Paul S

Not bought 'that' much stuff but the best is without question my Gibson Les Paul Jnr DC. It is immensely good fun to play and sounds awesome. It has also re-ignited my love affair with short(er) scale basses. I made a few not quite so good as that purchases but nothing nasty springs to mind.

Pete drove up from the south coast to have a look at my Carvin bass, armed with a huge wad of cash. he left with the bass, I ended up with the wad. Ain't life grand! A pleasure doing business, sir - hope the traffic was kind!

Well, yes, I thought it might be. I sent the pics to DiMarzio technical support and they just answered - not one of ours! That's halved its retail value then 😁

Nobody recognise this - DiMarzio imposter or real deal? A whisker under 12kOhm resistance, if that means anything much.

Chant #1 Spandau Ballet springs to mind.

I've just taken this pickup out of an 80s Hondo II H-1015 that I bought the other day but is too heavy to even contemplate using as is. It certainly sounded very good but is it a DiMarzio? Pics online seem to show a green wire not a blue one. The covers come off, also - I think (?) that DiMarzio are glue filled? or did it vary? Any help in confirming or denying much appreciated. Muchas gracias

Pete bought my Tecamp Puma in what was most straightforward f transactions - great comms throughout. A pleasure doing business.

Saw Kenny Wayne Shepherd at Shepherds Bush Empire last night. Very disappointing - left after 40mins - what a dreary, self-indulgent load of posey, soul-less fret-wankery. The band were awful, looked like they wanted to be elsewhere so went through the motions while ol' Kenny Wayne stood on the edge of the stage pulling his well-rehearsed faces. The support were better, in as much as the singer bassist Danielle Nicole had a cracking gutsy voice. The rest of the band were out of her league, though, and the songs a bit weak. I wonder if I am getting too fussy these days. Still, the day was not lost - went to the Royal Academy earlier to see the Anthony Gormley exhibition. I am not generally one for 'modern art' but Mrs S was keen to go. Totally blew my mind

I had my first gig at 51, now 62, been in bands all the interim. if you still have your health and wits* go for it. *I should have given up around 3 years ago by that criteria...

Just an update to this. One cropped up on eBay a few weeks ago for a low enough BIN that I couldn't resist. Collection only from Pershore, I'm 170 miles away in SE Essex, but I just so happened to almost driving past the chap's door on Saturday last. So I have finally got my hands on one. In very good condition, bought back in the 80s by a guitarist to do some odd bits of recording and thus very low mileage. And it is enormously heavy at 4.5kg. 😂 No way could I play it for more than 30 mins even with the widest strap I own. But... the neck is really very good indeed - straight and true, frets barely used, a nice warm honey colour and the dimensions and contours just seem to fit my hand nicely. Plus the pickup appears to be a DiMarzio. So I have hatched a dastardly plant to fit the neck into the body of this lightweight Encore, below, that I also got a few weeks back in my recent cheap double cutaway bass buying frenzy. It isn't a direct fit, plus the scale lengths are different, but I know someone handy with a router and there is room to shift the bridge backwards to make the 32" scale work. Strangely the Hondo neck is lighter than the Encore one so it may not neck dive either. Should look a treat with the maple neck on there

Just goes to show what a gullible fool I am, totally incapable of making quality judgements without being suckered into believing hyperbole. I mean, for heaven's sake, I also use Barefaced cabs! Thank the Gods there are experts around to put us straight. I must put all my gear up for sale immediately. 🤨

Isn't it! 3 years ago, seems like yesterday. I was hoping you'd chime in, I couldn't find the original thread!

I've owned a couple of MIJ Fender Precision basses, more than a few Squier Precisions, had long term loan of a 90s USA P and also owned two JV Squier Ps. My motivation for buying, using and keeping gear is simply having the stuff I like best. Now maybe I was lucky but the two JV Squiers were better than any of the others. Fit, finish and playability. One was a very early Fender logo one was simply fantastic but it was the other one I kept for all sorts of reasons - one being the weight as it is around 8lbs on the nose. Had I found one of the Fenders to be better I would have kept that. Simple, really.

Saw that Stew was after a pedal, I had one I wasn't using, seemed an idea to join those two dots Perfect transaction, thanks Stew.

Nothing in my inbox, sir.

I am a weak. After kissing an awful lot of frogs I finally found my prince in the shape of a Maruszczyk Jake 5 built to my spec. Black/black/figured maple neck, weighs 8lbs, sounds just exactly like the P bass sound I have in my head. It's bloomin' luvverly. My back up is an EBMM Sterling 5 that I have fiddled with (now passive with the same Delano P pup as the Jake, also bloomin luvverly). So I sold all my other basses, 4 and 5 string, because those two can cover all scenarios and are a bloomin' luvverly pair, the only basses I'll ever need. I was a model of restraint Well, apart from a JV Squier Precision, that is, which I decided to hang on to as it is rather special. Then I joined a new band - a blues/rock trio. First couple of outings I used the Jake. And it was bloomin' luvverly. Then I thought 'that JV Precision will sound awesome' so I used it and it did. Then I thought 'a short scale would be just the job' and got hold of a Squier VM Mustang (having actually sold one not that long ago) and, yes, it was just the job and I remembered how much I like playing short scales. Then I saw the new Gibson Les Paul DC and thought that would be spot on perfect for the blues band. And it is - my new go-to, I just adore playing it. But that seems to have opened the floodgates and suddenly I find I am in some sort of short/medium scale, double cutaway frenzy and bought 3 other cheapos which are all vying for position as back up to the Gibson. While all the time the Jake, which is bloomin' luvverly, sits in its case until such time as my, now infrequent, 5 string gigs come along. I could, and should, use the Jake for everything but once my head was turned that sent me back onto the slippery slope I thought I had put behind me. So, yes, I am weak. But do I care? Not in the least 😂