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Old 06-28-2007, 12:14 PM
MattDenney MattDenney is offline
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Default Baliol Bass-Made in the UK

Hi all,

I have at the moment a bass that belongs to school. It is branded 'Baliol' 'Made in the UK' It seems to be a solid wood bass. There is a slight flame figure in the Maple back and ribs, and to me it looks like a spruce top. The fingerboard is black painted hardwood. I dont know whether it is of value as I have never heard of Baliol before..?
The neck also needs re-fitting, as it looks as though it has come out of the pocket at some point, and some 'idiot' has glued it back on with super glue which is oozing out of the pocket a bit. The action as a result isn't perfect, but isn't bad...

What do you think. Ever heard of Baliol? Would it be worth me offering school a hundred pounds or so for it, and getting it refinished and setup.

I will post a few detailed pictures if need be, when I get time tomorrow.

Cheers,
Matt D
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Old 06-28-2007, 05:21 PM
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Question Made in the UK?

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Originally Posted by MattDenney View Post
Hi all,

I have at the moment a bass that belongs to school. It is branded 'Baliol' 'Made in the UK' It seems to be a solid wood bass. There is a slight flame figure in the Maple back and ribs, and to me it looks like a spruce top. The fingerboard is black painted hardwood. I dont know whether it is of value as I have never heard of Baliol before..?
The neck also needs re-fitting, as it looks as though it has come out of the pocket at some point, and some 'idiot' has glued it back on with super glue which is oozing out of the pocket a bit. The action as a result isn't perfect, but isn't bad...

What do you think. Ever heard of Baliol? Would it be worth me offering school a hundred pounds or so for it, and getting it refinished and setup.

I will post a few detailed pictures if need be, when I get time tomorrow.

Cheers,
Matt D
I would have to see this Bass to believe it, sorry.

100 Pounds is the price of a set of strings. Real English Basses can cost as much or more than a Car! Does the UK extend to China yet territory-wise? Maybe it was made in the English speaking region of Beijing!

All kidding aside, post some pictures, lots and lost of good pictures and we can tell you all you need to know about the origin, repair cost and value b4 and after repair IF it's worth even fixing.
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Old 07-03-2007, 07:13 AM
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Ok, thanks very much Ken. I will take some good pictures when I get back from holiday. Going tomorrow for a week, so next week I will sort this out
I have typed in the makers/brand name, and there are no results on google which can help really. I know that the bass in probably worth more than £100, but comeon, school has to be good for something I could try and get it on the cheap from school, even if it is worth a bit.

Will see, and get back to you next week.

All the best,
Matt
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Old 07-03-2007, 10:08 AM
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Exclamation 100 Gbp??

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Originally Posted by MattDenney View Post
Ok, thanks very much Ken. I will take some good pictures when I get back from holiday. Going tomorrow for a week, so next week I will sort this out
I have typed in the makers/brand name, and there are no results on google which can help really. I know that the bass in probably worth more than £100, but comeon, school has to be good for something I could try and get it on the cheap from school, even if it is worth a bit.

Will see, and get back to you next week.

All the best,
Matt
In the land of 100gbp Basses, the morning greeting sounds like this; 'Ne how ma'!

For a 'good day chap' greeting add 2 or 3 zeros! 'Buon giorno' gets the zeros as well.

The only thing you can get in the UK for 100gbp is a set of strings of the DB and not the most expensive ones either!!
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Old 07-04-2007, 05:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Ken Smith View Post
The only thing you can get in the UK for 100gbp is a set of strings of the DB and not the most expensive ones either!!
Do you know for certain that there were never, ever any low-priced basses made in England?
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Old 07-04-2007, 08:28 AM
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Lightbulb Lower priced?

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Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker View Post
Do you know for certain that there were never, ever any low-priced basses made in England?
In what century Matt? Add up the cost of the wood and other components and even without labor it's impossible to hit anything in the 100s.
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Old 07-05-2007, 05:48 AM
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In what century Matt? Add up the cost of the wood and other components and even without labor it's impossible to hit anything in the 100s.
Hang on, what I'm trying to work out is how you are so certain that the bass that Matt asked about is Chinese, sight-unseen? The price 100GBP is the price Matt wants to offer the school, not the retail price.

You might well be right, but we don't have any pictures of it. For all we know it could be a student bass made in England 30 or 40 years ago, no?
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Old 07-05-2007, 07:19 AM
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Lightbulb Student Bass?

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Originally Posted by Matthew Tucker View Post
Hang on, what I'm trying to work out is how you are so certain that the bass that Matt asked about is Chinese, sight-unseen? The price 100GBP is the price Matt wants to offer the school, not the retail price.

You might well be right, but we don't have any pictures of it. For all we know it could be a student bass made in England 30 or 40 years ago, no?
Yes, we need to see pics to be more certain but as for value, that's where I made my opinion?

I am not aware or any English Makers making 'student Basses' in the UK. The closest I think you can come to an English Student Bass are the German Made Hawkes of about 80-100 years ago.

Finding an English Bass make made for budget is like finding an Italian Bass as well. They just didn't do low cost production Basses at all as far as the history goes that I know of. England imported from Germany and France for their low cost Basses. They did make trade instruments 150-250 years ago to compete with imports (mostly in the violins) but any Bass found today from that period being English in make would still command a fairly high price well into 5 figures.
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Old 07-07-2007, 12:01 AM
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Is this like your Baliol?

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI....9056&rd=1&rd=1
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Old 07-12-2007, 10:54 AM
MattDenney MattDenney is offline
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Yes, that does look like the bass.

I am not going to go to school and say, ''look, that bass you have had for the past 20 years is actually a sort after very highly prized gem of an instrument, so I am going to offer you £25 000 for it'' or offer them hundreds. If the bass might be worth my while getting and taking to my local professional bass restorer to get completely overhauled for £1000 then I will say, ''I need a bass, can I have the schools bass if I offer you £100 or so, seen as no one plays it now and you have two'' the other being an old Boosey and Hawkes ply bass. Its just a way of getting an instrument, as school doesn't know a £30 000 bass from a £1000 bass, so I could get lucky. Im not too sure whether it is a ply bass, as it looks as a whole to be solid, but the ribs feel quite thin. The edges of the F holes have been painted black.

On closer inspection now after scraping a little of the black paint on a discrete part of an F hole, it appears that the bass is actually made of ply.

Here are some pictures anyway...

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2136.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2134.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2133.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2131.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2130.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2129.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2127.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2125.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2119.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2118.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2116.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2115.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2113.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2112.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2111.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2110.jpg
http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k1...y/IMG_2109.jpg

Cheers,
Matt
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Old 07-12-2007, 05:32 PM
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Matt, its a ply bass, and you'd have to be careful how much money you spent on it, but if the only big damage is the cracked heel I think you can get that fixed for a few hundred pounds, have the fingerboard worked a bit and have a workable bass. It probably won't sound glorious, but it will work.

But then after a few weeks you'll want bridge adjusters to get the string height where you like it, and a set of new strings. Another few hundred pounds. Oh and a pickup if you want to play in a band, another hundred at least ...

That's just the basics to get the bass useable. Its not worth paying to fix any of the cosmetic issues.

You should definitely get the inside checked out to make sure the bass bar and bottom block are still firmly attached though, because if you need a top-off repair it may cost you more than the bass is worth.
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Old 07-13-2007, 04:53 AM
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Yes, I can see now. I thought all along it might be a solid bass for some reason, as it wasn't overly obvious that it was ply, even though the ribs felt quite thin... I definately will not bother with it now anyway!

Ohwell, onto the next bass then.. I am on the lookout for a carved bass in the UK, cheap though. Not £100, I was just taking the... seen as I planned to buy it off school I have a friend who is possibly selling his Romanian made fully carved instrument, worth a thought.. Anyone ideas. Ken, anything in stock which might suit... £1000 or so?

Cheers,
Matt
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Old 07-13-2007, 07:19 AM
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Cool my stock?

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Originally Posted by MattDenney View Post
Ken, anything in stock which might suit... £1000 or so? Cheers, Matt
Matt, it would cost you quite a bit to import a Bass from the states so unless it's a Bass costing 5k or more, don't bother. I don't have any carved Basses at this time under 4k/U$D.

Look for something used over there from a private owner that is also in good repair. Shops will often have some extra profit built in but on the other hand, may have it in better shape and set-up as well.

Go see my friend Bill at Thwaites. He will give you an idea what is possible dealer/shop-wise as he is a fair and honest guy to deal with. Tell him I sent you..
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Old 07-14-2007, 06:38 PM
MattDenney MattDenney is offline
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I have already contacted Bill..
I am going to get a bass privately though. I have a friend selling a carved Romanian bass cheaply, so that may be a possibility. Will see.

Thanks for all your help!
Matt
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  #15  
Old 07-16-2007, 08:43 AM
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Well, at least we know what a Baliol is now. Kind of a U.K. Kay.
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