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Completing your lefty collection


uk_lefty

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So looking through people's family photos there's some amazing lefty basses out there from vintage classics, great value brand new instruments under £150 and everything in between. I'm on 5 basses at the moment but there's a few more I'd love to try. I thought it could be good if we list out the basses we would love to try and if someone has one they tell us about it... Not for the purpose of buying and selling but just to know about them... So the basses I'd love to get my left hand on are:

Washburn status, I love headless basses but found the Hohner B2A string spacing too tight. I also like the idea of headless but with a bit of body rather than a cricket bat. 

Hofner violin bass. I will have one, one day but don't have use for it in my bands. 

Epiphone Jack Cassidy. Very, very tempted for one of these. 

Fender Precision Elite from the 80s. The double P pickup with white plastic covers and gold hardware. There's something about these that I love the look of having seen one in a music shop in my teens. 

Harley Benton PB50. I might get one on order before Brexit... I like the 50s P style and I don't have a P bass at the mo. 

Westone thunder iii? the double P version. 

Any kind of flying V bass because... Why not? 

Gibson SG Bass. Very very nearly bought one years back but didn't think I needed it. Sensible decision but, you know! 

Sire, loved the vintage V7 I had but felt guilty about the amount I spent on a bass so sold it. Now really want a Sire again. Any Sire. They're just such great value basses and so usable in almost any scenario. Tempted by the PJ. 

Fender Telecaster bass. Would love to get one of these, even if they brought out a new version. Whether it's a pickup config with a single giant chrome humbucker at the neck, two humbuckers or a single coil P pickup, I just want one. 

 

Edited by uk_lefty
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I don't have a lot of wishes at the moment. I'm really happy with my Status S2 Classics, followed closely by my MIJ '75 Jazz Bass RI and my Ellio Martina Forza 5. The only thing I would really love to get my hands on are a cool shortscale (come on Fender, give us back a lefty Mustang already!) and a bass with fanned frets. I would love to try a Dingwall NG3 5-string or something along those lines, I've been intrigued by them ever since I first heard of Dingwall. 

And if Fender won't deliver, I'd be happy to settle on one of these by Atelier Z. Cool Competition Mustang looks, but with a very solid Hipshot B-style bridge and active 2-band electronics. 

babyz4pj.jpg

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1 hour ago, LeftyJ said:

I don't have a lot of wishes at the moment. I'm really happy with my Status S2 Classics, followed closely by my MIJ '75 Jazz Bass RI and my Ellio Martina Forza 5. The only thing I would really love to get my hands on are a cool shortscale (come on Fender, give us back a lefty Mustang already!) and a bass with fanned frets. I would love to try a Dingwall NG3 5-string or something along those lines, I've been intrigued by them ever since I first heard of Dingwall. 

And if Fender won't deliver, I'd be happy to settle on one of these by Atelier Z. Cool Competition Mustang looks, but with a very solid Hipshot B-style bridge and active 2-band electronics. 

babyz4pj.jpg

I would love one of these!!

If I knew they existed before I sprung for my Jake I'd have had one of these hands down

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On 12/11/2020 at 06:58, uk_lefty said:

So looking through people's family photos there's some amazing lefty basses out there from vintage classics, great value brand new instruments under £150 and everything in between. I'm on 5 basses at the moment but there's a few more I'd love to try. I thought it could be good if we list out the basses we would love to try and if someone has one they tell us about it... Not for the purpose of buying and selling but just to know about them... So the basses I'd love to get my left hand on are:

Washburn status, I love headless basses but found the Hohner B2A string spacing too tight. I also like the idea of headless but with a bit of body rather than a cricket bat. 

Hofner violin bass. I will have one, one day but don't have use for it in my bands. 

Epiphone Jack Cassidy. Very, very tempted for one of these. 

Fender Precision Elite from the 80s. The double P pickup with white plastic covers and gold hardware. There's something about these that I love the look of having seen one in a music shop in my teens. 

Harley Benton PB50. I might get one on order before Brexit... I like the 50s P style and I don't have a P bass at the mo. 

Westone thunder iii? the double P version. 

Any kind of flying V bass because... Why not? 

Gibson SG Bass. Very very nearly bought one years back but didn't think I needed it. Sensible decision but, you know! 

Sire, loved the vintage V7 I had but felt guilty about the amount I spent on a bass so sold it. Now really want a Sire again. Any Sire. They're just such great value basses and so usable in almost any scenario. Tempted by the PJ. 

Fender Telecaster bass. Would love to get one of these, even if they brought out a new version. Whether it's a pickup config with a single giant chrome humbucker at the neck, two humbuckers or a single coil P pickup, I just want one. 

 

For me, it's not too dissimilar - in order of "want"

1. Stingray - most likely an SUB as there's no way I could spring for a US one any time soon

2. Sire V7 - I have to see what the fuss is all about!

3. An Ibanez - because I've never owned one so far

4. HB PB-50. Although the weight is a concern.

5. To echo LeftyJ, a reissued Mustang bass - Even a Squier CV or a HB job would do the trick for me... I won't hold my breath though!

6. If such a thing existed, a Precision Lyte a la Duff. White with black headstock!

Edited by rasher80
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23 minutes ago, LeftyJ said:

Good call. I would love one in Lake Placid Blue with matching headstock and rosewood fingerboard. 

Oi, she's mine!! That's the colour combo I'm drooling over! 

I had the natural body, maple board vintage 5er. Outstanding bass, especially the preamp, I never got my head around active electronics before having that bass. 

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3 hours ago, rasher80 said:

For me, it's not too dissimilar - in order of "want"

1. Stingray - most likely an SUB as there's no way I could spring for a US one any time soon

When we are all vaccinated or however the world decides to right itself, if we are nearby you can have a go on mine. It's just so, so easy to play. While I "prefer" a jazz bass for playing at home I just think the Ray is the ultimate live bass. 

16052644881701389133831031460426.jpg

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14 hours ago, rasher80 said:

@uk_lefty

When I thought about it, quite a few of the "Britpop" bands I grew up with had a Stingray playing bassist and then later on as I broadened my interest through the bass guitar, Bernard Edwards and Louis Johnson too.

It just looks so cool with a great sound to boot 

Yeah they're more versatile than people think. And I've had this nearly 2 years and I'm being told there's more I can get out of it than I am. Playing with a pick is really awesome and grindy, slap can be Flea-like (not that at I am at all proficient) and fingers type can be really big and bold and that's where I am 99% of the time, either with scooped mids or for a more traditional sound boosted mids. My only issue with the 3 band EQ version is that the treble really needs to be tamed, I'm glad I got a rosewood board on mine otherwise it could be too shrill and brittle sounding without a lot of tweaking. 

The real thing about this bass though is the ergonomics and the feel. It's perfectly balanced and the neck is perfection. Playing it is really just effortless. When I tried it out I preferred in a lot of ways the US Jazz that was 500 quid cheaper but in my head I just knew for bashing out weddings and functions it had to be the Ray. If I did any serious recording my cash would have gone on the US Jazz but I know it just wouldn't have given me the kick that the Ray does. 

Long answer there! But yeah, I like it. 

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  • 1 month later...
On 18/11/2020 at 20:40, josh3184 said:

The Precision Elite II basses are definitely knocking about, I had this one a few years ago (but it's long gone now)

image.png.151868573561593cb648cf614b93d0d5.png

I'd emailed Andy Baxter saying if he ever comes across one of these to let me know! Not sure it's ever going to happen, I really like the look and the idea of them though. 

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  • 3 months later...

Not so much a 'collection' as acquiring something akin to my 'dream bass', I don't exactly collect basses, I've owned four (Yamaha BB614L, BC Rich Warlock - platinum series and a Crafter electro-acoustic) and have kept just my fourth (Cort Artisan B4LH.) I've been playing the Cort exclusively for the past 12 years but for I'd regularly look out for that one bass that would be pretty much a dream bass. Now, whilst I've not quite found a multi-scale headless bass, every other box has been checked by the Schecter SLS Evil Twin 4 string. Down side is I have to wait about 5 months for it to arrive at the retailer and that's before they do the set-up I requested and ship it out to me. It's going to be a long wait. I'm already climbing the walls, I want it in my hands so damned much.

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8 hours ago, TeresaFR said:

Not so much a 'collection' as acquiring something akin to my 'dream bass', I don't exactly collect basses, I've owned four (Yamaha BB614L, BC Rich Warlock - platinum series and a Crafter electro-acoustic) and have kept just my fourth (Cort Artisan B4LH.) I've been playing the Cort exclusively for the past 12 years but for I'd regularly look out for that one bass that would be pretty much a dream bass. Now, whilst I've not quite found a multi-scale headless bass, every other box has been checked by the Schecter SLS Evil Twin 4 string. Down side is I have to wait about 5 months for it to arrive at the retailer and that's before they do the set-up I requested and ship it out to me. It's going to be a long wait. I'm already climbing the walls, I want it in my hands so damned much.

Know what you mean! Almost everything seems to be out of stock and I've got the proceeds of a bass sale burning a hole in my pocket. 

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  • 2 months later...
On 18/11/2020 at 20:40, josh3184 said:

The Precision Elite II basses are definitely knocking about, I had this one a few years ago (but it's long gone now)

image.png.151868573561593cb648cf614b93d0d5.png

Wow - I’ve been interested enough in these bases to keep my eye on them since they first came out in 1982, but I’d never seen a lefty in anything other than black before.  I just assumed they didn’t exist. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

I've been off basschat for a while. Just catching up with all the lefty news!

 

My current wish list is:

 

1. Spector Bantam

2. Fender Aerodyne Jazz

3. Fender MIJ Precision

 

I've got a new bass being built for me at the moment which has dented my back account severely so I might have to sell something soon....

 

 

 

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Squier VM jazz.

Cort Action5 5str.

(Ugly unbelievably cheap but necks good really amazing for the money.)

Sire M2 5str 2nd Gen. 

Yamaha 4str Beater .

(downtuned with the Rotosound clothes line thickness strings)

Chowny Retrovibe.

(As close as I'll get to a Geddy Style Rickenbacker. Previous owner put Optima Gold strings on it. A really nice resonant light Bass. Think the pickups let it down a bit)

KSD Proto J 605

(Audere Pre d'addario black tapewounds. Love this Bass despite it being battered/gigged)

Yamaha trb1005j.

(A lovely looking well made Bass as good an instrument as I'll ever need. Maybe a little bland, certainly a bit bloody heavy. So I got the Chowny 😄)

 

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