BassAgent

Last weekend I got a call at 3:30 if I had something to do that night. I didn't. So I got a bunch of chord sheets and did a Bruce Springsteen tribute show with no preparation. Brought the 1970 Jazz and CS 64 Jazz. Pretty satisfied.

Is 500 quid a beginner-level price point?

They look like someone made a Stingray but did an oopsie with the CNC machine.

Well yes except it isn't. I carry my Mustang in the guitar sleeve (which I bought for my Telecaster) and it's a teensy weensy bit tight around the top but otherwise fits just fine.

You might recognize it: you crave for a certain bass, even if you know it's not meant for you. You don't like it, you'll never use it, it doesn't fit in your arsenal or some other reason. But still, you know you want one. I have that with fretted Stingrays. I know I don't use a Stingray in the bands I play in. I've owned a USA Sterling, which I really admired for the build quality and playability. I like their looks. I basically like everything about them, but still I won't buy one. I think. I think I should. But I don't want to. It's weird.

It's a TRB 5IIF with a story.

Let's revive this topic!

Well yes and no: the prices are going up in recent years. They're around 700-1000 euros now, sometimes even more. But around 13 years ago I struggled to sell mine for 450...

The year is 2001. 11-year-old me is at the local music shop to buy my very first fretless bass. There are two available. One is a Yamaha RBX270F, basically the fretless version of the RBX170 I started out on, 2 years earlier. The other one is an amber coloured Yamaha TRB 5IIF I instantly fall in love with. Even at my age I immediately feel: this is it. This is the one. I want this bass. But the TRB is over twice as expensive as the RBX and the RBX is also pretty cool (because it’s black, you know how it goes). So I got the RBX. No problem, I’m happy with my bass. Two years later I buy my first fretless Fender bass. The wish for a TRB was still there. I had a fretted one (also amber), I had a defretted version of the TRB I (the one with the slap cut), but never that one. The amber coloured, fretless one. Fast forward to late 2022. I visit Dutch bass player Phaedra Kwant for a second episode of my podcast Basgasten. We chat a bit after the recording, and happen to stumble upon the subject of the fretless TRB. She says “well, I have a fretless amber coloured TRB that I bought from that very shop around that time. And I still have it.” So she gets the bass and hands it to me. And I feel immediately: this is it. The one that got away. So I ask Phaedra to pleeeaaase think of me first should she ever sell it. And then it’s December 2023. I get a text message: “Hey man! How’s life? I’m seriously considering selling the fretless TRB. Are you still sentimentally interested?” And so, this morning, I went to Phaedra’s studio and take home the bass I wanted to take home almost 23 years ago. And it’s still as amazing as it was 23 years ago.

The year is 2001. 11-year-old me is at the local music shop to buy my very first fretless bass. There are two available. One is a Yamaha RBX270F, basically the fretless version of the RBX170 I started out on, 2 years earlier. The other one is an amber coloured Yamaha TRB 5IIF I instantly fall in love with. Even at my age I immediately feel: this is it. This is the one. I want this bass. But the TRB is over twice as expensive as the RBX and the RBX is also pretty cool (because it’s black, you know how it goes). So I got the RBX. No problem, I’m happy with my bass. Two years later I buy my first fretless Fender bass. The wish for a TRB was still there. I had a fretted one (also amber), I had a defretted version of the TRB I (the one with the slap cut), but never that one. The amber coloured, fretless one. Fast forward to late 2022. I visit Dutch bass player Phaedra Kwant for a second episode of my podcast Basgasten. We chat a bit after the recording, and happen to stumble upon the subject of the fretless TRB. She says “well, I have a fretless amber coloured TRB that I bought from that very shop around that time. And I still have it.” So she gets the bass and hands it to me. And I feel immediately: this is it. The one that got away. So I ask Phaedra to pleeeaaase think of me first should she ever sell it. And then it’s December 2023. I get a text message: “Hey man! How’s life? I’m seriously considering selling the fretless TRB. Are you still sentimentally interested?” And so, this morning, I went to Phaedra’s studio and take home the bass I wanted to take home almost 23 years ago. And it’s still as amazing as it was 23 years ago.

It's here❤️

I even seem to remember I have a J. Torres neck on my Precision. It's a fantastic neck, especially after I had one of NL's best luthiers refret it.

Is this the right time to say my 71 P has an A neck?

Lovely colour! Is the protective film still on the pickguard and pickups a conscious choice or more of a "ah yeah that's something I still have to do" kind of thing?

That's because it has nothing to do with a Fender logo. Every single thing about it is wrong. The font, the spacing, the place on the headstock, everything.

They don't fit anymore.

Still really dig the colour of my Sadowsky:

Yes, and that would also make it a bass with Fralin pickups. Pretty darn good basses, those early Skylines.

1977.

It is. Also looks like a Korean made bass, so before 2008, possibly still with the Fralin pickups.

I have not and honestly, I don't really care anymore. It's a great bass so I'm over the look of the headstock.

It is very skinny, it is an A-neck

Can't believe I've never shared this photo. 1966 Jazz - refin (very old), refret, no case 1971 Precision - pretty old refin, refret, original case, no original covers 1970 Jazz - refret, refin, new pots, non-original case Absolutely pretty bleedin' fantastic instruments, all three. The blue Jazz just got a big restoration (new frets, shim, new neck screw holes), the white one has the best neck I've ever played.