OFF the market. I'm keeping it for now. 
Jon (or John?) Hill
Hill Guitars is/was a luthier out of Cleveland OH. When I traded for this bass, I knew they had gone out of business. It appears that Google link goes to the site that is still cached, but no contact info is available.
I traded a mint 2008 American Standard P-Bass for it early last winter. When I saw the pics I was smitten with the neck. Laminated strips of figured maple and walnut with a thick 22 fret rosewood board. The body has a tiger striped top with a reddish tint and the back has a clear finish over what I think is alder (wood experts please correct me) The cavity cover is wood which I think is walnut. The only flaw in the finish is a cloudiness towards the bottom on the back as you can see in the photo.
Since I got it, I did some MAJOR upgrades. The previous owner had a thumb rest on it that drove me crazy so I designed a new pickguard to cover the marks it left and had it custom made by
Greasy Groove. The pickups were passive Jackson's. I replaced them with
Nordstrand NPJ4SV set from Bestbassgear. One of the volumes (its VVT) was scratchy so I replaced all three controls with CTS 250K pots, also from BBG. Even though this setup is hum cancelling, I still shielded and solder grounded all cavities with copper tape. The frets were in great shape but I had a little buzz on my 105 E around the 13th fret. I took the bass to
The Music Gallery in Highland Park, Illinois and had a complete setup with a Plek job done. It didn't come with a case so I scored a 2008 Fender SKB case here on TB that is mint.
The sound is amazing. It is an articulate rock P bass first and foremost but with the bridge pup brought in about half-way it cuts like a laser. Though I'm a pick bassist, because I play through a Pod X3 Live, with this setup, it can literally sound like any type of bass. It's a blank canvas that can be the foundation of any sound.
The reason why I'm selling is I have the opportunity to buy one of my dream basses, a brand new Ric 4004 Cheyenne.
I know custom basses are a hard sell because there are so many variables. Still, this bass was gone over by a competent luthier at The Music Gallery and has QUALITY components and craftsmanship. I know the new owner would love it.
Considering the original trade bass ($1050), the pickups ($230), the Plek setup ($225), pots and pickguard ($100) and the case ($100), I am setting the price a
$1400 shipped anywhere in the Continental US to a PayPal confirmed address. USPS Money Order OK too. This won't be for sale long because they can't hold the Rick for too long. If I can't generate any interest this weekend, I'm pulling the listing.
I can email BIG detailed pictures per request. These Photobucket pictures open a new window if you click on them and go full size if you click again on picture in the window.
