DoubleOhStephan

Re. pick guard, I'd be inclined not to use it and instead have a decal of the logo printed and just apply it to the body where the thunderbird logo would sit

Ooo you've just reminded me of a Fender amp made from a whisky barrel. Not strictly a relic but still a lovely thing, very Seasick Steve 😁

I took this as a genuine question, it's one I've pondered myself. I'm personally quite a fan of a well done relic but I also love a minter. There is a certain beauty in an object which is aged and weathered, not to mention a uniqueness. I think it also gives an authenticity to the player, making them look like a seasoned pro. My understanding of the origin of relicing is that it comes from Keith Richards asking Fender to relic a new Tele they built for him as it was too new and shiny. I believe he wanted a copy of his fav guitar (called Micawber!?), fender custom shop did it and relicing was born. I like your classic car analogy, although there is a section of enthusiasts who restore some cars (and bikes) to a standard which keeps the patina of rusty/sunbleached paint etc. I feel this is an American thing more than European, think rusty pickups and ratty harleys. That said, I wouldn't know if they'd take unoriginal wear and add it like with guitars. Probably though. In Merica, if they can, they do. The only simile I can think of of relicing (although I'm sure there's many more), is with furniture and the whole shabby chic thing. That too can look great when done really well, but like guitars, it's not easy to get the authentic look.

Make sure to give the fretboard a good clean when you get it home 😂

Cool. Have you seen black chrome? I've a set of cloverleaf tuners for a P project that never took off, bit more subtle than black, bit less shiny than chrome 😬

Hah only if I can leave early!

Yeah I play predominantly with one finger, really only using two for speed or if it makes sense for string changes when required. I don't seem to have suffered any ill effects that I'm aware of... 😳 Definitely worth working on your technique though, I've figured out three finger plucking which is used very rarely but sounds great from rapid triplets, especially for reggae

This is gonna look nice! Soz if I missed it earlier in the thread, but have you decided on hardware colour yet?

I'm not afraid! 😂 I can confirm my previous searches for "PJ" brought up no results, but with the new search engine I got plenty! 😉

+1 for Vintage! I had to borrow the studios Vintage Jazz when my Sandbergs electrics gave up the ghost and was impressed. The build quality and hardware was excellent, it sounded plenty bassy in the mix, but the neck was what really impressed me, very slim and fast. There's one on evilbay as we speak with bidding at just £30!! I'd be tempted to have a cheeky bid myself if I didn't "have enough basses already Stephan!" 🙄😁 https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F293041733620

Hah, imagine

Seems to be exactly what you want, I see it also comes with a tort pick guard too

There's this on eBay which is also on Facebook with a £650 BIN price... Plenty in the wallet to buy a new scratchplate https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F143204104654

I seem to recall this question was asked on another thread and apparently there has to be an element of relicing as it requires a lesser quality paint finish.

Predominantly yes, but there are passive options. I've got a TT4 Passive and I'm sure they do a VS Passive too. The TT sounds beautiful btw

I started climbing the Spector ladder so to speak about 8 or so years ago, starting with a Performer (unusually with the curved body), then on to a NS2000/4, finally on to a ReBop Dlx. The Performer was great. I bought it used for £150 and couldn't fault it, so when I saw the NS for £225 I had to buy it. I figured if the entry level bass was so good, the next step up would be even better. It was! The NS is really something special and not just for the price. Beautiful construction, sounds awesome and plays great. So, thinking along the same lines as the step up from Performer, I saw the ReBop, guessed it would be another step up and be unbelievable. It wasn't. Don't get me wrong, it was a great bit of kit, really well built, great sound etc etc. but... It found itself permanently living on its stand with the NS always taking preference as my go-to bass. I eventually sold it and can honestly say I haven't missed it at all. That was about 6 years ago and in the meantime I've owned and sold another NS2000, a few Warwicks (I've kept my 90s Corvette), Fender P & Jazz's, a Sire (meh), a Maruszczyk (awesome just not for me) and eventually hit on Sandbergs, which are, for me, better than anything else I've owned. Truthfully, the ReBop put a stop to my Spector journey. Had I loved it I would have likely gone on to try the US basses, but unfortunately it had the opposite effect. As with all these things, every bass is different so I may just have bought the "wrong" one (the other NS2000 I bought and sold didn't tickle me as much as the one I've kept, I've also had a Sandberg KT Basic that didn't do it for me either), but it just didn't feel particularly special. It did look awesome on its stand though

^^this^^ it's all about the caress 😉

This deserves its own thread for a wider audience, excellent advice!

Good luck!

Any reason why you don't just look for a percussionist to join the band?

Helix, no idea either 🤔 IEM means in ear monitors... How that all works is voodoo to me I'm afraid 😂