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It’s it a good job we're not snowflakes! 😊

Well, the spelling and grammar appear to be correct. So not everyone on Basschat will be unhappy.

I think you're reading too much in to it. If they followed it up with something like hey if you're crap at music check out our drum department it's the same kind of thing. It's just a light hearted joke. Otherwise, why would they sell basses if that was their view? It's a light hearted joke. I've already sent it to my band and asked the guitarist what colour Encore P bass he wants. Because I can laugh at myself and the implication that bassists are just sh!t guitarists. We know it's not true, that's why we can feel secure enough that it is just a silly joke. If anyone is offended by it or won't shop at PMT because of it then really they're taking themselves too seriously.

As if nobody has ever had a light hearted joke at the expense of singers, drummers, guitarists, keyboard players, sound engineers.....

Well it all got a bit weird! I bought this Chapman pictured below as my ‘congratulations for not dying bass’ after the whole COVID thing. It was money I couldn’t afford, but I was struggling to manage the weight of my jazz bass and found that playing really helped me mentally and cognitively. So I bought it. ...But I had to keep it in the living room for fear of mould getting in the open pore wood (my gear is in the cellar) which wasn’t ideal. Nor was having borrowed the money from savings to buy it, or the fear of damaging such a beautiful (to me) finish with my clumsyness or the kids knocking it over in the living room, or making a dent with my thumb while playing (done this to Warwicks before). So sadly, I sold it. I also, even more sadly, sold my lake placid blue fender marauder guitar as I’m not playing guitar anymore. I started looking around at Harley bentons, (I needed a maple neck for the cellar an all, and I fancied a musicman humbucker ) I also looked at sire (I fancied active, but like having a passive tone control and like fender shapes) But also quite fancied a P bass sound...but don’t like p basses...and I missed the lovely blue of my marauder and whatever I got had to be cheap and light. A big ask! Then I spotted this Cort GB74 ‘gig’. Cort is a brand I’ve always sniffed at. It was cheap, light, had a maple neck, was the right colour, with a p pickup, a humbucker a jazz single coil and active electronics with passive mode with a tone control! Literally everything I’m looking for in one bass. Bar the block markers (decals incoming!) I pulled the trigger and it came on Weds Apparently it’s made in the same place as Lakland skylines and it has a sandberg preamp. It feels lovely and familiar, is set up perfectly, hip shot ultra lite tuners are dead stable. Sounds fab and let’s me jump from passsive p to active jazz to musicman (ish) all in one bass. Plus that brilliant truss rod adjustment location and what is basically a badass bridge as standard. Its not the prettiest or most prestigious bass I’ve owned. But it’s perfect for the music I play and I’m not worried about it getting bumped or nicked. The negatives... I don’t like the plain white pickguard, I’ll have to have a custom Pearl one made. The bridge pickup has a little buzz. Only a little. The satin neck looks anaemic but feels amazing. no blocks and binding. The MM sound isn’t quite as close as I’d like, but whatever. It has a silly name! (Who calls a bass ‘Gig’) I certainly won’t be sniffing at Cort anymore! It looks ‘stretched’ in the pics, it’s not. It’s a jazz shape near as damnit. I just took poor pictures🤣

I got the neck blank down close to final width, with enough wiggle room to let @Jus Lukin decide whether he prefers 17mm or 18mm spacing. Based on that I was going to be cutting the back wings oversize at this stage, I was able to do this too even though the neck isn't at its final width. And added the maple veneer so I didn't forget later So we have a bass that is weeks and weeks away from finish, but at least is starting to look like a bass:

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...

So some good news and also some bits to investigate a bit further with the neck. The link that @RichardH posted is immensely useful because I can see exactly what's going on. So my first question was whether the trussrod action was self-contained. A modern two way rod bends and the neck follows it. And therefore the two ends press down on the spine at the back of the neck and the middle presses up against the middle of the fretboard. And my question was - if this works like that, then what is going to hold the fretboard from pinging off???? But looking at the photos, it was clearly a one-way rod that was fitted. And that bends the neck by pulling against two fixed points at either end of the neck itself. And that doesn't put a force on the underside of the fretboard. But only one way of finding out - tighten the trussrod and either: - the neck was going to bend even without a fretboard attached or - there would be a soft furry *ping* and I would be covered in graphite fibres It bent fine and no *ping* So there is no need to remove the graphite as the guy on the link did. But - there was one thing I had noticed even before I did this. Was this the bit of wood that the one end of the rod relies on to hold the nylon block firmly in place? : Because, if it is, that is going to need sorting. Now, interestingly, when I tightened the rod, this sliver of cracked wood didn't move at all...and that is a good sign. And when I look at one of Richard's link photos, it looks like the block is actually held by the wood projections going down the depth of the neck: (with thanks and acknowledgement to unicornbass.se for the above photo) So tomorrow I'm going to chisel that bit of loose wood away and see if I'm right. There - I said it quickly so I don't think anyone will have noticed

It’ll be fine... honest... @CameronJ - the pictures on Peach guitars (who look like they actually have it, not just stock photos!), it’s shiny from the bottom horn etc

This just popped up on my YT feed.

I don’t like how they’ve used squiggles under the foot switches. How is anyone meant to understand what they do I mean who do they think they are? Barefaced? *ducks and hides*

Don't use gorilla glue! Fill the hole with wood glue, then squeeze in as many wooden tooth sticks, matches, or similar thin wood sticks that will fit into the hole, as you can into the hole so they sit tight, break or cut them off at the surface of the hole and wipe off excess glue with a moist cloth, then screw the strap nut back in and let the glue dry (usually wood glue will take 24 hours to completely dry), this will with guarantee make the strap nut sit more securely in the bass than it even did before.

A couple of transcriptions of Neil 's bass parts: Down To You by Colosseum II and Fool For Your Loving by Whitesnake https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/down-to-you-colosseum-ii/ https://bilbosbassbites.co.uk/fool-for-your-loving-whitesnake/

I've had a chance to play it now and it certainly has the 1200S DNA. But it does have it's own thing going on. I have had 3 1200S basses in the past so I am working off my memory but it does have a lot of the sparkle of the top end of that bass. I find the bottom end is very different though in that it doesn't have the 'hollow' sound of the 1200S and is more round. Without playing this in a band setting I think hitting that E string might blow the roof off, that didn't happen with my 1200S basses. So I would say it is different enough from the 1200S to be it's own thing. The feel of the neck is amazing and it is very fast. It is certainly not the 'tank' the 1200S is, but that is probably down to it being so much lighter. The sustain is amazing for a bolt on, that is a huge achievement. I have never played a 734 so can't comment on that, but this is a workhorse bass with a solid feel to it. The only thing I would be critical of is the knobs seem a bit on the cheaper side and are too small/fiddly, the inlays are plasticky, and the fretboard is too light against the rest of the bass. But for £899 it's an absolute steel and a top bass.

There is a great deal of discussion these days in rarefied creative circles about how best to preserve an artistic legacy. That can involve astonishingly complex questions of intellectual property, considerable wealth in various forms, long-term revenue, the integrity of a body of work, locations of archives, and philanthropic choices that can be set out during the lifetime of the artist. There have been too many episodes of heirs and trustees arguing over estates, and particularly over assumptions regarding the wishes of the deceased. Dylan's decision settles a lot of questions and frees up a great deal of wealth than can be used effectively. For example, the amount involved could establish a slew of programmes geared towards emerging musicians, or performance venues. Perhaps Dylan has something like that in mind, perhaps not -- but it would certainly be easier to devise such programmes using the proceeds of selling intellectual property than it would be to rely on royalties for funding. I know that Dad and others are philosophically opposed to extreme accumulation of surplus wealth. Fair enough, but that wealth exists and does not simply disappear unless it is truly based on a bubble. It matters a great deal, therefore, what arrangements wealthy individuals make. Perhaps it would be reasonable to wait until we see what arrangement Dylan makes before passing judgment.

My Favorite bass today!

Did it. Just bought a Pelham.

Yes, I know. Here we go:

I’d say they have a certain clank which can be quite gratifying but it won’t sound like a P bass if that’s what the heart really wants. I’ve not tried a dual TB set up but from the demo’s I’ve heard of the the Lull PT4 it again I’d a very fun rocky sound brighter and with good cut. The demo linked below might give you some idea and there’s obviously the classic Thunderbird tone.. some of what you’ll hear in the demo is the tonestyler adding it’s magic too.

Well, that chip you can see has already moved. It is split and it is misplaced. And there is a small gap behind the nylon block. The movement I am looking out for is of the white nylon block towards the headstock as the nut is tightened. The fretboard wouldn't affect that. And, of course, without knowing the full history of this second hand neck, we don't actually know whether the neck was holding relief properly in the first place - it may have been moving and losing relief. As there has clearly been some movement of something, I need to be sure - while I can do something about it if necessary - before making a new fretboard and gluing that on. I wouldn't want to have to iron the new fretboard off too It's a quick check and easily fixable in the unlikely event that there is an issue

Sometimes i need to google those things so i don't look stupid. Darn it, now everyone knows i do that they'll all know i'm stupid anyway. 😂 Dave

Even in the days when you could give Rics away, checker bound with crushed Pearl inlays were more sought after. I remember missing out on a jetglo ‘72 in the Bass Centre in Brum in the ‘90s which was IIRC £795, or possibly £895, because I was a bit skint. For some reason it never occurred to me to ask about p/x-ing the Warwick Dolphin Pro II I had with me. My worst though was not buying Neil Brewer’s (Druid) ‘72 4001 when I had the chance, for £500 (could have been £600 actually, can’t remember) in ‘96. It both felt and sounded very different to my main bass and was quite a bit heavier, and I was looking for something as close as possible. Didn’t know who Druid were at the time, discovered a used copy of Toward The Sun in a 2nd hand shop later and loved it. Would have been nice to have owned the bass that was used on it. Lovely bloke by the way.

I love the bass sound on this. Adrian Shaw. Hawkwind sceptics, please set aside your preconceptions and give this bass tone and walking line masterclass a listen.

https://www.peachguitars.com/epiphone-sg-special-p-90-faded-pelham-blue.htm ooooo, this looks like the photo was from an ACTUAL instrument. If that is what ‘faded Pelham blue’ looks like, I’m in!

Eep. I will say GG are Bob on. At 9am told me Monday delivery (I’m working) I said “it said Saturday delivery” - by 9.30 it was sorted. they did the same with my sadowsky.

I have used clear nail lacquer on Vigier, Modulus, and Status necks. Lacquer dries quickly and sticks very well. Cheap, easy to find. Of course any colour is good, and it's always nice to start the conversation in the shop about which brand is the best for you with the salesperson...

What a man it works cheers bud

The initial ease of turning was the string force aiding the truss rod return the neck to a 'neutral' position. After that you get a bit of easy adjustment where nothing seems to happen, then you get the usual resistance as you oppose the curvature the strings want to create. All is good from your description. With low tension strings like TIs quite a few of my bass necks do not need any truss rod engagement other than a small amount to stop rattling.

Whenever I hear people moaning about grandstanding slap bass players I always think about Louis Johnson playing for the song. Even here in a solo spot he he keeps it tasteful and perfectly in the groove.

Looks like it might well be graphite - this might be of interest Wal Pro 1E neck rebuild

Jesus wept. That’s stunning - if it’s like that in the flesh, I’ll be made up.

Obviously the Stomp can do pedal board mode as well, all be it with 3 (or 5) foots switches. What am i missing here?

It's a conversation piece for forums when someone takes the fretboard off?

In other news after a long run of shifts I've had time to sit at my laptop again and I've successfully managed to update my Stomp and HX edit to 3.01.0. Looking forward to having a proper play now I've a few days off!

I too have a 10 incher not getting any use. I admire you for getting stuck in. I've never summoned the energy. Look forward to hearing how you get on with it

I know what you mean. I put off buying the Progressive because it just looked a bit meh. But actually it's now a firm favourite. I've gigged and rehearsed with it and it's really lovely to play and looks better in real life than in the pictures

I don't have ADHD or anything like that, but my brain is wired such that I struggle to focus…. my mind goes on tangent after tangent ending up down some rabbit hole most of the time. I like it! I think is the main part of who I am, but comes at price sometime. All my school reports said that I was not disruptive, but a daydreamer.... most often I'd go into my own internal world.

Surely it depends on how he uses the money. Does he wait 10-20 years until he is dead and let some faceless board of trustees decide who profits, or get the money now? I can't help thinking that in his position and attitude he doesn't need any of it to sustain his lifestyle, and being American I wouldn't be remotely surprised if he uses a lot of it for philanthropy, and he probably thinks he'd rather crystallise the asset now so he can have more of a role in deciding how it gets used.

My string adaptor just sits on the end of the existing nut. The nut end face is angled slightly, so the string tension pulls the adaptor towards the back of the neck. Also worth checking is the 'Overlord of Music' nut and bridge set, sometimes sold individually. That nut will take standard strings, but it clamps them by bending them through 90 degrees, which some strings will not take. I don't know if it is a drop-in replacement for the existing nut assembly. David

What a collection! Glad for more Smiths in the UK.

I was just looking for a Trevor Horn video and found this. A nice sounding take, and I challenge anyone not to mentally fill in the vocals!

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 am selling the rights to my entire back catalogue, if anyone is interested. I perfectly expect to be able to 'go large' at MacDonalds with the proceeds. 😉