Velarian

1 hour ago, EddHytheTown said:

That and I have no experience in putting together a bass from parts, so there's a serious risk it would just sit there as a project that never gets off the ground. 

Irrespective of what you decide to do with this particular bass, I can thoroughly recommend that you try putting a “bitsa” together at some point. It’s not particularly difficult and there will be lots of BassChat help on hand if you need it. It’s a very satisfying experience and you’ll learn a lot in the process. 😉

The mother of a mate of mine who was an Irish lady with a wicked sense of humour, at her funeral she had “here we go, here we go, here we go” played when the the coffin was being passed through the curtains for cremation and for the file-out it was “See you later alligator”. 😂

What a great subject for a thread. 
 

I’ve given this a little thought but not fully formed the final selection. One track I’d love to be played is “Close to Home” by Lyle Mays, probably as the file out but it’s over six minutes long and the way it ends is something I’d like everyone to hear, so it’s likely that most wouldn’t hear it. Perhaps it should be the reflection but is it too long for that? I know many funerals are a bit of a time-limited conveyor belt so I suspect it may too long for that. Thinking about that I’d rather the music be played instead of people spouting platitudes because that’s what is expected. 
 

For the rest of it, I’m thinking Elgar’s nimrod played by the Grimethorpe Colliery band and probably Praise by the Pat Metheny Group.

So, if this would work in the usual funeral format, it would be: -

Arrival: Nimrod, Elgar

Reflection: Close to Home, Lyle Mays

File-out: Praise, Pat Metheny Group

This is my favourite demo of these basses. Great sound.

GLWTS
 

How about this?

2 hours ago, meterman said:

Although that’s a decent chunk of money, that is definitely a handsome bass 👍 I bought a few guitars and amps from them over the years when I lived in west London, always liked visiting their shop.

The price doesn’t seem too bad for a ‘62. Is that down to the non-original case and strap buttons and general condition, or is there more to it than that? For example, does the difference between the dates of the pots, neck and serial number suggest that it may have been pieced together?

So, your fret position markers are spot on which is good. It does beg the question why the original position markers were where they are though.

I believe that the G string is what determines the scale length so really the break point of the G string saddle should be set at 34” and tweaked for intonation from there, with the lower strings correspondingly further back. Have you tried that at 34”? (Others may correct me if I’m wrong!).

Regarding the fingerboard thickness, I’m guessing that more material may have been planed off the neck than mine when it was modified so the extra thickness makes up the difference. 

Can’t say I’m keen on the colour but the pickups look interesting. Are they unique to the brand or are they more widely available?

The neck on this bass is similar to my '77 P Bass which was originally a one-piece maple (with a skunk stripe). For reasons I cannot fathom now, back in 1984 I had it turned into a fretless with an ebony finger board. At the time this work was done, it had an identical Badass II bridge to yours. There was no change to scale length, the position dots remained in the same place and everything intonates as it should. I've added some pictures below for comparison.

I'm a long way short of being an expert in these matters but what strikes me as being odd about your neck is how thick the fingerboard is compared to mine and I wonder if this contributes to the intonation issues? If the Badass bridge doesn't impact on the scale length (and as far as I'm aware it shouldn't as this was a common replacement for many P Basses), then the 12th fret position marker should be exactly 17" from the face of the nut. On mine it is, but judging from the original position markers on your pictures it looks to be a few mil further along, which doesn't seem right. I think it would be worth getting a luthier to take a look at this as they may be able to tweak things.

As others have mentioned I don't think I'd entertain the idea of returning it to original. The extra pick-up route has been done very well and everything else looks to be quality kit. If you were set on having a fretted neck I'd be inclined to source a Fender licensed replacement neck and use that - these can often be picked up on eBay for £100 or so (this is what I should have done before having mine made fretless as I would have still had the neck in original condition). 

Ian Ferguson, BBC West Weatherman 

Richard Hammond

Back in 80s I had a custom bass made, loosely based on a Yamaha BB shape. I went to town specifying all sorts of pickup/wiring options with active thrown in as well.

Anyway, it was bloody rubbish! 😳

Obviously I didn’t have a clue what I was on about. I should have stuck to the P Bass. 😂

Just to confirm what has already been alluded to, having a short cable to connect the device to the headphones is no big deal deal at all and in no way inconvenient. I don’t think having a wireless version would bring much to the party other than added cost. 

42 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 

It's also a question of efficiency. Most of the YouTube stuff I watch is because I need the information, and watching a video seems to be the only way to get it. Since I can't "skim-read" my way through a video I have to watch from the beginning waiting for the 30 seconds that will hopefully tell me what I want to know. And while I'm being bored with all the other stuff, I notice all the inadequacies of the "script", the editing (or usually lack of it), the presenter's appearance and weird accent, and all those other things that really ought to be invisible, and would never be noticeable in a written piece.

If the video has a transcript this is a quick way to copy the content to paste in to a document. I’ve found this quite useful a few times. (The explanation is only a couple of minutes 😉). 
 

59 minutes ago, briansbrew said:

Yep the previous owner changed them out in 1967 for some reason, funny how one has no R on it

Could it be that the original tuners would have been reverse wind and they were changed to avoid confusing the hell out of someone with other, more modern basses? I know this from experience. 😉

21 minutes ago, Quilly said:

Its almost a year since I purchased my last big item, more from lack of playing more than me exercising any restraint or anything 😅  

Same here. Last purchase was 25th July 2022. I should make it to the end of the year hopefully. 

Another vote for the TC Unitune.

The display is clear and unambiguous. 

41 minutes ago, Franticsmurf said:

So... does what you ate just before you rest your bass against the big, fat tone sucking belly actually affect the tone through some kind of resonance thing? A plate full of mashed potato absorbs the vibrations, giving a muted, Motown feel while nuts, seeds and raisins take the vibrations and creates subtle overtones that cut through the mix?

 

And my aftermarket paisley pick guard on my P Bass makes everything sound like the 60's.

 

I have to go now, so the nurse tells me. 😄

Far out man (both the belly and the paisley pick guard) 😂

23 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

I reckon you're in. Visually its very close.

👍

3 hours ago, joeystrange said:

I did have two black/black/maple Fender Precisions but they’re now both gone. One about 2 years ago and the other very recently.

I have two black/black/maple Fender Precisions but one is US and the other is Mex. Does that count?

I think it’s a load of bunkum. When I changed a white pick guard for a black one I didn’t notice any difference at all 😉

Just when you thought it was safe to venture out, we now have ‘tone pickguards’ to add to the mix!

A new revelation in the quest for perfect tone or emperor’s new clothes?

Discuss 😉

3 hours ago, rwillett said:

I'd love to commision a bass version of this, would £75 be enough, I could go to £100 if I push the boat out. I can try and sell one of the kids again, but each time I do this, the buyer comes back and demands a refund.

 

In all seriousness, I'd just hang it on the wall on a rotating peg and just look at it. Some people pay seriously silly money for art. To me, this is just as good. I'm very much in the form follows function camp, Bauhaus and all that stuff. This blows that principle out the water.

Rob

Ian Allison on SBL refers to this kind of thing as double art. The instrument itself is a work of art and it can be used to create more art. 

9 minutes ago, SpondonBassed said:

Stunning!  The contrast.  The contours.  The textures.

There’s something rather beautiful about the contours and textures, particularly that ebony top. Just begging to be caressed. 😳

4 hours ago, Reggaebass said:

Apparently in the 70s they did a whole collection 

The Antigua Jazz is conspicuously absent in that picture.