anzoid

Yeah, seen a few too recently and in light of the discussion here have been reporting them as I see them.

Interesting... is it always the same eBay account then? I've seen this type of scam before (possibly even the same basses...) with just the email address in an image and/or the same type of "here's the real value/price" image + invitation to email, but never really noted whether it was the same eBay account.

Exactly, and if you look at the photos - they're all taken in different places, someone listing multiple items generally takes photos of the stuff in the same place. And the Ritter image just looks like a stock photo. And @Hellzero - there's no reserve prices on his auctions, and the image you posted is kinda proof of nefarious intent. So, not clever... account takeover (find a good account with lots of positive feedback) and used by a scammer.

Get 'em while they're hot: Ritter Roya currently at £7.50 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ritter-Roya-5-String-10th-Anniversary-Bass-Guitar-quilted-redwood/293773306807 Fodera currently at £3 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fodera-Bass-Imperial-Elite-Select/293773306836 Also got a Steinberger "very very rare" guitar... but no-one cares about six skinny strings anyway. I think someone got their account hacked.

Markbass Micromark 801 is pretty good. Got one recently from Bass Direct after deciding to downsize amp stuff. It definitely has the Markbass sound, but in a very small package - cube that's 26cm on a side. Surprisingly loud too. Bottom end is good if not stunning. There's a socket to use a min. 8 ohm cab. It goes quite nicely with the Ampeg 2x10 that I've still got (and should really get rid of...) Plus (or minus) it's got quite a lot of yellow

All sorted I think - left overnight, wiped off the finish is definitely more even. It's still kinda "sweating" a bit of oil - which it was doing before, but I can just wipe that off. The fretboard is definitely looking more even. Now I just need to learn to dress frets to sort out some buzz after lowering the action Fun times. Thanks for your help!

That's great, thank you! Will give that a go. Would overnight be too long with the oil on the board?

I have just taken possession of a rather nice Steinberger Spirit XZ-2 - the one with the body. It was kinda grungy enough that I decided to give it a good clean up. The frets have come up nicely with a bit of fret polish and look great. I used some lemon oil (Dunlop 65) on the rosewood board and the result is... odd. The oil hasn't soaked into the wood evenly - it's like there was some coating on the fretboard. Where the strings touch the fretboard the oil has gone, but the wood between the strings is kind of resisting the oil and there's still oil sitting there which I keep wiping off. What have I done wrong? I didn't use much oil at all - couple of drops and then used my fingers to spread it around. Under the strings the fretboard is less shiny now than between the strings. Should I use something else on the wood to remove the oil I put on plus whatever the coating might be? Steel wool? Fine grade sandpaper? Don't want to wreck the fretboard, but would prefer that it was unifrom in looks - the oil I guess will eventually disappear either into the wood, or onto my fingers when I play... but never had a partially matte, partially gloss fretboard before, and don't really like it much...

I've not played a Spector (one day, one day...) but recently bought a Warwick Rockbass Streamer NT - the neck-through. For the money it's a stunning bit of kit, the equal of any other bass I've had in this price bracket and I'd happily put it up against basses in the £1,000 to £1,200 bracket that I've played. It's active PJ and sounds pretty good. Fit and finish is excellent - frets are all good, finish is smooth and very nice. Nothing wrong with it I also have a shortscale Corvette Rockbass and that is also excellent, but being secondhand does have a few dings, but hardware-wise it's very good. Finally, also just got a Korean Pro Series Thumb bass and that is just that bit better than the Rockbasses, but they're getting harder to find. Same hardware as the German Wicks but different woods - ovangkol body and maple neck. Still sounds like a Thumb though.

Another thought - if you like the Spector body shape, you could consider a Warwick Streamer... there are certain, shall we say, similarities.

One thing to consider - how thick do you like your necks - the Warwick Corvette 4-string (guessing you're looking at the Rockbass line if the Spector is a Legend) will have a 38mm nut and fairly slim neck. The Legend will be closer to 40mm, maybe more and chunkier. If you buy a secondhand Corvette neck thickness will vary, but should still have the 38mm nut width. Personally I'm team Warwick, and think even the Rockbasses do a very good job of the Warwick sound - I like MEC pickups. I prefer the active MECs with active circuit (Gold writing on pickup), the passive pickups with active circuit are good too, but less so. And I've never really liked the all passive Corvettes that I've tried, a bit lifeless in my experience. If you're buying new, Gear4Music has a sale on Warwicks at the moment.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Custom-bass-guitar/124303322143 Um, well, yes...

Jazz bass with a bad back

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1980-IBANEZ-Roadster-4-4-Size-4-String-Fretless-Bass-Guitar-SPARES-T22/392910788912 Maybe of interest to those looking for a project starting from what looks like a fairly decent starting point. Low starting price too...

Squier are due to release a graffiti yellow version of the Affinity Jazz sometime in August. It's a colour I love, slightly less interested in the "Affinity" part as they're the bottom of the Squier budget line. Anyone got any thougts on the modding potential in terms of buying parts - i.e. can I drop in a standard Jazz size scratchplate, and pickups, replace the bridge with an off-the-shelf bridge, or even replace the neck with any old Fender fit neck etc. or are Affinity basses... different? In terms of expected quality of the body and neck (so, just the wooden bits) are these even worth bothering with? I realise that modding a cheapy bass can be a waste of time, but if the basic body/neck are generally decent I'm not too worried - but if the body is rubbish wood, poorly finished, or the neck is untameable with lousy frets... then maybe not. I'm not worried about cost, recouping my expenses or whether it's a sound economic idea (I know it's not ). This would be purely for pratting around with and having a bit of fun with a yellow bass...