prowla

If you get the sender to pay the duties then you avoid the courier handling fees.

I got the Dremel out this evening and it's much neater now; the Mono/Stereo-Sound twin jack plate is on. Pretty much ready to put the rest on it and make it into a complete guitar.

OK - a couple more pics... I started off wanting a bass to muck around with, so I bought a Squier P-bass in bits on ebay; the seller had sprayed it orange. Well, I then had a badass bridge I'd had for years on another bass, so I put it on the orange one. It's pickup wasn't great, so I bought a Shadow branded one from my local shop. I was debating putting better machines on the Squier neck, but was really keeping my eye out for a Status neck (I let one go on ebay last year). However, a colleague at work decided to upgrade his bass and sold me its fretless Mighty Mite neck, so on that went. I'd always wanted a D-tuner, so I got one of those and on it went too. So, I had a decent orange P-bass, but was looking to replace the body at some point, possibly with a Warmoth. I had in the back of my mind that I'd make it active at some point too. Then, last weekend, I walked into the shop and there was pretty much my shopping list hanging from the wall! So here they are: Aqua and Orange... Headshots: The Aqua body: Funny old world, isn't it?

Yep. Big Deal. Nice bloke there; I may have met him at a guitar fair previously.

Well, I'm soldiering away with a hand file on the jack socket; maybe I should've got my Dremel out... However, I've also been a bit distracted by buying another (non-Ricky) bass on the weekend.

I've definitely got to spend a bit of time with the actives to get to grips with them. The active volume is roughly the same as another active bass I've got, so I don't think it's OTT.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1485045568' post='3220761'] I'm thinking that's an East also. Do you have any other pics of the unit. What's the tone like by the way with that Status neck. I presume it's very modern sounding.? [/quote] The preamp looks like this. The active makes a big difference; turning it off and it's about half as loud. I think I'd be unlikely to use it in passive mode! In active mode, with all controls on mid (and volume on full) it sounds characterful; turning up the bass and it goes deep deep deeper than Eddie Murphy undercover! The general feel is that it is a pro instrument, probably the most of all my basses; whether it suits my scrappy style of playing I'll have to see. I'll get more familiar with it over time and figure out its character.

[quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1485125928' post='3221463'] Love that colour and if anyone thinks gold hardware looks tacky on a bass.....think again! [/quote] I have to say that I've always thought gold looked tacky on a bass... ...now I'm not so sure, in fact I rather like it!

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1485111266' post='3221198'] Well done! Great bass. Suppose with all of these things whether bitsa/ warmoth or complete custom it is hard to find a second hand buyer who wants exactly that so you have to price low or break it up for parts [/quote] Yep - that was the shop's logic; I just happened to be that buyer and just happened to walk in the day after they got it and before they even spent any time on it, so it was an easy flip for them.

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1485104905' post='3221139'] Will there be a better bargain in 2017? Doubtfull. [/quote]Cheers; £369 for a good grand's worth of parts is a score - heck, the body is more than that alone!

What's the Fender short-scale 6-string bass called?

I've now got pickups wired up, but yet to put in place. I have to tidy up the 2nd Jack socket hole the previous owner drilled/gouged out; I've got a couple of double jack plates to choose from to put on; one is a generic/flat one and one is a Mono/Stereo-Sound one which cost a bit more - unfortunately they're not the same size, though. I'm probably going to put all off my top-end parts onto this to try it out, but then shift them back to the stock ones at some point or I decide to move it on (my two genuine Ricky pickups cost more than the bass and the Hipshot bridge is probably half again!). Actually, I've figured out what I want to do aim-wise; I have drawn a sketch of a bass which Rickenbacker never made but would be recognisable... I want to get one made which looks like a prototype which never made it into production but just could be a Ricky (couldn't it?).

Yep - I looked up E-Pro and it took me to the East website; the controls match the J-Retro, so I'm good with that. (And I downloaded their PDF saying how to use it.) The neck - that's interesting; I've really got to plug it into my setup to see what it sounds like. I can say that in the shop, and not particularly loud, turning up the bass control it went seismic! I've two other Statuses (Statii) one with a graphite through neck and one wooden; the graphite one sounds artificial/modern and the wooden one sounds more (erm.) woody & natural! But it's really their pre-amp which defines the sound.

[quote name='therealting' timestamp='1485043873' post='3220750'] I'm going to guess that's a John East J-Retro preamp. Quite some score, I am envious! [/quote] Well, I just opened it up to have a look and it says E-Pro.

Virtual handshake, sir!

I've got an Aguilar Octamizer, but it's still better to have the low string; I've got a a 5-string and a couple of basses with D-tuners. Octaves in unison on a fretless with a hint of overdrive is very synth-like.

I've got Fender flats on a fretless P-bass and they work very, very well. (No squeaks when you move around the neck, neither!)

I took a drive up to Dudley to pick up a bass cab and had a good old chat with the chap I bought it off; I mentioned that whilst I was in the area I might take a wander into town and see what was there, to which he suggested going to Wolverhampton instead, as there was a guitar shop there. So I drove across there, parked in the shopping centre, came out onto the street and searched google for guitar shops; two blocks down the road - nice and easy. On the way, I stopped in a 2nd hand records shop and came out with a bunch of CDs and had a nice chat with the two ladies who run the shop and then carried on down to the guitar shop. Well, it was quite small but well stocked and then I looked up on the wall and there was a very interesting bass there:[list] [*]Status Graphite neck - I've been after one of those for ages and missed one on ebay last year, but swored I'd buy the next one I saw for the P-bass I'm building. [*]Warmoth Jazz-style body - well they're not cheap! [*]Schaller machines and a Hipshot D-tuner - I just put a D-tuner on my P-bass, last week. [*]Active electronics (not sure which brand of circuit) - this one has three stacked pots plus two micro-switches. [*]Not sure of the pickups. [*]Gold hardware. [*]Badass II bridge - I have one of those on the P-bass too. [/list] I nonchalently asked the chap in the shop the price, expecting it to be around the £800 mark and he came back with less than half that. He said he'd just had it in the day before and hadn't been to sure about it and had said to the seller that it would either go straight out or hang about for ages. Well, it just seemed like there was so much in parallel with what I was doing on my P-bass that I had to have it, so (after checking it over and having a quick play) I ended up with a new bass. What a result - I never thought I'd come home with that when i set off out this morning!

I did a search on "gibson screws" and found some UK packs of 12 for a lot less, so I've ordered some...

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1484688075' post='3217593'] Recommend Gibson-size screws if you don't mind waiting for them to cross the pond: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/50-NEW-STAINLESS-STEEL-to-REPLACE-GIBSON-PICKGUARD-SCREWS-SG-FIREBIRD-MELODY-M-/172455716047"]http://www.ebay.co.u...M-/172455716047[/url] Not exactly the same as the MIJ originals but pretty close & way better than trying to use massive Fender-type ones! [/quote] Thanks - I hate it when the postage is nearly as much as the item!

My Status is alright! (So's my other Status...)

Forum memo to self - if you put "a", "b" and "c" in brackets you get strange looking bullet points!

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1484663983' post='3217279'] NO!! Well, now tell me this isn't a true blue USA Fender [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OLD-HOUSE-CLEARANCE-BASS-GUITAR/112270155837"]http://www.ebay.co.u...AR/112270155837[/url] Encore I believe. [/quote] it's not even vaguely right, is it... That seller often has job lots up; he's pretty straight in the description there.

Well, I've got strings on it now; it's vaguely Ricky sounding unplugged. I've not got the electrics in place, so it's body, neck, Hipshot bridge, Schaller machines and Dean Markley SR2000 strings. It turns out that, due to a miscaclulation on my side, I've got a pair of genuine Ricky 4001 '78 pickups, so they'll go on it. I've got some pots & stuff due in the post, still need the switching mono socket (they are needlessly pricey), so will wire something up there. I'll make things up so I can easily swap things around. The previous owner had decided to route it for twin jack sockets, rather than just the one, so I'm getting a Mono/Stereo-Sound jack plate from the bay. I had ordered a cheapie flat one, but then I saw the other one, so I grabbed it. I might get a scratchplate which I can butcher (I have a post-'74 one, but its' neck pickup hole is in the wrong place). Once that's done, it should be complete. I had been intending to get a genuine Ricky body (black) and shift all of the parts over, but I might look at getting a custom one of my own design; the through-neck would have to be to Ricky spec though, so really only the wings and headstock to play with; perhaps taking the original wave design and giving it more attitude. Once that's done, I guess I'll either (a) try and revert the Diamond back to stock/complementary parts, ( pass it on in parts for someone else's project, or (c) start over again! Oh, I also need some pickguard screws - they're smaller than Fenders and not so easy to get hold of.

[quote name='Biglump' timestamp='1484667036' post='3217308'] What haven't I tought of in this cunning plan? [/quote] ...Your bottom-end.