I put this bass together a year or two ago, and used it for a handful of gigs -- it kills. I'm selling it for two reasons: first, I have too many basses, and second, I'm not thrilled about the Thunderbird body shape ergonomics. The bass hangs like any other T-bird shaped bass, with all of the same quirks: a bit of neck dive (helped a lot by the ultralites I put on this, but still a little present), and the whole thing hangs a lot further to the fretting hand side, so it feels like the frets are further away ... not sure if I'm explaining that well. At any rate, I had the exact same problems with any other T-bird shaped bass I've played, so if you've played one, you'll know what I mean.
Onto the good. This thing sounds incredible. You've all heard tons of sound clips of darkstarred basses, so you know more or less what they sound like. This single darkstar pickup is right in the p-bass sweet spot, and is incredibly responsive to dynamics and differences in attack both fingerstyle and with a pick. I used very good quality parts (details below), and you can hear the effects. I think the '51 RI P-bass neck (tele-style headstock) is one of the keys to the great sound of this bass -- that is one solid neck, and I think that does improve the sound.
Plus, hey, this thing is gold. Not overly sparkly, but a nice, mellow shoreline-style gold. A golden Fenderbird with a Dark Star. Yeah. It's as cool as it sounds.
Here are the parts I used:
Pickup: DS-3N Dark Star purchased direct from Fred Hammon, and never installed in any other bass. Installed a Jeannie Pickguards surround w/ built-in thumbrest, which is comfy.
Pots/Wiring: Single DarkStar P bass Harness from Bayou Audio Cables (Butch Ammons)
Body: purchased off of eBay, already finished and routed. No additional routing work done. Good quality wood and finish. Never used except for as part of this bass. I did put a few small dings in the finish though (see pics).
Neck: CIJ '51 P-bass reissue neck, does have visible holes from original tuners. Frets recently leveled and in good shape.
Tuners: Hipshot ultralites. Nice shape and, uh, light.
Bridge: Fender-style bridge from Stew-Mac
Knobs: P-bass dome style
Other parts: generally from Stew-Mac, back cover custom cut by Pickguardian, Schaller straplocks
I installed most of the parts myself, but since I don't solder I brought it to the local shop (they do excellent work) and had them check over everything I did. I did slip a little and scratch the top of the bridge and put a little ding in the finish right above the bridge ... yeah, I'm a total pro. Ha. Besides that, everything fits very well, the neck is snug in the pocket, etc., etc. It came together very well, and looks and sounds killer.
I'm aware that I'm not going to recoup anywhere near what I have into this, so I'm asking
$685 shipped, which includes your choice of either an Epiphone hardshell Thunderbird case (form-fitting around the body) or a nice fitted Ritter gig bag (one broken zipper pull but otherwise great, and T-bird style basses don't seem to fit in any other gig bags). If you want the gig bag and the case, I'll ship 'em both to you for an extra $50.
I'm uploading a few pics here, but the full set of high-res pictures is
here on photobucket, including a pic of the case and a few of the gig bag.
Not looking for trades, but it doesn't hurt to offer. My tastes tend towards Ricks and Fenders, fuzz/distortion, and I don't need any amps or cabs.
As always, if you have any questions or want to see any more pictures, please drop me a PM.
