Annoying Twit

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1379972067' post='2219065'] So... has he got lots of them or shall we infer that he wouldn't sell it at that low price..? [/quote] The winning bidder had made 56 bids on 13 different items, and 82% of their bids were on items being sold by the seller of the Fanndec.

I don't know much about the Fanndec basses that are turning up on ebay, but this looks like hellava lot of bass for £128. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=190903831461&ssPageName=ADME:B:EOIBUAA:GB:3160"]http://cgi.ebay.co.u...EOIBUAA:GB:3160[/url] Even if it didn't play well, it would be worth £128 to put it up on the wall. And we've had some comments on here that these basses are decent players as well. Edit: Except that as soon as I post that and check ebay again, there it is again: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-STRING-FRETLESS-THRU-NECK-ACTIVE-BASS-GUITAR-CJM-FANNDEC-UK-/190911215387?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c7331f71b"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2c7331f71b[/url]

@Bilbo - what's wrong with it? The SB700 I played felt very nice.

I'm local, so could have bought it. And in fact I did bid on it. But, I'm not sure why I'd need another Japanese four string fretted bass. Given that I didn't feel that a Aria Pro II SB700 was significantly better than what I have now, I'm not sure that the spectrum would have been. I submit a fair number of lowball bids on basses, but feel that the reason for my lowballing is not just stinginess mixed with unrealistic expectations, but also because it's not possible to buy every attractive bass that turns up on ebay. I'm sure the same applies to many people here. If the spectrum was a once in a blue moon instrument then I'm sure people would have made more serious bids. I'm now keeping a long term eye out for an unlined fretless 4 string. If a Thunder 2 of that description turned up local to me or with reasonable postage ... then my bid will look more serious. But, there are absolutely loads of fretted Matsumoku Westones turning up on ebay, so if one goes unsold, another will be along. In any case, it's quite possible the seller will relist the item.

Thanks for the correction.

I'm not sure if it's the best strategy to ask questions in this thread, or to create individual threads for different topics, then summarise in here. I've tried adding a foam mute to the bass. It looks like this: That's part of a kitchen sponge cut with scissors. Overall, I think I prefer the sound with the mute. Without it, the bass sounds a bit metallic and 'piano-wire' like. With it, the sound is rounder, mellower. Though, perhaps slightly featureless. More a sound for bass 'in the mix', rather than as a featured instrument maybe. However, the low B string isn't muted very much. But, the top C string is really muted. Is this because my piece of foam is a bit short and only just covers the strings? Or, is this an inherent problem. I prefer the muted sounds, but being only able to play very muted notes on the top C while the other strings play much more normally and even sustain, is a bit inconsistent. Any hints for how to address this?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1379854315' post='2217414'] I wrap the Scotchbrite pad around a block or a box to apply equal pressure over the surface of the pad, then use long, light strokes along the length of the neck starting from the bass side and moving slowly to the treble side, counting strokes as I go so that the entire neck gets the same treatment. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SCOTCHBRITE-TRADITIONAL-FLAT-GREEN-SCOURING-SCOURER-PADS-x-6-PACKS-/310738524844?pt=UK_HomeGarden_CLV_Cleaning_CA&hash=item4859759aac"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item4859759aac[/url] [/quote] The Aldi product I bought looks very much as if it's a close Scotchbrite imitation, even down to the packaging. Thanks for all the comments everybody.

Just to keep this thread complete, this bass now has a matt finish on the neck courtesy of some slightly over-enthusiastic scouring with a scouring pad as in [url=http://basschat.co.uk/topic/217653-lightly-sanding-a-glosssy-neck/page__pid__2217142#entry2217142]this thread[/url].

I couldn't find a scotchbrite branded scourer. The sponges with scouring sides that we have in our kitchen were too gentle, they only polished the neck. In my local Aldi, they had own-brand scourers which may or may not be the same as the scotchbrite ones. I gave it a go, but unfortunately wasn't quite as careful as I should have been. Some parts of the neck look very nicely matt, but in other parts, I can see scratches. I can't feel any scratches while playing, so from a practical point-of-view, this has been a success. The neck feels marginally better than it did. It doesn't feel as nice as a matt lightly finished maple neck, which is my preference. But, it's an interesting step forward. My Cimar has a glossy neck as well, but for some reason that works for that instrument and feels great. But generally I like the near bare wood maple feel as in my Rockbass. BTW: This is my £60 Shine bass as in my other 'experimenting' thread. I'm not concerned about getting down to the wood in a few years, as one thing that may happen to this poor innocent instrument is that I may attempt to completely refinish it. Thanks everybody.

Thanks. I'll try a scouring pad. BTW: I like the quotes in your .sig too!

I've read that it's possible to lightly sand a glossy neck to give it that 'matt' finish feel. If so, what grade sandpaper should I use? And how much should I sand the neck?

You have much better eyesight than I do!

[sup]First, I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. [/sup] Under the sale of goods act, goods sold have to be of reasonable quality and should last for a reasonable amount of time. Therefore, even if you were outside your one year warranty, you would still be covered for a speaker as such an item would be expected to last much more than a year. However, if the damage is due to mis-use, then you would be at fault, and therefore the seller would not have to fix the item or give you compensation. Clearly they have had the goods inspected by their own expert, and are saying that it's your fault. However, you don't have to accept their expert's opinion. As I understand it, goods have to be fit for purpose. So, if you've used the speaker in a reasonable way, and it broke, then the conclusion is that the speaker wasn't sufficiently strong enough in the first place. Either due to design or a manufacturing fault. So, if the speaker has blown in use, that doesn't mean that it's necessarily your fault. If you wish to fight this, then one possible strategy (I am not the be-all and end-all of consumer rights) is to have the item inspected by an independent expert. If the independent expert concludes that the failure is due to an inherent fault in the item, and not mis-use, then you can then go back to the seller and present them with this information. If the seller then still refuses to play ball, then you would have the option of suing them through the small claims court. If you did that, you'd be best off speaking to people who have experience of this. You could google "The Consumer Action Group" forums, but note that sometimes they can be a bit gung-ho. I hope this helps. Good luck. Edit: Some things I thought of. If an item is less than six months old, then it's up to the seller to prove that the item was faulty when sold. Faulty here doesn't mean not working, but perhaps insufficiently robust, and hence 'not fit for purpose'. If it's over six months, then it's your responsibility to prove this, typically through an independent engineer's report. You should check to see if there is a known problem with this speaker. If you find that a number of other people have had the same fault, then this builds your case that it's a design fault. You might also want to check whether your amp is or isn't known for blowing speakers for the reasons that the seller's engineer describes.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/REDUCED-Six-String-Fretless-Bass-Active-EQ-Plush-lined-Hard-Shell-Case-/161105564030?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2582a3d17e Looks nice, but I've no idea what kind of quality this is. Not that I'd be buying it, but I do like my window shoppping.

One thing I'm curious about with semi-hollow instruments is that how you get all the electronics into the cavities and joined up. You've created a fairly big compartment for the leccy stuff, but I'd still apprecaite descriptions of how you get all your wires from A to B. Edit: Having thought a bit about the shape of your bass, it does look like it will be easy to wire up. It's a bit more the ES335 and similar shapes that look a bit fiddly to wire up to me.

I'm really pleased to see a lot of what look like genuine 99p starts. It causes me a bit of eye-rolling when I see yet another person listing basses for starting bids where they are very unlikely to sell. Then I see a 99p starting bid, and it's those scammers. But today there seems to be plenty of genuine 99p start auctions for instruments that someone's actually likely to want. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tanglewood-Bass-Guitar-TEB-12-Semi-Hollowbody-Short-Scale-with-hard-case-/231058167385?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item35cc23d659 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Squire-Jazz-Bass-Vintage-Circa-2006-Crafted-in-Indonesia-/231058219891?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item35cc24a373 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Mustang-Bass-Guitar-Short-Scale-Japan-Seymour-Duncan-SPB1-pickups-/231058150479?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item35cc23944f http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/westfield-bass-Fender-Jazz-look-a-like-/310750983365?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item485a33b4c5 (A Westfield, but put a 'Fecker' decal on this and you're ready. Depending on what his DIY white spray job looks like up close, but it looks decent in the photos).

That Pantera looks fantastic. It's black like the Disaster Area ship in Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The final sanding will only take one day? That's a lot shorter than I expected.

How long is it before finishing starts?

I just shimmed the neck. I was a bit worried when I found that I have five screws, three of which are longer than the rest, but I figured out that the ones under the fingerboard have further to go through the wood, even before they hit the fingerboard. Looking at the neck pocket, not that I'm an expert, but it looks like the body is made from a nice hunk of ash to me. A pity it's covered up by all that thick red finish, but I don't want to do anything like a refinish at the moment. The neck pocket is almost exactly business card width, so all I had to do was round the corners of the business card, and cut it so that it sat in the pocket but didn't obscure the two most bodyward screw holes. On putting the neck back on, I wasn't sure how much torque to put on the screws. I tightened them to the point where they were quite firm, but I didn't have to really use a lot of hand power to tighten them. This has certainly lowered the action. It's now reasonably low. It's a touch buzzy and clanky, but not too bad at all. I think it's sufficiently within the ballpark that I'd be able to play cleanly with better technique. However, the action is quite low now, and I can easily raise it at the bridge as the saddles are currently all as low as they can go. I presume I'll need to set the intonation again. BTW: I must find out what mode my camera's in that makes it refuse to focus. Edit: Damn! I just realised. I took all the strings off and I forgot to oil the fretboard!!! Edit: I've played it a fair amount, which will be in lieu of proper bass practice today. The A and D strings were buzzing like a hornet on the 13th and 15th frets, pretty much only. I raised those strings at the bridge, and the buzzing reduced dramatically, but I guess this means I have a high fret somewhere.

That red's a natural wood colour? Edit: I've now read the listing, not just looked at the purty pictures. I didn't know that bubinga looked that red.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1379541049' post='2214098'] Why not ask him, he's on here a lot, same name! [/quote] Because I know I'm not going to buy his neck. I sort of feel hesitant to ask questions of people selling stuff when I know I'm not going to buy the item.

Nothing notable. I just think the neck through look and the stain colours work really well with the shape of this bass. Nice looking bass IMHO. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/warwick-corvette-nt-Buck-/111172845231?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item19e26afeaf"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item19e26afeaf[/url]

Once upon a time I owned a Westone Thunder Fretless. It was a Thunder 1, but the previous owner had installed an active tone circuit. For various reasons at the time, I gave it away. It had a hard case too. I now wish I had it. On the other hand, my philosophy in life is not exactly one of regretting things done or not done in the past. Onwards and upwards.