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Club Alleva-Coppolo (Part 20)

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No, Jimmy isn't mixing up anything... That is something he started doing back in NY based on his experiences owning and repairing black blocks... It's one of those "they should've done it this way back then" situations. He said since the bodies were Alder, he decided to do some of the refins in Nitro and kept the neck Poly after fret jobs, etc. He liked the end result so he offers A-C's this way as the RA Custom model.

Btw, there is still time to enter the fundraiser raffle for a chance to win strings and pickups... A ticket will be drawn around 6:30-7:30 pacific time.


Just to back up that Jimmy isn't mixing anything up as he's been offering the nitro body option on new build RAs since I knew the model existed. I also wanted to add that I seem to remember a few luthiers explain to me that Fender, during the first few years of the 70s, actually used a nitro base coat and a poly top coat (or the other way around? :)) Later going to all poly. I may be wrong about that ...but if its true then that also may have been a reason Jimmy offered nitro on the early 70s inspired RA. Not sure. It might be more authentic then it sounds....
 
I've been using TI flats for YEARS but recently had Black Diamond send me a set of their flats. Unfortunately they only make them in a 4 string pack but they feel fantastic. A bit more tension than the TIs (even though I love their low tension) and great feel. Reminds me of some old La Bellas but not as stiff....just my .02
 
Thomastik Jazz Flats have always seemed the best to me.

I played a set of those on the Pino CS I played a while back. Nice, fat, warm, relaxed, and low tension for a flatwound string. I dug it.

I've been using TI flats for YEARS but recently had Black Diamond send me a set of their flats. Unfortunately they only make them in a 4 string pack but they feel fantastic. A bit more tension than the TIs (even though I love their low tension) and great feel. Reminds me of some old La Bellas but not as stiff....just my .02

I have LaBella flats on my KBP4 and like them a lot, at reasonable cost. Pyramids are nice, too. Nice and expensive.

Pyramids are great, but again, NO 5 SET!!!! :(

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. For now, I've strung it up with some D'addario Chromes. It sounds great and should work really well for the new gig.
 
Yum. A little woodshedding tonight.

ImageUploadedByTalkBass1362893614.894511.jpg
 
Paul's white LG5 was up for sale for ages at a shop here in the UK called Bass Gear for ages for a pretty wild price.
It sold eventually, but it was way overpriced.
They're pricy enough without having to pay the "used by" premium on top.
Maybe some of that magic WOULD rub off though!

I sometimes help out at the BG store so i can add a little background to this. That bass sold through the shop twice, both times pretty quickly. It may have appeared to have been there a long time because of the two owners and that it returned to the shop.

I don't think it carried that price and sold so easily because it was PT's old bass. It was simply a jaw-droppingly good instrument that everyone I saw play it loved. Obviously PT is a player's player but he doesn't have the kind of fame that adds thousands to the price of an instrument.

I got the opportunity to play it a few times and I saw it gigged once as well by a friend of mine. Simply the best 5 string bass I've ever played or heard :)

Of course - this may be because I've only 'touched' PT's new AC5 and not actually played it, lol.

The first owner absolutely loved it but eventually became worried about taking it out to some of the dodgier venues he played at. Got so bad that he was taking it with him to the bar because he was so worried about it being stolen.

It went back in the shop and sold really quickly to a guy in Scandinavia. I've not heard anything about it since :(

I've worked from time to time in music instrument retail and one thing I've picked up is that every now and then a really great gigging or recording instrument will pop up. Pro musicians won't blink twice at paying higher prices for something like this because it's their working tool and is a way of earning a livelihood.

In fact I recently helped sell what appeared to be a fairly ordinary Fender J. Only a couple of years old. It was put in the store by a top-line gigging pro at twice the value of a, superficially similar, one we'd just sold. Another seasoned pro heard it was for sale and snapped it up at the full asking price without a quibble - I hear it's now his #1 instrument for teaching and recording.

PT's '66 is another of these. I know the kind of money it cost and, given how much it's been used professionally, it's been worth every penny. I've played this one too, another cracking instrument.. Paul certainly knows his basses :)
 
"worried about it being stolen"

I'm reasonably certain no one has ever noticed my LG for what it is, other than bass player friends of mine who know me personally.

I don't live in a major city though........
 
"worried about it being stolen"

I'm reasonably certain no one has ever noticed my LG for what it is, other than bass player friends of mine who know me personally.

I don't live in a major city though........

I do. A flutist friend of mine informed me a baritone sax playing friend of hers was jacked for his sax walking back to his car after a gig in Hollywood. A real drag.
 
"worried about it being stolen"

I'm reasonably certain no one has ever noticed my LG for what it is, other than bass player friends of mine who know me personally.

I don't live in a major city though........
He did say "dodgier venues", and it's still a good looking instrument. For some crooks, that's good enough. Don't forget where you live Chef... SUPER safe territory compared to a lot of clubs in larger inner cities. Trust me.
 
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