inthedoghouse

+1

He's probably a copyist 🙂 The great man did use the name Jimmy James (and the Blues Flames) before he hit the big time though, so perhaps Jimmy Hendrix was his transition phase 🙂

This is a subject that comes to my mind at least once a week or so. In the mid 70s I wish I hadn't sold: '70' P (white) 71 Strat (white, mn) '86 Squier sunburst, mn JV Precision (traded it in for and early '73 4001 which I still have) What I kick myself hard for every time I think about it!! In the 70s I played guitar in a band with a guy who had plenty of money and liked his guitars (a succesful speedway rider). I was a teenager without lots of money but I had decent gear. He used to lend me his red '66 Strat long-term to gig with him . He offered to sell it to me for £200 (I could have afforded it) but no, idiot me thinks ... Imight as well buy a new one for that much!!! Arrrghhhhhh!!!!!!!!! Oh, and the early 70s Marshall 50 head! 😞

+100000 ... as long as we spell his name correctly 🙂

Thanks 🙂 I've got a '74 on order. I've got a set of Strat pickups from him too, his Classic '64 set - lovely 🙂

I've got one of the old 'Thumper' pickups when they were makde in Wales by Wizard - I love it. I believe they were taken over by other company when the owner retired.

+1 I've got one on order

Ok thanks. On mine there was a definite very small bulge towards the heel that was obvious (on fairly close scrutiny) when the neck was on. It's nice and stright now and refinished - looks good. I can't get over how light these poplar bodies are.

This photo interests me. Does the pocket on the lower side get a touch wider towards the back of the pocket, or is it just the angle of the photo? In the photo the bottom edge of the pocket doesn't look quite parallel with the line of the paint. I ask because what I take to be my Vintage P body was a touch wider at one end. I sanded just that small part down and refinished it.

After some research and seeing stewblack's photos I'm pretty certain the P body I bought on here a few weeks ago is from a Vintage. It's very light and the neck pocket fits a MiM P neck almost perfectly. I had to shim a touch to alter the neck angle and there's perhaps a credit card thickness gap between the neck and body (I filled it).

Yeah, totally agree. I don't like those fork headstocks either - yuk!

A friend just gave me the background to the song 'Set Me Free' that I posted further up this page. They were doing a gig in Belgium and a girl climbed on stage. Steve and Brian put their hands inside her clothes before the bouncers removed her. They were promptly arrested after the gig. She was 14. They were both jailed and the top brass at RCA flew over and had to negotiate bail. They were eventually released and told to return to face court at a later date. It was said that they were likely to get 5 years each. Andy and Mick wrote this song about the ordeal while they waited in the UK for their return. The Sweet, rather than face the consequences, never ever returned to Belgium. If they had, Brian and Steve would have been immediately arrested. (from The Story of The Sweet DVD)

I seem to the remember the B sides of the singles were sometimes rockers that I liked better than the A sides and there were some good rockers on Sweet FA. I especially loed this track - happy memories 🙂

I just set mine high and then adjust down until I can't hear the effect of the magnets on the strings at the highest frests.

Too stiff for me too. Because of the covers band I was in at the time I wanted to try flats on a P for that classic sound without paying a lot of money for something that might not suit me, so I tried Fenders. They seemed to get a lot of good reviews, but while I liked the sound I didn't like the stiffness. I left them on for a few weeks to see if I would get used to them, but I didn't. So now I've got both feet firmly planted with rounds. As chance would have it, I'm now in an originals band that needs a more modern rock sound that my good old Rotos or LaBells give so well.

We had our first rehearsal since the lockdown last night - socially distanced inside and outside the studio. It was great to play again! Gigging though ...

For about 10 years I've been using Van Damme cable and Neutrik plugs - never had a moment's problem. I make my own cables up and it's not at all expensive on eBay. It's good enough for Abbey Road studios and Van Damme's list of users it's certainly good enough for me. And it's a British company. http://www.van-damme.com/about-van-damme/

I just recieved the Schaller tuners I bought from Ed here on BC. Exactly as described, a great price and very well packaged. What a pleasure to deal with Ed - I couldn't have wanted a better transaction with a really nice guy. Deal with Ed with 100% confidence!

Great wiring resource here I found via the mylespaul forum https://guitarelectronics.com/guitar-wiring-resources/2-pickup-guitar-wiring-diagrams/

I think so too. I spent hours messing about with a Firebird wiring last year trying to figure out if there was something wrong and even copied the wiring from my LP or SG ... only to find they do the same thing. Tone controls on Gibson basses aren't always that great in my fairly limited experience. I remember the first time I played an EB3 in the 70s thinking it might not have been working properly 🙂

It's sometimes been a bit of a lottery for me and paying import duties when I've bought guitars/gear from the USA when the exchange rate was better. Sometimes I got charged, sometimes I didn't. A lot of US sellers won't undervalue the item for the sake of saving us some money because, as someone else has already said, it's an offence for them to do so. I had an American friend who would buy on my behalf and then send items to me, listing the value as less - sometimes I had to pay, sometimes not. So I suppose it's best to err on the safe side an allow for being charged when looking to buy from outside the EU. My American friend got very lucky when he wired me about £3.5k years ago for a vintage guitar so I could buy and send it over to him - didn't have to pay a cent. On another occasion we were due to visit friends in the US so I bought a nice USA Tele from over there while we were still at home and had it sent to the friends' address. I brought it home as baggage, no problem.

Same here, and it's only another person's opinion of the instrument anyway. Out of all the basses (I don't buy very often, and only sold one) I've bought over the last 20/30 years I've only tried two in person first. The same for guitars of the thin stringed variety. I've never been disappointed in the slightest. I would never have found my Warwick Fortress collection (one of each model) in a local music shop or national shed, nor the Warwick Stryker I bought on here (kinda wish I hadn't sold it sometimes). I don't really go to the national chain stores these days, I prefer older gear.

The last decent band I was in The week before lockdown I'm really pleased to have joined this originals rock band - can't wait to get back to rehearsals! https://rattlesnakesister.bandcamp.com/

Thanks for reminding me of this album I'd pretty much forgotten about too but loved back in the day. Jon Lord and Ian Paice never fail to amaze me. I'm so glad I got to see them 🙂