smarthound

Here's the old Traben gimmick: the entire scratchplate is metal and is part of the bridge to "add sustain". Actually the tailpiece is bolted to the scratchplate so it's not truly a one-piece affair. I can't tell any obvious advantage with my Traben but it's a pleasant bass to play.

9 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I came within an inch of buying a similar pale blue one a few weeks ago. It was gorgeous. Sounded really vintage. Branded Watkins on the headstock, not WEM.

That'll be an earlier model than mine. If it had a plain wood headstock it's a Rapier. if it's black it's a Sapphire. WEM stands for Watkins Electric Music.

Mine was a '60s WEM Sapphire. It had a white body, black scratchplate and plenty of chrome. I used it in my first studio recording and when my band supported the Clash at the Manchester Apollo ('79 I think) - so it had some sentimental value to me. I gave the body and neck to a mate to get them refinished and they were stolen (although I still had all the hardware). Years later I found a sunburst Sapphire on fleaBay and transplanted my old pickups, pickup plate, scratchplate, bridge etc etc. So I still have the heart of my first bass in this one, although I suppose it's a bit like Trigger's broom. Wish I could find a white body for it!

Why not leave your Model P in there and conceal the rout error with a pickup ring?

Admittedly it's right-handed but chances are you'd just need to flip it and countersink the holes that side.