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After careful research, I have established that G4M is actually a subsidiary of @ped Industries Inc., a massive conglomerate based in the British Virgin Isles and owned (through lawyers, natch) by Basschat. It was the urgent need to control a $14bn manufacturing complex that led to @Kiwi relocating to China, and they are now the main suppliers of nanochips (for vaccine insertion) to Bill Gates. They also erected the steel monolith in Utah and the huge phallus in Bavaria. Honest guv.

As a parent with a kid with ADHD and ASD comments like this make me incredible angry. The OP wasn't talking about behavioural problems - more exploring why he has found learning and other aspects of life challenging and sharing some information about that. 50 years ago I very much doubt ADHD would have been picked up on and if the OP had these sorts of challengers at school was probably labelled a disruptive or under achieving kid. Exploring nuero-diversity wouldn't have been a thing back then. I think it's great @Grangurthat you are exploring it now. Since my son's diagnosis I have been recognising his traits in myself and understanding him helps me understand me, it answers questions from my youth as to why I struggled, was unhappy and volatile that I could never previously understand. It's helped me understand and accept myself more. Poor / inadequate parenting and lack of boundaries is going to cause many kids to follow undesirable paths, whether they have ADHD or not. I have multiple kids, all brought up in the same house with the same values. Only one can be challenging from behavioural perspective - this is not because of lack of boundaries it's driven by sensory overload and overwhelming anxiety that can't be regulated. All this bursts out in explosive anger. Teachers in schools these days do get training on ADHD and ASD and support is available for them though some are better at understanding and adapting than others. The school environment can be a huge factor in how well a child can cope - we had to move my kid into a different school because his didn't and the difference that made to him has been incredible - IT'S NOT ALL THE PARENTS!!! We are still tryif to repair the damage that school has done to him in terms of accepting himself, crippling low self-esteem as a result of how they treated him. Charts and information you share are great. School teachers do get training on this stuff. Private music teachers DO NOT. My kids drum teacher had never taught a kid with ADHD / ASD before and had no idea on how to approach it. He was amazing, he went and did a bunch of research but I bet most don't or wouldn't know what signs to look out for.

But the precise positioning of the shinto plane, the 6.5mm drill and the luthier's left leg remains a mystery to the uninitiated. I know, I tried it with a stuck bolt, recited "FFS Come off", and the clock fell off the wall

What upset me about the post from theGreek was the implication that ADHD is simply a label used as an excuse for bad parenting. This is what parents of kids with ADHD / ASD face all the time by people who like to put quotes around the word "conditions". Trust me , we spend enough time feeling like we're failing and not doing a good enough job - we don't need to be told we're shitty parents by those who have no experience living with it day in day out.

Thinking about it, I would have preferred an amp announcement. 😜

So after nearly a year long wait my new build Smith has arrived! Very pleased with it The sound is very tight and focused and the EQ is very subtle. Reminds me of a Glockenklang amp I had in the days before the size and weight of my amplification became the primary driver behind what I use... Not 100% on the strings I'll swap those out for Newtone Diamonds this weekend, but all in all very glad I've added it to the arsenal It's my understanding that Kevin Brubaker and his team do the woodwork on Smith Basses these days and this example is credit to the work he's doing over there in Baltimore. Kevin has a very fine range of his own basses which are no doubt also built to this level of quality. I no longer seem to be able to link to stuff from imgur for some reason (it's been a while since I posted anything) so have had to attach these. I need to do some better ones in natural light to fully show off the figuring, but I snapped these shortly after it arrived A different tonal option to add to the stable A big thumbs up for Mark at Bass Direct as well for organizing the build. I did try to order one directly from Ken but I couldn't seem to get him to agree to build it for me 😂 *update Better pics in natural light...

Recorded live on 7th December 2019 in Leeds. This was the encore of our set, and consequently the last thing we have preformed in front of an audience:

I'd never heard of Sean Malone so googled him and have just finished listening to the whole of Focus , amazing bass playing and wow what an influential ahead of it's time album , I'm not a metaler particularly but I loved it , RIP Sean,

My daughter has SEN provision at school for many of the issues listed above, so I understand your point Patrick. It’s very tough and there is judgement on the parents, that’s undeniable - even from family. There’s a world of difference between someone self-diagnosing themselves and one provided by a professional team. If you look at how vague some of the symptoms appear, it’s no wonder (it’s why so many people claim to have had Covid earlier this year when the statistical probability is that they had a bad flu and just want to feel special). It appears that much of the research comes from the US where the default treatment is with a range of drugs. The skepticism is often fuelled by the belief that this is a conspiracy by drugs companies. Thankfully, in the U.K. the focus is more on strategies and approaches that are inclusive. Thank goodness! In my experience, *every* professional I have encountered has been helpful, respectful and supportive. My daughter receives wonderful support from her teachers, support worker and school and has made incredible progress. I really hope you experience the same. Anyone who has been in your shoes won’t judge.

More like "ffs, come off!"

The mind buggles.

Some time back I was paying some bass genius in the USA silly money for lessons. What stopped me was when he made some comment about "you're not listening". "Yes, I am", I thought, "but how can I help it if my brain, when you're talking, goes off on a tangent and I lose track for a few moments?!?!" What I didn't know then, but I'm getting to accept now, at the age of 61, is I may be ADHD. I can lay awake at night, kept awake with my brain going on 3-4 subjects all at the same time like a tombola drum. I don't run around the room or anything, but my brain never rests: This, it seems is ADHD. What is scary is how so often the rest of the world only sees a few symptoms and they get spoken about, but teachers might find it useful to know about all the other complications going on underneath that you don't know about and few talk about it. I hope this is helpful to some here.

Did it. Just bought a Pelham.

I’ve scrapped plans to buy a BBPH...

Talking of which, there are a set of individual bases on order from Nova so yes, any spacing that takes your fancy AND a bit more progress. Regulars on these builds will know, I DETEST ROUTERS! But there are times, folks, when only a router will do And - against all odds - the cuts even match up with the pencil marks! So, basically, the wings (which will also have a maple veneer demarcation and will be glued flush with the bottom of the slot just routed) sit either side of this - which if you remember incorporates the neck angle: And the top sits on top, albeit 1mm higher than the top of the neck: Why 1mm higher? Because the fretboard will extend over the body by 40-50mm - and is coming in at an angle to the top. So I will cut a tapered channel for it to come through so the end of the fretboard ends flush with the top. Leastways, that's the theory And it's a while yet, so plenty of time for me to think of an excuse why it didn't happen like that

I flipping love 1950's radiograms! Mono 45's, sexy teak lids, jumpers for goalpoasts, isn't it, hmm etc...

Ok then.Been a while since I posted on this thread even though I started it So I'm not entirely sure if this fits the criteria as only the neck is Mexican. I assembled this from all new(nearly all) parts as my own custom/signature? bass that is one of a kind. When I was younger I didnt have a pot to pee in,but now kids are gone,no debt,etc,etc. So this is the reason for doing this. Have a look & see what you think.

Here's my new MB5 just arrived. Initial thoughts are "its a cheap bass,but definitely NOT a bad bass". A bit heavy but not too heavy(for me anyway). Plays straight outta the box. Pickups are surprisingly quite loud. Volume/Tone knobs are cheap but useable. Little tip-Keep both volume knobs on full otherwise a bit of hissing goes on. All wood seems ok.ish. No sharp fret edges. A little chunky in the middle of neck but again,still useable and needs getting used to. Tuners ok.ish This is my first 5tringer and the narrow(er) string spacings takes a bit of getting used to. All things aside,its well worth £115 delivered to UK. P.S sorry about the mess behind...lol.

ADHD is a genuine condition, and thankfully people are now aware of it, and as such can tailor education etc so that people with it can benefit as much as possible, However how many kids that misbehave will use it as an excuse, possibly with their parents backing, that’s what concerns me. I think back to my school days and no-one in Mr Sprays class misbehaved, whereas the behaviour in Miss Fields’ class was appalling. Looking at many of those kids they would have happily used ADHD as an excuse for messing about. And as a result behaviour such as this could make people take it less seriously.

The greatest rhythm section ever has left us. This is brutal, especially so soon after Reinert.

Here we go again. If these cabs sound as good as they almost certainly will, then who gives at rats derrière about the logo!!

So - to the fretboard. The plan (you know about "best made.." etc) is, after taking out the nut, to remove the board but, if possible keep the runout into the headstock where it is, which might be a challenge because it is actually part of the fretboard: 1st step is to protect the neck: With old necks and bodies - particularly if they have lacquer cracks and crazing, which this one does - you have to be very careful with masking tape. I use the 3M decorators tape (DON'T use the blue Dial knockoff from B&Q) because the 'tack' is lighter than some and it won't leave glue behind. But on an old neck, I also don't leave it on. Same issue - reducing the chances of lacquer coming off with the tape. The longer it's on, the tighter will be the tack. So I will be applying and taking tape off a number of times on this particular refurb. Here's 2/3rds of my kit. A travel iron (on full) and a single-edged razor: Key thing is getting the fretboard very hot and letting that heat fully penetrate down to the glue line. It's not to be rushed. After around 10 minutes of the iron just on this end few inches, I was able to do this: The razor was able to slip between the board and the neck. I worked the blade round both sides and the end until I was able to get my very thin steel sheet in between without it straining the board at all or digging in. I use the acoustic sides protector stainless sheet that I use when bending acoustic guitar sides, but folks use cake platters, etc. As long as it's steel and very thin it will work fine: And then it's a case of being patient and going an inch at a time, heating up the next section and 'walking' the steel sheet or platter up. I find it goes about 5mins per inch once the board really starts heating up. But I let it go at its own pace - rushing it usually ends badly. After around 35 minutes I'd got here: As I started getting close to the nut, I used a razor saw to cut the 1-2mm of board joining the main board to the runout: Then 5 - 10 minutes later it was all off: Phew!

Wasn’t the worst decision I’ve ever made...

New bass day! Nov 77

I ordered mine last week - due on Monday apparently. I've always wanted to have a MM in my arsenal but never wanted to pay MM prices, I have owned various 5s of different shapes and you can get wider spacing (which I prefer) so don't give up on 5s if this doesn't do it for you. I took a punt on this as the string spacing looked fairly wide on the pics and people were talking about it being a big neck. I'm sure it will do for what I want. The stealth one was out of stock which is why I went for this, and I do have an unhealthy love of sunburst anyway. It looks even better than I thought in your pics.

We're actually just off the Virgin Isles in a submarine based HQ which we can move around the globe as convenient to escape certain legal and assassination requirements.

The guitarist has a Kemper Profiler Floorboard, is the bassist using a Profiler remote? It has the bar along the bottom of the screen and the required number of footswitches

A couple more for your consideration. Feel free to tell me to stop..... I might even take notice 😉

The answer is always an Ibanez, cheap and very cheerful. SR300EB or it's 5 or 6 string cousins new/used on ebay or talkbass could be a good shout. The Sire stuff is great too.

Another top freebie for Kontakt (full version and free player version). This really is an excellent Grand Piano with 21 Velocity layers... https://www.soniccouture.com/en/products/p322-hammersmith-free/

Yeah I’m sure , I thought the last one that was for sale was in Surrey, this one is in Wales somewhere, I’m in east London 😉

The mantra that starts: “ffs, stick! “

This is the technique I followed (thanks to Jazzdog on TB) APPLYING A SANDED-IN OIL FINISH SURFACE PREPARATION AND FINISHING PUTTIES: Although it is better to repair a broken or missing piece of wood with a scrap of the same species (preferably from the same board), putties can be used. Three different kinds are marketed: Oil-Based Water-Based Solvent-Based Putties that use acetone-based solvents will begin to evaporate and harden as soon as the container is opened, despite your best efforts to promptly seal the container immediately after use; acetone is a highly volatile compound with extremely small molecules, and it is a tenacious escape artist -- it will find and escape through any irregularity in the containers seal. Scrupulously cleaning the mating surfaces of the lid and container before resealing the container can help minimize these losses. Applying a layer of plastic wrap across the top of the can before reinserting the lid can help by acting as an additional barrier to prevent solvent from escaping. Some manufacturers (e.g., Woodpatch) place the labels on their cans upside-down to encourage consumers to store the product with the lid facing down, which helps thwart solvent evaporation. The instructor adds a small, sacrificial, quantity of acetone to the container before resealing, and stores his cans bottom-side-up. It is also helpful to write the date the can was opened on the bottom of the can with a felt-tip pen. If a previously-used can of putty has begun to dry out, it can often be rejuvenated if it is still pliable by mixing in additional solvent. Although putties are best reserved for projects that will be painted, stain-grade projects can include some putty if judiciously applied and finished. In either case, however, it is important to read the labels of both the putty and the finishing products to ensure they are compatible. A shop-made putty made from same-species sawdust and a few drops of finish (e.g., shellac) can be used in inconspicuous areas, however, the limitations endemic to manufactured putties pertain to shop-made putty as well. Shop-made putties using glue and sawdust are best limited to painted projects. Putties seldom match the color of the wood to which they are being applied, display completely different texture from the sourroounding wood tissue, and do not absorb stains and finishes the same way the adjacent wood fibers absorb them. Many wood species (e.g., cherry) change color with age, while putties do not. When putty is used in a project that will be stained, oiled, or otherwise remain visible when finished, a bit of camouflage can be achieved using artists brushes, artists colors, and stain, to emulate the coloration and grain patterns of the surrounding wood fibers. Putty can be difficult to apply without contaminating wood fibers in the area surrounding the repair. These smears will be visible when clear finishes and stains are applied. One technique that can minimize this kind of damage, is to apply blue painters tape before applying putty: When installing moldings that will be face-nailed and puttied, first apply painters tape, then nail through the tape, then apply putty through the hole in the tape. When the tape is removed, the area surrounding the filled nail hole will not have been contaminated by putty smears. DENTS & CRUSHED FIBERS: Damage to a work piece during the construction process seems all but inevitable. A dent (compressed wood fibers) can be repaired by applying moisture and heat directly to the dented area, causing the wood fibers to swell and expand to almost their original volume. Start by lightly scraping the dent and the area immediately surrounding it. Then, apply a few drops of water directly to the dent and allow it to absorb into the wood fibers for a few minutes. Next, dampen a small area of a clean cloth and apply it directly over the dent. Using a clothes iron set to high, apply heat to the dented area through the moist cloth with the pointed tip of the iron, taking care not to press the iron into the wood. Avoid the temptation to lie the iron flat against the wood -- the objective is not to iron the wood, it is to apply heat and moisture only to the dented area in order to achieve localized swelling of the wood fibers. The instructor demonstrated this technique by inflicting four dents in a board. He then scraped two, leaving two un-scraped as a control. After circling the dents lightly in pencil, he steamed the dents. Those that had been scraped were virtually invisible, while the un-scraped dents were observable and could be felt. SCRAPING AND SANDING: People tend not to notice perfection, but readily notice imperfections: an award-winning project depends as much on the avoidance of conspicuous faults as it does meticulous joinery and application of finishes. When a finish has been successfully applied, people will have an urge to touch your project; to have their sense of touch confirm what their eyes have observed, and to fully appreciate the tactile qualities of the surfaces. It makes sense for the artisan to employ these same senses during the finishing process. Use your fingers to inspect the prepared surfaces; can you feel defects or irregularities that may be observable when finish is applied? Using an inspection light at an angle to the work piece will cast shadows that will exaggerate surface imperfections; once found, they can be corrected. One of the most common finishing errors is the failure to completely remove mill marks before finishes are applied; these kinds of imperfections will be magnified when the finish is applied. This is because the scalloped surfaces presented by mill marks expose segments of end-grain which absorb stains and finishes at a different rate than face or edge fibers. While scraping or planing removes mill marks quickly, leaving a surface that is ready for 200-grit abrasives, the wood fibers are compressed and burnished to some extent (Tangentially, Japanese temple builders maintain their chisels and planes in such a super-sharp state that the wood fibers are compressed and burnished so effectively that water is repelled, making the application of wood finishes unnecessary). When finishes or stains will be applied, it is important to use abrasives after scraping and planing to prepare the wood fibers to consistently receive the finish. Abrasives cut across the wood fibers, creating a condition in which the wood surface is analogous to myriad wicks, thirstily absorbing stains and finishes, and allowing them to penetrate more-or-less evenly and uniformly. When water-based stains or finishes are applied, the wood fibers absorb the water swell, and the grain is raised, resulting in a rough surface. Deliberately raising the grain before applying water-based products minimizes this effect. After sanding through 220-grit, apply water to the wood surface and allow it to dry for 24-hours. Then, re-sand with 220-grit abrasive to remove the raised fibers, and apply the water-based product. A glue size (a solution containing 90% distilled water and 10% hide glue) applied before finishing can serve as a barrier coat that limits the absorption of successive finish layers, and can help reduce uneven absorption exhibited in end-grain and the blotching that can occur when stains are applied to certain species. OIL FINISHES: The two oils commonly used in the manufacture of oil finishes are Linseed oil and Tung oil. Linseed oil is derived from the flax seed, while Tung oil is extracted from the nut of a Tung tree. Without further treatment, these oils would dry too slowly to make them suitable as wood finishes. Metallic driers are added to Linseed oil, which is then heated, resulting in a product commonly known as Boiled Linseed Oil. Tung oil is heat treated to achieve polymerization - a state in which the molecules are bound together in long strands. In 1989 the A.Q.M.D. (California Air Quality Management District) mandated changes to reduce VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) common in many wood finishes. These regulations resulted in the reformulation of many time-tested products that had achieved superior results as wood finishes, and stimulated the inordinate growth of water-based products. Prior to this time, Watcos Danish Oil products were favored by many woodworkers for their ease of application, short drying times, and superior finishes. The reformulations mandated by the A.Q.M.D. in 1989 yielded products that were generally inferior to pre-89 products and did not dry properly. After experimenting with many oil finishes in search of a product with characteristics comparable to the venerable Watco Danish Oil, Liberon Finishing Oil (a Tung oil-based product imported from England), was selected as the best oil finish. Minwax Antique Oil Finish (in the red can) also provides acceptable results, although it does not dry as quickly as Liberon Finishing Oil. Other Liberon products also work exceptionally well, including their French import Black Bison Clear Fine Paste Wax (available in neutral and several tinted shades), and their steel wool, an un-oiled product that is graded for consistent texture and scratch pattern, and is clearly superior to other steel wool on the market. NOTE: Steel wool should not be used in conjunction with water-based finishes, as steel particles will become embedded in the finish and will create unsightly black specks in the finish. When using water-based finishes, synthetic abrasive pads are available in several color-coded levels of abrasiveness. Scotch-Brite is one example. While bronze wool will not rust like steel, it is very fragile and disintegrates quickly. NOTE: An oil finish, while very suitable for the exterior of fine furniture projects, is not recommended for the interiors of cabinets, drawers, et al. Even with ample air circulation, an oil finish will not cure properly, and an unpleasant odor will linger long after the project has been completed. SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION: Before describing the process of applying an oil-based finish, a discussion of spontaneous combustion is warranted. Simply stated, spontaneous combustion describes [oil-soaked] materials bursting into flame: a very dangerous condition that should be avoided at all cost. Three components are required for combustion: Fuel Oxygen Heat An oil-soaked rag item provides the fuel, and there is abundant Oxygen in the atmosphere. As oils polymerize, they generate heat. A rag lying flat readily gives off this heat to the atmosphere and combustion temperature is never achieved. However, in a folded rag or wad of steel wool, the heat is not allowed to dissipate -- it is contained in folds and pockets, and the temperature continues to build until combustion is achieved. Because spontaneous combustion is so likely, and the dangers so severe, caution should be exercised to prevent an occurrence. This is achieved by closely monitoring all oil-contaminated products during use (never leave an oil-saturated applicator unattended), and by promptly disposing of oil-soaked rags, unfolding them and spreading them flat on a concrete or dirt surface, away from all combustion sources, until completely dry. When the oil has thoroughly dried, you are left with a rag Frisbee that can be safely placed in a trash container. APPLYING AN OIL FINISH: Each finishing session will require seven to eight hours when applying a hand-rubbed oil finish; between half-an-hour to an hour to apply and sand-in the oil, followed by six hours of monitoring and surface maintenance. This isnt a project to start at 10:00 p.m. unless you are prepared to be up all night. Work on only one or two reasonably-sized surfaces at a time - dont attempt to apply the finish to an entire project at once. One of the benefits of an oil finish is that there is no need to finish an entire project at once, or to maintain a wet edge. You can stop and start as you please, as long as you thoroughly remove all slurry before it dries and becomes thick and unworkable. After sanding to 220-grit, prepare silicon carbide wet-or-dry sandpaper in three grits: 220-grit 320-grit 400-grit 600-grit Tear or cut the abrasive into sizes that will be convenient and manageable when folded in thirds (I divide sheets of abrasive into eighths). Youll also need to prepare an ample supply of clean, absorbent, lint-free rags with which residual slurry can be removed. Wet the wood surface with finishing oil, rubbing it in with your hands until the surface fibers are saturated. The instructor keeps his finishing oil in a squeeze bottle (with an airtight lid), for easier and better-controlled application. Start with 220-grit and sand the oiled wood, with the grain, until a slurry of oil and sawdust is created. Once a slurry has been created you can sand in circular or figure-eight patterns. Work one small area at a time, until the surface is consistently smooth and the slurry has been packed into the open pores of the wood. After perhaps ten or fifteen minutes, the surface(s) you have been working will be consistently sanded to 220-grit, and the slurry will have begun to thicken. Now its time to wipe all remaining slurry from the surface of the wood with a clean rag. The instructor uses manicurists orange sticks, wrapped in a clean cloth, to remove all traces of the slurry from corners and areas containing detail and tight radii. This needs to be accomplished before the product becomes too dry and gummy to remove easily - with Liberon Finishing Oil, you have about twenty minutes. With other oil finishes, such as Minwax Antique Oil Finish, you have a little longer - perhaps three-quarters of an hour. You will need to monitor your project for bleed-back over the next six hours. Bleed-back is the term used to describe residual oil that will ooze from the wood pores up to the wood surface as the finish polymerizes. Bleed-back will appear as small bumps of finish on the surface of the wood. Inspect your work once an hour, wiping away bleed-back with a clean rag. Then allow the first coat to dry for 48 hours before proceeding. When you have sanded the oil finish into the entire surface of the project using 220-grit abrasive, repeat the process with 320-grit. Wait twenty-four hours and repeat the process with 400-grit; after another twenty-four hours and repeat the process with 600-grit. Allow at least seven days for the finish to cure before applying two thin coats of hard paste wax containing Carnauba wax.

Bravo! I lit several candles for you this morning and recited many of the luthiers' guild prayers while chanting the mantra that only the few know

Really? 😉

Makes sense, but I would’ve still preferred a smaller version of the old logo.

I suppose that a book aimed at bass players would have limited appeal outside our 'little universe', even if I would for one devoure it! However, I find that people who are at your level (the handful I've met, not exactly a large sample, but...) often feel as you describe: "ah, it'll be boring, who will even care? people will just want gossip", but I think their experiences can have a wider appeal than you imagine when approached simply as "the trials and tribulations of someone trying to make a living as a musician". A lot of us could write books along those lines, but very few got to 'make it' and become part of so much music that became the soundtrack of our lives, in some ways. My book would be really boring. It would start with my 'discovering' music and trying to play melodies and rhythms on anything I could get my hands on, until my parents made it clear that they thought music was something just for fun on the side and that I should go study at University instead and become an engineer or something. And I went "erm... ok". So rock'n'roll, eh? Well, I went to study Electronic Engineering (while listening a LOT to early Whitesnake, in particular ) and I thought I'd try to follow on the footsteps of Tom Scholz (Boston) and if I was not going to be a proper musician I could design and build equipment. Eventually I dropped out and became a biologist instead, and in my 30s I returned to playing music... and I've got a lot of stories: some crazy, some silly, some sweet... like that 5 year old dancing like a maniac in front of the stage at an afternoon festival in the park, who'd take turns to be in front each one of us, watching with attention what we were doing, and after we finished he kept insisting we continued playing and he wouldn't stop until we invited him over and showed him what the stage was like (he LOVED the drums and we let him make a bit of noise with them)... The look on his face will stay with me forever. Through the years, playing bars, festivals and small clubs, music has shown to be a great leveller. People with very different backgrounds, jobs, different skin colours and religions, brought together by music. Music has helped a lot of us through difficult times, it gives us strength, it can inspire us, or can soften our steely hearts and bring out emotions like nothing else can... and this is just from my observations at a very small/local level (the closest to a 'tour' I've ever done was spending a week travelling in a minibus around the UK, sleeping on floors and dirty pub seats when we were lucky, spending mindnumbing hours each day just waiting for those 2 hours we'd get to do our thing in front of some people, regardless whether they were 1000 or 50... and sometimes not even 50, hell, I've played to two barmen and kitchen staff! ) but still met lots of interesting people and had lots of interesting conversations, with music being the common thread. If I have that, I am positive that your book could be a LOT more exciting. I tell you what, if you write yours, I'll write mine

Thanks for the nice comments! I don't go on Basschat nearly as much as I should - mostly when I'm buying or selling basses! I bought that bass in spring 1975 as a late '60s P-bass body (had been resprayed black, which I stripped and varnished) already with a Tele bass neck (maybe 1968, can't remember, and it's in storage so I can't check). Immediately I added an EB3 mini humbucker at the bridge but as the pole piece spacing was narrower I had to use Mustang bass saddles pulled together with a piece of thick wire. I used it like this with Colosseum II (Gary Moore, Don Airey etc, 1975-6), mostly using both pickups, and National Health (1976-7), generally just the J pickups, but I think in 1977 I changed the EB3 pickup for two J pickups wired as a humbucker. The P-bass pickup was still as standard then but I don't have any pics that show it in this configuration. I removed all the frets in 1977 (Jaco! See photo below from rehearsals for the Bruford album Feels Good To Me, standing in for Jeff Berlin who was the actual bassist in the band) and sometimes had to borrow other necks or basses for particular songs, sessions or gigs. I had it refretted in late 1977 or early 1978. Soon after joining Whitesnake in early 1978 I needed to change from the mid-heavy tone of the EB3 or J bridge humbucker to a more full sound, so I started using the P pickup (at this time and in Colosseum II I was using flat wounds for more definition - the treble of round wounds was swamped by guitars, cymbals etc. Later with Whitesnake I changed to La Bella Quarterwounds then La Bella Hard Rockin' Steel) but wasn't very satisfied by the tonal difference between the two halves of the pickup. I discovered there was a type of replacement P pickup (Mighty Mite, I think) which had a single polepiece under each string, like Sandbergs today, so the coil size wasn't as wide as in regular P pickups, so I could shave the ends of the bobbins and put two coils side by side, similar to the two coils in a Di Marzio J pickup. I made a cover (as seen in the photo above) with two pickups (4 coils) underneath, and wired it so I could try the various combinations. Until halfway through 1978, it was my only bass, and to make changes to my gear required me to make modifications to that one, as I couldn't afford to buy new instruments. I discovered that I preferred the sound of the coils wired in 'reverse P' configuration, which wasn't a thing then, though Yamaha started doing basses like that soon after. So that's how the bass was when that photo was taken. I used it on the Whitesnake Snakebite EP and Trouble LP, through a miked-up Peavey cab and no DI. After that I moved to Kramer then Aria, plus a borrowed Alembic for some albums. Later, with Black Sabbath in 1995 I reinstated a normal Precision pickup (Bartolini) for some touring, and I used the bass for periods during my 12 years in We Will Rock You in the West End. I shaved down the back of the Tele bass neck during the 70s as I found it too chunky, but went too far and exposed the truss rod! So that neck was retired in the 90s and I've had a couple of different P bass necks on there since then. By the way, there's a version on the net of that photo up above that has my hair sticking up on top and looking very odd, which is a digital mistake I guess, so I'm glad you used the better version! Cheers, Neil

I have the same bass, I'm convinced the neck size contributes to its authoritative tone. For the first few weeks I hated the neck dimensions, now I appreciate it. I've been recording a lot during lockdown, it's my only bass that I can record direct without bothering with external EQ. Sounds wonderful and sits in a mix. Strung with Rotosound flats.