Leaderboard

The neck is now done and just waiting for final fitting of the small brass adjusters that go in the adjustable brass top nut, and the string retainer. Oh, and in real life the headstock is the same colour as the fingerboard, I think it was the fluorescent light above causing it to look slightly darker.

Here it is, now with strings

No, and it's not the end of the road for you either. Just another challenge you will meet, just like the endless challenges you have already surpassed in your life. Learning how to walk, how to read and write, all significant challenges you face, conquer and move on to the next. In the sphere of music alone you can learn perseverance and adaptability from the likes of Tony Iommi , sawing off the ends of his fingers in his teens, Django Reinhardt losing two fingers, Pete Townshend impaling a tremolo arm all the way through his hand and in later years just about being able to hold a pic. Rick Allen drumming with only one arm, Beethoven composing whilst being deaf, Jeff Healey playing guitar whilst being blind. That's just off the top of my head. I have no doubt if you keep fighting and adapting, you will find a way.

Unlikely Twins! Two of my very favourite basses! Pic inspired by recent chat with @Chopthebass whose identical finish new NE2 has just arrived and @cetera, undoubtedly the biggest Spector lover on BC (and probably the UK!) I posted a while back about how I felt that the NE2 took more design cues from Spector than from any other of my basses including my other Yammys. In particular, they both have in common: sculpted backs making them very comfortable to wear; neck through; 3+2 headstock; purely active; seriously meaty low end; and 24 very accessible frets - even more so on the Yammy with its cut-away lower horn. The "extra" that the Yammy delivers is a 3 band EQ vs 2 band on the Spector and a Nathan East mid scoop, which I believe is centred at 2kHz, and which adds to its capability as a phenomenally versatile tone monster. On the other hand the ability to obtain tonal precision by being able to select single or dual coil for either pup on Spector is an excellent feature. Differences: obvious key one of pups - the Spector has it's iconic EMGs whereas the Yammy features two Jazz-style, hum-cancelling, stacked Alnico V pickups; single bridge piece Spector vs individual bridge pieces on the NE2; 35" scale on the Spector vs 34" scale on the NE2; 17mm string spacing on the Spector vs 18mm on the NE2, but with a shallower taper on the Spector (down to 9.5mm at the nut vs 8.8mm for the NE2). In theory the individual bridge pieces should provide better isolation vibrations on other strings, but I know some folk prefer single bridge pieces, and whilst a 35" scale should provide a slightly tighter low end I think it's relatively marginal and I personally find 34" a more comfortable scale length. I was kinda gratified to read in this excellent review: Yamaha BBNE2 Nathan East Signature Model – MusicPlayers.com that their evaluation short list for the NE2 were the following: Spector Euro5 LX 5-String Electric Bass Guitar Warwick German Pro Series Streamer CV 5-String Electric Bass Guitar Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray 5 HH Neck Through 5-String Electric Bass ...so it appears that I'm in good company in wanting to put these two superb basses side by side! Both have pretty eye watering new prices although the NE2 is typically another £750 to £1,000 on top of the Spector - I was fortunate to get my NE2 in great condition used and my Spector new in a "sale". If I had to save just one 'in a fire'? Hmmm...tricky question! I guess I'd just be happy to still have either!

I've been sent a photo of the SB-1 that is very slowly making its way to me. 1½" nut, just under 7 lbs weight. Hopefully will have it early February.

As much as I’d like to say that I’ll put videos, notation and tab up right away, here are the various reasons why it’s more complicated than that: To varying degrees, my parts are not written, and aren’t exactly the same every time I play them; Ain’t No Love will be slightly different each time, and playing it with a different band might require quite a different feel or groove, quite apart from changing parts around to keep it interesting for myself. So although I’ve played well-known Whitesnake songs over the years with different bands, the parts slowly change over time and I get used to the way I’ve played them recently rather than how they were in the late ’70s. Similarly, I would be unlikely to play Fool For Your Loving note-for-note every time, though I do tend these days to try to stay fairly close to the original. The point is, to reproduce exactly what I played 40+ years ago, with the same tone, with no mistakes, while videoing myself, is quite a tall order. If I am pernickety about other bassists doing not-totally-accurate covers, then I need to be totally accurate myself. If I play along to the original, it’s quite possible that YouTube will block the video for copyright reasons. If I reduce the level of the bass on the original, as it’s quite high in the mix, by technically reducing the volume of sounds that are in the centre of the stereo image, then the drums (and vocals) are reduced too, which makes it harder to play along too - very unnatural. There is a way of ‘remixing’ tracks to play to, but if they get blocked, there’s no point. Although I read music a bit, to transcribe the bass parts completely perfectly will be a laborious task, and even more so when it comes to tab, which I’m not a big fan of. It’s better to use your ears! Furthermore, if you said to me “play exactly what you did on Live In The Heart Of The City”, for example, I probably wouldn’t be physically able to. Apart from being 40 years older, I would need to have been in a touring situation beforehand, with my chops at peak level, instead of sitting around unable to play with anyone because of lockdown. Even back then, I’d had to have a hand operation just after Ready An’ Willing because of subjecting them to over-exertion, so there’s zero chance I’m going to attack the parts with the same energy I had back in 1980. [I think I was often over-busy on Live In The Heart Of The City - trying too hard to impress!] Playing and chatting to the camera may come naturally to Lee Sklar and Guy Pratt but it certainly doesn’t to me, let alone jumping around as if I’m on stage; if I think what I’ve done isn’t up to scratch or embarrassing to watch, I’m not going to put it out. I have done a few collaboration videos but I haven’t been happy with how I came across - my fault, no-one else’s. Shooting and editing videos to a good standard are whole extra skills to master in addition to high quality home recording which I’ve spent many years slowly getting better at. I’d still far prefer to be in a studio with experts taking care of the sound and vision. The living situation I’ve had to be in because of lockdown also doesn’t lend itself to being on top form or producing good work. Not saying I’m not going to, but it has to be good or I’m not putting it out. Same goes for a book!

Any fans of this 16th notes master?

This has slowly been coming together over the last few weeks! The new focusrite 2i2 arrived today, upgraded from gen 2 solo, still some way to go to get it how I want it! Need a monitor for my mac for starters, the novation SL is great but it’s keeping me on an old OS, which isn’t a big deal, but may look for another controller next year, the behringer x-touch is on my radar, then I can take auto map off and use the novation just as a keyboard Still need to paint skirting board and get something on the floor, but the dog likes it! And there will be a further addition tomorrow, update when I sort it! Tony

I've wanted for years a way to have some of my album sleeves on display - the artwork is so good and the memories so vivid that it always seemed silly to me to have everything tightly packed onto a deep shelf! As luck would have it, @Chownybass has just launched his solution and jolly good it is too. In the interests of full disclosure, Stephen did not actually make the Hofner 500/2 ... nor is he responsible for the current contents of the frames. The frames work better with single album sleeves than with gatefolds or double albums, but apart from that tiny niggle I'm impressed with these. The albums are retained very securely, yet it takes roughly 60 seconds to remove and replace, allowing me and @Silvia Bluejay to have our vinyl on constant rotation.

Yeah not bad places to sell if you’re a trustworthy basschatter - but be extra careful when buying from someone who might not be! @LukeFRC yes drastically - we didnt have a huge problem before but we did have one or two that I can remember. And since FB marketplace/groups took off its actually been good for us because it motivates people to sell, and once you’ve decided to try a free platform I think people are more likely to go the paid route too. It means more gear floating around and that’s all good as far as I’m concerned. BC is more concerned about the quality of our marketplace than quantity of adverts.

More work done to the custom "roasted Maple/Purple heart" neck for Marks Zoot ZB-1000 custom build. Mark asked me to do a soft 'V' profile at the nut end of the neck running into a flattened 'C' profile at the heal end. Sort of like a vintage Wal feel at the nut end morphing into a modern 'C' at the body end. I have now done the basic shaping to achieve this, and I'm pleased to report that it all went swimmingly well, a good result all round.

Nice! Moog circuit and original case definitely a plus! Pic proves that these basses are strong enough to support the entire weight of the continent of Africa....

Finally received my BBNE2 after waiting nearly 4 months. Fantastic build quality and tone. The eq is super powerful, although I’m in two minds about the magic knob. I probably won’t use that. Sorry Nate! Not used in anger yet thanks to the apocalypse, but sounds great at room level through my Berg gear.

Interesting to see Hugh Dennis moonlighting on a Hofner and high end harmony vocals

Meeting people....I remember that....long ago....

The only 'hole will be the one playing it!

Go and see a physio. (Easier said than done at the moment). There's an excellent chance that the pain you experience while playing is the symptom rather than the cause. A few years ago I started experiencing sharp shoulder pain, triggered by long walks, of all things. I went to the GP who referred me to the physio, we never got to the bottom of what was causing the problem other than general 'poor posture' but he gave me some simple exercises to do, focusing on the shoulders and ,despite my low expectations, within a few weeks of the exercise regime the pain vanished and I can walk as far as I like now without problems. Point being that the long walks were never the fundamental cause of the problem, they were just exacerbating an issue that was primarily being caused by something else.

Do you play with the bass sat on your right thigh ? Try playing with it on a strap with the bass in your normal standing position, legs open with both feet flat on the floor so you are not twisted or forcing your shoulder up or forward There's a good posture/injury video course on Scott's Bass lessons where the guy who is a professional musicians' osteopath and bass player lays down some guidance, most of which Scott doesn't himself practice, the look on his face a few times when he realises he does and has been teaching it it wrong is priceless. I figured it out for myself as I found trying to play with instrument on right thigh neck 45' to the body was twisting my spine and giving me a pain in the side or shoulder and causing me to bend right wrist excessively

Steve never sold the rights, just a license. The license ran out. BTW, a pickup maker in Finland has started offering reproductions of the Wal multicoil design in different configurations to suit a variety of humbucker equipped basses and string spacings (15-19mm): https://www.rautiaguitars.net/multi-coil-bass-pickups.html?fbclid=IwAR1lrAqnXDSXEV9oRuoWwuiYv9dHfBb02OQKQ1GmPSPJ_hAKCqXeBWxkn1s He's been mentioned already but Lustihand Devices offer a Wal/Alembic style filter based preamp as well, low pass with shelving frequency boosts. I'm going to let him know I've posted on here and maybe he can contribute. He only has a FB page at the moment, no website as far as I can tell. Information on the preamps is available from the pickup maker's website, PDFs on some of the products are below: https://www.rautiaguitars.net/uploads/1/0/1/7/10174351/nfp_manual.pdf https://www.rautiaguitars.net/uploads/1/0/1/7/10174351/double_nfp-special_4s_document_text__2_.pdf https://www.rautiaguitars.net/uploads/1/0/1/7/10174351/double_nfp-special_56s_manual.pdf There are sound clips as well.

I was looking through some old posts and came across photos of the Elwray Infinga bass - the builder sent it to me and it went round amongst the BC Community for road testing and comments. Got me wondering - does anybody know what happened to the Bass. I can't recall when the builder , Marco Elwray, last posted. More photos here: https://bassclef141.wordpress.com/2018/10/26/basschat-south-east-bash-2018/

Very cryptic post over on the LBO saying there's some 'exciting Thunderbird news coming in 2021'. This was posted by the the guy that makes the Badbird bridges. My long dalliance with Gibson ended about five years ago, but I'll admit I'm interested in what the news is. Custom colours? Chrome? Two part bridges? NR models? IIs and IVs? 60s specs? Bicentennial reissues? Maybe Mark Agnesi has seen how well the Epiphones have been doing and believes it's time for Gibson to cash in.

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The lutherie and concept of these instruments is much aligned with the world of violins, double basses, cellos and the like. The folks that work in those fields know and understand how and why they work, and respect these methods. There are fine luthiers that can return this bass to its original, more-than-excellent state, whereby she would be, not simply playable, but very fine, class instrument, both acoustically (although not in the sense of playing in an acoustic band, just splendid tone...) and amplified, within the remit of 'old school' repertoire. The work needed is not difficult, for a suitably experienced luthier (indeed, it's almost their daily lot...), and will render the bass fit for purpose for at least the next half-century. Given her present state, it behoves the owner to ensure that she can give of her best for future generations. No short cuts, no half-measures, no bodging. It wouldn't necessarily be expensive, either, in the right hands. Done 'wrongly' the guitar would be destroyed. Think of the children..!

Thing is that because it’s free to list there’s often very little effort or commitment from the sellers. There’s a whole host of problems from people not marking things sold and being difficult to speak to (when they can string a sentence together) to full on scammers. Obviously some people are great, but there’s no filter. A bit like Gumtree. OK if you’re careful but not every bass player is a team player like we get used to on BC.

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Motorhead Metropolis, from the "1979" album.

I love this jig Andy, I use one similar to this that I built.

Come on guy - I've been out of the country since 1973!! LOL

Clearly the thread is moving too slowly And so today was start of fretboard day. First job was to square it up and cut it to the 'widest plus a bit' width. Then it was two-sided taped to the radiusing rig: The G&W rig is great. The fine lines resulting from the fact that the router bottom blades are hardly ever absolutely square but are easily sanded off with a radius block: Tomorrow's job is marking out the radiused board with fret positions for the 30" scale - it's a job where you need some decent daylight! I will be using the same fret slotting mitre jig as used on @Fishman 's Wal board, but indexed manually instead of using a frets template. With luck, I will be able to fit the two MoP swifts at the 12th before attention starts moving towards preparation for the non-Christmas Christmas - which will start with a pretty decent vacuuming of all of the ebony chips and unbelievably fine dust that has settled on most vertical horizontal surfaces. (Did I mention - if you ever sand ebony, you really must wear a proper dust mask...this is no time to end up in A&E with a respiratory condition ).

Oh yes ! Rocco Prestia (bass) and David Garibaldi (drums) - THE rhythm section and the groove behind Tower Of Power. Their playing looked effortless but their contribution was immeasurable.

I have a Takamine TB240SC, made in Japan, 34" scale. Strung with nickel Elixirs, now BEAD (125, 105, 85, 65) without any modification, sounds better than EADG. I love this type of bridge without pins, and his tube onboard preamp. Not cheap, but it deserves every cent, it's a perfect craftmanship.

Some people make it look effortlessly easy..!

About 17 quid. A fifth is about 750ml so you can find out more accurately from this. Bottoms up!

Thanks Jack. There’s a little video I made here that shows how they work

No idea whether it's comfortable or not but looks like it'll always be pleased to see you.

Tiran Porter was a big reason I took up bass. Great player, great tone, and was also just right in the mix. Here's an example, but just about anything else would do.

This article explains what is happening - https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/29161-mod-garage-three-ways-to-wire-a-tone-pot I know it's titled 'three ways to wire a tone pot' and your issue was with the vol pot, but if you look at the 'standard wiring' (top) and swap the hot and cold wires on the vol pot, this is the electrical equivalent of the ''50s wiring' option (bottom). The big difference being that, when the vol is rolled back, the tone control is no longer directly connected to the pickup and this 'decoupling' results in a change in how the vol and tone pots interact with each other. Read the blurb in the article on '50s wiring and all will be revealed!

[Namedrop] I knew Horace before he was famous. He went to school with my next door neighbour and would pop round for a chat from time to time. That was the late '70s. Then the band took off and I never saw him again. [/Namedrop]

My 1965 P bass weighs in at a colossal 3.55kg! Pretty damn light indeed and a bit of a looker too.

When Matt visited my workshop, he decided to go for a sunburst type finish and he also decided to give the bass a retro vintage look with a chrome control plate and Tort' scratch plate. Well today I finished the base colours and sealer coats. I now only have the top clear polyester coats to do and then a flat and polish to finish the paint job. Here's how the sunburst colours went.