"Hit Me! Hit Me! Hit Me!"...
After furnishing Norman Watt-Roy with his BBM BLOCKHEAD masterpiece, The Bass Centre has once again teamed up with the Bombay Bomber, this time to create a brand new instrument for the British Bass Masters imprint.
The RHYTHM STICK is based on the workhorse '72 P-Bass (pictured below) that Norman famously used on all of his celebrated recordings with Ian Dury & The Blockheads. Spotted in the window of a Fulham music shop in 1972 by Norman's flat mate, Average White Band guitarist, Onnie McIntyre, Norman immediately snapped the instrument up, with his wife pitching in to help the then-impoverished bassman meet the £160 price tag...
Duly christened “Paddy” - in his wife's honour - and tricked out with a Jazz pickup in the bridge position and the removal of the stock scratchplate for a smaller, brass unit mounted with an additional volume control, the bass became Norman's main instrument for the next 13 years, featuring on the hit singles "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll", "Wake Up & Make Love To Me", "Reasons To be Cheerful" and, of course, "Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick".
This new Bass Centre Rhythm Stick takes Norman's redux as its inspiration, delivering a cool mash-up of traditional design and modern flair with a perfectly balanced, light-weight body, The Bass Centre's unique, satin finish "Super Slim 60's" neck design, a striking, pickguard-free sunburst finish, chrome controls and “ashtray” bridge cover.
The twin vintage style, exposed-pole, single coil pickups produce an authentic and versatile tone - warm and fat up front, earthy and punchy at the back - with a bright, singing clarity courtesy of the maple neck, its smooth profile a perfect hybrid between the typical P and J necks of the early 70's and a total joy to play.
Today, Norman's original is - needless to say - the very definition of roadworn, bearing the scars and discoloration from the hard graft, sweat and smoke of a lifetime of extensive gigging... We've deliberately avoided producing a pre-distressed replica, so whatever scrapes you get your brand new, pristine Rhythm Stick into is down to you!
