Jean-Luc Pickguard

Are you keeping the stock pots/jack, buying a pre-made loom, or making your own loom from new components? If you’re making a loom use cloth covered ‘push-up’ cable. Also don’t worry about spending money on an expensive capacitor—a ceramic disc or other cheap type will give the same tone as an expensive fancy-pants boutique capacitor of the same capacitance. If you’re a novice at soldering you’ll got better joints if you can find some lead/tin solder rather than the more ubiquitous lead-free stuff that requires a much higher temperature to flow. It is a good time to take the opportunity to shield the control cavity & pickup cavity with anti-slug copper tape when you’re changing the pickup.

Oh, I actually have an EMG killswitch fitted to a bass which I put in to fill a hole where the original preamp used one more pot than the EMG system with stacked pots that replaced it. I've not really experimented with it so I'll have to have a play.

Fender don't make short or medium scale flats so the JMJ mustang comes with long scale Fender flats fitted which sound & feel great to me—in fact I also put a set on my CIJ mustang. If they ever start sounding crappy I have a set of medium scale D'addario Chromes lying in wait—which I believe are Mr Justin MJ's strings of choice, but even after a few years they're still sealed in their packaging. I'd like to try the LaBellas, but I'll probably never get around to it.

A bit of tastefully applied autotune on the vocals wouldn't have gone amiss. I did like the funny stuttery effect in the guitar solo though.

From the ad: Yeah right—sounds like it!

I’d bet if someone at gibson seriously put their mind to it they’d be able to make a bass that looks feels and sounds as good as the epiphone vintage pro thunderbirds

I have used masking tape for this before, but would probably use aluminium tape if I had to do this again—but only as I have a roll of it sitting here unused.

I'm happy with my Italy-built LMII which I have owned from new, but if it does go toes up in the future I am unlikely to replace it wth another MarkBass product and will probably to go back to using Ashdown.

I have a couple of Fender curly cables and a couple of straight ones. I have had a ancient ones fail in the past and fixed them myself by soldering on new neutrik jacks. I'll try to remember to contact Fender if any of my current crop ever fail.

My Tastes are rooted in basses that were designed in the years I was a toddler for some reason, so my favourites are: There's something particularly majestic about the headstock on my Guild Starfire II, and the mustang shape just looks right with the lollipop tuners on the JMJ. My Epiphone vintage pro thunderbirds really needed the Gotoh res-o-lite GB640 tuners to look right though.

Drop it like its hot - Snoop Dogg

tight pants - Iggy & the stooges

Cactus party - the Melvins

Looks nasty. I'd put it in the washing machine on a hot cycle before touching it with bare hands. Or would that remove the tone-grime?

You know what they say about rules?... 🤷🏻‍♂️

...whenever he passed a mirror and caught a glimpse of himself looking a right twunt.

When I scrolled down and saw that, I thought that was the key from a tin of sardines. The stewMac gadget is good as it also works well when the slots in the truss rod not are at 45degrees.

Play it. No way is it wrong for britpop. Own the style. If anyone in the band does suggest there’s a certain look to be adhered to, tell them they sound more like piddling middle managers than cool & creative musicians.

I always use good quality 0000 steel wool. I do this outddoors and usually take the neck off. If the neck doesn't come off you can tape up the pickups to prevent the loose whiskers/bits getting in the pickups. I've never had any problem with the bits getting embedded in the fingerboard - maybe that happens if you use something other than 0000 grade.

I'd be wary of playing bass for any band I really admire technically as I'd probably ruin it, so I'd choose the Sex Pistols in place of Simon Ferocious in 1977. I'd have been around five years too young at the time but at least I was skinny. Also I would have refused all offers of substances stronger then cider.

Rub lard into your strings, fingerboard and hands. Keep away from dogs and drummers though.

The funk is in the gunk!

If there's ever an old bass than needs a refinish, this is it.