LeftyJ

I love how understated and elegant that looks! And I'm an absolute sucker for olive wood. I always drool at those cutting boards they sell at Xenos and Dille & Kamille here (Dutch people will understand ). Beautiful bass! 

I'm a bit put off by the lack of a fingerboard radius and the filter pre - but I guess mostly due to never having tried either of those! I'd love to have a go on one some day. 

I had a Warwick Streamer LX shipped to me in just its gigbag, with an old t-shirt wrapped around the headstock. The shipping label was stuck to the gigbag itself, with no extra tape to keep it secure. That was quite the heart attack when it was delivered to my workplace. I didn't have the wits to ask the driver to hang around for a second while I inspected the bass, so he was gone in a heartbeat. Luckily it had survived intact, and it's one solid chunk of bass! Well, except for the neck pickup which turned out to be dead, but that was unrelated to the (lack of a) packaging job. 

Will they be renaming it to Deluxe Reverb or Twin Reverb now? 

I love the black pickguard, really adds to the 1970s vibe. You do you, though!

I would recommend screwing the original pickguard to a wooden board to prevent it from shrinking or warping. That way you'll keep it nice and tidy, and you can always put it back on. I thought only old celluloid pickguards were prone to this, but I learned the hard way that even a modern Stingray 5 pickguard will warp and bubble up over time when the tension is off 

Edit: ...and then I read the post before mine and saw that you're leaving it as is. I hadn't bothered reading page 2 yet. Oh well!  

On 15/04/2025 at 10:11, LeftyJ said:

The most recent one was a 24 hour sale on April 6th, but I'm sure their next mailing will be along shortly 

Well, that didn't take long:

"Thanks again for being an Italia Leather Straps customer! As a way of saying thank you, we are sending you an exclusive promo code good for Buy One, Get One Free Pricing plus an additional bonus discount!

Add any two straps to your shopping cart. As you checkout, enter the promo code 418BONUS. The cost of the second strap will be removed from your total plus an additional bonus amount.

Need just one strap for now? Add any single strap to your shopping cart and enter the promo code 418SINGLE during check out.

Promo codes are valid for 24 hours."

https://italiastraps.com/collections/all

4 hours ago, LeftyJ said:

 

Not so sure about that. She worked as a cardiology research nurse for the last 21 months, so it may also be related to her work interest. 

Actually I totally mistranslated "cardiology" in my mind as being cancer-related. D'oh! It is of course heart-related. 

18 minutes ago, Steve Browning said:

The link is to a MacMillan tribute, so I guess we can assume how she passed.

 

https://samanthamargerison.muchloved.com/

Not so sure about that. She worked as a cardiology research nurse for the last 21 months, so it may also be related to her work interest. I see on her LinkedIn she was forced to give up her job as an ICU nurse because of a lower back injury. I figured there might be more on her X-account, but I can't read it as I don't have one. For those who do, it's https://x.com/samiam_uk

Wow, did not see that coming. That's sad 

EBS make a nice reverb specifically for bass, the Dynaverb. It's had a few updates through the years, and it's fairly expensive but can be found used for decent prices. It doesn't offer a low cut, only a passive tone control that cuts the treble. It is voiced specifically for bass though. 

I've been using Italia Leather straps for a long time. Unlike what the name suggests, they're actually made in California 

They come in 2 widths (2.5" and 4") and 2 lengths (37-49" and 42-54") so they fall just a little short of what you're looking for. 

They only sell directly though, and there will be import duties when having one shipped to the UK. They're expensive at around 100-110 USD per piece. That said, they often have sales (for returning customers, but the weblinks and discount codes to the sales can be used by anyone) like free shipping, buy-one-get-one-free or something along those lines. The most recent one was a 24 hour sale on April 6th, but I'm sure their next mailing will be along shortly . That's my one gripe with the company: they keep spamming your mailbox with deals. You can easily opt out, and I really should because I already have 8 at this point...

16 hours ago, AlexDelores said:

Yeah but it’s only a 4 string with no 5 string option. 
 

Sorry, I meant that I’m surprised they haven’t jumped on the SS 5 string gap rather than the SS as a general rule. 

Ah, makes sense now! Yep, missed opportunity. 

2 hours ago, AlexDelores said:

Yeah, all very good points. 
 

I think just as mentioned above that as SS’s are having their moment, I’m surprised that a brand like Sire hasn’t jumped in with a decent entry level bass. Especially when you can see it’s been done by Ibanez already, so it can be achieved. 

While not exactly priced as an entry level bass, they do have been making the U5 for a few years now, which sells for about 400 GBP.

10 minutes ago, NancyJohnson said:

I hope you're happy.

LOL

Most high mass bridges are made of some type of zinc alloy (usually some form of ZAMAC - Zinc, Aluminium, MAgnesium and Copper - with zinc being the main component at over 90%). It's popular because it has a fairly low melting point and is easy to cast. But of course it also has mythical tonal properties 

15 hours ago, Dood said:

Thank you, I’m hoping that if the price of these is a guidance, the base and. Saddles are also made from brass, or steel, but that information seems to have been omitted from the website. I’ve communicated with Dr Lars himself in the past, I’ll send a message when I’ve narrowed the options down.

 

Cheers!

I'm pretty sure on the Schaller 3D the base and saddles are made of a zinc alloy, and only the rollers themselves are brass.

The Power Jazz Bass Special had model number 27-9000 if that helps. There's a PDF scan of the original user manual on Fender's website that pops up as one of the first results when you Google search for "fender 27-9000", but none of the spec sheets mention the bridge type. 

On 07/04/2025 at 22:11, whynot said:

Thought I'd share a photo of my 32.5 scale lefty Sandberg. I'm not the original owner. Lovely slim neck and reasonably lightweight.

Yep, kinda regret not snagging that! But with the post B-word situation the added VAT and import duties would have been no joke. 

Someone in the Netherlands is selling two (!) Peavey TB Raxx preamps:

https://link.marktplaats.nl/m2254244925

Ad says they're already on hold, but not sure if that's about both. Same seller also has a H&K Fortress preamp with poweramp and floorboard for sale. 

Ibanez always sell a 28.6" set, for their Mikro basses (GSRM20). 

Briefly had a Fender Japan '57 P reissue that I really didn't get along with. I didn't like the fat and wide neck, the very lightweight basswood body, or the very dry and thumpy tone even with fresh roundwounds. Sold it to someone on here who loved it, and had a gold anodized aluminium pickguard made for it (try finding those in lefty) for more authentic looks. I don't have pics of it anymore, but just imagine your typical 2TS Precision with a maple neck and board 

I had two Carvin LB75's for a while that I also really didn't get along with. Both were silly cheap and really well-built and comfortable to play, but the tone was sooo... bland. Just meh. Didn't really care for the looks either. They weren't bad basses, just very uninspiring and dull. 

I paid just 250GBP for the black one (i think here on Basschat) and 350 for the flamed walnut one (on Gumtree). The black one was all stock, and the better of the two. The flamed walnut one had its neck stripped of its lacquer, slightly shaved down and refinished in tung oil. Funnily enough I sold both to the same guy, with a few years inbetween . I bought the black one back at one point to try again, but quickly sold it again for all the same reasons. 

Could this have something to do with the switch from 33 7/8 to 35" scale? Or were all of the early ones 34" and did they only switch to 35" with the series II? 

Definitely the same bass! Wow. 

11 hours ago, Pirellithecat said:

Great!  That's the answer!  Works.   Having said that I think that the Ashdown preamp rather compliments the Ashdown power amp ...... putting the Digbeth in as a replacement, isn't as pleasant as using it at the front end, even with the Ashdown Pre flat or the EQ turned off.   But many thanks!

When plugged into the FX return you can adjust the Ashdown EQ all you want, but it isn't in the signal chain because you've bypassed the Ashdown's preamp section. So it has 0.0 effect. If you want to make changes you'll have to use the Digbeth's EQ controls 

I haven't had an Ashdown in years, but when I had an ABM300 Evo II C210T I always thought it sounded very boomy and needed quite a cut in the low frequencies to work for me. Especially with a 5-string. Not sure if that's the preamp voicing or the amp as a whole, but I could imagine it being the latter. 

12 hours ago, Pea Turgh said:

I reckon a scalloped neck from a 5 string (but only put 4 strings with a wider spacing) would go great with that.

I've got a great idea for a headstock logo too! Quick, where's my sharpie...

13 hours ago, FugaziBomb said:

I always wonder if these passive music man models are successful for the company in terms of sales. It just seems so weird to me to take a Stingray bass and strip it of the things that make it special - the preamp and the humbucker.

Some early Stingray prototypes had a reverse P pickup in the MM pickup position. So indeed absolutely nothing like on the Joe Dart shorty, but it's not weird either. 

Not too familiar with PayPal (haven't used it in years, I only had it for my eBay ventures and it's been well over 10 years that I last used that). How is a Friends & Family payment different in terms of buyer protection?

On 30/03/2025 at 03:04, GR7G5TER said:

Explains why Mr Bax' Linked profile states currently looking for opportunities.

Yes, Jochanan Bax was fired from his position of CEO in January - by his brother and FIL. He'll possibly be looking into buying back the company though.