Grahambythesea

PM’d Andy.

I can hardly believe that this Gibson Les Paul Semi hollow bass from the 70’s is for sale in a pawnshop ( Cash Con.......) I’d have thought if you owned one of these and needed to sell it you would put it on BC or Reverb or even eBay, but take it to a pawn shop! They want in excess of 2& a half grand for it so I wonder what they actually gave the seller! The forerunner of the Jack Cassidy, it’s not exactly run of the mill. I’ve only ever seen one before and that was gold.

Thanks. I had a feeling that was where it should go. That presumably should make the hum go away?

I’m sure this is an elementary question but I have never had to deal with the electrics in a bass. Guess I’ve been lucky in the ones I’ve owned over the years. A friend has just given me a very cheap P style bass made by Shine which had been in his shed ( cry of horror from BCs). Rust all over the place, there was actually condensation dripping off it when I took it out of its bag. So I’ve cleaned it up, straightened the neck (which resembled a long bow) and in the process of sorting out the intonation. The problem is when plugged in the a a slight hum, but turn the tone knob to full treble and that hum gets worryingly loud. I’m guessing there is no earth as when I touch the bridge the noise goes away. So I’m pretty certain it needs an earth wire to be attached to the bridge but to what part should it be attached at the other end?

I remember seeing Rick Kemp in Steeleye Span playing one of these and loving the sound of it. Listen to Blackleg Miner - awesome. I then met him and tried his fretless version which was brill. So wanted one but couldn’t afford one.

She was part of the Wrecking Crew and as such played bass on the Beach Boys Pet Sounds. Her pick technique is very obvious on God Only Knows. I always thought it strange that she’s a pick player but stuck a great wedge of foam under the strings to dampen the sound down.

If you do buy a bass in the USA you will pay Sales Tax which is different from state to state. However if you get the proper type of receipt you should be able to claim the tax back at the airport before flying.

String spacing looks pretty narrow.

Change the nut and the strings.

Another one bites the dust might be a good song......

You think it will last another 20 years! 😂

It’s only a mustang, another case of “because it’s old it has to be highly priced”. You’re better off without it, bro.

I think the headstock doubles for a shovel to get himself out of the situation!

There seems to be a view that if it’s old (1970’s or before) it’s worth a lot! There have been some pretty awful basses offered on auction sites and elsewhere for ridiculous prices which the sellers seem to think must be worth a lot just because of their age. Things like Egmond, early poor quality Japanese guitars ( before they figured out that quality was the way to go) and even later offerings such as Westones for silly money. Ow I think the Westone was a well made bass and in its day was a bargain but not at a price near half a grand! Does anyone ever buy any of these, judging by the time they continue to be advertised, not many!

4ins for r maximum comfort.

If you want to look at something else with a pickup/ piezo combination, consider the Spector Spectorcore 5 string. Mine has an EMG and the Fishman piezo bridge, but I believe newer ones now have a Bartolini. Ebony board, great finish and reasonable price.

I for one hope the Levi man can turn it around. He claims to be a guitarist so let’s hope he isn’t into weird colours and techno rubbish! The 2019 range of electrics on the website is a mere 2 pages of models, all pretty traditional looking as opposed to the 8 pages of 2018 models. However am I the only one who can’t find any basses there? i know it’s not generally popular but I really like my 2013 EB5 it’s light, plays well and sounds good, the pull pot turns it single coil and gives a good Jazz like tone. Not wild about the scratch plate, would have preferred something more like the EBO and the controls to be body mounted, but I suspect that was a cost cutting thing under Hank’s regime.

I’ve had a similar one for years. I weigh my suitcases before going holiday, quite useful before you break your back trying to lift her in doors’ case into the back of the car. 😱 Works well on guitars provided you can attach it securely.

Kay or Columbus from the truss rod cover, at a guess.

This is pretty traditional though.

Whilst browsing through Reverb, I came across a nice looking Jazz bass at a reasonable price by this maker supplied by an Italian seller. Looking at the website which comes in English and Italian did not reveal much so curious to know if anyone has experience of them?

None of those strange finishes, black is fine.