Eldon Tyrell

In case someone is looking for something special 🙂 https://reverb.com/uk/item/90319243-spector-ns-x-black-1984-05-28

Looks like he also played it in Chic:

You are right. I need to find an Ian Hill model, the PJ version. That also visually goes well with the Mike Starr - Black and White, Yin and Yang, the dark side and the light side etc etc etc.

Man, I clicked on this post, thinking he had passed away. Good to know that he is still alive 😊

My poorly taken photo does not do the bass justice. It looks much better in real life. The Japanese retailer's photos capture the finish much better.

It finally arrived on May 1st. Great looking and sounding bass. I haven't sold it yet, but I am tempted. The neck is too chunky for my taste. Not as bad as some others I had, e.g a black LT with Fishman Fluence pickups. I am telling myself that I will get used to it, but I just played my Euro Mike Starr signature that has a nice thin neck (probably modeled on Mike's Kramer era NS-2) and it felt sooo much better.

Shipping to the US can get stressful. The value of the shipment also seems to matter. At least that's what I was told when I shipped my Timmy C to the US back in 2023. I posted this back then (Oct 2023) in another thread: I recently (June) sold a Stingray Timmy C to a buyer in the US. Well, the local depot here in the UK wanted to know if I had a CITES license. I could convince them that there was no need for one. I also had to send them the commercial invoices again as they somehow had managed to lose them. I only found out about the "missing" commercial invoices after checking the tracking info online where it said that they were waiting for the forms and that they had contacted the seller (i.e., me). Well, they obviously did not contact me and I had to chase them up. Then the US counterparts asked me to fill in a toxic substance control act declaration (TSCA, I guess because of the fretboard glue!), a manufacturer's affidavit (actually this should have been filled in by EBMM but I put in the info myself and I also attached the original invoice from EBMM. Interestingly, after some googling I found out that a manufacturers affidavit is normally used for shipments over $10,000.00. Well, the Timmy C is a great bass but not not THAT expensive ; -), and a foreign shipper declaration. The buyer was also asked to fill in an import declaration and a TSCA form (importer single entry). Looks like these checks came into place as the bass returned to the US where is was made and because the value was above $2500. All in all a lot of hassle, costing me time and energy. So, in short, my advice to you - if someone from the US wants to buy one of your basses that was made in the US and that is worth more than $2500, then kindly decline it (unless you don't mind filling in several forms and spending lots of time emailing custom officials and people working in depots ; -).

As others have already said, within your budget, the Pulse is a great choice. Get rid of the TP Jr preamp that everyone seems to hate and replace it with a Haz clone, like the LHZ (new version LHZ-04 is out now) or use the LHZ-HL-1 pedal (Haz clone in pedal format), and you are almost there. Enjoy 🙂

Great news. The world has moved back into equilibrium. One less glitch in the matrix 😉

Cool stuff 👍 Needs a new cavity sticker though - Today is 30 April (although it feels more like 30 Jul)

Thanks and good idea. Problem is, I am not really into neck shaving and refin. However, if someone knows someone who can do it, then it could be an option.

Thanks for asking, Paul. Well, looks like customs wondered whether or not the bass needed a CITES certificate. I was able to convince them that it did not need one. The bass is on the way to the local depot now and as soon as I have paid taxes and duties, it should get delivered. Probably on Wed or Thur. Then, after checking the neck shape, it will take me a few seconds to figure out whether I'll keep it or sell it here on via BD or BB. Nearly there (BTW, the bass arrived in the UK on the 7th!, that's THREE WEEKS AGO)!

Well, looks like you can do quite a lot with it. Maybe the one stop solution for gigging musicians? However, too much of an overkill for a bedroom player like me. Also too many buttons, switches, screens etc. So, I guess for me, the old school guy and hobbyist, I'll stick with ANALOG instead of ANAGRAM 😉

Cool stuff. When I first saw the bass, I mentioned the Stormtrooper vibes it was giving me. Well, looks I wasn't the only one 😉

Have a chat with @Sean who recently got two Spectors sent from Japan. You can see them here:

I would avoid the resellers on Ebay or Reverb. Check out digimart.net. Search there for the bass you are interested in and then go directly to the store that is selling it. Much cheaper than going via the resellers. For example, two years ago I got my Spector Ras Layer via Ishibashi and it went all smoothly. Other good shops/chains: Ikebe, Kurosawa and Gakkido. There will be many more but these are the ones I have interacted with. BTW, I recently found a cool Spector Euro on digimart and contacted the shop directly. I got it for £500 less than what the resellers wanted. Unfortunately, I am now waiting for it to be released from customs. It has been stuck in Coventry for almost 2 weeks. No idea why and no, I have not received a letter asking for VAT and duties yet. PF gave me an email address (the high value team as the bass cost more than £900) to write to but no reply either. I also contacted the shop in Japan and they confirmed that they filled in all the necessary forms and I am sure they know what they are doing. Very frustrating. It took the bass 4 days from Japan to arrive in the UK and now at least 14 days in Coventry. Total joke and very frustrating 😠 You may also want to ask Danny (Bass Japan Direct) to buy and ship the bass you are interested in (for a fee). I have done that for a Yamaha BB1200 he found for me as part of his bass hunter service. He even shot a video before shipping it. Cool stuff:

Congrats 👍 Although, you know, no photos, no bass 🙂

No idea what the issue is. Will be 2 weeks on Monday! Have not received a letter asking for VAT and duties yet. Already sent several emails to the email address I was given but no response. Very annoying!

So did you try out the Euro last weekend? How was it? My Euro from Japan is still stuck in customs in Coventry. A real PITA 😞

Speaking of Ashton-under-Lyne, these guys have a Tribute M-2000 in stock. The shop is legit and has sold one of my basses in the past. Smooth transaction, they even sent me some good packing material. The M-2000 is a more traditional model as it has a 3 band EQ and the MFD pickups are a bit underwound (but apparently still hot). Maybe something to look into too? https://www.sellusyourguitar.co.uk/product-page/g-l-tribute-m-2000-gloss-black-electric-bass-1

I recently looked into getting a G&L L2K (again). Apparently, they are the poor man's Wal and, as a big Tool fan, I really need one (as I cannot afford a Wal). Anyway, I came across these beauties (yes, I like red basses): https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/356755443903?itmmeta=01JRYXYQJQB3DPQAJGK1RVSWX6&hash=item53104810bf:g:D4gAAOSwwJVn5CbN Killer looking bass with some interesting history: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/anyone-know-any-info-on-this-g-l-l2000-bass.1596387/ The bass has been on ebay since March 26th. I guess the asking price is a bit on the high side. A price between £1000-£1200 is probably more realistic. Probably worth reaching out to the seller with a reasonable offer. This one I found in an online "bargin[sic} bin". Made in Korea Tribute model (so early 2000s). They normally get rave reviews. Great looking bass. Again, the asking price is probably a bit too high: https://www.m-guitars.co.uk/gl-bass-guitar-legacy-l2000-cherry-sunburst/5900 Well, I eventually decided to get a Spector Euro (again). I ordered it from Japan and it has been stuck in customs for 9 days now. Well, should have gotten one of the L2Ks instead, I guess.