What exotic or unusual Gibson trinkets are you hiding...?

[Freuds_Cat]

Due to the quality of some of the writing in the thread I couldn't bring myself to do that Mark even though the Govt issue toilet paper at work is seriously more course than the A4 sheets I printed on.

[Lightyear]

*******the Govt issue toilet paper at work is seriously more course than the A4 sheets I printed on.

Geezus!  A4 toilet paper!!  You guys take this metric cr@^ to the nth degree dont you!   

[Highlander]

I'm feeling kinda flushed by all this attention... 

A0, A1, A2...? toilet paper is probably closer to A6, at a pinch - same size as US loo-roll, if I remember correctly...

Hate to say this, Buzz, but the only countries in the World (there may be minor exclusions) that have failed to take up ISO216 (you guessed it, based on an earlier German spec - stop grinning, Uwe, no point in winding them up any more than they are already...!) is USA and Canada - I believe some countries is South America still use Letter size - what size paper to US blueprints, draughts come out as, anyone over the pond...?

Brett, do I book you a full copy when published, soft print edition...? 

[Freuds_Cat]

Yes thanks Ken, only can I have the Paper back version as the thought of a "Hard Cover" makes me wince?

[Highlander]

No problem Sport, err... Brett... just gotta get her published, plus a minor bit of finishing off, that is...

The Aussies had it ROUGH, and I mean REAL ROUGH...! It seems they took a lot worse than anyone else, and I can't find any specific reason why... I can post up a recommendation for the 2 roughest titles if your taste descends that low... curiously enough, one of them is written by a Japanese Proffessor, living in Oz... two of the hardest books I have ever had the displeasure of reading...

[godofthunder]

Ken, Always a good read  My Father was a Marine, trained to hate and kill the Japanese what a strange twist of fate when he had to do business with them in the 70's, it killed him.

[Highlander]

Scott, I presume he was a bit east of my dad (those 2 Eastwood movies are stunners, imho) during WW2...? Do you know anything about his service record...?

When I was a kid I knew nothing of what he went through, I only knew about this big circular dent he had in his leg; he never discussed the War, and it was made obvious that he did not wish to have it discussed... My grandfather (who I was partly named after) was always a safe discussion (died before I was 3) and he was written up in books (Merchant Navy legend - even has a statue just opposite the Tower of London, as a "gate guardian" for the WW2 MN memorial for the names of the 30,000+ lost during that round-up) Radier called the "Pinguin" (and a captured vessel called the "Passat") laid mines across the eastern and southern coasts of Australia in 1940, and yes, my Granddad was in the first vessel to hit one, the SS Cambridge... only as part of (you guessed it) research I discovered that he was in an RN vessel lost in WW1 to a U Boat torpedoe, so he had 2 close calls in his fifty plus years at sea, and he couldn't swim a stroke - Yep! fifty years at sea and he could not swim - that was the norm... the logic was stunningly simple - if you were lost-at-sea it was considered a blessing if you drowned quickly, so you suffered less - try and imagine how big the Pacific is, let alone the Atlantic, and imagine how much you would suffer trying to stay afloat if you could swim... I have a fishing heritage, as veggie as I may be, and have had dozens of relatives drown within sight of land...

The grimmest bit of War history for my "home Island" is about the HMY "Iolair", meaning "Eagle" in the Gaelic, when she was lost on New Years morning 1919, in sight of Stornoway Harbour... more than 200 souls, on their way to a post WW1 celebration, barely a month past Armistice Day - The Island was a seafaring peoples, so it was always "amusing" why my father was "called-up" to Army duties... in WW1 they lost more people per-capita than anywhere else in the British Empire - fact...

The Xmas before my mum died ('91) I just made a passing comment about the author that the family knew (a family friend and neighbour, the late Norman MacDonald - a mostly Gaelic writer; had been trying to get dad to "spill-the-beans" since '44) and why he didn't talk to him - "unload" so to speak - and about his wound, when he stunned me by saying the following...

From the book...
The last Christmas we spent together as a family, prior to my mother’s death. my father seemed unusually talkative and I reminded him of what Norman had said, saying it would do him good to get it off his chest, finally put it to rest, to which he commented that he would “think about it…” I remember on the same evening making a chance comment about his War-wound, an ?” dent on his calf, nearly 2” in diameter. I was, at that time, unaware of any other injuries; I do not ever remember seeing him not wearing a shirt and, at least, shorts; he never learned to swim and the sea-side was a rolled-up trouser leg paddle at best! His nonchalant reply took me totally by surprise…
"… Oh, that was the third time I was injured…"
He followed on from my obvious repetition of his statement, and further enquiry as to what were the others with…
"… The first time, I was shot in the arm; the second, I was a bit too close to a Jap hand grenade; and then finally, I was a bit too close to a Jap mortar strike: that’s what did me in…"
These comments were not expanded on; they were given unemotionally, but not in a blasé fashion, as if they had been part of an every-day event; no different from walking the dog or taking the rubbish out to the bin…
... But, when I read the first draft of what he supplied to Norman before he (Norman) died gave me an insight to what the injuries actually meant...

from the book...

The original name for the block was “Clydeside”, but due to this being mentioned in an open broadcast, the name had to be changed. John Masters utilised an unusual method of identifying the layout of “Blackpool”, using cricketing terms to describe the areas where the troops were stationed; the Cameronians were located adjacent to the King’s Own...

"... In actual fact, our section was not directly attacked, but every night some of us were on patrol, attacking the Jap’s in the rear if they attacked the block. It was on one of these that I received my first wound, a bullet, in the fleshy part (if I had any flesh left) of the upper arm. This type of incident is often displayed in Hollywood films with persons being flung backwards by bullets. This is nonsense, unless the bullet was a “shell” which exploded. An ordinary bullet just feels like a pinprick, and to begin with, the area is numb; it is only afterwards that the pain begins.
During the next nine days, life was quite hectic, and rather curious. An area was being levelled for gliders (if only helicopters had been invented!). This area was then lengthened to take in Dakota’s, and they brought in the twenty-five pounders, wiring to be placed around the block, and many other things."
The Americans did have helicopters, not many though, but I did find reference to one even being used to rescue a couple of Chindits…
"...Every night the Jap’s attacked in the same spot while the Dakotas were being unloaded a matter of yards away; this we completely ignored: it was dealt with by other troops. When the wiring was set up the Jap’s were committing suicide by throwing themselves onto the wire and blowing themselves up with “Bangalore Torpedoes”; alternately they were throwing themselves at the wire and acting as a bridge for their comrades to use. All these attacks failed, and for couple of days the block had a rest, but not for us as we spent most of the time outside the block. One day we were guarding the airstrip and I was on the edge of the path, in a thick clump of bushes, when I noticed a native walking along the path, carefully examining it for footprints: our footprints were quite different from the Jap’s, so he was obviously spying out for them. I was undecided what to do as the path was visible to the Jap’s about a quarter of a mile away, and they were in possession of very good Mortars. When he was opposite me, I put my hands out, caught his ankle and hauled him into the bushes. He was stunned and I handed him over to the Corporal. Shortly afterwards, I heard shots behind me. I was told that the Burmese had bolted and been shot; another dead native, so no wonder they didn’t like us. One day during a quiet period, while an air-drop was taking place, a shot went off and we had an immediate stand-to. This did not last long and we were later told that it was one of our own lads who had shot himself deliberately. The continual bombardment at night was getting everyone down and this lad had reached his limit and wanted out; I have no idea who he was or what unit he belonged to, or what happened subsequently; an hour later the incident was forgotten.
I had been on patrol some nights running and this night I was told I would have a nights rest; this was not necessarily a good thing, as most nights we were under heavy bombardment and very little sleep could be had. By the time we came to the block, our Platoon strength had dropped from forty plus to about twenty-five through personnel killed or evacuated (wounded and/or sick); by now it had dropped much further, so that when we were required to send out a patrol each Platoon had to send out two or three men each. One of the men detailed from my Platoon returned saying he had complained of illness, and that I had to take his place; I cursed that man with every curse word I could think of; in fact, I was later told they couldn’t understand a word of what I was saying, so I must have been cursing in Gaelic…"
At that time, everyone outside of the town-folk spoke the Gaelic at home, pretty much exclusively. There are even stories I have heard of predominately “Gaelic speaking crews” in the shipping company his father worked for from the thirties to the fifties. My father told me that he only learnt to speak English properly when, “I started school, in 1930, at around the age of seven”. I was quite young at the time and the answer was in response to a question of whether he, “Thought in English or Gaelic?” The response was, “Probably both; we had to learn speak English: it was the Law”, and it was not said in a pleasurable tone. Often as not, when children first went to school, the only words of English they knew was “yes” and “no”…
"… I had a hunch that something serious was going to happen that night. As usual, I was lumbered with the Bren-Gun; and of course, I was carrying my heavy pack, so again I would have been carrying upwards of eighty to one-hundred pounds. We reached the railway at Hopin and realised a train was going through. There was no way we could alert our own twenty-five pounders, so we released as many bullets and hand-grenades as possible and ran back to the relative safety of the Jungle. I had just put a new magazine on the Bren when a Jap hand-grenade exploded to the left of my head; I was dazed and afterwards I recall saying it felt as if, “Joe Louis had hit me on the jaw”.
I followed the sound of running feet in front of me and, luckily, they came from my own party, who had taken up a defensive position in a clump of trees. I came to my senses and realised that my finger was still along the trigger guard; I was lucky my finger was still there as I could easily have fired into our own people.
I realised that I was indeed very lucky, all I received were a number of metal splinters in my head and the side of my face; I received no treatment for this, and for quite some time afterwards I was pulling bits out of the side of my face and neck. The man in front of me had received serious neck injuries, the one behind a serious one in the throat.
When day came we got back to our block and were met by some American Army Air force personnel, who took quite a few photographs of us. I would have dearly loved to have got some of these, as it was the only occasion I recall ever seeing photographs of us being taken; I never saw any of the press, and can only presume our campaign was considered too dangerous to attend."
Every time I re-read this, I keep getting an impression of an extremely emaciated version of Arnold Schwarzeneger, loaded (over-loaded!) to the hilt, brandishing a heavy weapon, as in “Predator”, or “Commando”. As for the photos, I can only presume that they never made it back, or lie languishing, forgotten, in some private collection somewhere… Anyone ever seen a photo of a Chintit carrying a Bren-Gun, and a pack, and a Lee Enfield…?
Regarding the injured men, my father later noted…
"... Months afterwards I met them in hospital, and they were both partially paralysed by their injuries; I cannot remember their names and I didn’t come across either of them in the Regiment in the UK, so I think they may have been discharged as being “unfit for service”…"
On Japanese grenades, Michael Calvert noted in “Prisoners of Hope”…
"... Fortunately the Jap grenade is a typical Oriental grenade – all bark and very little bite… "
I can only presume that this rule can have exceptions. I do recall that during the eighties, my father was sent by his doctor to the local hospital outpatients department, to have a piece of shrapnel removed that had started to surface between the thumb and forefinger of his left hand, a full forty years after the event...
The last wound was at the fall of "Blackpool" - the Japanese used a 6" mortar, as opposed to the British 4", but that story remains within the book fo now...

Now if anyone has seen thos pictures over in the USofA, do let me know...

I think I'll post a Sci-Fi in the Cafe, to lighten the proceedings...

[sniper]

okay players, my shoulder seperation is getting worse, the arthritis is getting worse and i am going to keep my epi and my bedroom amp. i am selling all the rest of my stuff period!!! i want to return to my first love and build one more rod before i retire. i need to buy a big welder that will stick and TIG.

i have more Gibby trinkets and other things than you can possbily imagine!!

amp, amp parts, builder goodies, NOS Gibby unobtainables, bodies, neck and custom neck blank, pups, guards, bridges, caps, pots, a new amp chassis and more shit than i can think of and i am not listing it on Ebay right now. i want to sell it in one lot and let you decide if you want it all or want to split the cost with other players in here for what you want. i want one check and buyer assumes all shipping costs or arranges for tansportation. this is the good shit i have been hiding for myself.

send me a message and i will send a list, links to pics and a price. there should be something for everyone in this lot. i have to work on the links now as all the pics are on my photobucket.

there is enough stuff to build a really nice bass and sell the other stuff for more than what i am asking.

play well,

bill

http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/cathousemouse/

the quest password is "bassplayer"

there is a listing on the left side of the screen that will show you about everything i have for sale in this lot in the different albums. if you don't see it, ask.

[Chris P.]

That's bad to hear. Good luck!!

[Dave W]

Sorry to hear this, Bill.

[sniper]

it is just getting to the point that when i play my shoulder hurts so bad that night i cannot sleep. i am keeping my epi, shich for all practical purposed is a bolt on gibby after all my mods and my little practice amp which i can carry and will continue to have fun.

i am gong to do the rod build with my younger brother. so i am not out to pasture yet! lol, just slowing down a bit.

here is the list:

1)   A one piece LP Junior (think 59 EBO shaped) in Mahog. Story on this one is I bought it from a guitar builder that moved to Fla from Nashville. He knew a tech that made this supposedly at the Gibby factory. Doug (the seller/builder) gave me the guy’s name that made this but I have forgotten it. It is really nice wood and has a Gibby neck notch that is rather small and not too deep. I have a Mahog, Maple laminated neck I was going to use that could be set like a S.D.Curlee bass if a person so desired. The neck would be perfect for a short scale Curlee like bass. The body has been curing about 3-4 years now according to Doug.
2)   Laminated Mahog/Maple neck blank. Rough shaped 5 piece laminations. Been glued and curing over two years now. The builder stopped building guitars while he goes to dental school. The Mahogany is figured beautifully in this blank. One extra piece big enough for the wings in matching Mahogany to make a 59 Gibby like small style peghead.
3)   I have too many bass pups: a) a Dimarzio Model G, NOS/NIB with no trim ring, but takes a regular humbucker guitar ring. It is the early model with four wires so it can be coil tapped in phase or parallel. b) a New Dark Star DS2 (Gibby spacing or close anyways 2.03” total center to center measurement) never been soldered on I bought directly from Fred with a black chrome trim ring. c) a NOS 70’s Gibby bass bucker pup, complete with all mounting hardware, never been soldered on I bought from a guy closing his music shop. It didn’t come with a trim ring and has a black markered number on the back. Said he had a case of them and this was the only one he had left. I did get a trim ring for this that is honestly relic’d and broken in one place, but very nicely super glued (no glue blobs showing!) and is stable. This is not a Jeanne pickguard trim ring but a real injection molded Gibby one with part number on the back. No original trim screws.
4)   A chrome set of Schaller tuners, look like Gotoh GB7’s (not Clover leafed), NOS/NIB, closed gear.
5)   NOS black Grover mini bass tuners, closed gear. Think I have the box they came in.
6)   Black Chrome Schaller bridge I got from Warmoth, NOS, never been screwed onto a body, but no box, complete with spacer. I have kept this wrapped in tissue so it would not get too banged up!
7)   Two piece bridge complete with studs, chromed, a cheapy but heavy and fairly nice looking. Pics can be seen on my photobucket (I will give you the link and the guest password at the end of this so you can see all this stuff)
   NOS BadAss bridge (original type) still in vacuumed plastic wrap. Chrome with no notches (I took the cardboard backing off the package). Why I did that I have no idea!
9)   Gibby SG,EBO type control cavity cover, used but nice, no major gouges, black original Gibby piece, no screws
10)   Gibby brass control cavity shield, used but nice and not torn up.
11)   Blank bone nut. New but aged a couple of years.
12)   CTS 300 audio taper pots (2) new
13)   CTS 250 pots linear taper (2) new
14)   Ebony fretless board with Maple inset line markers. I screwed this up and gouged it, but it is oversized wide and long and can be used on a short scale with the trimming losing some of the gouges and the worm hole. (wear my glasses next time dummy!!!), flat not radiused so when it is radiused it will lose most of the gouges. Little over a quarter inch thick as is. It has 25 lines and will require some work but can be made into a nice fretless board.
15)   Gibson hard shell case (brand spanking new, fits the 59 EBO/LP Junior Mahog body I was wanting to build like a glove) couple of small scratches on the back, NO gouges!
16)   Extra cheap set of chrome Epiphone bass tuners off my Epi EBO, used but nice, no screws. I replaced them with new set of SGRI Grover tuners off a Gibby and have these left. I didn’t replace the ferrules so the ferrules are Gibby. They fit!
17)   Somewhere in one of these boxes I have a set of string through bass body ferrules, new never used. Cannot remember if they are black or chrome but they are there!
18)   Two small bags of stuff like old capacitors, new PIO caps, Black Cat, Sprague … enough to do a couple of basses. Ratings on these vary, but some are old Fender (NOS) caps, others are surplus Russian military caps. Probably 50 or so caps total. I am too lazy to count or list each value. A few orange drop caps.
19)   One new never been used Varitone with selector plate and knob, 6 position from HAS Sound. Plate has numbers 1 through 5 on it, 6th position is unmarked and is a bypass position.
20)   One custom SG body, Lacewood and Mahogany. Fitted but not final fitted to a NOS Gibby 34” scale neck from GreatDealz on wishbay. This is a beautiful body and the neck is fitted tightly but needs set (depth wise or thinner) into the body more to narrow and make the upper fret access better. I gave 200$ for this body alone and it is beautifully made.
21)   One NOS Triumph Gibby neck, long peghead, laminated Maple to match with the Lacewood or use on another body. 34” scale.
22)   One Ebony MOP inset pickguard. Has a small wood grain ouchy but can be shortened and look right or glued and sanded and used as is. Nice inlay! I was going to sand the backside flat and lay it in the Maho body for the 59 EBO project.
23)   Ebony head plates or wood big enough to make some ebony pick guards or control plate covers, 2 pieces little less than a quarter inch thick, about 4” by 6 or 7” each piece.
24)   Small piece of highly figured white Maple veneer. Enough to do a head plate Nice! Approx .040 thick.
25)   Set of two matching set screw type Ebony knobs with brass inserts where they go onto the pot shaft. Nice! Fit ¼” shaft.
26)   One chassis for a two power tube amp, with face plate, back plate, new never been soldered on, drilled for transformer mounts, holes for tube mounts, ready to start on, with schematic for a 50 watt head bassed on a 59 Bassman schemo with two different plans for the preamp section and the template layout  for the turret board layout.
27)   50 watt power transformer, condition unknown but not leaking. Taken from an old 50 watt Heathkit tube amp. Not original to the Heathkit. Good wires. Spec sheet on this one. Wiring key on original decal on transformer.
28)   Old output transformer value not known, taken from the same amp, not original Heathkit item. Not leaking but condition unknown. Good wires, no spec sheet. No decal just an unknown number silk screened on the OT. I would guess about a 30-40 watt OT.
29)   One studio amp. 30 watt. It is in an old Vox Berkeley 2 (solid state) head case (think slant sided Beatle amp look a like!). The guts are a 30 watt Peavey classic that has had the reverb taken out. It takes four 6BQ5’s and three 12AX7’s. The tolex on the case needs re-glued and needs some new corners that are available from North Coast Music. There are no major tears in the tolex but it is coming unglued in spots. All the original top vents are there and unbroken and the original handle is intact. This amp sounds sweet but has been transported by my daughter and has been in storage a long time. I know it needs re-tubed and the bias reset. The grill cloth needs re-stretched and glued but it is not torn and has the original face plate on it. I gigged a bit through a P.A. and did some studio work with it, but it is more of a guitar amp rather than a bass amp. The tone is to die for and I got remarks about how cool it looks whenever I took it out. This has MOJO major and is the reason I never restored the appearance because it is so cool. I would have it checked out and re-tubed at my local amp guru before plugging it in. It still has the original Vox serial number in it.
30)   Hand guard/rest repop stainless for a mid sixties EBO.
31)   Hand guard/rest for a three point bridge, one in stainless one brass plated ready for chroming
32)   Hand guard/rest for a steel guitar in chrome, maybe an original
Gibby item, unknown to me. I think it is chrome plated.

I will include links for pictures of all these things. The albums listed on the left of this link will show you what is available. Just pick the album you want to look at and feel free to browse.

http://s170.photobucket.com/albums/u275/cathousemouse/

password is bassplayer

The price for the whole lot is one grand. 1000$ USD.

get together with others and i will keep a record in my inbox who gets hold of me. then maybe you can get together and do the deal. the amp is in storage away from here but i can get it. i have all the other parts here. the cost is not cheap nor is it expensive. but is obatianable with a little cooperation between you players for what you may want. i am in no hurry to list this on ebay.

bill

[uwe]

What's wrong with playing bass sitting down or using a stand like people use when they switch quickly from acoustic to electric on stage?

[Highlander]

Nice list... no money here...

What is more important is your health and I can only wish you better days, Bill...

[sniper]

thanks, maybe i will put it on consignment at the local music/repair guys shop.

i went to dallas last month and bought a marine engine for the rod (rare and better flowing head casting for a 6 cyl inline), a top grade block casting and a forged steel crank instead of a cast crank with valid marine casting numbers. also located a decent 35 ford two door slantback body and a 48 frame i can modify and build old school.

i have always leaned towards the unusual a bit = like gibbyized epi's, indian instead of harley, 6 cyl's instead of v-8's.

recently stole my grandson for 5 days and was playing for him in the bedroom with some rock blasting from the puter. this stuff is a blast for an old fart. i may be gimped up a bit but never count me out! i will read this daily. his mother called today and told me he seems to like guitars for some reason!

i added some stuff to the list. if you want the updated list send me a message.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Hang in there, grandpa! We're rootin' for ya.
Maybe that grandson who's gettin' interested in guitars oughta get the best of this treasure.
I'm thinkin' of the LP jr. of course.
Remember too that young lads like to fill their pockets & rooms with odd stuff.
I admire the spirit of renunciation, old pup. Just holdin' on to what you reckon you need I guess, huh?