Steve Browning

Rather nice Limelight just turned in the For sale. It says P neck but I am not sure what this means. I would contact Mark and ask. Fender themselves say this:: [color=#000000] The modern Fender American Standard Precision Bass is a guitar with a B neck with a Modern C neck shape, with B referring to nut width, and Modern C referring to the curve shape of the back of the neck.[/color][color=#000000] Nut widths either either A, B, C or D.[/color][color=#000000] A – 1 1/2-inch B – 1 5/8-inch C – 1 3/4-inch D – 1 7/8-inch[/color][color=#000000] …and these were the original letter designations for Fender necks well before the whole neck-shape-by-letter thing came into being.[/color][color=#000000] Fender neck shapes can be C, U, or V, and these letters literally refer to how the back of the neck is not only shaped but also [i]how it looks[/i]. This means a C does have a shape similar to that of a letter C, a V actually looks like a letter V on the back, and so on.[/color][color=#000000] U – Early 1950s or 1970s shape Soft V – Early 1950s Hard V or just V – Mid-1950s shape C – Late-50s oval shape Modern C – Modern flat oval shape[/color]

What, the barman ex of Coronation Street? :-)

http://www.ishibashi.co.jp/u_box/e/select.php?cd=08-325079704 That's £395. About £500 imported I would think.

I would really look at the PB62US first. With some slight modification (as mentioned) you would have what you want and some decent change. Even has the right decal on the headstock!

D'oh. Forgot the other obvious. With your budget you could get a very nice JV Squier. Again, I have had one of those and they are similarly excellent. Not sure I'd put it above the Japanese Fender 62 (there will be those who disagree vehemently - probably people selling them) but well within your budget and is likely to appreciate.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1505990094' post='3375659'] Budget-wise under £2k. Obviously the further under that the better! The Japan reissue sounds VERY interesting... [/quote] Fender Japan are (were) the Cinderella Fender business. Consistently excellent build quality and very much cheaper than the US version. I have had a 60's reissue but favour the B profile of the 70's. In your position I would look at a Fender Japan PB62US (you want the US one for its alder body and US hardware) and consider a pickup swap (there are plenty of good options) and, if you want the full experience, a set of reverse tuners. I reckon around £650 would get you all that lot. This option I can personally recommend. The only other thing (if you want to get really authentic) would be the scratchplate. None of these 'modern' versions have scratchplates which match the old tort. I think there are folk around who do that but the factory ones rarely look convincing IMO. If you don't want sunburst then you could also contact Mark at Limelight (google classic and cool guitars) who puts together excellent basses at a very reasonable price.

What sort of budget. Fender 62 reissue from 1982 (the Fullerton ones) are good. Having owned a good few 60's Precisions, I can tell you the Fender Japan 62 reissue is pretty much identical. The thing to look for would be the slab fingerboard above anything else IMHO. I acknowledge the whole nitro thing but I am not convinced of that so much. That's from experience of both (and side by side comparison) rather than some 'finger in the air' assessment.

A strip of gaffa around the strap just above the strap button (with the strap on the bass!!).

Don't forget your bass! I was so nervous about my first gig that I had got everything set up, went to plug my bass in and realised I had left it at home (luckily only about 5 miles away). Aside from that - be a team player and enjoy it. Remember that a mistake is history as soon as it has happened.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1505730226' post='3373775'] Indeed we are ! [/quote] Mine will make people think they are pi$$ed!

I'm looking at the pictures and wonder if it wasn't the guys being wolf whistled. :-)

Aha! Glad you liked the clips.

I'm actually Adam Clayton but too ashamed to admit to it on a bass player's forum.

I meant that you seem to have rather tailored your answer to produce the answer you seemed to have wanted. I would think Rich was just looking at the total posts and I would roughly reckon he's about right overall. Let me be clear, I have made two perfectly good purchases from BD but it seems quite clear that some people have had issues, and (in fairness) they have described them in order to 'justify' their disappointments. There seems to be some valuable feedback for the proprietor should he choose to take it on board. If the shop disappoints too many customers it may fail. That is a chance but that is the fault of the shop in not delivering good and consistent service and not the fault of people on a forum reporting their issues. It won't be an issue for me. My signature suggests I'd be banned from the place! There certainly seems to me (having just read every single post) more favourable responses than bad (overwhelmingly I would say) and that's good but some people's experiences seem to be snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, which is a shame when you are a niche shop in an already niche market. It's kind of like Barefaced in some ways. These are brands which seem to be seen as 'ours' in some way and any criticism is immediately jumped on by an opinions police who cannot accept 'our' brand being criticised, even when perfectly justified.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1505209008' post='3370175'] Looking at the comments since the latest thread revival a month ago, and stripping out stuff that is neither a criticism of, nor praise for, Bass Direct, I get nowhere near 10% negativity ... it's nearer 50%. Take another look, Rich. [/quote] Now where do you want those goalposts?

http://www.teedupblues.co.uk/ Put together by the keyboard player.

Just redid my insurance. Worldwide cover including unattended van (not that it ever is) for approx. £25 per £1000 value. Got to be worth considering.

I hav certainly seen many Fender necks and headstocks age that way (and even have a couple).

A good mate of mine swears by Eternal Guitars - post 219 - near Chichester I can add Simon Law of SVL Guitars - http://www.svlguitars.com/ - near Winchester Not had any work done myself but as he was Robben Ford's tech and is currently on tour with Pete Townsend I reckon that's probably better than a recommendation from me. Also does amp work (for the same guys).

I have always been a dyed in the wool 2x15 player and was using a Boogie diesel 2x15 (which I had used for over 25 years). I had wanted something lighter and (after a fair amount of consideration) bought a pair of Gen 2 Compacts.. . They were ok but they just didn't seem very substantial and I didn't really think too highly of the build quality and the fact they were so shallow. I use an M-Pulse 600 and the rack hung out over the back of the cabs. When Boogie brought out thir Subway series I went back to Boogie (where my heart has always been) and have been very happy with the change. BF are ok but weren't in any way outstanding to me and seemed poor value overall. For me, the Boogies are altogether superior in every way.

http://basschat.co.uk/topic/242967-south-east-bass-bash-no8-surrey-saturday-1st-november-2014/page__st__210 This was an excellent talk at the SE Bash in 2014. I've remembered all of the exercises but must confess I haven't A-framed for a while. Well worth a look.

Correct.