Jean-Luc Pickguard

On a wooden neck, you'd use a reamer to increase the size of the hole - never a drill

Why would anyone ever decide to make such a thing?

I padded out the holes with a bit of masking tape to get a snug fit with the gotoh bushings. I think the stock Wilkinson bushings might be a bit taller which could make the capstan look shorter.

I'd have no hesitation in going for the squier mini P for a litte one - in fact I quite fancy one for myself so I can look like a giant. They don't seem to come up second hand so they probably hold their price well.

The GB640R is a reverse wind version of the GB640 set

I've owned my maple-necked 81 precision from new and still have to do a bi-annual trussrod tweak to keep it usable.

I've always known them as pleckies. I used them exclusively from 1978 to about 2000 and then went 100% fingers. During the lockdown I got some 1.5mm dunlop prime tone small triangles - initially for guitar but I have started to use them on bass when it suits the song. They are smaller than the usual dunlop triangles and they sit in the fingers perfectly

*not actual size

normally that kind of plate is hiding chiselled out holes for extra pickups and electronics on overpriced examples of hacked up vintage basses on ebay so what it's doing on a production bass is anyone's guess. My guess is that as its a signature edition it is based on the plate of one of the artist's favourite basses - just as the Marcus Miller Fender Jazz had something slightly less extreme.

Kiss by Prince goes one better and uses a zero string bass

If you like the style of the klusons but don't fancy having a bass where the tuners turn the wrong way, Gotoh make a set of res-o-lites named GB640 which look very much like the klusons with the same footprint, but are precision made of ultra lightweight aluminium alloy and turn the same way as normal tuners. They have replaced hipshots as my favourite tuners and I think they look pretty cool on my thunderbirds.

The pickup looks like there's nothing to worry about - each is held by the two bolts either side & there's a spring to help set the height. It should be possible to get it to sit neatly with a little adjustment. The cracks look like they could be deeper than just the lacquer and even if there's currently no movement they might open up and cause issues further down the line. Personally I'd send it back.

If its so good then why's he selling it? If its not good enough for Bob Dylan, its not good enough for me.

It looks exactly how you'd expect it to look - a sunburst turntable

The Gibson Les Paul Junior Tribute DC Bass was another one that would have looked great were it not for a lazily designed pickguard that ruined the overall look.

As this katana is a signature bass for some chap in Japan, perhaps he is to blame for the silly little pickguard - like when Kurt Cobain designed the the Jagstang by combining the shapes of two great loooking guitars and came up with something blobulent and hideous.

You really should get it out of the box to check that everything works as it should and it hasn't been damaged in transit.

Not sure what make this a status quo bass. At the moment it isn't really a bass as there's no way to tune the thing.

The sticker is a nice touch though

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274918566344

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.

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.

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.