Paul Simonon Tribute Bass

[topper]

I started a Clash tribute band last year. So, it only seemed appropriate to make a bass honoring Clash bassist Paul Simonon.

I'll get more into some of the details of the bass in a sec. But here's a look at the result.

For those who don't know... Paul famously smashed his bass on stage at the Palladium in New York City out of frustration with how aggressively the venue's bouncers were policing the crowd. The moment was captured by photographer Penny Smith and appeared on the London Calling album cover.

Here's the bass as it sits in the Museum of London.

 

[topper]

I wanted to honor Paul and have a bass that looked the part on stage with my Clash tribute band (Lost in the Supermarket). But I wasn't attempting to create an exact replica of Paul's bass. TBH I've never been a huge fan of the relic aesthetic. But it felt wrong for this bass to look shiny and new. So I decided to give the aging process a jump start with a slight relic.

I've built a few basses, but decided to make this one a parts build. Paul's was a standard Fender P. So, I didn't see any reason to start from scratch here.

Also, I prefer short scale basses. But I was worried that a 30" scale would look off. So I went with a 32" scale.

The neck came from a Squier Jag bass. The maple was bright white. So first thing I needed to do was age it. I used Angelus leather dye to tint the poly slightly.

Before:

After:

I painted the headstock (rattle cans) and applied a custom waterslide decal.

The serial number is LC for London Calling. And 210979 for the 21st of Sept. 1979, the day Paul smashed his bass.

 

[topper]

Next, I aged some of the hardware. I'm a total noob at relicing hardware. I watched a few YT videos and settled on scuffing the hardware with a wire brush, sand paper, and/or steel wool, then putting it in a sealed tub with a cup of vinegar. The vinegar evaporates and adds a patina to the metal.

Here's a before (middle) and after on the tuning pegs. I did the same to the bridge and string retainer.

 

[ad9000]

Nicely done! I hope you have a long strap, as part of the Simonon presentation is to wear the bass at about knee height.

 

[topper]

Nicely done! I hope you have a long strap, as part of the Simonon presentation is to wear the bass at about knee height.

LOL. Yeah I wish. My arms just aren't that long.

 

[topper]

The pickguard was next. Again, not trying to copy Paul's, but just capture the same vibe.

 

[KevInDaBassment]

Very cool!! That's also VERY spot-on if you ask me, great work on it!


As a side hot-take...tribute basses are infinitely cooler than buying a signature model IMO. Kudos on going that route

 

[topper]

On to the body...

I started with a P-bass body from TWT Guitars. It's solid poplar which is nice. But the main reasons I chose it were because it was already painted but didn't have the bridge placed. Since I'm mating a body made for a 34" scale to a 32" neck, I thought I'd probably need to sneak up on the scale conversion from both directions, moving the bridge and deepening the neck pocket. So, I was prepared to re-route the neck pocket. But that turned out to not be necessary. I was able to move the bridge enough to make the scale adjustment.

The body was too white and way too shiny. So, I scuffed the poly using foam sanding pads. At that point it had a sort of chalky texture that was too matte. So I used some car polish to bring back a little shine.

I won't detail all of the relic process. I'll let the final pics speak to that. It took more leather dye to get the right tint and recreate what years of nicotine staining might look like.

 

[P. Aaron]

Very cool and it looks like a fun project.

 

[topper]

A quick side note on the electronics. I got a pickup on eBay from a Fender Vintera Roadworn 60's bass. So the plastic cover was already sort of aged. It's the only actual Fender part on the bass. It sounds great.

If you're keeping track... Fender American pickup, Chinese Squier neck, Chinese TWT body. I also used Wilkinson tuners and a Guyker vintage style bridge.

 

[topper]

For the neck plate, I mocked this up in Photoshop and had someone on Etsy etch it for me.

The final piece was the skull and crossbones sticker. This was trickier than I expected. You can buy a replica of Paul's sticker online from Axetreme Creations (which I did). But with the bridge relocation, it didn't fit. It was too big.

So I found a smaller skull sticker. It was Ok. But I didn't love it.

So I took some images of Paul's sticker and downsized it in Photoshop and got a new custom one printed. That's what you'll see in the final photos.

 

[topper]

For the PRESSURE letters I just used some vinyl decals. From what I've read, Paul used some sort of stencil and in the photos of the bass, you can see an odd outline around the letters. IDK what that is, if he made a decal and applied that or if it was overspray from a stencil. Anyway, I didn't like it and didn't see any reason to reproduce it exactly.

Paul had also applied some red tape fret markers. They say he had a full set at one point. But by the time of the Palladium gig only three remained. And two of those came off in the destruction of the bass leaving only one on the bass as it sits today. I went ahead and applied three like the bass had just before demolition.

Here's the final result including some close ups of some of the relic work.

 

[topper]

Very cool and it looks like a fun project.

Thanks!

 

[topper]

Very cool!! That's also VERY spot-on if you ask me, great work on it!


As a side hot-take...tribute basses are infinitely cooler than buying a signature model IMO. Kudos on going that route

I'm glad you like it!

 

[Kdmoo]

Cool project!

Funny little Paul Simonon story...

When he was in Havana 3am, they came through Dallas in 1991 on tour. My friends band was supporting them that evening. (I was hanging around the venue late afternoon for reasons I can't recall). Anyways, at one point I found myself on stage and was looking at all their gear. They had just sound checked and had left along with everybody else. I spotted Paul's white P bass sitting on a stand and walked right up to it. I wanted to hold it for a second to see how it felt but didn't dare! I did touch it though.

This one:

That is my brush with bass greatness.

 

[Lowbrow]

A P Bass of mine once got run over by a NYC taxicab. Case was wrecked; bass was fine.
Amazes me that someone could do that sort of damage to a P by going Townshend on it.

 

[topper]

A P Bass of mine once got run over by a NYC taxicab. Case was wrecked; bass was fine.
Amazes me that someone could do that sort of damage to a P by going Townshend on it.

Yeah. Using it like a literal axe is bound to leave a mark or two. Penny Smith said she wasn't happy with that photo and didn't want it used on the album cover. It's blurry and out of ficus because she was literally running for safety when she took it. Paul was not faffing about. He was all about destruction in that moment. But it's repeatedly been named one of or the most iconic photos in rock-n-roll history.

 

[topper]

Cool project!

Funny little Paul Simonon story...

When he was in Havana 3am, they came through Dallas in 1991 on tour. My friends band was supporting them that evening. (I was hanging around the venue late afternoon for reasons I can't recall). Anyways, at one point I found myself on stage and was looking at all their gear. They had just sound checked and had left along with everybody else. I spotted Paul's white P bass sitting on a stand and walked right up to it. I wanted to hold it for a second to see how it felt but didn't dare! I did touch it though.

This one:
View attachment 7465732

That is my brush with bass greatness.

Wow! Is that the one with 'PAUL' carved in the forearm rest?

I thought about building that one instead.

 

[allanhearn]

Very cool replica. I'm not a huge Clash fan, but a friend turned me on to his playing. Really inspiring to dig into something and realize I missed something for so long.

 

[poochiecheeks]

That is so cool start to finish. That is how you do a tribute bass. Awesome