Like I said, I have more quality basses than a mediocre player like me deserves, so I have plenty of patience to find a the T-40 gem for a good price. I regularly troll for gear on CL. Generally, I don't shell out any cabbage unless it's something I gotta have (or it's a just stupid price).
So this guy was moving the following day and he was cleaning out his closet when he found his old P-bass. It had more dust on it than the plates in my grandmother's china cabinet, and all he wanted was $100. I called him and he said to come on over. In the hour it took for me to drive up to north Scottsdale, he got a ton of calls, but from people who wanted to come by after work. This bass was essentially flawless, but needed a good cleaning. I wound up swapping the bent-metal bridge for a Gotoh 201 and had it set-up at The Bass Place with some nice D'Addario Chromes. At the end of the day I had a better than new Fender Precision for under $200. Hence, I dubbed it Grand Theft Precision. I've never had flats under my fingers, but I love it for blues and Motown.
I do have a good question for you guys (and maybe this should be in a different thread...so pre-sorry):
Obviously there's some degree of "peace of mind" when using eBay, what with the ratings and all, PayPal, and everything. But lets say I find a bass in great shape for a decent price on CL in...I don't know...Augusta, Maine. How do you do a good transaction where the buyer and seller both feel comfortable that nobody will get screwed?
And Johnallg, I look so serious with the T-40 because I only know how to play one note: low G. I'm making the best of it. With the Ric, I'd learned, not only low C, but an arpeggio to go with it!!
But the sound I can get out of that Fretless is worth it. I'd love to find a stock Fretless neck one of these days.
