Grahambythesea

Earlier I bought the Ignition series Violin Bass. The factory fitted nut was cut badly so I immediately replaced it with a graphite one. However not overly pleased with the result, I need to get the files out and adjust the slots as I think the strings are too high at the head end. But I have been reading about the Zero Glide Fret Nut and some people have fitted them and seem pleased with the result. The original German made and contemporary series basses have zero frets but not the Ignition. Anyone on here any experience of them, if so are they worth the effort/ cost, they are pretty expensive compared to most nuts. Secondly the size- the ZS18 which is supposed to be for Hofner is 42.7mm wide which seems wider than the neck which I think is less than 42mm.

Thank goodness no pointy headstock!

Have look in pawn shops, I got a fantastic Ibanez for a friend who was starting out. Only paid £60, cleaned off the spilled beer, new set of stings and he had a very playable guitar that was originally £350.

As has been said, nice looking, probably good quality but at the price tag you have a lot of other options. Also I suspect the resale value would rather drastically down when other brands might hold value better.

2nd vote for the Tanglewood Crossroads. I was teaching a group which had a few and they sounded good and played easily. There is a seller on the auction site that offers Tanglewoods by auction. They say they are preowned but they are new and you can pick one up cheap.

Am I right in thinking SX is an Aria brand?

Yes Beer of the Bass, Brite Flats are like Half rounds or Ground Rounds. I think a tad smoother than half’s I’ve played before but made in the same way.

Somewhat expensive old friends, numbers 1 & 3 .

I suppose you could go for a mirror guard, but personally I think it would be OTT and finger marks show all the time. Otherwise clear.

If the Ibanez proves unsatisfactory go for a Spector Spectorcore. It has the unsaleable bridge pickup and a magnetic pickup. Ebony board too.

Copper, but I’d call it dark gold

The designer needed his/her head examined. Pun intended,

Why do those make me think G & L? 🤔

It looks great in the sunburst, oh you said no sun bursts! Not so cool in the solid colour.

It looks like yours is similar to mine. The nut is nut badly, the G is too close to the edge on the fretboard.

A word of advice from someone with one. Cancel the Hofner strings, they aren’t very good! The E in particular is so....dead it’s buried. Otherwise a good bass for the money.

Jazz is a better investment, there’s a reason Fender don’t make the Cabronita anymore.

I didn’t think they made a fretted version??

I found flats on my Hofner too dead. Switched to GHS Brite Flats and got a bit of zing, can always get the thump sound by adjusting the amp tone, you can’t of course really adjust tone on a Hofner as there are no tone controls just the pickup switches.

The Sandberg California II TT4 at Bass Direct weighs in at a ridiculous 2.8kg. That’s lighter than most semis. Love the dark tint on the roasted maple neck too.

Really attractive woods, they say the necks are phenomenal, enjoy.

Are you playing plectrum or fingers? You should try the opposite of what ever you’re doing and also try different positions. Sitting is rarely the best and when standing having a bass too low can cause problems. The scoop on the back is there for a reason, tuck it well into the body.

I had a Washburn AB5 fretless which wasn’t cheap. It was also useless unless plugged in. Both the low B and the E were little more than a thud acoustically and it would have struggled to hold its own against a soprano uke. To add insult to injury the neck was a proverbial tree trunk. As you can guess it’s put me off them for life.

I think your predictions are totally right Phil. I hope some musicians will be out there as I’m booked to take my grandkids on a Disney Cruise ( should have been last August but took the cruise credit ) and I really enjoy the quality of people cruise lines book to play in the bars. The main theatre bands are brill too, but Disney use backing tracks for their shows, I guess Mickey isn’t up to live singing. 🤣