Paul S

I have TI flats on mine. Their shortscale are 32".

Brian will make you one and he is a/ quality and b/cheap. An unusual combination. https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/earlpilanz/Pickguards/_i.html?_storecat=19640124010

Can't you just twiddle the knobs until it sounds right?

32" scale Precisions do exist but you'd probably do best looking in Japan for one. I managed to get one from someone on here then imported a couple more. All gone now, of course. If you like the precision look and sound but are considering 30" scale then you could do a lot worse than a Harley Benton PB Shorty. Almost unbelievably mine sounds like a vintage Precision bass. Played and set up well straight out of the box. I was intended to mod it when I bought it, upgrade various elements but, actually, once I started to play it I realised I don't need to. Don't be put off by the ridiculously low price.

Enjoyed this. Same outfit as your Level 42 tribute?

I learnt with a pick and default to a pick for faster lines or where I want more precise control over the notes. Dunlop 1mm black nylon. Sometimes I'll use the fat end of the pick for a different attack. Increasingly I am using my fingers, especially in my blues band. Often with that 'typewriter' type style for funkier blues. Very occasionally I'll use my thumb. Sometimes my fingernail. Depends largely upon the song.

I certainly hope they come over again. I was astonished. SSJ 'emptied the tank' as they say, couldn't have put any more effort into the performance. I still wouldn't be interested in sitting down and listening to a studio album, mind you - it is all about the live energy.

Aren't they! Mrs S had seen them some years back and when they were last over here (2019?) I went along to keep her company. The only tune of theirs I knew was Springsteen's 'Fever' and I was expecting to be bored rigid. It was actually one of the highlights of the year, they were absolutely fantastic.

Mrs S and I were at a Level 42 gig at the Indigo2 on their 30th anniversary tour when they recorded a DVD that night. Front row of the balcony. We bought the DVD, didn't catch a glimpse of us.

I got it back today after needing some wiring issues sorting out. This is the first time I have had a go on it with my favoured strings - TI Flats. Sounds fantastic, got some real bite to it.

The variable for me is the bass I'm using. Other than that everything else is pretty settled now. Fingers or, usually, Dunlop 1mm tortex pick. One of any number of basses, all passive, all strung with TI Flats. Boss WL50. TC Polytune 2 TC Spectradrive with 'clean boost' patch and stock compression. Then either DI into the desk for the PA or, for home/rehearsal, into ART 732A

That's quite exciting! I wonder what it is doing in there?

This is the pickup out of my recently acquired 70s Antoria Precision. It has an ink stamp on the back of a serial number. I sent the pic to Jon @Bassassin to see if that made any sense as far as dating it was concerned but he has just come back to me that he doesn't believe it is a MIJ pickup as he doesn't recognise the way it has been stamped or the serial number. Does it ring any bells with anyone? Muchas gracias

This sentiment is all well and good but how about the clothes we all wear, the smartphones we all use, the pc/laptop/whatever we all look on the internet/run most aspects of our lives with? Pretty much any consumer goods will tell the same story. This is all hard baked into society now and there is pretty much nothing to be done about it - we, collectively as consumers, don't want to pay. There is nothing that any of us individually can do about it so this guilt rant serves no real purpose.

Can I add my 3 runners up? Thin Lizzy, Live and Dangerous (OK, bits of it weren't live...) Humble Pie, Performance Rockin' The Fillmore. UFO, Strangers in the Night Wishbone Ash, Live Dates. That may have been 4.

Deep Purple, Made In Japan.

Lamb Of God, who were supporting Heaven and Hell. A few years back, might have been Wembley, can't remember. A huge wall of noise, I went outside in the corridor until H&H came on. The one and only time I have seen Ronnie Dio live, what a character he was!

As far as I am concerned there are no guarantees and also more choices. I saw Hall and Oates in the 90s and they were as good as a band can be. T-Bone on bass, G.E. Smith on guitar. I saw them again a few years ago and they were as bad as a band can be. Arrogant, played statutory 40mins a set with no encore. They seemed to think it was our privilege to see them strut about playing loosely and inappropriately. I'd have left before the end had it not finished so early. I've seen The Blockheads more times than I care to remember. Last time they were rubbish. Derek 'The Draw' just swore all night. I've seen several incarnations of Dr Feelgood, always good except the last time when they weren't, just a pub band. Even Gods like George Benson. He used to come over most years and play at the Albert Hall, we would go see him. Last time his voice was going, his guitar playing wasn't very good and he spent too much time with stories such as one interminable yarn about 'Lil' Whitney Houston. Etc. Then there are the new bands. Yes, you can get a flavour of what they are like from recorded material but I would always want to check them out live. Then there are bands from overseas that don't come over that often - I've seen plenty from the USA who I have only been able to see just once since I have been listening to music. Etc.

A bit of an update. I had the opportunity to play this with my blues band and, tbh, found the tone was lost in the context of the band. it sounded fantastic in isolation but just kind of sat underneath everything without any presence. I decided to make a few changes to make it more useable, but also make sure the changes were reversible so it could be put back to stock one day if necessary. I chose the Artec pickups - they do versions of both neck and bridge. The bridge is a drop in but the neck is a different size, so I handed to work over to the guy who does all my bits and bobs, Leighton Jennings. Top chap. This then necessitated a new pickguard which he did, too, that encompassed the hole from the (for me) redundant palm rest. I thought I'd upgrade the bridge to a Hipshot Supertone. I've had the 3 point before, this is the 2 point. After some shenanigans over what screws should/shouldn't be included I eventually got around to trying to fit it, only to find that the two mounting screws weren't fixed to bushes in the body but via a small threaded hole in the bass plate of the original bridge. So Leighton fitted some bushes in. Just picked it up today. I have to say Leighton made a cracking job of the work. Those Artecs sound just exactly like an EB-3 should and the bridge, of course, is a proper job. So the whole thing is now a lovely useable gigable bass in the context of my blues band with a lovely vintage vibe. But everything is reversible, if needs be.

That sounds absolutely spot on. Lovely.

Just remembered another one. Vintage Trouble at one of the O2 outposts. Kentish Town I think. It was like watching a James Brown wannabee entering some sort of Olympic Floor athletics event, all completely out of time with the music. Had he but settled down and concentrated on singing it might have been ok. It went beyond showmanship and just plain silly showing off. Still, other people seemed to enjoy it.

Just thought of another couple. Michael McDonald at Hammersmith about 3 years ago. Wish I'd never gone as it kind of spoilt the magic. Instead of that effortless flute of high range he strained to hit those notes and all that shimmering quality of his voice was lost. Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Somewhere. Might have been Brixton. Managed to sit through the first 40 mins of soulless fretw@nkery before I called it a day.

😁 Loved it. perfect size, I reckon. Sound was always amazing. From here it was an hour door to door on the train. Ticket price was cheap enough to take a punt at all sorts of things. Which is probably why the venue features in my leaving early list. 'Still it was a night out' we'd say on the way home. But also saw some fab stuff there. Great food at the restaurant, too - we got to know the staff a bit as we went a lot.

Ouch. You need to start thinking about putting extra joists under the floor.