KevL

I'm planning a few mods to a guitar, one of which is to replace the white plastic fingerboard markers (dots) with something that relicates the so-called clay dots for that 'authentic vintage vibe' (yes, I know). I've done some research and the best evidence seems to be that the original Fender markers were made from white vulcanised fibreboard which, over time, darkened in colour to resemble clay https://precbsstratocasters.com/vintage-fender-clay-dots/ The obvious answer would be to make some from white fibreboard but this seems to be unavailable now; I asked RH Nuttall (UK supplier of fibreboard) and they hadn't seen any white, only grey and black. Some seem to have had success with various modelling clays, putty etc. One UK-based guy said he used Ronseal wood filler to good effect so I tried a couple of shades (natural and light-brown) but neither looked right. I was at a guitar show last year and one of the (UK-based) replica-vintage makers had a couple of guitars with clay-style dots so the right material must be fairly easily available. I did hope to quiz him but he was busy with potential purchasers so I didn't want to annoy him by asking to steal his secrets. I was wondering if anybody on here has successfully achieved making convincing replica clay dots and, if so, how did you do it? Thanks in advance for any help.

@Bobthedog Your work colleagues' comments is typical of those in today's world who think that something's only worth doing if it is associated with some halfwit celebrity and can be posted all over Instagram etc to show what an exciting, hip lifestyle they lead. What's happened to pursuing an activity just for one's enjoyment and satisfaction? (I'm assuming that you do get some enjoyment and satisfaction from playing bass).

It may be well-known amongst everyone except me (and I know it's far from a new release) but I only found out recently that Mark Knopfler wrote Private Dancer, heard all over the airwaves in the mid 80's courtesy of Tin O'Tuna. He must have made a few quid from writing that.

Ha! This album's just been mentioned on Johnnie Walker's Sounds of the Seventies and he's now playing Sultans of Swing. Apparently, when Charlie Gillett first aired this single in 1976, loads of A&R people were phoning him before the single had finished playing, wanting to sign the band.

Agreed: well-written songs and great musicianship. One review described it as 'pub-rock' but, whilst I can see that to an extent, I think it's a bit of a step up from that. Very British/English, though. The recording quality is outstanding. I have this album on original vinyl (i.e. not a reissue or anything) so it's 40+ years old and it sounds so much clearer, sharper and defined than pretty much all my other records; I just have a reasonable hi-fi, nothing special. I mentioned this to the guy from whom I bought my turntable and he said this particular album was well-known for the production and recording quality and is a good 'test-record' for turntables. The band photo on the back of the album is very much of its time, it looks as if it was just taken as the guys had stopped for 5 mins during recording and someone had realised they will need a photo for the album - no dressing-up or anything, just whatever you're wearing will do. Nowadays it would be all stylists, artists, marketing, PR etc and would take about a month just to get a picture. They all look so young, too. Ok, that's not really that surprising, I know, it's just me getting old. I was a bit too young to be into DS at that time, I started getting into music generally when BIA was released but have only fairly recently started looking at their older albums. Like a few have mentioned, the first 3 are probably the pick. Speaking of Pick, it was interesting that he left DS after the first 4 records as he 'didn't want to get trapped as a rock drummer' (and wanted to get back to jazz). I think his light playing style, with plenty of hi hat and snare, really helps to make that first album.

End of the Line The Traveling Wilburys for me. Recently read (don't think it was on here) of a guy who had his coffin carried in to The Sweeney theme-tune and then, as it went through the curtain, the Vision On tune.

Congratulations, you're lucky to find something like that in such good condition, almost 40 years to the day it was first sold - pretty much NOS. Was it easy getting it shipped over? I'm assuming the buffers are the plastic spacers on which the bridge is sitting? Are these just to raise the height of the bridge but are usually removed, hence you saying they are rare?

To add to @Doctor J 's good post: a correctly-fitting screwdriver isn't just of the right size but is also the right type. This means it will almost certainly be a Phillips*, not a PoziDriv which is the type used nowadays for almost everything (non-guitar) around the house and in construction etc. They are both crossheads but are not really interchangeable, you'll end up chewing the screwhead if you mix them. *There are also JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) screws, for which there are JIS screwdrivers. Unsurprisingly, these are mainly found on some Japanese guitars. JIS and Phillips are quite similiar so you can generally use either driver for these screws. Top tip from @ikay about reversing the screw when you come to reassemble. To add, after placing the screw in the hole and reversing it to seat it in the thread, do the first few turns with your fingertips which will also ensure you are in the original thread and aren't cutting a new one or cross-threading. You can also achieve this by turning the screwdriver shaft with your fingertips for the first few turns - one reason why some screwdrivers have a textured section at the top of the shaft.

Nice old Quad kit, it's good that Quad are still around and are happy to service it, makes a nice change to the throwaway culture of today. Full marks for knowing that it is good stuff and is worth keeping and getting it running again. Yes, you'd probably benefit from some better speakers, keep an eye out and you can pick up something decent for not much money - a good tip is to look on the usual websites for someone local to you who is looking for collection-only. You don't need to go mad and get some mega-expensive speakers but it would be worth putting them on stands rather than on the shelf and up against the wall as with your Aiwas. Apologies if you know all this, it's just worth getting the most out of things. Old hifi can sound great and just keeps going. I'm writing this whilst listening to radio (2, Steve Wright - sorry...) on a 1970 Leak Stereofetic in its wooden case, through a Rotel RA-820BX amp and some Mission 731 speakers. My other system is an early-1980s Systemdek II turntable (the 'oil rig'), a Rotel 930 amp and some 1976 KEF speakers. All picked up for not a huge amount and still sounding good.

Good luck, hope things improve. From your experience of 10 years ago I take it that you're going to hang on to your gear for a while and see how things pan out?

In The City another one from The Jam, so may not be a simple riff but the intro, alongside Weller's guitar, is so direct and grabs your attention - the first bars of their first single, the promise of so much more to follow. From the same era how about Too Much Too Young by The Specials? The album version, particularly, with Terry Hall singing at the end about 'Beans on toast for tea' just supported by Horace Gentleman's grooves.

Yes, Weller (manufacturer of good soldering irons) do 0.25kg rolls of 60% tin, 39% lead, 1% copper solder which will last you ages if it's just for occasional home use. The solder for copper plumbing and the like doesn't contain lead anymore, for obvious reasons.

I think G&L have always been a bit obscure and niche, possibly from lack of big-name players as you suggest, and less marketing than the big names. I believe they were difficult to get hold of in the UK for a while with distributor problems. It will be intersesting to see how they fare now with being exclusively sold by Andertons (and 2 other shops I think). There's always comments and views about them being 'the authentic/true (Leo)Fenders' versus 'not a proper Fender(Musical Inst Corp)'. I think there is plenty of room for both to exist alongside each other. The other thing that seems to put people off is the teat on the headstock; it's not something that I really notice but each to their own (not all of the Leo-era instruments had this actually). The 3-bolt tilt neck may still be seen by some as a point against them, this is from association with Fender's poor implementation of this in the 70's - it was actually Fender's poor workmanship and construction that was the problem, not the 3-bolt neck per se. G&L's used 3-bolts until 1996 with no problem, only changing because of the hangover from the poor 70's Fenders. Look at the classic model that @Jadenacre has advertised, 30+ years old, still great. For those who do take to them, they are great instruments and very good value. I have 2 from Leo's era, a 1987 ASAT and an 1987 SC-3 (marketed at the time as a student or beginner guitar, it has a beautiful ebony fretboard - imagine that now). I also have a 92 Legacy, this still has a lot of the features from the Leo era but over the years, BBE (the new owners) standardised the production and removed some of the little touches and quirks, although making a consistent and still very good product. e.g. the bass that @bloke_zero is selling will have a hand-shaped neck which is a nice feature, the necks became all machine made from about 2005. All this plus a slow market, as @White Cloud said, can make them a hard sell. The other side of this is that there can be some good bargains. That went on a bit...apologies for the ramble, you can probably tell that I'm a G&L fan.

Couple of other Glasgow shops (good for used vinyl, not sure on new/used CDs): Mixed Up Records on Otago Lane, near CC Music; Missing Records, under the rail bridge at Argyle Street station; Love Music, Dundas Street, not far from Missing; Oxfam, Byres Road is also good. For instruments, I don't think Jimmy Egypt on Great Western Road has been mentioned, probably not overrun with basses but occasionally has some interesting used pieces.

This is a seemingly neverending debate on guitar forums but it all comes down to personal taste and that manufacturers can satisfy that taste. There was a real hooha recently when it was noticed that Fender use a stencil/pattern to mark the areas of wear - not sure if this is just on the heavier relics or on all. I quite like the lighter relic (think they may be Journeyman or Light Relic) as they look quite subtle and certainly more realistic than the very heavy relic. It also means there's not much worry if you then mark or chip the guitar yourself. I also realise that lots of people like an unmarked guitar and manage to keep it that way, that's fine, too.

Hello from another new-joiner.

Hi everyone, I've been playing guitar for a few years, started dabbling in bass for a bit of a change and some variety. Discovered this site a while ago and I like the vibe and attitude of everyone: good info, help, generally sensible and mature but with the right level of humour (characteristics of most bassists?). I live in N Wales, just play at home for my own amusement. Hope to contribute a wee bit to the forum. Kev