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I used a rolled up towel for years. Got a wooden neck cradle for fathers day last year, a bit like this: Not sure which method I prefer

If they are 4 ohm cabs it is a no go unless your amp is a rare breed of 2 ohm capable kind. Unlikely. 2 x 8 ohm cabs should always be fine. Once in a blue moon a cable or socket can be miswired. That can really mess with you mind. You would hear it as a dropout of most of the low end.

I'll be 60 next year, so I guess I almost qualify for this. What keeps me in the game is the guys I play with. Consummate professionals each and every one. I cannot think of one bad word word to say about any of them. They give everything at each and every gig. They are the first to criticise themselves and applaud the effort of others. I really can't ask for more than that. I know the bubble will burst one day when someone hangs up their spurs, but for now, I'm the happiest guy.

Seems like 99% of the British Invasion bands 1960- 1965 have origins in the blues even The Moody Blues. I'd say the blues scene in my neck of the woods is a viable, respectable size niche. I think it's because I'm a little over an hour north of Chicago. However, the blues bands don't get the cool high profile big money gigs like the top tier represented cover bands. We're able to slip under the radar because our Americana stuff. And I think having a female lead guitarist and lead vocalist fronting the band helps too. Daryl

Sounds like our gig at last week. Except add having the van stuck in the mud. We tried everything to move it until we figured out driving it forward instead of reverse was the answer. Daryl

Stay awhile this time. Daryl

I'm trying to do this on bass too. I have the actual bass line but I'm trying to work out the melody part, so far this is what I've got … G|-------15---14~~~~17--12---14~~~14-----------------------------------15\14---- D|-12--------------------------------------15---------------------------------------- A|---------------------------------------------12--12--15---13\12---13\12------------ E|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- B|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think the next section starts G|---17-- 12--15--14-- but something doesn't sound right there, so I need to do more work on it. Mark

I just have to listen to the original theme and it's like going back in time. Troughton and Pertwee were my Doctor's. I had the good fortune to meet Jon and he was just the nicest guy. There was something calming about listening to the way he spoke. Absolutely captivating.

Well, it's a very attractive 78, guards are guards, if you want tort, speak to the Laveguard guy, he does real nice ones that are VERY well priced, compared to many others, and his are really good looking. As far as the noise issues go, might have a lead going into a pot lug somewhere that's loose, but I would first try squirting some contact cleaner into the pots. If that don't work, check under the bridge for contact with the bridge earth wire. I usually sand a patch in the nickel plate where the bridge earth wire contacts the bridge to ensure a good "connection". If you were mad enough to want to throw money at aftermarket pickups (those factory pickups should sound lovely) you can lift out the whole lot, pickups, pots, jack and bridge earth wire by taking off the guard and lifting the bridge so the when you pull the bridge earth wire out of the tunnel it stays soldered to the volume pot. And because the rout from pickups to control bay is a trench rather than a drilled tunnel, just pop off the knobs, unbolt the pots and jack and it'll all come out without having to unsolder anything. If you did go down the aftermarket pickup route, you can just send a bit more on new pots, cap and jack. There are a few comparisons of Fender PV 63's and Fender CS 62's on Youtube, check them out, personally I think the 63's sound a little nicer than the 62's - but in all honesty, your 78's are gonna be so similar it isn't worth the money splashing on aftermarket pickups. And bolting another heavyweight bridge to an old Fender always leaves marks in the paint usually because those things have a much larger footprint than the stock bridge and end up making your bass sound like it's made of solid metal - the OG Fender bridges are light and don't reflect string vibration away from the wood of the body like those massive Badasses and Babicz things do. There's cheaper less invasive and less unsightly ways to get more "sustain" out of a P Bass, like stainless roundwound vs nickel strings, or simply EQing or turning up the treble knob on your amp! I'm 59, I've owned multiple P and Jazz Basses, and NEVER had a "stability problem" with stock bridges. And I've played 1000 shows between 1984 and now. By all means, change what you want to but in case you haven't noticed, mid to late 70's P Bass prices have been going through the roof, because pre-1970 P basses are now heading to the damn moon, and if you make irreversible mods to this really good looking bass, you'll live to regret it if you ever need to sell it. PS attached pic of my 69ish P with a Lavaguard...

Have just had a play with that and the melody bits scared the cats lol... seriously though the original theme is possibly my all time favourite piece of music

I'm sorry, the what now?!? 😳 Mark

Queer

The bass ball fat neck concernes me. I had a BB PJ and I sold it for that very reason. I owned a USA Lakland JO and the neck was just wow. Slim but flat back to front. What an incredible instrument that was. Need to try a Moon me thinks J. Amazing how the shape of a piece of wood changes your feelings towards expressing yourself.

A packed room. Those are the best kind of rooms. Lol Daryl

I'm going to start taking pics of my footwear. Daryl

That's what I call a proper gig. Very nice. Daryl

Apologies, I'm late to the party. You did what I had to do to a 69 body that had rusted out bridge mount screws - the old 5mm diamond edged holesaw! Nice job. What you had on there was an aftermarket bridge. Those saddle height screws give the game away, they're Allen wrench, which didn't show up on US Fenders until the 90's. The saddles and intonation screws will be metric. I see you've made a lot of progress (on page 5) bass looks incredible. Have you had anyone look at those frets yet? Because I wouldn't replace them, by the looks of the closeup on page 5 there's still enough height on them for a pro to level, crown and polish them. Good luck!

Strings too close to the pickups can cause this take the pickups down and see if it stops.

Just back from my second night at the local Folk and Cider festival, this time with the blues band. Took the Orange Terror 500 with 2x10 and 2x12 cabs, along with the 58 P bass going straight in to the amp (clip on tuner). Footwear of choice was the trusty black Dr Martens tonight..... Had a great one hour set of mostly standard blues covers - more lively ones to keep people drinking and dancing!

Martin McCarthy wrote that arrangement I think Paul Simon copyright Ed it

First night of the Katy Hurt album release tour tonight, at the gorgeous Square Tower in Portsmouth. An almost packed room, my first ever guitar and bass teacher in attendance and the second gig I’ve had with my gorgeous new ACG bass. All in all it was a cracking way to kick off the tour, roll on Bath on Friday 😎 White leather Converse, pristine at the beginning of the evening but now bearing their first (minor) battle scars.

My apologies, but you won't find one. I like to confuse people with this picture. I did the conversion myself in a bid to convince myself I didn't need a Peter Hook BB (BBPH), then ended up with a BBPH a few months later.