Happy Jack

He'd be asking for more if only he had better than a few blurry photos taken with his phone ...

"BANDMASTER, BASSMAN, BULLET, CHAMP, DELUXE REVERB, DURA-TONE, ESQUIRE, Stylized F (in Thick & Thin Script), FENDER (standard and in Stylized Thick & Thin Script), FRONTMAN, the two dimensional guitar headstock profiles commonly found on FENDER TELECASTER, STRATOCASTER, PRECISION BASS and JAZZ BASS electric guitars, J BASS, JAG-STANG, JAGUAR, JAZZ BASS, JAZZMASTER, MUSTANG, NOCASTER, P BASS, PASSPORT, PRECISION BASS, PRINCETON, RELIC, ROAD WORN, SFX, SHOWMAN, SHOWMASTER, SQUIER, STARCASTER, STRAT, STRATOCASTER, SUNN, SUPER BULLETS, SUPER REVERB, TELE, TELECASTER, THE SPIRIT OF ROCK-N-ROLL, TONE MASTER, TWIN REVERB, VIBRO CHAMP, VIBRO-KING, and VIBROLUX are the trademarks of Fender that may appear in this Fender Property and that are registered in one or several categories of goods with the United States Patent & Trademark Office." Outstanding work by their lawyers! I can't wait to see then try to sue someone for using BULLET, CHAMP, FRONTMAN, JAGUAR, PASSPORT or SHOWMAN. In other news, I have now trademarked CAR, BANANA, OAK TREE and FRUSTRATION. If you wish to use any of these terms, please contact my lawyers for my licensing terms ...

Hah! I wasn't at that show, and my GAS for an ali bass goes all the way back to https://www.bassplayer.com/artists/retro-rama-1930s-pfretzschner-aluminum-upright-bass I only read the article in the first place because I knew Dave back when we shared a flat in London in the 70s.

Whoah! Stealth paint job: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SGC-NANYO-Bass-Collection-SB310-series-Bass-Guitar/163114255300?hash=item25fa5e03c4:g:OLIAAOSwESZbL3R3

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aria-pro-II-bass/323317547715?hash=item4b473a42c3:g:tncAAOSwLhZbKnY0 Me neither. I suspect that LSD would be required.

I have a horrible feeling that it involves using a screwdriver on the screws shown in photo #6. So this is what - a sawn-off, fully-loaded Strat guitar body with a Jap headless neck screwed to it? Even if the neck came from a short-scale bass (30.5") it's hard to imagine that the frets will be in the right place for a guitar (25.5") hybrid monstrosity like this.

That's pretty much perfect. I've had a LOT of vintage Hofners and that relic'ing would certainly have me fooled. Far more subtle than the ludicrous crap that people normally shell out for, and wear marks that tell the right story. Take a look at the rear of the headstock photos and look at the glimpse you get of the wear on the side of the neck between F and A. Bang on the money.

Click on your 'zone' at the top right hand corner, go to Profile, and you should see your 'Feed' where you can type a status update. If it's not there, then you have disabled the feature under Options and will need to re-enable it.

Sheperd Neame?

Silvie and I saw Zepparella live in Brooklyn a couple of years ago. The club was basically a slightly bigger version of The Marquee set in the centre center of Hipster Paradise. They were really very good indeed. They absolutely nailed the songs, and the musicianship was just top-knotch throughout. We'd see them again in a flash if the opportunity arose.

Paid gigs Unpaid gigs Rehearsing for paid gigs Rehearsing for unpaid gigs Rehearsing without gigs in the diary Playing at jam sessions & open mic nights Washing my hair Just saying ...

Nice spot Mick. Bought one.

My future probably does not include a ukelele version of Don't You Want Me Baby ...

Did they play Bolero?

That's an easy one. Steamy Windows. Tina Turner did a cover ... check out the original.

I remember WaterOfTyne once mentioning that there was a local tribute act named Joanne Joanne (it really needs a Geordie accent) and I've always kept an eye out for tribute bands with names that crack me up. I've just seen that a local club (Tropic Of Ruislip) has next month the band SNOG - a tribute to Kiss.

I'll trade you a minim for two crochets ...

Astonished to find no mention so far of Abba. Of all the ill-informed requests from punters that I've ever heard, by far the most common have been, "Do you do any Abba?".

Sounds like you're squeezing a lot of living into a short space of time!

Dave Gartland already makes some very striking guitars (check out his AliKat website). I imagine he'd be prepared to make an electric bass if you asked him nicely ...

Why does this not surprise me?

I blame Alcoa. And Pfretschzner. Who said "Bless You"?

Still not entirely sure, partly because of the way the deal was structured (the original quote was for the bass, delivered), partly because it had to change a couple of times since the eventual package was over-sized, and partly because it worked out way more expensive than expected and I made a 'contribution'. My best guess is that the airfreight cost around AUS$1500 in total. The crate took just four days to travel Adelaide --> Dubai --> Liege --> Arnhem --> Dartford (Kent) --> Park Royal (West London), in the process being trans-shipped FIVE times, and with really accurate tracking all the way. It then took two days and three attempts for TNT to get the bass the last three miles from Park Royal to Harrow, complete with totally inaccurate tracking, lying drivers, and attempts to dodge all responsibility. Welcome to London.

I should also mention that the body size is a fair bit smaller than my 3/4 ply bass (an Anton Zeller). It's certainly not a 1/2 size, and it's more than a 3/8 size if such a thing exists, I think it just is what it is. That reduction in size neatly offsets the greater weight of the aluminium as opposed to ply. Overall, this bass is heavier than my Zeller but not by enough for it to be an issue. For the benefit of those who have met me and have some idea of my size and build: