Doctor J

Pfffffff! Loose change compared to this one 🤣 https://www.bassic.de/kleinanzeigen/sterling-by-musicman-joe-dart-signature.56486/

https://img.digimart.net/prdimg/m/ef/801246111405b8f6d0c81a7dc5f7ea348b43ba.jpg

I'm not sure Vigier ever used CTS pots, I'd also have expected something circuit board based, as you say. Still, that's a clean installation if it is a replacement.

Active. Start flat and adjust to taste. Lovely.

If you only like one bassline, perhaps bass is not the instrument for you?

The documentary is very entertaining, should you wish to fill in the rest of the gaps.

I'm guessing you don't like the Guardian? That's not what it says at all. "Held By Trees are one of a number of bands offering an alternative to the straightforward hat-doffing of tribute acts; or to venerable groups such as Gong and Yes that continue to use the name when few original members are involved." No revolving doors were harmed in the construction of that sentence 😉

I replaced the crappy aluminium rod in my old SS1 with an iron one they offer in the shop and I reckon my wrist will break before that rod does.

Those frets look quite low, perhaps installing something like 6105 wire would bring things up a smidge? I would heartily recommend not excavating some of that blue section until you've exhausted all other options.

Short answer: It's more about having the right strings than a longer scale bass. 34" is fine. Long answers in here https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/462156-death-core-bass-in-f/#comment-4698604 https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/473406-longer-neck-for-fender-p-bass/page/2/#comment-5369697 https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/461893-a-standard-adgcf/#comment-4694130

If Jive Bunny could do it, you can do it. Just come in on instantly recognisable parts of the next song, preferably in or around the same tempo. You can get away with key changes quite easily if the new key makes harmonic sense in the context of the old song. If not, you and add a short section where you modulate up or down to the new key.

Disappointment waits for you.

I had it and the other original in the same bass, an SB R-80, and regardless of which pickup was in which position, they sounded badly mismatched. The Armstrong was a lot darker, sounded nothing like the pickup it was bought to replace. The Armstrong had two full length coils, not a Precision design under the cover, for a start. In the end, I traded the working original MB for another Armstrong (I knew a guy who had a SB-1000 with a dead coil), just so I could have two pickups which sounded somewhat related to each other and make the bass usable again.