Leaderboard

For those, like me, who hadn't seen this

Very frank , funny and forthright.

So, snoozing in bed as you do when you work from home, you don't start until 8:30 and it is quarter past 7, I was a little surprised that the door bell went off. In fact, I was a little surprised to just be, but then that is normal at that time. Rushed downstairs trying to work out how to put a tshirt on, while not being able to see, I opened the door to full sunlight and a man dropping off a large box. I put it downstairs, thought about going back to bed but didn't. I thought I would leave it until i could see. Strangely, come 8, I still couldn't see, eyes are itchy and I can't focus, no idea why, but couldn't leave it longer so I opened the box.. Initial thoughts were they sent me a guitar accidently, the box was so small and so light (in the massive bax box). Opening up was a guitar gig bag, and a bag of parts (didn't know what, alen key and some black things, still couldn't see). Got the bass out. Its beautiful colour (I think) although it was a little dusty, I think it was made in december last year (serial number starts 191204). it weighs nothing, like nothing at all. comfortable to hold, action is a bit high for me out of the packet, b string not that lively but it has string wrapped round it that I couldn't get off with my current eyesight. Plays very well though. Don't even notice that it has crazy wide string spacing (ie, not the 16.5mm that god ordained). Neck basically the same as my 2605 wood wise, but with a stumpy thing at the top. Knobs a bit stiff, haven't plugged it in yet, there are people still sleeping, so that wouldn't go well. First impressions very good.

Wow look at that! No one would have thought I made it all up. Wouldn't catch me doing something like that. Goodness, no! P.s. Delighted it worked Well done.

Evening all. I wangled use of a garage and an iron, seemed silly trying to heat the thing outside in today's subzero temps. First of all the bad news. Even with extreme care and a brand new scalpel the finish cracked. It's old and brittle, but I'm content that can be sorted later. Not going to think about it right now. Now the good news. My tendency towards 'bull at a gate' repairs did not rear it's ugly head. I spent 3 1/4 very painstaking, careful hours on this. I warmed the neck... I made a surgical incision... Then tapped in my blade.. Heated some more then followed with my kitchen pallette knife... Continued in this vein chasing the blade down with tiny taps on the knife, as @Andyjr1515 said - mm by mm and slowly slowly this started to happen... I did not do this... As I surely would have done without Basschat. I really forced myself to slow down at this stage... B Big smile when this happened So on to the next stage, which i have just walked away from as I suffer from Chronic Fatigue and I'm tiring, and well, you know. I need to clean out the rout the rod sits in before I can get at it. Made a start, scoring the wood with my blades then gently tapping out little bits. The chisel was too big, I actually made more progress with one of those cheap tiny screwdrivers you fix spectacles with! Going to need advice on the next bit. I know what I should do. I should fill the hole, plane it flat then rout a new hole. I have not the tools nor the skill so I will need to pop the new trussrod into the existing hole and then.....what? Anyway that's for another day just packed up my temporary work station. Bass in a hard case, fretboard gently clamped (and padded) in the jaws of a workmate to keep it straight. The main thing is, on day 2, I can see this...

I reckon get an amp cranked up, foot on amp, pick in hand and treat them to five full minutes of 'Waterfront' whilst keeping a deadly serious bass face on the go. Then just quip, "Nah, it's not for me", and walk out.

I was trying to figure out what part of the bass that was before realising it's probably the kitchen table....numpty!!

I love a relic, cant understand the angst - it’s a finish option end of. Sandberg over all probably do it better than anyone out there and have done consistently for a long period. Having said that, I tried my own. I took time to work out the height I play my bass, where I play it, how I carry it, how I stash it etc, I even carried it around places with me to simulate wear etc. Then I did this - I quite like it (colour not to everyone’s taste I know!) So i can say this is Very personalised relic, and if I was doing it for someone else I would do the same. If anyone wants to try their own, happy to share any bits I have learnt.

I'm always here 😀 P-bass wiring looms a speciality 😎

The band that springs to mind is Cornershop. I really liked the single version of Brimful of Asha when it was a big hit in the charts. Of course at the time I never realised it was a Norman Cook remix. Then I heard the un-jiggered-with version of the track and it was unutterably dull. Leaden, lumpen, flat, repretitive (but not in a catchy hook way) and lacking in any sort of dynamics. Turned out the ONLY parts I really liked about the song was the Fatboy Slim Big Beat fairy dust sprinkled over the song. Since then every time I've seen or heard Cornershop as themselves - radio, Jools, TOTP2... wherever - both the songs and their performances of them have come across to me as awfully dreary and lifeless. Yeah baby! [REMIX] Oh no matron! [ORIGINAL - Yawn]

Ah but he has 3 of em!! 🤣🤣

OK @stewblack Found the pics First the standard disclaimer: this is a risky process and so only do it if the bass has no high monetary value and if it is otherwise unplayable anyway For taking the fretboard off, you need: - A hot iron - household iron is fine. If it's a steam iron then run it dry. Hot setting - Some kitchen roll - A Stanley knife blade or other very thin sharp blade - A thin steel platter of some kind. Worst case a wide but thin steel rule, but a pie spatula or similar (very thin flexible steel) is better This example below is a fretless board, but I've removed a fretted board in exactly the same way 1. Take the nut off and start at the nut end. Get the iron hot and heat up the area of fretboard before the 1st fret. Protect the fretboard with a sheet of kitchen roll or similar. I use an old heat shrink iron but household iron is fine: You need to get the wood very hot - hot enough for the glue underneath to soften 2. Take your Stanley blade (the single edged razors here are even better. Don't use two sided razor blades - you WILL cut yourself badly ) and ease it under as the glue softens. If it doesn't enter the gap at all, then the glue is still hard. Work on this until you are able to insert the blade across the whole width of the board at the nut end. This bit can easily take half an hour. If after half an hour there is still no way the blade is going in at all then either the iron isn't hot enough or the board has been (rare but not unknown) epoxied on. In the former case, turn the iron on even higher if it will. In the latter case, hang the bass back on the wall : 3. Ease your steel platter/ruler into the gap (a couple of mm will do)and carry on heating that area, walking the platter forward a mm at a time. Keep it flat at all times. DO NOT lever it up at any stage - this will almost always snap the fretboard - especially a fretted board. Again, nowadays I use a steel flexi sheet from my acoustic sides bending stuff, but first couple I did I used a metal ruler: 4. Carry on, mm by mm all the way up to the end. When you are an inch or so from the end - and this might be an hour or so later! - don't get over enthusiastic and try and pull the last bit off - you WILL break the board. Just carry on mm by mm until it is off I'll cover getting it back on in a bit. But you will need lots of decent screw clamps and some decent blocks of wood as clamping cauls and a bottle of Titebond.

It's so embarassing. When I was 24 I thought anyone over 30 was compost, no matter how well they scrubbed up. Chance would be a fine thing now I'm 65.

Slightly off the topic, as I can tolerate Elvis, love Led Zeppelin and adore reggae. But put them all together =😍👍🎸😳. Not quite the sum of their parts but what a journey of discovery.

Hi All, Am new to the Forum but I have just ordered a custom 5 string Zoot Funkmeister from Mike Walsh so thought I'd document the progress here! It's my 40th Birthday present to myself, and can't wait to see it start taking shape. Spec is: Body: Funkmeister shape in American swamp ash, Bookmatched flame maple top with high gloss sunburst finish. Leo Quan Badass bridge with string through. Jazz style Tort Scratch plate and chrome control plate and hardware. Neck and Fingerbaord: Canadian Rock Maple, Black blocks inlays and binding. 47mm nut width, 3+2 headstock, Warwick MK1 Brass Just-A-Nut. Electrics: Aguilar AG-5J-70 pick ups. Klaus Noll 3 band EQ with Parametric mid, Bass, treble, pickup blend and active/passive options. 18vdc via a Gotoh 18vdc double quick change battery box. We may make some tweaks to that as we progress, but thats the starting point. Mike is pretty busy at the moment but hoping it will be ready before the end of the year. Thankfully I am only about 15 minutes from Mike's workshop so will be able to pop in regularly. Updates to follow...

Yay. Deadheads for the BBs.

I've made a scratchplate from some nice matt black perspex and and everything seems to fit. I think it goes with the modern style of the thing. I was going to use a regular Tele/Precision-stlye knob, but I'm going to experiment with a bigger one and see which I like best. Have to wait for it to arrive first though. I'm going to wait until the neck is screwed on before attaching the bridge pieces because I want to get it right first time. The metal band tunes to B flat on the lowest string and on my 34" scale basses, the saddle has to go way way back. These single string ones have a bit less travel so I need to make sure it's in a position where it can go back far enough. It seems to me that having the foreward-most point of travel placed exactly at the scale length is pointless because it's always going to end up further back. What would the effect of the longer (35.5") scale be. Would it intonate closer to the actual scale length? Further back? About the same? Started sanding the body today. It's far from perfect but I have to keep reminding myself that four and a half basses ago I'd barely used a drill, so I'm definitely going in the right direction. I just can't wait until the day when my plans to move to a bigger place can be resurrected and I no longer have to do all this with out a bandsaw, table saw, jointer, spindle sander and god knows what other free-standing tools are generally considered essential in this game! I guess I'm currently a reluctant member of the Brian May school. Still undecided on the colour. I originally wanted to stain it dark red, but I think for that to work it would need a matching headstock and I'm not confident enough that I can mask and scrape my way to clean enough lines. So I might leave it natural. One of the guitarists in my band has asked me to build him a guitar so I must be doing something right. It's quite a ridiculous project - too bad I won't be able to write about it here! 😂

Went for a greyish stealth mop, so stealthy that you can hardly see them on the 3rd and 5th fret! Doh. Thats natural material for you. Might drill them out and try another two but dont want to mess things up!

Well - a small but important part: It's the ebony truss rod cover I've just made. Important because it is the last made item that needed to be made! And the strings have arrived. And I picked up the pickups from Matt today. So it's now just about assembly and setup. And I have a pretty clear day tomorrow

Decided to return it for a full refund. Why settle for something if you're not completely happy with it?

Whatever you do don't click the Sandberg Configurator, oh no.

Keep a watchful eye on the classifieds here. There's a Gotoh 201B bridge that I'd go for now. Superb bits of kit. If you are in no rush then drop in to the Other Musical Items regularly and you'll soon be kitted with top notch parts.

That's a four string! Can't trust anyone these days. 😉

We played an indoor gig , about four different bands back in the days. It was pure heavy metal in the late 80s. Some drunk punters got in the venue, and began asking for folk music. Our singer said that we don't know any but the next band, headliner would play some.

You beat me to it. Great songwriter...... best sung by other people...

Almost any Bob Dylan stuff. Rare exceptions; very rare.

Although I played the original to death when it came out I now much more prefer listening to Dub Side of the Moon by Easy Star All-Stars.

I don’t think there is at the moment; the old website appears, as you say, to be in the process of being replaced. You could always email The Bass Gallery and ask. One thing I noticed earlier in the thread where someone said Sei were slower to respond to queries (current circumstances and lockdown aside), please bear in mind they are often extremely busy as they’re the repair people of choice for a great many of London’s (and elsewhere, as in my case) bassists. And of course The Gallery is a shop too. The shop, so far as I’m concerned.😉

No - it's varnished to match the headstock I did wonder about adding a swift, but I thought it might be overplaying the theme 😁 And, by the way. They've arrived!!!!! Summer is truly just around the corner

This is mine

Yep, no disasters today. A good day.

This wouldn't sound the same if it wasn't slapped.

and even then... it's a guitar!

I pretty sure the bridge wasn't gold, probably the lights reflecting off the metal work. I'd say it's using the standard knob set up from the 734a less the pot for the bridge pick up. The passive tone control is the same knob as the active treble when in passive mode....

Wrong kind of slapper!

I get a strong sense of deja-vu That's where I was a year ago! First it was looking at those 48s and playing with the configurator. Then it was going to a shop where I knew they had a couple. Next thing I knew, I had ordered a VM4 😛

And very good they are too.

I’ve just read that Rebellion 2020 has been cancelled, but they’ve said to all who have tickets to keep them as they’ll be valid for next year. Shame but as well as social distancing not likely to work in the venue (Winter Gardens, Blackpool) they’ve had bands have to pull out due to travelling from overseas, and punters in the same position. Not to mention that it’s an extra 10,000 people visiting Blackpool and will the towns hotels/B&Bs be open. Shame but makes sense.

ah, the sound of a cutlery drawer being dropped down the stairs...

Les Pauls: Vintage | Gibson | Gibson | Radiotone

I've taken a fretboard off a couple of times. It takes care and patience but it's possible to do. I should have some photos somewhere. I'll post something in the morning with some hints and tips

Watched a ton of videos on this, thought I'd share just one I stumbled across. It's not hugely relevant in this particular case, but I feel the guy explains stuff lucidly and I wanted to make others aware of his channel.

my band did this during the lockdown too... every one of us is now in some other city, so we recorded the sound separately - i recorded the bass to logic and then i sent this wav to our leader... he did just some easy mixing and mastering and then every member of our band (we are just three) made three or more videos and our leader put it together in some free app... i think that to record video and sound separately is much better... you can check it here: we say that it is an officially non-official video... it looks quite cheap and somehow it was our target a bit, but i find it quite funny....