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Got myself a smaller rig for the new Northern Soul outfit . So 3 different rigs now , but can mix and match . No idea how I've ended up with so much gear - I'm supposed to be scaling down

Magenta maple cap over ash

Not a pedalboard, but the collection that it comes from...

After picking up the This Are Two Tone compilation on vinyl yesterday.

Very interesting and varied answers here, thanks everyone. On balance i think that the points regarding weighing up the quirks of others against the creative opportunities they are offering is key here. I'll give it a few weeks and i think the picture will be a lot clearer so watch this space... 😀

Ive been looking for a Suhr Jazz for quite a while as they are quite rare and on my bucket list of Jazz basses to own. Some might know John Suhr predominantly makes guitars. He makes high end jazz basses in all sorts from his Classic Pro model Classic Antique to the Custom Classic J series. This instrument is a Custom Classic J. Its a swamp ash body with a honey burst high gloss finish. Abalone side dots, decal and fingerboard dots. Suhr (Humphrey) Jazz pickups in a 70,s spacing position, paired with a 2 band Suhr preamp. Ive played many high end jazz basses and this preamp is the clearest non coulered preamp ive ever heard. There is no preamp messing around with this basses clarity. It is also built beautifully. Amazing attention to detail. Ive got to say after playing many high end jazz basses from Celinder, Sadowsky, Nordstrand, Lull this Shur is up there.. The pickups on this bass are soooooooooooooooo good. !! These Suhr Humphrey pickups are just killer imo.. Im not sure how he winds them but these pickups make this bass sing. They are a dual coil that sounds very close to a single coil but are (I think) overwound to give a punch ive not heard on many jazz basses.Ive always had an issue with jazz basses sounding a little thin. I think John Suhr sells these pickups as Humphreys or a single coil. This bass retails at around £3500 which is a bargain when you look at Sadowsky NYC Alleva etc. Its all in the name I guess. One of the great Jazz basses does John Suhr make. thankyou Fatih.

I've been a full time musician since I left Uni 7 years ago. Did my last gig middle of March, got a temp job at tesco telling people to stay 2 metres apart etc. Got a permanent job last month as a delivery driver for sainsburys, which to be fair is about 85% the same as being a touring musician, sat in a van all day, desperate for a wee, listening to podcasts.

Thai your mother down (Queen)

The scratchplates on the Fender Marcus Miller basses Somebody must have shares in plastic sheet and small screws.

Advice? Don't let John Hall find out about you "copying" his product.

Don’t be so reserved Harry, tell us what you really think

First try...

Bought a bass from Dave, exactly as described and beautifully packed. He wanted to send it and let me try it before paying but I managed to talk him down. What a gentleman! Another Basschat legend. Thanks again!

Got this Ashdown ABM810 today. Should be getting the matching CTM300 on Monday from @la bam

Er didn't Thora Hird die several years ago tho? That’s a bit niche by any standards.

One thing I learned when I dipped my toes into the music industry, you’ve got to be easy going and just accept the traits of others. Those that were easy going have generally had a better career IME.

Hi All, Just wanted to share a couple of photos of my most recent acquisition. First HB purchase and for the price point (99GBP) it's fantastic!

Having sold some gear and cleared a couple of things off - I’d hoped to get a Status Groove from these very pages. Typically - it’d sold about 4 hours before my gear had been paid for. “Oh well, they drop up from time to time - will have a mooch on Facebook marketplace...” I saw this. Hours later, a deal was struck. It was our very own @Geddys nose who I’ve dealt with before. tis very good.

I am still gathering parts for my scratch build but in the meantime I have found myself in possession of enough spares to build a bitsa. My request for unwanted bass bits resulted in several members giving me stuff free and in some cases it was free of postage too. I've got some goodies stashed away for the big build but I also have extra bits of hardware that lend themselves to side projects. Most recently, @Shepster8316 kindly brought me some parts as in the photos he sent me below; What Paul had sent me was essentially an Encore P bass minus neck with hardware stripped out and the body and neck of a Yamaha BB1100s with hardware stripped out. The Yamaha body had suffered a whack that damaged the thin wood over the control cavity. Rather than try to make an invisible repair I'd probably put a plate over it and make it a feature at some point. The Yamaha neck fits the Encore neck pocket though. It is a slightly loose fit but not bad. The Encore body is very heavy but I am happy enough about that. I may put a piece of veneer in to tighten it up with a little fitting to make it snug. I am even considering doing the Billy Sheehan thing and putting in two draw bolts to pull the neck into the body as well as the standard fixings. The bridge will be moved inboard by about three quarters of an inch because of the slightly longer neck. Interestingly the two basses have the same bridge design so I picked the better of the two, the Yamaha. Tuners from the Encore will fit the Yamaha neck. The Encore pickup should be okay as is and I have a control loom in the spares I mentioned at the top of this post. I just need a pickguard. The parts are used and have a good patina. The body has some dings and scratches but nowt serious. Some of the screw shanks have stayed behind after the heads were sheared off. I am not one for relicing but I see no reason not to build this without refinishing as the wear is genuine and it is a bitsa. Just a mock-up photo; Should be a laugh...

I can sponsor you for an obscure amount of money?

I’ve been playing some of the Mighty Diamonds today and I came across a track I haven’t heard in a long time by Tabby Diamond, nice simple but effective bass on this 🙂

Could have been there to give it a sense of 'we are all too out of our tree to notice'.

Wilkinson alnico pickups will be a big improvement on the sound, you'll definitely notice a difference if you do change them. As for the tuners, a little vaseline on the spindle/cogs and they'll turn much better. Cheap tuners don't get lubricated, so it's metal rubbing on metal, which is why they're tough to turn.

They’re 280w at 18kg, hand wired and all for £1500 isn’t bad at all

Moronic to pay so much for a bass because someone famous owned it. I will never get used to stuff like this.

Most of my gear is either full valve or hybrid but I would love another SVT classic or V4 or 120w tube amp or anything tube lol 😂

Great project. I'd be tempted to invest in a gold anodised PG on there, for that 50s P bass look. 😎

On the whole, people who are late, tend to be happier than the people who are waiting for them.

I have the burst version of this model, it is indeed a great bass despite some drawbacks. The neck dives, but there is no T-bird shaped bass that doesn''t. The bridge on mine went straight to the bin while I was doing a refin, loved the looks but wouldn't live with the way it adjusts, what where they thinking!? The neck is set so no swapping with a lefty model. This is what it looks like now.

Colin Greenwood from Radiohead was an early adopter of the Sterling and used them a bit around the time of the first album - the Sterling was launched in 93 and came with the mutes on the bridge My wife thinks there are so few to be found because i have too many! 2005 blue pearl 4H weighs about 4.5 kilo/ 9.9lb 2012 Classic with mutes, slab body, string through body, 2 eq, no switching, 4.6 kg/ 10.1lb 2019 post box red (recent bday pressie to myself to celebrate LFC triumphs!), roasted maple neck and headstock, 4.0 kg/ 8.81lb I've been playing these since 2008 - I intended to buy a stingray but tried the Sterling next to it and was instantly converted. The selling points for me are: the neck profile is the most comfortable of any bass for me - if you prefer jazz to a P bass neck then you will undoubtedly prefer the Sterling to a Stingray I like the smaller body shape, much more elegant and comfortable smaller headstock than stingray - I like to smash drummer's cymbals with it! The three way switching and eq options are extremely versatile can be a very aggressive sound - I usually prefer to tame it with flatwounds The Classic is extremely rare and they were only made for about 6 years - I love the mutes, the neck is high gloss and amazing figured maple. The neck feels different and nicer somehow to the standard 4H to me but I can’t work out why, it seems to be the same profile. I've heard people say that gloss makes the neck sticky but I’ve never had a problem under stage lights. Not as versatile without the switching and only 2 band eq but it does what it does very well. I’ve never encountered a lightweight one. My new one is the lightest I’ve ever heard of at 8.81lb - can anyone beat that?

Someone who continually turns up at least 40 minutes late is taking the p*ss, the rest of the band should be having a word. Solution, book a rehearsal for 8pm but don’t tell the singer, let him/her think it’s booked for 7pm, see how they feel when they are first to arrive and sit around for at least 20 minutes before the rest of the band arrive.

Well that's a big encouragement to pick up my fretless Ibby Portamento then, which has lain untouched for far too long! If a fretless can fool a middle aged bass player with poor speakers on his mum's PC into thinking it's an upright, it's gotta have something going for it, eh? 😁

I've got these which my PK-5A can drive. Peavey Bass - some really good canned sounds, including a deep rich piano. Minitaur - what it is. 2x Roland JV-1010, one with a synth card and one with an orchestral one. I've not got so far with the JV-1010s yet, TBH.

Here's the link: https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-33/october-2020/which-human-experiences-are-universal

Ignore me, do this. Like a Rickenbacker Lightshow.

I am a bugger for saving stuff in odd places. I found some old polycarbonate sheeting from a cheap plastic cold frame that my late mum had in the garden. When retiring it from use I kept the sheeting because it was compact and flat and easily hidden behind one of the bunkers. Sometimes this strategy pays off. I cut a pickguard from it using the template I made yesterday. Loosely installed this seems to work with the overall look of the bass. I may have been staring at it for too long... I must try some strong lighting on it to see if it would look interesting on stage. Getting there...

I’ll find out at some point as I ordered it.

The MÜB Miezo is coming on, looks like it's just the final coat and assembly.

Velvet pouch you say................

Looks like you've been busy. I popped some more stuff in the post for you this morning that may be of use...... an assortment of pickups (P & J) along with a bag of pots, looms and bits of looms. If no use feel free to pass them on to someone else...... or lob them in the bin 🙂