Old Horse Murphy

Well, this year has been a pretty rough one for us but I’m delighted to say that things have turned a corner over the last week. I’m looking forward to ringing 2020 in though! Anyway, the upturn in fortune compelled me to celebrate in style by getting rid of a few of my guitars and a nice valve combo that wasn’t being used and to reinvest in my main squeeze; the bass. Joining my trusty faithful P Bass and my recently acquired Jazz, I picked up a new Tony Franklin Fretless and a Music Man SR5. I really feel I now have every eventuality covered with these four which is a good thing as I planned on having a dry 2020 when it comes to musical gear! We’ll see....

I once had a call telling me I had been selected to have a half-price Conservatory fitted. I told them I was over the moon and could we arrange an appointment ASAP. You could hear the dollar signs rolling around the caller's head. She asked for my address and I took great delight in telling her I was in a second floor flat. At least she had the decency to apologise.

I had a 78 Fender P bass that weighed 13.1lbs. I ended up selling it to the Royal Navy (it was collection only)

70's Jazzes had the bridge pickup marginally closer to the bridge, which is apparently very appealing to the Slapping fraternity due to the extra snap and zing this gives. As I'm very much a Missionary Position with the lights off type of guy, I don't really notice much difference personally.

I’m probably giving my age away here but I remember seeing adverts for the Marlin stuff which used to make me go weak at the knees. It was the colours for me, especially that purpleish one. Our local guitar shop had them in stock and I used to go and drool and dream of great things. Happy days

Thanks chaps The Jazz is the least Jazzy Jazz I’ve owned (thick neck, mellow pickups) and it plays beautifully. The stone wall is about 2 foot thick although I think our neighbours which is was nearer 6 foot thick!

I’ve managed to commandeer a bedroom on the top floor for my gear ( my wife got the ground floor office). Not pictured is the king size bed where I can often be found when practicing gets a bit too emotional.

Thanks mate. It’s (stay with me) probably the least Jazzy Jazz I’ve played. The neck is quite deep (not particularly wide) and the pickups are definitely a bit darker and more mellow than I would have expected. To me, these are both wins, being a P Bass player predominantly. It it may be that the last few Jazzes I’ve played have been Geddy Lee Signature models, but this one definitely feels more substantial.

I picked this up on Thursday and haven’t been able to put it down since (including last night’s gig). It’s a 2018 Fender Professional Jazz Bass, now restrung with Ernie Ball Super Slinkies. The pickups sound amazing and although I’ve never been a fan of maple fingerboards on a Jazz Bass, it just works for me with the natural ash body. This bass belonged to the bassist from Funeral For a Friend who I bought it off (nice chap) Here it is alongside my trusty P Bass wearing the obligatory TI Flats.

That’s a real head turner. One for the wish list

I’ve had a couple of Charvel/Jacksons of the Pointy variety: in fact my main gigging bass is a Charvel 1B. Build quality is easily as good as anything else I’ve owned (if not better than most) and the versatility of the reverse P Pickup is remarkable. I’d highly recommend them.