mrbassman_de

Selling my Fodera Monarch Deluxe 4

Specs:
Redwood Burl Top
Mahogany body
Ebony Board
5-pc Maple Neck with Blocks
EMG pickups
Pope preamp
19mm spacing

Rare Monarch with that Redwood Burl and the nice blocks. The bass is in excellent condition except of a crack in the upper area of the board. It did not move since the previous owner received it 10 years or so. Obviously it does NOT come from the truss rod abuse but most likely due to a natural anomaly in the wood. The crack is reflected in the price. The bass sounds as explosive as you would expect from the Monarch series with EMGs. Perfect action and playability !

SOLD

Selling my Alleva Coppolo LG5 Classic

Specs:
Alder Body
Indian Rosewood Board
Black Nitro finish
Matching headstock
34"
19mm string spacing
early AC era
60s pickup positions
all original
4,6 kg
Built 2008

Some very minor dings on the body (Nitro ...) but nithing serious. Low action and a typical 60s Jazz bass sound on 5 strings ...

sold

Pics here:
[url="http://s934.photobucket.com/user/mrbassman_de/library/Basses/Alleva%20Coppolo%20LG5%20Classic%20black"]http://s934.photobuc...Classic%20black[/url]

Selling my Fodera Emperor 4 Bolt-On - with a Brazilian Rosewood board !

Specs:
Lightweight Alder body
Sunburst finish
Maple Neck with Brazilian Rosewood board
Nordstrand pickups in 70s positions (Original Aeros come with the bass)
new Pope pre (post-2009)
new Fodera bridge
19mm spacing (+/- 0,5mm)
Very lightweight 3,94 kg !
34"

This Fodera is - despite the warm sounding board - a real slap monster ! Low action and a quite explosive sound supporting the dynamics coming from your fingers...

I should point out that this is NOT the Classic line bass which has a lot of more simple attributes (Preamp, Bridge, Headstock, Neck Mount etc.). It is a regular Emperor Custom with Bolt-On design from the late 90s.

Excellent condition !

Asking 4200 EUR plus shipping from Duesseldorf/Germany

Trades considered:
Alleva Coppolo
Stenback
pre-CBS Fenders
Fodera 5
F Bass (higher grades)
nothing else please !

Pics here:
http://s934.photobuc...n%204%20Classic

For sale only:

Ken Smith BT6

Specs:
Macassar Ebony Top (not available anymore in this quality from Ken and even lower quality is a 500 USD upgrade)
5-pc Neck-Through 34"
18mm spacing at bridge
Ebony Board
Walnut Back
3-knob preamp
weight: 4,98 kg
Built 8/29/90
incl. original case

Wonderful organic sound like everybody expects from these earlier Smiths. Recently professionally setup and VERY low action.

No issues - everything works perfect, some wear on the body and around the pickups - but nothing serious.

Asking 2.900 GBP or 3.400 EUR plus shipping from Duesseldorf / Germany

Pics here:
[url="http://s934.photobucket.com/user/mrbassman_de/library/Basses/Ken%20Smith%20BT6%20Ebony"]http://s934.photobuc...h%20BT6%20Ebony[/url]

Selling my Fodera Imperial 6

Specs:
Old American Chestnut Top (very nice and distinct now)
Ash Body
Maple Neck
Ebony Board
34"
19mm spacing (+/- 0,5 mm)
Aero Dual Coils (replaced the original Bartolini pickups) in wooden covers
Pope Preamp (pre-2009)
New lightweight Fodera bridge
Weight 4,93 kg
Orginal case (well worn)

Frets have been dressed recently so action is absolutely PERFECT ! I received his bass in a really poor condition but loved the substantial sound so I decided to install all original new pre, new pickups, new bridge and gave him a new pro setup and finish touchup, now it is in like new condition and works like a charme. A hairline crack on the B string tuner has been professionally repaired and does not move since years. The Aeros are genuine ones made for Fodera and were pulled from another 6er.

A very special feature is the coil tap switch, which is a 3-way switch here. You can select either inner single coils, outer single coils or parallel mode - very versatile.

The case is quite well worn, but does its job, at least for shipping.

Asking 5800 GBP or 6500 EUR plus shipping from Duesseldorf / Germany.

Trades considered (+/- cash either way):
Alleva Coppolo
Stenback
pre-CBS Fenders
Fodera 5
F Bass (higher grades)
nothing else please !

Pics here:
http://s934.photobuc...%206%20Chestnut

Just checked again: I wrote 8 messages via basschat - then Antonio wanted to not discuss anymore and I (my fault) decided to confirm the deal. Everything afterwards related to payment and address stuff... and the "conversation" after receiving that bass...

Again - what stories are YOU telling here ?

The original text in the ad was immediately deleted after the deal... afraid of the truth ?

You don't care about buyer's satisfaction - so don't cry if the final feedback tells exactly that - that's the truth and nothing less. And that's what a feedback thread is living for.

Worst seller and communication ever !

In fact, I bought an Alleva Coppolo LG5 Supreme from him, and the communication with him was one of my worst experiences in more than 20 years of online chatting with buyers and sellers. He not only fooled me by selling something different from the advertisement but he also refused any compensation or discussion about this.

One of my first questions was whether the board is really Brazilian Rosewood (Dalbergia negra), because I already own 4 Allevas and the only reason to buy another one is that wood, especially at this outstanding price he asked (4.700 EUR). He refused to check the statements which Jimmy always write onto the neck end. That would have made the situation 100% clear. Anyway he claimed it would be a Supreme because he paid as much as for a Supreme. See below.

Actually it is stated by Jimmy onto the neck end that the bass is indeed a Supreme but has a Jimmywood board which is in fact a blend of Dalbergia nigra and Dalbergia spruceana (Amazon Rosewood), tonally and aesthetically and pricewise totally different from pure Brazilian Rosewood. And - I could import that wood easily to EU and would of course prefer a new purchased one instead of a new one - at this price. Only Brazilian is nearly impossible to import to EU due to the CITES restrictions. Jimmy confirmed that Jimmywood is also used for Supremes but of course much less expensive.

After chatting about my questions for 2 days (end NEVER 70 questions - who is the liar ?) Antonio was tired of mailing and wanted to close the deal. I confirmed even if not all questions were answered though.

Now when the bass arrived I was of course annoyed when I read the statements in the neck pocket. Besides the board wood I was also surprised by the condition of the bass. It was clearly stated yet shown by blurry pics that the condition would be like new (besides one ding which was visible in the pics). That is definitely not true ! The bass has a belt buckle rash area on the back and thumb playing wear around the pickups. Several small dings and dongs all over the body. It does not really hurt me but if someone states "like new" it should be at least close to that.

Anyway - I made some investigation about the history of the bass and I found that the italian distributor of Alleva sold the bass as a Classic (not a Supreme) to an Italian player which sold the bass for 4.500 EUR to Antonio (Antonio confirmed this later). The bass was originally equipped with Jimmywood as a compensation for a late delivery - so Jimmy named it a Supreme. But in fact both players paid for a Classic... The distributor confirmed that a bass like this would be 5.200 EUR NEW.

Considering the mismatch between advertisement and facts I asked Antonio to offer a small discount - at least I would feel very bad if he fools me and even makes profit from that deal. So I shyly asked Antonio to give a 200 EUR discount (the difference between what he paid and what I paid) - which is a joke considering the price difference between the board woods. Not to mention the condition.

Antonio strictly refused any discount or rollback and even did not want to discuss anything. On top of that he shouted me I would ALWAYS ask for a discount after getting basses - which is another lie. I NEVER haggle with sellers because I usually don't have to ! The only deal where I also asked for a late discount was another Alleva which i bought from a player in Italy (probably a friend from Antonio, so he assumed that I ALWAYS ask for a discount). That Alleva RA had 5 big holes in the body (0,5 to 1cm wide and 3-5 mm deep ! which were not mentioned and not shown in the ad - it was also described as very good !).

I made countless successful deals in the past with players all over the world but these two sellers fooled me. You can see my feedback and reputation at talkbass, basschat and bassic as well as ebay and I never received or gave bad feedback. I sell my basses always fully as described and expect nearly the same fairness from other sellers.

Antonio is new to the market and he definitely does not feel responsible for what he is selling. I would never do any business or even chat with him and always recommend to be careful with those guys from Italy.

Decide by yourself who is a liar. I am ready to give further details via PM. I have nothing to add here.

Now sold

Bought a Alleva LG5 from Antonio. I never posted a negative feedback anywhere but this time I feel really fooled by the seller !

1) Condition of the bass was not as described: dents from Belt Buckle on the back and Thumb wear around pickup not mentioned, but clearly visible, the ad stated no dings without the one shownin the pic
2) Bass was offered with Brazilian Rosewood but in fact it has a Jimmywood board, which is expensive too, but much less worth than the promised Brazilian
3) Weight is 4.33 kg instead of 4.1 kg mentioned
4) Before the deal was closed he did not want to chat too much and also not to verify the written entries in the neck pocket (which afterwards had proven his statements false)
5) Return of the bass declined, partial refund delined, no sorry in even one sentence. Does not feel responsible for what he is doing. Stopped any communication after I mentioned my complaints.

No doubt: I will never do any type of business or communication with this seller again. The bass turned out to be a very good Alleva LG5 Supreme, but with a worse condition and config than expected and paid for. Very bad communication.

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Now in Germany ...

Hello all. Thanks for the comments so far. Having played the F Bass a lot in the last days I enjoyed it again so much that I now decided to withdraw it from sales.

Special thanks to Philou who reminded me how good this bass is...:-)

Still available

Exact weight is 4.55 kg

Exact weight is 4.55 kg

Better than me after 59 years :-)

By the way: instead of the case shown in the pics it will come with an original period correct brown Tolex case. That has seen better days and the handles and some latches are broken, but it still does its job.

F Bass BN5 Ambrosia Maple

Specs of this bass contain some very effective upgrades from standard:
Ambrosia Maple Top
Ash Body wings
Clear Oil finish
One-piece Maple Neck
Slim neck, small frets
Highly Figured Birdseye Maple Board, 24 frets
34,5 scale
19mm spacing at bridge
Black Hardware
Matching Pickup Covers
F Bass Preamp and electronics
Tara Labs wiring from pickups to preamp and from preamp to output jack

This is a wonderful BN5 with a very nice Ambrosia Maple Top which looks absolutely amazing. Excellent condition. Only some very minor signs of playing on the pickup tops.

Structurally perfect - everything works as it should. Frets show only very minor wear. Action is low and the bass balances well on the shoulder. The bass responds very articulated to the finger with a silky and organic sound.

Bass comes with a Protec Contego gigbag.

Just decided to withdraw this bass from sales. Thanks for looking.

Pics here:
[url="http://s934.photobucket.com/user/mrbassman_de/library/Basses/F%20Bass%20BN5%20Ambrosia%20Maple"]http://s934.photobucket.com/user/mrbassman_de/library/Basses/F%20Bass%20BN5%20Ambrosia%20Maple[/url]

Still available. Trade option added.

With tears in my heart I am selling my 1958 Precision Bass - one of the very first Fenders with 3-tone Sunburst. 100% original down to the screws.

Specs and soundfiles can be found here:

[url="http://andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=1014"]http://andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=1014[/url]

Nothing else to say. Bass plays and sounds wonderful !

SOLD

Pictures courtesy of Andy Baxter LTD:

I just had the chance to play this bass for a few hours and I can confirm that this is a very very good Alleva LG5. If it would not be so close to my own fantastic red LG5 in sound and playablilty this would be mine now. The action is set VERY low and the condition is very good besides the dings Nico exposed in the pics. These dings usually show up after a few hours of gigging on every Nitro bass so it is not surprising. The black finish is looking like a deep black piano finish - although it is obviously Nitro.

What I personally love on these older Allevas is the (for me) much nicer body shaping than Jimmy provides since 2010. To me it feels much more organic and comfortable.

Anyone who watches the market for an Alleva LG5: Deal with confidence. Nico is a highly recommended seller and a good player too!

You have PM

Kriss bought my Marleaux MBass 6 a few months ago. Super smooth deal, communication was fast and always supportive.

Highly recommended buyer...

All the best to you Kriss !

Hi Kriss,

You are right. The Elite specs were invented in the late 80s with the so called BT 5 Custom G model: 5pc-neck, 5-pc-body, neck-through. The difference between that spec and today's Elite spec are: 1) Glossy finish (today) vs. oil varnish (90s), serial/Parallel-switches (today), 18V-BMT-electronics (today) vs. 3-knob-Smith electronics (90s).

Temporarily the BMT model between 1993 and 1998 adopted the BT spec together with the invention of the 7pc-neck and the 7-pc-body. Later BMT models already had the current BSR body shape and the switches. Since 1998 the BSR Elite model and the BT Elite model have completely similar spec but the body shape. The last update came in 2002 when Ken introduced his newer 18V-electronics.

But the most important difference to my ears is the "real" Through-neck of the older BT and BMT models. The neck is visible through the whole legth of the body. Newer Elite models have a "toneblock" glued on the back of the neck - similar to Foderas, which is a cheaper way of production ;-). These older necks are fantastic for fast players as they are very slim. Newer necks are more chunky.

The weight of the bass is around 4,6 kg.

That happened 1966

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