Simon.

That looks utterly fabulous! Well worth the wait.

You have learned well! 😉 Don't be a stranger!

Next week, @mhoss32 is going to wow us all with how he fletches his own arrows, as well! Brilliant work - it's just a joy to watch this come together.

I do like a bit of Scary Pockets. 👍 I've heard the MonoNeon name but not heard a lot of his stuff. Any pointers, because as tight and nice as the bass playing was, it didn't jump out at me...

I was really worried that shaping the neck would result in a lot of splintering and tear-outs as you shaped across the grain of the marquetry, but it looks to have gone really well! What a fantastic job. 👍

Still love these designs @Sidlanir Bass and bridge are both excellent. 👍

I can only think of a couple: Suede at the Queens Hall in Edinburgh, 1994. The band imploded on stage, with Brett Anderson in terrible form and flouncing off a couple of times, before they all tried again. Turned out to Bernard Butler's last gig with the band. Had seen them a couple of years earlier and they were outstanding, but this was just a mess. Roachford at the Assembly Rooms, 1998, I think. Girlfriend and I had a massive bust-up on the way there ( I wanted to see the support, she was only interesting in getting there 2 mins for Roachford came on). We lasted about 30 mins of very pointedly not enjoying each other's company, before heading off.

Standard issue for bass players! Welcome to the club, Col, and a great story. Years ago I was in a sort of ex-pat, pick-up band for a while. There was a guy who came along to jam at rehearsals, but was convinced he wasn't good enough to gig, and had been a bedroom player all his life. Truth was, he was superb and a 56 we finally persuaded to get on stage and play a couple of numbers. The grin on his face afterwards was blinding!

Ha! It's got a way to go to get to that level. I would definitely like to save it - it's got a bit of sentimental value as well, as it came to me through my tech work with Runrig. They were going to bin it, but I thought it could be worth trying to save. The finish has worn through on both sides, which is probably what has encouraged the splits to start. I don't have a clue as to how to start shoring it up, though.

I have recently come into possession of a somewhat worse for wear Tanglewood acoustic. It seems to be a decent, mid to lower end model, and I was hoping to get it up and running again, to let my lads use as a starter guitar. TSF-5X model, made in '99, according to the serial number. However, I'm not sure if it's actually worth saving, as there is a bit of structural damage to the top. On the bridge side of the sound hole, on both the bass and treble sides, there are the start of splits running towards the bridge. I'm concerned that if I re-string it, the tension will cause the whole thing to split! The dent on the lower edge I'm less concerned about, as it likely to be roughly handled by the kids. I have the Fishman preamp, and it looks OK, but there is no output jack. The bridge saddle is also missing, along with a few screws and nuts to mount the preamp and the screws from a couple of the tuners - how do you lose those?! I don't mind spending a few quid to get the necessary replacement bits, but if the top is a write-off, and there's probably not a lot of point. Thoughts?

Just.... you know... just... wow. So many great things about this build, it's difficult to pick out any one. 👍

I didn't know that! Thanks. Or as Bill would put it... Tåk!

Bill Bailey's musical output is always worth a look. Makes up a fair chunk of his stand-up shows, so he puts plenty of effort on to it. If you haven't seen it, his Enter Sandman is a work of genius, and his take on the Match of the Day and BBC News theme's are splendid.

Wow! You don't do things by half, @mhoss32 This is the gift which just keeps giving.

Is this a Korean bass...? Ho Lee Fouk! Sorry... That is an amazing piece of work. So many lovely touches. 👍