Bassassin

[quote name='JTUK' post='1132482' date='Feb 18 2011, 05:29 PM']I am so pissed off that Fender have the gaul to charge me £800 or whatever for a complete rip-off when I can get it for £60. It's not fair, I tell you.[/quote] You should be pissed off - if you are paying £800 for a mass-produced Precision, you are being ripped off - unless you find it a a hugely necessary part of owning a bass to be paying through the nose for a logo, a sticker saying "Made In USA" and for the wages of an American bloke who expects a decent pay packet. And yes - why shouldn't a Ryder P copy, if it's competently manufactured & assembled (which by all accounts the majority of them seem to be) and well set-up (which your £800 US Precision probably won't be, out of the box) play every bit as well as a "prestige" brand instrument? They're just wood & wire, after all, and in the case of any P bass, whatever the sticker says & wherever it's made, incredibly simplistic wood & wire. Jon.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1133005' date='Feb 19 2011, 01:51 AM']EDIT: Just noticed he's using strings with no silks, so it probably makes bugger all difference, or, as you suggest, is holding the bridge together.[/quote] Whatever else these are sold for, it's holding the bridge together, no question. This was mine when I got it - I've seen a lot of these & this is quite typical: [attachment=72631:trackbridge.jpg] Obviously, I had to replace it! The spacer bar idea does look like a workable fix if the bridge is deformed but not actually cracked, like mine. Definitely a fair bit cheaper than a new replacement 3-point bridge. J.

And if I haven't made it clear enough - [b]this is not an Ibanez[/b], or anything else vintage & MIJ. Absolutely not. In fact it's a lot more likely to be something modern, like a Westfield he's picked up for £20 from the local car boot then burned & smashed around in the name of "relic-ing". The tuners he's selling as [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BASS-MACHINE-HEADS-TRUE-70S-RELICS-/160546648800"]true 70s relics[/url] are identical to a set of OK-quality budget modern ones I have on my see-through P project, only his have got filth all over them. Jon.

Have a word with [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showuser=3436"]Prosebass[/url] on here - he builds lightweight shortscale basses. Jon.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1132600' date='Feb 18 2011, 07:02 PM']Check out BORIS/boris [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170605251651&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:en"]This looks like a reasonable set of parts.[/url][/quote] Italian-made Melody, that P. These have a 3-piece laminated neck - which is presumably where the split's occurred. Theoretically it might be possible to slacken the truss rod & then glue/clamp it, if it al still lines up properly. Oli - interesting you mention BORIS/boris, came across them on the soundtrack of a film called Elements Of Control a few weeks ago - didn't think too much of the film, but did decide I should listen to more Japanese bands. J.

Before you do anything - check your string spacing and fretboard width at the heel. These weird old JapCraps tend to have very narrow string spacing & you may end up with strings hanging over the fretboard edges. All of these modern bridges will tend to have 19mm spacing centre-to-centre, I'll bet yours is a fair bit less. And I'll do that Jedson catalogue scan soon - honest! Jon.

I'd take it a bit further & have it semi-hollow with an f-hole, Tele Thinline stylee. Think I'd want a lighter wood top (to go with the maple board I'd have) & a cream pearl scratchplate. J.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1130539' date='Feb 17 2011, 06:27 AM']CMI Twin neck guitar/bass. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-CMI-Twin-Neck-Guitar-Bass-/190502332079?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2c5ad2e6af"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70s-CMI-Twin-Neck-Gu...=item2c5ad2e6af[/url] Rarity value, maybe. But I don't personally think this is worth £400.[/quote] It would probably fetch that in slightly better/more original condition - and possibly with a more marketable brand than CMI. This is a Matsumoku, not a Fujigen as he implies - check the Steel Adjustable Neck plates & headstock/trc shapes. I'd be a whole lot more interested in this sort of thing if they'd done twin bass necks - can't imagine anything more pointless than a bass/guitar like this. Unless you're playing Peaches... J.

Definitely would - that's just the sort of skewed take on traditional designs that appeals to me. Maple/pearl blocks on mine, though. Jon.

Well amazingly enough Mr Pikeyguitars was unable to furnish me with a direct link to the one for sale on BC! (I was half-expecting it to be the one I bought here about 7 years ago! ) but gave me a link to a picture of an "identical" Ibanez P somewhere on the web. And do you know what - if you removed the neck from the Ibby, swapped the scratchplate & pups for cheap recent ones, tied a rope to it, tied the other end to the back bumper of your car & dragged the body up & down the A1 a couple of times, then poured petrol on it & set fire to it & let it burn for 20 minutes... ...it would still look f@ck-all like the piece of crap he's trying to punt. J.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1130068' date='Feb 16 2011, 07:01 PM']I was tempted then went and bought a Warwick :S[/quote] The Taste Police have been notified and are on their way. J.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1129646' date='Feb 16 2011, 01:55 PM']You got one too? Did anyone NOT buy one? [/quote] Me. Keep buying/building Ps which are naff-all use to me. Can't say I wasn't tempted, though. Jon.

Quite a nice looking thing but I'd bet it's a budget-ish Ebay seller (or small dealer) import brand. Worth a look if it was about £150. Jon.

I suppose it must be because the Westbury brand had a phase a few years ago of selling for silly money - usually the guitars, but I have seen a Track 2 go for over £200. Standard guitar can still top that if you're lucky & the more rare Westy Deluxe & Customs will get £300+ - but they are scarce & genuinely collectable. Basses always get less money though - the Track IV (set neck, 2x P pups) is probably less common than any of the guitars, but a year or so ago there was one re-listed about 5 times, until the seller presumably gave up. Think it was about £200. Shame about the fret-rape on the Columbus, these can be quite decent. This one is MIJ, should say so on the neckplate. J.

Im afrayed tha Inglish langwij iz heddid for a braiv new fernetik fewcha. Dats tha intanet 4 ya. J.

This one for me, and the first bass line I ever learned: Jon.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1129652' date='Feb 16 2011, 02:01 PM']Expensive Track 2 bass. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WESTBURY-TRACK-2-BASS-MATSUMOKU-WESTONE-ARIA-VANTAGE-/170603225075?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item27b8be9ff3"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/WESTBURY-TRACK-2-BAS...=item27b8be9ff3[/url][/quote] Has a "sustain bar" fitted at the rear of the bridge? Has a what? What he means is that the cheapsh!t bridge fitted to these was bending under string tension (as they all seem to) so someone jammed a bit of steel rod across the back to hold it straight! Bodged bridge aside, it does look tidy, as far as one can tell - but on recent form it wouldn't sell even if it was £100 cheaper. J.