NFBD

ICBM

I bought a bass.

Not something I normally do, since I tend to believe that unlike guitarists, bass players are sensible and don't need a collection of the things when one will do perfectly well. And I already have a Rickenbacker 4001, which is my favourite bass ever.

But then I bought a 5-string .

And I've always loved the early Aria SB basses - my first bass in 1986 was a SB-1000, and I quite often miss it. Sadly original 1000s are big money now due largely to Cliff Burton - although I've always most associated them with John Taylor - and I can't justify one anyway.

But I had been thinking... if I was to get a *fretless* one, I could justify that since it wouldn't duplicate my Rick. They are very rare though - at least proper ones, rather than conversions.

Then I found this .



1982 SB-R60, factory fretless. (Dots at the fret positions on the side.)

It's not in perfect condition, but not at all bad for nearly 40 years old and clearly having been used a fair bit. It's also quite light for one of these - they're notoriously heavy, being largely maple and ash, but this one is only 9lb 7oz, and balances very nicely.

So now I have three basses. And a borrowed Fender Mustang Bass. Oh well...

All I have to do now is learn to play it properly! And find a Duran Duran tribute band .

JezWynd

Fantastic. Those were great basses in their day and they still are. What a great score.

Jimbro66

That's really nice and deserves its place in the bass hall of fame thread "OK, get yer long'ns out!"

EricTheWeary

My teenage self is well jel. 

mart

Nice! Congratulations on finally getting yourself a proper bass (i.e., one with the correct number of frets).

ICBM

JezWynd said:

Those were great basses in their day and they still are.

The build quality is outstanding. About the only thing less than top-notch is the jack, and this one's already been replaced with a proper Switchcraft by the previous owner. The little series/parallel switch has also been changed, they do often break - the original would have been black with a flat toggle.

I should probably take a pic of the back, the through neck and the shaping at the heel really shows how well it's made...

Funkfingers

Interesting backdrop. A bench in Scotland that is nae knee deep in Buckie empties. 

Winny_Pooh

Very cool