Leaderboard

I came across it on Facebook. It might help prevent the odd domestic dispute 😁.

Hmm, I realise I have not been snapping pics.... hmmm, bad hobby builder! fretboard is glued on, body carved, neck cavity, battery cavity, control cavity and headless tuner cut all done. Need to carve te neck/radius fretboard etc. I will not be doing much over next 2 weeks, so pics will come asap. I did for some reason snap these pics, gives a little indication of what things look like, albeit totally incomplete.

Yesterday an exciting package arrived from Portugal. It means I can steam ahead on the build next week : The 20" templates for my G&W radius jig; a template for the G&W fretcutting mitre jig (the last couple of shortscale boards I've done I marked the positions by hand, but I am increasingly asked about short and medium scale basses so it was worth getting the template); finally, a piece of maple strip put into the package to stop the template getting bent...and which will make @Fishman very happy! The other thing that @Matt P and I have been discussing is the neck to body transition. Of the various options, Matt's preference is a mix of this, below, his present 5-er (no pressure, then, MrAndyjr1515!!!!) : ...and this, a stock Bing photo that I can't remember who the builder/maker is so apologies and thanks if it's you!: So basically, a continuation of the neck thickness until it meets the body at the lower horn cutout, and probably a continuation of the neck profile curve along that length, as with the bottom photo, rather than flattening off from the neck spline to the upper body as in the top photo. Should be a good week I will also be ordering the SimS 5-string Superquad during next week, so everything is starting to get pretty serious

Over Christmas I decided I had had enough with my Fender Jazz USA 75 Reissue and the fact that although playable I wasn't happy with the neck. The neck would not lie as flat as I would like ( I like 0 relief) and I had completely played through the frets. The bass was my main touring and recording bass for a decade and had travelled all over the world with me and had all the battle scars that went along with that! So I decided the neck was coming off and was going to be replaced with a new neck and also the thick clear poly finish was going to be stripped for a refinish ( which turned out would be necessary anyway!) Deciding that I wouldn't try to recreate the bass but instead create something new and different, I imported a Fender Mexican Roasted Vintera 60s from Germany in the early days of brexit and bought some Hipshot HB3 tuners and I dropped the bass off at my tech! The 3 bolt micro tilt neck system had to replaced and converted to a 4 bolt which meant the holes had to be plugged with quartersawn ash which were grain matched, as the 4 bolt plate didn't cover the holes. This is where the refinish became necessary as to sand the plugs down mean sanding the finish to get them flat with the body. So after a bit of discussion and Google image search I opted for a thin Inca Silver Nitro over White and a nee parchment 70s pickuard. We also decides to get some new saddles for the Badass bass bridge 2 to try and get the strings more centered over the pole pieces. Ater weeks of waiting and various photo updates I went to pick up the bass and spent a couple of hours with my tech to set it up and sort out the bridge saddles. I know that to some this may be sacrilege and that I should've kept the instrument as it was because the dents all bring back memories but I have instruments to play and I have far better memories of touring the world than smashing a bass around! I absolutely love what it has become. The roasted neck is amazing, the back of the neck is satin whilst the fingerboard and headstock face is poly and is definitely a better profile and overall neck than the US neck. The action is amazing and the bass seems to be even more resonant and clear in tone. The refinish is beautiful and with the black knobs and chrome hardware and parchment pickuards has an almost old sports car vibe. The finish will also naturally wear with age as it's nitro so I'm looking forward to that process happening over time! My tech also now believes that the old neck is actually probably fine but just the frets are completely shot in it... Despite that still happy I chose to do what I did!! And here's a photo of the finished bass

Not really. On Basschat we send them on their way with a piece of cake and a party bag

That's it in a nutshell. Compare "super cables" to outright rubbish and there will be a difference. Once you get into the realms of decent quality (which needn't equate to super expensive), it's all snake oil.

I played one the same as this right through the 80s. Still got it but doesn't get much use these days.

There is Good Stuff in there too, y'know...

The original truss rod is one of these - a substantial aluminium three-sided box with the rod in the middle: So this, actually glued in the equally substantial slot in the neck... : ...will indeed stop the neck from twisting. Trouble is, this design can be highly troublesome. The original, as well as breaking its way through the back of the neck, was doing this too - can you see how the nut is pushing its way into the u-shape, expanding it and almost certainly resulting in the fretboard splitting away from the neck: So what I have done so far, it add a strip of silk fabric epoxied in to strengthen the very thin bottom of the slot where the crack has been mended (thanks for the tip, @6feet7 !) : ...and then to keep the neck straighter (it had assumed a permanent bow) I've used rosewood strips as the trussrod packers (the strips are VERY strong in this direction) to help keep the neck straight: But that's not going to stop it twisting. So what I can do with the rock maple offcut packaging strip that G&W sent in @Matt P 's parcel, is cut a capping strip that will fit over the two rosewood strips and make a hardwood U surrounding the trussrod to give it the same twist resistance as the original U of aluminium from the old trussrod. But the difference is that the U is not integral to the trussrod operation, as it was in the original, and so each only has one job - the wooden hardwood U to stop the twist and the trussrod to stop the bow...

Cheers. Yes, still have the other two too. 5 Spector basses in total at the moment: 3 Fortes and 2 Euro basses (Mike Starr LE and 1977 LE). I think I will stop buying any more and instead start saving money for a NS-2 with a finish like this one:

Hmmm... Mariah, Whitney and Ronnie James Dio are/were exceptional and well taught singers. Give me someone who can do vocal fireworks naturally and in tune any day ghastly over-auto-tuned warbling.

Mariah Carey. Twenty seven different notes in every single word. I have a theory that they sing like this to avoid holding any note long enough for you to hear that they're never actually hitting the right notes.

Aria Pro ZZ

Here’s mine 👋🏼

Yeah I’m a “new” bass builder and here’s is some pict and follow me on Instagram. @backinstruments Usually I’m building my own body shape but At the moment in building someone else’s great shape! Clue: Anne Clark

Agreed to a point. Vibrato is certainly a skill, but less of a skill on some instruments, voice included, than holding a sustained note in tune, something I learned the hard way when I switched from orchestral violin to bluegrass fiddle, the former requiring lots of vibrato, the latter demanding sustained and often double stopped notes with none. Without using vibrato it’s a whole lot harder to sound in tune with other instruments/voices, requiring more technical control plus a better ear for your pitch and that of the others

Here Come the Warm Jets - Eno

How about something like this?... 😉

Salut, and best of luck. I've been taking a break before finishing up the 100 watt one I started last year but it's very close to finished and now that the weather's nice I can finally finish up the last of the metal and woodwork. Here's the general idea:

The neck pickup in this demo of the Sims Super Quad is close enough to the P position to give you some idea. The first 30secs demo the neck pup in split coil mode (standard P) followed by humbucker (parallel), then single coil.

At the end of the day if its what you want then its the right thing for you. I've heard a similar discussion on Squier P versus Fender P. Most won't hear the difference but some do. If it interprets as a benefit to the individual then its acceptable. I'm not here to judge .......... i was just curious. Dave

How about a Yamaha BB3000? Hope ChunkyMonkey doesn’t mind me using his pic.

He’s probably a witch ....

Are you saying Hellzero had a pea in the bed?

Oh FGS.

Not a theory but a tried and trusted technique. Plenty of singers - and instrumentalists for that matter - can’t hold a single note at pitch for more than a few milliseconds. It’s why vibrato was invented

No chance of non Instagram users seeing your builds here then? Aw. They look stunning though.

Epsom used to be my local store. When I was buying my 4003s, the truss rods needed adjusting and the tech did it with speed, ease and accuracy so I could have a better demo experience. This turns out to have been no mean feat, I tried adjusting the neck some months later, having bought it and made an initial pig’s ear of it. I also had an Epiphone Casino, with Bigsby, totally set up, including fret levelling, by Epsom. When I picked it up it was a different playing guitar, real quality. I can only hope that my new ‘locals’ are as good (I can’t think why they wouldn’t be).

I'm holding that photo up to my sunburst 424 and asking it, wouldn't you much rather look like that?!

My BB has been packed away for a while, been playing on my 'little' Ibanez mezzo which is a nice enough instrument, however got it out this weekend and am in love with it all over again. Was still in tune too.

Good point - Mods, maybe we need a new emoji:

+1 I've only ever used Hot Wires on my Status Streamline and I've never yet regretted it.

I can understand that. To keep explaining it to the dinner guests must be something of a chore. Love the retro styling of this. Can you do sound bites, Stew?

All opinions welcome. If it helps people make a decision you should speak your mind. Dave

I should have it by Thursday!

IME everything I have tried at a Guitar Guitar has been reasonably well set up, but I would always tweak any guitar or bass to suit my own preferences. Most decent shops depend on having one or more members of staff who play the stock and tweak them if required. Last badly set up bass I played was in PMT, think it was an Ibby Talman. Before that it was an acoustic bass in a local shop - they took it off me and brought it back five minutes later after a truss rod adjustment and it was vastly better.

Out of the two I think I will go the PowerCon route. I don't normally use odd connectors for gigging kit, as I like to carry spares, but this will be home use only. Thanks, that's uncommonly kind, but I will just get one myself - I rarely pass up the opportunity to acquire a new tool! Thanks for all the other encouraging comments too.

Opera singers are mostly following a score, so any perceived 'warbling' is what they've been instructed to do using the techniques they've been taught. Oversinging as I understand it is the act of adding (mostly unnecessary) emphasis and embellishment not written into the music, usually done with a kind of 'look at me' bravado. I can certainly understand why people don't like operatic singing (which is fine of course - each to their own), but TBH I'm not sure how the pejorative might apply in an operatic situation.

Status Series 2000 headless

Utterly meaningless on electrics. On acoustics on the other hand the wood does make a noticeable difference and I prefer Acacia, just a personal preference.