Jean-Luc Pickguard

Flapping Your Broken Wings — The Handsome Family

I've been into short scales for almost twenty years, and my gigging basses are JMJ mustangs. Anyone who dismisses short scale basses is in danger of sounding like an ignorant tw@t — like Scott Devine does in the SBL video, even if it was tongue in cheek. If anyone says their reason for not considering a short scale is that they'd look ridiculous playing it, they need to remember that many punters can't even tell a bass from a guitar, a short scale bass is bigger than a guitar, and there are plenty of people who can play guitar in public without feeling self-conscious about it.

Funny you should ask this as tomorrow I am meeting a fellow basschatter to exchange my 2004 olympic white CIJ mustang bass for his black JMJ, both basses being in the same ballpark value wise. The CIJ was my first mustang and in a previous band was my go-to gigging instrument. Back then I always said that I'd never sell it, but I always wanted a daphne blue one. When the JMJs first appeared in daphne blue I bought one despite not really being into the finish being roadworn, however I grew to appreciate that as I can gig the bass without worrying about it picking up dings on the body. I now own two blue ones and after tomorrows meetup I'll also own two black ones. The JMJs have been my rehearsing and gigging basses for several years. The MIJ/CIJ mustang necks have a thicker glossy poly finish and a skinny profile like a Jazz bass, but the thin nitro finish on the JMJ necks is more satin/almost matt with the profile more like a nice precision. As I got used to the JMJs I played the CIJ less as I preferred the feel and chunkier neck profile of the JMJs. I also have a couple of 72 musicmasters — the secret to getting these to sound great is to fit a Kent Armstrong cool rails strat humbucker pickup like this one: https://www.armstrongmusic.co.uk/products/mini-humbucker-power-blades-cool-enclosed-cover

They Can't Take Our Sunshine (rough mix) — From my as yet unnamed solo project They Can't Take Our Sunshine.mp3 you can vote for another of my tracks in the April composition challenge:

Free Fallin' — Tom Petty

I Murdered Mommy — The Residents

Life on Mars — David Bowie

Whoever was covering for my postie the other week wasn't doing his job very well. A package that cost me £20 and was holding up one of my projects while I was waiting for it never reached me despite the tracking saying it had been delivered and signed for. The sender ignored my emails asking them to chase it up, and royal mail said that their system said it had been delivered and they wouldn't open a case as I wasn't the sender. Paying extra for 'signed for' delivery is pointless now that the postie can sign for it himself as delivered and deliver the package to a random address, dump it in the bin, or nick it.

Best I Ever Had — The Felice Brothers

My All boss bass board has reached its final form.

See You Later Alligator — Bill Haley & the Comets

My Sweet (and Sour) Lord — George Harrison

Yummy Yummy Yummy — Ohio Express

no good for metal

I Can't Read — David Bowie

Oh My! that sparkle one looks fantastic

Just shimmed mine and the change in geometry after raising the bridge has definitely improved playability, and got rid of an annoying buzz where the Low E string was vibrating against the head of the nut it passes over at the tailpiece. Without the wiggle stick in place, the tuning seems to be stable so far, but I think I still need to prevent the bridge from rocking in its thimble — some kind of collar around the legs should sort it — anyone who's done this, what did you use and how is it working out?

Unless the list has qualifying objective criteria for inclusion and ranking it is meaningless.

Can You Fix It — Mary Wells

Icky Trump — The White Stripes

The Great American Bum — Cisco Houston

I Give To You — Nitzer Ebb

When I first saw these, I thought they'd simply be renamed sonic series in limited colours to compete with amazon cheapies, however I've noticed that the debut doesn't have the dark surround in the truss rod adjustment orifice, where the sonic does. I wonder what other costs they were able to shave off. If they did a black one with maple fingerboard I could easily be tempted to get one to mod.

In A Rut — The Ruts

So, which companies are dead to you?