Shaggy

Not much I can add to the info above, except to say that it took me around 25 years to come around to Thunderbirds, and wish I'd done it 25 years earlier - so don't leave it too long to at least try! I'm lucky enough to own a '65 IV, and it's hands-down got the best passive tone I've ever heard, and is the second-best ergonomically to play of all I've tried - the best being the Gibson Explorer, bizarrely enough The new ones seem pretty decent mind, and cheap enough second hand - for those new prices quoted, reckon I'd go for a Lull over a Gibson

Bought an Eden amp bag off John - easy deal, and always always a pleasure to chat with a BC'er who plays the same instruments as me (bass, guitar, and mandolin) and with similar tastes to me (i.e. mainly old Gibsons ) Just wish I'd bought his old EB-3 a while ago...... . Anyway, thanks mate!

Back to the OP - I looked into this last year having acquired Beedsters old "Wal / Jazz" mongrel (an '83 Mk1 Custom that rather bizarrely had been modified with SD jazz bass pickups and a generic circuit) with the aim to restore it to original spec. There's a German company that makes near-exact clones of Wal pickups - http://bass-elektronik.de/products/hot-wire-w-bucker-pickups - and as as mentioned in this thread the filter-based East ACG-1 pre-amp should give a pretty close approximation to the bespoke Wal circuit. Fortunately Paul and Phil at Electric Wood were willing to take on sorting the bass and re-fit with correct Wal parts - not cheap of course, but at least it'll be a "proper" Wal once more! For a Wal-type custom build though, I'd have thought the parts above would be excellent

"Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence" ( Ryuichi Sakamoto) "Letter to Brezhnev" "Twin Peaks" film & series (Angelo Badalamenti) Aforementioned Ennio Morricone But my perennial favourite - "Cal" (Mark Knopfler)

[quote name='PlungerModerno' timestamp='1420877867' post='2654395'] Double sided tape + felt should work perfectly. As long as the finish underneath is in good nick - and is a hard polyurethane or polyester, i.e. not nitrocellulose - it should work great. Any art shop will probably have it. I used it to attach a pickguard for a couple of weeks when the holes didn't line up. Worked great, came off easy with a tiny bit of WD40. Also on topic to some extent is the one, the only, white falcon... wait - not that white falcon - this one: Has this on the reverse: which is cool, IMHO. [/quote] Quite a few basses and guitars had that rear circular padded cushion in the 1960's, notably Vox and Gretsch - not sure why it wasn't more widely used

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1420388133' post='2648681'] I'd better warn you, I'm only one click away from Super Womble... [/quote] Hehe - mind, you can't fault Mike Batt as a songwriter, I liked "Summertime City" back in the day (a non-Womble one......)

Thanks guys - I now feel totally purged of all guilt! I may also start a Mary Hopkin appreciation thread, being as ABBA are royalty on this forum already..... Great clip above, and I meant to say in the OP how top-notch the production was, considering it was a live show in 1971

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1420319094' post='2648099'] I signed up on the Permanent Waves tour - Deeside Leisure Centre, June 1980. Rick all the way!!!!!!! [/quote] Ditto, at the same gig. Unfortunately can't remember much about it, as (to paraphrase Rowley Birkin QC) I was very, very, drunk.....

Been a few good music programmes on BBC4 this Xmas / New Year - particularly enjoyed The Clash 1977 New Year gig documentary (being the year I started on bass as a young punk.......) One of my "guilty pleasures" has always been the Carpenters, so caught "Carpenters at the BBC" the other night on BBC4, think it's on again late tonight I was struck by the bass playing (Wes Jacobs as far as I can tell via Google?) - very simple, but melodic and beautifully complementing the music - often not easy in bands where the keyboard is so dominant. Anyone who saw it know what bass he was playing? - a thinline semi-acoustic that looked like a Gretsch of some sort. Really nice tone.

Some really interesting reading there - secondhand prices sure gone up a bit since the Pro 1 / 2 article from the (early?) '90's - "The price to pay for a Pro-I in good condition, with original Wal case (brown moulded fibreglass with embossed Wal logo) is about the same as the price when new - around £375. The more expensive models follow the same pattern, meaning that you can be sure of your purchase remaining an investment. Expect to pay from £400 to £599 for those models, depending on type and condition."

c.1977 - c.1985: golden era of bass IMHO

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GIBSON-RIPPER-GRABBER-4-STRING-BASS-GUITAR-1975-VINTAGE-CASE-/171550324459?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item27f13236eb Not a million miles from you, and suspect it'll go for starting price or not much more (already relisted) being collection only.

Currently using a very similar rig; Fender Jazz ('75 AVRI with nickel rounds) through Mesa Walkabout head / Mesa Diesel 1x15" EV cab and / or Mesa Diesel 2x10" EV cab. All tone controls flat - I don't touch them. Very good advice above, the only other thing I can suggest trying is changing the 2 preamp valves - I changed the stock Mesa ones for Harma cryo ones and there was a noticeable improvement in tone and clarity, and a smoother overdrive. Stick with it!

Having imported a pair of '66 Thunderbuckers, I can vouch for what a mega-bargain this was. It it'd been cream or Pelham blue finish with a lighter relic job I'd have been utterly gutted to have missed it.....