thepurpleblob

[quote name='TimR' post='695259' date='Dec 28 2009, 11:20 PM']There's a proper bass line to Mustang Sally? I never knew that![/quote] I think there's probably several!!

[quote name='fede162162' post='694195' date='Dec 27 2009, 12:14 PM']Regarding the Alcohl matter, my band of London and I would drink just one shot of Rhum. (you call it dutch courage,don't you?) THE PROBLEM WERE THE GIRLS! During a gig at Proud Galleries the drummer's girlfriend hit the bottle so hard she became very annoying and really affected the performance! [/quote] The same psycho girlfriend described earlier once nearly started a fight with another woman who had asked our guitarist (psycho's boyfriend) for our contact number - to make a booking. Brilliant. We're like, "look, you can't bring her if she's going to carry on like that"

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='694063' date='Dec 27 2009, 12:31 AM']I second leaving it alone. If you're going to buy a new neck and pickup, you may as well get a body while you're at it and end up with a new bass![/quote] ....but then I have another bass. And I don't want another bass.... see the problem? The neck is the only *real* issue, the "can't/won't play fretless" problemo

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='694030' date='Dec 26 2009, 11:20 PM']Is that pickguard a replacement?[/quote] Nope... definitely original.

[quote name='jake_tenfloors' post='693986' date='Dec 26 2009, 09:37 PM']I'd say stick it in its case and forget about it. It will be a nice inheritance for the kids as the value is only going to go up, and you and your mate won't be around But being serious, i really wouldn't touch it [/quote] Well... that is an option. It spent the last 20 years in its box in a cupboard No kids, however.

[quote name='chris_b' post='693922' date='Dec 26 2009, 07:23 PM']Sounds like you really want a different bass.[/quote] Well yes and no. I really like the bass but I'm not good enough on fretless and I'm unlikely to get good. Getting rid is not an option so I want it to magically have frets. I'd also like the finish to be nicer but that's not critical. I am working inside certain non-negotiable constraints here unfortunately.

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='693903' date='Dec 26 2009, 06:50 PM']I hate people mucking about with classic P-basses [b]but[/b] it's your bass and for me your saving grace is that you intend to keep it. If this is genuinely the case then you should do whatever you want to maximise your enjoyment of it.[/quote] Well, as a minimum, swapping the neck is entirely reversible. The only other thing I can get away with would be if anybody had either a fretted neck they wanted to swap for a fretless one. I'm kinda loathed to part with it though in case I have a change of heart as I'm never going to have a better fretless than this. Sigh!!

[quote name='maxrossell' post='693849' date='Dec 26 2009, 05:43 PM']I don't think that that's necessarily true. Unless you're Jimmy Page or Slash or someone like that, you'd have to be pretty naive to think that you wouldn't benefit from a major brand basically saying "this dude is a guitar player with enough talent and status that we want him to represent our gear". Fender are a good example of that, they have hundreds of endorsed artists, and most of them are guys who, while they no doubt enjoy getting gear at cut-prices, also benefit to a degree from the credibility that they gain from being a Fender-endorsed artist.[/quote] Clearly, it can't be a bad thing for your CV if you are a professional musician.

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='693828' date='Dec 26 2009, 05:16 PM']Go for it Blob dude!! If you can`t/wont sell it then butcher it. It doesn`t seem to be any good to you in it`s present state, so go for it! Having said that, in the photo it looks well tasty in it`s present guize! Jez[/quote] It does look very nice hanging on my wall but that's the stretch of it. It was given to me by a close friend on the understanding that I did not sell it (to cut a slightly longer story short). The tone of the bass is fantastic so I'm fishing around for the best way to get some use out of it rather than it being an ornament. I'm very much open to suggestions but either selling it or acquiring any other basses are not options (either my friend or my wife would kick my arse in that order). Thanks for the link... anybody tried these necks? Seems cheap.

[quote name='Clarky' post='693782' date='Dec 26 2009, 03:52 PM']I think the body looks great - maybe add an Allparts or Mighty Mite fretted neck (maple for the JJ Burnel look or rosewood for the stealth look) and a fake F*nder logo for a cheaper alternative to the one you suggested in the OP?[/quote] It's not. The lacquer has started lifting and dampness has got underneath it making big milky patches. In places (particularly the bouts) it has flaked off altogether. I'm aware that with some luck I might get a period neck for the same sort of money as a Status neck. I would even give a Jazz neck a bash.

[quote name='umph' post='693778' date='Dec 26 2009, 03:46 PM']don't do it, thats hella sexy as it is! save some money on buying the parts and buy a bass you actually get on with.[/quote] No it isn't sexy. Gemma Arterton is sexy but that's just an old Precision that I can't play and can't sell. I might as well do something useful with it

FWIW, here is the "victim".... [attachment=38888:fretless.jpeg]

It's not for sale. It's a long, long story but it just isn't.

[quote name='basshead56' post='693750' date='Dec 26 2009, 03:09 PM']If you are palnning on selling the original Precision pup, I might be interested [/quote] Ah the vultures are circling No. No parts will be for sale. I have to be able to put it back - excepting the paint of course!!

After some thought, hassle and deliberation I am planning on butchering up my '79 precision fretless to the following effect... * Swap out the neck for a fretted one. Probably a Status graphite job. I/we have discussed this move before and while it's clearly not to everybody's taste I'd like to give it a bash. I can't play fretless and I don't have the time to learn properly. * Get the body refinished. I know, I know. However the bass is never going to be for sale so it's market value is immaterial. I'd rather not have it with the current paint flaking off. I'm thinking black sparkle (!). Anybody recommend anybody for this job? I'm in Glasgow so someone in Scotland would be nice but not a requirement. * Maybe upgrade the pickup. Not so sure. I quite like the sound and would definitely stay passive on this one. However, it's going to sound different with a new neck of course. Does anybody have any thoughts? My G&L Tribby and my TRB4 will be going up for sale to finance all this. I need to reduce the number of basses in my collection and those two don't get played. Any thoughts and/or abuse appreciated

If I was cynical - and I am - I could think that this is just companies praying on overly keen yet naive young musicians. I'm not sure what the markup is in bass guitar land, but a 30% discount direct from the factory is almost certainly still a profit for the company. It's fine if you were going to buy their product anyway I suppose. *If* you were.....

[quote name='karlfer' post='693012' date='Dec 24 2009, 03:20 PM']On the bah humbug side, I recently emailed Dolphin to confirm that a set of strings from them to me (in Wigan, i.e.mainland UK, no smarty comments please) would cost £6.99 for postage. I thought that about £4.99 too high. I never received a reply. I haven't ordered them.[/quote] To be fair... you're probably paying for someone's time to type your address into the computer and print the label etc. etc. rather than the actual postage.

Hey. I endorse Britain's railway companies. I get 75% off!! Not on the website either, however. (My wife works on the trains for her sins - which are many)

Rain by The Cult. Three chord, eighth note wonder but somehow great! Another Brick in the Wall.... scary loud drop-D opportunity.

[quote name='PaulWarning' post='691454' date='Dec 22 2009, 01:12 PM']I thought this thread was stupidly easy tunes to play, no names but I get the impression some people nominate quiet difficult songs to try and make themselves look good, or perhaps I'm just a crap bass player[/quote] Well.. it's a bit of a silly question in the first place. Everything is easy when you can play it and difficult when you can't. Please excuse the kitchen sink philosophy

Ha ha ha... check out the Badtz-Maru Bronco. I want one

[quote name='6stringbassist' post='691405' date='Dec 22 2009, 12:17 PM']A real girl....had you used to play in Rocky horror show band ? [/quote] The last time I tried to audition a female singer the guitarist's psycho girlfriend told him he wasn't allowed to play in a band with a woman in it. I've heard a very similar story a number of times since too.