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I made my own Rickenfaker but I call it RickenBuster (Maple and Lapacho wood, Kramer Quad rail pick up, Schaller tuners, All parts bridge, custom pg and inlays)

So - the PVA ironing method. Actually, having done some trials, this time round I am going to use Titebond wood glue, but usually I use the Evostic 'Compound W' Wood Glue (the green bottle sold in Homebase etc). Both work the same. Normal reminder - this is how I do it but, always with me, never assume that "this is how it should be done" . There are other ways, but personally this is how I find best for me and my limited facilities. Basically, I turn wood glue into an iron-on glue. Proper woodworking PVA and also products like Titebond melt when they are heated. That's why you can remove a fretboard with an iron. So this method uses that principle but to glue the veneer in the first place. Now it is a luxury that I am doing a demarcation veneer. Firstly, it's been a while since I've done a veneer job. But also different veneers have different characteristics and while the top veneer will have its own, nevertheless both the demarcation veneer and the top bookmatched are maple and therefore in some respects will have similar properties...which is useful to know when planning the all important bookmatched top! But an essential first - it will become impossible to find the bridge holes once you have veneered - so I do a simple paper template with my fingernail. When it's veneered, I will line up with the neck pocket and control pot holes and then I know where to plunge my centre point to re-find the bridge holes and earth wire hole : Then this is essentially what I do. I use a gloss paint small sponge roller to apply the glue both to the body and to the veneer : It is ESSENTIAL that there is glue at all of the edges. Same with the veneer. If you do nothing about it, then the moisture from the glue will make the veneer start rolling in on itself: And so I use a little travel perfume spritzer bottle from Superdrug to spray water on the other side - that side then expands too and, hey presto, it flattens by itself: Now remember that bit - the veneer tangibly expands due to the moisture of the glue. With this method, that is an important thing to understand...because the amount it expands, depends on the wood type Then, I let the glue dry. Takes about 20 minutes, but now it means I can position the veneer on the body with ease, dry glue next to dry glue. To get it to bond, I heat it with an iron. Any household iron will do (but use it dry - don't use it on a steam setting). I happen to use an old heat-shrink iron but that is simply because MrsAndyjr1515 is a very scary woman who, I discovered, objects strongly to me getting PVA on the soleplate of laundry iron. So, I position the veneer and then, starting at the join line and working outwards, iron it on. I hold the iron in an area for a few seconds, then use an old duster to put pressure on that area for a few seconds until it cools enough to hold together. This process is completely repeatable, that is, you can go back and redo - it will re-melt and then re-cool. When the main area is secure, I work on the edges, pressing hard with the iron to make sure the glue is fully bonding the veneer: And that's that side done! Now - this whole technique takes a bit of practice, and not least cutting the excess. I use a Stanley disposable knife or a Swann Morton disposable hobby knife and use a sawing motion, using the body side as the blade guide. I remain acutely aware of where a split will run so always cut 'downhill' to the grain: By the way - the other side is glued - you can see here just how dry it can be before you apply the second veneer sheet! And repeat the whole process and finally sand the edges: Now - for the top veneer, this wouldn't be good enough - see the gap in the middle? Yes it can be filled and stained, but it needn't be there. I will show (hopefully) in the next post how this can be avoided. But remember earlier - that the veneer expands with the moisture of the glue? Well, of course, when you iron it dry, it shrinks again. And now I know, for maple, how much it is likely to shrink. And that knowledge IS part of my cunning plan for the next stage...applying the book-match quilted maple veneer

I played bass on on this remote collaboration, check it out if you want! There are a couple of other tunes on the Virtual Big Band's socials as well.

The Holy trinity Felicity Suzi and Debbie.

I've been tinkering with my Elwood L fretless of late. I added clear scratchplate some time ago, but recently made that into a tort one by adding some thin celluloid behind the p/g. I've also added a DIY thumb rest made from dowel and painted with nail varnish. I've started to notice a tiny, tiny ridge between the neck and fingerboard; I guess the ebony has shrunk a tad. Doesn't affect the playability, I just know it's there. Still love this bass and it is definitely my go to. Weighs next to nothing (3.2k IIRC).

Exactly. Don't get me wrong i can appreciate the skill, technique and the work that goes into what opera singers do. There's no denying that. I'm also not a fan of thrash metal or grunge i think its called. I don't think i'd appreciate a live grunge band any more than a recording. Its a bit like our old traditional Scottish singers from 60's that Billy Connolly used to take the p*ss out off. Like this.

A bit more Jeff Berlin. This one is the most difficult solos I think he ever recorded outside of his set pieces (Dixie etc). The solo starts at the 1:30 mark. If anyone ever nails it, please video yourself - I can't get anywhere near it!! The tune is 'Manos de Piedra' (Hands of Stone) from the LP 'Pump It'. The transcription is a FULL transcription (although the second run through the head is a cut a paste from the first so not entirely accurate). Manos De Piedra Jeff Berlin Bass.pdf

So I haven't had a Nanyo on the living room stand for a couple of months. I took mine into work where clients have had access if they want to learn. Lack of interest meant that I decided to bring this home. In the meantime the stand has been occupied by various Fender shaped basses - these have never been my favourite shaped basses. Uncased the Nanyo this morning - first thing I notice is the (lack of) weight. I can't be rrrsed to checked the weights but the difference is significant. Balance of the Nanyo is superb - they really did their homework when they first designed these. Sits perfectly on the knee, equally sublime on a strap. The neck - I remember how playable the necks on the Nanyos are - the profile is sooo right and the finish, courtesy of the work done on the bass by @Andyjr1515, means that I'm playing a paint free neck - the one thing that bugged me when it was painted. Usual tonal package from the Nanyo preamp/ pickups - again reminders of why I love these Basses so much. I have an Overwater preamp that I bought with the thought of replacing the existing one - don't think I need to - yes, the Overwater may be a "better" pre but there really isn't anything missing/lacking with the standard one. Clearly no need to swap them over (local luthier is locked down anyway). I'd also forgotten what a "looker" it is - aesthetically my favourite basses... It's like being reunited with a long lost friend - welcome home...

any love for sally James?

I think it's a good idea, however, as all of his emails seem to start off with "Hey Groove-hackers" I very rarely get to read the content.

I had an issue with a a UNI-PRE installation recently; buzzy, buzzy, buzz. I can install most things without much bother, but will admit once in a while the guts of basses just look like a tangle of wires. We exchanged emails, photos etc. and he got me sorted. He is a top, top bloke; we discussed his background (brilliant stuff!)...I've offered to do a piece on him for Basschat, just to put a name to a face. More people should be embracing his gear.

Do you spend a lot of time hanging around hotel lifts? I only ask because it seems to be working well for you!

Having purchased your first bass a month ago, it must now be time to start thinking about your second bass? amps? picks? cables? One of those weird fret wrap things? You can’t just buy a bass and be happy with it... that’s not how this works.

My new Noguera Harmonie Standard Custom 6 Fretless with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard (my favourite wood for fretless fingerboards).

I love his playing and I love his ideas. He is a perfect example of how great players/musicians/artists don't have to be chopsmeisters to make a massive contribution.

Only picked it up yesterday but loving the 212Slim so far. So much low end coming from such a lightweight cabinet. One of the guys I was chatting with is selling all his Vanderkley stuff to replace with these cabs. will try post more after proper testing but with my Mesa D800 this 212 is bringing the beef!

I wanted to draw people's attention to this as it took me 'kin ages and I am not altogether sure who looks at my Transcription Archive page. I have completed a FULL transcription of Chris Squire's bass part to Close To The Edge. I have been meaning to do this for years and, now we have these 'Isolated Bass' things on YouTube, it's a no brainer. A labour of love, this one. Close To The Edge Bass Part.pdf

I'm new to this forum, and I wish I had found it sooner as it seems great (and it would have helped me make a few less mistakes in my journey)! I'm an acoustic engineer by trade (note not sound engineer) and thought it therefore necessary to delve into creating a cab at some point. So I started with a 12" sub driver I've had for a long time which is housed in a car sub enclosure. Packs quite the punch at low frequencies as it's meant to sit in your car boot...but severely lacks at mid/high frequencies (cut off is probably around 400 Hz or something). I tried it for a little while and even took it to the practice studio, and it could hold it's own but it lacked any sort of clarity. I therefore decided to bolt an extra driver on top to help lighten it up. Standard ply box very crudely cut to size, with all the mistakes hidden by a nice piece of felt to finish. I added an 8" driver, stuck a crossover network in and hey presto - I ended up with something which covers a lot more of the spectrum now. Thankfully I want to uni with someone who works in loudspeaker design and they were happy to help design the crossover network. The second picture is me trying to measure the frequency response - worth noting that I don't own a mic stand or a mic of any quality hence the rather strange measurement setup. All in it's probably taken me 3 months to do it although it's felt a lot longer! As I'm not in anyway a pro musician I couldn't justify big spends - I think the top cab cost just over £100 inc the driver, ply and crossover parts.

Space Ritual. Sometimes only a Lemmy will do 😁

It is and I have. Tony Levin’s Beyond The Bass Clef is another good collection of bass/biz anecdotes, but it might be out of print these days.

Faeries at the bottom of the garden did it!

Myself and some pals were just discussing this very album on FB. By the end of the conversation we'd all but formed a DP trib.

I, um... what?

or you can send it to @Andyjr1515 who can change the cover to incorporate magnets.

That is the beauty of music, something for everyone somewhere.

No going back now! Didn't take long with heat gun, scraper and small chisel for those little corners

Yeah, so I’ve been using my ID14 for a week now. It’s solidly built and I can get used to the knobs and buttons being on top rather than on front. i had a bit of a guddle getting Cubase to install correctly but it does seem like a good bit of kit, just functions differently from Reaper which I had been using. Back to the iD14, having the Di which is jfet as well as the two combo jacks on the back is brilliant. The best bit here is that you can D.I. either straight from a bass/guitar and add some tube type emulation gain at the input. What a difference it makes for bass parts especially. Or the other thing to do is record d.i. from the Xlr output from the amp and mic up at the same time. I’m going to try using the Xlr out from my Genz Streamliner and use TwoNotes Torpedo (which comes with it) as the cab. See how that sounds. The functionality of the inifite wheel on top is great. Hover your mouse over anything in your DAW and adjust the level from the wheel...great feature and very adjustable. Sound quality appears to my ears to be clearer and more lively across the frequency range in reference to my Roland interface that this is replacing. Things I love....d.i. is a step up from what I’ve been using. Build quality is excellent. Ability to set up your levels with the iD14 mixer plugin that comes with it before it reaches the DAW. Sound quality rocks. I paid £171.

A quick google search and they look like a Chickenbacker to me.

I drilled a couple of holes for wiring options then glued the body together and applied by usual five clamps: I'm thinking something like this which will be 30" scale. I am toying with the idea of using some veneer on the top and on the headstock but undecided at the moment.

Suzi Quatro and Felicity Kendal? That’s two of my first tv crushes right there.

When home recording do folk often lay down more than two tracks at a time? I would have thought typically you kick off with the drums and then layer over the rest? I guess if you need two mic inputs you could do this with the Audient ID14 instead of the ID4. The other option which we've not really mentioned on this thread on the Focusrite front is to consider going from the budget Scarlett range to the Clarett 2Pre, which would seem to be fairer head to head with the Audient ID14 in terms of price and quality.

It's hard to go wrong these days if you have £200+ to spend, even at the extreme budget end you can still choose from a selection of Harley Bentons for £80-£110. A pal of mine has just decided to get back into bass and has gone with the Sire V7 and a Zoom B1Four.

I met her in the lift in our hotel in Brighton. I carried her bag up the last flight of stairs. It was a great gig Met her again in the lift in the morning

Agree 100%. Thats the "Musician" problem right there. Believing chops are more important than the music. Chris had a unique musical fingerprint, how many so called chopmeisters would die to be original.

Revolution and Vintage brand P basses worth a look as well?

The Sires are indeed good guitars but don't let that put you off Squires. They are also great basses for the money!

Pedaltrain Nano+ powered by a Volto 3. Polytune Mini 3 > Cali76 CB > Darkglass Vintage Microtubes > DSM Omnicabsim acting as a DI/Headphone Amp

When Lemmy covered a song, he made it his own...

Finish is stripped - to be honest, it was an easy job. It had only had a light coat (not sure what Status use/used) and was off pretty easily. While I was there, I sanded out the dints and scrapes from the back and the sides. Here it is in bare walnut: Clearly, that is fresh sanded. The best way of telling how it will look with any standard clear finish is to simply wipe it with a dampened cloth. Based on this, I reckon the original finish was just clear without any tinting: When I have both veneers on the top, Rog and I will be able to see better what he prefers me to do with the back and sides. Next job is to add the maple demarcation veneer on the top. All being well, should be able to do that before the end of the day

She owns/owned a massive Elizabethan manor house out in the sticks which, back when I was a copper - I'd guess 1981 -was on my patch. The alarm went off quite a lot, usually when she wasn't there, but one time when we arrived she was getting her shopping out of the boot of her Porsche. Very friendly and down to earth lady.