anzoid

I recently picked up a black Hudson PB5 (kinda Cort Curbow style thing) and it's crying out for a bit of an "all black" stealth look. I've managed to find the exact same bridge in black and now I'm trying to work out what to do about machine heads.

It's 3 + 2 but I don't know whether I should be getting 3L+2R or 2L+3R.

So, can someone tell me, based on the attached pictures, what I should be going for? 

Thank you!

And are those £10 sets of machine heads off eBay any good, or should I put on some Gotoh 707s?

Met up with Pat in Southall, Tesco's car park, to conclude the sale of an MB NY121 cab. Pat was there ahead of schedule and the exchange was swift and easy - only shame was that neither of us had more time to stand around chatting. Pat's an excellent bloke to deal with - great communication and a man of his word.

Still looking like an Ibanez (and JimBobTTD, your comment pushes me even more in that direction ), but Schecter basses have just come onto the radar and they look as though they have similarly slim necks... and look like they're a lot of bass for the money. Particularly drawn to the Stiletto Stage 5 which is neck-thru with MM style humbuckers. Any thoughts?

Met with Brendon Sunday to trade my SGC Nanyo fretless for his Cort Curbow. A real pleasure! Got to see his bass collection, try out a nice Spector 5-string and have a good natter about bass guitars - altogether an excellent outing! Brendon is friendly and easy going

Thank you both for the comments. After much experimenting with 5-strings (expensive hobby...) the Ibanez I tried is the only one that works due to a very weird shoulder problem I have.

Much as I like the look of the Spectors, if the neck is chunkier than the Ibanez (even though nut and string spacing seem to be about the same) then it won't work out. So, looks like it'll be an Ibanez - l'll survive

That is gorgeous! Nowt else to say really

I'm on the verge of buying an Ibanez 5-string, had one to try out for a few days a couple of weeks ago and the neck fits... I found I really got on nicely with the 16.5mm string spacing at the bridge, 45mm nut, and slim neck profile. 

But... I'm wondering... how do Spector 5-string necks compare to Ibanez ones? I believe the Legend series (and Rebop?) have 16.5mm spacing at the bridge too, not sure what the nut is, but is the neck similar in profile to an Ibanez? There's no way I'm going to be able to try out a Spector anytime in the near future.

Any thoughts welcome on quality comparisons between, say one of the new Ibanez SR875s (or the SRMS805 fan fret) and either a Legend 5 Classic (or Custom) or Rebop 5.

Thanks!

Looks lovely, but are the controls a bit closer to the edge of the body than on a "standard" jazz?

Greek symbol and very light - what's not to like...

I presume it's the Greek symbol for "Up yours"... or "Dis Dafuq"

Then there's this one: 

Looks like she has a bass saw leaning up against the table!!! 

OK, that is just awesome... I think I want one, and the price has dropped to nearer £30.

Still wonder why it ended up under "Bass Guitars" - way too high pitched

Sold (and bought) a load of stuff over the last three years, my only regret (weirdly...) was the Cort C4H I sold. It wasn't the most expensive but the double MM style humbuckers just gave it an awesome tone. It was also really light and comfortable to play... so why did I sell it... no idea...

Bought one of these last week from someone local to me - excellent bass, best fretless I've ever owned - the piezo pickup in the bridge is awesome. GLWTS!

Really?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Feldmann-s-Singing-Saw-Musical-Instruments-Germany/362303083782

And it's in the bass section too...

Seconding Stylon! Thanks Happy Jack. This kind of stuff is why I only play at home anymore... or maybe I'd be the one the other band members started a blog about... whatever

Well done

Yeah, saw there was no real mention in the description but the title is nicely confusing...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Vintage-Style-Bass-Guitar-Neck/332614379986

Um, yeah, don't think that's Fender, vintage or otherwise - though it probably is Vintage.

4 hours ago, prowla said:

Try taking sandpaper to most things and it'll kill their value.

£200 for a refin is a good price - I was quoted £350 over the weekend for a Tokai Strat (which was too much).

Yeah, just going to go out and sand down the car...

The refin I had done a couple of years ago was on a body I'd already striped down (not very well apparently...) and was done by Jack's Instruments Services in Manchester - was very pleased with the quality of the work done - then promptly sold the bass anyway as I realised it wasn't working out for me anyway  Was a good lookin' bass though.

2 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

Probs worth 750 if mint.  In this condition you'd need to subtract the cost of having the body refinished; couple hundred quid... and then I'd expect a bit off for the inconvenience.

So, worth about £450 realistically now... ouch - I recently got a quote from someone I've used before who did a very good refin for me and body only would be about £200, and as you say - some off for inconvenience like having to ship it for the refin, etc. etc. Amazing how a bit of sandpaper can kill the value of a bass.

Some people really are stupid... isn't it worth far less than the £750 he's hoping for now??

10 hours ago, alyctes said:

Adrian's a BCer and decent guy.  Might be worth contacting him directly.

Thank you

I bought this bass from the TheGreek a while back but realised it's not really for me (maybe I've just not found a fretless that works for me... but I'm beginning to think I'm just rubbish on fretless :D). Condition is as it came from Mick, only thing I've done is change the strings. I had someone look at the cracking round the fingerboard but the conclusion was it was very minor and a bit of glue would solve any issue - having said that, it still plays beautifully and seems stable and I've not had time (or inclination) to sort it out...

Anyway, yeah, it's on Gumtree, local pickup only as I would prefer the buyer to look it over and be happy with what they're seeing. And the Hohner B2B is also mine - got to clear out some basses...

8 hours ago, walbassist said:

I'm sure the Legend is a good bass, but the semi-hollow body, pickup placement, and piezo in the bridge are just perfect for smooth fretless mwah.  That said, if you like burpy bridge pickup fretless tones then the Legend might be a better choice.

You had me at "burpy bridge"...  That's the kind of tone I'm looking for. "smooth mwah" sounds like it might be a bit too tame.

Looking at getting a fretless (again). My current hit list is Ibanez Portamento SRF700 or something Spector. On the Spector front there's the Spectorcore with piezo and EMG HZ pickup or the Legend Classic with two SSD humbuckers. Both are lined fretless and have a 38mm nut, which is what I'm looking for in a 4-string. Not interested in 5-strings.

So, any opinions on the Spectorcore compared with the Legend Classic? Pros and cons of either would be welcome - what you like and what you don't like

On 18/11/2017 at 18:28, AndyTravis said:

You seen this on eBay, headless Precision by Cort!

I messaged the seller about this one as I was quite interested (note the "was") - apparently it is rather on the heavy side and a bit of research suggests that the body may be plywood. It's still up for £250 but I think that is possibly a bit overpriced. Also didn't like how the jack socket had been modified - if you wanted to put a normal P-bass scratchplate back on it you'd be left with some mess to sort out, shame really.