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And we have the finished product, at least visually. Strung up with Deep Talkin Flats now, electronics may change in the future but that's the fun of modding! And a little detail shot of the lacquer checking. Rubbed it over with some thinned down woodstain and wiped off the surface, just highlights the checking a touch without being too 'in your face' Pretty darn happy if I do say so myself!

Haha, Racism dressed up as humour and ‘witty banter’ with a healthy dose of ‘let’s not offend anyone’ to prevent criticism, soooo hilarious 🙄

New head, bought from this wonderful forum. Slight overhang, but the legs fit perfectly either side of the overhang, holding it in place perfectly! And the sound? Unreal.

Kraut, Hun, Fritz, Teds, Heinies (US), Mof (NL), Szwab (PL), Boche (F), Gummihals (CH), Hunni (FIN), Skopčák (CZ), and Piefke (A) are all pejorative terms that have been used to refer to Germans. These appalling words must never (or, at least, very seldom) be used on BassChat because someone here might be offended even - or especially - if they're not a German citizen. The phrase 'Sausage-scoffing squarehead' is expressly verboten as it falsely characterises Germans as being excessively preoccupied with pork products. Equally de trop are problematic culinary-based references to other European nationals such as spaghetti slurpers (Italians) or garlic munchers (French) or - coming back to the offending term - Krauts (on the basis that many Germans are fond of a spot of fermented cabbage* i.e. Sauerkraut ) It is as inappropriate today to slur entire nationalities on the basis of what they are perceived to eat as it was 100 years ago during the Great War when Austro-Hungarian soldiery mocked their German comrades as Marmeladinger (i.e. one who consumes marmalade) on the basis that Germans were given cheap, ersatz marmalade as part of their combat rations whereas Austrians had proper jam. The Germans counter-attacked with spiteful remarks about the Austrians' boots, insulting their allies with the words Kamerad Schnürschuh, a reference to the necessity that said boots needed to be laced up rather than simply pulled on as per the standard issue German Army boot of the time. I do not know why this sort of ghastly bigotry was permitted on the battlefields of 1914-1918 but I think we should be told. In any event, there's no place for that sort of thing here. * Sauerkraut is actually quite nice both as a side dish and as an ingredient e.g. the popular French dish Choucroute Garni

As someone of 50% Germanic parentage (Austrian to be precise) I don't care for the term 'krautrock' as in the UK the word 'kraut' is always used in a derogatory context. Also it's a lazy way of lumping a disparate bunch of musicians who only have their nationality in common. Apart from that I generally prefer the 'motorik' sound of Neu to other German bands of the late 60s-70s.

BIg fan of the style, not of the label. Let's have some Neu! whilst we think about it.

I’m not sure it’s a case that people are more easily offended these days. I think we’re being challenged to be more mindful of others and consider our choice of language, in a way that we perhaps didn’t do previously. I actually don’t see that as a bad thing... I like your suggestion of “kosmische musik”!

And Rammstein is not Krautrock at all...

And here's one that espouses all sorts of terrible things

Stingrays are also my favourite bass. I grew up with a guitarist dad and so I was more aware of makes and models and stuff than most non musicians. I also group up with the second wave of punk, and all my idols in Goldfinger, Less Than Jake, Reel Big Fish etc all played Rays or at least other EBMM models. They were the dream when I had my Squier P Bass and 80W Crate combo. It's also worth pointing out that, long before I was a member of an Internet forum to bias me, I noticed a quiet G on a shop model some very trusting salesman let child me play for some reason. I assumed it was a setup issue, but me and my then guitarist both heard it. I've only owned 2 4 string Stingrays. Off the top of my head I think they're a 98 and an 07, but I checked on the EBMM forum so I can find out for sure if that's important. As I mentioned earlier in this thread, my 05 Ray5 did not have this issue, nor did either of my two bongos. Several other ray 4 I've played that belonged to friends or shops have suffered too. I can't promise it was all of them, but it was definitely all of them that I can remember (and you think I'd notice if one didn't). Because I really loved Rays so much I fought through the weak G. On my black 07 I angled both the pickup generally and the pole pieces as well. On my red one I changed the whole electronics package. I love the playability and the sound, will do anything to play a Ray still even now! Honestly it's more than a little condescending to suggest that anyone who has this issue hasn't played enough Rays. More so to suggest that somebody hundreds of miles away, with guitars that you've never heard or seen, isn't experiencing what they say that they are and even more so to suggest that they have a defect like hearing loss or the inability to properly eq. If its really us and not the guitars then I suggest you pick a technique, eq setting and rig that you like and ask someone to record it for you. Basschat is big enough that somebody will surely have that exact combination. When it comes to the 'eq it away' suggestion, that doesn't work. If I boost the G string frequencies to make it as loud as the others then I'm also boosting everything above the 5th fret on the D, the 10th on the A, etc. Not to mention the overtones from the lower notes, and I'm changing the way I want my bass to sound. The ratio is still wrong, because no matter how much I boost that open G, the 5th on the D is still proportionally louder.

Can I be the first to suggest the incredible Rammstein. One of their best...

Nuff said, really. Measuring or evaluating a drive unit at low levels by putting a mic on axis and about 6" from the cone tells you little about how it will perform in the real world.

Updates! I think ...finally... I've done all my gluing and sawing. Now hopefully it's the detail work, nights and nights of sanding loom. I got the lower body wing glued to the neck, I cut the neck end and blended the body shapes and neck together. I did some light sanding around all the edges just to knock the sharps off, I don't know how curvy I'll go on the body but I'll do it with my orbital sander and feel it as I go. I cut out my cavity cover from Ash, this will be held in with magnets so I can snap it in place and pop it off easily. To help get it on and off I've carved in this little finger groove. After a quick brush down I was able to get the basses first on the sofa shot... it's turning out really nicely. Next! Lots and lots and lots of sanding, I've got a boat load of paper from 60 up to 3000 so... let's work through the grades! Then frets... and then the dreaded pickup route... two jobs i'm definitely putting off!!

4 1/2 years ago I received a Squier Vintage Modified Precision 5 string as a valentines gift from my wife. I fell in love with the feel of the neck instantly - enough so that it straight away became my number one over all my other more expensive basses. I have a habit of tinkering with my gear though and since then I've gradually changed bits and pieces here and there. This week I finally finished making changes and thought I'd share the end result. Quick disclaimer - the modifications do include a Fender decal. This has been discussed to death on here already but its my bass, my choice and this bass will never be sold on (in fact it will have to be prised out of my cold dead hands). There's also a Fender logo neck plate but that was only fitted because the original Squier one got a nasty scratch across it and I had this one kicking about already. Here are the other modifications:- Bar string-retainer on the headstock swapped for a pair of round string-retainers. Pickguard changed to gold anodised aluminium (cut by myself by hand from a blank sheet). Black thumb rest added. Chrome pickup and bridge covers added. To make access to the bridge easier for string changes, the bridge cover attaches with magnets which are counter sunk and epoxied into the body. Again to make string changes easier, the bridge itself I've adapted to be quick release by drilling though the tail piece alongside each string hole. Crude but works perfectly! The pickup I've swapped for a Nordstrand NP5V. This originally came from Dave Swift's White Sadowsky P5 so the shell is branded Sadowsky rather than Nordstrand. Dunlop Straploks fitted. I originally installed an active preamp which was an old Dan Armstrong Yellow Humper that @KiOgon kindly repaired for me and modified to include a true bypass switch. It was a simple circuit that just had a 3-way toggle switch to select between a flat eq, bass boost or bass and treble boost. To install this I had to route out some extra space under the pickguard. I also routed battery access through the back of the bass and made a little plastic plate to cover it. Unfortunately the Yellow Humper gave up the ghost a little while ago so this week I've installed an Artec Semi-parametric preamp. Stacked treble and bass, stacked mid frequency and mid level, volume and an optional pickup blend. Because I had, the option of a pickup blend control with the preamp, and because I still had the original pickup, I decided to add a bridge pickup to get a bit more clarity - particularly from the low B. As the original pickup is a split coil I decided to go for the kind of V-shaped pickup layout that you see on the Warwick buzzard bass to try and get more articulation from the lower strings. I don't particularly like the look of bridge pickups on P-basses however so I also wanted to make it a 'stealth' pickup. My first thought was to route the pickup cavity in through the back of the bass so it would sit just below the surface of the body but a quick test showed that it wouldn't get enough signal from there to be effective. Instead I opted to fit it into the front of the bass in the normal way and to just make a wooden pickup cover for it. I made it by hand from a piece of ash and stained it a similar colour to the centre of the sunburst. I think it blends in fairly well. At this point the only original, un-modified parts are the neck itself, the frets and the tuners. I had thought at one point about fitting some Hipshot Ultralights but there's honestly nothing wrong with the original tuners and the frets aren't showing any wear just yet. 🙂

Although he's admitted it's not terribly accurate, and the truth has been embellished in parts. A good place to start are the Soul Jazz "Deutsche Elektronische Musik" compilations, here's v1, another two volumes (at least) are available. https://open.spotify.com/album/3lwUtVJbbPyVvgyXKjRt2Q?si=0jMpU4k3Sm2CPkIy4JoJWg Another couple I have bookmarked: Cologne Curiosities : The Unknown Krautrock Underground 1972-1976 https://open.spotify.com/album/0bLqscEyXOX84uhcnthb6r?si=ZQFykuGpTQGShWl5LYbaPw Mathias Modica presents Kraut Jazz Futurism https://open.spotify.com/album/2d2rP5ogmiaIIDPS9qDl2p?si=JKlhnAPTSQeV3wdk-jvWMA Check out Volumes 1-4 of Kosmischer Laufer (see above), plus live EP - https://kosmischerlaufer.bandcamp.com/. There's an intricate back-story relating to electronic music being composed in secret to inspire and motivate the East German olympic teams in the 70s, which almost suspends disbelief long enough to forget it's actually a guy from Edinburgh doing it all over the last few years. (That's him on Live In Graz. "last chance for some jogging on the spot", ho ho)

Awesome early Tangerine Dream featuring "Happy" Dieter on bass.... obviously not a Basschat member then. 😄

I was at school with a lad called Smith, who loved to eat chitterlings. Unsurprisingly, some wag called him 'Chitterling Smith', which stuck instantly and obviously. He probably cried himself to sleep each night because of it.

One like this?? Love mine 😍

Mine is my favourite gigging Bass. It’s the equal of my two US Jazzes for feel and sounds. It’s liberating not having to worry about damaging it. Frank.

Massively. When I had two Stingrays that were pretty much identical apart from the colour I decided I wanted to differentiate them so one of them got an angrier, series-wired pickup from Armstrong and a John East MMSR. It wasn't necessarily done because of the weak G, but it definitely helped to mitigate it. Both of mine were maple and 2 band. Indeed, and there's the photo of Howard pointing the issue out to Leo Fender in person, with him commenting on his fix of using magnets on top of the pole pieces. When the people who made the bass acknowledge the problem it's sort of hard to argue that it isn't real. FWIW I have no problem with people suggesting ways to fix it or suggesting that they personally haven't experienced it. It's when one tells other people what they are and aren't hearing that it becomes a problem. As a retort to @drTStingray's (admittedly tongue in cheek) point above, maybe it's the people with better ears and hands that can tell there's a problem, and the people who can't hear it just aren't listening hard enough. I, for one, agree with BP (not surprising, as you'd assume he'd know his own basses...) when he says the problem "isn't in the wood" as I found mine went away with the new electronics. It's also worth noting that the issue seems to have been hugely mitigated with the Stingray 5 (using what would become the Sterling preamp) and the revised HH models a few years ago and then has disappeared entirely with the new Specials.

The science says this (for a 2 band) - which confirms what Sterling Ball said, but only when you fully boost the bass and treble on 2 band Stingrays. I know we've got used to septuagenarian world leaders with bleached and nicotine stained hair poo pooing science in favour of rumour and rhetoric but you can't deny these frequency charts. Next thing, some of you'll be telling us the world's flat because Mr Farage and a few businessman cronies say so often enough that people start to believe it!!!

Sterling Ball posted this in 2005: http://forums.ernieball.com/ernie-ball-music-man-basses/11343-weak-string-output.html#post133690 (My 1996 Stingray has a weak G, mitigated somewhat by careful pickup height adjustment)

It also helps against dead spots and ensures a quick attack ... blah blah

Yeah, and with it came great bands like Kraut Deep Fried Fatties Freundschaft.

This one was courtesy of Radio 3’s excellent Late Junction.

5) The G string is quiet

Shame that - would have been a result if they had messed that up as well!

I was thinking about what example to post, then this one came up in one of my FB feeds.... so I'll go with Faust - It's a Rainy Day (Sunshine Girl):

The thin slice is the body and the fat lump is the routing template?

THE PICK OF THE BUNCH.

The word itself is derogatory indeed.it does however bring a very specific sound to my head and that is the sound of Neu! and Stereolab.

These things are fun, thanks for posting it. The clue though is the difference between the two eight inch speakers. Not all eights sound the same so why should all the 10's, 12's or 15's? And they were all using different amps albeit all from Fender. The 15 looks has a horn, if so did it also have a crossover modifying the signal to the bass driver? The Rumble 500 also has a horn but not the 12 and the crossover frequency may be different. As I said these things are fun but not very objective and you can't really draw wider conclusions about other speakers in other cabs. Even with the Rumble series the sound a few metres away won't be the same as these recordings.

This Saturday at this online benefit:

I've had it on 2 4-string Rays (both 2-band) but NOT on my Ray 5 or either of my two Bongo 4 HHs. It's definitely a Stingray thing.

Absolutely love my valves 🤘 Ashdown for the win 😍

Updates! It's starting to look like a bass!! I've got the top body wing glued on and I've started giving the edge some shaping to soften it off, I love the wenge in the middle and I want that to be seen from the front on the curve. I cut the slots for the frets, that was an awfully stressful experience, I really didn't want to mess that up. Got the side fretboard inlays in place. I've got the lower body section cut and ready to sand and shape before gluing to the body. Got the blend between the neck and the upper body wing sorted, very happy with that. Still loads to do... but I'm really buzzing about the build, it's looking like a bass finally! Next! I need to work on the control cavity and get the cut out neater, I have my EMG circuit and pickups ready to be installed and I've tested the electronics in the space and there's plenty of room to move, I've drilled the barrel jack hole and the pickup cable holes in the lower body section prior to gluing, so, just need to neaten up the lower body wing and then glue it to the rest of the bass. I need to do the fretwork on the bass... another I don't want to mess that up job, and then there is a tonne of sanding to do! Really enjoying the build to date, thanks again for everyone giving this a read. B

It's not a case of you don't have a problem with it, it's the fact that the majority do find it offensive. Has the Clapton thread revealed, there is still a long way to go with derogatory comments about different races and religions.

Oh, so your issue was real and ours is imagined? Got it.

I’m probably going to get slated for this but , Lakland do some stunning basses and I would definitely have one in my collection , but I can’t do the bridge shape