fat_fleet
Swollen Member
damn these long weekends.
lately i've had fridays off and this spells trouble as i spend maybe far too much time trolling the internet for used gear.
so anyways, i bought this guy's bass impulsively yesterday:
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/msg/1284499655.html
it's a univox hi-flyer bass (mosrite copy) from (i'm guessing) 1970-1972. tracking down the exact year of manufacture can be tough though because they were made at the matsumoko factory in japan who, prior to 1975 or so from what i understand, had no rhyme or reason to the serial numbers assigned to their instruments. the only way of really narrowing it down is by the physical properties of the instruments.
anyways $350, i figure, was a reasonable price to pay. though i've seen these go for a little less, it's becoming less and less common to see that and this one, i have to say, is pretty much in mint condition. previous owner kept it clean, allegedly fixed some wiring/grounding issues, and installed an after-market 4-saddle bridge, making intonation adjustments possible (original bridge adjusts in pairs). looking at it, it's hard to believe it's a 37-year-old instrument. plus it just looks sooooo sweet.
the stock pickups in this thing kinda stink, though... kind of low and growly, lacking definition and, though i haven't yet brought it down to my space to plug into my bass stuff, i plugged it into my little DAW at home and discovered it has a nice little buzz to it (whether my fingers are grounding the strings or not). i'm thinking of installing schaller bassbuckers, which i've read fit the bass nicely and make it sound amazing. this brings me to some questions:
1 - i've never done this. is it difficult? could it possibly be more involved than soldering a few wires together?
2 - will this even help my noise situation (i have a yamaha AW16G which has no ground switch or third prong on the plug. it's plugged into a power strip which does have a third prong)?
also the action, while not really high, lends itself to decreased playability above the 12th fret. dropping the saddles tends to make it buzz around there.
3 - is there anything i can do to the neck (truss or pitch adjustment) to improve the situation? the neck is bolted on so it occurs to me that maybe a neck reset is as easy as a well-placed shim (?).
so also i've been trying to sell this guitar:
http://providence.craigslist.org/msg/1288085789.html
on craigslist since yesterday and in doing so, have been reminded that it's far easier to buy something than to sell it.
the guitar in question is a 45-year-old gretsch that has definitely "been loved". a fixer-upper for sure and priced (i think) accordingly. so far, in a little over 30 hours, i have had over 35 responses, made and received at least 40 phone calls, and had one single solitary guy come to look at it (didn't buy it). of the emails i've received, less than half of them can even be taken seriously. mentioning in the ad that i'm not willing to ship it has not deterred about 5 people from asking if i'm willing to ship it. people call, express interest interest in checking it out and never show up or call back. this is one email response i got:
Hello,I am satisfied with the
description and condition of the item
listed above by you on the Ad, Please let me know if the
piece is
still available for sale?
..Like i said am totally
satisfied with the item..Wish i could talk to u on phone but am a deaf
and only uses a hearing-in paired phone the relay so please send
me a email if i can trust in you to handle this with care or leave a
message on my voice mail "***-***-****" it will be delivered as an
email to me as well,my Bank will be processing and mail a certified
draft to cover the cost of my purchase as am completely satisfied with
the advert.I will need the details of whom & where to mail the
draft.It will be delivered by the United Parcel Service within 3-4days.Please note 'United Parcel Service' do not deliver to P.O.Box
addresses
1.Name to be on the check
2.Home address
3.Telephone
Kindly delete the posting as am totally committed to buying from you
to save me cost,my mover will be coming over for the pick up right
only after the payment as been delivered,regards.
is this guy yanking my chain? the obvious paradox is why a deaf person wants a guitar, but also what deaf guy can't spell "hearing impaired"? i have heard there's a subculture of young smartasses who respond to craigslist ads with ridiculous requests just to fuck with the original poster, so i left this one alone. y'aint gonna punk me.
i've gotten numerous emails from people asking such detailed questions about the instrument's condition that one would think they were expecting to buy an immaculately preserved 45-year-old gretsch for $400. i've had a couple people call me at home seemingly just to shoot the shit about guitars. when i finally press them about whether they're interested in checking it out or not, there's some hemming and hawing and then the inevitable "ehhh i think i'm gonna hafta pass". just now, going into my email to cut and paste the above sample, i had three new messages regarding this damn guitar. only an hour has gone by since the last time i checked it. i sometimes only get three emails a week. i now want this guitar out of my life like nobody's business. so, more questions:
4 - with the time and energy i've already fruitlessly dumped into trying to sell this thing, should i just quit before it eats the rest of my weekend?
5 - anyone have any funny craigslist stories or anecdotes? crazy people? buy/sell mishaps?
6 - anyone wanna buy a geetar?
lately i've had fridays off and this spells trouble as i spend maybe far too much time trolling the internet for used gear.
so anyways, i bought this guy's bass impulsively yesterday:
http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/msg/1284499655.html
it's a univox hi-flyer bass (mosrite copy) from (i'm guessing) 1970-1972. tracking down the exact year of manufacture can be tough though because they were made at the matsumoko factory in japan who, prior to 1975 or so from what i understand, had no rhyme or reason to the serial numbers assigned to their instruments. the only way of really narrowing it down is by the physical properties of the instruments.
anyways $350, i figure, was a reasonable price to pay. though i've seen these go for a little less, it's becoming less and less common to see that and this one, i have to say, is pretty much in mint condition. previous owner kept it clean, allegedly fixed some wiring/grounding issues, and installed an after-market 4-saddle bridge, making intonation adjustments possible (original bridge adjusts in pairs). looking at it, it's hard to believe it's a 37-year-old instrument. plus it just looks sooooo sweet.
the stock pickups in this thing kinda stink, though... kind of low and growly, lacking definition and, though i haven't yet brought it down to my space to plug into my bass stuff, i plugged it into my little DAW at home and discovered it has a nice little buzz to it (whether my fingers are grounding the strings or not). i'm thinking of installing schaller bassbuckers, which i've read fit the bass nicely and make it sound amazing. this brings me to some questions:
1 - i've never done this. is it difficult? could it possibly be more involved than soldering a few wires together?
2 - will this even help my noise situation (i have a yamaha AW16G which has no ground switch or third prong on the plug. it's plugged into a power strip which does have a third prong)?
also the action, while not really high, lends itself to decreased playability above the 12th fret. dropping the saddles tends to make it buzz around there.
3 - is there anything i can do to the neck (truss or pitch adjustment) to improve the situation? the neck is bolted on so it occurs to me that maybe a neck reset is as easy as a well-placed shim (?).
so also i've been trying to sell this guitar:
http://providence.craigslist.org/msg/1288085789.html
on craigslist since yesterday and in doing so, have been reminded that it's far easier to buy something than to sell it.
the guitar in question is a 45-year-old gretsch that has definitely "been loved". a fixer-upper for sure and priced (i think) accordingly. so far, in a little over 30 hours, i have had over 35 responses, made and received at least 40 phone calls, and had one single solitary guy come to look at it (didn't buy it). of the emails i've received, less than half of them can even be taken seriously. mentioning in the ad that i'm not willing to ship it has not deterred about 5 people from asking if i'm willing to ship it. people call, express interest interest in checking it out and never show up or call back. this is one email response i got:
Hello,I am satisfied with the
description and condition of the item
listed above by you on the Ad, Please let me know if the
piece is
still available for sale?
..Like i said am totally
satisfied with the item..Wish i could talk to u on phone but am a deaf
and only uses a hearing-in paired phone the relay so please send
me a email if i can trust in you to handle this with care or leave a
message on my voice mail "***-***-****" it will be delivered as an
email to me as well,my Bank will be processing and mail a certified
draft to cover the cost of my purchase as am completely satisfied with
the advert.I will need the details of whom & where to mail the
draft.It will be delivered by the United Parcel Service within 3-4days.Please note 'United Parcel Service' do not deliver to P.O.Box
addresses
1.Name to be on the check
2.Home address
3.Telephone
Kindly delete the posting as am totally committed to buying from you
to save me cost,my mover will be coming over for the pick up right
only after the payment as been delivered,regards.
is this guy yanking my chain? the obvious paradox is why a deaf person wants a guitar, but also what deaf guy can't spell "hearing impaired"? i have heard there's a subculture of young smartasses who respond to craigslist ads with ridiculous requests just to fuck with the original poster, so i left this one alone. y'aint gonna punk me.
i've gotten numerous emails from people asking such detailed questions about the instrument's condition that one would think they were expecting to buy an immaculately preserved 45-year-old gretsch for $400. i've had a couple people call me at home seemingly just to shoot the shit about guitars. when i finally press them about whether they're interested in checking it out or not, there's some hemming and hawing and then the inevitable "ehhh i think i'm gonna hafta pass". just now, going into my email to cut and paste the above sample, i had three new messages regarding this damn guitar. only an hour has gone by since the last time i checked it. i sometimes only get three emails a week. i now want this guitar out of my life like nobody's business. so, more questions:
4 - with the time and energy i've already fruitlessly dumped into trying to sell this thing, should i just quit before it eats the rest of my weekend?
5 - anyone have any funny craigslist stories or anecdotes? crazy people? buy/sell mishaps?
6 - anyone wanna buy a geetar?
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