gary mac

For all the outdoor Winter gigs that I've played, always used fingerless Thinsulate thermal gloves, plus a thin, windproof thermal fleece.

Depends on the attic. If it's the type that Bartelby mentioned, then for me it's a no no, whether cased or not. Somewhere with reasonably consistent temperature and just as importantly, consistent humidity, is where I want my instruments stored.

Will look forward to seeing the progress. Always interesting to see your projects and marvel at your skill level Andy.

I've worked on a couple of Westfields and was impressed with the quality, particularly given its price point. Frets were good. Hardware was adequate. Wiring and pots were the weak point in my opinion but easily remedied.

sad to hear this.

More often than not, it would seem that a whole lot of nonsense and thoughtlessness has to be waded through during the search Some people just don't care how they treat others,

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] I don't have drunks telling me their dad plays better (or the likes). [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]At a DefunkT gig in Ware a couple of weeks back, a drunk informed me that I played so much better than his Dad [/font][/color]

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1478457492' post='3169162'] Great stuff. There's nothing electrical attached to the underside of the guard? [/quote] Just carefully undo all the screws, remove the output socket nut and washer, remove the volume and tone knobs and the nuts and washers. Then lift the guard off. Sometimes it can be a little tight around the pick ups but some gentle tweaking will get it done. I recently got one of the cheapish 3 ply black/white/black guards on Ebay for about £13. Perfect fit, it didn't have the cut out for the truss rod access but a bit of time spent with a couple of files and the job was a good 'un.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1478455640' post='3169148'] That's what I was thinking. Is a MIA 'guard easy to change? I've looked online, as there's a million different versions! [/quote] Yes easy enough. Do your research get one with the right number of screw holes and the truss notch and your good to go

Looks great but would be better with a black guard, particularly with that nice maple board

Like Plunger suggests, a shim might well be the answer but I have on occasion cut down saddle screws. It is a long winded faff though. I have also bought a set of shorter saddle screws, can't recall from where though It might have been Allparts or Axes RUs.

Looks good

Sims tort guards are the only ones I've seen in the UK that look anything like the tort used by Fender in the 60's & 70's. There is another U.S. seller on Ebay (not Spitfire), who does a very good vintage looking tort. I didn't buy from him when I was looking, purely because the black section of the three ply wasn't as thin as the originals, his tort was good though Sory can't recall his name but sure you will find him, with a bit of searching.

Mine all pretty much the same, with the exception of the fretless, which has hardly any neck relief and low nut slots.

I failed one a little while back, well I assume I failed, as they never had the courtesy to let me know. I think I failed due to not being able to impress with a jazzy sort of improvisation. The weird thing was, that the audition was supposedly for a soul/function band I had learnt the six songs asked for, in less than twenty four hours from first contacting them, to turning up for the audition. I actually ended up not really wanting the job, as I suspected they were going to be one of those "get together every week and rehearse for ever" type bands. Even so, it still smarts a bit to be rejected.

Yes what John said Are they a heavier gauge to what was on there previously? If so, maybe the nut slots need filing a tad.