Burns-bass

Given a £22,000 Bass appears to have just sold on Basschat, I think we can deduce two things: 1) The market for vintage Fenders is bouyant. 2) Basschat is the best place to sell a bass in Europe.

My kids are the same age as yours (3 and 18 months) and I experienced the same. As well as music I work as a writer (which I enjoy), run, ride bikes and enjoy gardening. My wife an I co-parent, which essentially means we try and share childcare as much as is possible as she works too. I just had a realisation at some point that I can’t do everything I used to, but I can do something - so I make time every day to do one thing. That might be an hour long run, half an hour practice on DB or reading some short stories. My wife is learning Norwegian which is her escape. When you have kids there’s a tendency to give everything over to that endeavour, but it’s worth trying to keep as much of you intact because they’ll soon be doing their own thing.

Having personally owned some beauties, in my opinion it’s pretty much all nostalgia. But there is something that’s unquestionably romantic about an old guitar, and Fenders in particular. The vintage market is an odd one, and like all collectibles can crash at any time, but if I had the money I’d prefer to have a room full of old guitars than anything else.

I’m not impugning you or questioning your knowledge on these things, it’s just difficult (well, impossible) to be definitive on these. Your guesswork informed by experience is most likely to be correct I’m sure.

Guess so. I’ve seen a fair few basses that purport to be one thing and turn out to be another. When you strip a body it could really be anything... Anyway, the best result is a ‘74 neck on a ‘69 body and I guess without going back in time we’ll never know so it’s all good guesswork!

Fender didn’t offer natural bodies in the 60s (first in the 72 catalogue apparently) so it’s either refinished or it’s actually a 70s Jazz with a swapped out neck plate. Early 70s basses had a long G intonation screw, so that would fit with this being a 74. The pickups should be dated on the bottom if they’re original. It doesn’t look like cloth wiring from the pickups, which suggests 70s. It’s not an exact science this, but I’d say it’s worth taking the whole thing to bits and going over it properly. I know some people don’t like to do this, but if you’re expecting a premium for a vintage instrument it comes with the territory. I remember seeing a fair few parts basses on the late 90s as they vintage market took off. The stuff at Musicground is worth looking at. Sometimes these basses are built from multiple donor instruments and can be hard to piece it all together. That doesn’t stop them being great instruments and having some value, but obviously less than a 100% honest instrument.

Can’t believe I lost my lengthy post first time!

It’s a step-by-step process that follows a clear logic. In this case, you play certain intervals in a prescribed order. The steps are the same wherever you start (so the pattern for G will be the same for b) with no deviation. I appear to have become a fanboy for this book. I should say that I found it really useful when I was looking at 2 octave scales particularly for playing jazz.

It’s a lot of fun. Slowly and methodically. I did about 10 years ago, but I’ll crack it back open for the DB.

It’s very logical and simple to follow, but it is bloody tough!

It’s slightly more expensive, but the Ibanez Talman is a really well built bass you could gig with. And it comes in cool colours (I’m saving up for a pink one!)

Any bass is a good bass. I’m not a huge fan of endless widdling on a bass, but that’s as pointless and indulgent on a 4 string as it is on a 5 and a 6. Play it, love it and gig it!

It’s like a CTI record from the 70s come to life. I’m a lover of funk and jazz and even some jazz funk but this certainly wasn’t for me.

Sounds about right! At least you didn’t question the sanctity of vintage Fender basses 🙂

The problem with these threads is that people who have bought expensive US basses feel that this is a criticism of their choice. The original post missed one crucial point, it’s not the pursuit of ‘the’ ultimate jazz bass, but ‘your’ ultimate jazz bass. You can play a packed out show at the Albert Hall on a £400 bass - I did. Now I play a US Fender because I like it the best.

As an update to my initial review, the strings have now softened (D'addario hybrids) and make a beautiful mellow sound. The output from the pickup is slightly uneven, with more bass so I use a Fishman pre-amp to even it out. Does it sound like a DB? No, but the floating soundoard is much, much better than any other EUB I've ever used. It's also easy to set up, take down and play so I'm very happy with it.

Here’s a pic of it in my bass corner. I don’t have to take it down at the moment as it can stay up, but I will next time I go to a gig or practice.

Agreed. I bought a bass from Paul Bryant who essentially built it for me and we had lots of chats about it via email. He’s as much of an enthusiast about instruments as we are, and it was wonderful. I was a little surprised when he told me to take the bass and pay him when I could though...

The problem is that customer service issues can escalate quickly if you don’t deal with them. It’s true in any business... Touchwood, I’ve never had an issue like this and I’m sure this was probably a bad day for the seller. If you go the boutique route you will meet some unique characters, but that’s why they’re in the funny business of making instruments.

The problem here is that he should be trying to fix your problem not raise more issues. You are entitled to a full refund if you’re unhappy and he has to oblige you. If you paid PayPal or with your credit card you can force a refund. I’d do this if I were unhappy.

This discussion goes on forever. There’s no need for the string to be over the middle of the pickup poles and on most basses it doesn’t. It’s not a failure of the builder or a shifted neck.

I’m not sure if people are zooming in on the neck picture but that’s a crack in the finish that shouldn’t have passed QC. If it was damaged in transit that’s still the manufacturers responsibility to fix it or replace it. I bought an FSR US jazz from a U.K. shop and it had the tiniest mark on it that was impossible to see unless you shine a light on the bass. The seller told me while packaging it up to send it to me and they offered me a £200 discount on retail and a new set of strings. Its so disappointing when you receive something new that doesn’t match expectations. I think you’re right to speak to the builder. I’m sure there’s an amicable solution.

I currently have an MK bass which really does collapse down into a small package. It’s similar to the SLB basses, but most EUBs are easy to store. Dont want to detail the thread, it just that I found applying the knowledge is acquired playing EB to EUB and DB was really exciting.