ossyrocks

I can see where you're coming from, but that bass is quite heavy. I personally couldn't play it for that reason, my back wouldn't allow it. Stripped finish P basses do come along now and again if you keep an eye on things.

Sorry Brian! I reckon if I hadn't bought, someone else would have snapped it up though. Cheers.

I took delivery of this one this morning. Richard Henry made the trip up to the seaside and brought it to my house personally. He had it advertised as a '72, and whilst the pot codes are 39th week of '72, the serial number is early '73, so I'm going to call it a '73. All original except for the saddles, intonation screws and springs. It was probably one of the grubbiest basses I've ever bought, but after two or three hours of cleaning and polishing, including the frets and the board, it has come up a treat. It's now sporting a set of Labella LTFs, the action is low, and it plays superbly well. It sounds fabulous too. The weight is an astonishing 8lbs 6oz, or 3.8kg. Richard has had this for a while, and I have resisted it all this time, and I even thought Brian on here was going to buy it for a while, but it remained for sale, and when Richard dropped the price for the second time in a week I just couldn't not buy it. I'm very pleased with this one. EDIT: Group shot added, the P bass collection. I really should stop now. Rob

That bridge positioning is fairly typical for ‘73. Both of my ‘73 jazzes have the saddles almost hanging off the bridge plate. In fact I’ve added longer intonation screws to compensate.

I'm just chuffed for my friend Christian Madden who's playing keys. I've known him for nearly 30 years and we've done countless gigs together in numerous guises, from when he was just a lad. He's the most down to earth and honest Lancashire bloke you would ever wish to meet. I'm very proud of him tonight. Rob

Has your guitarist got a big mid scooped distorted tone with a ton of bottom end in it?

It seems to me that if your playing alone in isolation at sound check is deemed too loud by your bandmates, and you have to back it off a bit, then what's happening is that they start playing they are too loud too. I set my level so it's comfortable and full sounding in isolation, not ever loud. Then if I can't be heard in the overall mix then it's up to the rest of the band to turn down until it can be heard and balanced in the mix. Rob

I don't understand why this is happening for you, as it's not my experience with the 10" BF cabs. Plus the fact that your bandmates "are wondering why you're so loud". What's the rest of your rig, and what kind of sound are you aiming for? The BF 10" cabs really fill the space, and sound good from anywhere on stage in my experience. I have a BF Three10 and a One10, and last night I used my One10 at Matt & Phreds in Manchester. It could be heard very well and clearly all around the stage, and in fact the sound guy asked me to turn down a tad after the first set. The FOH was doing most of the work, but on stage it was great. The amp was a GK Legacy 800 with the top end rolled off a bit, with a P bass with flats. Rob

It looks fine to me too. My '70 precision is a bit further in that that one.

That '68 is speaking to me.......ooof. Mike Long is really good to deal with, I bought my '73 P from him. He is open to negotiation too, I got a chunk off the advertised price on mine.

I have these. Cool looking rimless varifocals in blue tint. My wife took one look at me wearing them and said, "well I'd sh*g you". They do look great even though I say so myself. I'm also on the blinder side of optically challenged, but I can see a set list and read the odd note on the floor on a darkened stage if the print is big enough. Rob

All of us in my band are in our 60’s. It is physically harder than it used to be for me. To keep up general fitness, I try to walk every day, usually about 3 miles, but sometimes up to 4. Then maybe once a week my wife and I will do a longer one, up to 7 or 8 miles with a break halfway. The night before gigs, I’ll not have much alcohol, and try to get an early night. On the day of the gig, we all try to give ourselves plenty of time to get there and set up without rushing around, it’s important to feel relaxed before we play. Obviously, lightweight gear helps too. I tend to practice for an hour or two every evening, and will focus on the band numbers in the run up to gigs and rehearsals. Rob