Shaggy

One comes to mind; a few years back I was in a band that regularly played outdoor summer fetes in the local towns and villages; quite a big scene in the S Wales Valleys. We arrived at one place we were booked at and hadn’t played before, found the stage where we were to set up, and asked the organiser where the electric power supply was. He helpfully pointed to a single socket connected to a long, long domestic grade cable trailing across the grass. We followed it back to a tiny wooden shed, and found the other end plugged into a mains adapter connected into several other mains adaptors plugged into a single socket, along with at least 4 other cables trailing elsewhere. I should add that our PA was rated at 2.5 kW, never mind the stage amps and lighting. Without saying a word, we quietly went back to the van and drove away.

I believe the term applies specifically to the English 😉

Mine was a mid-‘60’s Kalamazoo KB-1, bought in 1977 (when I was 16) for £25. Like in the pic below, but mine was rather badly sprayed black and previous owner had added a Hofner mini-humbucker in the bridge position. Kakamazoo was Gibson’s US based budget brand in the 1960’s. The KB-1 was a short scale budget model in 2 body styles; one like an EB-0 / SG, the other vaguely like a Fender Mustang (as mine). Body was made of a kind of compressed MDF (subcontracted to a manufacturer of toilet seats), neck was very decent maple / rosewood, and the hardware (except for the Japanese tuners) was Gibson, exactly the same as on the EB-0. So not a bad starter bass, and being in a punk band it really looked the part too. The hot output and low frequencies from the mudbucker blew the driver in my puny first amp the first time I used it. Dismantled when I acquired my first long scale bass a couple of years later (a vile Columbus Jazz bass copy), with a kind of notion to lake a custom out of it with a Ric shaped wood body - I really wanted a Ric. I put the big mudbucker on the Jazz copy in the neck position to make a kind of dub-monster (which got swapped for a bike). The rest stayed in my parts drawer until very recently; mini-humbucker went on a bitsa fretless, neck and bridge went on BC, still got a few bits and bobs from it all these years later.

Gobsmacked 😮 Never thought I’d see an eBay seller that actually makes that German Music Outlet Shop look sane. Even they listed a Wal Pro neck at 10% of that price a few years back. The sad thing is there are actually a few nice instruments on that site that no one will ever own.....😕

True. If it were mine (which it ain’t!), to honest I’d leave the current one on there rather than change to black, but if making a new one I’d still go for a quality sheet of proper celluloid tort, eg: https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/pickguards-c62/blank-pickguard-sheets-c95/wd-music-brown-tortoiseshell-celluloid-thin-non-laminated-p608 Bass doc used to make custom ones to order on here (pretty sure also sourcing from WD Music), not sure if he does any more?

I’d def go for tort, you’ve probably already checked out: https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/pickguards-c62/gibson-miscellaneous-c87/ripper-c266/wd-music-ripper-single-ply-070-1-77mm-semi-transparent-tortoise-shell-no-bevelled-edge-p6714 Plenty other options: https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/search/pickguards-c62/gibson-miscellaneous-c87/gibson-ripper not cheap, but great quality, and with a Ripper the p/guard is a big part of the aesthetics.

That L6S is proper lush - even has the “harmonica bridge” sported by early ‘70’s Gibson’s - and so much nicer than the endless Les Paul copies of that era 👍. Makes me wonder why Kimbara were never as big as Ibanez or Aria?

Fantastic score Maude; I remember Kimbaras as being at the top of the quality scale of late ‘70’s copies, and they always seemed to use nice tonewoods. From the dim recesses of my memory I think most of the “natural” bodied guitars / basses were made from Sen wood, sometimes called Japanese ash (being very similar to ash). Never owned a Ripper / Grabber, but those I’ve tried were quite thin bodied, so not unduly heavy. I have owned quite a few RD Artists which being maple and thick bodied are......heavy. There used to be someone on eBay in the US who would make up custom engraved Gibson TRC’s - I had one done, I’ll see if I can dig up contact. Enjoy the new bass! 👍

PM sent 🙂

Damn shame - always to sorry to see any examples of top-end British craftsmanship coming to a close. 😢 I so nearly pulled the trigger on a beautiful Enfield Cannon that was FS on here a few years ago - the one with the 2TSB figured sycamore top / translucent blue body. But it was just to similar to my Wal, which I think was part of the problem; the Sims pickups and electronics are quite amazing (albeit with far more tonal switching options than any of us would probably ever need), but the Instrument designs were maybe just a tad too safe and derivative.

It seems to be a particular feature of German 1950’s - ‘60’s basses and guitars to have necks with very little taper from nut to bridge; also lots of pearloid!*. I had a 1960’s Framus Grand Star archtop 6-string with a near parallel neck, and the neck on my mid-‘60’s Vox Wyman is basically like a broom handle sawn in half lengthwise, which I believe was Bill Wyman’s preference at the time, being used to his Framus basses. Seems odd at first when you’re used to a conventionally tapered neck, but you do get used to it. * edit: also most seem to use the zero-fret design, which I’ve always thought quite a sensible one....

I'm nicking that for the epitaph on my gravestone, just to spook people..... Almost as good as that of the late, great Spike Milligan: "I told you I was ill".

I'm guessing J rather than P? Scorch mark from smokin' bass solo. Or a fag. Edit: may be an urban legend, but apparently when Eric Clapton took his Strat "Blackie" in for a set-up, the tech gave it a full clean, including removal of trademark burn on headstock. One totally p!ssed off guitar god.....

I think you’re doing the best thing you can, in posting on BC; it’d also probably be worth posting on FB bass gear and band sub-groups in the NW of England. I always envy people who are rational enough never to regret moving gear on. I incredibly stupidly sold a one-off luthier built bass so perfect for me it could my “signature bass” - a Steve Smith custom long-scale semi, but a couple of years later the chap I sold it too (one of BC’s good eggs 👍) was kind enough to trade it back to me....

Like, far out and groovy, man! 😎. Only another 10 years to catch up with the Stones.... Very cool band name too!

Hell of a find! As said above, control knobs non-original. Coincidentally; one sold only recently on here: Thats a Kramer 450B in the pic, I think he was more usually seen with the 650B (as in the TOTP studio footage of “Rat Trap” )

Bought a MM pickup from Alain, and as above post shows; he’s clearly one of the good guys on BC. 👍. Smooth easy deal, great communications, and pickup sent promptly and superbly packed. Many thanks! 🙂

In the used market it used to be accepted that: Antique = 100+ years Vintage = 50+ years but both now pretty meaningless, along with “classic” and “rare”

Wonderful, although indelibly associated with the air bass supremo........

Eee, you were lucky - I used to have a bedsit room next to a guy who I think had recently broken up with his GF, and played “Hello” by Lionel Ritchie almost continually all day, every day. Hell now holds no terrors for me..... Re the OP, apparently like others above I liked their earlier stuff up until around the X and Y album - in particular “Clocks” is a genuinely great song. Everything I’ve heard recently seems to be bland generic festival-fare; with that awful ubiquitous compressed beat and “anthemic” chorus.

Inspirational to my formative years, and still inspirational: ”Rumours”, Fleetwood Mac - John McVie doing nothing flashy, but totally underpinning each great song ”Secondhand daylight”, Magazine - Barry Adamson’s wonderful tone and feel absolutely key to the mood of the album ”Quiet Life” / “Gentlemen take Polaroids”, Japan - Mick Karn just finding a highly individual way to play bass, but again; the playing is always for the song rather than for itself.

Way back from when bands used to smile in pics That lady singer sure has some balls on her.........😉