chris_b

Everyone's talking about the routing, but I still think the deal killer to anyone wanting a vintage bass will be the missing pickups and electrics. A great playing bass guitar can be bought for a lot less than £1000. This bass is so modded that I can't see this being worth more than that.

There's a clip (can't find on Youtube) of David Bowie live on Pebble Mill, where he stops the band in the first verse and asks if they can do that again. They're miming and he thinks he's recording. It's a toe curling moment while they stand around scratching their arses with the track still playing and the floor manager is telling them they're actually live!

I quite like it when the other guys in the band say that what I do makes it easier for them to play. And they can even decide not to play and the number stays rock solid. I'm arrogant enough to think that the others can be as good as they like but it doesn't work without me.

Three more pieces of wisdom. From Victor Wooten: If you hit a bum note you're only a semi tone away from a right note. So get good at sliding. From a double bass player: If you don't know the tune, never hit the same note twice in a row. And the best one, from a woman I'd never met before, in a pub in Lincolnshire: Marry a woman with small hands.

So much for my "she will develop" arrogance. Imagining her progressing into playing music that I understand and prefer when she's already at the top of where she wants to be.

If you're not already in a gigging band. . . join one. Join one where you can incorporate what you know. Take it from there.

Really, most of the important stuff that makes this a 68 bass is missing. You can buy so much more for £2000. Seriously good basses are well within your grasp. I'd be looking for a much better bass than this one for that money. I'd also be worried about selling it. I think you'll have trouble there.

IMO the Craig Fuller years were some of the best. Those 3 albums were on a par with any that went before.

IMO the biggest problem is that the original pickups have gone. I have a 68 P bass and the original pickups have been sold. It doesn't matter that they sounded bleugh and were under powered or that the bass sounds like a million times better with Barts. . . . none of that matters. Think of a number and halve it, then take some more off, and you might be close. The value will be a lot less than you'd expect.

[quote name='Samfordia' timestamp='1456061499' post='2984962'] Is it not possible to know what the overall wattage is when adding a cab? [/quote] It's in the specs. . . . but many amps have their maximum watts in the name. Yours is 300 watts. So your combo on its own is running at 8 ohms. That will be about 150 watts into the 8 ohm internal speaker. If you add the extension cab, which must also be 8 ohms, the amp will be running at 4 ohms and be putting out the full 300 watts. In cab language 8 ohms + 8 ohms = 4 ohms. Going from 150 watts to 300 watts does not double the volume. It will be a little louder but not much. You get the extra volume by adding more speakers.

Not my taste, but it doesn't matter whether we like her playing or not. She can play that bass better than 99% of the people on BassChat. She just needs to develop, which will happen. So much for "small hands" making life difficult!

Your combo and that cab seem to be discontinued, so you might have to go for the ABM 115H EVO IV. Ashdown seem to have a (design fail) problem designing their cabs so that the extension cab and the combo are the same width.

Listen to everyone and take it all in and use it. If you only hear 2 notes you like you're still ahead.

I saw them with Craig Fuller and with Shaun Murphy. Even the bits that weren't great were better than most bands can achieve. Richie Hayward was the best rock drummer. . . . . ever.

You're gear will never remain pristine if you're playing in a band. The only way to keep it that good is never use it, and that's not the point of it. You could still be playing in a band using that combo in 20 years time. Your gear is very robust and designed to be used so use it. Anyway, always get a second cab if you want more volume and more tone. More speaker area means more air moved which is how you create more volume.

I've got most of the records. Used to play Willing in a band a few years ago. Love this one. . . [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9ZfqtQyoCc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9ZfqtQyoCc[/url]

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1455927111' post='2983807'] They were string through, and had little metal cups on the back of the body for the string ball ends to fit in. These weren't fixed and would fall out. The neck pockets were both cut badly, they were too big and cut at an angle. [/quote] I believe Fender upped their game around 2008 - 2009 and their instruments and QC improved a lot.

Excellent. Enjoy the trip.

If it sounds and feels [i]that[/i] good then it can be a roadworn, black, pointy bass with maple fret board, death metal stickers of all over and a little pink stuffed kitten hanging from the tuners for all I care. I might be lying!

Are you sure it's an American Deluxe and not the Standard, or is it a non American Deluxe. If it's the real deal then, as I said, seems like a good price to me.

Pickup "playing up". What does that mean? How old and what condition? Unless it has serious damage (truss rod etc) £650 sounds bloody good to me. That's cheaper than a Standard in perfect condition. A replacement set of pickups could be around £120. Many thought Fender 5's had iffy B strings for the first few years. I've read that they fixed that and various QC stuff in the last 5 or so years, but whether any of that is a problem or not is down to your preference. As it's with a friend, I'd borrow it and try it with a new set of strings after a full set up.

No justification needed, my gear works for its living. It only has to sound good, be light, reliable and never need maintenance. I got lucky with my passive Lull with flats. In 4 years I've only tuned it. There is a main rig (Aguilar TH500~BF SC's~Lull PJ5), a backup (Thunderfunk 750~Berg CN212~ Lakland 55-94) and maybe some stuff I'm trying out (currently Mesa D800~Fender Jazz). No whims or fancies involved here. All potential purchases get evaluated against what they will replace. A few years ago I spent 2 hours A/B ing my Lull with a Nordy PJ5. I'd always wanted a Nordy but the Lull thrashed it, so no more Nordy interest.

It seems to me that you just need to find a 1981 pot and replace the replacement. The soldered joint has already been broken so no additional damage to the "originality" can be done here. That's the best you can do. There are various levels of OCD when it comes to collecting vintage things. The guys who will pay the most will demand the highest levels of originality and condition, and why not? If you have a busted bass or one that has a serious problem you've got to fix it. You'll get nothing for a non-runner, so you fix it and move to the next level of vintage collecting. The almost original level. IMO, a replacement pot shouldn't be a deal breaker. As far as I can see very few people would have a problem with a date-correct replacement.

The OP asked for comments and all you lot can do is criticise mine. Exercise some of those outraged brain cells and give the guy some "better" suggestions.

Aaahh. . . the old call one number and start a completely different one trick. I had a guitarist start a regular number (I think it was Amazing Grace) in 4/4 rather than the usual 3/4. We were a duo so the train wreck was total!!