NancyJohnson

John makes a 3 knob U-Retro unit...the pots are stacked and on cables so they'll retro fit the bass. Where this falls down is the active/passive switch. You could just poke it into the cavity and leave it in the on position. The preamp shouldn't (shouldn't!) draw power when the bass is plugged in. The other alternative would be to go with a 2 knob solution and use the third hole on the body for the on/off switch. P

In answer to an earler point, wasn't the bassist on the first album David Paton? He's the guy who used to front Pilot.

After deciphering your post, my advice would be if can afford a Gibson go for the Gibson.

**No affiliation** Rare but pretty tatty Gibson Thunderbird Gothic on the link below. The guy doesn't mention it's a Gothic, but it is. These were limited run models, the unsold morphed into the Nikki Sixx Blackbird model, apparently under 150 globally. Hot pickups, crabby three point bridge. £850 probably a bit too high, but a very cool bass. P [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gibson-Thunderbird-IV-Bass-Guitar-Original-USA-with-Case-4-string-Right-Handed/121408059540?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23984%26meid%3D3843cc94326a45d0b3039faed638a591%26pid%3D100010%26prg%3D9421%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D291219495334"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gibson-Thunderbird-IV-Bass-Guitar-Original-USA-with-Case-4-string-Right-Handed/121408059540?_trksid=p2047675.c100010.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555012%26algo%3DPW.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D23984%26meid%3D3843cc94326a45d0b3039faed638a591%26pid%3D100010%26prg%3D9421%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D24%26sd%3D291219495334[/url]

Nikki Sixx had a straight flipped Thunderbirds (Spector). Fernandes did a copy of it. I think Gary/Cetera has a couple.

Cool watch. P

Reading through this list it's interesting to see how varied most individual member tastes are, but how those in the hard rock/metal fraternity aren't citing much out of the genre. P

Gelfin...possibly the first time I've seen anyone mention Fugazi here. With the Dischord link, you really need to check out Shudder To Think if you haven't already! P

I doubt anyone will be remotely interested, and call me an old fart, but my keepers: Japan - Obscure Alternatives Rich Kids - Ghosts Of Princes In Towers Queen - Sheer Heart Attack Screams - Screams Aerosmith - Rocks Aviary - Aviary UFO - Strangers In The Night Van Halen - Van Halen The Clash - London Calling Summercamp - Pure Juice Shudder To Think - Pony Express Record Jellyfish - Bellybutton Jellyfish - Spilt Milk ...oh,and a few more. P

Experimenting. Probably only one at a time, but hey, who knows?

Pedaltrain Mini arrived today from Thomann...good deals at the moment. I think it was inevitable, if only to keep everything in one place for convenience. A little disappointed that the power supply (Harley Benton) won't fit [i]under [/i]the the Mini, but there'll be a Pedaltrain Volto thing coming before Christmas, so I can live with it. A nice neat solution,so well pleased. P

How do these old 4001s compare to the new(er) 4003s? By way of comparison, my area is Thunderbirds. I played a Bicentennial about a year ago...neck was like a Precision, it didn't sound that great and it just felt [i]wrong[/i]. The newer ones, yummy. P

George, our resident Rickmeister, says I can adjust the bridge pickup position by loosening some mounting screws on the underside of the assembly. (I thought the pickup was glued to the underside mount.) I think that my be a job for when I change the strings next. P

OK, pictures. Rick and Rig: Reclining of the rug: I suppose if there was one thing that was a tad disagreeable it was the chasm left when the treble pickup cover came off. I bought a pickup bezel from RickySounds. They're made from a hard rubbery material and come flat, with a raised thumbrest or coved (this is the coved version): I'll knock a half point off for Rickenbacker's quality control as the treble pickup isn't glued into mount correctly; it's been installed off-centre and at a slight angle. Boo. Doesn't seem to affect the tone. So there you are. P

Wouldn't it be a thing if someone made a 1U pizza oven. P

Discreet...yep, not an old lady! Sorry if you're disappointed. Nancy Johnson is the name of my band. (There's a long and convoluted reason behind the name; a few people know.) P

I picked up this 4003 about ten days ago...I've been using Thunderbirds for some time and armed with some good advice and available funds, I went for a Rickenbacker. Been a long road for me. I had a copy as a kid many years ago, loved them in the early Rush/punk days, fell out of love for a long, long time and then a guy I worked with said he had a 4001, I had a lunchtime loan and I was smitten again.. It's a nice alternative to the Thunderbirds, but to be honest it sounds very similar, but only because I'm setting my gear to make it sound similar, if you get my meaning. Irrespective, nothing but positive comments in the band, both on the look and tone. I've removed the treble pickup cover and installed a coved pickup bezel to fill up the ugly gap. The bass comes with Schaller compatible strap lugs, so I just fitted the strap-side fixings to a strap. Here's a pic from last Saturday (Basingstoke Live Festival). I'll post more if anyone is interested. P

I've used a Sansamp BDDI for live and recording for years, more recently an racked RBI. In all cases, these were/are plugged into the effects return on whatever head I'm using. I just think these pedals give me more of my desired tone than just plugging straight in, so much so, my Ashdown ABM will probably be moved along in favour of a class-D poweramp at some stage. I rarely tweak, just plug in and play. P