Leaderboard

Even Nile approves.

Hi, Im from Argentina (excuse my poor english) and I made this bass starting with an old jazz body, some pallet wood and a chinese lefty neck. Pickups are from 2 Squier basses and tunners are Gotoh Classic. I hope you like it.

Don’t think I ever posted a family photo of my haul... I only ever got round to taking one a few months ago, after meaning to for years. Left to right... 2014 Faith Neptune Titan acoustic bass, 1981 Aria SB700, 1985 Wal Custom Series Mark 1, 1979 Wal Pro 2E, 2006 “Signature” Frankenjazz (body & neck September 1991 - from a Build-a-bass, eBay), 1993 Custom Built Tony Revell acoustic bass.

Second coat and the back is there. I know that if I put another coat on it will get worse and not better: The top...hmmm...close: There's a couple of small (and inconspicuous) areas where it will probably polish up when it's fully hardened. While I could do another coat, I don't actually want it to end up too thick. I'll have a look in the morning when it will be hard enough to handle properly so I can see where the light catches it and decide then

One of my best mates is a saxophone teacher, first proper lesson tomorrow on face time. Added benefit that it will be free! Already watched a few YouTube videos and signed up for a free two week course. Very early days but please with progress in a few days. Making a much more consistent noise already.

My pre-production RM500 turned up Friday🙂

I do wonder why you even bothered looking at this thread if you don't like the Ramones, I certainly don't bother looking at threads that mention bands or players that I don't like in the title. Perhap your number of 'watts' is telling us something 😁

I thought I'd better start a thread since I'm taking a bunch of photos and stumbling around in the dark. I've spend most of my time so far working the heel of the neck to better fit the pocket on the body. The body seemed the straighter of the two. Now with a single thin shim of laminated card slid in with the neck it squeaks into the pocket and feels really snug. I moved onto the body today, first finding the center line then trying to position the bridge Here's measured up to drop the saddles at 34" See Here's the literal 'strings' over the saddles And here's the 24th fret area, I dunno who that bloke is. Since then I was starting to sand the body with 240 grit but I remembered that I want to recess the control cavity for the cover. I checked the offset from the template gauge on my router to the inside of the plunge tool and it came out at 11mm, amazingly i found a washer with a hole to edge size of 11mm so I used that to trace around the cavity cover to jigsaw out a routing template. Here's the results of my first test cut: The fit isn't perfect, but too small is much better than too big I'm hoping in the future i can remake that cover in a nice bit of wood and swap that in. Of course the body is curved, so I have no clue how to get the template to match the curve I'm wondering about soaking the template and clamping it through some foil or grease proof paper to stop the bass getting wet and letting it dry to match, but any tips would be cool about now I'm currently thinking of painting it some kind of white because all the hardware is black and I quite like a black white contrast.

Lockdown mania continues to tighten its grip... I've been mulling it over for years having, as I do, an Ent-like aversion to hasty-ness, and so last night I ordered the Russian birch ply needed to make me a Fearful 2x12 cab. I've got a lovely old Traynor Custom Special head that needs a mate and this looks like the very thing. It's likely to be a longish term project. I'll keep y'all informed. Photos and that if I can manage it. Though I'll have to tidy up me unit... Any of you good folks out there done one of these? All input welcomed. All Regards and Keep Safe, Comrades! Shug

Scroll through for another 5-minute lockdown read... I was dripping with sweat, my throat was parched, my legs were trembling and I wanted to go to the toilet. I had hot and cold flushes, blurred vision, and pins and needles in my extremities, which I presumed were the initial symptoms of a heart attack. I was petrified and I wasn’t alone. Mike and Geoff were in the same state. We were ‘Lucifer and the Corncrackers’ and this was our first gig. We sat on a row of chairs at the side of the stage, eyes cast down, like condemned men waiting for the hangman to arrive. I racked my addled brain for an excuse to run. I prayed that somebody would rush in and inform me of a death in the family – unlikely, since I come from a line of long-livers; I longed for a power cut – next to impossible, I would have thought, given that we were playing in a power station; and I yearned for an earthquake – the thought of the earth opening up and swallowing me was curiously comforting but the San Dafydd Fault had been depressingly inert for some years. But nobody rushed in, the lights didn’t flicker, and bloody terra remained bloody firma. There was no escape. Suddenly I understood how Custer must have felt. It was Saturday, the 17th of March 1962, and we were at the Car Bay Club, the social club of the Carmarthen Bay Power Station in Burry Port, just down the coast from Llanelly. The place was packed and the average age of the audience was about sixty. In the run-up to the gig, ignorance about what was to come had made us somewhat cocky but that cockiness disappeared completely in the face of the public. We took one look at them and had a small, collective nervous breakdown. It was billed as a talent contest. There were six acts and we were the third on. We were told that there was a big agent in the audience. He was easy to spot. He sat at a table directly in front of the stage. He was a lumpy, balding man in a crumpled suit and he shared the table with his wife, who looked just as you’d expect an agent’s wife to look – like a down-market bookie’s wife. She sat in morose silence while he talked loudly to her about show business, name-dropping furiously. He mentioned Shirley Bassey at least four times. The first act was a Cliff Richard look-alike who sang ‘The Young Ones’ in a key far too high for him. ‘He’ll never make the middle-eight,’ I said to Mike. As expected, he broke down halfway through the song and, red-faced with embarrassment, returned to his seat on a wave of sympathy from his mates. We, who thought Cliff Richard was a disgrace to civilisation, were rather pleased. Much to our delight the agent ignored him and continued talking loudly to his wife, who’d obviously heard it all before. The second act was a genial, semi-famous, ex-rugby player who sang ‘Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling’ in a tremulous baritone voice. It was excruciating because he was a little sharp all the way through, but it was obvious that the audience had heard him sing it a million times before because he received warm, indulgent applause. He failed, however, to make any impression on the agent, although he clearly affected his wife, who was knocking back gin & tonics at an alarming rate. Then the compère, an elderly committee-man holding a sheet of paper, shuffled on to the stage. He stood in front of the microphone and blew into it. It whistled derisively. He cleared his throat. ‘Ladies and gentlemen,’ he said, ‘it’s their first booking so give them a big hand…’ He rummaged around in his pockets until he found his glasses. Then, holding the sheet of paper at arm’s length, he began to read, ‘…Loose Ivor and the Prawn Crackers.’ My bowels went into spasm. There was no backing out now. We walked on to the stage like pall-bearers. We passed the committee-man coming off. ‘You got our name wrong,’ I hissed. ‘It’s not the Prawn Crackers. It’s the Corncrackers. We’re a group, not a Chinese aperitif. And who the flip is Loose Ivor?’ ‘There’s no need for that kind of language.’ he said, ‘and, anyway, I didn’t say that.’ ‘Yes, you did,’ I said. ‘No, I bloody didn’t,’ he said. ‘Yes, you bloody did,’ I insisted, with white-knuckled nonchalance. ‘Well, it’s a stupid name for a group, isn’t it?’ he said. ‘You want to get yourself a proper name, boy.’ ‘It is a proper name,’ I said. ‘Just because…’ I was about to give him a lecture on the lack of imagination exhibited by the musical community in the choosing of band names, when I noticed the audience. Any applause we might have received had long-since died away and they were sitting in deathly silence, waiting for us to start. ‘Get on with it,’ shouted a voice from the back. So we got on with it. We’d had no rehearsals as such. We’d just played through a few songs in each others’ front rooms. There was no plugging in because we had acoustic guitars – our first mistake, because once we started all you could hear were Geoff’s drums. We opened up with Eddie Cochran’s ‘20 Flight Rock’, which Mike sang. I counted it in. I was rigid with fear. I dared not look at the audience so I looked at my feet and waited for the first bottle to be thrown. I abandoned all hope and gritted my teeth, swearing that I’d never put myself through this kind of ordeal again. I just wasn’t cut out to be a musician. I would have to resign myself to a tedious and unremarkable life in the building trade. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw movement. I risked a glance. It was Mike. He was leaping all over the stage. He’d put down his guitar, grabbed the microphone, and assumed the mantle of front-man. The audience were on their feet, laughing and clapping, and the agent had stopped talking to his wife, which was just as well because she was lying back in her chair, head thrown back, eyes closed and mouth open. We were going down a storm. Mike got more outrageous as the set progressed. Teetering on the edge of the stage, he swivelled his hips suggestively at a couple of matrons in the front row and they dissolved into giggles. He rubbed the microphone against his groin and the matrons covered their eyes with shame. He finished the set by taking his jacket off and waving it above his head, just like we’d seen Joey Dee and the Starliters do in a recent film. The agent stared at the stage, mesmerised. Everybody stared at the stage. Except, of course, the agent’s wife. It was then I learnt my first lesson in stagecraft. It didn’t matter if the drums were too loud. It didn’t matter if you couldn’t hear the guitar. It didn’t even matter if you couldn’t hear the vocals. As long as somebody was jumping up and down in the middle of the stage then all was well with the world. We left the stage with rapturous applause ringing in our ears. The agent pulled out a notebook and started scribbling. We assumed he was working out how much money he was going to offer us for the forthcoming world tour he was arranging on our behalf. We gathered at the side of the stage and congratulated each other. We were on our way. Success was a foregone conclusion. Fame and fortune were just around the corner. Then the next act came on. She was a portly woman about sixty years-old dressed in a floral pinafore and carpet-slippers. She was carrying a metal drinks tray. She shuffled to the centre of the stage, took out her false teeth with a flourish and sang ‘She’ll Be Coming Round The Mountain When She Comes’, accenting the off-beat by hitting herself over the head with the tray. And, as a bonus, every time the tray hit her head she went squint; I have no way of knowing whether this was intentional or a bi-product of cerebral pummelling but, by God, it was effective. As the song drew to a close she gave up all pretence of timing and beat herself randomly about the head, ending with a savage skull-crushing staccato. The tray was mangled beyond recognition and she was suffering from severe concussion but she had the audience in the palm of her hand. The agent was on his knees in front of her, begging her to sign a lifetime contract for a million pounds. Even the agent’s wife had woken up, jarred back to consciousness, no doubt, by the sound of unforgiving metal on splintering bone. The agent ignored the last two acts and spent the rest of the evening deep in conversation with his new find. He appeared to have forgotten about us. At the end of the evening we were paid ten bob each. I remember thinking I could make a living at this. There was a complaint from the committee that some of Mike’s bumping and grinding had been a little on the lewd side, but we brushed it aside. We forgot about being upstaged by a geriatric sado-masochist and remembered the sweet sound of applause.

Just to say I'm not a luthier, I'm a hobbiest builder! So I got VERY bored very quickly and had a neck lying around that was on another bass I replaced the neck on and pickups, bought a bridge and knobs etc and built the body... I'm writing as I'm uploading the pictures so I can remember everything and you can follow it and the pictures! I wanted a double P as I had a Fender CS '57 p pickup I had bought off a mate and a Dimazio P pickup which came in a project bass I got at the tail end of last year! First came the wood... I found a STUNNING 1 piece swamp ash body so that sealed it and had some red stain and guitar finishing oil so then started the process... So I started to research double P pickup basses and it came down to the BC Rich style, 80's Fender Elite P basses and the Warwick styles... I didn't like any of them! So I started to look at where my thumb sits on a P and where I should put them... So I came up with a reverse P at the front (with the bass half sitting where it would normally sit on a p bass and the treble pickup infront of it at under the D and G strings) and a P pickup behind in the "traditional" style with the bass half infront of the treble half. I cut the body using a P template, but planed it down to 41mm so it's a bit thinner than a standard P to counter the weight of the wood! I made a template for the neck I had (a Brandoni P bass) I got in 2002 when I had a frankenstein parts bass put together for me which was my first proper bass (which I think started my obsession with replacing and adjusting things). Then routed it. I then had to think about pickup positions and where I play so I took one of my other P basses and played it for a bit thinking about positions and took the covers off the fender pickup and taped them to the bass so I could see if I was happy. So came the result! So then, being a man of... larger stature and built for comfort, I had to think about contours, arm and belly! So here comes the axle grinder!!! So I then pilar drilled where the controls would be and I always LOVED the way a '62 jazz is wired with a stacked volume and tone for each pickup and wanted that look and vibe for this build seeing as I'm having 2 pickups! Then came the routing of a rear mounted control plate as the front of the bass is stunning! I used a piece of offcut from the body when bandsawing the shape out and routed the rear for this! You'll notice a knot in the wood in the rear and this was soft and plyable so I chisled it out and sealed it with glue. There was also a small crack in the wood so I did the same too that! Whilst I was looking at the bass I contemplated leaving it natural as it's just too stunning not to see the grain! Whilst I routed the neck pocket, I noticed that one the neck it's got the old fender style truss access with a phillips at the base (what I call the body end) of the neck so I took a little bit of the body away and built a template for a scratchplate/truss rod cover so I could access it... this meant making a custom shaped guard but still wanted to make it out of wood, so with a lot of sanding and shaping with a file, I made the template! Then I saw I had some Sepele lying around so I made the plate from that! Then I had to go home as it was the end of the day and I decided that my workshop needed to be shut during this time so I took home some stuff so I could do it at home! Then came a LOT of sanding... A LOT and thank god for random orbital sanders is all I can say! So I progressively took it back to 320grit! Then the red came out so I started to stain... but I forgot to use my gloves so it looked like I had murdered a small animal (clean version)! Whilst applying the stain, where I had stabilized the wood on the crack and the knot, the stain didn't take so I took the body back and started again! The stain was looking great and applied 2 coats to the bass... then I found some silver car spray paint in the shed and had a mad idea... what about a silver accented grain... stinky poo... I've gotta sand it all back again... it'll be worth it... let's do it... so I did, it's not like I'm on a time scale or can go out and gig it at the moment! So here comes the silver spray paint... And now to sand it back again after leaving it to dry... That's when I thought "Holy stinky poo, this is gonna be stunning!!!!!" So I started to apply the red stain again... 4 coats in total before oil! That's when it was confirmed I did the right thing!! This is where I discovered that the misses goes mental when red stain (which will wash away once it rains) goes on the patio! So at this point, I was waiting for the stain to layer up, I made the scratchplate silver, sanded it back and then stained it... Then came the oiling! This was long and I almost lost patience but the results are STUNNING! 5 layers of finishing oil (also Crimson Guitars) later and it was time to put the bass together... but I had forgot to locate the bridge (Sir Richard Head III!!!!!!!) So it was a quick trip back to the workshop as all the main tools including long enough rulers are there... just to locate the bridge!!!!!!! Assemply, wiring, setup, pickup height... BOOM, it's done and STUNNING! Kind of a P on steroids but with some really cool combinations of tones from the pickups and being able to change the tone on one of them and leave the other one, it's mental! Really cool! And here's a picture with my other P basses (the Kay is having new tuners, I just haven't installed them yet)! I hope you enjoyed this! I may be doing a couple more during this mad perio of not being able to gig!

I'm sure there used to be a thread on this once upon a time, but I may be mistaken as I can't find it. I'm sure a lot of members here are doubling down on their video skills at the moment with a bit more free time, I'm subscribed to a few of you but it'd be fun to see more and put some names to some faces/hands! I'd be very happy to keep this first post updated with a list (feel free to message me if I miss you out). In these tricky times I'm sure everyone would appreciate views and subscribers (I know I would!), and I'd certainly be up for signing up to anyone here. Links Please! @Brook_fan https://www.youtube.com/user/ukRobbieJ1 @Stingray5 https://www.youtube.com/user/LandmarqOfficial @knicknack https://www.youtube.com/paddyblight @dave84 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCejObQAoQRdV7DoYNR0Qsdw @Dood https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWb_ePdvfjaGvPhM2Fzb4CA @funkypenguin https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9zgchwHO07wwUEmlqNEJKg @vantagepointrocks https://www.youtube.com/user/vantagepointrocks @Saimonbass https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0Ji5eXF2PeRd_1gOiTLOzA @AndyTravis https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqh--n1-HJSkSTD9YLf5UkQ @Rikki1984 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRYzaVJK5YeshuxfPwN5OMQ @RCMJ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsZ-ndJ2jXTFm4ELq9HCqJA @TJ Spicer https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKlchGxzkwPM-nG9Awh47tQ/featured

I've given you all a sub if you could kindly follow me back

I think in this case the difference in the woods is more about aesthetics than tone. Ash has a more vivid grain than alder so tends to look better in transparent finishes, which is probably why Sire have used it for the sunburst and natural finishes. Alder is quite a plain wood which is probably why they chose it for solid paint jobs that hide the wood. Any tonal difference beteen the two is going to negligible. Someone with a truly exceptional ear might be able to say which was which in a blind test but most people would struggle to hear a difference.

A good way of remembering the Cycle of Fourths is C F (Bb Eb Ab Db Gb) (B E A D G) Try to remember C F and the word BEAD G that's how I simplified it worked for me then play single notes in the cycle, then some simple triads it makes sense believe me, good luck

Another amateurish knock-up job then... kit from China was it ? 😭

I like it! solid construction, tiny footprint, sounds great, definatley in OC2 land Tracking is OK, can drop off a bit. Only had digitech bass synth wah to compare to, the digitech is really good, not sure which one I prefer. The digitech maybe tracks very slightly better, it certainly holds the octave longer on a long note Not had much time to play yet, but for £35, it's an epic bargain! Tony

Hi Markk - that's a good looking bass which would not look out of place slung round the neck of Mr Dusty Hill. Top work. BTW, like many of our international members your English is better than most of us here so no need to apologise And in conclusion to the forum

When did 'need' ever interfere with GAS?

@spectoremg is moaning because he can't moan about Lewis Hamilton right now. 😂

Rick Beato has just posted a new clip of '5 Things EVERY Bass Player SHOULD Master', except that he has miscounted and included two point 4s, so there's actually 6 things that every bass player should master...! Not exactly rocket science, but still an interesting summary of what you need to be a good bass player in a band...

Does this mean you think you might need to learn but don't fancy doing so? Understanding how keys and scales work is a cornerstone of music theory, so the short answer to your question is 'yes, if you want to do it properly'.

Quite mind boggling stuff on Leslie Johnson's Youtube links.

you'll need something to turn your analogue signal from your bass and effects pedals in to the digital info that goes into the PC, ie an interface. There are various ways of doing this but in all honesty for 30 quid just get one of these and be done with it https://www.gak.co.uk/en/behringer-u-phoria-um2/90096?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhZr1BRCLARIsALjRVQMorOnOSMFySlrjAbvzu5s9KIR88u9BzKzpKqnHZulbB_WC2SFOVMQaAhUAEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds or for another tenner https://www.gak.co.uk/en/behringer-u-phoria-umc22/90091?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhZr1BRCLARIsALjRVQOJe1lvlw6LdS-dMLi1ITT78drY0bGfpe6pnGLf6b-d05UfXu4CcGIaAs_LEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds I have a scarletti 2i2 and its ace, a few more quid though

Most of these play within genres I have zero interest in but at least Larry Graham gets a much higher placing than in lots of other lists. Louis Johnson, Bernard Edwards and Mark King are way way too low down. No disrespect to the jazzers and fusion virtuosos, but while they may have had the chops the music they played was and still remains niche. I mean Jaco is well known within the bass/jazz-fusion world but outside of this I doubt many would ever have heard of him.

Yes, they are skilled indeed. This job has never been done before, but Chris and Kirstie backed my request, and Martin certainly delivered the skills needed to fulfil it. One of the many important advantages of OW ownership is the support that is available waaaaaay beyond the point of purchase. I'm a lucky man. RK

Fender Jazz Bass Yamaha BB735 Epiphone Jack Casady Fender Dimension Yamaha BB734

There you go

So, initial impressions are excellent. The cab feels really well put together: It’s crazy light, 11kg is just insane for something this big! Metal corners and grille. A sort of medium pile carpet finish. Not sure how robust it’ll be, but time will tell. The rear panel is recessed in the same way as the front, so the speakon connectors have a little bit of protection. The cab has an 11cm port in the bottom. The cable and connectors inside look very heavy duty. Big thick feet to give it good clearance. The sound is wonderful. Full, rich bass, plenty of mids and just nice warm highs. As I said in an earlier post, I went without a tweeter as it goes to 6.5k with the 10", which is fine for me. It’s a perfect match for my fretless, as I hoped it would be. Hans says if it gets too boomy in a room the port can be plugged to tame it. Here are a few dodgy pics. I will take more when I can get it out in the sunshine.

BLACK!

I love this album:

Not bothered by the order, hardly worth getting my hair off about someone had a page to fill and as every journo knows a list is your go to when you're stuck for ideas. Many I've never heard of so that's great, I shall enjoy discovering them. My personal list would include JJ Burnel, Phil Lynott, Bruce Foxton, Norman Watt-Roy and my all time favourite Bruce Thomas. Simply because they inspired me and still do.

Good to see the Hooky is deemed to be so important he's on there twice! No JJ Burnel though.

Got myself an Elf. The lockdown has been an illuminating experience for me. I live in one room. I share with three dogs and a ludicrous amount of big old bass gear. Until I found myself in here day in day out I hadn't accepted the obvious truth. I am crazy to keep it all out of sentiment. So I'm downsizing. Basses will come and basses will go but amps and cabs seem to stick around. Way too long. So out with the Ampeg and Ashdowns, time for Trace Elliotts to find new homes. Younger bassists deserve to experience these classic rigs. I have a plan, and the Elf is a part of it. You probably know all about them, they've been widely discussed here and elsewhere. My impressions? Even though I have seen pictures and videos I was still taken aback by the tiny size. Its quite unreal. It's silent. I didn't know the thing was even on. The tone isn't TE but it's meaty. Oh and when you crank the gain it breaks up, and not in a bad way. Not gigged it (obviously) but I can tell its going to be louder than I was expecting. The 1 x 10 I put it through can handle a reasonable amount of heft, oomph, and wallop, but this had it struggling. It's definitely not a toy, not some novelty, I will be using it. It's green and says Trace Elliott on it!

Thanks for your advice, it's super appreciated.

I get the same (with an LT) whether going direct or going through a standalone interface, basically if it's hooked up to the computer in any way I get lots of background whine, buzz and rhythmic static. I found that if I unplug the charger from the laptop it all falls silent. Luckily I've got decent battery life, but I tend to tolerate it for practice and sorting sounds out, then pop the charging cable out for recording takes.

AFAIR these are the bottom 4 strings of a 5 string set. Obvs jabba will say for definite but that is how I remember it. And it played and sounded just fine.

Properly designed amplifiers take this into account. I have never experienced a problem running two 4Ω loads per channel on any of my power amplifiers - neither did I expect any!

I don’t know a lot of them, but I was rather pleased to see Aston Barrett and Robbie Shakespeare in there , they normally get forgotten in these type of lists.

Dear Friends, the flashy green EVO-FX5 is almost finished... setup should be done & test drive ...

As with many bands we are doing a few "lockdown" tunes.

Yeah, subscribed immediately! While we're here...