Shaggy

Mesa’s are lovely; either the Powerhouse or (my choice) the older EV-loaded Diesels. Not light though.

Ticket to the moon - ELO

Rip her to shreds - Blondie

The needle and the damage done - Neil Young

Thanks Cosmo - it was actually your post on the “Basses you see and want” thread that induced me to post on here - when I saw the pic in your post, just for a split sec I thought “Hey - that’s my bass............oh - no it’s not” All Alembics are incredible instruments, but for me the original series 1 & 2’s are the classiest. I dithered and lost on a Distillate with flamed koa top FS on here a couple of years back - still kick myself

Suicide is painless - Theme from M*A*S*H

Girls in their summer clothes - Bruce Springsteen

King of rock n’ roll - Prefab Sprout

We all stand together - Macca and the frog chorus

The Changing Man - Paul Weller

Songs from the wood - Jethro Tull

Looking for the heart of Saturday night - Tom Waits

Black Man Ray - China Crisis

Lol, not so far - I'm just at the southern border of Powys. Worth a trip to God's country just for the mountain air and a pint or two of Felinfoel!

Life from a window - The Jam

When I was at the Electric Wood workshop a few years back I was amazed at how tiny an operation it was - really just a small workshop. I didn't see Paul and the guys there driving Rollers or Ferraris (unless they were parked hidden behind the lockup.....) so I don't think they're making a fortune in the bass business. Undoubtedly keeping it small is what preserves the desirability and cachet of the brand, and I'm sure it's deliberate policy not to expand or outsource and so devalue the image. I think a good few pros and players do still use their basses for what they were intended (Bilbo and myself for two), but yes; unfortunately they seem to have attained the same mystique as pre-CBS Fenders - rightly or wrongly - and increasingly will tend to go straight from the workshop into a bank vault, unsullied by a mere musicians fingers...... If you fancy a spin down to S Wales post lockdown Andy, you'd be more than welcome to try out my pair of Mk 1 Customs ( fretted '82 and fretless '85). Hopefully there'll be another BC-er closer though!

Nice - Greco make some of the very best Gibson replicas That second from last photo is either set in a tool shop, or the the best equipped shed I’ve ever seen......

Son of a Preacher-man - Dusty

Square peg, round hole - Wakey Wakey

That’s actually really nice, albeit a bit too 4005 derived..... Hmmmmm.....the missus has something that looks like that, in the drawer of her bedside cupboard. Who’d have thought she was a closet bassist?

Good idea, but too late!

Just to throw in another option; for me it would be self-build bitsa every time. You get a P bass with exactly the spec you want, save a bucketload of dosh if you source parts cannily, and have a lot of fun doing it. For inspiration see:

Similar, but rather optimistic starting price and some potentially serious issues....... https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/60s-Hofner-Verithin-Sem-Acoustic-Electric-Bass-Guitar-Project-Made-in-Germay/233853110042?hash=item3672bb471a:g:h7sAAOSwTBtdbBia

Seagull - Bad Company

Link: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wal-Fretless-5-string-bass-with-extra-neck/203244542464?hash=item2f52519a00:g:c~8AAOSw0sZf-426 I’ll guess £5.5K Lovely facings on it - flamed (“ripple”) ash I think.