inthedoghouse

Good idea - I'll do the same. Thanks

Thank you so much for all that valuable advice from experience 🙂 I watched a couple of Youtube vids and read quite a few different pages today and it seems that the method you suggest is a tried and trusted way to go. I had an 'imaginary run-through' with one of my other Ps and the masking tape method seems like it would work well. Common advice for placing the bridge lenghtways seems to be to have the 34" mark at the centre of the bridge's adjustment. However, I agree with you that I tend to only usually have to move the saddles backwards more than forwards. What a great idea to use pieces of string to assess where the strings should lay on the fingerboard! I'm not the most confident DiY-er but I've had small triumphs (to me) such as when I replaced a BBOT with a Gotoh style bridge and installing a 'proper' tailpiece on my 335 after someone had fitted one from an Ibanez!! I thought I was very brave to take a drill and filler to a 335 but it worked out perfectly. I see NWG are out of stock of the sunburst P body. I'm in no rush though and I need to see how much my eBay sale brings in - it should more than cover it though. Thanks again for you help! Dave

I haven't bought off TB but I've had a few guitars and pedals from USA eBay. In my experience it can be something of a lottery whether you get charged import duty or not. But it's been a few years since I did it so I wouldn't be surprised if they've tightned up. It can come as a nasty shock when you get that bill for the taxes, so be prepared and budget for it.

Thanks, I was just about to start looking it up as your post arrived.

How did you get the bridge properly positioned to drill the mounting holes? I'd be using a standard BBOT. I'm thinking I'd probably take a measurement from another P from the nut to the front of the bridge plate and put E & G strings on to get it aligned to the neck. Is there a better way?

Thank you also - it's looking like a no context decision 🙂

Thank you. So that's two votes for NWG. As you do when you've got a build on your mind, I've been thinking about this a lot and I can't really think of a good reason not to buy NWG either. The Strat body I got from NWG was just as good as my Mex Strats. I've got a guitar (not bass) on eBay at the moment so I'll see how much that brings in. I'm trying to work on the principal of selling stuff to pay for a build so that it doesn't cost me much. Thanks again 🙂

Thank, Rexel. I'm having the same thoughts about if the Fender body is worth the extra £100 or so. Like you, I've only had good experiences with NWG. The Strat neck I got from them in 'vintage tint' had a very thickly coated sticky fingerboard, but that was easily rectified and it fitted their body perfectly - the body was excellent quality too. I'd probably fit a standard bridge for no better reason than I have one spare. Drilling the holes to mount it in the correct position on the NWG would take a lot of care on my part. The two cavities don't concern me, I'd put a (shhhh) .. tort plate on. I'm in rush so have plenty of time to think about it, but NWG is looking a good bet given my good experiences of their products and customer service.

I LOVE the colour!!! 🙂 🙂 I'll have to start saving and searching, ha ha! 🙂

Thank you 🙂 The Flashback weighs a ton, maybe partly due the huge 2-Tek bridge but it's lovely to play, as are they all. I read on the Warwick forum they only made 75ish with that bridge. I love the Fortress series. Not everybody's cuppa, I know. I've got a '96 Corvette too which I use a lot. Good luck with your question. Perhaps you can report back here if you get an answer. 🙂

I bet someone on the Warwick forums can answer your 18v question. As far as I know they only did the standard models of the Fortress series back then. Any excuse to show my Fortress family 🙂

Try asking on here. I know it's a Fortress One area but there are usually some helpful people there. https://forum.warwickforum.com/threads/the-fortress-one.4912/ I've got all three of the Fotress series - lovely instruments

I'm not sure if this is the right area to ask this, but here goes. I'm thinking about another P project to go with a Mex neck. Is there any advantage in buying a MiM body (£249) over one from Northwest guitars (£165) apart from the price difference? Both are alder and roughly the same weight and finish. I suppose in the unlikely event that I wanted to sell it the Mex body with a Mex neck would be worth more, but that isn't really a consideration for me. I've had a Strat body and neck from NWG and both were good quality, and their customer service is very good. Any thoughts or experiences?

This!

The Made in Japan version was a huge influence on me and I still love it. I had to learn it for a quality cover band I was in a few years ago and spent days getting it nailed almost note for note. - I even used my old Ric. I wish I had a recording of it but the band split soon after! The busy but solid bass made all the difference - I've heard covers where little effort seems to have been put into the bass part, and it shows. The whole band is amazing on this one!

Thanks 🙂 A hornier bass - better keep the case closed in case they breed 🙂 Nice looking bass btw 🙂

Thanks for those suggestions. I only really know about the standard models of P & J, I didn't know about Longhorn and J Plus. I just looked them up, the J Plus has a smaller body than a standard J so that's a possibility. Is the Longhorn a full size body?

I bought this on here a few weeks ago thinking it was a standard P/J fit. Unfortunately though it fits neither. I'll add here that the seller kindly offered a refund, but I didn't take him up on it. On first sight it looks to me to be a J shaped cutout in the case but a standard J's body is too big for it. The person I bought it off said his P Lyte was a loose fit. I wondered if it might be a J Deluxe because they have smaller bodies (I think). But laying my standard P in the case it looks only just about long enough for a 34" scale, so maybe it's for a medium scale? Someone suggested the brand of Heartfield, which I must admit I'd never heard of. Anyway, the link below will take you to some pics. I'll probably sell this case once I'm sure of what it's meant for. Any ideas, please? https://www.flickr.com/photos/188858572@N04/

The instrument I've had longest is my early '73 4001 I bought in 1985 Amp I've had longest I bought new in 1980, Marshall JMP 100w 2203 head Cab I've had the longest: Circa '71 Marshall 4x12 I bought in the mid/late 70s for £90. It still has three pre-Rolas. I've still got the (nice) neck of a Kasuga Strat I had in the mid 70s.

I just saw someone posted this on FB. Some of the source is The Sun though. https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/music-banned-pubs-new-lockdown-4223320?001&fbclid=IwAR0J9IK9pvV4AijQS6bXAhrlkhE2Fc4aAjd-6XihGBs6mFRiahh_9vgfGWU

Yes, I looked them up after I saw this thread - they did a Gryphon bass and one that looked a bit like an SG And there's this old thread from BC And Talkbass https://www.talkbass.com/threads/gordon-smith-gryphon-bass.994500/

There's a GS bass up for grabs on eBay right now https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Gordy-Gordon-Smith-Blueshift-Deluxe-UK-Bass-1982-Red-Excellent-and-Set-up/324175722764?hash=item4b7a60f90c:g:O2YAAOSwFbFeyaDM

I know they made a few back in the day but I don't think they' do basses. I remember going to their workshop, not much more than a large shed at the bottom of a garden, to collect something for our local guitar shop n the 70s. Their guitars are wonderful 🙂

+1

He's probably a copyist 🙂 The great man did use the name Jimmy James (and the Blues Flames) before he hit the big time though, so perhaps Jimmy Hendrix was his transition phase 🙂