Jean-Luc Pickguard

I can vouch for the Epi thunderbird vintage pro - I have two of them. They are excellent basses, look as cool as a polar bear's nads and neither has a problem with neck dive.

What the hell did he use on those nut slots – an angle grinder?

Bought a set of bass electronics including PJ pickups, loom and knobs from Dave. I'm very pleased with the purchase and it was a smooth transaction with excellent comms and speedy dispatch.

Surprising that this thread has got so far without any mention of wishbass

I'm not keen on the snot green finish of the precision

Bill Withers - Live at Carnegie Hall

Bah! they haven't even been improved with perfect balance, mismatched pickups or wonky tuners

I used to use large triangle tortex picks but recently switched to Dunlop prime tone 1.5 mm non-grip small triangles which work much better for me on both guitar and bass. These are made from polyetherimide like ultex picks, but they are coloured brown which makes them look a bit like super-expensive blue chip picks.

Its not a '79 - the international colours range might have S9- serials but were first available in late 1980.

Nothing wrong with a nice sunburst. Rather than seeing it as being dated I'd say it is a timeless classic.

Sounds like you need to invest in a PA system which includes monitors. The combo that the guitar, keys and vocals are plugged into - can a second cabinet, or a second amp taking a feed from that amp be added to that on the opposite side? At least get it off the floor and onto a stand or table so the optimum listening position isn't at knee height.

I wonder whether it has Perfect balance and set at random angles tuners.

It doesn't explictly say that it was Steve Severin's bass, only that he used it on two TV appearances. Maybe it belonged to a hire company?

I used to have one of these in that exact colour - cool looking bass.

At least the tuners aren't set at jaunty angles on a weirdly reshaped headstock