural finish my Mk.IV came to me in a rather unattractive translucent lilac 'wash', for want of a better word. It was neither transparent nor a solid colour, and the tint was unappealing. Apparently this was a popular finish at the time, although Ronnie Lane had the good taste to prefer a black one on Maggie May and Stay With Me. Apart from being unappealing, the finish had also developed a 'bloom' over the last 40 years. That stronger lilac tint that you can see on the upper horn and the upper bout is not a trick of the light or a reflection ... it was actually there. Not visible under stage lights, of course, but very obvious in daylight. It wasn't a surface problem either, that could be polished out, and I found it really, really irritating. I actually listed it for sale here on Basschat for a knockdown £800 because I was so irritated. Then @Beedster recommended Chris Bowling of Bow Finishing (near Godstone, Surrey) so I took the bass down to him. He agreed that the finish was way past its sell-by and also pointed out that the piece of wood being spoiled was an absolute cracker. So I bit the bullet and asked him to do a refin to match my Mk.II. This was NOT cheap, but By God what a job he did! Isn't she lovely? Isn't she beautiful? Ooh ... I've come over all Stevie Wonder ...

And I'd be there before you! Once you get past the "yer avin a giraffe" moment, it's actually a very sensible build, especially if you like to sit in on acoustic Americana sessions and the like. It's at US$59 with two hours to go. If I was anywhere near New York I'd have a punt.

So, this £22,000 bass? WTF?

Silver is the new Second.

Is there another sort?

Or just buy a Squier and get on with playing.

People are panic-buying them in advance of the second peak ...

Preamp pedal successfully exported to Belgium before Brexit destroys everything! Always a pleasure to deal with Tony ...

That was only about a month ago. You know ... things to do under Lockdown ...

It's only used when she wants a classical musician to play Get Bach or Hard To Handel. You want more? I've got a Liszt ...

I thought it was about the smell? And the fact that they're green.

Yes, but then nostalgia used to be so much better.

Nice, very nice. Desperately resisting the urge to start looking for a Vintage GP Artist - I really loved that neck and the punch it gave.

So the first photo is with the original neck, and the rest are with the Status one in carbon fibre?

This has been coming for a long time. Neither of their two shops was particularly profitable and the latest round of rent reviews has made it quite uneconomical to stay in business in the West End. Besides, most of their profit has for ages been coming from http://www.macaris.co.uk/colorsound Because they were the originals, they can still sell Tone Bender pedals at £439 each ... and guitarists will buy them!