LeftyJ

I wish they had kept the 60s body shape, which was ever so slightly more elegant and more compact. And a 70s style tummy cut would have been nice. Stole this from Talkbass, where someone put the outline of a JMJ over a '66. The current reissues are more bulky and bigger:

That would most often be the LA Custom Shop in the US Much of their Japanese high-end builds are outsourced to Sugi these days. The Japan Custom Shop is for the really top notch stuff. I'm really curious where these Visions models are being made!

I'm surprised it hasn't sold yet at that price!

I just came across your status update and replied there, but I'll repeat it here too (and I'll share the pic you posted there): For what it's worth, this doesn't appear to be a factory fretless (RS940) but a defretted RS924. A 940 would have no fretlines, and only tiny dot inlays near the edge of the fingerboard where the fretlines would have been, rather than inbetween fretlines. Maybe this helps lower the boundaries to have this neck refretted instead . Being a lacquered fingerboard there will be some extra work involved to do a tidy and invisible job. These are fabulous basses, I really enjoyed mine a lot when I had it, so definitely worth the effort! It was prohibitively heavy though, and nowadays I favour a narrower nut width.

That's brilliant! The tent, but also the drain pipes! Love it

Fame guitars and basses always used to be built by Mayones in Poland. I wonder if they still are!

No lefties, bummer! In fact, I couldn't find ANY lefty on their website. They used to be such a lefty-friendly company, with a wide range of instruments available in left-handed versions. It used to vary widely per market, the Dutch distributor had few interesting lefty models in their range but France got a huge range including the neck-through Artisan models that have always tempted me. I've owned an Artisan B4, an NTL-B FL (the most high-end acoustic series Cort had around 2000, very unusual and rare lefty) and still have a lovely, lovely MGM-1 Matt "Guitar" Murphy signature that's also quite rare.

Solid point.

That does look remarkably like the fonts on the Fender website. G&L's W's don't have the pointy bottoms.

Nice, and my second-favourite colour combo for a P, closely behind black + black 3-ply guard + maple board. Looks great!

There was, for a short time, also a range of Czech made MTD basses but they're rare to come by. I know at least the Grendel was part of that range, I don't know about other models.

Whoa, you could at least have included a NSFW warning in the title! That's stunning!

These look promising! Made by NBE in the Czech republic, in the same facility that builds the Euro Spectors.

That would make the new name for the series all the more confusing though. The old American Special and American Performer models were marketed as the entry level USA-made models, and it's true the American Professional Classic replaces the American Performer, but by using the Professional name they're suggesting these are on par with the American Professional II series, but with more vintage features. The difference in price between the Am Pro Classic and Am Pro II isn't that huge either. Now I would really like to see some neck heel and neck pocket name stamps (not that it would help much probably, because as the old moniker goes: one is made by Mexicans in Ensenada, and the other is made by Mexicans in Corona )

I've had a Fulltone Bass Drive for many years, I think it might match what you're looking for. It has a Tubescreamer-like drive, an additional boost with its own level control, and when switched to the "FM" setting (Full Mids) it doesn't scoop. It has no clean blend, and it sounds great to me. Works on both 9V and 18V, but at 18V the boost is... well, "boosted" quite a bit. I don't think it's currently in their range still, but it can be found used. They've fallen out of grace for a while after mr. Fuller had some debatable opinions on the George Floyd protests, that nearly killed the company entirely. Fulltone had to close their facility in 2022. They're on their way back now after teaming up with Jackson Audio in 2024.

First off: What a wonderful gift, these are great basses that punch well above their weight. Sire have quickly earned a reputation for well-built instruments with impressive fit and finish, and their necks with rolled edges are really comfortable. I'd say that's a really good choice! This is accurate. If the batteries were drained while in storage it may have faulty wiring, causing a short that engages the preamp even when no lead is plugged in. I would address that with Andertons too.

Well, considering it once looked like below, I think that price is wild.

Ha, TIL! All G&L's I've owned were older (my current ASAT Special is from 2001, it's already got a 4-bolt neckplate but still has the Bi-cut neck with compression style truss rod and bullet nut).

Metric on a US-made bass? I guess pigs can fly!

And what a disappointing gigbag at that! Fender can do better. I generally prefer gigbags over hardcases for portability and because they're easier to store, but having been spoiled by Mono I would be seriously disappointed to receive the one the Am Pro II Classics ship in.

Oh, them. Got it now.

Fender Japan, but made in Indonesia. Saw them, the line includes two signature guitars for the guitarists of Chilli Beans too (a Mustang and a Cyclone).

I dig the offsets (the Am Pro Classic Mustang, and before that the American Performer Mustang, is the only USA-made "standard" Mustang Bass currently available. Same goes for the Jaguar, if you don't count the Johnny Marr signature that's almost twice as expensive) despite them missing some classic features: the Mustang shape differs slightly from the old Mustang basses, and the Jaguar has a 3-way toggle and no rhythm circuit - but I'm pleased it does have a strangle switch instead of the Am Pro I's phase switch.

That reminds me of a keyboardist I once played with who, with a dead serious look on his face, suggested we use the band name "Crusty Seamen"