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" In the midst of all this public bickering, "Let It Rot" was released as a film, an album and a lawsuit. In 1970, Dirk sued Stig, Nasty and Barry. Barry sued Dirk, Nasty and Stig. Nasty sued Barry, Dirk and Stig, and Stig sued himself, accidentally. "

Having got the fretboard basically done, that meant I could work out the neck angle - a touch over 1 degree. I squared up and ensured that the through neck blank was completely straight and level. Then, having rough cut the body slot in the neck blank on the bandsaw, I popped it onto my routing jig and packed up the back end of the neck blank to get the correct angle: This then gave me the slot that the back wings will sit flush with and the top will sit in: Having got that sorted, I now knew exactly where the back wings were going to sit and could trace round, slightly oversize, the top and cut out the shapes on my bandsaw: So, when they are ready to be glued, they will sit flush with the slot in the neck blank: And, although it is AGES off being finished, at least it's starting to look a little bit like a bass!

"Nicks was angry that Buckingham smirked while she delivered a speech...". Children. They are like bloody children. Although TBH I wouldn't mind if they never played another smegging note. I've always detested their music. My idea of hell is being stuck on a desert island where the only available music is Fleetwood Mac and the Stones.

A woman walks into a bar and asks for a double entendre, so the barman gives her one.

Can’t recall if I said how much I enjoyed being a part of the last one. Bo was so easy to chat to so it made for a very easy Skype recording. He also has a great voice for radio... both live and listening to the ‘cast. Iwonder, like @ped said whether we should compile a list of hot/perennial topics to cover or discuss in the podcast? Such as... what's the best bass for metal? Lol! What is the role of the bassist and how has that changed whats the real value of gear above the mid-range price. Does it actually make a difference to anyone/the audience? reading - damaging to creativity, broadly irrelevant, useful but optional skill or essential? ....I’m sure more will occur to me

I just wish you had left that beta/alpha BS out...

Well spotted that man!! Well Identified! : ) I have two Reeve, this one: Reeve Twin Neck and the one that was made for Derrick Taylor, of Roachford fame and others, shown in the above link. Here is the whole Reeve feature: Reeve Story When you get to the bottom, click next posts and there is a bit more. The pick-up is Kent Armstromg - Kent Armstrong Reeve Pick-ups and the circuit on mine give a good range of tones. Cracking sound. They were made for Alligator Amplifiers - Alligator. I don't think you would go far wrong with it and being in Stevenage, it hasn't travelled far from it's place of birth. Nice!

Getting there .... The plate still has film on it I need to connect pup to pot need tug bar fitted i still need to get concentric knobs from somewhere BEFORE any one points it out 1. I know the first position block is slightly wonky 2. I know stack knobs didn’t have blocks and so are not strictly accurate

I finally was able to take time and check out BC podcast #2 (...thanks @ped for the slight nudge! ). Really enjoyed Bo's chat with @TrevorR about his love and history of Wal basses. Not made it to a Wal myself (at least not yet) although I did have one of the then new Hayman 4040's back in the day, as discussed during the chat. Also enjoyed Bo and Si's chat regarding performance, gigging, etc. Having just played a Prog fest in south Wales (roundtrip from Essex 350-odd miles returning the same day) I completely sympathise with Si's 800-miles-plus roundtrip gig north o' the border! So, all in all, another great job with the podcast, chaps. I have to say, at just over an hour, it was a little easier for me to make it through in one hit. Looking forward to Episode 3.

From what was, up to that point, a good series, I felt this was a lame episode, merely done as filler. However, there were some little nuggets of information that were interesting, but not nearly enough. I’m hoping for a return to form tonight (there is another one isn’t there?). For my own tastes, I would’ve liked to have seen Manu Katché, Vinnie Colaiuta, Stewart Copeland and Steve Jordan in the list, but that’s just me.

Nobody needs a Helix, but everyone should have one.

There's an interesting old Lennon interview in Melody Maker about Imagine: MM: So how did Imagine come about? JL: Well I'd just flown back from the States and I was sitting at my white grand piano in my country house, looking out of the window at my Rolls Royce and thinking: 'Do I really need all this stuff? Being rich is such a drag'. MM: How true, how true... JL: ... and Yoko was in the breakfast room, well, the summer breakfast room that overlooks the lake and she was staring at her grapefruit. I said: 'What's wrong with your grapefruit, Yoko?', thinking maybe it had gone off or she'd put too much sugar on it and she said: 'Imagine there's no grapefruit...' and I thought that was really profound, like. MM: So what happened next? JL: Yoko started screaming at the grapefruit in that way she has, y'know, like a Vietnamese woman who's just seen her village burned down by American soldiers so I went upstairs and got really drunk and did some cocaine, some LSD, a few bennies, a handful of Qualudes and a half-pound bag of primo grass. I was lying there on the bed, staring up at the carvings on the ceiling and I thought 'Imagine if there weren't any grapefruits?' (Pauses) The plural of grapefruit is grapefruits, isn't it? MM: I think it's just grapefruit JL: So one grapefruit is a grapefruit and and two grapefruits is two grapefruit? That's a bit ... establishment, isn't it? Bob Dylan would probably say 'grapefruits'. MM: So, Imagine? JL: Yeah, that's right. So, basically I started thinking imagine if there weren't any grapefruits and then I made a long list of things like streetlights and lawns and helicopters and in the end I came up with about four thusand things then I started narrowing it down and ended up with possessions and religion and war. And all the other stuff I left in. Then I went back to the piano and experimented with some chords but it was difficult to concentrate with Yoko screaming at her grapefruit and I went down to the breakfast room and asked her to keep the noise down because I was composing and she wouldn't give it a rest so I gave her a slap or two which shut her up. Then I went back to the piano and knocked the song out in about ten minutes which was quicker than Paul would have done it. He'd have taken about two or three hours. MM: And that's how history was made JL: Yeah, history.

I acquired a TE combo quite recently and found it difficult to get the sound I wanted from it. But with perseverance I got there. As said above, you need the gain way up, as you do with an Ashdown. And the graphic EQ works a lot better if you cut instead of boost - flatten everything then cut the low lows - you don't need 'em. And cut the presets, too. I also didn't need the high highs or high mids, either. Nor did I need 500kHz, which is a hurty frequency for me, but it cuts through a mix like nothing else if you need to! Trace amps are for gigging with. They don't sound so great solo. But get them in concert and they can sound very lush, with great power, articulation and slam. That's what they are made to do. Definitely not a Class D amp. Couple that with their legendary build quality and reliability and you've really got something. Modern mainstream amps are made to sound good solo in a shop, in your house, in your man-cave - and setting the EQ flat is usually a reasonable starting point. It's a sales thing. But that may not be the tone you actually want to be gigging with - in fact it almost certainly isn't. The EQ facilities on a Trace aren't there for show and time spent finding a sound that is best for you and your band is time well spent. I moved my TE combo on because I imagined it was too heavy, but I really missed it. So much so that I've just snagged another on the Bay and am picking it up at the weekend.

I am the lucky owner of a lovely hybrid bass head, with a valve pre-amp and Class D power amp. Recently I had to carry out a repair on the pre-amp, and it got me thinking about other amps - could an all-valve head be EVEN BETTER? For a while I had been ogling an EBS T90 Classic on Absolute Music's website. I had a gig in Longham on Tuesday night (only 3 miles from the shop), so Mrs Axe and I drove down early and I took a bass and cab in to try it out. It's fair to say I didn't feel the love; it sounded quite nice, but was a bit hissy, and I didn't think it went loud enough before running into distortion - I tried it in their big Live Room, you can't really tell in a demo booth! No sale. Then I toddled off to my gig. My own rig sounded truly wonderful So no more amp GAS then? No, I'm now thinking about building/repairing/modding a 'big iron' conventional transistor amp... And that, folks, nicely demonstrates the illogic of GAS

I found it quite quaint, like watching a really bad old 80s film and thanking god you never had hair like the dude with the mullet.

Fleetwood Macaroni cheese? Fleetwood Mackerel?

It's very personal, I guess. So, I'd go for something from Thomastik, like their Roundwounds or Superalloy. Straight from the pack - they're warm but they have everything you'd want from the roundwound. And oh, they are funky. To me anyway 🙂

I'm no authority on FM but if I was to go and see them on tour I would want to see/hear LB and SN, to me the core sound of FM. I reckon you could do away with Fleetwood and Mac and it would still sound more FM than if LB and SN were gone. I'm sorry this has nothing to do with fish or cheese.

And of course, the one where they are both stark bollock naked on the front cover. Some lovely tunes on that one. 😊

Serial over-killer

Can't go along with that, may not be his best by a distance, but worst? don't think so, he wrote some real stinkers after the Beatles split

Oh, you were serious? I thought you were having a laugh. Yes, I use a pick. Most bass reviewers don’t demonstrate pick playing so I can’t realy get an idea of how a bass sounds for me.

You know, I doubt it, as the new Trace stuff just isn't like the old Trace stuff... I could be wrong, though. Meanwhile, this just arrived...

I take the above picture was taken just after LB had the phone call!!

I'm happy with my basses, Fender Jazz AVRI 75, Fender CIJ 66 Jazz, Fender Mike Dirnt Precision, Musicman Stingray 2EQ and Kala Rumber UBass. I love my Fender Precision 70 FSR but I've not been able to get the sound I want from it yet but I think its more my rig than the bass. As for my rig, a MarkBass LMIII and 2 x NY112 cabs, I am not sure. I mean its ok, does a great job but doesn't blow me away and lacks dynamics. I think the head is fine but its the speakers that are letting me down so I am going to change these over, just not sure what for yet.

I have 19 bass guitars, they all sound different.

Some years ago I purchased a B stock bass amp from Muziker. Plugged it in and nothing. I contacted them, they asked me to return the amp and sent me a brand new one at no extra charge. Highly recommended.

John Deacon Feature in the next issue of BGM by Mike Brooks!! Can't wait to give it a read 😁

I wish I hadn’t read this thread 😕

Good time for them to call it a day and head off to their retirement complexes in Palm Springs and why would anyone be bothered!

I am grateful both to the OP and to Mr Buckingham's legal counsel for this information. The next time some shonky front-man tells me he's booked the band into a free charity gig I shall sue him for "intentional interference with prospective economic advantage".

Popped my neck off tonight making adjustments, took a pic just for you!

I've not met Andy in person yet! He was once at LBGS when I was performing on a stand and thus I never had the opportunity to catch up, but we have "spoken" many-a-time online. Diamond guy! I'd also love to meet Carey Nordstrand too.

It looks as though we have scared the OP off... So just in case they come back here is a sensible answer they their question: "Tone Woods" make a lot of sense when it comes to acoustic instruments. They are all about the transfer of the vibration of the strings through the top of the instrument to the air inside the body and projecting those vibrations out. Everything about the design and construction of an acoustic instrument is about getting a good tone at a usable volume. The shape and volume of the body, the thinness of the top the way the bracing is just sufficient to stop the instrument collapsing under the tension of the strings and the top sides and back are joined together with the minimum of contact to allow the maximum resonance. No compare that with a typical solid bodied electric instrument. The body is a big solid 1.5" thick lump of wood, and more often than not on mass-produced instruments 2 or 3 separate pieces glued together in an ad-hoc manner to produce a blank big enough to be cut to the desired shape. Its main purpose is to provide a comfortable and aesthetically pleasing platform for attaching all the other component parts - neck, bridge, pickups etc. None of the tone wood properties that are so important in an acoustic instrument matter very much in a solid body. Here the overall construction is far more important. I'm not saying that the choice of wood is totally irrelevant to the sound of a solid-bodied instrument, it's just IMO the least important factor and one that is impossible to quantify. Every single piece of wood is different and two bodies cut from blanks that came from the same tree can produce two different feeling and sounding instruments. So after all that what are the important factors when picking a piece of wood for a solid bodied instrument? 1. Strength. It must be capable of holding together under the tension of the strings and being hung from a strap. TBH pretty much any hardwood will fit the bill and even some softwoods. It might be worth considering long-term wear. Have a look at any solid-bodied instrument made 40 or more years ago, and you'll see the actual wood has worn away in several places due to contact while playing. 2. Weight. Overall the average weight for a bass should be somewhere between 4kg and 4.5kg, the closer you can get it to 4kg the better. 3. Appearance. If the wood is going to visible on the finished instrument then it should be something that you find aesthetically pleasing. And that's it. Good luck with you build!

All together now..."you can never have enough clamps.."

That's not going to be the least bit helpful for @bassfan to hear, who currently has a very bad case of Berg BiAmp GAS...Status GAS...I guess just all round expensive GAS 😄 Nice post, btw - thanks.

I followed a hybrid of these two approaches, using Andyjr1515's method to apply Danish oil as SpondonBassed recommended. It has worked a treat! Thank you gents!

Good luck with your new project, and all the best for your surgery. Lots of new things happening!

Thought this may be of interest to some.

Which is probably why the gig-going community of Milwaukee WI tread very gently around you. Audience interaction the Montclair, NJ way

Hello there, I'll send you a PM. Thanks - and thanks also @Teebs

Many distributors used local luthiers/builders to produce guitars and basses for them and then rebadge them. For example the Shaftesbury name became associated with the Ned Callan range - which were actually produced by Peter Cook. Also the description suggests a limited edition to celebrate an anniversary of Alligator amps - a similar deal perhaps to Trace Elliot employing Status to produce their early T Bass models.

He uses esoteric equipment and records without a DI using a very coloured rig and microphone. So his demos are completely unlike what you can expect any given pedal to sound... And his playing style is the bass playing equivalent of a drum fill made up of throwing a drum kit down a flight of stairs... See? I can be constructive when I have the time...

And another deal with Victor. As usual it was totally perfect. This time we didn't met, but decided to use a courier. Everything was fast and easy. Another totally smooth transaction with Victor. Now I've to tame that EQ01 as well as the flat fingerboard on the ACG Harlot R 5 I received : a real interesting challenge and a very nice bass too. Cheers Victor.

If I could submit a two part scenario, I use a Matrix GT100FX-2U power amp and have previosuly fed this with a Tech 21 Sansamp/RBI pre-stage and now a Geddy Lee Sansamp pre-stage. Until I went this route, I went through a ridiculous amount of gear...from lowly entry level Carlsboro combos, H/H, Orange, Trace Eliot, Ashdown etc etc. The only all in one unit that was equally good was a Tech 21 Landmark 300, but it just wasn't loud enough. The current rig does everything I could ever want. Loud/quiet. Clean/dirty. Phat/thin. An pretty much everything in between.