The distillate at Bananas at Large has been there, and on Reverb, for a while. I didn't realize the neck had been changed but it is still overpriced. I was at the store last month but didn't ask to play it.

Quote from: StephenR on October 17, 2026, 06:05:42 PMThe distillate at Bananas at Large has been there, and on Reverb, for a while. I didn't realize the neck had been changed but it is still overpriced. I was at the store last month but didn't ask to play it.

Pretty much anything over $750 was behind closed doors. I tried to get assistance but couldn't figure out who were employees / customers.  If you're looking for a $250 bass, it's the place to be. 

Quote from: garyhead on October 17, 2026, 07:50:04 PM

Quote from: StephenR on October 17, 2026, 06:05:42 PMThe distillate at Bananas at Large has been there, and on Reverb, for a while. I didn't realize the neck had been changed but it is still overpriced. I was at the store last month but didn't ask to play it.

Pretty much anything over $750 was behind closed doors. I tried to get assistance but couldn't figure out who were employees / customers.  If you're looking for a $250 bass, it's the place to be.

This wasn't meant to be a disparaging complaint. It was a Saturday afternoon at an independent brick & mortar store. It was full of young....and older folks discussing / playing / shopping. Something I hadn't experienced in years. It's good to see starter gear at an affordable price. 

nothing like a road trip.
interesting tie-in to my meager collection - the mighty A-bass came from banannas at large. it was the semi-frustrating end result of my search for a stereo 5-string fretless long scale.  had to settle for 4-strings (still haven's seen a 5-string like this).  it also had its neck replaced along the line.  IIRC it started out as a shop night bass and was owned by valvil. a finer fretless i have never seen. 

cheers!

Quote from: garyhead on Yesterday at 06:20:34 AM

Quote from: garyhead on October 17, 2026, 07:50:04 PM

Quote from: StephenR on October 17, 2026, 06:05:42 PMThe distillate at Bananas at Large has been there, and on Reverb, for a while. I didn't realize the neck had been changed but it is still overpriced. I was at the store last month but didn't ask to play it.

Pretty much anything over $750 was behind closed doors. I tried to get assistance but couldn't figure out who were employees / customers.  If you're looking for a $250 bass, it's the place to be.

This wasn't meant to be a disparaging complaint. It was a Saturday afternoon at an independent brick & mortar store. It was full of young....and older folks discussing / playing / shopping. Something I hadn't experienced in years. It's good to see starter gear at an affordable price.

That was how I read it.
And to me, the really cool thing is that the bargain-basement starter instrument (unlike in decades gone by) will probably be quite decent.
But kids in guitar stores; what a heart-warmer.
About 15 years ago, a dear friend & I were whiling away the afternoon in Chicago Music Exchange, and ended up helping a teenage girl & her (nonplaying) grandpa pick out her first guitar, which he was buying her.  Made us feel really good to see (and yes, of course I insisted he buy her a proper case, too.......)

Peter

Quote from: BeenDown139 on Yesterday at 06:36:36 AMnothing like a road trip.
interesting tie-in to my meager collection - the mighty A-bass came from banannas at large. it was the semi-frustrating end result of my search for a stereo 5-string fretless long scale.  had to settle for 4-strings (still haven's seen a 5-string like this).  it also had its neck replaced along the line.  IIRC it started out as a shop night bass and was owned by valvil. a finer fretless i have never seen. 

cheers!

Did you see the one of his I linked above? I think it came after yours. Not sure. 

Killing time this morning and found the photo of Goliaths control cavity that had the inscription. 
Larry Robinson did the inlay work. Google is your friend:

https://robinsoninlays.com/

I don't have a Facebook account but there are Some Wild inlaid guitars in there!
Looks like he's published 2 books. 
....back to Google.......

Day 4 -
Met up with Mica at 11am to pick up GREGS JOY.

Goliath is another issue. It needs more work than previously thought.
Needs a setup - James says the fretless needs a leveling.... Some string buzz. It "might" have a Zero radius fretboard (Al a Entwhistle) and there is also buzzing on the 8 neck. Proper Alembic setup is in order.
Now....here is the skinny on the gooey 11-detent selector switch. It's legit!  Those are stereo pickups with 5-pin connectors!  The switch is a standard pickup selector switch. It can be configured to have 2 to 12 positions!  This one had 11 selections.  Got a copy of the original configuration but will wait until I get the real situation. Looks like E and A are one signal and D and G are another signal....then there are separate sets for the other pickup. 11 different combinations. Want the E&A on the left channel and the D&G on the right channel?  Yeah.....crazy. One of the pickups might be dodgy but will need more tests. James said of the 11 positions, only 1/2 has an output signal....this might be due to the old exercise your pots / switches. I only had documentation of three positions since 2015 so they haven't been exercised in 11 years.
Realized there is no one there who knew how to get to the innards. You have to remove the neck pickup...then the spacer to get to the lower basement to get access to the switches between the necks.
Anyway, Mica is going to work up an estimate to bring Goliath to 2026.
I'll probably have an RF upgrade too since all the guts will be exposed. I'll try to post some photos.

I'll probably end this here as the road trip will be over tomorrow afternoon. I'm going to revive an old Goliath thread with the restoration progress. 

Quote from: garyhead on Yesterday at 09:26:08 AMKilling time this morning and found the photo of Goliaths control cavity that had the inscription.
Larry Robinson did the inlay work. Google is your friend:

https://robinsoninlays.com/

I don't have a Facebook account but there are Some Wild inlaid guitars in there!
Looks like he's published 2 books.
....back to Google.......

I'm all set with his three publications. $41.00 all in on eBay.  Inlay work is kind of like Tiffany glass objects. Just beautiful to behold. 

Well... your home rig can handle that kind of instrument Gary, but you gotta' wonder in 1978 how many people even thought about options like this? And if they did, who else could pull it off?

Quite an instrument there. Lots more going on than meets the eye, which is truly saying something.

*put ya' some TI Jazz Flats on that fretless neck. 😉

The plot thickens! Man, there is some crazy stuff going on in the catacombs of Goliath. Should be endless hours of fun experimenting once it's back in proper working order.