Paul S

Well, all the bits have arrived and been handed over to the guy who does my bits and pieces and he is going to make a start on it next week. Going to treat it to a new pickguard and 4 of these Ric-style jaunty, labelled knobs - treble/bass and volume/tone so I don't forget which one does what Plus a fat toggle pickup selector switch. It won't look exactly like a Ric and I don't suppose it will sound exactly like a Ric but near enough to keep me happy - plus it is going to cost me under £375 all in, which isn't exactly like a Ric, either. I'm allowing myself to get a bit excited about this Pics will be posted when done.

Laser-like logic, Mr Del-Var, with an unequivocal solution. Well done.

This is exactly the sort of thing I'm doing with my lot, too, and I absolutely love it. I like the way it kind of falls between a cover and an original as for every song there is room to go somewhere within the structure. Learning Hendrix's 'Stone Free' for Friday There's a Gary Moore 'Blues For Jimi' version with Mitch Mitchell and Billy Cox that we are going to align with, except maybe we'll work out an ending

That's fine, it is your opinion. I like it. That's my opinion. The world still turns.

2 pickup set neck one on eBay at the moment. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/275119800421?_trkparms=amclksrc%3DITM%26aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160811114145%26meid%3D7dadb398869443bb8a8eeee1e7fb2fb4%26pid%3D100667%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D8%26sd%3D125104697088%26itm%3D275119800421%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2334524%26brand%3DDeArmond&_trksid=p2334524.c100667.m2042&LH_ItemCondition=3000

Indeed. But they weren't called the Sensational Alex Harvey ... oh, never mind

i suspect I'd have found your potato's singing voice slightly easier on my ears than Mr Lee, whose vocals I can't get my head round.

That can't be right. According to Wiki he formed the band.

A random observation. Years ago someone on here flagged up using La bella white nylon tapes for acoustics so I tried a set. Wow. Much livelier than the black nylon ones, sharper and middier, but still the same sort of feel. Not cheap just to take a punt on, mind.

That entirely depends upon your own perspective, doesn't it. I was a huge fan of SAHB, saw them multiple times. I saw SAHB without Alex when they toured, bought the album. IMO they were excellent - a totally different band to SAHB but still a fine bunch of musicans playing good music. You might not like what they did (have you even listened to any?) but no way were they 'awful'. Yet another 'I don't like it so it must be crap' type comment. Opinions may vary, folks Here on the OGWT

Time was that listings for Fakers were rigorously removed from eBay et al but it seems no longer so I guess the new management have other concerns. Be nice to see Rics and Fakers welcomed back in the fold here and openly offered for sale.

I totally wouldn't have an issue with is as long as the (word of the day) eponymous band's front man didn't actually believe the PR and treat the rest of the band like staff. So if my blues rock trio had a name change to the Alan McWhirter Band that would be cool. In fact I think I would prefer it.

Banjo Hangout Sounds like some sort of medical condition requring some sort of support undergarments.

This is precisely my experience with them.

Thanks, Davie. I wondered if it might be this but it seemed too simple!

Sadly, these days anything heavier than 8.5lbs is too heavy. I aim for 8lbs. According to my luggage scales the Renegade currently weighs in at just under 7lbs, so plenty of wiggle room for the extra pickups/electrics/knobs et al. Question - how does the neck pickup fit?

Rickenbacker basses were an itch I increasingly wanted to scratch but an expensive commodity to just take a punt on. However a couple of years ago I chanced upon an early 70s MIJ Faker that was 'really' good and made me realise that I do, in fact, like them quite a lot. Trouble was, the Faker weighed just south of 11lbs - far to much for me to ever stand a chance of wearing for a whole gig so with heavy heart I moved it on to Nik @silverfoxnik who is now enjoying it's clankiness. So I tried a Ric-style bass and liked it. But even the lightest of proper Rics are still just too heavy for me. And, tbh, a bit on the dear side of what I want to pay. I did some research and it seems the Retrovibe Renegade bass is extremely lightweight and a decent enough modding platform to create a half-decent Faker. So I put out a plea on the Wanted ads to see if anyone had a spare. And Davie @kodiakblair came to the rescue! Plus he beat his parts draw and what fell out was a brace of decent Ric style pickups - a Retrovibe toaster and a Guyker RKH-IV N - and a chrome bezel for the bridge pickup. All of which are now residing here. The bass is currently sporting a single Musicman type pickup in the bridge position. There is routing in the body under the pickguard for the neck pickup and, unbelievably, the bezel for the bridge pickup is a straight drop in where the MM pup is. Need to decide which pickup is going where - looks at the moment like the toaster wil be at the neck as it has a threaded hole suitable for height adjustment but both will need some fettling. Think I'll opt for 4 Ric style control knobs plus the toggle switch and blank the existing pickguard holes. If it looks too much like a bodge I may splash out on a new one, but let's see how it turns out first. The bridge is great, I actually prefer it to the enormous clunky Ric one so it won't ever be a completely accurate copy. it has a maple neck with dot markers. Another decision is whether to cover these with the Ricky triangles - if so I will need to make my own out of vinyl so that they are big enough to cover the existing dots. I may get a sheet and see - possibly black, just to keep the striking colour scheme going, possibly some sort of mother of toilet seat if I can find such a thing. If not, no matter, a lot of Rics just had dots. I'll do some of it myself, hand over to my tech mate for the electrics and fettling that requires steadier hands than mine It's been a little while since I undertook a bit of a mod and I am really looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

I always fancied one but never got to try. There is a short scale one as well although I never got to the bottom of whether that was a P, a J/J one or both.

Yet another fabulous transaction with Davie. I put out a call for a Retrivibe Renegade in the hope of cobbling together a lightweight Faker. Not only did he answer my plea but also raided his spare parts draw and has pretty much set me up for the modding. And all at a price that was mind bogglingly cheap. Super friendly, helpful guy. So I would say if you are contemplating a deal with Davie BITE HIS ARM OFF. An absolute pleasure to do business with, one of Basschat's finest.

I had a succession of Barefaced cabs. Started with the first Compact shortly after they were first released then added a Midget. That was an amazing rig. Powerful, full range. Then swapped these for a Supercompact for a 'one cab solution'. Liked it so much I bought another one - yes, two one cab solutions just, you know, because. Then I got a One10 for small gigs/home practise. I liked the extra colour the cab gave so got a Two10. Amps were varied, depending upon circumstances. As a rule I gigged an old Trace Elliot 250 SMX, had a Mesa Boogie Prodigy Four:88 valve for a while but actually preferred the Trace Elliot. But also, variably, Orange Terror 500, Quilter Bass Block 800, TC Electronic RH750, Genz Benz Streamliner, Tecamp Puma. Plus a host of others. I came to the conclusion that the more coloured the amp the better it paired with the more hifi cabs. So my pick, for gigging, was the Supercompact (or both) with the Trace Elliot. Or, conversely, the more hifi Tecamp Puma with the slightly coloured sound from the One10 or Two10. Then I went down the FRFR route and left all that worry behind - which has proved to be an immensely liberating experience. It was fun, though, trying all those different combinations.

Sloppy technique from this old boy, too, fretting with his thumb. I can't see him ever making it, either.

I love a tele too. Something about the simplicity and honesty - probably why I like Precisions. I have a MIM one that at some point had a pickup upgrade. Used to belong to the guitar tech I used and he had set it up beautifully.

Gosh. I had one of those, it was totally awesome. But not £1500 awesome.

FWIW I think black single ply would be totally spot on. I had a near cousin of one of these for a while, the G3. Lovely thing. That was of no relevence whatsoever but I thought I'd say it anyway