Marc S

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1456150967' post='2985913'] Should have gone to Specsavers! [/quote] Ah, to be fair, in my less than brilliant mobile phone photos, and under dim lighting, that gold coloured plate does look a bit white... Looking at it, I just can't help but feel there's something odd about having a metal scratchplate.... It's growing on me, but......

Thanks for that discreet, lozz and gary mac. I think I will go for tort. The plate in the pic is an old Squier one. Seems to fit, and the screw holes line up, though I'll need a couple more.... I prefer a deeper red tort so I think I'll source one of those

Cheers paul h and Big Bass Man - no help re the plate at all then! I am leaning towards Tort, I have to say. I just like the colour combo of Sunburst and Tort. Some say it's old-fashioned I know. But to me, it's just classic. My other dillemma, is whether or not to P/J it? I had my Squier converted a few weeks back. Brilliant Cardiff-based Luthier Dave Dearnaley did an absolute superb job, and it sounds amazing (I bought an Entwistle PBXN and JBXN for this, and they're great value pickups) I think I'll leave my new bass as is for a week or two. And I'll keep the Fender P pickup in it anyways..... Cheers all EDIT: I'll now be selling my US P bass too - so better start another thread....

The scrachplate is a gold annodised type, as fitted to these when new. But I'm wondering about whether to change? I've just got a "thing" about liking tort plates, and think it would suit this bass nicely - what do you all think? Gold, or Tort? EDIT: As I recently had my Squier converted to a PJ - I'm thinking about asking the brilliant luthier Dave Dearnaley to do the same to this bass. I'm a real fan of the options a PJ gives you.... [url="http://imgur.com/KNhnwqa"][/url]

I had a great NBD last Saturday, and, due to the general over-busy nature of life these days, I'm only just now getting around to sharing it on here. As in the title, it's a Fender Roadworn P bass (50's) I've made no secret of my love of my Roadworn Jazz, which is just my fave bass ever And I know some of you out there don't like roadworn / relic basses, and I can partly understand why I wasn't a fan of such instruments myself until I bought the Jazz a few years back But Fender have done a superb job with these instruments! Yes, they are made in Mexico And though there are some fab basses built in Mexico in recent years, these are even better In fact, I prefer them to US Fenders I've also owned, and for several reasons The quality, workmanship, finish and detail in both my Jazz, and my new P are superb I think if they were built to this quality but in mint / un-roadworn finish - they'd appeal to more players just down to the sheer quality, playability and feel of these basses... That said, as I've mentioned - there's something quite liberating about gigging (esp certain venues!) with a bass that you aren't so precious about. I mean, it really doesn't matter if it gets another scratch. I've gigged mint basses before, and been over-protective of them. That's something I try not to fret about, but actually can't help when it comes to a gig. I played it as much as I could over the weekend - I actually hated putting it down. I got it from Daveyboy, who had the neck trimmed by a luthier, so it's narrower and slightly more shallow than the usual P bass necks. In fact, it's quite similar to my modern C shape neck on my Squier CV P bass. I'm really pleased with this bass, it looks, sounds, feels & plays just like a really old, worn-in P bass should and though I don't have any scales to hand - it feels incredibly light. If you're thinking about getting one of these, and you like vintage Fenders but don't have the cash..... Go for it, that's my advice Enough of the waffle. Here are some pics of my new bass [url=http://imgur.com/OlWuRwg][/url] [url=http://imgur.com/6iyZs8F][/url] [url=http://imgur.com/Lr7VNVD][/url] [url=http://imgur.com/4GRXwql][/url]

Just bought a fender roadworn p from daveyboyrooster Good communication, and the bass was great- just as he promised It was really well packed up and protected. He's a great guy to deal with So trade and deal in complete confidence BC'ers

I have an EUB (Eminence) and DB, and I also (mostly) play bass guitar To be honest, I found larger speakers didn't work well for me on EUB or DB - they seemed rather boomy, and not well defined in the lower end I'd heard a lot of DB players talk of using smaller speakers, DB string dynamics working better, and "recovery time" of the speakers with several small units rather than one large... I had a Markbass rig, which comprised a CMD210, and a 1x!5 ext cab. And both definitely sounded better without the 1 x 15 attached Nowadays, I tend to use my Phil Jones 4 x 5 Pirhana cab, and I think the sound is much more well defined and focussed A lot of DB players use amps like the Phil Jones Briefcase or suitcase, which also have small speakers, and I've heard some great DB through both Of course, a lot will depend on what you prefer, what you're playing, and what type of sounds you're after It may well be quite different for Rockabilly style a slapping But try your rig with and without the 15 - see what you think of that first off But most of all, enjoy your new toy

When I was looking for a cheap-ish bass, as my first DB a few years back I couldn't find anything in the £200 - £350 price range. They all seemed to be £400 as the cheapest, and most others well above that Now it seems there are reasonably priced DB's everywhere lol Having said that, as a beginner, I would probably have steered clear of the bass on seeing the repair work They key thing here though, is that you "know" the bass, its' owner, and some of the history - so you know the repairs are solid I'd also say it's probably worth £200 - £250. Todays market for DB's does seem rather flat.... It's been said that this bass would "win no beauty contests" - but is it me, or am I going mad? I think the knocks and scrapes add a bit of "mojo" to it, and I quite like the colour and look of it too

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1455786816' post='2982351'] I just assume that I've lost every penny of the cost of anything I've bought... whatever I get back is a bonus really [/quote] Sorry to hear of such woes fatwull..... But I think CamdenRob has a good philosophy here That's not a "glass half empty" outlook - that's an "is that my bus fare home in my pocket, or is it enough to top my pint up?" outlook

Yes, I agree with gary mac above. Match sticks, dowels and cocktail sticks work well for this sort of application. Of course, if you use a good strong PVA glue as well, even better. Another alternative is to use a good quality hard wood filler, and to let that dry thoroughly. Although I think I'd still prefer to use a dowel or match....

Sounds like a real bargain indeed! Lucky you, great price. Happy slapping

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1455717407' post='2981764'] If he really won't listen to reason and at this stage you don't want to go down the sacking him route, I would suggest recording a rehearsal. Maybe if he hears it for himself, he will feel differently. [/quote] Nice idea

I agree with the above posts. I was once in a band who had a keys player like this He'd only play songs he had the dots for - then, when the dots were wrong (as they sometimes were) He wouldn't shift, saying "but this is correct, the music is correct"! "It's written down here, look!" So we'd say, "listen to the CD or Youtube video" But he always refused to do so, and as we discovered, he couldn't play be ear..... End result, he stayed..... me & the drummer & rhythm guitarist left.... Good luck, that's all I can say

Back when I was starting out on bass the first time around (early 80's) Me & a pal found out where Ex Eddie & The Hotrods, and current (then) bassist of the Damned, Paul Gray lived One sunday morning, a mate & myself just cold-called at his house, and asked him to show us some Damned basslines - cheeky gits that we were! He showed us into his house, and sat us down in his music room, gave me a free bass lesson, let us play on his Rick, which had been on TOTP, OGWT, and several albums. He said it was time for his lunch, gave us his phone number and invited us back Thing was, next time, instead of phoning well ahead & planning, we didn't give him much notice again (think it was about 2 days), saying we wanted to learn a couple of Damned songs, and a Hotrods song for a gig next week,and the legend of a guy accommodated us! Again, free lesson, and got invited back. Shortly afterwards, Paul joined UFO, and offered me tickets to see them live in Cardiff Now, years later, I bump into him locally from time to time. He's always friendly & chatty, shakes hands, and even remembers my name He was very ill a few years back, and I was gutted, and told him so. He said he was overwhelmed by the amount of good wishes he'd had from locals, and even facebook friends who he's never even met. Still as nice a guy as anyone could ever wish to meet, and still one of my main influences years on. Great guy PS. As someone else said earlier, so is Billy Bragg. I've met him & chatted a couple of times. As suggested, I think the money secondary for him, he's a man of principles Good to read similar stories from other BC'ers - Nice thread

Wow! That's a lot of projects. Didn't you just sell off a whole load of gear too? Good on on you beedster. Some nice work there

[quote name='Sausages' timestamp='1455194856' post='2976888'] This is true for me also. I find it difficult to find anyone to play with nowadays. I am 52, so that makes it more difficult...... [/quote] I'm of a similar age, and I'm playing more genres and with more musicians then ever now The thing is, getting older has somehow made it easier for me to meet other musicians and bands... I probably had more hang-ups about other musical genres when I was younger and somehow, I'm meeting more musicians than ever now I'm older Go & join in with some open-mic nights, meet other players, of all sorts of music

[quote name='Bigjas' timestamp='1455181993' post='2976666'] For me, playing Bass is all about the journey, not the destination. I am not the greatest player but enjoy learning new songs, even the easy ones....... ....There are a lot of other musicians in the same position as you looking for a starter band. Jas [/quote] As Jas says, it's about the journey as much as anything. I think you may just need to take a step back a little, just for a while - but don't sell your gear! Definitely join a band. That's the best thing - making music with like-minded pals, and seeing other people tap their feet, sing along or dance So many of us look to other bass players for inspiration. We can beat ourselves up, for not achieving their levels of ability But think how many keen footballers out there, who will never be as good as their heroes, like Ronaldo or Gareth Bale? That doesn't mean they should give up. It's partly about realising your own strengths & weaknesses. Improve on those weaknesses as and when you can, but others may see strengths you yourself don't realise you have That's one way joining other musicians can help - they may see & hear something in you, that you weren't aware of... I gave up playing for over 20 years - and boy do I now wish I never had. I had to start over again.... I often think how much better I'd be, if only I found time to practice for a few hours a week It's a shame your G/F thinks you should give up - but maybe she's only seeing the downside of your mood? Sorry to hear your hand is a problem. Perhaps a doctor could suggest some strengthening / stretching exercises? Hang in there mate. I'm nowhere near as good as I should be either.... But then at my age, every time I'm loading the car, I ask myself why I haven't got a road crew too

Hi Stamford, Don't worry 30's isn't late. You're never to old to try something new I took up bass as a young man, the stopped playing for over 20 years! So I essentially had to start again anyway..... at 40 something But I enjoy it more than I did when I was a lad Welcome to basschat

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1455031645' post='2975208'] It is true some basses sell almost as well with wear and tear..... It's funny but since starting this thread I've started to more and more like natural playing wear and tear (not abuse). Also started to like pre roadwork, reliced etc etc much more. [/quote] Yes, roadwear / relicing does seem to look better on Fenders, and I can't work out why Is it at least partly down to marketing? Or is there something in the overall design or shape? Do we convince ourselves of this? And is that because we have seen so many well known players, with roadworn instruments? You have started to like "pre-reliced" instruments - but of course, it all depends on just how well it's done. There are plenty of horrific examples around. The Fender Roadworn series are particularly good, as are Limelight basses - although I've seen some of those that IMO have gone "a bit far" That again is all down to taste. I wasn't particularly a fan of relicing, as I've already said - but I can't express just how liberating it is to gig my RW Jazz, as opposed to a mint condition instrument. I don't know how they've achieved it, but Fender have managed to make the bass feel as if it's worn in (and not worn out, I might add) The 2 Limelight's I'v e played also felt this way. No amount of sanding on my part could achieve this, I'm sure