Skybone

Bought a new set of the Retrovibe "Vintage" pickups recently, decided to fit them to my Bass Collection Californian. All was going well, until I realised that the neck pickup is bigger than the original, and expanding the existing hole would be very messy. Some time ago, I bought 2 sheets of pearlescent plastic (black & white), with the intention of making some new scratchplates. I completely wasted the black sheet, made loads of mistakes, and they were resigned to the bin. The white sheet was untouched, until now. Third attempt, started slow, taking my time, looking good, until I realised that I'm not left handed. The air turned blue for a moment or three. D'oh! Fourth attempt. Start slow & taking my time again, looking good. Made sure it was the right way round this time too. Some time later, I was left with a new scratchplate & TRC that I was happy with. Big grin. Fitted them last night, new neck pickup fitted perfectly, had to make a couple of minor mod's as I went, nothing too drastic though. Definitely need a new soldering iron. neck pickup fitted, sounded good, switch to the bridge pickup, sounded thin, something wrong. Take the strings & scratchplate off again, and the earth wire is loose. Resolder that, put everything back together, restring, plug in, and boom! Good to go! The new pickups sound great, quite "zingy" (the new strings help I suppose), and the new scratchplate & TRC look good too.

Looks good though.

Or an Aliexpress special?

That is nice indeed. Active or passive?

Welcome aboard!

Aye, aye. Fit like! Another Highlands resident in the hoose. Welcome aboard!

Martin Phosphor Bronze are a good cheap set that sound good. However, if you want a set of strings that will last, and that sound great, then get a set of Thomastik Plectrum Bronze. They aren't cheap, but they are worth every penny.

I would say that 1976 was one of the finest years for rock music... Black Sabbath: Technical Ecstasy Thin Lizzy: Jailbreak Thin Lizzy: Johnny the Fox Rainbow: Rising Rush: 2112 Rush: All the World's A Stage AC/DC: High Voltage AC/DC: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Motorhead: On Parole Peter Frampton: Frampton Comes Alive David Bowie: Station to Station Status Quo: Blue for You Led Zeppelin: Presence Led Zeppelin: The Song Remains the Same Ramones: Ramones Jethro Tull: Too Old to Rock'n'Roll: Too Young to Die! Parliament: The Clones of Dr. Funkenstein Hawkwind: Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music Funkadelic: Hardcore Jollies ZZ Top: Tejas Blondie: Blondie Amongst all the others released that year.

Dare to be different, especially on forums.

Although I did take the cover off the bridge pickup on my old 4003, I kept it on for my No.1 Faker. I find resting my thumb on the neck pickup works best for me. The 'zero mod' rest is too far away from the strings for my liking, where the top of the pickup is just right. Obviously, it has to be close to the strings, but I'm fine with that. As for playing one, you have to 'unlearn' how you play for other bass types, and re-adjust your technique for the Ric. It is worth spending the time & effort. It's kind of like getting on a Harley after riding sporty motorcycles. The technique is the same, you just have to adjust it to suit each.

Another Mono GS1

Always thought he was one of the better rappers, rather than talk about girls, guns & gangs, it was empowerment & education.

Prince ordered & owned a Gus guitar. He was so impressed with it, he ordered a matching bass. Unfortunately, he never got to try it, as it was only finished just before he died.

I vote for "Play", I'm with Lozz & Monkey Steve. The fact that it's very local helps you. Big up the fanzine that are helping you out, blank the promoter (unless he's carrying a wad of cash - ), sell band stuff, stick around, hand out flyers, milk the promotion aspect.

Ordered a pair the other week, fitted the bridge pickup, but the neck one is too long to fit in my scratchplate. Need to either order a new one, or attempt to make one. The bridge pickup sounds great, quite 'zingy'. Looks cool too.

Must admit to being a 'physical format' fan. Though I do download, and have a usb stick in the car, physical format still wins. Still have loads of vinyl, but only recently bought another record player, still have tons of cd's too. I often find that buying the cd with digital download is generally cheaper than just buying the digital download only. Buying physical format direct from bands is supporting them too. It is possibly an age thing, I do recall spending far too much time in record shops, and because of that experience, still like to have a physical copy of the music. IMO, digital downloads have made music into a commodity, rather than something 'special'. Tapes are also making a comeback, but to a much lesser degree than vinyl.

Bought a set of the new Retrovibe pickups, the bridge pickup went in fine (loving the matching surround & cover too), but the neck pickup is too big for the scratchplate. Looks like I'll need to order a new one with a larger pickup hole for it. Anyway, restrung the bass to try out the new pickup, and it sounds superb. Not sure whether it's more a "new strings" vibe, or just sounds more "lively" all round.

Fumed oak? How do they get the oak to be annoyed? I assume that it's their take on "baked maple"?

After reading that, 2 albums on a "cult" German Indie metal label, a 2 week UK tour and various other gigs up & down the country in the early/mid 90's seems a bit lacklustre. Not long after, the label folded, the guitarist had the opportunity to join a band with one of his best mates who's main guitarist had just left their band, record an album, go on tour etc., etc. Our 2 albums sold around 3,000 copies (the second album managed to get a second pressing).

I'd vote for something MIJ, be it Matsumoku or FujiGen. Had a few really nice MIJ guitars from that era, no basses though unfortunately.

A real shame, Electro used to be an ace shop, friendly staff, and a gold mine of gorgeous gear. Went regularly when I lived over there, spent a good few quid there over the years too. Only got to go there infrequently when we were down there visiting over the last few years, they still had some decent kit in. Sad day.