The Last Bass Outpost

Picked this up today. It's got the 2-10 cabinet. If I were buying new I probably would have chosen the 15, just to try and stay with the B15 theme, but I got it at a really good price so I'm not gonna complain. The guy had a '78 Tele bass that I used for the demo and I was really impressed. I've wanted a B15 for a while but just couldn't justify the price for one in top shape. I thought this one could be a good compromise. Can't wait to dig in and see if it's a keeper.

My curiosity got the better of me and I threw out a low bid on a Japanese auction site... and I actually won the auction. Just arrived today (shipped 4 days ago) and I took these photos right out of the box. Needs a pretty thorough cleaning and oil on the fingerboard.

Fernandes Nikki Sixx Spector Copy. Multi-laminate neck thru. 32" scale, sort of? 32 1/2? Was Nikki's Spector a weird scale too or did Fernandes just say to hell with it?    Gotta get new strings on it before I even plug it in, because these look 20 years old (and not in a good way).

Besides replacing the corroded Strat jack I'm not too sure what I'm gonna do with this one. If it sounds really good I may go all the way and get it airbrushed, replace the bridge and tuners, find an opti-grab, and make this a more faithful replica. We'll see...

And remind me to stay off those Japanese auction sites.

I had a '77 Eagle in my teens/early 20s and had a few other U.S. models and one Japanese market NJ since. The NJ had the neck I loved the most, so I'm hoping this Japanese Fernandes copy will be similar. I can't afford the real thing anymore, so maybe this will scratch that itch.   

I've been wanting to try one of these and finally found one at a decent price. Of course when it got to me one of the speakers was intermittent, and distorting whenever it cut in at full volume. The seller says he's willing to work with me on getting it straightened out, so I'm trying to decide the best route to take. Ampeg lists these as "custom Eminence LF driver(s)" but I can't get my local service center to return an email, which makes me less excited to give them any money to fix this.

Do any of you know whether these have an equivalent that I can order from somewhere else? Or, is this worth trying to get fixed? FYI, the cone looks perfect, so I'm guessing it's the coil? I really don't know...

Hi again!

I'm on a roll and planning on going through my Bach birds next. I have two of (I think) the second, thin boded run (baby blue and white). I have most everything I need except tuners. There are so many options out there that I'm not sure where to begin, but I'd like them to look as close to stock (for a 60s NR) as possible. Have any of you gone through this and found a good option?

Also, have any of you had your tail pieces lift from string tension? It happened on both of mine about 6 months ago (I noticed it on each bass within weeks of each other). That's part of why I'm inspired to pimp them out now, because I have to fix that issue anyway (I believe the screws on the tailpiece were too thin and short).

I'm also finding that the pickup route is a few millimeters too close to the neck for a 60s spec pick guard and pickup to drop in without slightly routing out the pickup hole. I know I'm WAY late to the party, but I thought I'd mention it.   

I have feelers out for someone local but in case I don't get any help, do any of you have a suggestion for who I might send this to to add a new braided lead wire at a reasonable cost? The old, crappy repair finally gave up the ghost. The pickup did work before the wire fell off, but it's been sitting in my parts box for ages and I'd like to get it working to put in my white Bach TB II.

I stumbled across an Embassy at a good price and couldn't resist. When these were released I was bugged by the horn more than the headstock (though I still prefer the batwing), but the black one seems less noticeable to me. They have a couple custom colors available now as well (gold and green that kind of approximate 60s colors). I was surprised and impressed by how much fundamental this had when I plugged it in. Beefy Thunderbird in disguise... The Vintage Pro Thunderbirds have crept up in price, but these are still selling new for $399. If Gibson releases a Thunderbird with this hardware and the used Epi market softens, I may have to pick up a used bird in black to go with this one.

One surprise was the pots. Volume, blend, and tone. I was expecting VVT like usual. Still haven't decided whether I should change them out to vintage specs...