Sparky Mark

Agreed and I totally understand and respect that we all have our own preferences as to how we do business. Apparently BD didn’t ignore the email but was slow to respond for some reason? It may simply have preferred to close an immediate straight sale vs a less certain P/X delayed for a couple of days. I understand that too. When a deal worth several hundreds or thousands of pounds is important to me, I'll definitely want to speak with the dealer. I've dealt this way with Mark on many occasions with no problems ever since he opened BD.

Whenever I've bought anything from music retailers (Andy Baxter, Bass Direct, The Gallery, PMT, etc., etc.) I've always phoned them to confirm the deal, availability and offer a deposit to secure the item(s). I'd never leave it to email.

I bought one of these. It folds flat and can hold 40kg.

+1 My Mustang fits in this perfectly well, and I like that it's a Fender bag of good quality.

This made me laugh; less than 1% discount is considered a sale!

I assume you are referring to the strings being aligned over to the E string side of the neck? You should be concerned if you think that, in this instance, the E string will roll off the neck when playing. Realignment of the neck may or may not be easy, depending on how tight the neck pocket is. It could just be a matter of loosening the neck plate screws and moving the neck. However, my experience is that necks usually return to there initial position when the screws are re-tightened.

Beautiful bass congratulations. The original ad shows the spec.

When I removed the scratchplate from my 4003SW I was surprised how rough the routing was underneath. It looked like the bluntest bit had been used literally chewing out the cavities. It took me about 20 minutes with a sharp blade to tidy it to an acceptable level. I think the non lacquered walnut basses probably receive the lowest level of attention at Rickenbacker.

Glad it's sorted now. My money was mainly on your taller nut needing to be cut lower on the E side. Although your photo is a little out of focus it does appear to show the E string was significantly higher in the nut than mine. Another instance of dubious Rickenbacker final inspection.

Does this qualify as one pedal?

30+ years old = vintage

I've never been totally convinced about the real benefits of replacement bridges. In the 90's I did the usual high mass bridge "upgrades" to many of my Fender basses but ultimately went back to the original bent metal versions for aesthetics and authenticity reasons. Likewise, I've owned a 2018 Rickenbacker 4003SW for a few years and tolerate the original bridge shortcomings. The intonation and saddle height adjustments are laborious and a bit of a compromise, but the end result is acceptable. So I thought I'd always stick with the original design that I prefer the look of, even above the latest Rickenbacker variant. However, when a Hipshot replacement popped up on here I thought I'd see what gives. Anyhow, all I can say is that this bridge has transformed how the bass plays. The intonation and string height are now perfect and the bass just feels more "alive" somehow. Sustain is improved and there's a bounce to the strings which Hipshot describes as a benefit of this aluminium version. I would thoroughly recommend this bridge for the tonal and playing improvements, and the aesthetics have already grown on me.

I've just bought a bass bridge from Ian. All communications were prompt and clear. The bridge arrived exactly as described, superbly packed and in double quick time. Based on this I would happily deal with Ian again in the future. Thank you Ian.

Alternatively, seeing as my 61P was sold, you could just buy the Pino and have more than £18k left over. You've just saved another £10k! I should add that my advice isn't underwritten by the FSA.

Nice bass but that price is eye-watering! Someone could've got these two and still have nearly £8,000 left over :-

I bought an as new Musicman StingRay Old Smoothie via the website and a phone call. Everything as promised and expected. I've bought amplification from the website too, no issues. Always call them before buying or visiting just to confirm things. I'd recommend the Gallery.