BassAgent

3 hours ago, SurroundedByManatees said:

 

One for the geeks

Aren't there only geeks in this topic?

Oh wow, that is gorgeous! Is it 60's or 70's bridge pickup spacing?

Took my TRB out for a spin. Wasn't disappointed.

14 hours ago, Bigwan said:

Really wish I was in a position to take this off you @ped. Best bass I've ever played was the black Skarbee Celinder that used to be featured at the top of these pages.

I owned that bass years ago and totally agree on that.

But this one...hoooo boy what a pretty bass. Good luck with the sale. 

Either a Marleaux Diva or a Celinder J Classic.

Gorgeous. Does need binding though.

On 24/01/2024 at 12:28, Jono Bolton said:

It's only been a month since I picked up my Vintera Telecaster Bass so I wasn't expecting any more incomings, but I spotted this online and the price was too good to pass up. A 2010 Squier Classic Vibe 50s Precision Bass in butterscotch blonde. I'd wanted one for a few years but they don't come up very often. It's in 9/10 condition with just a couple of tiny dings in not-very-visible places. I restrung it with a set of flats I had in my parts box and it plays very nicely and sounds pretty good to boot.

 

I had one of those a few years back and to my surprise it had a quarter sawn neck! Does yours have one as well?

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.

On 01/12/2019 at 14:17, Sibob said:

The Mono sleeve is too short for a Mustang, although fits my Serek shortscale (ie a stumpy body with a 2+2 headstock).

But yeah, the Gruv Gear Edge is the best I’ve found so far.

Si

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!

1 hour ago, TheGreek said:

TRBs must be (one of) the most under-rated, and consequently the most underpriced basses in the used bass marketplace. 

I don't play mine anywhere near enough but that's true of all of them. 

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.

On 24/12/2022 at 12:50, BassAgent said:

A few weeks ago, I played a bass that I had probably played in 2001 for the last time. At the time I was 11 years old and was looking for my first fretless bass. At the local music store they had two Yamahas (I really wanted a Yamaha because I already had a fretted Yamaha): an RBX270F and an amber TRB5IIF, which was quite a bit more expensive. I really liked the TRB, though, and réally wanted to have it. Unfortunately my parents found it too expensive at the time and I got the RBX which I really enjoyed for a few years.
Two weeks back I interviewed a bass player for my podcast. She has quite a nice collection, including a fretless amber TRB5II. I told her this story, and she said: well, I bought this exact bass around that time in that very shop. There weren't many of these basses around then (especially there) so chances are pretty big that it's the very same bass. It still felt...special. Somehow. 

So now, I'm trying to buy the bass that I wanted to own 21 years ago. I hope it's going to work out. That would be quite something.

It's here❤️

12 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Very nice, the A necks wasn’t standard ,and as far as I know were specifically ordered, not so many of them around , I missed out on a nice one a few years back 

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.

23 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

C necks until 67 68 then B necks, but I have seen a 67 B, pretty rare though 

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

22 hours ago, uk_lefty said:

Miami blue US Pro ii. Stunning colour, sounds great too.

 

 

 

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?

3 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Anyone ever seen a logo like this on a 65 L serial number Jazz , I’ve never seen it before 

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.