Marty Forrer

I settled on an Aria STB Jazz for a modding platform. It's cheap, made in china or indonesia, and, did I say it was cheap? I first checked fret level, and it was spot-on, no work needed. I rolled the board edges and polished the fret ends, set up the nut for 21 thou string height, and added a set of Hipshot USA tuners. The body got Dunlop straplocks, an Allparts vintage bridge, a pair of DiMarzio Area J pickups, Alpha concentric pots, a series/parallel switch and Switchcraft socket, and I knocked up a pickguard from a sheet of mother of toilet seat pickguard material. A new set of TI Jazz Flats and we're off. At just under 8lbs (3.6kg) it is a great weight and balances absolutely perfectly on the strap. It's one of the most comfortable basses I've ever had. Soundwise, in parallel mode it sounds just like a quality Jazz, in series mode it rawks! I had most of the mod parts in my stash drawer, so it's been a cheap build. Yes, this one is definitely a keeper!

Clear nail polish is the trick. Just a dab around the threads. It will not back out and you can still adjust it when necessary.

I've purchased a couple of basses over the years. They've turned out to be very good. Frets, tuners, bridges etc have been fine. The only thing with them is if it's active, they always use the Ming preamp, which isn't bad, but they always wire it wrong so that the battery is constantly being drained. This is a very simple fix and usually just involves changing the connections on the output jack socket. Overall I find them OK, especially if you're looking for a modding platform.

I play 4s and 5s depending on the situation, and I have had several 6s. I have gotta say... NO-ONE NOTICES. NOT YOUR BAND MATES, NOT THE PUNTERS, NO ONE! Well, maybe the sound person if it's anything other than a P. My wife comes to some of my gigs, and even she doesn't notice which bass I bring. My P is sunburst with flats, my Aria 5 string is Polar White with rounds, and still... nobody notices! Only me.....

I use the Xvive setup. It's cheap, it has no effect on tone, has no dropout or latency, and a charge will easily last a four hour gig.

Genzler Magellan.

My scratchplate material arrived today, so two hours work produced this Black Pearl scratchplate. I call it mother of toilet seat. To me it goes with the green much better than the tort.

Fairly heavy, 4.2kg, 9.2 pounds. However it balances so well on the strap that the weight becomes irrelevant. I have a bad back, but I find once I can get a bass balancing well, the weight no longer matters.

My Vintage VJ74 arrived today. I installed the Hipshot tuners, oiled the fingerboard, checked frets for level, sanded the horrible gloss off the back of the neck, installed the straplocks, lined all the cavities with adhesive copper (including under the bridge for a foolproof connection) and gave it a good setup. Balances perfectly, electrics work as they should, sounds pretty good with some new Dunlop Nickels. BUT! The nut is going to have to be dealt to. It's a Graphtech, but it's cut all wrong. The outer strings were about 18 thou over the first fret but the inner two were about 15 thou and buzzing badly. Unfortunately it's been stuck in pretty solidly and will not budge, so I'll need to have a replacement on hand when I apply some brute force to it! Most luthiers think that 21 or 22 thou clearance is about right. As it stands presently, I cannot get the action down to where I like it because of the nut. Also, the slots are cut really deep in the nut, so the whole string sits below the top of the nut. Bad form Vintage. Otherwise it's pretty good all round. I have two gigs this week so will see how that goes.

The OP said a Rumble 40 is too heavy... what??? I can lift my Rumble 40 with one finger. (It weighs about 8kg from memory).

Brian, will do. I've got a Ventura Green one coming. As an inveterate tinkerer, I have ordered a sheet of pickguard material off aliexpress so I will make a black pearl one. Think dark grey mother of toilet seat. I also have in my stash a spare set of Dunlop straplocks, a Scott's Bass Lessons strap (awesome) and a set of Hipshot Ultralite tuners if I find it doesn't balance perfectly. I will also line all the cavities with adhesive copper tape.

Thanks for the replies.

The VJ74 reissue has an alder body so should be comparable weight to a Fender. The pickups and bridge are Wilkinsons, and as such are pretty good. Some very favourable comments on youtube. One reviewer stated the neck felt almost like it had rolled edges. I've just ordered one myself, so will have a better idea when it arrives.

A numpty enquiry. I've built cabs before but always just used the dimensions of a commercial cab as a guide. Is there a formula or a program for calculating dimensions when given a volume, eg: 50L with a depth of say 12" ? I'm struggling to get my aged, rock n roll addled brain around it.