ead

Aidan very kindly sent me a spare Hipshot tuner to try on a bass to check for fit as there was some doubt about whether it really was a drop in.  Turned out that it wasn't and he has saved me a lot of grief so thanks very much.  What a top bloke.

NOW SOLD ELSEWHERE

2011 Ibanez G104 Grooveline 4-string bass in Deep Expresso, with hard soft-case

This is a genuinely rare bass being produced between 2011 and 2015 by the Ibanez custom shop in Japan (FujiGen) as part of the upmarket Prestige line of basses.  These instruments retailed for over $2,500 when launched, and the attention to detail is exactly what you would expect from a Japanese custom shop that produce such high-quality instruments.

This particular example is in excellent condition having been well looked after.  One of the best features of the bass is the way it balances both seated and standing.  This was one of the key design parameters and the slightly playful body shape contributes massively to this.  The neck is delightful to get around on and the Gotoh hardware is top notch too.

I have used some professional pics of this very bass as my skills in this area are very limited.  I can assure you that it is the same instrument and will happily provide my lame efforts if you would like some additional images of any aspect of the instrument.

There is plenty of positive comment on the internet about these basses (and also about the marmite body shape to be fair, but I absolutely contest the odd comment about having a thin tone; not the case at all).  I am happy to answer any questions you may have, and if you want to come and try the bass that is perfectly fine too.

Specifications

·      Body: Ash Top & Back with an Alder body

·      Neck: Wenge/Bubinga 5-pc with Titanium reinforcement rods and 6 bolts to the body

·      Fretboard: Rosewood, side dot position markers and 22 frets

·      Scale Length:  34” (864mm)

·      Frets: Medium Stainless Steel

·      Nut:  GraphTech Black TUSQ XL (38mm)

·      Neck Pickup: Ibanez CAP Sonic Arch passive

·      Bridge Pickup: Ibanez CAP Sonic Arch passive

·      Preamp:  Ibanez E4 with 3-band EQ (and EQ bypass switch)

·      Controls: Master volume / balancer / EQ toggle / 3-way EQ cut or boost: treble, mid, bass

·      Bridge: Tight-End Bass 4 with 19mm string spacing

·      Hardware: Cosmo Black

·      Included: High quality hard soft-case

I would really prefer collection if you are close by, but if you are not too far away I’d rather deliver the bass to you in exchange for some petrol money than send my courier.  Or happy to meet up somewhere too.

I've borrowed the BassBros pics from when I bought it as they are so much better than mine.  I have also included a pic of the bass at ead towers to prove that I really do own it!

To be fair, mine was a pretty new listing.

24 minutes ago, walshy said:

Thats the giveaway, they offer the full asking price and don't 'buy it now' so they get the chance to email/message  before paying. I get these fairly regular. I decline and send Reverb the link to chase up. They never do but I'll keep doing it with the hope someone actually does.

I contacted them via the help and support bit.  Once I got through a couple of chat bot questions I was in touch with a real peep who was really good.

What usually happens is that the buyer then claims the item never arrived and the money is whisked out of your account.

I have also logged this as a dodgy buyer with Reverb and they are apparently already under investigation.

Hi folks

Just a heads-up, I was made an offer for an item on Reverb at full value and the offer asked me to contact the buyer separately via email.  On Reverb the buyer is called Lerry Porrie.  The email address is [email protected] and is signed Kate Wales.  Weird as I don't think the royal family contained any bassists.

The email was the usual scam thing:

Thanks so much, I will be unable to physically pick up your payment because I work offshore, but after you have received it all, I will send a courier agent to do so. But as I've already said, I have no issue with the advertisement.
I will pay you once you are ready, though, and dispatch my courier agent once you have received your money, as PayPal is the only payment option I have available at the moment. Please remove the advertisement as soon as you can.
Please respond to me with the best time for collection, if you don't mind.

Simon has just purchased a bass from me.  Exchange took place at a secret location at or around Carlisle station where a coffee was consumed and a good chat had.  Lovely person and top BCer, deal in confidence peeps.

I can add to the hopefulness for you.  I finally managed to reacquire my old ACG fretless bass that I (stupidly) sold 12 years go.  I got it back last week.

This a lot to do with physics surely.  Depending upon the speaking length of the string you need to consider gauge and construction.  I'm sure tone woods and hardware play a part, but there are plenty of formulae knocking about the with give you guidance on tension for a given gauge of string on a given scale length.   String construction will then affect stiffness etc.

Then you have the pickups and the rest of the signal chain to consider.  I like a high pass filter to get rid of a lot of the really low rumbly stuff and than really helps to clear up what goes to the amp/cab.

Just to add to this very interesting thread and take a mild diversion, I too loved the idea of a Stingray but could never get on the preamps.  Totally me btw.  I stumbled across the SBMM Pete Wentz Stingray which is a passive bass with simple vol & tone controls and the pickup in wired in series.

Tried one out, loved the sound and then found a preloved one.  I have since added a ZeroMods thumbrest and now I have "my 'Ray".  I may change the tuners at some point, but it's not a pressing thing for me.

Could you expand on "not lightweight" please.  How heavy is the bass?

Back home now

Roundwounds () removed and TIs installed.  Most irritating of all I had to carefully reposition the knobs so that the little markers all pointed to 12 o'clock when everything centered and the volume on 11.  My OCD now satisfied.

3 minutes ago, bloke_zero said:

SEQ?

It's a stripped down filter pre-amp that ACG used to offer.  Vol/blend stack and two filter tone controls that you can tweak via internal pots.  Very cool and simple to use compared to the full-on filter preamps (which are excellent btw).

Yeah, I might keep my eyes peeled for an SEQ too.  I know where there is one in a bass I used to own (that may still be for sale), but whether the owner would be prepared to swap is another matter.

1 hour ago, eude said:

What preamp is in it now @ead as it started out passive, seems to be some stacked knobage going on now?...

It's an Audere 4-band system that I got from the US a while back before they stopped exporting to the UK.   I think it was Vol/blend; bass/treble; hi mids/low mids.  But you could get a bass/low mids stack and a treble/high mids stack which has a certain logic to it and I can't recall what I ordered.  Once it lands back at ead towers I shall reacquaint myself with it.

It worked very nicely for that bass although in an ideal world I would have like the East system of an active/passive tone knob.  Maybe a preamp swap might happen.

8 hours ago, Geek99 said:

You keep it in a stable ? It’s not a guitar, it deserves better than being p1ssed on by horses 

I have applied for planning permission to have my basses in my office at home but She Who Must Be Feared And Obeyed has yet to sign it off so I have to sneak them in one at a time 

1 minute ago, eude said:

That's brilliant my friend!

Yeah, it's been a search that has lasted at least 6 years and led me down many blind alleys.  So pleased to be able to have the bass back in the stable.

Yes, that's the one and I completely missed the post.  Thankfully @skelf is a complete legend and gave me the heads-up.

And now back in my hands.  At least it will be when it's delivered....

I think I might have found it with the help of Mr Cringean.  I'll let you know as soon as I see some pics...

Unreasonably excited about this.

1 hour ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I'd have this build:

 

A custom made 4 string, 28,6" scale, bass, with a slim modern C profile, bolt on, clear satin finish, 5 piece laminated Jatoba/black Ebony (just 2 relatively narrow layers of Ebony in between 3 wider layers of Jatoba) neck, with graphite rods enforcement and a double action truss rod, a tilted 2+2, gold plated tuning mechanisms, classic B.C Rich inspired, headstock, but overall slightly more narrow, and with the "devil horns" slightly shifted, so that the upper slightly larger "horn" is sitting a bit more forward than the slightly smaller and slightly retracted lower "horn", and a 24 medium jumbo stainless steel frets, 12" radius, figured Ebony, fretboard, with an ESP LTD F-204/F-1004 style inspired Mahogany body with a spalted maple top, in a transparent matte black burst finish, with a blood red solid circle figure with a black OM sign in the middle, placed approximately right above the bridge, and equipped with an EMG Geezer Butler reverse P pickup in the neck position, and in the bridge position a gold plated DiMarzio Relentless Middle reverse P pickup with a gold plated series/parallel switch, with an active stacked LPF/HPF tone filter control for each of the 2 pickups, and an active pickup blend control, equipped with knobs made of solid transparent red plexi glass encapsulated in hollow gold plated cylinders with a thin spiraling gold rib going upwards around them, gold plated steel mono rail bridge pieces with a string spacing of 17,5mm (or perhaps instead even a wammy/tremolo bridge with 17,5mm string spacing), and an accordingly more narrow neck, with a 38mm wide graphite nut.

 

Equipped with Elixir Nanoweb guitar strings of the gauges .074 - .056 - .042 - 030, and tuned to tenor bass, A standard tuning, as in the upper 4 strings of a 6 string bass tuned to regular B standard tuning.

 

So no real idea yet then 

Just acquired a set of tuners from Pete.  Easiest transaction ever, many thanks.

Sold elsewhere

Hi folks, back up for sale is my Yamaha Attitude Special; originally Surf Green refinished in Lava Red.  I am genuinely in two minds about this so I may withdraw this at any moment as I did earlier in the year.  However it really isn't getting the use it deserves and I would love it to go to someone who will use it.

I am the second owner of this bass from new.  The original owner bought it new, originally Sea Foam Green, and had it re-finished in a colour close to Lave Red which was one of the options for the full-fat Attitudes.  It was not a pro job and with the various scuffs acquired over the years, the original finish does show through in a couple of places.

The bass itself still plays and sounds great and has original hardware and electronics except the for the strap lock buttons.  The bass will come with a gig bag.

The neck is fairly slim with a 40mm nut, slightly bigger than a vintage style Jazz Bass but not as big as a traditional P.  It's very slick in the hands; the finish on the back of the 12" radius neck is nicely worn in and very easy to get around on. The fret condition is fine with only light wear.  The neck is straight and the truss rod works fine.  The body is light and lively but still well balanced against the neck.  

The pickup combo and electronics is fairly unique:  You get a standard P pickup with its own volume knob but no tone knob, as well as the signature big passive humbucker in the neck.  This has a separate volume and a tone control.  Basically, you can start off with a juicy, growling P-style tone, then use the neck pickup to dial in a whole world of extra fatness and low-end heft.

There is a sticker on the bass that Mr Sheehan had on his bass that I also believe is no longer available.

The specs are:

·       Alder body

·       Split single coil and passive humbucker.

·       Maple, 1-piece Neck 34" scale, 12" radius

·       Finish - Lava Red (was Surf Green)

·       Body - Alder body

·       Fretboard - Maple

·       Weight - 4.0kg (8.75lbs)

·       Nut width - 40mm

·       Pickups & electronics – All original

Looking at recent sales, the relative scarcity of these basses and bearing in mind the re-fin, I think that the current asking price is fair.  In order that you can see and hear what you're buying I would much prefer collection or to meet up and hand over in person if at all possible, but shipping may be an option and would be for you to organise.

I prefer the ZeroMod option as less in your face for me, YMMV obs.  So, in the son titles theme, "Always Thumb Fin There To Remind Me"

1 minute ago, BassAdder60 said:

In the U.K. .. rip box open the moment courier has dropped it off !

 

Never had any issue with any guitar or bass or amp for that matter 

Me neither.