I Finally Did It!!

[Cathead]

Thanks for all the advice and tips I received on this forum about buying a new bass. Y'all gave me priceless info on such stuff as ply vs. solid and on and on. Anyway, I just got back from a trip to Buena Vista, VA where Jerry Fretwell of Fretwell Bass was setting up his basses for the fiddler's convention there. I got there a day early (Wednesday) and beat the rush. I tried about every bass Jerry had and the bass that reached out and grabbed me was the ES-9 Engelhardt. Needless to say, I wrote a check for the bass the same evening. You wanna find somebody to deal with buying a bass? Well, I found him for ya. You ain't gonna find any better and more accomodatin' than Jerry and his wife Mary Jane. I wanted an upgrade on strings.......Jerry put 'em on for me right there. He did some dressing on the finger board and even threw in a super neat rubber end for the end pin. The pin had to be modified some to accomodate the new tip. Yep....he did that, too. He gave me some priceless tips, a lesson in slapping the bass, and shared some great stories with me. Now all that is priceless stuff for an upright novice like me. Thanks for everything Jerry and Mary Jane. And, thanks again to all of you who helped. Now, let me click "Submit" and get back to that Engelhardt!!!

[Ike Harris]

Good for you, man. One of the best new plys out there! You might consider also a better sound post, bridge and tailpiece cable. All available at Lemur. Get somebody with experience to put them on. Factory stuff is pretty cheap. Makes a ton of difference. Congrats - enjoy.

Ike

[Cathead]

Yeah, I was thinking about a bridge upgrade for sure. I got one of the newer models with the upgraded tailpiece and hanger. Probably still need to look into that also. I may go back down and let Jerry take care of that, too.

[Fat.Mike]

Jerry is a class act. Super nice guy, good prices.