Annoying Twit

For a while I thought this was the worst relic job ever. http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/vintage-vs6-sg-guitar/1057443165#photo-content

My local cash converter seems to have some quite reasonably priced budget instruments. Currently they have a Hohner Arbor bass with P and MM pickups. Not a high level instrument, but it seemed to have a nice action and looked usable, and worth the £45 it is being sold for I would think. There was also a Benson P bass for £20. I considered buying it to have a go at hacking with it by refinishing it and defretting it, but after checking, it's not clear that the truss rod is functioning correctly. I've never been sure about buying from pawn shops, but this one seems to have some interesting inexpensive things in there.

I keep hearing about how buying and selling is moving to facebook groups. However, I can't find any significantly active groups for musical instruments. I thought I'd ask in case there's something I'm missing out on. Edit: Weird, ape's post didn't show up when I checked a few seconds ago. I'll keep an eye on that facebook group.

@chriswareham - what did yours sound like? I thought the youtube video up above made it sound OK, but not at all like a bass.

[quote name='the hand of john curley' timestamp='1397560200' post='2425089'] I really like that....and only 40 mins away from me.....hmmmm.....be good for those Royal Blood moments! [/quote] Warning: If you buy that, you'll have me bugging you to come over and have a go on it.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1397556646' post='2425031'] Because it's a cross between a through neck and bolt-on design. The wood actually runs all the way to the bridge, and the is bolted into the body shape. Travis Bean guitars were made in a similar way. [/quote] Thanks. I've edited my post to include a Westone forum post with big photos showing the join.

I believe that the SD Curlee Hondo II's were Korean, not Japanese. But, they look the late 70s/early 80s part. IMHO. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/vintage-70s-bass-guitar-sd-curlee-/181381933355?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a3b34a92b"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item2a3b34a92b[/url] What is that big metal plate on the back? Edit: Ah, long neck join? http://forum.westoneguitars.net/t2930-s-d-curlee-hondo

Are there any East Midlands facebook selling groups that are worthwhile watching for bass listings?

The Hagstrom Baritone also appears to be B-B, though in comments, somebody was saying that they would prefer AEADGC tuning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QilDmlrSRKk

This video suggests that not all Gretsch Baritone Guitars are E to E, but that some (at least) are B to B. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bU3X7dxxJR8"]https://www.youtube....h?v=bU3X7dxxJR8[/url] I'm not to sure that I want a vibrato on a bass. I'm hoping to buy a fretless ... at some time, and feel that's the way to go in order to get more pitch control. If I was in the market for a Squier Bass VI, I might actually have bid on this. Birmingham is close enough for cash on collection for something I really want. But, I personally don't like the idea of a six string bass with close string spacing, no low B string, and the inconvenient tuning for the higher two strings. A guitar rack with both a bass and a all-fourths tuned guitar on it covers enough ground. Listening to the video, the unmodified Gretsch sounds OK to me, and does what it does, making an option between basses and regular guitars. But, speaking personally, I don't want that option. I can imagine other people finding it very useful however. As for the modified version, again I think there's someone out there that might find it useful.

Yet another "you don't see one of them every day". http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gretsch-Jet-Baritone-short-scale-six-string-bass-guitar-/321379043681?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4ad3af0961 Baritone guitar converted to a six string bass. Professionally converted, we are told. It's certainly an interesting looking thing, and if it's tuned from E up as I suspect it is, the 29.75" scale length may not be unreasonable. Narrow string spacing, but it seems a plausible (and cheaper) alternative to a Squier Bass VI. I wonder what it sounds like. I also wonder what had to be done to it apart from the obvious nut work and potentially drilling larger holes in the tailpiece.

[quote name='UglyDog' timestamp='1397470695' post='2424133'] Tell this to the Hall person. Let us know how you get on. Given his attitude so far, I suspect his response would be along the lines of 'sex and travel'. [/quote] "Sex and Travel" would be a good name for a band. Or maybe for a Dick Venom and the Terrortones album.

There are two things I think haven't been mentioned much yet. First, there's an opinion that there is no risk if genuine Rickenbackers are advertised. However, I personally would be concerned as to whether RIC might actually make a mistake, and claim that a genuine Rickenbacker is a fake, when it isn't. E.g. if a genuine Rick has been modified (including refinishing) etc. Even if it was a real Rickenbacker, imagine going to court with RIC itself, with the actual company saying that it's a fake. Secondly, I do wonder about ways in which the attitude of RIC and John Hall might bounce back on them. I've seen people posting about their very poor experiences with Rickenbacker basses. When I see these posts, I wonder if there is anybody who is annoyed enough at John Hall that they would go out and deliberately give them bad reviews as I don't believe the instruments and/or QC are as bad as occasionally claimed. In our highly connected world, even just one person who has sufficient time on their hands could do significant damage to their brand. It does work the other way. On the RickResource forum, I saw someone claiming that a Rockinbetter was the worst bass ever. I"ve played one and don't believe that they are as good as they should be given the price tag, but they are far from being the worst bass ever. Edit: I'm not sure that they are well informed over on RickResource. Here they are all saying that Rockinbetter guitars are made by Tokai, without a single dissenting opinion that I can see. http://www.rickresource.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=389091

[quote name='chaypup' timestamp='1397392163' post='2423418'] Westone Superheadless for sale - the BIN is very reasonable was tempted to go for it until I read my old post about not getting with them [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Super-Headless-Bass-Guitar-/251504032736?ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:3160"]http://www.ebay.co.u...ME:B:SS:GB:3160[/url] [/quote] Looks very nice, IMHO.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1397367860' post='2423172'] Strangely enough when I was thinking about adverts having to be authorised by "committee" the Faker expert I had in mind was the blindingly obvious one, namely Bassassin. [/quote] Global disclaimer: Everything I post in this forum is solely my own opinion. Would Jon want to put himself in the firing range of John Hall should he (Jon) make a mistake. I bl***dy well wouldn't.

Have there been any threads (or opinion) discussing the legal basis of Rickenbacker's trademarks, and what is and isn't legal concerning these. The following is solely my own opinion, I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. According to the RickResource thread: http://www.rickresource.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=409369 Rickenbacker has trademarks on its headstock and body shape. And, I'm sure I've seen details on these. But, the Intellectual Property Office only seems to show trademarks on the word 'Rickenbacker', including the truss rod cover (which has the word Rickenbacker on it). E.g. http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmownerid/search?domain=1&id=23286&app=1&name=rickenbacker&postcode= I've had a quick read of the law, and it's certainly not simple. I cannot see wording that immediately suggests to a layman that the selling of Rickenbacker copies on a forum breaks the law, or is actually an infringement of that trademark. http://www.ipo.gov.uk/tmact94.pdf John Hall on his forum is very clear that he owns trademarks (though I couldn't find these on the ICO website - and I searched on John Hall as well as Rickenbacker). He then glibly states that photos posted on basschat (and ebay) infringe his trademarks. I presume that his lawyers have advised him, but it would help preserve his reputation and the reputation of his company (as said above, all of this is solely my opinion) if he would actually explain how his actions are reasonable given the law. And saying that he needs to protect his trademark is not enough, it might help if he explained how in law such photographs infringe his trademark. Note that this requires both that the trademarks be used, and also that the use of the trademarks be improper, which is defined in law. E.g. I can say the word "Coca Cola" in the sentence "If you concentrate carefully, you may notice that the primary flavours of coca cola are vanilla, cinnamon, and an acid." That's because I'm an individual and not making that statement as my trade. I can understand basschat's moderators' position. Whether or not John Hall has the legal right to ban adverts of second hand copies of Rickenbacker instruments on basschat is pretty much moot. He has the ability to start a legal case, and that would be incredibly inconvenient and damaging to the moderators and the forum, even if John Hall lost any such case. Furthermore, my understanding of the law is that there might be even more damage to basschat if a fake Rickenbacker (branded and sold as a Rickenbacker) was sold on the forum. Normally (again, in case anyone's forgotten, I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice) it would be expected that the forum would be expected to take reasonable steps to avoid such infringement. However, even if the moderators had such a defence, they would still be severely inconvenienced (understatement) by any legal case that arose. So the current policy seems the only way of avoiding these problems. From reading what John Hall writes, I (am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice) think he is claiming that basschat, because it charges for ads, is undertaking a trade. And that adverts posted on basschat that include the headstock and body shape of a Rickenbacker or something visually similar, infringe on that trademark. However, the law itself is not clear on whether the provision of a forum, even if for paid adverts, means that it is basschat that is infringing (if there is infringement), or whether the individual that posts the bass is the one who is potentially infringing, and then would have to be engaged in (legal) trade. Furthermore, I (am not a lawyer this is opinion only) am not convinced that if both the item itself and the advertisement make it clear that this is not a Rickenbacker, that there is infringement. What John Hall says he has is a trademark, he doesn't seem to be claiming design rights. Hence, it's trademark law that defines what is and isn't legal, and I believe that it's not clear that the requirements of infringement of trademark are being met.

Thanks for the review. I'm still tempted by the HB fretless jazz. While there have been stories of earlier HB instruments being a bit dodgy, it seems that everyone here that has bought a new one recently has been pleased.

Don't remember seeing one of these before. But for some strange reason I'm not convinced that it's a Shine, and nor do I feel any inclination to buy it. http://webshop.cashconverters.co.uk/auction-item/680534/shine-7-strings-guitar

[quote name='Polo35' timestamp='1397114360' post='2420684'] I've just bought one of these from Digital Village in Romford only a few weeks after buying a Gretsch Jet Bass Junior from there. [/quote] I kept on reading to see your review, but didn't find one Welcome to the forum.

I'm no expert, but I wonder if a second hand Fender Modern Player is worth a look. They seem to sell for £250-280 on ebay. I'm no connoisseur, but when I A/B'd a trans black MP with USA made Fenders, I thought the MP held up extremely well. I'd personally be interested in other people's opinions on this option. There is someone trying to sell an Overwater Aspiriation Artist around my way. They're asking £160, and appear to be having no luck finding a buyer. [quote name='Diablo' timestamp='1397254497' post='2422354'] It is a shame the forum does not have the function to search that section by inputting a max price - it would prove mighty useful for people searching on a budget instead of trawling pages of stuff out of range. [/quote] Seconded.

I'm surprised at this post. To me there seem to be a big variety of finishes at everything except rock bottom price points.

This sounded fun to me. Even though I don't usually try to play anything 'heavy' (though I enjoy listening to it) I gave this a go. I was very disappointed that the pitch-shifting plugin I was using couldn't track bass properly, so I'm way up the neck. But, this sounds vaguely in the ballpark. I created three tracks. One the original bass, pretty much DI. The second is pitch-shifted up an octave, and the other up an octave and a fifth. Both of the latter are put through a guitar amp simulation (Sansamp PSA-1) and a delay. https://soundcloud.com/annoyingtwit/pitch-shift-plus-dist-to

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1397059428' post='2420261'] I don't follow? 'm arguing for playing for free if your not commercially viable enough to warrent charging a fee? [/quote] Ah I see. I didn't quite grok that from the post I quoted.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1397063748' post='2420313'] Probably sounds quite a lot like a P - one of the reasons I'm not (very) interested... The phase switch & odd wiring should help make it more versatile though. If it is original wiring (which I doubt), a translation of the text accompanying the identical Kasuga SCB-1200 in the catalogue would prove enlightening. Mr Twit? J. [/quote] The advert says that it has three controls, seemingly all labelled in English but in the Katakana alphabet. One is a volume, and one is a tone. The other is labelled something like 'paraphase' (it reads more like 'paraphrase', but that doesn't make much sense in the context of a bass guitar). So, I presume that's a series/parallel switch as that does make sense. Not two tone controls at all.

The listing says that both of the knobs appear to be tone knobs. That makes it a little bit different, but makes me wonder if the electrics are original. It looks a whole lot better (IMHO) than the vast majority of generic precision basses.