John Cribbin

At the risk of sounding daft, strings. Without a truss rod, there's nothing to counteract the pull of the strings. Maybe these were designed for a lighter guage than we use today?

It's not a logo I know. As far as I'm aware if a product is sold through the shop system, they are required to have the country of manufacture on them. The lack of a plug surround on the truss rod hole of a Fender style neck, is usually an indication of a cheap Chinese neck. My gut reaction is, you've either got a kit guitar, or one that was imported directly from China. As long as it's a good player and you enjoy it, job done.

Personally I'd forget about staining it. Problem is, stain needs to soak into bare wood. To do that every bit of the existing finish / sealer has to be removed, otherwise you end up with a patchy / spotty finish where the stain has failed to penetrate in some areas. Ask me how I know that .... If you really need to change the colour, a respray over the top is probably the only realistic solution.

You have a last minute gig and access to only one bass. What is the best bass in the world?

The pickups are passive, but it has an active EQ which is what the battery powers. So you need to plug it into the active input. If the EQ happened to die, you could remove the old module and happily have it wired as a passive bass if you chose.

If it was mine it would be going back. It wasn't checked properly at the factory and is clearly 'B Stock' that should be offered at a discount. While it wouldn't bother me that much, I'm now of the grumpy age that takes the attitude, if we accept defective new stuff, where's the incentive to make the manufacturer up their game quality wise?

Provided the're matching batteries of the same capacity...

I don't think Ibanez know how to make a bad guitar. They are probably better built than a lot of premium brands and offer great value for money. They need to take a note out of the Toyota how to manual. Toyota knew they made great cars, they also knew people didn't want to buy a luxury Toyota when they could have a Mercedes or Jaguar for the same money. Solution, make luxury cars, but brand them Lexus. I think if Ibanez launched their premium range under a new name, they may well increase their kudos in the marketplace, increase sales and resale value.

That's great wax for dark unfinished furniture, but not for a fretboard. All you need is a small drop of fingerboard oil applied once or twice a year at most. That will do the job. Best I've found is Manson Fingerboard Oil. A small bottle will last a lifetime, unless you're a pro luthier ....

Hmmm, you may need to take it to a good guitar shop to get the correct tool. Peavey used their own thin walled truss rod wrench on many models, so a normal one may not fit down the hole... Some have had success with a regular Gibson 5/16 wrench if it's thin enough. You could end up buying several online to find one that fits. They may still be available direct from Peavey?