wateroftyne

Hey gang! Short version: Got a '71 P. It's in amazing condition*. B neck, 8.8lbs, balanced, resonant. It's a stunner. Long version: It's had one owner before me - an ex-pat Glaswegian, and professional bass player, who bought it new from a shop in Hamilton, Bermuda(!) in 1971. He was the resident bassist in the house band at the Princess Hotel on the island, and gigged it for decades. I suspect he may have used it to back some massive stars over the years, as it was a big venue on the circuit (no provenance of this, unfortunately). He returned to Argyll in his twilight years where it remained in its case, until he sadly passed away last year at a ripe old age after living a remarkable life. His family decided to sell it on, and I'm the lucky recipient. As you can see, it's incredibly clean. From talking to his family, it sounds like it never really left the hotel. Also in the case was a manual (with the purchase date, store name and price - $315 - handwritten on it), some REALLY old guitar cables, his strap and a back of old tortoiseshell picks. There's a mark on the back of the neck from a guitar stand, which I think will come off. There's also a sticker on the back with the hotel details on it.. I think I might leave this on, but I'm not sure. One of the tuner screws has been replaced. In addition to that, it looks like it may have had a refret at some point but I won't know for sure until I've taken it to be looked over by the legend that is Dave Wilson. Dave will also be looking at the mystery of why the bridge appears to have been moved to the 'E' side very slightly - I really can't see a reason why. If there isn't one, I'll ask him to shift it back. He's also going to pop the pickguard off to check the wiring, pots and pickups are original. It's been used so much, maybe something has been replaced, but hopefully nothing major. All-in-all, I'm VERY happy with it. It's getting gigged tomorrow night before it goes to Dave's. 🙂

I popped into Merchant City today. The Blonde Decision is lovely... a bit heavier than the bluey-purple one, but sounded more solid. Either of them is a lot of bass for the money (didn't buy it, tho). Staff were great. Very pleasant.

'Twas! So here's the crack. The previous owner was an interesting chap by all accounts... A Glaswegian who originally played double bass in the pit band at The London Palladium throughout the 50s and 60s, backing EVERYONE. He moved to Bermuda in the early 70s, where he bought this new from Music City in Hamilton on the island for... $315. He then gigged it relentlessly as a member of the house band in the Princess Hotel. After he retired, he returned to Glasgow and sadly passed away last year... hence it ending up in auction. We drove up to Glasgow this morning to collect it - we're staying up here for a couple of days so I haven't been able to plug it in yet. That'll have to wait. So far, so very good. Medium weight, resonant, balances perfectly. Original case. Came with bridge cover, manual, some old (proper) tort picks and some really old-school cables. I've popped the neck.. it's a B neck, very clean in the neck cavity. There's a replaced screw on one of the tuners. I suspect it's had a refret - no surprise as it's probably thousands of gigs in. I haven't taken their guard off yet as I don't have decent tools with me, so that'll have to wait. Hopefully no surprises under there. I'll do an NBD thread when I've had more time to tinker...

Fantastic!

What the dickens did that sound like..???

Greetings from Glasgow 🙂

Apologies - was skim reading. ’Issue’ (it’s not really that, but…) is just with the newest variant of the WB. A simple attenuator brings it down to lower levels.

Yep, most decent desks will have enough headroom to cope. Unfortunately my Scarlett interface and one of my band's desks were a bit clippy, but the attenuator sorted it.

Oof..!

Here's my Custom Jake with passive Maruszczyk P & bridge humbucker pups.

Let’s see a pic of the whole thing!

Oh, I see.

There's usually only a buyer's premium, which is - unlike the hammer price - is subject to VAT.

I can also recommend this for more general Fender info… https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3982909-fender

Yeah, Geddy’s is a stunner. I wish it didn’t stop at the late 60s tho.

‘The Fender Bass - An Illustrated History’ is the one to get. I think it’s out of print, but available used… if a little pricey. Be warned though… it will make you covet expensive things.

Because some promoters promote music, not genres.

Prepare to have your head melted. Well worth the effort, though. The band’s musical evolution over the 10 years they existed is remarkable.

Absolutely monster musician.

Amazing player. What a guy. 😞

https://offsetguitars.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=93643

If you stick your ear on the top horn and play it acoustically, does it sound mushy compared to the others? If it does, maybe put the electronics investigation on the back-burner and focus on set-up issues (or the possibility it might just be 'one of those' basses). Hope you get it sorted, tho.

Some of my favourite bass tones are P with a pick and - I suspect - not much in the way of mid-scoop.

I hope they paid him for it..!