Marc S

I didn't cut the body, or the scratchplate either T-Bay. The Entwistle pickup simply slotted into the existing pickup cover - so no modification or dremelling needed at all Fitted like a glove

Having owned 2x CV P basses, the pickups were good - really good. But the Limelight pickup is better still. Hmmm, wish I still had room (+funds) for one of my old CV P's Can't own 'em all eh?

I've fitted a couple of the JBXN and PBXN pickups, plus a PBX. All were great quality pickups, the JBXN and PBXN's had huge output. Although the PBX was a decent pickup too - just not as loud as the XN version. Last one I fitted - I discovered that the old pickup covers just fitted straight onto the pickup, with no modifications. So I didn't need to enlarge the scratchplate slot. So if you're fitting Entwistle pickups - might be worth trying this, to avoid having to dremmel out the pickup slots in your guard

Just thought of another option. You could also ask Mark Morgan-Richards to sell you one of the pickups he uses in his Limelight basses. I have a Limelight P/J - I was so impressed with the sound of the pickups in that, I bought a P pickup to go into my Fender Roadworn P The upgrade really lifted the sound beyond my expectations. I don't know what his pickups actually are, but they are superb The P pickup in my Limelight is the best P bass sound in any bass I've ever owned - including a couple of US P's

Another pickup you may want to consider is the Entwistle PBXN. Actually their PBX isn't a bad pickup either, and it's cheap. The PBXN has much larger, deeper magnets - so you'll need to rout out a small "trench" in the bottom of each cavity. This isn't too difficult though... Having the much larger magnets, the PBXN has a huge output. Your bass will still sound like a P bass, but in my experience there was definitely less "honk" Both Entwistle pickups are very cheap, considering their quality - the PBXN being slightly more expensive Don't let the low prices fool you - these are great pickups, especially for the money Other than that, if you want to go for a more popular brand - I really like DiMarzio's. Always been a contender for quality pickups IMO Perhaps try searching for some 2nd hand pickups on this forum?

Yes, that's what I was thinking about, when I suggested buying from the BC marketplace.

Wow! Just wow, and well done sir This looks amazing. I have to say, I like the colour too - and somehow, it's a colour that improves with a bit of ageing... I don't quite know why I feel that way, but to me, it just does - as does the colour of the scratchplate. Great job on the ageing and colours I wasn't a fan of Roadworn / relicing of basses... until I got a Fender Roadworn Jazz. I now have a RW Jazz and a Limelight P, and they are both superb basses. This does look as good as a Limelight I recently saw for sale in the same colour. One positive advantage of a Roadworn / Reliced bass, is that you're not quite so precious about them getting a little knock or ding at a gig (not that I purposely look to do that, of course) I think you could maybe consider doing custom basses, for those of us old enough to not be able to afford a YOB bass

Hi @MuckleGazza - only just spotted this thread, so sorry to be a late joiner Did you try a Silver Slap A string? Just wondered how they compared? Is the sound fairly even / consistent across all the strings? I use Silver Slaps (Well, Gold Slaps to be precise - but they are apparently the same, apart from the colour!) Just wondering how they compare And would you be better off using the whole set of Innovations, rather than mixing the string types? Hope you sorted it and got the sound you want

Hello and welcome to BC Graham Sibob has a good point. Fender Japan stuff is always of the highest quality. I've not played a bad one yet. You may end up getting more for your cash, buying from BassChat second-hand too Good luck with your search

I had a Westone Thunder Jet, back in the early 80's. Great bass. Re the refinishing - I think I'd be tempted to to do an expensive refin job, unless you're adept at it yourself and it isn't going to cost a fortune. I always liked the colour of these, and the appearance of the contrasting bands of wood - looks fab to me. Perhaps as you say, best to seal the cracks in the finish, so it doesn't get any worse Re the electrics - could Kiogon of this parish help you out? He's a great BC'er to deal with and his solderless wiring loom kits are amazing quality and simple to fit I'm sure he could sort you something, as he's a really helpful sort Just a suggestion - I'm sure he'd even advise you on what you need Great new / old bass - enjoy, I'm sure you will EDIT: The only problem with my Thunder Jet, was the bridge saddle screws protruded outwards quite a bit - and as I played punky style, with plectrum and hand back right at the bridge, I ended up with cuts on the side of my hand. Nowadays, I'd just use a dremmel to shorten the screws - or buy slightly shorter alternatives

I don't know how many players have bought cheapo instruments and been put off..... But when I started my first foray into bass (many years back, in the early 80's) I had an utterly terrible Kay Rick copy. It was absolutely, utterly, utterly dreadful. The neck was warped, it buzzed like hell - even though the action was so high I could almost get my little finger underneath the strings, and the electrics / pickups sounded dreadful. A guitarist pal (who had been playing a while) tried to help me set it up, but to not much avail. It would have been great firewood, but for the toxic paint it was covered with Another bass playing pal had quite well off parents, and they bought him a nice Fender Jazz. I couldn't get over how nice that was to play - it was like a different world! However, he's the one who gave up, while I persisted EDIT: Earlier in the thread, someone posted as to how it's now nearly impossible to buy a bad bass. Maybe that's not quite 100% true (I'm sure there are still turkeys out there) But these days "budget" basses and guitars are almost immeasurably better than they used to be. I also owned an awful Jedson 6 string guitar too - anyone else remember them?

Best of luck with it @Ant1972 - remember practice and persistence are very important Even if you just "noodle" with it for 20 mins every day - when you don't have lots of time to practice A little here & there will help improve strength, stamina and accuracy in your fingers Obviously, you need to spend some good longer sessions on it too - and definitely some warm-up exercises for your fingers once again, I say, see if there are any friendly local BC'ers who will help EDIT: I meant to add - enjoy your new toy as well, and welcome to the fold

I've got it "recorded" - am looking forward to seeing it. I was never a huge devotee - but really like some of their songs. Saw Ian Brown solo once. Wasn't expecting too much, but he was really good Yes, Mani is a great player. Spot on @la bam - definitely hear the "songs under songs" not just in his playing, but sometimes within the whole sound of the band

Having started out into my foray from Bass Guitar to upright with a Stagg. I can say that a Stagg is a good value for money intro into playing 3/4 upright (especially if you pick one up 2nd hand) So it's good to play as an exercise in learning upright fingering etc. But the NS design uprights are a much better instrument. I got myself a WAV because I wanted a small, lightweight EUB option, for when I'm playing BG and EUB at a gig. Straight away, I noted that it sounded just that bit more like an upright than the Stagg did. Mainly I suppose, because the quality of construction, the quality of pickups was just that bit better, and perhaps partly because I had also improved my upright playing since getting that first Stagg? I now have a higher end model of NS than the WAV - and the pre-amp in that helps improve the tone further still. Along with some experimentation, some EQ'ing and a TC "Body-Rez" pedal, I think it's a little closer to upright sounding again, and further from sounding like a fretless BG. (though it can sound like a fretless too, with some tweaking & EQ) If you want a cheap foray into upright - try a Stagg, second-hand from the marketplace on here. But my hunch is, that like me, you'll quickly want to upgrade to a better quality instrument, like the NS. Many will say, that if you want an upright bass you should buy an acoustic DB - and to an extent, I'd agree with that. However, with busy family / work / life etc - I found I could mainly only practice upright late at night.... So an EUB is a blessing. Also, an EUB is more portable than an acoustic upright. I'm fortunate enough to have both - but you know what? I'm using the EUB far more than the acoustic DB. Yes, that's a shame - but the EUB is far handier and more portable, silent etc. The NS sounds far superior to that first Stagg - but it's horses for courses, and it's up to you and how much you want to spend I'd say whether you get a Stagg or NS 2nd hand - you'll pretty much recoup your money if you want to sell it on Good luck with your search, and let us know what you decide on