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Actual photo of me, minus the bass but you’ll have to take my word on that:

And the top is on and gluing!

And onto final preparatory jobs before gluing the top and back on. I put the soundhole braces in place and double checked that the hidden pre-amp of the Shadow Doubleplay will actually be hidden! Then double checked the basic fit of the top: And the back: Then checked how well the spool clamps would secure during gluing. Now then 'you can't have too many clamps' and this is no where near enough. This is dry fitting: While it is actually giving me a tight fit all the way round the kerfed strip, the wood will tend to move about during the wetting from the glue. So what I will do is cut some shaped plywood cauls to spread the load round the curved and allow me to use some metal clamps to supplement the gentler spool clamps. Also got to add a sliver of veneer on top of the heel and tail blocks to then chamfer in and give it a fit with the radius of the top. And THEN I can glue it Certainly, by the end of the weekend, I am hoping to have a sealed body, ready for the scariest bit of the whole build (as far as I'm concerned) - routing the binding channels and routing the neck mortise! It's a long way to have come with still a huge opportunity to completely wreck it - but that's acoustics for you!

No I believe you. You are definitely minus the bass...

Surprised that no-one has spelt it out yet though it's implied. The gig comes first, if you accept a gig then you have to honour it even if the other band comes up with a better gig later on. Once a band accept the gig they are letting all their band mates down if they try to become a no show. Not to mention the band will soon get a reputation too so doubly bad. first gig in the calendar is the one you have to do.

Just responded to an ad looking for a low end pluckerer ... ten minutes into phone call... oh we’d rather you not be in any other bands 1 advertise the fact in the first instance 2 stop being so fkn precious 3 who tf do you think you are dictating terms and conditions of what i can and cant do in my own fkn time ..... and breeeeeathe......

..and my old Scottish mother used to call the neck of my guitar the “handle”.

I'm 60 in October and my band have 130 gigs in the book this year. There's no such thing as too old, unless you are physically incapable of playing.

What a busy day! Conference calls all the way there and back for work, but I managed to get half an hour in Jon Shuker's workshop tucked away near Hope in the Peak District. It's such a beautiful setting.. Big thanks to @MOXYBASS for the brilliant comms and for selling this one 😁 Jon is an absolute gentleman. So knowledgable, so open and a really great conversation. I can see myself ordering a build from him... And the bass? It's a Shuker Uberhorn Fretless 4. It has piezo bridges with a ghost preamp, and a magnetic pickup under the fretboard in the P position. He couldn't remember exactly what it was - but I tried it in the workshop and it's a fascinating solution to a balance issue. The Ghost piezo system gives a really really rich and lovely sound - it's basically like a rich P sound, with strong upper bass and some nice highs, but with the upper mids rolled off. The magnetic pickup is voiced for mids - on it's own, it's like a mid-heavy P, but with the piezo as well it's like a foghorn! Huge, deep, rich and loads of harmonics all over the shop!! There controls are logical - a switch for magnetic, both, piezo, then volume for magnetic, volume for piezo with a push pull "bright" control, and then a 3 band EQ for the magnetic (cut/boost) and a 3 way frequency switch for the mids control. Really flexible. Really good. The neck was a total surprise. It feels about 42mm at the nut but might be less, but it has this brilliant slim carve which is really similar to the pre-CBS Precision neck - it feels great! More on this when I get to play it! I'll give it a go later tonight and report back on my ham-fisted efforts (!) Check me out - I'm a fretless owner. Ooer.

Live at Fillmore East. Fabulous live performance that is almost jazz funk in parts. Absolutely captivating live performance Imo..

The worst for me is when I think ‘wow, really nailing this tonight’ 99% guarantees the next minute will be crap.

Look how far down the list is John Martyn and Danny Thompson, Id have paid just to see them!

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Black - check Bassist - check (ish, I plod) Female - I have Moobs, is that enough so long as I don’t do an L7 on The Word

Especially if they grow up to be drummers.

There's been a bit more progress over the last couple of days. A lot of the techniques I've covered in other threads so I'm not going into too much detail. But if anyone wants a bit more just let me know. First up, threaded inserts for the neck bolts: The neck pocket is cut, and very very nice it is too. Even if I do say so myself. The neck falls in with minimal pressure, but no visual gap at all. Happy days! I cut out the body and rout it to size with the template. Then time to stick it together to make sure everything is in approximately the right place. It is. Hurray 😀

How many bands you can juggle concurrently is dependent upon a number of factors, including how frequently they gig, whether they use deps, how much of your time you want to spend on music, how efficient you are with your practice time, and many more. It's a simple fact that some bands just don't want to use deps, and so if you want to be in one of those bands, then it had better be your only gigging project, or your bandmates will soon start resenting you when you have to decline a date because you've already got something in the calendar. I've been in five bands over the last decade with a small overlap each time. When I start feeling like one band is winding down, or I don't want to do it any more, I'll start looking for something else. So, in answer to your original question, I suppose I fit more with the third option: run the two in parallel until I'm sure that either (a) the new one is going to stick, or (b) I really don't want to be in the old one any more, whichever way things go with the new one. S.P.

With a silent "H"....

I get it now...a truck load of thumbs up... At first I thought they were water bottles....

Fixed it for you. Be good to see you again Andy. Any thoughts on a bass shaped cot for the little person?? No reason why they can't get into Bass early...

@Chris2112 - Interestingly, the piezo in this is immense - as standard it has a really thick and full low & sub bass, with some cracking high bass/low mids and less mids/treble. The boost gives it a sparkle of highs and mids and cuts some of the sub bass so it has a P-bass ish tone. The magnetic adds all the mids you might like (it's a Jazz pickup) so it gives it some grind and twang and adds a sparkle to the sound which you can blend in an out of either of the two options above. I'd use the piezo on it's own for a lot of band contexts, and the magnetic for adding that special something/variance as and when required. On it's own, the magnetic is a nice choice for something different, but on this bass the Piezo adds so much that I'd hardly ever use the magnetic on it's own It's a touch noisy as a single coil - its shielded so it's not a lot at all, and actually I'd be reluctant to lose the sparkle in it for the sake of a noiseless magnetic - as the reality is that live the totally silent piezo is more than enough for most circumstances.

Sounds like a bundle of fun. I'll bring STUFF.

My old dad used to call anything with strings 'a banjo' (unless it was 'a Johanna') and anything that one blew into was 'a trumpet'. I told him it was called 'an harmonica' but he wouldn't listen.

Don't have to. There tends to be a big "show and tell room" where folks can set up their rig for others to have a look at and (with permission) have a try out. One of the nicest things about the Bash, chatting with others about their gear, maybe having a quick noodle on a bass you've always wondered about, oogling the instruments and amps, going "WTF" in a good way about some of the self-builds that Basschatters have brought along (don't miss the Psilos bass which @The Greek is bringing... an absolute think of wonder and a great build story by our very own @Andyjr1515 ). But if you can bring then do - there's no snob factor about the gear either. In fact, a couple of years ago my highlight was finally being able to try out a Sire Marcus Miller Jazz to see what they're like and comparing some Squier and MIM Fenders. Fair enough, last year's highlight was oogling the Psilos and a couple of other totally insane(ly brilliant but still insane) project builds from @orangefriday. If you want a flavour of what to expect have a look at the blogs that @Silvia Bluejaywrites each year. https://silviabluejay.blog/2017/12/08/basschat-se-bash-2017/ Best day of the year!

I'm a musician. What instrument I use doesn't matter so long as it is the right one for getting the sound(s) I want with the minimum of fuss and the maximum ability to get consistent results. Especially live.

Many thanks Frank, you're a star. If you do have any pics of the setup too it would be handy, I can PM my email if they cant be posted in this thread. For your kindness on the item, I will make a donation to Cancer Research, I think its a cause thats close to many people.

@songofthewind There's actually nothing wrong with Bartolini pickups. Both of my Ibanez SR's had them although they were different models in each (I don't recall the model number of each and my '1000 is currently inaccessible). The set in my SR1000 have a more inherent mid range grunt than those in the 500, with the EQ on the bass and the amp set flat, in my experience. However, both basses shared some similar characteristics; they were very clean sounding, there is an even response across the entire range of the bass (on 4 string versions at least, I have no experience of the 5 or 6 sting versions) and both basses sit perfectly and effortlessly in a busy bass mix with a flat EQ, your are not fighting against them to make them work. They really are fantastic pickups in that regard, indeed on paper they are something of a perfect design. But for me personally, I prefer the grunt, punch and warmth of a good old passive single coil. But that is just my personal preference. I don't care what the collective opinion is on TalkBass. I've always gone with my own opinions, which more often than not don't follow the crowd anyway The Barts are very good, really good, especially if you're after something clean and precise. Just a word of warning if you are considering changing your own pickups. I tried to change the Barts in my SR1000 a couple of years ago to some Nordstrand Big Singles (I think it was that model?) which are supposedly a direct replacement for Bart' sized pickups. The stock Barts in my 1000 are a custom model and are very slightly different sizes to the regular ones. If I recall correctly mine are a little taller and thinner than the regular size. But it may have been that they were shorter and fatter! Not by much, only a millimetre or so on each side, but it would have meant routing, or at least botching, the pickup cavities to make them fit. And without a scratch plate to cover things up it would have looked messy so I decided against it. So please bear this in mind if you are thinking of changing yours.

Fortunately all my future funds are heading towards expanding this. Or maybe that’s unfortunately...

@josie This has TI Jazz Flats on. I normally use Chromes on all my fretted’s bar my ACG which has TI’s on, and I am trialling a set of Fender flats on my 51P semi hollow partscaster. The TI’s do seem to suit this tho. I really like the low tension

My old Scottish mother used to say "Son, is this yer plooktur?" I think I know what she meant! 😂

Thunder is one of my favourite bands of all time. Great musicians, great lyricists and one of the best bands I've ever seen live. Now, how anyone can listen to nasal Manc bands like Oasis and The Stone Roses for example is utterly beyond me.

Heard the Beatles Dear Prudence on the radio - must say Souxsie did a much better version (runs for cover hoping Blue doesn't see this)

I listen out for new stuff all the time, I’m fifty-five. I don’t hear much anymore that particularly dings my dong but I (think) I understand that, it seems to me to be a combination of things. Firstly most people have ‘their era’ so to speak, usually the music they were into as a teenager, luckily for me this was Punk. I was introduced to music by my brother who is seven years my senior, he played me (or rather I listened to whilst he did) lots of prog and later Steely Dan and Eagles. Then the Punk thing happened and overnight I turned into a spiky haired vandal who lived in a squat. This was ‘my’ music, ‘my’ time, I stopped listening to the stuff my brother played and set out on my own musical adventure in ‘my’ scene. So now I hear music and I realise that very little gives me that visceral thrill that music did back then, but that’s because I’m older and have heard more things. Now I appreciate the utter brilliance of Steely Dan and I still listen to Yes and Pink Floyd alongside the Punk and particularly Post-Punk stuff of ‘my’ time. I realise I’ll never hear anything that will affect me as deeply as the first time I heard Metal Box by PIL or the first time I saw Bjork perform in a squat in Vauxhall fronting an amazing band called K.U.K.L. So when I listen out for new stuff I try to take into account the fact that nothing is going to top that or be so invigorating. Bearing this in mind I still enjoy some new stuff, my tastes have changed, I listen to a lot of Gillian Walsh, I like Jane Weaver, Laura Marling, I’ve finally caved in to Jazz. Mind you, the first time I heard Sleaford Mods on Jools Holland I was really digging it so the Punk thing has (thank Bog) left it’s indelible Mark on me but I have got to temper that with the fact that I’m not getting a second go at being that teenager wide open to the new world...

I built another Thunderbird today

One of my favourites: Devo - (I can't get no) Satisfaction

I think there's a difference between playing covers for an audience who mostly wants to sing along, dance and have fun, say at a private party or in a pub, and recording cover versions for an audience who is more interested in the music, such as fans of a band buying their CDs or going to their shows. I'd say the former should try and sound as much like the original as is feasible, depending on the number of musicians available, while the latter should offer their own take on the song. There are, obviously, limits to how much you can make a song your own without ruining it...

I don't mind most covers, but what I really dislike is the recent trend for adverts using dour cover versions by "quirky" female singers accompanied by melancholy piano. Usually they destroy a classic song, be it rock, dance, punk: the original genre is irrelevant. I'm looking at you Lloyds Bank especially, but perfume ads are guilty too. May they burn in whatever final destination for naughty people your chosen religion prescribes

I didn't know you were black 😲

Before the inevitable... The mix is crap. Where is the bass? Who chose the headliners? Mr. Lamar is not has good as NWA/Public Enemy. Kings Of Leon - again! It was better in my day. Who? All of these kids are on drugs. Far too expensive for me. As you were gentlemen...

@Al Krow don’t worry if this closes, we can start a new thread, show us you best pics of you dressed as a girl, or something to that effect

Whilst browsing on Shpock for bass related bargains, I came upon a bit of a curio - an FBT MM 83/B bass combo. As the seller was approximately 1km from my front door and I was able to negotiate a pocket money price for it, I took a punt. Some switch cleaner and some hard scrubbing of filthy tolex later, it's turned out to be a fairly decent bit of kit. It's solidly built and sounds pretty cool. ...but it's a bit of a mystery. It's 80w, so it's never going to trouble my Genz Benz Contour rig as my gigging combo, but it'll be useful for the occasional acoustic/drummerless gig. It's made in Italy and dates from about 1980 (there's a very similar practice combo on the 'net which the owner thinks dates from then...) but I don't know much more than that. Thanks to the miracle of Google Translate, I found out that FBT was known as "The Italian Marshall", apparently. There are two or three similar looking amps/combos detailed online but precious little info. FBT specialise in PA gear now, it seems. Any Italian amp specialists out there who can shed any light on this?

Cheers. Yes, I finished the edge of the hole prior to fitting the top. It was sanded, sealed then painted black. It is easier to do this it this was whilst I could still get at both sides of the top. I did the same on the previous version - just seemed to look a little cleaner to my eye.

Ah - yes....that was in the thread title (it's my age!) OK. My view, for what it's worth. If I had a set of cut inlays to start with (I didn't on @Len_derby 's build so I routed the chambers first and then cut inlays to fit), I would DEFINITELY use @Christine 's method on Page 5 of her excellent thread: The only difference I would personally make is that I would radius the board first because: I'm comfortable with the additional risk of using my precision router base on a curved surface (but it is an extra risk) My router radius rig can be a bit rough on the wood and I would be bothered about losing corners I would cut the fret slots first also, because the position of the blocks vs the slots is absolutely critical - and I always radius before I slot I would be able to see exactly how deep to rout - critical if the inlay is thin. Otherwise it is too easy to lose the sides of a wide inlay as you sand away the ends with the radius block! Illustrating that last point, on my SG build for Pete note that the trapezoidal inlays at the lower frets turn into blocks at the upper frets: That's not how they started! They are trapezoids where the ends have been sanded away!!! More than happy to cover the template approach in more detail than my Swift Lite thread if you want me to, but actually next time (I've been asked to build another one ), I'm going to actually simply use that template to get the right sizes to scribe and then cut my inlays first, and then I'm going to use @Christine 's approach (ie, scribe round the inlay on the fretboard; route the inside area; cut the border with a sharp chisel), albeit with the above differences in terms of doing it post-radius and slotting. Does that make any sense?

I used to have an SR500 (and still own an SR1000 prestige), the necks are so comfortable to play on the SR series. They really are superb basses. I only sold my 500 as the Bartolini pickups were too civilised for my uncouth tastes

One of the smoothest tunes out there... It's like butter.

Gotta open a can of HEFT right about now.

Well, we know that class AB valve amps are loud for their rated output, relative to the same rated transistor AB amp. I've no doubt, if you compare a 100 watt valve bass amp with an 800 or 900 watt class D amp, then the class D will keep up. And, if you can't tell the difference in a band situation, then theres no reason not to go with the class D. I'm purposely not giving my opinion here, as althought I don't mind guiding the discussion, I dont want to overly influence it. Blood in my mouth beats blood on the ground... ;o)

Squier's an actual, proper name, from the Olden Days & everything: https://www.houseofnames.com/squier-family-crest The Squier brand originated in 1890 - string manufacturer V C Squier, which was acquired by Fender in 1965. Obviously what's happened is that The Internet has realised that a gross spelling mistake has been being perpetuated for several centuries, and using the power of popular usage of the correct spelling, predominantly through its Ebay instrument, is righting that wrong. This is, of course how all language evolves. In the future it'll be perfectly normal and acceptable to have a Squire base gitar with a frettles kneck and bone knut, fitted with upgraded turners. You'll need a chord to plug it in, too.