Leaderboard

HB PB-50 - v3.0 Becomes v4.0... *AUDIO CLIP* You'll be pleased to know that this will be the final reincarnation of this HB PB-50 Precision Bass. Yes... I know I said that last time - but Shoreline Gold, though a very nice finish, isn't really my thing. My thing is basses that are white. Or cream. Or aged Oly White. Or yellow, basically... you know what I mean. I was particularly taken with the new Player Series 'Buttercream' P bass - hence this refinish and reworking - saving myself £649. This one has a custom handmade Herrick dual-coil pickup in it - and very nice it is too... warm, taut and punchy, with the mid-range push typical of a 57-type split-pickup, but in a 51-type four-pole format. It's a beast... check out the audio clip. https://www.herrickpickups.com/ The previous version 3.0 bass is here. Now read on. Body refin in TV Yellow nitro Pickguard in Acrylic White Fender American Deluxe Bridge, Top-Loading or Through-Body Herrick Dual-Coil Telebass '51' pickup overwound to 11k ohms CTS solid-shaft pots, Chiclet cap .047uF, Switchcraft Jack in cats-eye side plate Fender Chrome '51' Pickup Cover Fender Tug Bar Fender dome-top knurled control knobs with grub screws Wilkinson WJBL 200 tuners La Bella 760FS Steel Flatwounds 45-65-85-105, Through-Body Stringing Is this really the final version..? I hope so, because I just don't have the time (or disposable bass tokens) for any more finishing shenanigans... I thank you!

Just getting through the post show let down after a very busy week.I was playing in the orchestra(yup, we had strings) for an amateur production of "Chicago" and although it is a slimmed down and cleaned up version of the Broadway show and is referred to as the "High School Edition", the music and orchestrations are for the most part exactly the same as the Broadway music.Luckily the musicians(14) are experienced players who have played many shows and some play in bands I am in and did a fantastic job with some very demanding music. Listen to the movie soundtrack if you want to get an idea of the level of playing demanded.Last week was three days of rehearsals and three shows.Of course the band had rehearsed a number of times before this. I was a last minute addition to the band when some extra money became available and I was asked to play...are you ready...tenor banjo!Almost 40 years ago I was very busy gigging with Dixieland type bands in Toronto but I haven't really played any serious banjo music for a long time so the last couple of weeks were real a real workout for me trying to get back some of the licks that I needed for the show and to get back into reading a banjo score instead of bass music. It was a great experience to do the shows and I had a fantastic time playing some good arrangements with excellent musicians.Three nights of full house with standing O's for cast and orchestra all three nights.On top of that I got back into playing banjo and even had couple of little solos in the show which I managed to play OK. I guess the point of the story is that if something that sounds interesting is offered to you,go for it because you might not get another opportunity like it again. Swing band rehearsal today playing bass and also a few Dixie tunes on banjo.Love it. As I have said on here before, we are so lucky to have music in our lives and be able to share it and have fun with others when we are playing. I have been gigging for 56 years and still get a thrill.I better go practice now...

One of our gigs last weekend was at a pub whose landlord, Phil, used to own a different pub. We used to play regularly for Phil at his previous pub but the new owners cancelled all the bookings when they took over. At last Saturdays gig two minibuses turned up full of locals from Phil's previous pub who'd come especially to see us, a thirty mile round trip. Money in Phil's till and two fingers up to the new landlord at his previous pub. We were delighted to see them

And we forgot the great Carles Benavent with Paco de Lucia (everything was played fretless !!!) He even played with Miles Davis and nowadays, he's been playing with Chick Corea... Listen to this and his amazing style of playing :

It depends what kind of look you’re after. I originally planned to clear coat and polish mine but in the end I just applied the amber nitro and left it to age and wear naturally. I lightly sanded with very fine paper, 2000 grit I think, to smooth it. I’m happy with it.

I have listened to a bit of Joe Bonamassa and I don't quite understand why he is the big thing; no doubt he can play but it all sounds a bit blues by numbers. Robert Cray is a far more interesting guitarist imo. Also has a great voice.

Most of what is happening now is what I call "smooth blues" which is main stream blues for the masses. Like Joe Bonamassa and Gary Clarke. Blue

OK - slightly different answer to my earlier post. The single cut above, which is actual Camphor, wasn't actually very holey. As such I got away with just creating a slurry by sanding with wet and dry but using Tru-oil as the wet (basically a variation of the 'slurry and buff' approach). Also, the slurry is the sawdust of the predominant wood - and this camphor was similar hues all around so filling small voids with that lighter slurry didn't detract from the darker burl This one below, was Camphor Laurel (it is actually a type of laurel as far as I understand) which was holey like yours: And this one, yes - I mixed ebony sanding dust with epoxy and filled it with that. This gives a true black fill of the voids: This one below was the same Camphor Laurel, but this time I did a tru-oil slurry and buff. Bear in mind this is not full gloss finished, but you see how the lightness of the slurry tends to soften the burl effect: So, I would say for maximum effect, mix epoxy (Z-epoxy would be my choice) with a decent amount of a very dark sanding dust, for a lesser effect, you could slurry and wipe. Or - you could opt to leave unfilled, as I have for @Len_derby 's very recently finished burl poplar lightweight bass:

An option would be or could be rather, mix epoxy with black powder paint and really bulk it up with brass or bronze dust to give it a polished metal effect. There was a furniture maker on the Scottish borders who did that on Elm burr table tops and it was sensational. Just found a video to give you an idea

The real deal!

Mind set - interesting. I was thinking that a few weeks back. Turned up to do a festival on a pretty big stage and the sound man took one look at the pedal train nano and the K10.2 and said "er, is that it? where's the head and cab?" After explaining, he mumbled something about weirdness and plugged into the through port on the QSC. Afterwards he wandered over and said he liked the bass sound very much and found mixing the FOH bass much easier as there wasn't a massive big cab blaring it out which he had no control over. I had my onstage monitor, rest of the band was happy, soundman was happy. It's a mind set.

@jrixn1 - the quality of the venues you play are much better than the ones I do!! There's no sawdust, puke, spilt beer or blood anywhere!

@jrixn1 - good to hear your experiences. So then, agreed, your best rig ever? And by some long shot I'm guessing? The speakers in PA cabs are just far better than the ones found in your standard offerings... and with the DSP, any inadequacies in the cabs are catered for digitally. What's not to like, right?

I've been working as a volunteer at my local Drug & Alcohol service delivering groups. I decided to run a group where the members would learn to play "The Chain" - easily recognisable, not too difficult to play. I took in two basses and an amp. A number of the group had a go - remember that recovery is about perseverance and obstacles as is learning to play bass. One of the group was left handed so I was given the challenge of playing left handed - you know what? - we take our normal dexterity and muscle memory for granted - I was making loads of mistakes...if I practised left handed I think I might get the hang of it but I got reminded how difficult it was when I started. Playing bass is a lot harder than you think...

I ought to do you under copyright laws using an image of my missis without her permission LOL. but I suppose I would have to sue 98% of wales.

In the loud band, when I owned Bergs I used 3 112 cabs, then a 212 and 112. Now I'm using BF cabs I always use 2 SC's or lately 2 Two10's. The guitarist uses a Fender Twin which he sometimes links up to second combo. I could use 1 cab on the "regular" gigs, it's loud enough, but I've used 2 cabs (BF, Bergs, Mesa Boogie, Ampeg) on most gigs for many years because 2 just sounds so much better.

I agree FireDragons or Ddraig Dân 😀

A bit of extra sawing, carving and lots of sanding this weekend has resulted in this. You can clearly see the saw marks on the angled side but, like I said before, I've made it a few millimetres over-sized so it should sand out.

FireDragons sounds great!

crazy

Two more jobs - soldering the wires and fitting the strap buttons. However, took the advantage of a little bit of cloud (not often in the UK we say THAT!) to take the arty-farty shots - taking photos in full sunlight is not an easy thing to do! Before those shots (and forgive the self-indulgence!), someone asked me why I've started scooping the back. Two reasons that can be seen in these two shots: It takes out a LOT of weight. Just look at how much wood has been removed - and this is a relatively thick body this time: It allows a superslim transition of the neck to the body. Again, this one has been made a little deeper (this one is 30mm at its minimum - my last build was 25mm where the body was basically the same thickness as the neck!) but still retains those pleasing lines at the transition. I've also left the transition relatively modest starting with a taper just past the 13th fret - I can always get the surform out if, after he's had a proper play with it, @Len_derby wants it slimmer further up Anyway, enough of the technicals - here are the fancy shots: As always, many thanks for sticking with yet another tortuous thread and for your kind words and encouragement - always HUGELY appreciated Andy

We call them 'paid rehearsals'

It is, though

Joe Bonamassa is probably the top blues guy at the moment. Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Government Mule. Walter Trout.

Joanne Shaw Taylor: Josh Smith & Matt Schofield:

Here we are always paid after for a pub gig, or before for a party or wedding.

Guitarist in one of my bands recently discovered Colter Wall. Young guy with a very mature voice. We've been covering 'The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie' in our set recently. It always goes down well. I tired to post the link but it didn't work. I'm just getting used to a new computer! I might try again later. 🙂

Gary Clark Jnr is a good place to start.

Well, I think we've pretty much exhausted the timbre stuff (please, please, please! ). In the meantime, thanks again for the nice words - always means a lot. Got a nice gig bag for it today, did the final pickup height stuff, micro-web'd it and added a signed label for the back of the control chamber cover. Just waiting for the MN blend pot - hoping tomorrow but banking on Wed latest - and we can relieve @Len_derby of his very patient vigil!

The reason they sound good and big for their relatively low wattage is the bloody great toroidal transformer and big old smoothing capacitors in the power supply. Bass transients eat current and although the wattage is low the 'heft' comes from the current that gets sucked into the class AB mosfet power stage. You cannot replicate that with even the best switch mode power supply. Its old technology but its damn near bomb proof and still sounds good today. Yes the cabs are heavy but that's big magnets and strong old ply. Mine sits sadly in the rehearsal room but its a perfect match for a lovely old Ray. Its a bit like an early 70's Jazz with an Acoustic 370 or maybe a 62P with an Ampeg B15. Its one of those classic sounds. This one is a British Classic and I think people forget that.

For a reasonable definition of "best", then yes! Would not have kept with it if I felt it was a downgrade or compromise.

I saw a coffee table top once that was full of voids. It had been filled with an electric blue resin that had then been sanded or planed back so you had the wood with electric blue speckles all over it. I liked it, but you may not want such a mad top to a bass.

Hah, thanks

Thank you, Christine. This was an interesting read.

put the guitar together today just a mock-up to make sure everything fitted and I was pleasantly surprized that it all fitted ok, the pups were a bit tight and I think I will need a little shim in the neck pocket or sand a bit of the bottom depends on how lazy I feel, I will take it apart tomorrow and try to get a coat of lacquer on it. got to put another hanger on the wall now.

Oh no. Not again. Concert is NOT the only pitch.

No, it isn’t. But the names I listed are reputable companies with a good name, not for nothing, that can build to your exact spec. I played Stingrays exclusive for 12+ years, quality instruments, but at these price points there is a lot of competition out there.

Just finished the Proms show. Absolutely incredible, great pacing with amazing dynamics, harmonically and rhythmically complex whilst also being beautifully sparse in places. Normally i’d take unbridge at people saying he plays it safe.....far from it, as mentioned, the harmony and rhythms that weave their way through his songs and arrangements are definitely not ‘safe’.......that said, they are safe because he’s utterly in control, nothing is an accident, everything is constructed perfectly! Yet he still manages to create the magic that other artists only sometimes stumble on by being ‘on the edge’. If there were a couple of low-lights, it was Every Little Thing She Does and All Night Long, boring choices, but lots of amazing ideas within them to unpack and learn from! Yeah, amazing on the whole. Hideaway (song number 2) was a particular highlight! Wish I could have been there! Si

Yuck.

Don't wanna sound repetitive but No Parlez and Tin Drum for me. But a much less known little gem is Singing Sands, a collaboration between celtic acoustic guitar virtuoso Tony McManus and French fretless maestro Alain Gentry. I bought this album cos of TM, who is an outstanding acoustic guitarist but was more than pleasantly surprised by Alain Genty's tasteful basswork

Everybody should have Tin Drum by Japan in their music collection. Mick Karn was a God in my eyes...his work with Japan is legendary, however his solo albums ( I have three IIRC) didn't take his work to the next level IMO. Doesn't mean he wasn't a God though....

Woodworm.

some, but they've stopped talking to me now

Last time I bother to try & make an oblique Python reference!