Peejay

Glad you got it sorted. Sometimes the solution is far simpler than you think!

I have a SUB and a Sterling Ray 34 and have swapped out the pickups on both. The SUB just sounded muddy and the Ray 34 a bit too shrill. Managed to get a Delano for the SUB and it sounds brilliant. Versatile and no distortion at all. Put a Nordstrand in the Ray 34 at that sounds lovely too. I now have two great sounding and playing basses for less than the cost of a battered used Stingray. OK, the SUB finish is a bit basic, but it plays well. The preamp in the SUB is very hot, but I think the issue is with the pickup rather than the preamp in both, based on personal experience. Might try a different preamp in one of them to see if it makes a big difference, but generally happy now the pickups have been switched over.

I also have a Gibson RD Artist. Had it from new. Always loved Explorers and this was nearest I could get when I was 17. Strange how so many people hate Gibson basses. I'm a big fan of Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash and he is a great player IMHO, and his Gibsons sounded pretty good to me. He also had a Hamer Explorer with Thunderbird pickups., Drop tuned it to D if I recall correctly Hope the gig with the Epi goes well neepheid.

Install some pockets and you have a snooker table. 😁

Got a black one of these. Neck is fat and it dives a bit, but it sounds great. Had it ages and it's only needed one tweak of the truss rod. Tuners are a bit crappy too but they're easy to change. Mine has a brass nut. I don't have a case. Or the room for one! Glad you like it mate.

Eh up fella. Welcome onboard. Used to work in Huddersfield so know the area. Bet there's plenty of snow there today! Bit further east than you. Near Selby.

From the photo this looks like a scuff and if it has just marked the clear coat and not got as far as the base (colour) coat then a gentle polish using mild compound could work. If this doesn't remove it then some clear lacquer (available at most car parts stores) applied via an artists's brush should repair it. T Cut is quite aggressive and could flatten the finish on the surrounding area, possibly making things worse. It also leaves a lot of residue in awkward places if the area isn't masked off. Hope this helps.

Go on then, which are your top five? And why? Nice collection regardless.

Update on the RD Artist (finally) Phil from MOR in York (awesome guy!) finally sorted things. One of the power feeds from the battery was dodgy and the RD is back to life! Moog circuit board is a bit tired but hopefully it will hang in there. OK, the bass weighs more than a small planet, but a wide strap helps a little and it's so easy to get the tone you want. These basses are so underrated.

Yeah. Bass on Feed Me is perfect. KP's groove on the whole album is just what's needed. Nothing more, nothing less. Saw Kenny with EJ's band at Sheffield City Hall (a long time ago). His playing was flawless. Blue Moves isn't EJ's best material IMHO but KP never misses a beat on every track he plays on. He's the same with Joe Walsh, Stephen Stills, Dan Fogelberg, etc, etc. Glad the post made your day.

Kenny Passarelli on Elton John's Rock of the Westies. Model of restraint but so classy. Great tone from his fretless P Bass too.

Or maybe you do still get gigs with facilities like that! 😀

Think I was there on the 4th, but Chas & Dave were definitely on the bill. They were low on the bill but were quality. Never saw the New Barbarians. Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes sounded a bit like Springsteen to me. What ever happened to them? Commander Cody were a bit meh for me. Todd Rundgren's Utopia kept changing instruments. Kasim Sultan was playing drums originally IIRC but switched to bass and was awesome. They put on a real show and were maybe trying to upstage the main act, a bit like Lynyrd Skynyrd tried in '76 when the Stones headlined (and were on way late). Zep were also on very late and a lot of folk left early because they ended up closing their set in the early hours. Planty kept blathering on about how deeply rooted in the blues their music was for some reason. I was in the same band as Rick Allen before he joined Def Leppard and I thought he properly hammered the drums, but John Bonham was in another league altogether. He just knocked the living hell out of his kit and never relented. His energy was unbelievable and he must have been knackered after every gig. It wasn't exactly a luxury event either, bogs were just massive pits dug in the ground with an old sack to protect the sitter's modesty. You don't get gigs like that anymore. All mod cons eh?