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Praise Bass said:

To be fair, a genuine original 1960 Jazz Bass would be worth many times the cost of that, so I think it’s worth the price to restore the bass to its original glory.

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I'd consider them more if they were from 1960. Sets like those have sold for $150-$200 in the last few years. I've also seen full sets with pots, caps, knobs etc. for ~$500. $700 is a bit steep for two pots.

That tort is too red and too light for that body. IMHO. Voted gold.

gtirard said:

The Groove Amp 800 is now available from Thomann.

GR Bass GROOVE800

Amplifier Head for Electric Bass Tube preamp: 2 x 12AX7, Class D power amplifier, Power: max. 800 VA, 1 Channel, Brushed steel housing, Dimensions (H x W x D): 7.2 x 34 x 25 cm Front panel: Input, Controls for Gain, Drive, Tone Filter (to activate...

www.thomannmusic.com

$969 is a fair price IMHO for a full featured hybrid 800W amp

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Just saw this amp. looks like they ditched the micro slide switches. Thats a + .

oh come on that'll buff right out.

One Two said:

Hi @bipper ! In that pic is that a 210V, a 112H, and a 212?!
If so, would you be able to compare the differences between the cabs please? Especially interested in 112H. I've been gigging a 210V and a Pure Amp 800 solidly for a year, but have been considering a 112H to make life easier carrying gear on public transport for quick in and out quieter gigs/rehearsals.
Thank you!!

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Hi. sorry i missed this q. The 112H is a really amazingly good cab within reasonable volumes of course. Its the last one i bought and wish it was the first. for a single channel rig i would have just bought two 8 ohm 112H cabs and call it a day. I think that would cover most anything.
The other cabs, i will just say i prefer front ported cabs like the 210. The rear ported 212 slim ...i wish it was a wide 212. The 110 is a 110, good for its size or an addition to your other cabs.

I had some really great lessons with John Loerkhe in upper Manhattan. He’s a really good player with a lot of teaching experience. He’s done quite a bit of work accompanying singers and has a really good sense of arranging in vocal trios.
If you’re interested, I can message you his contact information.

All I can offer is my personal opinion:
Both are terrible choices.

Stagelab said:

I took care of step 1 last month. What do you mean “add some screen”?

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I presume screen mesh, which you’d put in the neck pocket under the heel, to keep the neck from rotating. I’ve seen some people do that, and while I never found it really necessary, I wonder if it could also help with action?

My Ibanez GWB205 has those rods as well. No issues at all. Can get a flat relief if I wanted. I would say there's something wrong with your particular bass. Mine came with a bridge a little too far back which is resolved by putting the saddles at the end of their screws for intonation. I would say quality control is not the best for basses in this price range unfortunately.

Got my hands on a Doom2 from Spencer's last drop and I think, for the first time ever, I'm GAS free. As far as effects are concerned at least.

Signal chain is currently:
Boss WL50
Korg Pitchblack XS
B3K
IE Oxide
SA Spectrum
Origin Cali76 CB
3Leaf DOOM2
Bass Crybaby
Boss OC-5
Green Rhino
ISP Deci-Mate
Walrus Chorus
Darkglass Element

Whew!

Mike Caldwell said:

I would also look at getting your amp checked out, not a lot there, could be a simple fix.

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Thanks, the next town has a guitar shop with a valve amp repair specialist, that apparently can fix amps with replaceable components. I'll be taking it there soon.

Redbrangus said:

It looks like a tidy-enough mod. I'll only offer that the switch in the switching jack isn't really rated to handle the power of the amp output -- its designed for signal level switching. It will probably work fine, at least for a while. If you do have a situation where the speaker isn't working with the onboard amp, that's the first place I'd look for failure.

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I'd like to take precautions. What could go wrong with it, overheating? It's metal and plastic - mechanical with no electrical components.

statsc said:

I understand how {Upton} probably can’t compete with decent Chinese basses; it costs more to pay a living wage here than over there.

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It's been a while since I talked with Gary Upton on these topics. What follows it my take and by no means represents the positions of any of my clients:

It's possible that the Uptons' decision to stop building laminated-top basses comes from personnel considerations more than anything else. On the one hand AFAIK everybody who's been at Upton for a while can build a bass from start to finish. On the other hand, there are particular people who are really good at particular jobs and Gary is sensitive to that as you would expect. Over the years there have been people who really thrived on being The Laminated Bass Person -- Vicky comes to mind immediately -- and there might not be somebody like that at this moment.

As far as "a US living wage," people tend to stay at Upton for a long time and I assume that reflects that they like their jobs. Part of luthiery is building expertise through experience. Part of being a respectful, supportive employer is about helping each employee to find things that they thrive on and, if advisable, adjusting your business to allow those people to develop those aspects of their work. I've done that in my business and it's a fair guess that Gary does that in his.

I can't make a habit of posting these kinds of comments (because it's easy for people to mistake them for veiled pronouncements of my clients) but I've thought a lot about the topic over the years. I don't think that Gary dwells on how years ago people told him, "Don't do it -- you can't compete with the Eastern Europeans and the Chinese on quality or price," and the record shows that those people were wrong. But I remember that!

DISCLAIMER: I am actually proud to represent Upton Bass String Instrument Corp. as its attorney. This is not a neutral post from a neutral poster.
Again, these are my comments and do not reflect the views of any of my clients.
Sometimes the requirements of attorney-client privilege get frisky but I am so lucky to have lived this life at work for the past 30+ years.
Out!

Zooberwerx said:

Conventional wisdom holds that an end-of-pocket shim is the soundest approach when dealing with bottomed-out saddles. This is assuming the strings are installed correctly and the balance of the set-up is within spec. Deepening the saddle slot is a workaround but, as others pointed out, this may compromise the plating. OTOH, saddles are relatively inexpensive and easily replaced.

On the plus side: once the neck is removed, this is a great opportunity to do some light "housekeeping" which may have been under-addressed at the factory.

*Chase the pocket screw holes so there's a clean pass-thru and modicum of wiggle-room.

*Add some screen to prevent lateral slippage.

*Once the neck is re-installed, leave the mounting screws loose and use feeler gauges (...if necessary) to align.

*Once the strings are re-installed, tune to pitch or near-pitch THEN full tighten the mounting screws. This pulls the neck heel firmly into the pocket.

Riis

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I took care of step 1 last month. What do you mean “add some screen”?

Gopherbassist said:

In stock on Amazon at the moment, get them before they're gone

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Now at $159.

My searches have only come up with this sort of similar headstock inlay, a gentleman named Heath Danials! His E-Mail domain does not exist anymore!

Anyone familiar with his work??

I’d love to try one. Price is steep though.

GaDawg78644 said:

NBD, Classic Vibe 70’s Jazz
View attachment 7083594

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Lucky boy, you got a Chinese model. I'm 100% sure. I don't need to look at the back of the headstock. Am I right or wrong?

That tort is way too busy for me. I prefer tort, but one that has just the right amount of yellow mixed in. The gold is classic and also looks great. I've actually gone between both. Depends on what you are going for. Gold is a classic 50s vibe I associate with Duck Dunn and flats. Tort is more rock and roll.

Just picked one up (ouch).
Looking forward to trying it out...

Go for the gold!

I'd probably look for a 4 conductor MM pickup so you could wire it for humbucker series/humbucker parallel/single coil. Add whatever preamp with active/passive switching that you want. Another option would be a quad-coil pickup which would give you a TON of configuration options including P/reverse P

A bottle of wine & a Barry White album.....................







I'll see myself out.

I have bought basses and gear from Bass Direct many times over the years. (Always including the needed shipping from UK to Norway) ....I have absolute faith in their shop and their customer service is first class.
I'm sure you will find a better explanation for the damage than sloppy employees or that a damaged bass was purposefully sent to you.
Best of luck and hopefully a good NBD is on the horizon.