Bassassin

Likely the case. I found it quite telling in a very depressing way that all but two of the artists (Thundercat & that guitarist-with-a-bass out of Royal Blood) were people who had been around for decades already. So I guess there's not a whole lot of young & interesting platers making any kind of a mark.

Well - that was inane. Particularly enjoyed the inclusion of a guitarist, who used to play bass in Pantera, 15 years ago.

Can't answer the question because I haven't heard them all. I don't like the premise tbh because I sort of object to the idea of a creative artform being reduced to something akin to a point-scoring competition. Fortunately "talent" is unquantifiable to start with, and reading through the thread, we don't even seem to be able to decide what it actually is! Fwiw I'd say Prince was an enormously talented (according to how I'd personally define it) and prolifically creative artist, whose music I found utterly uninteresting and unappealing on any level.

Prediction 1 turned out to be unsurprisingly accurate - after missing out on a gorgeous Aria Pro II SBR-80 from Bass Direct, an almost-as-gorgeous post-Matsumoku SB-ELT (basically the same thing) turned up on Ebay for a lot less money. And yes, I was weak. I missed my NYR target by one, then - sold a grand total of one bass this year! In other gear-related news I did buy a new recording setup, finally upgrading from my ancient one-box Korg 16-track to a computer-based DAW - necessitating buying a dedicated PC, interface & MIDI keyboard. But that doesn't count, does it? Next year's GAS pangs seem to be guitar-shaped, possibly involving an 80s Yamaha SG-1500 (green, if possible) and - for reasons I'm unclear about but might be related to midlife crisis - a Telecaster. Which will probably be a very cheap copy.

He might well have outdone himself with this one. He'll be trawling the fleamarkets for years to find something to top that!

The sad fact is - and it's reflected in this thread by people who I'd think would largely consider themselves to be creative individuals - that your original material is, by definition, of zero quality, and zero value unless it has somehow been validated by other people, specifically the music business. Then others might be prepared to give it a chance, otherwise - forget it. Apropos of not a lot, regardless of how "creative" a covers band might be, they never have to trouble themselves with the properly difficult part - writing the songs. FWIW I enjoy playing covers and have done so for both cash and laughs (sometimes simultaneously!), and likely will continue to do so - but at this stage in my "career" I doubt I'd play at all if covers were all I could do.

In good order I wouldn't be surprised to see this go for £350 - it's a high-end Matsumoku build and there's not many around. This is a bit of a mess though, probably worth a punt at £150 or so & fingers crossed the electronics aren't fried. Those brass knobs are like rocking horse poo.

I've shimmed dozens of necks on guitars and basses and never noticed the slightest difference in tone, sustain, resonance etc from any of them. Material-wise, whatever's to hand, don't agonise over it! Thin cardboard will actually compress a little so if the idea of a micrometric gap under the heel is one that sends you into cold sweats, then using this might help you cope... Currently I favour thin, stiff plastic card - the sort used as dividers in document binders. I like this because you can stack it in stepped layers to achieve the height/angle you need.

I think it's probably Cardington by Lifesigns - beautifully executed, uplifting, accessible & melodic prog. Lovely stuff.

Ah, it's one of those olde-worlde neck-through "old style" basses, not an up-to-the minute Precision or anything! Might need a jack socket, as well as tuning...

I don't know the Pulsers specifically, but it might be stamped into the back of the headstock. That's where they are on many 80s BBs. Looks like this bass has had a hard life, certainly compared to Beedster's example. Not uncommon for surviving MIJ copies - unfortunately they weren't regarded as quality instruments at the time so were often treated as disposable. That said, I've owned many that came to me in a far worse state so it's likely with a bit of tlc it will be a great bass. Just make sure you pay fixer-upper money for it!

The closed-back tuners with cast buttons used on loads of MIJ basses were made by Gotoh - occasionally a NOS boxed set comes up on Ebay. They came in at least 2 different sizes, I had an Antoria 2345B EB copy and mine were the smaller size, so I assume yours will be the same. There are quite a few around because they were so common on 70s & 80s basses - I'd try the various MIJ-related FB groups, starting with The Vintage Japanese Guitar Fanclub - I'd be very surprised if someone there didn't have a spare or two in their parts box.

I've no idea how that could've happened!

Bit of a fan early on, liked the first album & absolutely loved Purple. Saw them on that tour ('95?) and thought they were the best live band I'd ever seen. On later, sober reflection, I concluded that while they'd been a powerful & polished band who represented their recorded work admirably, my excessive enthusiasm might well have been linked to a sneaky tab of MDMA which had somehow found its way into my system. Well - it was 1995.

Gold would work but might verge worryingly towards tasteful, certainly compared to its present amusing vulgarity. Amusing to me, that is. Cream would just be bland. Tried it with cream MOTO before & didn't really like it.

Not a massive fan of brown but oddly, I'm quite happy to put up with this:

Saw this on a local gear group. Very pretty & expensive-looking, but the only thing that made me go "hmmm" is the rather cheap-looking headstock scarf joint: Interesting that Chinese "tributes" exist... Edit - looks like someone put the tuners on in the dark.

Shame no-one here picked this up. Looks like it's turned up here: https://elitevintageguitars.com/category/peavey-t-40-bass/ And currently advertised on a local FB gear group for about £900 more than the Gumtree price!

Hohner Arbor fretless with same bridge & square heel: You see these on a few early 80s MIKs, and oddly, on Yamaki-built MIJ Washburns. Odd things went on between Japanese & Korean factories in the 80s.

It's an early 80s Hohner, made by Cort in Korea. Up to about '81 or '82 Hohners were Japanese, made by Moridaira, but manufacture of these types of instrument moved to Korea in the late 70s/early 80s due to rising production costs in Japan, and the move by the Japanese guitar industry towards higher-end original designs. This bass probably pre-dates the mid 80s Hohner Professional range by a couple of years. Always liked the bog-seat saddles & abalone inlays on the MIK Hohners.

Think I've seen guitars like this before, but not a bass. I quite like weird but this wouldn't get on my list.

Translation doesn't mention material, just refers to body & neck being "one piece". I assumed it was timber based on the fancy top but with the rest painted black it could well be moulded composite - which obviously would make it less prone to distorting. It does have that wonky, hand-carved look to it though - you'd think a manufactured instrument might look a little less like something a dog deposited outside your gate.

Interesting and well-executed, if not particularly aesthetically pleasing, imo. If that's really 30+ years old though, it's hard to imagine that string tension won't have played havoc with neck/body alignment & likely led to all manner of warping or twisting.

Saw Norwegian black metallists Enslaved the other night, supporting Opeth - their bassist/frontman was playing an EB-3! Any other examples of incongruous basses in extreme metal contexts?

Don't think so - the bridge position looks correct for 34".