Annoying Twit

I've always been curious about hand-made basses on ebay. I've seen conceptually similar things go for reasonable prices. But, as I don't know whom GW Guitars are, I've no idea how good their work is. It certainly looks good work. It looks very hard for a new luthier to build a name so that they can charge reasonable prices given the materials and work that have gone into the instruments. Maybe this one will sell for a reasonable sum. But perhaps the reason they don't know which pickups they've used is that they don't have a name yet, and might even be making a loss on instruments sold. Hence they may have to cut financial costs where they can. I'm sure there are some excellent instruments being sold for reasonable prices as too few people know who the builder is - but the problem is knowing which ones. They recommend that people visit them to check the bass. As I'm a member of a no car household, it would probably be a 4-6 hour round bus trip for me to get there and back. But I must admit that I'm insanely curious to find what a luthier built instrument is like. As far as I'm aware, I've never played one. Only mass produced. I suppose I should have tried to invite myself around to Jon Letts' workshop to try something - but I know I'm not going to be spending even moderate amounts on a bass, so I wouldn't want to waste people's time.

I don't know about other people, but for a bass such as this one, I'd really like to see pictures of the rear of the bass, and the headstock. What I can see of it looks very nice. With all the photos, why wouldn't the seller show us all of it? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-String-Passive-Bass-Spalted-Beech-on-Sapele-/201042589900?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2ecf1278cc

.... is an inexpensive Harley Benton with a setup and the branding removed. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BEAUTIFUL-BASS-GUITAR-CUSTOMIZED-BY-PROFESSIONAL-GUITAR-BUILDER-NEW-/251455777481?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3a8beeaac9

Certainly interesting!

Nice job. I saw a youtube video series on defretting a bass, which made the process look much more complicated than your series of photos does. In particular, making sure that the veneer is the right width to fit the slots. In the video I saw, he had to sand the veneer thinner. How did you make sure that the veneer fitted? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=115gvPzHMqw

Ed Mann's "Perfect World" on Spotify. Wasn't quite sure for the first few tracks once I heard it was a vocal album. But several tracks in, it's growing on me.

I don't know how much the Westone Panteras go for, but I thought I had a vague memory that they go for good prices. If so, this £130 priced instrument (£20 delivery or collection in Dundee) might be a good price. This would be a good price for a Thunder 1[A]. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1980s-Westone-Pantera-X750-Bass-Guitar-White-Rare-/131125097464?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1e87aa33f8"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item1e87aa33f8[/url] A quick google shows that they continued selling these into 1988, does that mean that some of them were made in Korea? If this is not Japanese, then take back everything I said. Edit: Matsumoku product MIJ on the neck plate. I must look at the details on the photos better in future. Bit dented though.

Happy NBD.

I've seen basses in 'cash converter' type shops where the strings weren't seated in the nut slots. Perhaps the owner of this £25 bass never got as far as understanding that the strings should be in the slots. Or perhaps they think that at £25 they'll just get rid of it, and don't think they need to bother presenting it properly.

Fretted and fretless necks. It makes some kind of sense. Another combination that might make sense would be a double necked bass with four string and eight string (octave doubled) necks.

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1393183092' post='2377101'] Same person's also selling a Vintage brand fretless - looks like the back of neck pic is of that bass. Got his pics mixed up, I suppose. Jon. [/quote] The mystery four string on the six string listing is a blue bass, while the Vintage is a black bass. The neck bolts are also in different locations. (I'm always missing details in auctions that I'm not serious about - so I'm taking the opportunity to look at pictures really closely as practice ) In the meantime, since the Infinity has sold, here's a replacement six string fretless listing. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Status-6-string-Fretless-Energy-Bass/111284562091

Ebay doesn't allow me to ask the seller a question (about the photos) because of the large number of emails that seller receives. (I presume that is because the seller has switched off that option.

[quote name='wotsy' timestamp='1393020213' post='2375445'] This Seiwa looks nice, headstock/decal resembles an Ibanez, it's only £90, Chepstow's a bit too far for me unfortunately [url="http://m.gumtree.com/p/guitars/seiwa-japanese-1980-s-bass-guitar-fantastic-condition/1049697587"]http://m.gumtree.com...tion/1049697587[/url] [/quote] It does look nice, as does the case.

Infinity were (are?) an internet cheapie brand from some years ago. If I remember correctly (never a safe bet), someone on here bought one intending to use the neck for a wide spaced five string project. They said that the bass wasn't bad for what you paid for it. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/INFINITY-6-String-Fretless-Bass-Guitar-passtive-Pick-ups-With-Gig-bag-/261405382944?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item3cdcf99920

[quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1393056004' post='2375616'] Have a quick look at Harley Benton on Thomann, they have a lovely looking neck thru. this: [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbz2004.htm"]http://www.thomann.d...ton_hbz2004.htm[/url] [/quote] It's interesting to note that the forum seems to be running parallel interest in Harley Benton and J&D Brothers cheap basses. Some time ago, J&D was selling a through neck that looks a bit more 'normal' than the Harley Benton. E.g. see here: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/173581-jd-brothers-5-string-l200/ But, they sell for quite a bit second hand. I've checked on ebay, and there's [url=http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/J-D-JD-S5B-Brothers-5-String-Bass-Guitar-Through-Neck-Active-/251313949980]a five string that sold for £181, potentially plus £17 postage[/url], which is more than the [url=http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbz2005.htm]HB[/url] costs new.

[quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1393059052' post='2375638'] +1 for the Westone Thunder. I have recently acquired a Thunder 3 (my second one) and the tonal variations you can get from it still amaze me. Even good ones are south of £400 mine was not in good nick therefore was a long way south of that. Bargain. Also the Yamaha RBX range. Second hand they trade for peanuts and if you get one of the higher numbered models (270, 370 etc) they have more kit than the basic 170 for not much extra dollar. [/quote] I tried a RBX374 (new in a shop) unplugged and I thought it played excellently. Bit of an apples and oranges comparison and down to personal taste, but I thought it played better than some USA Fenders I'd played earlier in the day. But, the RBX270 I played at the same shop wasn't a patch on it. Then again, another RBX374 (second hand) I played on the same day wasn't a patch on it either. To me, that underlined the importance of trying out basses and finding a 'good one', even from the same model line. I thought that the RBX270s and 374s differed only in the electronics, but these two basses felt very different unplugged. I've seen a 374 sell second hand for £80. I'm not sure, but I think some may have sold for even less.

Pretty good keyboard bass on this, IMHO. However, while this guy has some mega keyboard chops, and I think he plays the bassline very well, the bass sound is too consistent, there aren't any slides or trills, etc., that I notice. But his timing and phrasing seem excellent to my inexpert ear. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC8LGx3N76c

505 not 504, but nice playing here IMHO. (Though perhaps he needs to work on his bass face a bit ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMkF6fwQUm0

I'd just like to point out something about the 30 day return policy for Thomann. As everyone will be aware, if you buy something online you have quite a few rights under the Distance Selling Regulations (2000). If you want to return something under the DSR, then you have seven working days to do so. See e.g.: [url="http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/general/oft913.pdf"]http://www.oft.gov.u...eral/oft913.pdf[/url] Some companies, such as Thomann, offer longer cancellation periods. This may well be a good deal for the consumer,. But, once the consumer has held onto the goods for more than seven days, their right to return under the DSR has expired. This means that they can only return under the retailer's cancellation offer, which may have terms and conditions different from the DSRs. E.g. Thomann says that: [quote] Please make sure you return the product in its original packaging including all accessories and be careful to avoid any signs of use! [/quote] This is different from the DSRs, which state (approximately) that the consumer has the right to try out the instrument as they would in a shop. Look at the section on a Sports Direct sale in this BBC page. [quote] Another area we wanted to test the retailers on was returning goods. The rules state that you should be able cancel an order within seven working days of receiving it and get your money back – even if there’s nothing wrong with the goods. On Sports Directs website it said: “you may cancel your order at any time within 7 working days… We will refund the goods in full and reimburse you the delivery costs”. But went on to say that you have to return the goods “in their original packaging”. However the OFT guidance clearly states the Distance Selling Regulations allow consumers to examine the goods they have ordered as they would in a shop, which means companies can’t insist on it being returned “as new” or in the original packaging. But despite this being set out clearly, some of the biggest online retailers prefer to view things differently. If you want to return an item to Apple we found: the item needs to be in its “original condition” and the “security seals need to be intact”. While Curry’s website says: as long as the goods are “in 'as new' condition and returned in the original, undamaged packaging”. In total, six of the top twenty companies made these demands about the way you have to return a product, in order to get a refund even though the guidance and therefore the regulations say otherwise. Ingrid Gubbay Consumer Lawyer says, “You’d think that retailers, particularly big high street retailers would have this now in place. But it seems to me there’s a lot of work still to be done. It suggests a general lack of awareness and they need to smarten up their act,. There’s absolutely no reason why they should not be compliant.” [/quote] Also note that if you are outside of Germany, you need to pay for the item to be returned to Thomann. But, this also applies to items returned under the DSRs if the retailer specifies that this is the case. ([url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/tho_agb.html"]Thomann do[/url]. Please note that I think Thomann has very good customer service. The one time I had an issue with an order (my fault - not theirs) they were very good about helping me out. I also think that the 30 day return policy is good. I just wanted to point out that people should be aware about their right to return under the DSRs, and how an extended return policy offered by a company may have different terms and conditions. Thomann is, in my experience and from what I've read, a decent company to deal with. But, I've heard that other companies in other areas sometimes offer extended return periods that have significantly consumer unfriendly terms and conditions. So that people tend to hold onto the product longer, lose their DSR rights, and then have only the opportunities granted by the seller's return policy. Please note: I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. It's only my interpretation and opinions.

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1392975357' post='2374743'] My action is 1.25mm at the 12th which I always thought was low but my mate bought his bass around and is is way under a mil he gets fret buzz but his playing is still great sounding so it is so down to personal taste [/quote] I haven't measured it, but I think my Ibanez is about 2mm at the 12th. And that seems really low to me. I've played some basses which had a low or maybe even lower action that I enjoyed more, but they seemed to have more string tension than any of mine. I presume that to get more string tension, I'd need a heavier gauge string set.

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1392972162' post='2374711'] I read it as it's a building nearby that's going to be demolished, the building his gear is in has been evacuated because it is close by. [/quote] Ah, yes, I missed the 'close by' when reading it. See username for explanation.

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1392295391' post='2366859'] Who's this McCartney bloke they keep banging on about anyway? [/quote] McCartney is now underrated, but it's utterly his own fault. On 'Wings at the Speed of Sound', he played some IMHO great bass lines. Since then, he seems to have forgotten about bass apart from posing with his Hofner at concerts. When was his last great bassline? Nobody seems to mention Tom Fowler (when left hand is not broken) for his work with Zappa's band in the early/mid 70s. Particularly on 'One Size Fits All', except that I don't know which tracks on that album were recorded while his let hand wasn't broken, and which were done by James "Bird Legs" Youman. Tom Fowler handles the bass on Roxy and Elsewhere though, and that's IMHO great too. Most people don't know that Bob Mould plays bass, but he handles bass on a number of his albums. I think he does some good work, though occasionally a bit over-decorative. Which is surprising as his guitar work is very often very simple power chords in simple rhythms and very simple, not much more than 'a couple of notes' solos. So, it's not like he's playing the bass just like he plays guitar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaRw-8---WA

[quote name='subrob' timestamp='1392940229' post='2374613'] So rehearsal tonight was pulled at very short notice, because we rehearse in a building close by. Apparently the bulldozers move on it tomorrow and there remain open questions about a) where we go to practice for the foreseeable and b ) if we're likely to be allowed in for our gear before Tuesday's show! [/quote] I'm sure you don't mean this, but my reading of your post is that your gear is inside the building that's going to be bulldozed tomorrow?????

Sorry to be ignorant, but I'm not 100% sure what 'digging in' means. I'm guessing it means to pluck harder, but is there more to it? I do find that I'm developing my playing in a direction where I like to give the strings a good hefty pluck (fingers or pick). I have my Ibanez SR760 set up with action as low as it will go without buzzing, and that's lower than anything else I have. (The rest are around 4mm at the 12th fret). I find the Ibanez as it is less satisfying to play as I feel I have to pussyfoot around it a bit, rather than being able to just let go.

There is quite a bit of love developing for Thomann's Harley Benton range over in the Bass Guitars forum. But, even at £25, I dunno if anyone would want this as a travel or kids bass or something. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Harley-Benton-4-String-Junior-Bass-with-Bag-/221377895036?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item338b269a7c But, it is £25.