Cato

Not quite as cheap, but you can can get Fender's Hi Mass bridge for £30, which is a quality item that they fit as standard to several of their £1000+ basses

I've got a Babicz on my Squier VM70s. It's a brilliant bit of engineering, easy and fast to set the intonation and the action and is absolutely solid as a rock. It has no sharp edges so palm muting is a very comfortable experience. In terms of tone or sustain I honestly couldn't tell the difference between the Babicz and the BBOT it replaced. One thing to bear in mind, the Kickass is an old school high mass bridge,whereas the Babicz is built from light weight aluminium and weighs pretty much the same as a BBOT, so if you want the classic high mass mod, the Kich Ass is probably the way to go. Edit. One more thing, I bought my Babicz, mail order, from Bass Direct and initially they sent the bridge without the screws. No big deal, they sent the screws immediately after I informed them, and I'm not sure if the mistake was BD's or a packaging problem with the manufacturer. Either way I'd check your new bridge has all the bits with it before leaving the shop.

Thomann were selling official Fender 'ashtray' pickup and bridge covers the last time i checked.

Christmas Wrapping is quite a cheesey song in my opinion, saved by having one of the all time greatest ever basslines, in any genre.

I've never owned bass with a 3 + 1 but I've always thought it was an aesthetically pleasing solution to the monster headstocks on most Fender style basses.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1509824621' post='3401951'] I should have said last week then [/quote] It's my own fault. I've been very lax at keeping an eye on who's touring recently.

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1509812323' post='3401831'] Wolf alice on Wednesday. [/quote] I had no idea they were touring. I've literally just watched the Birmingham tickets sell out whilst I was in the process of trying to buy a couple. Bugger.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1509666784' post='3400796'] I think Encores have come from a few different factories over the years. An old bandmate had one which was really not bad and played nicely but I've seen others which were horrible. [/quote] I think there might also be an element that if a bass came out of the factory with a bad set up when I was starting out, in the pre internet days, most of us had no idea to fix it. The information just wasn't widely available. I used to fiddle around with the action and intonation screws on my Axe bass, but I had no idea what I was trying to achieve, other than trying to make it 'feel a bit nicer'.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1509663740' post='3400773'] For me it's not so much what you wear. I contend, if you stay in great physical shape you'll look like a million bucks in anything. Blue [/quote] That's me buggered.

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1509644927' post='3400588'] A wise man . The approach would be something like - Remove frets Fill slots True up fingerboard and completely remove finish due to the gaps the frets will have left and possible damage Apply a hard finish such as Epoxy Level the epoxy. So yeah, it'd be pricey. [/quote] Thanks again for taking the time to reply. Expert advice from professionals such as yourself on things like this make this forum invaluable.

Cheers for the advice folks. The luthier i contacted has also said he doesn't want to do it because he thinks removing the frets will damage the finish which, long story short, would take a lot of work to rectify and end up costing considerably more than the bass is worth, So, time for another look at fretless necks.

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1509610582' post='3400199'] Usually Maple boards are sprayed after the frets are installed, so if you defret you'll likely have bare patches where the frets used to sit. You'll also probably chip the surrounding finish removing the frets. It's also normal to have to sand/true up the board after removing frets...which will remove the finish. So you'll likely need to refinish the board after performing the defret. That's if you want it to look nice anyway. [/quote] That's useful to know. If I do go down this route then I'm planning to get a local luthier to do the work, so hopefully he'll be aware of the potential pitfalls of chipping/removing the original finish.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1509575999' post='3400098'] Please, someone explain to me what your getting when you buy a new Harley Benton Jazz Bass for $135.00. They look cool, but again what are you getting? Blue [/quote] My brother in law has one. The worst thing I can say about is that it weighs as much as a small planet. Other than that it"d a perfectly decent jazz bass, I'd put it at least on a par with an entry level Squier or Epiphone.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1509574416' post='3400079'] Ahh, you've thought this through. As long as you're getting another bass, I'd go for it... what could possibly go wrong? [/quote] Absolutely. Originally I was looking at getting a fretless Sire, but while I was looking at those I started gassing for a full blooded 'super jazz'. Then I start thinking 'well I've got this Squier Jazz, with upgraded bridge/pickups/electrics that's not going to get played if I get the new Jazz, so why not have that defretted, thus having my cake and eating it'.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1509573911' post='3400073'] I don't know, but it may be an idea to pick up an affordable fretless neck and see if you like it. Then you have options. [/quote] That also occured to me, but from my preliminary research a fretless neck is going to cost as much or more than the defret. Plus if I go for the defret I can justify getting myself a spiffy new fretted Jazz.

I'm not sure I'm posting this in the right forum, but... I'm seriously considering having my Squier VM70s Jazz defretted. I've heard that maple doesn't make the best fretless boards because it's a bit soft and fragile, but my thinking is that these Squiers have a thick ,rock hard, coating of some sort covering the wood which I'm pretty sure is a lot tougher than rosewood, possibly even tougher than ebony. So, is it going to work as a fretless, or am I being stupid?

Natural Jazz,70s pick up spacing, black blocks and binding, Maple board. active/passive switching. East Preamp. High mass bridge and hip shot ultra light tuners. Basically the looks of my modded Squire VM 70s, with top end electrics and hardware. Just off to visit the Maruscyck configurator....

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1509384491' post='3398513'] Looks like a thunderbird, in red, it will still have neck dive no doubt, move along. [/quote] Has no one ever tried a bit of toweling stuck to the back of the bass combined with a pair of velcro trousers?

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1509386264' post='3398533'] This is a thread which begs for a Hamster intervention. [/quote] A collection of misunderstandings and people talking at cross purposes? Must be the internet. Did you see what happened to the German Autobahn thread? http://youtu.be/uio1J2PKzLI

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1509374803' post='3398405'] Those people are Bassist(s) [/quote] I got it. 😅

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1509377014' post='3398429'] Why does the RD have the 120th Anniversary inlay? None of the other models on the 2018 catalogue seem to have it. [/quote] Just a guess but I think the Artist guitar might be a full on production model, whereas all the other 2018 stuff that's been pictured so far is scheduled for limited runs and are part of a different series? I'm not keen on those kinds of anniversary or signature inlays, but maybe collectors like them?

The 2018 RD Artist guitar is a stunner. http://www.gibson.com/Products/Electric-Guitars/Designer/Gibson-USA/RD-Artist.aspx Doesn't see to be anything too special about the electrics though. I'm not sure if there's any point in releasing a bass version if doesn't at least try to emulate the original Moog circuitry.

If everyone sends me £100, I'll reveal the simple way to make a shedload of money just by typing a few words on the internet...

The electrics and pick ups look as though they might be a bit special though. http://www.ibanez.com/products/u_eb_detail17.php?year=2017&cat_id=2&series_id=67&data_id=453&color=CL01

[quote name='Hellzero' timestamp='1509364568' post='3398293'] Nice but a crazy price tag around 7000 GBP means that it's not for the common people... [/quote] At that price I wonder if they're hand building them at the US custom shop where Ibanez make guitars and basses exclusively for their signature players? Edit. Apparently made in Japan.