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Fight Like a Brave - Red Hot Chilli Peppers

I've always wanted to try one of these, they look great and I presume they make all the right J-bass sounds, which are always pleasing to my ear (whereas the Precision tone really does nothing for me unless it's very bright and played with a pick, and even then...). I always thought the relic finish looked good but I've never inspected one up close to see if it looked really authentic or not. It wouldn't fuss me that much, I've always thought they looked good in pictures and when I've seen them on the racks at guitar shops etc.

Needing a screwdriver to break into a battery compartment. It's literally broken many deals for me in the past.I was miffed when the 2nd generation Sires went that way when they were first released especially after the 1st gen didn't.

"Eee, when all this was fields, I was early in my teens with a pocket full of money from my paper round..." There was a little music shop called Adam Music on Station Path, Staines. The limited stock was all cheap/copies, but to us, kids whose exposure to electric instruments was either TOTP, Beat Instrumental or the Bell catalogue, Adam Music was heaven. Beyond this, we kind of progressed on to ABC in Addlestone.

Another shout for the Bass Centre in Wapping. I bought a number of Entwistle basses from there, and my 66 slab bass. Locally I recall the original Telecomms in Portsmouth, a small shop that moved location a couple of times. It eventually became a branch of PMT, lost its soul and finally closed.

Funk, not Fight! - Bootsy Collins

Working on it... 😁

Hammonds in Watford was a great shop, bought my first decent bass & amp there, on HP.

So many really. Probably the one I miss the most was Electro Music in Doncaster. A wonderful shop, crammed with so many instruments. They had separate departments for guitars, basses, drums and studio stuff, as well as a brilliant second shop over the road for PA related gear. The owners and staff were all lovely people, knowledgeable and friendly, it really was a pleasure to visit there. Me and the various bands I was in bought a lot of things there over the years, including a PA - the Electro guys brought 3 different set ups to a club where we rehearsed near Hull so we could try them out side by side to make sure we were happy. Brilliant service and shop, very sadly missed Music Workshop / later Antones in Hull was the first call for all bands in my area. Again, well stocked and staffed by musicians, it was always a friendly and interesting place to buy from. Owned by a good friend of mine, it closed when he retired. JSG / Spectre Sound in Bingley near Bradford was another superb shop. You entered down a long tunnel like corridor into a shop rammed with guitars and amps. Plenty of new and s/h kit, I bought many items there over the years, and well worth the 100 mile round trip for me. Last but not least, the shops run and owned by the late Lynn Blakeston in Hull, a well known and respected man who sadly recently passed away. Lynn started out with Gardner Music which is where 14 year old me used to hang out and get to meet all the great local musos. Lynn lent me some brand new Marshall amps for my band’s first ever gig, and then went on to make flightcases under the ‘Greyhound’ name as well as establish a popular PA sales and hire business ‘ The Gig Shop’. His influence and help with the local music scene could not be over estimated, and without his shops I would probably never have chosen the route I took. I genuinely feel sorry for young musicians who will never know what it was like to have great shops to receive advice, try / buy stuff, and meet other players.

The Bass Centre Wapping, coz that was just haloed ground in the 80/90’s but also my two favourite local music stores that actually catered for bass players .. Monkey Business in both Southend & Romford, also honourable mention to Honkytonk music Southend, where I bought my first two basses..

Musical Exchanges in Birmingjam was the first guitar shop I ever went into as a teenager in the 80s Might be rose tinted memories, but no guitar shop I've been in to since has come close to the sheer eclectisism and variety of new and used stock that Musical Exchanges had in those days. For a while me and my mates would go there just to hang out & try stuff we couldn't afford just about every weekend & the staff seemed more than happy for us to do so. It was a genuine Aladdins cave.

Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots, Part 1 - Flaming Lips

Hodges & Johnson in Southend.

@kiat Anthony from Macari's now owns the music shop in Haywards Heath, very close to the station.

The HH shop is a very poor substitute for the Macaris you and I recall. I brought one of their own brand Craftsman J bass copies in the mid 70s and later took my youngest son there for a Lag acoustic guitar in the late 90s. And my old boss worked there in the 60s selling coloursound pedals. A wonderful place.

I did exactly what was suggested with ordinary hard wood dowels about six weeks ago. Used a decent wood glue on a MIM Jazz neck. Left it to dry properly (24 hours) and re drilled it to fit a different body. No issues whatsoever. I'm going to do another neck in a few weeks and will do the same again. I've no concerns about the strength at all. Rob

Thanks. All the advise is appreciated. After a little more time fooling with the the ABM I did notice the compressor does choke the volume/signal. Having the input cranked all the way and blending in the valve helps that a good bit. I can see where if someone had the input at 10:00 how it would really suck the sound out of it. I've got a old compressor I used to have in place, but I'm nor wanted something else in the signal path and may just not use the one in the ABM. I liked my tone with some of it, but it's not a must have. I seem to notice that the compressor clamped down before the signal got to the the point of moving the needle. More movement with no comp. I'll have to spend more time with it, but it may involve the comp being left off. But I am finding I can get the needle to do more moving now, and more than I was noticing when I didn't have time to be looking at the head at rehearsal or live.