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[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1399018543' post='2439945'] Is this a Fender bashing thread?? Just thought I'd check before I joined in... BTW only Fender item I own is a watch... [/quote] What time is it? Three minutes to eight? (19:57) fnarrr, fnarr. I have owned a few Fenders. The only one I regret getting rid of is an Olympic White '62 Bass IV (matching headstock). It was lovely. All (yeah, right, one of each) Ps and Js were ... very, er, dull. EDIT: OK, I've had a few drinks and obviously I meant VI, and not IV, because one of them would be true and make sense, and the other is what a mad drunk person would say. Sorry. I thought the '57 Precision joke was quite good, so don't hate the player, hate the game ...

@planer: Apparently ... but maybe not if you don't have a boat.

Do they make bass guitars?

The only vintage Fender I'd buy is the only Fender I regret selling, a 1962 Olympic White Bass VI with matching headstock. I loved it and still sold it 12 years ago. Got a great price, but I really couldn't afford it now :-( It sounded great, it played great and when we played Back in the USSR, I really thought I was George ... And for anyone who hasn't played a bass with a trem ... all I can say is WOW! IT'S GREAT. IT MAKES YOU FEEL LIKE GOD! Like playing an eight string, but different. With a proper six-string bass (EADGBE, the way Rickenbacker, Nathan and Leo planned it) you can embarrass your guitard ... which is always fun. Edit: I did feel a bit of a twat after we wrote some new songs after I'd just bought it, and then at the next gig suddenly realised I only had four strings and no trem. But that's what keeps you on your toes ... like the one gig in 20 years when you break a string mid song.

[quote name='4000' timestamp='1397475055' post='2424179'] Well I wouldn't say pig ugly, but I don't like the look either, and I think the 4001/3 is the best looking bass there is. Seems this may be the Ric for people who don't like Rics.... [/quote] I would say it was pig ugly, but you know, horses for courses. But as I tried to intimate, it really is a Ric for people who don't like Rics.

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1390211810' post='2342539'] There is no such thing. [/quote] Really? What the OP describes is just how my Shergold works. Not stereo though. My Rics* may be Ric-O-Phonic, but certainly not stereo. But true stereo basses have existed at least since the '70s. IIRC, they were all pretty sh*te. Two pickups close to each other. One angled very close to the E and far from the G, the other angled very close to the G and far from the E. Plug 'em into two amps, et voila! I do remember there were things with pickups for each string, panned across the "stereo soundstage", if you will. Too tired to Google. I'm sure you can do that ... (Edit: *Er, 4001s, that is, not sensible Rics :-)

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1391088716' post='2353094'] I realise I should have jumped on the MIK Pro Star Bass when they were on sale! [/quote] There are still a few on sale here. (And isn't the MIC 5 34"?) Almost popped for one but kept putting it off because they really sound too much like Warwicks for me. The gold one sure was pretty though. Don't like the Epi JC at all. Luckily I found a Hagstrom Viking just in time.

Sometime in the early '80s I finally realised Rotos were cheap, nasty strings. Ended up putting Guild Lights on everything. Fender put a stop to that, so now it's D'Addario EXL 220s (40, 60, 75, 95) on everything. I love 'em. Of course if you like heavier strings or flats, YMMV.

JJB, fair call. Am I the only one who immediately thinks of Think for Yourself anytime anyone says "fuzz bass"?

[quote name='chriswareham' timestamp='1396220012' post='2411191'] The Dew Drop was quite intimidating when I lived in New Cross in 1992-4 - the regulars included a bunch of crusty squatter types with a taste for heroin, hence the drug raid. Got threatened in there on one occasion by some dreadlocked cretin for wearing eye liner. Loved the New Cross Venue just across the way from it though, saw some great gigs there featuring goth and crusty bands like Alien Sex Fiend and Creaming Jesus. Brighton was a pub opposite the main railway station in 1998. I was in a band called Killing Miranda who had generated a bit of a buzz, which is probably why we had to play to two audiences in succession. I remember having blood running down the body on my prized Stingray bass by the end of the second set because I used to have an appalling playing technique with my wrist rubbing against the bridge until it blistered and bled. [/quote] The Dew Drop was intimidating, and they knew it (and played it up). I was introduced to the place and regulars by someone who'd lived there for years and was "a performing artist" and she knew all of them. Then she became very famous on the telly, without anyone being able to recognise her. She wasn't stuck-up and carried on drinking there, so the locals just loved her more. They also gave the tabloids a hard time when they tried to track her down. The place just over the way and up the hill was a great little venue. Played there a few times and loved if. I remember the pub in Brighton, and the room (and telling them to f*** off when we saw it), despite it being about 25 yards from our studio/rehearsal room. Can't for the life of me remember what it was called ...

[quote name='martthebass' timestamp='1396184745' post='2410698'] Yes you are the only one ... [/quote] Apparently not ...

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1396284258' post='2411820'] Look at those tuners! Nice. [/quote] They feel great. Can hardly stop retuning just for the sake of it. I love the old wavy Grovers (if anyone's got a bass side single going spare) and these feel just as good. Or maybe ... better.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1396281689' post='2411784'] Lovely, in white too which is unusual in a semi. [/quote] It looks so much better in the flesh than in my pics ...

Can you guess what it is yet? Yup, you were right! And it's ... ... so white! Yes, the knobs don't inspire confidence, but apart from that the build quality and finish are awesome. And the sound! Sorry the pics aren't so great ... too busy playing it to take better ones. If you haven't tried one yet, you really should. You might be surprised. Very good price too, I think.

[quote name='bisonkills' timestamp='1396112701' post='2410078'] I'm slowly getting used to seeing the dings... but I may investigate the cost of repairing them and how well it could be done. Thanks for the suggestions! [/quote] I'm sure lots of people will think I'm a sad mofo for suggesting this, but considering where they are (you aren't really going too see them when you're playing), and how cheap it is, you could do lot worse than touching them up with some nail varnish ... I've done it in the past and it works fine. I must admit it was usually for small headstock dings, but it does work pretty well. If you're not about to sell it, and you're just concerned about the cosmetics, why not? If you get really worried it won't make a refin cost any more.

Hi. I'd be very grateful for some help. Don't seem to be able to find clear answers anywhere about two things. First, does anyone know if there are any decent tuners that are drop-in replacements for wavy Grovers? (As used on '70s Rics). I don't care about screw holes, but I'd rather not have to ream out the post holes. Closest I've found is a set of Warwick tuners that will need a bit of reaming round the back, but only about halfway through the headstock, which means any sign of them will be covered if I ever find a set of Grovers. Second, does anyone know (as opposed to guessing) what gauge strings came on the late '90s MIK Danelectro Longhorns? TIA for any help :-)

[quote name='martthebass' timestamp='1396184745' post='2410698'] Yes you are the only one......I'm assuming your question wasn't rhetorical? [/quote] No, it wasn't. There do seem to be an awful lot of people who aren't Ric players who like it, which seems odd to me. I stand by what I said, though, I think it's a dog's dinner, and I wouldn't have one if you offered to buy me one (honestly). I also hate the look of Lemmy's "Ric". Oh, and I'm a big Ric fan. I just can't stand coffee table basses (or maple fingerboards).

What a great thread. And BTW, the Dew Drop in New Cross was a friendly little local. And chriswareham, was the Brighton gig upstairs at the Quadrant (RIP now, I believe)? Anyway, I think my smallest gig was the British Legion in Tamworth in the late '70s. Worko pick-up "band", tiny room, completely packed by about 20 punters, with two of us playing in the corner under the dart board (that people wanted to use). Nobody wanted us there, and to make things much, much worse, I won the raffle at half time. Big trug full of meat - chops, steaks, etc. The nastiest was probably a pub in Pompey called True Blue, some time in the '90s IIRC. It turned out to be an NF/BNP haunt and they didn't like "black" music. Luckily our then guitarist (now sadly no longer with us) had invited members of his family and friends from the 'Awk in Brighton. We were very happy for their support in a trying time.

Am I the only one here who thinks they are pig ugly? Maple fingerboard on a Ric? It's simply wrong. And the body should have been left as part of the coffee table it was cut from ...

Are we remembering the same shop? Wapping High Street? The staff were all stuck-up, no-nothing w***ers ... I remember very well a conversation soon after they opened. It was, "Can I buy a couple of Gibson heavy plectrums?" "Nah, sorry mate, we only deal with pros. We only sell in hundreds ..." I did love it though, the tossers mugged away loads of stuff they thought was "sh*t". I bought, very cheaply, an Ampeg AEB-1, an early '80s Gibson Flying V bass, a Triumph and several other collectable basses for giveaway prices. I recently returned to London and found "The Bass Centre" on Denmark Street. The staff ... I met four or five of them over a couple of days ... were great. Helpful and friendly. Nothing at all like the old place on Wapping High Street.

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1367006482' post='2060291'] Agreed - I used to enjoy my jaunts over there from Surrey. I often used to drop in if I was on my way to visit my eldest brother in Beckton and I was always like a kid in a toy shop while I was in there. Bought my first ever Trace Elliot rig from them and my first ever 5 string bass. Great shop with great staff and it was a real shame that the Brune St store never lived up to Wapping. Also remember seeing Alain Caron do a clinic there . Happy days.. [/quote]

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1393281279' post='2378339'] The latest edition, and finally after wanting a Ric for years. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/f06RL1G.jpg[/IMG] [/quote] Beautiful. Only one problem. It seems your Ric's pickup selector switch is broken. It looks like it's stuck in a position that sounds terrible! I would take it back, get a refund and make sure the replacement has the switch in the middle position, or even better pointing down. Better still, just get one with one pickup. No switch, no problem! No. Really. You know it makes sense ... And I think the "so-called" neck pickup is a good 1/4in, maybe more, south of where it should be.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1394295471' post='2390010'] Oh my! And proper toasters too. [/quote] Never know when you're going to need a spare ... EDIT: I was going to say something sarky like: ''Yeah, well, all 370 OS have proper toasters,'' but with all the noncy reissues they've been doing you can't be too sure (and I really can't be bothered hunting around the Internet to find out). So, it's a real Aug '68 370 OS, and you know your stuff for spotting it :-) EDIT2: Er ... and lovely though it is, if anything happens to my 4005 or one of my 4001s with a toaster ... it's toast :-)

Dunno about guitar porn, but here's an organ donor I keep in case a bass needs some spares (like a pickup ... or a tailpiece ...or even just a knob ). Edit: I was posting and on the phone and some words went the wrong way ...

Not so many Danos here so I'll add mine. Wasn't crazy about the colour when I bought it, but after adding my own touches I love it. Sounds great too ... Edit: BTW, it's a late '90s MIK that weirdly came with a Dano case.