The amplifier stuff - second half of the post - is sort of a parenthetical issue.
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I'm still thinking about picking up a second bass guitar, but assembling it from parts (not from scratch as some people do, but from finished components).
I saw a Fender "Squier" (licensed import)!5-string Jazz body that I like at a good price and I'm looking at some Chinese maple necks (five-string, of course) that have good reviews.
(Forgive me. I've only ever played Fender, so I like Fender... maybe, out of ignorance.)
I really don't want to spend any real money on a five-string.
Also, I don't feel the personal need for any available pitches below D - and I still like the idea of a high C string better than I like the idea of a low B string, so I'm leaning towards building one and stringing it up E A D G C with a hipshot (some of you know what those are) on the E string.
Most of you who have experience playing five-string basses probably think this is ill-advised, but it's still probably what I'm going to do. Bass guitars that play pretty darn well can be cheap; thus "serious error in judgment as far as equipment and how it's set up" can also be a fairly cheap price to pay. Further, (just as with tubas - per Matt Walters quote) "Every [bass guitar] has someone's name on it."
(Thus, if this ends up being a horrible mistake, someone will buy it from me, as long as I get it set up decently - which I'm capable of doing.)
OK... To pay for it (and maybe have some money left over)
I'm interested in selling this:
Any of you who are sort of serious about building a recording studio (whether hoping to make a little money, or just as a serious hobby) need to have the following things in it:
- a decent minimally 6 ft grand piano
- a decent set of drums
- a functional vintage Ampeg Portaflex tube bass amp (yes, really), because these produce such a standard/recognizable vintage sound which really can't quite be recreated by anything else.
I'f drive two or three hundred miles.
These are too delicate and too heavy to ship.
Humbell does an incredible amount of charitable tuba delivery work in his little Prius, but I just don't know if this would fit in his car, and I would be embarrassed to ask.
For those of you who don't know, the top is held in place by four latches (actually the same type of latches that are found on 1960s vintage Conn French horn cases). For transport, the top can be turned upside down and the delicate (though metal-frame-protected) electronics are stored down in the speaker cabinet for transport.
What's it worth, AI ?
This obviously isn't pristine, but it's definitely original parts.
Being a realist (and NOT one of these kolij-boi types who advertises a $6XXX Chinese tuba for $9XXX), consider me around the bottom area of the total price range.
If somebody would be interested in a so-called serious inquiry, I'd be willing to play some stuff through it and make a little video.
