BlueMoon

Nicely done. It looks great!

Amorica - The Black Crowes?

This ^^^^^^^

It can go the other way, of course. I had a chance during a business trip to the US to try out a range of different basses in a number of music shops (both large and small). I happened on a s/h Ricky 4003. The set up was OK - not ideal, but fine without any need to "fix" anything before I got it home. After a thorough in-store noodle, I took the bass to the very helpful sales assistant to finalise a deal. It was already cheap by European standards. The sales assistant goes through this whole spiel about how great these instruments are, and that he's a bass player too. He plays it just to show me, just in case - being European - that I hadn't registered his words. The conversation went something like : Assistant: "Oh, that action is way too high. I'll fix that for you while you wait". Me: "It's really OK for me actually". Assistant: "Are you kidding me? It'll only take a second". Fast forward to the big "snap" sound, when the truss rod snapped as he went at it like a gorilla! Assistant: "I guess you'll not be taking this one after all". Me: "You got that right! Maybe I dodged a bullet that day.

^^^^^^^^^ this!! Another shout out for Mark Morgan-Richards. Super nice guy to deal with.

I just love all of Bernie's stuff. He's a class act.

I have tried one of these and it solves the OP's problem without affecting too much the classic Ricky sound. Good choice.

During the early 80s I had a Peavey 130 combo that had an 18" Black Widow speaker in it. The thing weighed a ton.......but I was young and knew little else at the time. I had progressed from a 60s Selmer cabinet with a Goodmans 18" in it. That was a cabinet almost shoulder high and also weighed like a boat anchor.

Glad it got sorted. Unfortunately, the insurance folks very quickly start from that premise (i.e. your're on the fiddle) and give you a hard time. I had a company car stolen (keyless entry) from outside of my house and the first reaction was to suspect me of an inside job. Wierd thing was.........the car was gone for around 6 months and then reappeared in the middle of the night. I'd since moved house and had a different car! Spooky.

Bernie has had a white one on his site for some time. I'm not sure it is still for sale, but might be worth giving him a call if you're interested. Not cheap, mind you. https://www.gb-guitars.co.uk/sale/ PM me if you need his mobile number.

Shouldn't there be a "Made In U.S.A" visible on the decal? There is on my 4003.

I had the pleasure to buy a filter preamp from @Hellzero. Precise item description, effiecient follow up, speedy dispatch and the product was expertly packed. Overall a very enjoyable transaction. Thanks, Tony.

If I recall correctly this was when John Suhr was still with Fender. I have a couple of Deluxe (active) jazz basses from that era and they are really nice instruments. Of course make your decision after you have played the particular instrument (if you can, that is). The "chain saw" hard case has a habit of snapping off hinges, but these are now more difficult to find in good condition. Overall, it sounds like a fair deal.

I've also seen this problem on some pics of Metroline basses as well. Maybe these were first batch examples, but I wouldn't shell out anywhere near that kind of cash for an instrument with a wonky decal. Looks like another QC problem.......and Metroline basses are now made in Germany, aren't they?

I have a Bravewood SB Jazz and can thoroughly recommend his work. For the same reason as @Kazan this lovely P bass will sadly not be joining me though. Otherwise, I'd have been very tempted.

Thanks. When I bought the Blade it had Bart pups and an East preamp, so I can't really comment on the difference between the Levinson pups and those from Sadowsky. I wanted a backup "Sadowsky sound" to my Metro, but without the stress of it attracting gig dinks. As it turns out, the Blade delivers in spades and is a great gigging bass................whenever that might happen in the future.

Bernie Goodfellow (GB Guitars) includes a flashing LED in his preamps. It flashes intermittently when the battery is strong and speeds up when it's getting low. I find it quite useful. The LED is visible through a smoked perspex cavity cover on the rear of the bass. A lamp on the front would be preferable, but still a good idea. Not sure I'd retrofit one on a bass unless I was having other surgery carried out on the instrument and could justify adding one then.