BlueMoon

Absolutely stunning!

Great score and a great bass. Enjoy!

Mods……….you might want to move this to the “Wanted” section.

Normal inspection as per any stringed instrument. The state of the fingerboard (surface condition, radius etc), neck (truss rod) and nut would be my number 1 comment. This is especially important if the neck has been de-fretted. Look for any ridges on the fret-lines and/or excessive gouging along under where the strings lie. The nut height is important if you want the lower action typical of a fretless bass. When trying the bass, first play it without amplification. This will help you discern if the notes sustain well, which helps a fretless bass sparkle. Personally, rolled edges to the fingerboard are a “nice to have”. Remember that a lot of the fretless sound comes from player skill and articulation. Good luck in your search.

Has anybody with Facebook access contacted Thomann themselves? I’m sure if they are made aware of it they would move to protect their legitimate commercial business interests. You guessed it……………I don’t have an FB account.

All the best in whatever comes next………and thanks for all the ongoing contributions to the low end community!

I’m biased and would recommend a Moon 😊. Early 90’s will likely have the Fender-style headstock and may be on the heavy side if ash bodied. The Moon Blackbird pre is simple and hi-fi quality, if that is your thing. It does 70s jazz sound in spades! Either way, an enviable situation and choice.

Danny Stewart runs Bass Direct Japan from Tokyo. He runs a search service for basses. Not sure if he does the same for parts. Maybe worth a punt. www.bassdirectjapan.com

They are a bit finicky to set up initially but I’ve found Ric necks to be very stable over time. Glad you got it sorted.

Bulletproof cases. I have several, both branded and non-branded, none has ever required repair or even adjustment. The teardrop examples (with Goodfellow logo) must be really early ones. A sad loss indeed.

Call me a convert. I bought a 4 string set to try out and was quite impressed. Well worth the price and compare favourably with some name-brand alternatives that cost 3-4 times as much.

With Rosemary Butler on bass. She is a cracking vocalist as well. She regularly sang bv’s for the likes of Jackson Browne, Linda Rondstadt, Boz Scaggs et al.

Phenomenal back catalogue (on guitar as well) and overall contribution. I think she also still does online tuition. What an underrated artist, and seemingly without huge ego problems.

That’s exactly what I thought. Sure looks like his jacket is covering part of the headstock.

Class act. Thanks for sharing.

Another shout out for Ishibashi. I’ve imported a few Japanese oddities from them. Clear communications; honest descriptions; fast dispatch and secure packaging. Never had a problem. I wouldn't hesitate if it is an instrument that is a Japan-only model.

I think the pickup is the same. The bezel is now on 2025 models direct from Rickenbacker in place of the classic chrome-effect pickup cover.

A beauty……….just the right amount of ageing. Well done!

Fantastic example of skill, dedication and artistry. Proficiat!!

Nice….thank you! And a pic of the man with a Freedom Rhino bass, I do believe.

Depends on the sealant layer that was first used on the bare wood. Since it's a relic surface maybe look at it as added mojo and just leave it and enjoy it. If you feel like "repairing" it, I'd be tempted to carefully sand off/sand back the surrounding amber coloured area to the outline of solid colour and then blend in the area with a light amber-tinted matt or satin coating. Trying to just "repair" the bare wood area could be tricky getting the colour match acceptable.

Might well happen. When Mike Pedulla closed his shop rather than selling the business, the second-hand asking prices of the classic Pedulla basses did increase significantly. No sign of any levelling on those asking prices.......so hang on to that Status bass(es).

^^ This. The problem with many generic polishes is that if there are any silicones in them it is extremely difficult to get rid of them if used unknowingly or in error. They persist for a long time on most any surface (including fingers!!) and often require quite aggressive solvents (e.g. acetone) and repeated treatments to effectively remove. Obviously this defeats the original objective, especially with nitro coatings. A careful screening of the polish contents label should show up the main silicone components, if present. Basically anything ending in "...cone" (like dimethicone) or "siloxane" (e.g. polydimethylsiloxane - PDMS) fall in the broad silicone family.

Glow-in-the-dark side markers fitted as standard to the neck. I favour Luminlay brand, but can be tricky to source in Europe. Some Japanese instruments fit this as standard.