Marc S

Some nasty incidents involving double basses there folks.... Sorry to hear about them. I saw someone else lay their bass on its side, at the back of the stage. Still someone managed to kick the bass, right by the bridge. No damage, but they managed to dislodge the jack socket, and the lead out of the socket... With accompanying loud pop from the amp.. It seems there's no 100% safe way to keep a DB when on stage. But those stands look a neat solution. Nice work guys.

For that money, you can get a second hand one of the earlier Chinese made Squier Classic Vibes (and probably still have change) I stress the "Chinese made" versions, as they are absolutely cracking basses. There were a couple for sale on here recently. The newer CV's are made in Indonesia. They're nice basses - pretty well made, feel nice to play, and they do some nice colours. But those earlier Chinese ones are several steps above, in terms of build quality, feel and finish. They sound great too, the pickups and electrics are pretty good I'm sure they'll be future collectibles. My jazz is one of the lovely Fender Roadworn series, and it's great. But if I did need a Jazz, for that budget (i.e. if a MIJ / CIJ was too expensive) I'd definitely be looking for a Chinese CV Jazz Of course, these are just my thoughts

Looking superb @Jabba_the_gut

Here's a couple of pics to (hopefully) help you. The extended poles are around 6 or 7mm long.... I had to rout out a small channel, to accommodate the extra depth of the magnets.... It was simple enough to do, but you may not want to do this to a valuable, vintage Fender....

Yes, JJ sounded great on those early Stranglers albums - it was his sound, more than any other bassist that made me want to play But I thought he looked pretty cool too. Leather jacket, black jeans & shoes, Black P bass with black guard and maple board..... His onstage Karate kicks also added to his image

@shoulderpet - I've got an Entwistle PBXN, if you're interested?

Hi there zbd1960. Welcome to basschat As mentioned, an Electric Upright bass might be a good instrument for you to switch to Also talked about (a little) on here, has been using a Cello as a bass I think folk who do this usually re-string the Cello, so it's tuned like a bass Might be worth thinking about? And yes..... the marketplace on this forum is a great way of getting rid of money, and acquiring way too many bass-related gear

Hi @Ronald Bigsworth First of all - welcome to the forum Secondly, what a lovely thing to have - a bass that your Dad owned and played. It's a treasured thing indeed. If a few components aren't original, but look OK - I'd be tempted to leave them as they are... After all, they're part of your Dad's modifications and general "mojo" of the bass i.e. they're part of the basses history. As for the frets, they're another matter - depending on whether they make the bass playable or not, and whether you want the bass to be playable or not. To my thinking, I would want the bass to be playable. If I leave a treasured bass to my son (I've already given him two! lol) I'd like to think he would play it, rather than hang it on a wall... So I would get a luthier to look closely at it, and decide whether or not it needs re-fretting. As has been said - a good luthier can often crown & polish frets and make them playable If only a re-fret would do this though.... then I'd personally be tempted to get it re-fretted Another factor you mention is "value" - I'd say the biggest perceived value is the bond the bass creates, because it was your Dad's You aren't going to sell it - so financial "value" for me, would be less of a consideration than sentimental value... Best of luck whatever you decide, and let us know how you get on Cheers mate - enjoy such a lovely, treasured possession EDIT: One thing I would definitely restore though - get a Fender logo on the headstock ... and yes, replace the missing screws

Not sure if they went out of business... I know they closed their factory in South Wales, to shift production elsewhere. Thinking about it, I haven't seen any Picato strings for sale in shops recently...

I'd echo this comment personally, with the adage that "If they cut through in typical P bass fashion" of course.... Not tried them myself, but wanted to mention (again) that I have a set of Adagio flats on one of my basses They're very cheap (About £12, bought on eBay) and they're surprisingly good strings. I did use Picato rounds for a while - someone locally used to get them cheap (a contact at the factory) and I quite liked the rounds If you like the picato's - get yourself another set Always a good excise to have 2 P basses - one with flats, one with rounds Let us know what you think, after comparing the two

I'd be interested to know what you think of the new strings, once they've settled and you've done a few gigs with them Happy Jack I had silver slaps on my David Gage until recently. I liked the slaps, I must say. Just wondering how these strings compare. cheers both Marc

Brilliant! Well done sir