BlueMoon

8 minutes ago, prowla said:

Both of those prices are silly.

Completely agree!!

It comes to something if the asking prices of some fakes are in the same region of the real thing.

I know what I'd rather have..........and very happy with the real-deal.

There are a couple of fakers currently on our local ebay (tweedehands.be). One is a Matsumoku(??) with a set neck in "green-glo" (1000€ asking price) and a Zen-on in Jetglo colour and through neck design. Asking price 2000€.

This gives some indication of the variation in price.

I made a spontaneous auction purchase on e-bay while visiting my brother in Billericay. It was a headphone mixer/amplifier IIRC, nothing special or elaborate. The seller seemed a straight up guy and gave me his address and local landmarks to guide me there, since the place had a name rather than a number. I eventually found this rather swish place deep in the countryside north of Braintree with about 5 classic BMW's on the gravel turn around in front of the house.

Rang the door knocker, and there is one Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel fame. Really down-to-earth guy, well used to handling folks stumbling with the opening line: "I'm sure I recognise you.......".  Had a really nice exchange over a whole range of topics, although most ended up on his favourite subject of the day (classic BMW's).

2 hours ago, Maude said:

Taking the neck off a Fender to adjust the trussrod is an even more stupid idea than the intonation adjustment screws on a classic Rickenbacker bridge. 

Yes....totally agree, a real PITA in both cases. I'm amazed at how long both design limitations stayed on their instruments when it was clear that alternative (better) solutions could be engineered. Tail lift on the original Rick bridge is another "unique" design feature.

@blyn Nice rig and I'm loving the Sadowsky PJ!!

12 hours ago, itu said:

There doesn't seem to be a problem, but just one, deliberately done.

 

You are after a solution where you need scissors a decent piano wire cutting tool (Knipex or similar). Then you buy a box of certain brand strings you want to use. Measure, cut to length, put the strings back to their packages and start using them. Solved.

I find it best to bend the string for "fender-type" tuners first, then cut to length. Apparently it helps reduce the possibility of the windings unravelling from the core. Those who know more will likely chime in if this is reality or just precaution.

I think @kdubb24 has one for sale in the classified section.

Yes.....that is the classic, vintage Fender-style truss rod.

Remember to adjust in only slight turns followed by a period to let the neck settle.

That's a stunner!!

Likely it is not the real deal. 

I was of the understanding that Rickenbacker will only provide you a new replacement TRS cover if you supply them with your damaged/broken one first. 

I agree. If you have sufficient paint depth and minimal "orange peel", you can create a lustrous finish with nitrocellulose-based paint. Progressively finer grit papers ( I prefer wet sanding)  and finish with auto body fine polishing compound. Good to go.

Valuable learnings. Thanks for sharing!

My advice would be to change the strings and then check if the truss rod needs adjusting. Actually, it may not need adjusting. If you have never adjusted a truss rod it will be a great time to learn. It really is not that difficult.

Welcome to the flat-side!!

1 minute ago, LukeFRC said:

then as long as they have orders coming in they probably wouldn't see an issue with pricing them in a way that allows them to  be profitable and sustainable and allows them to retire well at some point in the future.

I seem to recall reading a summary from Mike Pedulla about his decision to expand his business in the 1990s, I believe, when he felt further away from being a luthier and more like a business manager. He subsequently scaled back his operation so that he could oversee every build and went back to making only a limited number of instruments. He retired and didn't sell the business, if I recall correctly. The market prices of Pedulla basses is strong and I'm sure Wal is in that camp. I have no problems with that. I have a Pedulla, but not a Wal.

8 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

and the number of people with disposable income is going up

Maybe not in the next few years...............but, overall I agree with the market conditions you summarise.

My personal preference in all cases is ebony. 

My '71 in sunburst has one.

It's actually not that uncommon to see some scuffing behind the nut on a fretless.............but that does look quite deep. I guess it really depends on how well it plays through the changing seasons. Could get tricky.

On 21/05/2022 at 07:02, Belka said:

I think by the mid '70s pretty much all the basses were ash

.................and most from that period were boat anchors weighing more than 10 Ibs 

Stunning! Well done.

1 hour ago, wateroftyne said:

That’s really nice. Was it a custom order? Can I ask what it cost?

Thanks.!

Mateusz keeps a little stock of (mainly) Japanese basses that he has worked on. Here is a link:

https://restauracja-gitar.pl/

The Buzz was indeed a custom order and came in at just under €1000, all in. I really wanted a classic sunburst P in nitro, since I believe Mark at Limelight doesen't offer this unless you provide the painted body for him.

After the glowing review and recommendation by @such of his Buzz Hornet, I took the plunge and recently also sampled the work of the Polish bass builder (Mateusz Piotrowski) behind these creations.

I was never really a fan of relic'd instruments, but somehow I seem to have now obtained a few in my stable (including Bravewood and Limelight), and so feel able to comment and compare.

The Buzz has a Jazz-sized neck on an Alder P body, which is light and resonant. Damn........this bass is first and foremost a great "players bass"!! I appreciate that the aesthetics might not suit everybody [the relicing is stage 7 on a scale of 1 (none) to 10 (totally trashed)], but I really do not like some of the Fender Custom shop cookie-cutter examples. The build process was stress-free and took around 4 months overall. 

I have yet to use the Buzz in a band situation, but I am confident that it will do a great job, and I won't give a rip if it gets dinged up in the process. Here are some pics:

For those preferring a  DIY solution, I've found that the threaded washer that tightens down on the wheel rim of a bicycle tyre valve is a great starting point for a "thick" washer. Normal old fashioned tyre valves are the ones I mean. Inner diameter is such that it slips over the truss rod threads and the knuled outer surface can be easily filed down to exactly match the outer diameter of the truss rod. I've used this approach successfully on a MIJ Fender bass.

You'll love it!! 

I have one too and it is the dog's danglies in a band set up.

I did the same thing as Doctor J. Together with some Sadowsky-branded (Dimarzio) pickups, my Levinson Blade came alive. I find the on-board Sadowsky preamp to be quite musical, and the VTC allows you to cool things down if you need to do some retro sounding numbers. One thing to be aware of, the pickup blend control is wired by default the opposite to most other blend controls. So turning the pan knob clockwise prefers the bridge pickup and vice versa. You can mess with it if needed, but I soon got used to it.

Go for it, you'll be happy.