Jean-Luc Pickguard

Cleanup Time — John Lennon

I sometimes tell myself I don't need four thunderbirds, but then I don't want to part with any of them.

Teach Me How To Shimmy — The Isley Brothers

Mister Twister — The Shirelles

I put a set of kala / galli ubass flatwounds on mine several years ago. These are chrome steel over a nylon core. The nut needed to be recut but I think these strings will last forever.

Old Man Trump — Woody Guthrie

The Cisco Kid — War

Damn These Vampires — The Mountain Goats

This is for a Squier, so I knew i'd need a metric one.

I have an Andertons Factory Special Run LPB Bass VI, which I bought soon after they became available. I fitted it with a set of LaBella flats and set it up as best I could without dismantling the bass. While it was fun to play, it was ultimately a little underwhelming. One problem was that the E string touched one of the bridge screwheads, causing a sitar-like buzz. To fix this, I wedged a Herco nylon plectrum under the string at the point of contact. Another issue was the trem — it had no usable travel and was essentially as much use as indicators on a BMW. The strings also felt disappointing: too floppy, lacking tightness and definition. Trying to get anywhere near the Wichita Lineman tone was pointless. I’d occasionally take it out for a noodle, but I’d never recorded with it or played it live. Today, I wondered whether a thicker shim in the neck pocket might help. I cut a few pieces from an Amazon brown card envelope, put a capo on the neck, loosened the strings, and carefully removed the neck screws. I was able to ease the neck out of the pocket, fit the shim, and reassemble it. I then spent a little time setting it up with just the tiniest hint of relief. Because of the shim, the bridge had to be raised considerably. I had no idea which Allen key size was needed, but after some trial and error, I found that 1 mm did the trick. I also raised the pickups. With the greater break angle, the strings now feel tighter and more focused. The E string no longer vibrates against the screwhead, and the trem now has useful travel. I dialled in a twangy 60s Fender amp sound on my Fender Mustang GTX100, with tremolo and spring reverb, and spent a couple of hours playing. It’s amazing how such a small change in neck angle has completely transformed the bass. I’m now looking forward to recording it, and plan to use it in this month’s Basschat composition challenge.

The Greatest Cockney Rachmaninoff — Cockney Rejects

A Fool For Your Stockhausens — ZZ Top

I'm afraid I've had to report myself to Paddington for that one

When I did something similar many years ago I used car filler from halfords. The route was almost invisible once the body was painted but it was under the pickguard anyway so it didn't really matter. For something like a PJ bass where the J pickup wasn't needed, I'd just leave a J pickup in it even if it wasn't plumbed-in.

I've come to realise that my tastes mainly include reissue basses or guitars or guitars where the originals were introduced between 1966 & 1972ish. Anything that looks more modern (or with the wrong logo on the headstock) tends not to interest me no matter how well it plays/sounds.

The Poacher — Ronnie Lane & Slim Chance

Rofl Harris

Cockpile

Nine Inch Tails

I'd get a secondhand Fender player series

Nob Zombie

Brandy & Coke — Led Zeppelin

I only use my Boss CEB-3 Bass chorus in conjunction with the SY-1 on my board to add a pseudo rotating speaker effect to an organ sound.