Jean-Luc Pickguard

I'm having a clearout and came across this hard case in the back of a cupboard. It came with a 70s Musicmaster bass I bought years ago, and it fits my JMJ Mustang basses. Alternatively most solid body guitars should fit with room to spare. It looks like it was probably a homemade project for someone, but it is solid and there is clean foam inside. The exterior is a bit tatty looking in places and there is some rust. It's not worth the expense of couriering, so collection only from SM1 South London. If no one wants it before my skip is collected next week, it will go in.

Star — David Bowie

(Daily) Mirror In The Bathroom — The Beat

Bedroom Thang — ZZ Top

Sinking — The Cure

I remember the first and last time I tried Oasis. I was disappointed as it wasn't even fizzy — It was just already diluted squash at a fizzy pop price.

One More Cup Of Coffee — Bob Dylan

The text on the signs doesn't come out as well as I'd hoped when the pic is embedded, but I'll clarify the text of the top three signs, in case anyone wants to base their composition around an idea related to any of those phrases: 9% (it's a blummin' steep hill which curves to the left, and can be fun to go down fast as long as there are no lorries about) Low gear now Escape lane ahead just the signs zoomed-in:

Welcome to the composition contests Sam and thank you for your kind words. — can we look forward to your own entry in a future contest? Thanks to everyone who voted (especially those who voted for my entry!) It is always great fun to participate in this contest and I enjoy listening to all the entries. Putting together an entry is a cool solution to writers block as it forces you to focus on a specific idea. How can we get the word out so we can get more people participating and/or voting in future contests?

No Children — Mountain Goats

That's a Weeley good deal

Teenage Prostitute — Also Frank Zappa

Hurt - NIN

I like the story Octavia Spencer tells about meeting him before she was famous

Spam Song — Monty Python

Put Your Hands Together — The O'Jays

Shoot Shoot — UFO

My Wife — The Who

I saw this earlier. It’s cool that he seems to be just as excited as the rest of us are when receiving a new bass

Not Now John — Pink Floyd

I don't mind a decent relic and I love my JMJs despite the relicing, but if Fender did a special run of the JMJ mustangs still in nitro but without any 'roadworn' treatment, I'd be first in the queue to buy at least one.

The worn-in strings I fitted work really well on this bass. I am almost certain they are LaBellas, but I most likely bought them 15-20 years ago. Using my dial gauge calliper, I get measurements of approximately 45-55-80-100 (give or take a few thousandths of an inch.) These measurements don’t appear to tally with anything LaBella currently offer though. The silks are orange and the strings appear to be stainless steel. They are definitely a 30” short scale flatwound set. I think I’ll have to contact LaBella to find out whether this is a set I am able to order. I've done a bit of googling and it looks like the strings are 760FX-S which are actually 39-56-77-96 and sadly no longer available. I will have to look after the ones I have.

Jilly's On Smack — Primus

My new bass arrived this morning, and I was pleasantly surprised to see DHL delivering on a bank holiday. After a quick inspection, I started customising it to my liking. It’s a 2022 Sienna Sunburst Player Mustang Bass. I played around with my SS Squier PJ Jaguar bass, which already has short-scale cobalt flats. However, I realised I don’t enjoy the cobalts on a short scale as much as I do on my Thunderbirds. So, after installing the hi-mass bridge, I rummaged through my box of ‘worn-in’ strings and found a set of short-scale LaBella flats with orange silks. I put these on and set up the bass. My initial impression is that it’s a keeper. I made a template to position the thumbrest using my spare JMJ pickguard and carefully drilled some holes with a miniature hand drill. I’m very pleased with this bass. It offers something slightly different from my JMJs and feels and sounds great with the flatwounds. I was considering removing the switch and wiring it like a jazz bass, but I’ve decided against it. The switch provides three easily selectable sounds, including the bridge pickup soloed, which surprisingly is my favorite — at least through my practice setup.

Interstellar Overdrive — Pink Floyd