Happy Jack

To answer the question that absolutely nobody is asking, yes, my 1957 Precision is indeed sporting the official Basschat straplocks. 👍

I just need to work out how to play both at once ...

I must have been well over halfway through the project when I realised that I used to play the original source for this song all the time on DB at acoustic gigs. I could have re-built, but I decided to save DB for my next Hollywood extravaganza ...

Didst tha' recognise the source, lad?

My project for Lockdown 2.0 was to learn video editing. It turned out that an ideal entry-level video package was actually a well-known DAW ... Reaper v.6. Inevitably, possession of a decent DAW then rapidly dragged me into learning home recording too. I learn best when I'm working on something 'real', and the annual Xmas Bash for the Junkyard Dogs (featured several times over the years on Basschat) was clearly not going to happen this year, so I thought it would be good to put together a sound/video project as a sort-of Xmas prezzie for the band. I chose a song that Rick & Paul will always associate with me, and which I had already personalised for live performance with the band. Mission Creep then took over completely. I had so much fun putting it together that I thought I should go wider with this. I wrote some new Xmas lyrics and revised the arrangement, turning it into my very own Xmas Song. I made my first foray into video editing on 6th November, and into sound recording on 5th December. Today is 12th December, so this is how far a complete novice has got on a tight time budget.They say that you only ever really learn from your mistakes. In that case, you simply wouldn't believe just how much I learned while putting this video together. Now I'm just spraying it out there for stinky poo and giggles.

DO NOT ADJUST THAT ACTION! The bass needs a neck reset, a routine & standard operation for a Hofner of that vintage, but one that can flummox guitar techs who are not used to working on vintage instruments built using traditional craftsmanship ... i.e. this bass bears very little resemblance structurally to a Fender, Gibson or Rickenbacker, it's more like working on a classical guitar. My (entirely unsolicited) advice would be, iIf you have a guitar tech you can trust then fine. If not, then either get a recommendation from someone or sell the bass to someone who understands these things.

Technically, I think that may make her the cookie monstress.

So when are the Germans starting a Belgian Lockdown?

That's an all-original 500/3 from 1960 ... the serial number and the 'Toaster' pickup work well to confirm that. Hofner continued to bring the 500/3 into the UK until 1963 when a modified version (modified to suit the demands of the chief importer, Selmer & Co.) became the Senator Bass. Only one photo here, and not too informative, but it looks to be in lovely condition and will definitely be of interest to Hofner afficianados and collectors. There's no particularly famous musician connection for the 500/3 so it won't attract a premium price, and of course in this country the Senator is far better known. If this was any other December, I'd recommend listing it on eBay with an advert aimed more at Continental musicians, who have no real interest in the Selmer-badged instruments. 5-string player or not, you'll know a bowed neck when you play one! Before trying to sell it, be sure to check the state of both the neck and especially the neck joint. If the neck is true and the neck joint undamaged or (worse) has been 'fixed', then there may be an issue with listing it immediately. If you find problems, feel free to come back to me (or others, I'm not the only Hofner Hound on Basschat) and I'll see what I can do.

At the risk of turning this into a B***** topic (which it is not), if I were doing import/export between the UK and the EU in November I'd have no worries ... business as usual. Doing the same in January is also no worries ... whatever new rules are going to exist will exist by then. The problem is December. If I sell something in December which might cross the border in December, might cross it in January, what should I be doing? Do I charge import duty? Do I charge home country VAT and then importing country VAT on top of that? And if I fail to do the right thing, will I be liable to my own tax people to make up the shortfall? If I was running Thomann right now, I'd be saying, "tell you what guys, let's just slow down on deliveries to the UK, and I mean slow down a lot, make sure that we ship nothing at all until the new rules emerge".

After careful research, I have established that G4M is actually a subsidiary of @ped Industries Inc., a massive conglomerate based in the British Virgin Isles and owned (through lawyers, natch) by Basschat. It was the urgent need to control a $14bn manufacturing complex that led to @Kiwi relocating to China, and they are now the main suppliers of nanochips (for vaccine insertion) to Bill Gates. They also erected the steel monolith in Utah and the huge phallus in Bavaria. Honest guv.

Really? 😉

Phew!

Damn! I thought they were a UK company?

You came to my house some years back to try a bass (which you didn't buy!). I had a broken leg and my foot in plaster at the time. I remember discussing Micky Moody's book (Playing With Trumpets) with you and asking about the sequel which would include the Whitesnake days, the book that became Snakes And Ladders. Seeing as he knows how to write these things, maybe a collaboration?

For the last 10 years, Thomann have been my go-to supplier for most musical stuff. I haven't been entirely faithful, you understand. I've lapsed and bought elsewhere ... GAK, Andertons, the usual suspects, sometimes through an anonymous intermediary like Reverb. I had a bit of a thing going with Studiospares for a few years, but they ditched me so callously earlier this year that I even started a topic here on Basschat about it. So now (this is NOT a B***** thread!) I have to seriously consider abandoning Thomann, despite their pretty much perfect service record. Where to go ... what to do? When a relationship starts to get stale, sometimes you need to pep things up, experiment a little, so I've been ... erm ... dipping my toe and testing the temperature elsewhere. I may have found a new squeeze, someone to keep me satisfied through the bleak years of the BoJo Presidency. Gear For Music. I remember them when they sold chiefly entry-level stuff apparently aimed at the schools market. Nowt wrong wi' that but they had little that interested me. During Lockdown 2.0 I placed several orders with them and their service was in every case as good as Thomann's. Just thought I'd share.

I reckon neckdive would be unavoidable with that design.

Slightly sad that you didn't use a valve amp guy named Jennings, mind. There's a name with a bit of heritage attached.

In all fairness, not many people can claim to have inspired one of the characters on The Magic Roundabout.

But at least we know where the answer is ...

It's the pink keyboard, Ped. I told you, I dun TOLD you, stick with black and watch your sales rocket.

Handbuilt by ... oh please yourself ...

I like the idea of a bass that plays itself perfectly without injuring the drummer seated four feet away. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-55214359