A massive shock and a Quarter Pounder

Well, I paid for the work on the Discovery today. It was slightly more than I anticipated. I didn't quite collapse on the spot, but it was a close thing. So...urm. Yeah. I'm now considerably poorer than I thought I was. Oh well. Um. So yeah. It was one of those eye-opening moments. I think the thought process went something like: 'So how much is it then...hmm...what...no, that can't be right...oh F**K...f**kity f**k f**k BOLLOCKS...'

Basically the welding was the killer, it was such a complex job because of where it needed doing. It is a known fact that Discoverys do tend to go at the back end, but now that it's had this done, the only other thing that generally goes is the boot floor and it's already had one of those. So now it should be sound.

I installed a Seymour Duncan SPB-3 Quarter Pounder pickup in my bass too, to complement the SJB-3 which was installed last year. The name comes from the polepieces, which are a quarter of an inch wide, much larger than standard pickups. They are decent pickups, and a lot better than the standard things in my cheapo Squier Precision Bass Special - I couldn't afford a real Fender Precision Bass...

It was reasonably easy to install, though slightly harder than the previous one as the Precision style pickup is in two halves. My little battery powered soldering iron wasn't up to the task, so I had to get my Bernzomatic one out. This thing scares me a little, it's powered by butane. You have to start it with a lighter or a match, and then it starts making a sinister hissing sound, before getting REALLY hot. It's a good soldering iron though. I also took the time to adjust the other pickup I installed a few months ago, as it was slightly too low.

Fortunately, the new pickup worked first time, and it has made a big difference to the sound of the bass, it's louder and punchier. I think the Badass II bridge has helped as well though that still needs some tweaking as the saddles aren't quite right yet. But this cheapo bass actually sounds quite reasonable now. If only I had a decent amp to plug it into.

There's a petition against Scientology being recognised as a religious organisation in the UK.

Currently listening to the live version of 'Muffin Man' by Frank Zappa.