Grahambythesea

1 hour ago, tall_martin said:

 I turn 40 next year. Fortunately I have my yob ( almost) as it was the first bass I ever bought. 

A 1978 music master.

It sounds great, and as it is a short scale it its easy to play.

I've seen them on eBay for 400 and a shop in Nottingham had one for £1000.

As they are much less sought after than a p bass you would have more choice/ chance of getting a £400 one.

I started refurbing it when I was 17, got stuck and left it as a mess until last year when I put some time into respraying it with nitro rattle cans.

You could treat the bass as a project if the bike is off the cards?

I bought a new Musicmaster sometime around ‘78, black - cost £99. Should ha e kept it if they are selling for 4 times as much! Sold it for £75 to part fund a ‘73 Precision from a friend for £150. 

A Zodiac on that well known auction site at present with a start price of £60! Is that a bargain or what.

Just remembered the Ibanez Roadster. Had one of these in the past and it was excellent. Mansons have this one for sale.

Fumed oak? Sounds like they’re making it from old Chardonnay barrels 😜

Probably more important to have the pickup on the sweet spot than show the weird graining.

There’s a cool looking black 79 Yamaha Superbass 500S on Reverb at present for £356 + postage from Poland. At least you won’t have to to pay import duty until next year when we leave Europe so may be get in early!

Looking at Dame basses they certainly seem similar to Sire. Couple of noticeable exceptions, the Dame seem to have much more substantial bridges and also appear to have zero frets which I don’t think are on Sires. Perhaps that’s a design influence of Mr. Millar? 

18 hours ago, skankdelvar said:

Cor, looks like Hank has learned a B7 😵

Going natural may not be a goer, I think these were seriously plywood! Still a bit of fun and who knows may yet be playable bass.

So which one is the go to bass?

Dakota red ? Here’s one from the web to compare

The Sire looks brilliant in the pictures on Thomann, love the tobacco burst 😍 Fantastic value for money if they play as well as you and others say. How are they on weight? Many people say the lower price end basses are heavier, having only ever owned a US F. Jazz which I found uncomfortably heavy I’d love to know how these are. 

Another vote for Babiscz, excellent bridges. Had a Badass on a Precision in the past, good but not as adjustable as the Babiscz. However did I not read somewhere that Badass ceased trading?

Very smart looking bass. As these can vary quite a lot, and to some us it matters, could you give the weight please.

Why not just buy the bass you want and ask your neighbourhood luthier to take the frets out and put in line markers. Sorted.

On 24/04/2018 at 15:41, bubinga5 said:

I want this bad boy for my 50th. 18 string. Forget a P Bass. You turn up with this.

Eek! I reckon you could surf to the gig on that!

£25 you were robbed.....🤑😃🤪😝😃😅

I expect Chowny would build you one if they don’t already do one as stock.

Looks like a great renovation. Something quite early Ibanez about its look.

Just been looking at the Ishibashi music site. They have a fantastic amount of stock, but looking at the prices, once you have allowed for import duty etc, they are way more expensive than the equivalent are for sale at here. Unless you want something that may be rare over here like some of the Fender Japan models then given current rates of exchange they don’t stack up. IMHO

EB 2013 -5

It looks like the Jazz met the Aerodyne and added a string. It looks interesting, but you’re right about investing that kind of cash without trying it and without it having a track record or perhaps someone respected endorsing it.

Clever, not my taste though.

6 hours ago, Jenny_Innie said:

Everyone should own a Fender Precision.  The proper American one - used to be called Standard, now called Professional.

Get yourself a new one of those and understand that you own the benchmark against which all other basses are measured.

Respect will be yours when you stand on a stage.  An unquestionable seat at the top table of bass playing.

I’ve owned 2 US P’s in my time. A 70’s and a 90’s which were both fine (much better than my J that came newcand unplayable, the neck needed a shim!) I have huge respect for the man who designed the P nearly 70 years ago, but even he redesigned it several times in his life time. Personally I find the neck width too wide, but you can now get Ps with J sized necks which solves that problem. However the company making them is not what it used to be and the quality for the money is sometimes very questionable. Other makers seem to be able to produce their versions to a better standard than Fender.

This thread is about what to get for your 50th. If you have survived gigging, carrying the additionally heavy gear needed for bass playing and the stresses of life upto that age without ruining your back, shoulder , arm and any other part of your anatomy then you’re amazing. Probably many of us need to find something that weighs in a bit less than the average 10lb of a Precision.

However I feel it’s case of been there done that got the tee shirt, time to move on. 

I bought a 66 Gibson EB2D, had always wanted one but it was definitely a mistake.  The neck was not a comfortable play, the mud bicker way to powerful and the bridge pickup tinny. Swapped in the end for a Guild Dreadnought acoustic. Still love the shape though.