geoffbyrne

Cocaine. G.

That was a pic I found on Google, as suggested. Any decent luthier will defret the neck - in fact, defretting is fairly easy if you have the right tools & take your time - what is more difficult is filling in the slots left over, cos if you don't the neck ends up like a banana (eventually). I'd buy one of those unfinished bodies & get a fretles Fender-style neck to fit it. Bit of work, sanding, routing the edges, oiling, waxing & doing the electrics & Bob's you Auntie!!!! G.

No, it's in Motherwell - £129.99 - painted black with a side view of a skull - you could probably find a pic of one on Google. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-Unfinished-Poplar-Iceman-PJ-Bass-A27-/301197636044?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4620c731cc http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Replacement-Unfinished-Poplar-Iceman-P-Bass-P-Pick-Up-A23-/291148873162?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43c9d33dca G.

There's a (painted/finished) Iceman bass in my local Cash Generator at £130 - fancy a bit of sanding? G.

I have a box made up with at least 4 sets and some oddities. If anyone wants them PM me & cover the postage. G.

It's difficult sometimes. I bought something from China, fully aware it would take maybe a couple of weeks to arrive. It didn't. I got in touch and the seller, although very co-operative - urged me to wait longer. I did, but then my period in which I could make a claim was running out - the seller was still urging me to wait. I made the claim which took two weeks to complete and then, three weeks after that, my item arrived. No, I didn't get back in touch with the seller, as the item was only worth a few quid and 9 weeks to delivery is ridiculous, however, if it had been an expensive item I'd really would have had to consider refunding *part* of the cash back to the seller. All the same, if someone is selling internationally it is up to them to make sure they have access to a method of delivery that guarantees success within a reasonable period of time. G.

Late to the party as usual, but All the Best, Howard and I sincerely hope things improve rapidly for you. G.

Soapbar pups are problematic as sometimes there is a single coil - Fender-style - in it, sometimes a P90-style broad coil, and sometimes a dual coil humbucker. It's just a shell to fit a specific hole which can be filled with various pickups to taste. As far as the aperture question is concerned, I'm no expert, but my understanding id the wider the aperture, the greater the number of overtones sampled. G.

DiMarzio Ultra Jazz? They do them in 5's. G.

I picked up a Yammie RBX250 (essentially a P Bass) locally recently and after a mild bit of fettling it turned out as sweet a little bass as you've ever played ... however it's 4 string, so I could be convinced to sell.... G.

Nope - I've struggled for years. I can play rhythm guitar & sing but I can't sing a melody line and play a bass line. I end up singing the bassline - very rum! G.

I get this mag every month - look forward to reading it! G.

You could look at Yammies - a BBN (J style pups) or BBG (soapbar). They're OK. G.

Interestingly, some pickups that look like J pickups (Think diMarzio Model J and others) are actually built internally like a P pickup and can be wired both in series and in parallel. You can do this with a P pup too given a micro switch - a 3 position could give series/off/parallel. I found that the DiMarzio Model J wired both ways via a switch worked very well in series in a P/J combination, yet when switched from series to parallel gave a completely different set of tones. G.

After a little bit of Googling, I've identified the factory Jon said - [b] Moridaira[/b] G.

I had a body like that - Bassassin (Jon) pinpointed the Japanese factory it came from as it was the only one which used that construction (2 piece horizontally split body) and the 6 bolt neckplate - however I've deleted that conversation long ago & can only hope he pops on here again for his advice. G.

Black & Decker, metal drill bit. G.

If you need a replacement preamp, this one's affordable.... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-Retrovibe-Stinger-Classic-MM-Stingray-Bass-EQ-pre-amp-2-band-pre-EB-circuit-/281130564526?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4174affbae G.

Some cabs have a flip-down foot which tilts it up. G.

I had a lovely Squier Standard Tele and I put a Fender '52 RI in the bridge and a GFS Fatbody ([url="http://www.guitarfetish.com/Alnico-Fatbody-Oversized-Polepiece-Tele-Neck-Pickup_p_76.html"]http://www.guitarfet...ickup_p_76.html[/url]) in the neck - the Fatbody was superb - and the 52RI cut through everything. It was a *very* nice little guitar which was sold with regret - but didn't need it. G.

I reckon about 90% of problems like that are cable or general connection probs - they're the first thing I check. G.

Have you tried turning the gain down a bit & turning up the master? G.