Jean-Claude

I've always been ashamed to admit this but I only have one fretted bass and I bought it, used, in 1981 for forty pounds (with fitted hard case). It's an Aria ProII Primary Bass, a precision copy. I bought it because my previous bass, a horrid short-scale VOX, was stolen one evening and I needed something in a hurry (I was gigging 2 or 3 times a week back then, happy days!). I'd never heard of Aria when I bought it but it seemed OK for the money and here we are forty years on and it's still working fine. I've done various beastly things to it over the years, the worst was hacking out the body to fit a (useless) pickup near to the bridge. I also hacked a hole for a battery compartment in order to fit an EMG in the early 90s. Because of all this hacking, I decided to re-finish it (car paint spray) in the mid 90s. It also had to have a re-fret round about the same time. It doesn't get out of its case too often these days, even before COVID I was gigging pretty much exclusively on double bass, and had been for 20 years or so. Nonetheless, I reckon it the best forty quid I ever spent!

I can't abide those horrid bits of wire that people stick on their fingerboards. Why not just learn to play the thing properly? Think they're called 'frets'.

Hi, a while ago I got fed-up with missing switch caps on my GK MBS III (a couple had got lost over the years) and decided to get some new ones. I'm speaking of the 5mm X 9mm caps on the push switches. I found two sources, one was in the US where they were 1.50 dollars each plus 19 dollars (!) postage to France. The other, from China, was €4.35 inc. postage for a bag of 100. I ordered the Chinese ones and fitted them and they seem to be identical to the originals. I now have 98 spares, so if anybody wants some, let me know and I'll post you some.

Here's my valve amp, a Musicman HD130. Haven't used it for a while because (a) COVID, (b) weight and (c) I have a GK MBS-iii which I love.

I spent many years restoring pianos and did a good deal of French polishing. I think there are a few general pointers that you might find useful. First, you do need to get the sanding done as well as you possibly can - the better the sanding, the easier the work will be. Second, don't be tempted to polish without first filling the grain or you'll wind up with a speckled finish. Plaster of Paris is traditional and cheap but you need to work quickly as it sets pretty fast. Third, read up how to make a proper rubber and practice on scraps of wood to get the hang of using it. If you make a mistake (and you almost certainly will), don't try to correct it wet, let it dry and sand it out. As regards colour, I don't think you will be able to get a really pale finish, but you can try using 'white' polish which is the clearest grade. Looking at your picture, I think it will come out with a red cast; if it does, and you don't want it, try an intermediate coat with just a touch of green dye in the polish. This will take the red away, but at the cost of making the overall finish darker. Good luck with it.