Beedster

4 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

If you are going ahead, the advise I had was to obtain a manufacturers material data safety spec to negate much of the nonsense that US Customs will present you with.

This is not just good advice but is essential advice.

However, the fact that a manufacturer can provide the documentation doesn't mean that US Customs will accept it as fact. Also, as I found, not even the best instrument builders can always provide evidence as to - for example - the mother of pearl used in neck inlays was sourced from. I would suggest that you either get the owner to sort all of the processes from the US so that they get to deal with the fun, or you work with a UK builder/dealer who regularly ships to the US and who is a) therefore trusted by US Customs and b) familiar with the madness of US Customs 

33 minutes ago, Misdee said:

Alan Spenner and Gary Tibbs were and still are role models for me as a bass player

Gary Tibbs' bass line on Trash makes me fall in love with bass again every time I hear it, nothing special technically but perfect for the track, what bass is all about 👍

How did you listen to it, live, recorded, and if the latter, a trusted source? Could be a modded instrument with a bridge PUP or similar installed? I've tried guts and gut-a-likes on EUBs before without much success, even with decent PUPs. Only way you'll know is if you try for yourself though 👍

The fact that he owns them doesn't protect you from the hell of US Customs. If I had to send a bass to the US again I would convert the case into a boat and row the Atlantic to avoid dealing with both US Customs and the frankly unbelievable mess that US couriers make of dealing with US Customs. As an indication, I received 64 emails from UPS requesting information about the bass last time I did it

Just now, Happy Jack said:

 

No, I plan on taking a full-length mirror on stage with me and then standing just off-stage. 😎

I'm sure AI can do that for you Jack

In fact it can probably do the gig for you  

Pretty much everything from Rubber Soul to Abbey Road sounds SO much better on a Ric, irrespective of what Macca (or not Macca) actually played on the track 👍

8 hours ago, BaggyMan said:

As a way too ebay influenced (as in i really shouldnt have bought this many but ebay helped..a lot ) buyer/seller/collector/playerI have owned a LOT of basses (possibly over 200).  And i have a few sellers regrets in my 45 years of bassist shenanigans.  

So occasionally i land up re-purchasing basses previously sold.. 

 

But there are a few that I just dont see ever come up for sale...rarity or just held onto by happy owners..who knows?

 

Yamaha series 1 TRB 'slapcut'.  Awesome basses, Japanese build quality.  I had the rare Jazz pickup layout version. Owned it for 14 years and rather dumbly (is that a word?)  sold it.  Never seen that model since.  Dammit.

Any of the x series of the budget Yamaha BB's.  I have owned 4 and 5 string versions, managed to snag a 424x but you hardly see them for sale, they are brilliant.

Washburn Force 42.  Headless 80s bass.  Never seen one for sale since the 80s

 

As a collector i'd likely buy any of the above without even planning to gig them (although i do take the 424x out for the odd gig or two see below..)

Any basses you hanker after yet never see on the for sale board?

 

 

Love that pic @BaggyMan 👍

And in answer to your question.....

Modulus Sonic Hammer

Fretless Ric 4003

Lakland Decade

I love Dimarzio Precision PUPs, they have a lovely mix of clarity and grunt. But yes, a lot of wires to find a home for. Worth the struggle though 👍

Ha ha, I’m honoured Steve, that’s a winning combination of two very nice pieces of Warmoth at their very best and some nice components finishing it off. Also

possibly the most edible looking bass I can remember seeing 😀

I see the two dl=1 images albeit the second is rotated, can't see the other two at all

11 minutes ago, mcnach said:

I've had bigger volume drops (particularly on the higher strings) on standard basses (Stingray and Precision come to mind) which I just adapted to by plucking harder or softer, it becomes second nature quickly. So I suspect a compressor should work well.

 

 

Must admit I felt the same, E on Precisions and G on 'Ray especially so, never made the instrument unplayable, just had to modify my approach slightly 👍

I'm not sure that all of the words in this sentence were necessary......  

...and i'd like to have seen Mr Nifield say this face to face to the band themselves  

Just now, lemmywinks said:

 

 

It it is the same bass you can hear a big volume drop off on the low B, I can't hear any difference on the higher notes though.

It didn't seem that big to me but I'm happy to be proved wrong 👍

1 minute ago, tegs07 said:

^ This 

If it was a custom order my gut feeling is that the customer would have specified the make and model of the pickups. If the bass is a keeper then getting it put right will be far easier than chasing the luthier. My honest opinion is by the time you have jumped through all the hoops you will be sick of the sight of the bass. Even if the luthier agrees to fit new pickups for free, I doubt that they will pay for shipping and taxes to and from Belgium. It would be far cheaper and far less of a ball ache to get someone locally to do the work. It’s just wood. 

I was about to agree with this but realised @tegs07 was largely agreeing with me in the first place. But yes, this is 100% the route of least pain 👍

18 minutes ago, triplebass said:

Morning all, sorry for the delay, was playing the whole weekend.

 

Thank you for all your thoughts and info.

 

It is completely my fault for not taking enough time and thinking clearly when doing the trade, there's a reason behind it but it's a personal circumstance that has nothing to do with this.

 

So facts... it was a custom build, but still there's a bit of weirdness... it turns out the pickup maker did not know his product would end up in a 5 string bass.

Why would the luthier of the bass knowingly install something that is not going to do the job?? Because of the exact wish of the customer? Even though it will mean there will be a disfunctional bass out there representing that luthier? Why would an obvious problem be ignored by the luthier? Why would the customer knowingly order this kind of a tool if they were told in advance that it would not work? If it was all just a test, why wasn't it addressed when it was clear it doesn't work? Feels like someone's not telling the truth...

Last but not least... why would you drop this kind of a problem onto a fellow bassist? I always had great experience here, had to go the other way some time i guess...

 

I now know there's no claim option, so i'll go down the honest, open, diplomatic, way for now with the builder and see where it goes.. Don't feel like shaming and blaming, it is what it is, everyone played their part and that's it... I like the bass and i think it will sound great once it's put right. Let's see what are the options.

Thanks all for clearing up the legal aspect.

 

If it's the bass I think it is, the sound-clips - if they're honest - don't suggest a significant issue (by 'if they're honest' I mean that, as stated in the listing, there's no compression on the audio file)? I'm sure that while this is disappointing, it is easily resolved one way or another, good luck whichever way you go 👍 

9 hours ago, LukeFRC said:

Typically warrantee is to the original purchaser for a year or two for a clear manufacturing defect. If you're saying the pickups are too narrow it's a bit harder as the builder could claim it's a deliberate design decision... 

It gets murkier if it's a custom instrument - say I got someone to build me a bass, I might insist on having some kind of unsuitable pickups put in it, the builder might explain why not too but I go for it... then I sell the bass to someone else, why should the builder have any liability to a third person's opinion on my design choice? 

 

So if it's a production bass that's just had the wrong pickups stuck in it.... you might have a course to ask nicely for that to be corrected. 

If it's a custom instrument that as you say the person it was custom built for had no problem with, and your playing style means it is a problem - I don't think the original builder has any legal or moral reason to support you.

 

If this is the pink bass I'm guessing it is and you had bought it after seeing clear photos on a site like Basschat then I think caveat emptor might apply as sadly for you the issue you describe is clearly visible.

 

 

Yep, as I thought, it looks like the builder did what they were asked to do 'Custom made to my specifications, I received it in April 2024'

Been playing around with this......

... it's heavy at 5.4kgs but it really really works as a classic do it all P/J. The neck is really very nice if you like that wide and flat profile, and there is a nice tightness to the sound - possibly as the result of the rather hefty body mass - that remind me of my old Sadowsky P/J. The whole things works well, and I've always loved the DiMarzios, but I'm sure John @KiOgon can take some of the credit by providing the lovely VT/VT loom. £600 for the bass as is, which is a decent price for a bass of this quality. The keen-eyed among you will have seen that I'll need to sort a broken bridge screw and find some pickguard screws, so will be a few days before I could send 👍

31 minutes ago, BabyBlueSound said:

I do have a tendency of phrasing my stuff in unfortunate manners, but in reality I am less of an arse than I seem.

 

You and me both mate  

31 minutes ago, BabyBlueSound said:

I am not looking for an argument, I just have some very strong opinions about disgusting manipulators. I really, really, really f-ing hate gaslighters for personal history reasons

Fair points, perhaps shows how we all tend to pick out of a thread's core topic the elements that are personal to us 👍

17 hours ago, triplebass said:

Can anybody help with this...

I just reread the original post and noticed how recently this bass was built, which I didn't initially pick up (geddit....?)

Given that, I suspect it would be easier for people here to help if you provided more details e.g., the make and model, which would allow people here to advise on the technical side, for example which PUPs should be in the bass. Re the legal side, @RhythmJunky is probably correct in terms of warranty, and given it was built in 2024 this might still be a legally enforceable path you could take, but as @warwickhunt suggested, probably best to try diplomacy first!

But it sounds like you might have tried diplomacy and the builder has pushed back. So, if this is - as appears to be the case - an error in design or build, a little pressure applied on this forum would do no harm, whoever the builder is, it's likely a significant percentage of his market read this forum (although given it was a UK builder it's possible it was a custom order which might make things more problematic).   

Jazz body and Shuker neck sold 👍

They make a nice duo.....

I might have accidentally put this together also......

That's the Warmoth neck on the P/J body 👍

9 hours ago, Hellzero said:

Yep Chris, the Jazz Bass swamp ash body. 😉

 

No hurry, it's Saturday. 😊

4.0 Kgs

Very nice neck/body fit

Very resonant with a new set of TI Jazz Flats

...why do I get the sense I can guess the maker......?

9 minutes ago, triplebass said:

it was a private trade.

so i have no right even though it's a "hidden deffect"?

My claim would be with the maker of the bass as it seems they installed a PU that shouldn't be there. The bass is perfectly balanced acoustically, but not when plugged in, the B and G have a massive drop in volume.

Ouch, 4-string PUPs on a 5-string bass, that's a pretty amateur design feature.

Personally I would just get it sorted, if it was a private deal it's a case of do your due diligence or accept the risk so you can't really go back to the seller now, and if the manufacturer/builder was that inept in the first place I'm not sure I'd want the bass going back to them for a fix.

Assuming the PUP cavity will take the correct size 5-string PUP's I'd suck up the cost and replace it/them. At least you can sell the originally installed 4-string PUPs. Good luck