Stub Mandrel

I can see where a round decal or badge has gone from the headstock. Not a pinned on badge- no holes. Also where the original tug bar was, I will make one to match photos. The scratchplate is split around the jack, any suggestions for a suitable adhesive?

One of the tulip 'horns' is badly chipped/worn. The body isn't ply. It's either solid mahogany or mahogany blockboard. Neck seems to be one piece of maple with rosewood board.

Pic...

I know people will say I've paid over the odds for a bit of thin plywood, but I have an old Kay guitar and despite the cheap as chips construction it has a decent neck and great vintage sound, made better by fitting a Tune-o-matic bridge. So, when I saw this hadn't sold at £150 I thought I'd offer £75 for it, on the grounds that it would make a nice looking thing on the wall. After courier issues, it eventually got collected and arrived today. In its original case - like a long, thin cardboard suitcase with a divider inside. Surprisingly clean, but it may have spent up to 50 years in a loft, inside the case. Action was high, but I was able to drop it right down from 1/4". It would go lower, but the A-string is an unmatched one with a piano style bridge end so it's about half a mm lower than the other strings. New strings will sort this. The bridge cover has its foam but it has 'set' so it doesn't reach the lowered strings. headstock logo has gone sometime, serial number sticker is classic Kay/Teisco shape, but the text has worn off, the embossed serial number is just visible 400549. A serial number website from 2013 tells about a legendary spreadsheet for dating them, but doesn't have it as a download! Bass is super light, almost toy-like but fun to play. Sound is rounded, thumpy and vintage. For the price, I think it's a lovely bit of musical heritage. If @Bassassin is out there, I've read some of your previous comments on these, any further thoughts? Surely that isn't the original, moved, thumb rest?

Does anyone use groundwounds?

I got mine so I can have my crush 25 in one room and make use of my PJB C2 as a practice amp in the other. I also have a 10w Joyo but that's more of a travel/hotel room amp.

Dee Murray...

The 21st Century Version:

Nicky Hopkins, apparently. He was on Volunteers and at Woodstock.

Well the 0.01uF cap adds that mud you want 🙂 The probuckers have huge bottom end, I'm finding I have to slightly raise the treble and mids, oehrwise I only get bottom end cutting through in a band situation.

David Crosby on BVs 🙂 K3wl

I really ought to give Steve Wilson and Porcupine Tree more attention ... I mean this is a guy who pastiched Magnu!

I bought one of these as a fanless alternative to the Elf to stick on my PJB C2 as a quiet 'practice amp'. Supposedly modelled on an SVT it sounds surprisingly good with a certain amount of breakup at all volumes even with low gain levels, and some pretty heavy-duty distortion at high gain. It's worth remembering, 5W is only a quarter of the perceived loudness of 500W and even with the C2 cab it's fine for jamming along with guitarist. I must try it with the GR Bass cab to see how loud it is. I must admit I love experimenting with small, cheap but decent quality amps - these days they are surprisingly good.

Any Planet Rock fans will know she's a real deal blues player.

I've played one, it was OK, but the sound isn't a patch on the basses with probuckers, plus an epi/gibbo without a set neck seems wrong. Get an Embassy instead for far more guts and sonic versatility for not much more £££ - and good balance.

Yes, I like to be able to bring on distortion by really digging in.

Used it through my main rig last night. All I did last time was drop the gain. This time I arrived early and played with the EQ, only small changes but really lifted the sound. Also cranked it up with no-one about, nearly took the roof off 😳

I took my embassy to a rehearsal yesterday, through the TE combo it was all bottom end. I put in the preshape which helped, but it took some eq tweaking before I got a really good sound, cutting through and able to dig in and get a serious clank when needed.

For the other (i.e. non-blues) band we've agreed about seven new covers, mostly straightforward (With or Without You for goodness sake!) but this one is a cracker:

Yes, some people look down on blues rock, but it gives you freedom to improvise and stretch things out on the fly.

I got it thrown at me for an encore, not having heard it before, on my second gig with the band... We've put The Stumble in the set, also playing stuff like Gary Moore, John Mayall, Gary Clarke Jr, Michael Burkes, Erick Steckel, ZZ Top and a few classic tracks like Radar Love, Roadhouse Blues and Suzie Q. I'm in my element and the audience enjoy it almost as much as we do!

Some of the guitars do - the 'old gold' LP and the Coronet.

Has anyone tried the fitted case? Are they any good? I'm minded just to get an ordinary one that other bases can share.

Couldn't really be anything else...

I ran a scalpel very carefully along the index bits. I don't want to remove the scratchplate unnecessarily. Question... if anyone has had the plate off, are they CTS pots?