BreadBin

16 in this photo..

Happy to help Marc!

My favourite Stones tune by far

Crikey, that redefines optimistic!

This was quite cheap, but could have needed a new neck so had to be!

@Jimothey I think that's what the white paint was trying to achieve, my goal was to try and keep it relatively original. @kevin_lindsay I am reminded of the Disaster Area sun dive ship from Hitchhikers guide. The satin finish really let's the fingers slip off! It looks a lot less uneven in reality - the camera hasn't done it any favours. @dood yes they really are good, the fact that this has survived such abuse is a testament to the quality imo

I have a set of Roto Monel 77s on my cheapest 5er, a fretless Harley Benton -the B is a bit flat but they feel amazing. Going to fit a set of Elite Detroit flats to one of my four fake Fenders next as I picked a set up recently.

I don't plan to but will keep you in mind!

Thanks chaps! It's taken quite a lot of elbow grease but it was worth it. I may yet replace the toggle switch as it's full of white paint but it still works and is original. It's either that or break out the fine pick again, which will take ages...

Tonight I finally put it back together with the arrival of the only part I had to replace. I purchased a Graph-tech top nut as the original had been filed down to try and drop the string height - right into the fingerboard! It plays fantastic, with great action and it sounds amazing. I am really chuffed as it was a bit of a gamble taking it on. It'll never win any beauty contests but I like the fact that it has a story to tell.

Next, the neck. And this was the part I was most worried about. I had two goes at reversing the bow - the first time I wasn't brave enough but the second time worked a treat. Tightening up the g-clamp was really nerve-wracking but I screwed up my face and carried on! It ended up with a bit of back bend unstrung which has left it pretty much perfect. 12th fret measures just over 3mm on the E string - nice!

First job was to remove the excess paint from the body, I removed the neck and hardware and then painstakingly removed the paint with a plastic scraper. Unfortunately the finish underneath was pretty bad, lots of scratches and dents plus some wierd reactions going on. I did consider the road-worn look but there are plenty of them around so instead I went for a fine sand all over followed by Scotchbrite to give it a satin finish, which feels amazing! The bridge and neckplate were cleaned with Nitromors and came up really well. The knobs I had to carefully clean with a fine pick, and were then given a coat of satin black along with the wiring cover.

I purchased this from Gumtree a few months ago - it was in a pretty sorry state with thick white emulsion paint all over the body and hardware and some red gloss in the mix too. Stickers slapped on top of the paint and getting on for 8mm string height at the 12th fret. Crucially however it had all the original parts including the unique to this model control knobs which are virtually impossible to replace (albeit covered in both red and white paint!)

I knew I wasn't mental!

Still cheap compared to a new one!

My question was about the guitar manufacturer, and other people's incorrect pronunciation. Maybe they are the confused ones?

Not confused at all, thanks! I can read...

Ding dong!

It was meant to be tongue in cheek :-)

Careful with tune selection, you don't want a frosty reception..

Thanks Pete

Curious to know people's views on this.. I have always pronounced it to rhyme with tone but have heard some use the word epiphany. There is a small part of my brain that rhymes it with phoney as they are fake Gibsons, but that's just on the inside!

Ski resort residency is poles apart from your normal gigs.

I still haven't quite got over it! I even messaged the seller trying to track down the new owner but no reply

I really wanted a fretless Retrovibe Zygote that was on eBay but couldn't quite free up the cash in time. It sold for £270. A couple of months later I was buying a fretted Zygote from David@retrovibe, happened to mention the fretless one - imagine my dismay when I found out it was the only one in existence. I was properly upset I can tell you.