I know how you felt in regards to the bass when it was first given to you. I'm glad enough time has now passed for you to enjoy the instrument on it's own merits.
The very first bass I ever played was a '74 Jazz Bass which was owned by my friend Jimmy Davidson. This would have been around 79/80 when I was 15. Jimmy was in his mid 20's at the time. The bass seemed HUGE to me at the time, with the strings feeling like ropes.
Anyhow, a couple of years ago around December Jim wasn't feeling too good. He went to the doc who diagnosed cancer. Sadly, he passed away in the following February. The family gave the bass to me. I had it restored to the original specifications as jimmy had set the bass up for BEAD tuning, installed brass nut, and had an 80's brass bridge fitted.
Martin at The Gallery installed a genuine early 70's Fender nut, and fitted a pristine early 70's Fender bridge (which was donated by Mo Foster). I had the original ashtrays also.
The bass looked, played and sounded fantastic. However, I couldn't appreciate it for what it was at the time as it was always "Jimmy's bass" in my eyes. I loaned it to my friend Paul Turner who used it on various gigs with Jamiroquai, Shuffler, and even Take That (when he depped for Lee Poneroy on a German TV show). I got it back last month from Paul as enough time had passed whereby I can now enjoy the bass as being a great vintage bass. It'll always have the association with my friend Jim, but it feels like "mine" also now (if that makes sense?).
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