kodiakblair

Davie is 20 odd year younger than me , about 7 ft tall , has ability miles beyond mine and makes a bloody good living playing bass at home. He annoys me too 🤣

Bloody scary pickups , good luck taming them 😆

@MichaelDean Looks great. I deeply regret selling my RPBX ☹️

Never had the chance to play a Chinese Dingwall but I don't recall seeing many complaints about them. Bamboo wing Sarzo Cirrus was pretty nifty. Over in the classical guitar world Yulong Guo has a good name ,start around £3k 🙂

@Tegs Makes sense to build sig models in Japan or Mexico, the lower labour costs help towards the artist kickback. Peavey did the same for the Ellefson Zodiac and Sarzo Cirrus.

No idea. Not really. Guitars and basses are simple things to build. St Leo's business model was ditch luthiers for semi-skilled factory workers. Hartley Peavey went one better, machines + unskilled labour. The only thing limiting factories are as @BigRedX said , the conditions set by the clients. Fender are a good example here. Fender Japan instruments for export are built to lower standards than the ones sold in the Japanese market. The same " build to lower standard" conditions apply to Fender Mexico and Fender China.

I doubt I've even scratched the surface 😃 Dingwall have a line built in China , Sadowsky have a Japanese and German range . Bacchus Japan and Indonesian lines.

The biggest has to be Ibanez , they have never had a factory of their own. Peavey closed their guitar plant in 2010 so everything since has been subbed out. Others I remember are. Cort have built for Squier, G&L , Ibanez and PRS. Saein built for Epiphone and Peavey. Samick did Squier, Epiphone and Peavey. Zheng'an build Tagima and some Ibanez. NBE Corp build the Spector Euro line, Esh and NS Design. They also do the Peavey HP-2 with yet another Cirrus reissue in the pipeline InYen Vina built for ESP and Peavey.

Was it a success ?

Aye, that's what the Wal Owners folk said . Less than 50 built .

I feel the same . He's also well behind the times , I played a mate's JB-40 7 year back.

For bulk purchases of fairly mundane stuff like hard maple , ash etc ; buy from Timbmet. It's a huge saving over buying from other places. https://www.timbmet.com/products/timber/hardwoods/ Most of their timbers come as 5" x 2" and typically in 8ft lengths . Not a problem since you'll have both chop and bandsaws in the garage. For smaller orders I'd also go with Alistair Reid in Glasgow. https://www.reidtimber.co.uk/

I would though message the eBay seller and ask about the 2nd fret. Tell them to seat it properly and send you the photo once they have. If they won't or make excuses then you'll know they don't actually have the neck themselves , just using Ali-Ex photos. Here's the wangguitar link , it's the same neck. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000812144992.html?spm=a2g0o.store_pc_groupList.8148356.37.2448ead4lOUUOW Mind , if you buy from eBay , using a credit card with PayPal , you'll get refunded if it doesn't pan out 👍

@Bassassin Sorry pal . Never saw your photo . Applying heat via an element (charcoal burner) helps things along , just be careful about the distance

Packed a bass of to Paul-S 2 weeks back using ParcelForce Express 48 , arrived safely 48 hours later. Another went out to Barrow in Furness this week , collected Monday before noon and delivered by mid afternoon Tuesday. Both went uninsured as they were not in hardcases, that an insurance condition . If you do ship a bass and hardcase then Parcelforce/RM do offer insurance but it is limited to £200 or £300 , insurance only covers the bass ; you get nothing for damage to the case.

Nothing wrong with poplar , its very similar to alder with regard to weight ,density and hardness. It was the timber of choice for many Peavey models.

No it screams seller pinched the photos from Ali-Ex . Those necks are sold by the wangguitar 1980 store , their eBay shop was "jinwan" . I have a few necks from them , also I've spotted quite a few used them in TalkBass build diaries. Decision to go with wangguitar was simple economics . Material for a neck ( maple/fretwire/TR/fretboard etc) cost between £30 to £40 then there is the time involved ; wangguitar were charging £55 per neck inc delivery . My time is worth a damn sight more than £25 🙂 Before buying a new neck try straightening it under pressure , tools are just 2 cauls , 3 clamps and a straight edge. If you think the neck is arsed then you've nothing to lose 👍

@Jonbob How about a black 6 string for £150 , is that different enough ?

Wish I hadn't sold my Wal JG custom , think the s/n was in the 30's had the leather scratchplate. Must be worth a few bob now 😕

Oh no , all credit lies with you ; you're the one who made it happen Paul 😃

That's looking fantastic Paul 🙂

Bass Centre were asking £899 for Tune BM's when they first appeared , back then list price for Thunder III was £369.

Pretty sure those have been up for 2 years now 😄 There were 3 versions of the Thunder II , a twin split coil model then a PJ model. In 1983 the Thunder II PJ was renamed the Thunder III and the Thunder II became a medium scale (32") with 2 single coils. Each version also had the option for fretless. I was £300 for this Thunder III back in Feb 2020.

Aye , serious bits of kit but 2-3 times the price. Centred on the same spot as 51 single coil P-basses .

Already noted.