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Mike Watt EB bass replica (prop)

#41
Fantastic! What a cool project and story. Watt is my musical hero. Last time I saw him with the missingmen two years ago, they were incredible.
 
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#42
GregC said:
Fantastic! What a cool project and story. Watt is my musical hero. Last time I saw him with the missingmen two years ago, they were incredible.
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I'll say! Watt delivers live - but at the same time his playing is tempered by economy for exactly where & how the bass fits in each song. So much experience in those fingers & ears! And I gotta say - the drummer was locked w/him start to finish - can you imaging being Mike Watts drummer? Better be damn good!
 
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#44
I realized I had the April '07 issue of Bass Player magazine - Watt on the cover, with that bass slung low. He had just started touring with Iggy and I think it was stollen a year later in '08 from their rig. While I was in the 'green room', Watt talked about Iggy calling him up in the middle of the night to see if he could play bass w/the Stooges saying; "I'm told you're the man - could you wear a T-sirt instead of flannel?" Watt returned; "what about jeans and converses?" to which Iggy replied; "yeh, that's solid".

IMG_9383_zpsehqbmevp.jpg


IMG_9385_zpstfpdw6zp.jpg


IMG_9386_zps4huvnwuo.jpg
 
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#47
Watched a couple of cool Mike Watt related docs on youtube - We Jam Econo >

and Eyegifts from Minnesota >

An interesting slice-of-life overview of a true road-dog (Watt & co), the later vid was released in '06 and shows him rocking what looks like this bass but with variations. It's shot in b&w so can't 100% tell if it's cherry and can't see the distressed section separation. (maybe still in its evolution) It has a Badass bridge (not the Schaller 3D - an earlier mod?) and although it sports the same John Coltrane pic on the guard, other stickers are missing and the pic of Kira near the bridge is possibly something else or positioned differently. It has the original EB-3 bridge pu and no added middle pu, so if it's the same bass the Lame Poor and Bart hadn't been added yet. He had other Gibson EB basses, so only he would be able to confirm.
 
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#48
mikewatt9.jpg
Mikes EB3 circa 2002 - Photo courtesy of Invalid Link Removed. This earlier picture shows the bass still with original Gibson bridge pickup. Contrast this to the very top image with the Stooges (2004) where this has been removed in favour of the Bartolini pickup in the mid-position, and current image, above (2007) where the neck pickup has been removed in favour of a Lane Poor at the bridge.

From Watt's FlyGuitars interview. :bassist:
 
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#49
Plake said:
mikewatt9.jpg
Mikes EB3 circa 2002 - Photo courtesy of Invalid Link Removed. This earlier picture shows the bass still with original Gibson bridge pickup. Contrast this to the very top image with the Stooges (2004) where this has been removed in favour of the Bartolini pickup in the mid-position, and current image, above (2007) where the neck pickup has been removed in favour of a Lane Poor at the bridge.

From Watt's FlyGuitars interview. :bassist:
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yep - that the one he uses in the Minnesota road-doc.
 
#50
Finally got a chance to take a pic of the MW trib bass installed at Winters (no crap on tap!) I'd have to have a tall ladder to take a close-up pic of his postage-stamp sized sig - trust me, it's there! (over the pic of Klira to the left of the bridge) :)

IMG_9447_zpszes23m2a.jpg
 
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#52
might as well keep the theme active - always loved this 'summit' of Flee, Watt and Chris Kirkwood (Meat Puppets) <love, love, love The Meat Puppets!

Flee; "I don't think I could be friends with anybody that didn't like The Germs"
 
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#57
Merijn said:
Hi there!

Great job! Did you simply sand off the finish? Or did you use a different technique?
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Been a few years - thanks! :) I would consider this example more of a theatrical effect as it was made to live on the wall of a usually dark bar up high. An authentic reproduction begins with studying the original and I only had photo's to work from. I do relic'ing/distressing on guitars/basses meant to be played with a bit more authenticity. Removing the finish for that player-worn 'look' did involve sanding along with other means to visually replicate Watts bass. Every finisher has their own 'bag of tricks' to accomplish that.
 

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