discreet

No problem - see post above - to you, £450.

These are very approximate prices, I didn't buy everything all at the same time: Herrick Pickup £60 Squier Vintage Modified Two-Saddle Bridge + Ferrules (USA import) £35 Shoreline Gold Nitro £15 Ivory Cream Canbrush Acrylic £9 Wilkinson Tuners £25 Fender Flats £22 Electrics and Knobs £40 Total: £206 Plus the donor bass is around £100 from Thoman, so total cost would be around £300. I'm aware that you can go and buy a very nice-sounding, playable, good-looking new bass for £300 - you don't save money by making a bitsa, you really have to enjoy putting them together - which I do. Also a Squier (for example) will hold it's value pretty well - there's no way I could sell this and get my money back. Which is a good thing, because it means I'll keep it, play it and enjoy it.

There's certainly not a lot of room on the back of that reshaped headstock! As you can see they're not fully screwed in yet, I'm letting them settle down a bit before I get them sorted - but I think they will just about work. I may need to do a bit of subtle filing, but I think it's worth it. I prefer the big backplates on a Fender-style bass and the shafts are quite long on the Wilkinsons. The clover buttons taper nicely into the shafts too, I don't like the sort that are stepped at the bottom.

HB PB-50 Modded! - *Version 3.0* *Audio Clip* This is my third modification of a Harley-Benton PB-50 Precision Bass. If you want to see what the stock donor bass looks like, Thomann have it for sale here - with more and better pictures than I can be bothered to take: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_50_sb_vintage_series.htm As usual I reshaped the headstock to a 50s-style Telebass and painted the pickguard, but this time I went to town and converted the stock four-saddle top-loading bridge to a through-body two-saddle bridge with ferrules, more in keeping with the 50s vibe. Yes, I had a spare pair of pants on hand when I drilled through the body. And being a bit fed up with sunburst, I did a full refinish in Shoreline Gold. Yes, I know Shoreline Gold wasn't available until after the 57 Precision redesign, but what the hell, I really like it. The pickup is another Herrick Tele '51' - this time the Neo magnet version as opposed to the AlNiCo 5 variant fitted to v2.0. It's a bit stronger in the high mids and top end, throws out a bit more signal and sounds great. https://www.herrickpickups.com/products/tele-51-bass-single-coil/ I really liked the look and texture of the Shoreline nitro, so didn't clear coat it. I'm hoping it will age naturally in all the right places. The only stock components remaining on this assembly are the body and neck (obviously), the neck plate, the control plate, the string tree and the strap buttons. Everything else has been upgraded or replaced. As you can see, the Fender flats are getting a bit elderly and I want to get some of those La Bella flats that are specifically made for through-body bridges. Nevertheless, the bass sounds great and plays like a premium instrument costing many times more than the donor bass. Result. Body refin in Shoreline Gold nitro Pickguard in Ivory Cream Squier Vintage Modified through-body two-saddle bridge with ferrules Herrick Neodymium Telebass '51' pickup CTS solid-shaft pots, Chiclet cap .047uF, Switchcraft jack in cats-eye side plate Fender flat-top knurled control knobs with grub screws Wilkinson WJBL 200 tuners Fender 9050M steel flatwounds 55-70-90-105 Thanks for looking!

Like it, radical! it's so you.

I too was thinking about modding a Peavey TNT... build a lightweight cab out of braced, thin ply and fit a neo driver... but what's the betting it'll sound like crap? If you try to analyse something too closely, it often gets away from you. I came to the conclusion that hauling gear to and from gigs is a big pain in the bum regardless of the weight of the gear. So why worry?

I didn't touch my bass for about thirty years... sounded good to me! Then I became a member of BassChat and the enormous amount of time I've spent since (some would say 'wasted') getting my set-up just right on various basses is considerable. I don't think of myself as a particularly technical person, but if you have a bit of nous and a modicum of confidence, and (importantly) find out about what you want to do before you do it, then it's not that hard. For example, truss-rod adjustment seemed like a black art to me, and something I'd most likely feck up and then have to spend money on to rectify. But if you know what a truss rod is, what it does and what you can expect it to do (Google is your friend) then again, it's not that hard... with a bit of application you can save yourself a few bob.

Sounds messy... oh wait, you mean hair... just wear a hat and a pair of shades. Also works if you're bald.

Should be easy for a man of your calibre (pronounced cal-eye-ber). Bit too far for me, but have a good one.

That sounds fantastic, good work!

AAAARRGGGH!

I see that, but a wig may be a better look.

Having it lit is a great idea. Transforms the backdrop from a bit of rag to something that looks much more pro. Nice work.

I have found the same on occasion, but the temptation is to think that if a little sounds good then a lot must be better... any more than just a touch of VPF at a gig is too much. IMHO, of course.

My preferences have changed over the decades, from 44mm to around 42mm P necks, but I'm now equally happy playing a 38mm Jazz and regularly swap between them. I was once fussy about how chunky a neck was too, but lately - I just don't care. If a bass is otherwise brilliant, I don't let things like neck depth or nut width or board radius put me off any more.

I would agree. the VLE is much more useful (IMHO) in that it can make a relatively hi-fi amp sound more old-school. The VPF I could do without entirely. My theory (which may be a load of rubbish, I'm not sure) that some manufacturers tailor their products to sound good in showrooms and houses, would make the VPF a good idea from Markbass's point of view - use the VPF when you want the amp to sound good in anything other than a live gigging situation, then have it fully 'off' when gigging, as a scooped sound will make you disappear in the mix - you could say it's just an unnecessary bell or whistle, or on the other hand it may be a brilliant bit of marketing covering all bases. Who knows?

Sorry, didn't make myself clear. What I meant was, there's a huge difference between a budget, entry-level bass amp (or car) of the 1970s, and the modern equivalent. Audition amp and Kay bass from Woolworth's, anyone?

Is it even possible these days to buy new gear that would actually make one sound bad? It certainly was back in the day, but now? Just like in the 70s and 80s you could buy a new car that was slow and badly put together, today most new cars are much of a muchness regarding quality and performance.

Interestingly Trace cabs also colour one's sound somewhat, resulting in the same kind of polarisation seen in this thread...

Oo-er. Well... I've just read all the previous posts and have now decided that Markbass cabs are probably a bit rubbish - so I'm going to buy a truss and get some Trace Elliot cabs instead.

Speaking as a Markbass-loving sucker myself, I'd say there's no such thing as bad publicity and can't wait for the gear to come up for sale. At the right price, of course....

Thanks Lozz, its in the planning stage. Hopefully it'll look (and sound) the business and should weigh in at around 7lbs.