Bit late coming to this but only just found it. This was my first guitar back in 1961 but I had the brunette not the blonde. The action up the neck was very high but back then I didn't go much beyond the 9th fret anyway so not really a problem. Wanted to get the solid Artist bass but couldn't afford it at the time. This one was £27 and the Artist was £45. I was earning £5 a week back then and my mother took half of it for board and lodging!
Initially I played it through a 10 (?) Watt Watkins Westminster which used to walk around the stage with the vibration and on a couple of occasions the valves came loose! I later upgraded to a VOX AC30 Supertwin which stayed in place on the stage. In '63 I traded in the 500/3 and got a red, vinyl covered Artist bass. I still have fond memories of that original 500/3 with the toaster-top pickup..
