Shaggy

Mixed feelings about this.   It's incredibly clever, and has made a lot of peoples dreams come true in being able to see (arguably) the greatest pop band in history in their heyday, on stage.   ABBA have always been upfront that the main reason trey won't play live again is because they want to be remembered as they were, and they clearly feel this is the best way to make a comeback whilst still staying true to that aim.   You have to respect them for that, and its not as if any of them need the money.  Nor is it laziness; B & B at least have never stopped working hard in music.

But personally, I'd far rather see the genuine oldies on stage, giving it what for and enjoying themselves.  Blimey, if the Stones can still do it, anyone can.....

What an amazing score.  That sunburst really glows 😎

PM’d

6 minutes ago, Bassman666 said:

In all honesty I'd imagine this is nowhere near one of their custom shop instruments, however it's a very very nice bass for the money. They're made in Indonesia, probably (I assume!) in a factory that makes many other brands. The burl top as far as I know is a veneer/actual wood and not a graphic. It's a lovely bass that is great as is, or would be a brilliant base for modding. I planned to fit an East pre and some dimarzio pickups along with some gotoh tuners. However a house move and too many impulse buys have put an end to my plans 😂 

Thanks for info 👍. I’d assumed at that price it had to be Far Eastern made, but none the worse for that - in fact my old Eagle was affectionately known as “wonky” as the “R” headstock logo was a bit squiff - which would probably never happen in Indonesia!  

Always loved the Mockingbird bass since seeing Phil Lynott playing one (in fact his used to be owned, and still may be, by a member of BC).   Thinking of trying the “dark side” of 5 string once more after several failed attempts over the years, and this would be ideal.....🤔

On 19/05/2022 at 12:55, Cosmo Valdemar said:

My '76 Series. Love it. My dream bass since I was 15.

I got it for an excellent price, but I'm still coming to terms with owning something so valuable...

 

 

 

 Really beautiful, and so nice to see some of the older 'bics in recent posts.   Mine's likewise a '76 series 1, long-scale with birdseye maple facings, marked as an export model.  A couple of gratuitous pics, which I've no doubt posted previously..

That looks like a hell of a lot of bass for the money - I used to own a US Custom Shop NT Eagle, but know nothing about this particular range so hope this isn’t a stupid question; but is the buckeye burl top a wood veneer, or printed “wood effect”?

16 hours ago, three said:

Little to report other than I'm considering having my fretless fretted - that way it would get much more use.  It's just sat in a mate's studio at present.  I still play fretless but could get by with something a bit less elaborate.  This all might be a bit nuts and I've certainly not convinced myself yet.  A look at that lovely unmarked board certainly makes me think twice

 

It’s your bass of course, and I can fully understand why you’d do it, but to me that would be like putting a brassiere on the Venus de Milo......😢

I’ve owned 3 Wal Mk.1’s and they’ve all had those crack lines in the poly finish on the rear of headstock “volute ” area.   Seems to be a Wal thing!

Lovely bass - if there’s a solid colour that suits a Wal it’s definitely black....😎.   Bump and GLWTS 

Real bargain - I gig my FNA and LX Streamer Jazzman over far more expensive boutique basses I own.   Worth pointing out the OP bass is German built.   If there is a weakish point it’s the pickups, as I believe the preamp is a very decent Seymour Duncan unit - I changed the p/ups in my Jazzman fir a Nordstrand Bigman 4 and Bartolini b-axis Jazz, but the original MEC’s are decent enough.

Lovely finish and wood facings on this one, and I think the “FNA” Corvette body ones are fairly rare too........GLWTS 👍

Watching final.........😎

Utter shite so far apart from Lithuania.   Presenters have to be most embarrassingly bad ever.

2 hours ago, Beedster said:

Hope all's OK John?

 

 

Greg, if ever a bitsa had your name on it...........  

Spot on Chris, and I reckon if there was a bass to tempt you back to the dark side it’d be this one!  Actually this is the image of the first ever bitsa I built, circa 1982, at least as far as neck and body go.   Then I ruined it by putting a DiMarzio Model One in the bridge position, to try to make it sound like a Wal (it didn’t 🙁)

Unfortunately I’ve already got 3 lovely fretlesses that aren’t getting played. 

Still, I wish someone would buy this quick before I do - just a short spin down the M4 from me too.....🤔

55 minutes ago, oldslapper said:

Hey @Shaggy looks like one piece 

It is indeed, which means it’s a quality aftermarket neck - could be Allparts or WD Music.

A bitsa after my own heart that is 👍 - some lovely grain on that ash body, looks to be one-piece too. 

Is the neck / fingerboard a single piece of maple (as ‘70’s Fender) or separate fingerboard?

Bought something non-bass from Brian; smooth easy deal with great communication; item sent off pronto and superbly packed.🙂

Definitely one of BC’s good guys - deal with in complete confidence. 👍

Superb basses; I used to have a fretless one.    Really individual styling and fantastic build quality; Guild had access to top notch tonewoods in the ‘70’s (as the pics show)

Buy with complete confidence from Brian 👍

I’d never heard about the Hofner connection either

Only seen them in sunburst or natural before, always with really nicely flamed maple backs.

I just have to know what the”Ninja boost” pedal switch does........???.🦹🏻‍♂️

Bought my Ibanez MC900 new in Hesseys of Liverpool, Oct 1979 - £200 with a non-Ibanez hard case.

1 hour ago, Quin said:

Thanks for the responses! change of topic might sound a little weird, but I want one of theses as a kind of poor mans alembic. i know they dont really sound the same but i have a washburn eagle and a westone thunder iii from the same time and i like the japanese 80s quite a bit so far. But I do have a possibility to buy an Alembic Spoiler from 1988, but it would cost me around 2600€. I know prices for alembics have gone up but is this worth it? it does have a nice mahogany/flamed maple top

If you can stretch to the Spoiler I’d say go for it, as ‘bics really do have that special “extra” quality, and you’d pay the same as that these days for a ‘70’s Fender or MM Stingray.

Or if not, to be honest I’d be looking for a nice old Jaydee - boutique hand-built, very ‘Alembic-ish”, and can still be sometimes had for not too much moolah

Edit: sticking with vintage Japanese; the Kawai  F2B was effectively an Alembic series 1 copy - I’ve no experience of them but owners seem to love them, and they generally go for around the same as an Ibanez MC900

3 hours ago, FinnDave said:

....... Likewise harmonica players.

 

 

Bolan was an unfulfilled genius; unfortunately the image-making rather took over from the music, but had he lived who knows what he would have gone onto create.  I’ll always respect him also as an early supporter of punk / new wave.

I really love some of his more offbeat stuff, eg:

No experience of Aria SB’s, but they seemed to be the more ubiquitous of the two in mainstream music in the early ‘80’s.

The Ibanez Musician MC900 is the only bass out of a crazy number owned that I ever bought brand new.  Beautifully constructed, really nice to play, but I didn’t bond with it for whatever reason; I think I just found the tone a bit bland and characterless.   Probably if I’d tried it with other amps and strings I’d have found the combination that suits (being only 18 at the time I was pretty clueless....)  - I know it’s one of the favourite basses of Dave Swift (Jools Holland’s band), think he has a few of them.

When I finally was able to acquire an Alembic S1 I realised it was everything I’d wanted the Ibanez to be, but I know that’s raising the stakes to a whole new level!

15 hours ago, Marcray said:

This bass was just sold by Bass Bros.  But they couldn’t answer the question I’ve always had about Severin’s Wal.  He used one on “Nocturne”, but it was black and had a natural color headstock.  Then this one showed up when he appeared on The Tube promoting “Hyena”.  So was this bass the Nocturne bass with (possibly) a new custom neck?  No one seems to know.  I remember an interview in Modern Musician when he talked about no longer using the Wal(s), but I don’t remember if it was actually plural.  
 

On a somewhat related subject, although Wal’s have an almost legendary reputation, it’s hard to find a player from the early days of the company who still use their old Wal, or used it for a an extended amount of significant time.  Though I’m sure there are examples.  

I think Mick Karn was still using his until the end (the recordings with Japan were mainly with a Travis Bean of course), though in general I’d agree with you re early Wal players moving onto other basses.

I’ve only seen pics of Severin with the black headstock Wal - I’m sure the provenance for the OP bass is lost in the mists of time.....

Really superb pickups - usual Bart clarity, but more punch and growl than the usual ceramic fully enclosed Barts.  I upgraded the neck p/up in my Warwick Streamer LX Jazzman with one, and was blown away by how much the tone was improved. GLWTS 👍

I use Tannoy Mercury M1’s for my hi-fi, which are just ridiculously good for the size.......👍