ossyrocks

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That's a shame. Mike has been ok to deal with for me. I've met him a couple of times, and when I bought my first vintage Precision from him, he knocked a good chunk off the price without much haggling at all. I still have that bass, and still really like it. Rob

https://www.markbass.it/artist/keira-kenworthy/

Just the thought of that is weird. We're all in our 60's and I'm pretty sure she's younger than my children. Urrgh.

Really clean ones do carry a bit of a premium, so I would say for a private sale £4250 - £4750. Dealers will want quite a bit more. "These are just my thoughts and should not be relied upon when making serious financial investments" 🤣 Rob

My band played The Great British Rhythm & Blues Festival yesterday. We travelled down in a van together, with all our gear in the back. The gig went well, great crowd, but changeovers were tight. We had 30 minutes to get the band before us off, and for us to set up and start. After the gig, I had the least to do, just put my basses away and rush to help out on merch. Anyway, stuff got piled up in the corridor at the back of the venue ready to be loaded into the van. It seems Keira had arrived to play with the band on after us, and put her stuff down in the same corridor. Our rather enthusiastic singer/harmonica player had been diligently carrying gear out to the van, including hers, and some of it was already inside when Keira came out looking rather panicked and then annoyed. There was a Mono bag with her bass, a pedaltrain board (already in the van) and a Markbass TTE amp in a bag. Thankfully, we didn't drive off with it all ! Rob

Yes, the '78 I had was a B width, but the neck was significantly bigger in the hand than my early 70's P basses, it felt too big for me in the end, despite the bass being super lightweight, and sounding great, I did let it go.

I "think" that the A width neck on a precision was an option right through the years, but as a special order, and are therefore rare. The B width neck became standard on P basses in '68, but A could be ordered, and I assume therefore a C width too, although I've never seen a C width neck from after '68. I too like an A neck, but my early 70's B width necks are just lovely, it's not just the width, it's the profile too. Mine are around the 41mm mark at the nut. Rob

I agree Tony. Mike is good to deal with too, he knocked a surprising chunk off the price of the last one I bought from him. Even more hmm......!

I really like the vibe of this '66 Precision that Mike Long has at the moment. It's tempting me to try a C neck again. It's all there, all original, even the case, and the weight is great. I have a guitar here which he would probably straight trade for........ hmm. https://www.atbguitars.com/1966-fender-precision-bass Rob

Lots of people here recommending masking off the board. Yes, I would do that, but only if the board is lacquered maple. If it's rosewood, then fine wire wool works well for cleaning up the board too. Sometimes there's a lot of gunk accumulation either side of the fret and the wire wool helps to remove it. For really bad gunk build up, then a new stanley blade, scraped very gently from the side of the fret, in the direction of the grain can help. Once done, a bit of lemon oil will feed the rosewood and make it less dry. Rob

I got a message on Thursday asking if I could cover a gig tonight. I was away in the Western Lake District and only got home last night. First time playing with these people, and hadn't met two of them before today. All I had was message with a set list and keys, plus a bit of back and forth on whatsapp about which versions etc. The gig went down really well, nice place, nice people, and lots of positive feedback. Bluesy covers, but very few 12 bars, even a Christina Aguilera tune, which I never thought I'd be doing at the age of 60! Two singers, male and female, guitar, cajon, and me on bass Travelled light, BF One10, GK Legacy 800, '73 P bass. One trip load in. Oh, and I got paid in cash! Rob

Welcome to the club !

Andy, I had a '73 Jazz bridge pickup rewound by Ash at Oil City Pickups. He has a spool of the exact vintage wire and recreated the pickup as it was originally manufactured, right down to the nitro lacquer afterwards. He turned it round in less than a week and it cost very little to do. Just sayin.... Rob

And I'm usually the spelling and grammar pedant too! I hang my head in shame, I will correct my spelling. Rob

This one popped up on Facebook - UK Bass Marketplace - Buy, Sell & Trade, but you can find it on his actual website too. It looks the business, and whilst quite pricey, the main reason I'm posting here is that he claims it weighs just 7lbs 13oz, and that is astonishing for a 70's P bass if it's true. Does anyone know the dealer, or has had any dealings with him? https://www.20thcenturytoys.co/all-products/p/1971-fender-precision-bass-sunburst-ohsc Rob

I thought about this quite a lot when I was re-doing the lounge last year. I play every day, in that room, and in the end I decided on a more permanent solution and put Hercules hangers on the wall. Rob

@ped I've drawn a blank on the screw I'm afraid. Although on the plus side, I've realised how much vintage tat I have accumulated over the years, which I could probably sell !

No, I've been trying to find someone local to me. It may have to come to this though, I'll check him out.

The temptation is strong indeed. It depends how close the tone is to the old ones for me. I'd love that old RB tone in a modern reliable and dependable package. One of my vintage RBs is poorly, and it's possibly terminal, and I can't find anyone to fix it, the other two are ok for the time being, but who knows what the future will bring. I have a modern Class D Legacy 800 too, it's not the same, but it has it's place. I would be looking at the 1001RB Legacy, and that would be way more power than I would ever need.

Could you give me more accurate measurements please Brian. Haha. I'll have a look today. Rob

I have some old Fender screws in the workshop. If Brian can tell us the dimensions, I can see if I have anything.

Very puzzling indeed