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Hey guys Short back story, I first played a Fodera (chestnut topped Garrison signature) back in 2011, and I came away from that experience thinking that that was just about the best instrument I'd ever played. I later had the chance to play a 33" scale monarch 6 string and a couple of days later I started saving....fast forward a few years, and alll the stars finally lined up in March of last year, and my bass went into production in mid Feb of this year! Specs are as follows Monarch 6 string Elite 32" scale length 3 piece red oak neck (thin profile) Ebony fingerboard (blank) Walnut body, alder tone block Solid flame Koa top, matching headstock 26 frets (small) 16.5mm spacing Ebony ramp and pickup covers Fodera/Duncan dual coils Pope custom shop preamp, Garrison control layout Black hardware I got my progress photos from Fodera yesterday and its safe to say I'm pretty thrilled with the way my bass is turning out thus far! She's on schedule for final setup one week today, so assuming all goes well I'm hoping to take delivery sometime in the second week of April, at which point I'll add the unboxing/NBD photos! UPDATE: She's been completed!!! https://fodera.smugmug.com/Newborn-Gallery-Vol-VI/Newborn-2165/

Having read many very positive reviews of the SRF705, and having heard a Youtube demo or two showing its tonal abilities, I've been keeping a lookout for one. One turned up collection only in That London on FB marketplace, and as it was such a good price, it was worth the petrol and £15 ULEZ charge to go and get it. First impressions were a high action, rather quiet piezo pickup, and duff elderly strings. On getting it home, it got destrung and degunked (it wasn't bad), then the fingerboard got lemon oiled (helps the tonewoods) and a set of Elites fitted. The relief was rather more than I like - I go for a nearly flat fingerboard on a fretless. So off with the truss rod cover, to discover that it's a clever design with a swivelling plate allowing easy access to the truss rod without removing the cover (I suspected there was something of the sort but couldn't work out how to use it). Truss rod adjusted, action lowered too, and then adjusted the trim pots on the piezo bridge to increase the volume to match the magnetic pickups. Still to do - fit Schaller straplocks. Do I use the chrome ones I've got here or get some ruthenium ones? Decisions, decisions. Now it plays very nicely and sounds good. What more could I want?

Last change for now…..

This. A seasoned old pro drummer I worked with always had the motto "You should always go on stage feeling horny and hungry" These days I'll settle for just feeling slightly peckish. 🙂

Time for a confession.... a few months after I commissioned the ACG Krell... I commissioned Robin at Manton Customs to build a six string... (yeah, I'm nuts). There are various aspects of it which appeal. I'm an early music aficionado (Renaissance and Medieval) and I play the viola da gamba(tenor and bass). The "Titan" model has attributes of the viol about it. I have gone for mostly English woods this time. The top will be walnut and the accent layer will be yew, and the body English sycamore. The fretboard will be Wenge... I need to dig through e-mails and pull out more details on it... but it should be ready in a few months.

Dear Friends, I can’t wait till tomorrow…. Unfortunately the only strings I’ve found @ home, are those DR Peacock Blue …. Anyway, setup done test drive with in-ear done…. Video tomorrow 😎

Hi All – I wanted to share my first build with you fine folk! I’ve been doing a guitar building evening course for a couple of years now – a few hours a week hence the slow progress. I actually have another bass nearing completion, but this one is the output of an intensive week-long course I did last last summer (have spent my evening class time since finishing it). I could probably write a small and very boring book about my experience of the build process but instead I’ll just share the specs and my key lessons learned, in case of any use/interest to anyone thinking about getting in to luthiery. Specs: • Swamp ash body • Maple neck • Rosewood fretboard • Schaller hardware • Sims super quad pickup with passive electronics Top 3 learning points for a first build: Keep it simple. Sounds obvious but it’s easy to get excited and carried away with the design. I tried an original body shape and a wood veneer and pearloid logo on the headstock. They look pretty decent but they added a large chunk of time to the build. I made some mistakes with the veneer and just ended up staining it black anyway. Start with an existing template (e.g. J or P bass) and go from there. The main purpose of the first build will be learning all the basic woodworking techniques, so focus on that rather than funky design ideas. Try those once your confidence and experience increases a bit. Don’t blow your budget. It’s very easy to be tempted to buy a really nice looking piece of quilt maple for a top, or some high-end pickups. Materials and hardware aint cheap and before long it can get quite expensive. The first build isn’t going to be perfect so don’t go overboard with the extras. Save them for later - in hindsight I got overexcited with those Sims pickups and should have opted for something more cost-effective. Cheap and functional is what I’d recommend. A guy in my class made a P Bass the same time as me and fitted some Wilkinson pickups to it – they sounded great. Take your time. You’ll be really keen to get your first build finished and in your hands ASAP but it is a long and tricky process. My patience was tested quite a few times by the mistakes I made, and quite a few of them could have been avoided if I’d just done things a little slower and steadier. So don’t rush, the next build will go much quicker! There are quite a few things I’d change design-wise for another build (smaller, sharper body, wider headstock so there’s more distance between the strings at the tuners, cheaper pickups/hardware etc.), but nonetheless I’m quite pleased – the bass sounds decent and provides a good benchmark for the future. Hopefully there will be a few more before too long!

Following a trip to my local B&Q, I have returned home and liberally applied the copper slugtape to all my cavities, I’m now happy to report that not only is the bass buzz free, no creatures have been harmed in the process. Thanks for the tip guys.

This is superb. I’m genuinely flabbergasted. I seriously believe this is the most comfortable instrument of any sort I’ve ever played. It sounds pretty badass too! Totally pleased with this, the 5er I’ve been looking for!!!

A short video

We did a very rocking set at the Finsbury in London. Lots of comments on my bass - it's literally just some bits! 😸

Boar dom. buzzcocks

Yes, but nothing massively radical........ baseball boots, black canvas trousers, bright pink/cerise shirt, silver tie, leopard-print 'suit' jacket. But it's enough to get a few comments.

For me the best singer in that band

Many thanks Nick i could blame a tough week and getting home late and falling asleep , or I could fess up and say I shared a couple of pints in the local on the way home and forgot to tick the box on the poll 😳 it should be good now 👍

As an ex Essex boy born , bred and schooled, i can testify to that

Otherway round. It was GM that funded Lotus to produce the VX220 which would share the Lotus S2 Elise chassis - but little else more. (Different shells, engines, transmissions etc)

Jilted John - Jilted John

Dan Deacon, he was supporting last night as well. Was a decent show at the Ally Pally. I'm not a proper fan but my wife bought tickets for me as a surprise after I showed her the clip of them playing on Letterman which was nice of her. Agree that the band are tight. Sam Herring is an incredible frontman. He gave it 200% all night, the nuclear dad dancing was something else. The sound was poor though (not their fault). FOH was was too bass heavy, so much so that everything in the middle was squashed. Bass player played a tasty natural P bass for most of the set, picked up the Jazz for one song. One again i suppose he will be Marmite but Sam Herring is something else.

For what? Metal?

I can't sleep for a few hours after a gig..... stopping at a kebab shop and getting chips (maybe in a pitta 🙂) is part of my wind-down process. I'm normally still wearing my stage gear....... sometimes attracts comments (and even a selfie request) from the clientele.

I could never eat a big meal before a gig or fancied one after much. Guess it’s adrenaline.

Here's Chilli's 1st time on tv in 1984.... Jack Sherman in guitar! They may have been perhaps a touch overwhelmed!

That I believe that every instrument, budget or expensive, has its own voice. My Mustang (about to buy another one) was 50 quid. I firmly believe that altering it in any way will take its vibe away, and it’s vibe is awesome as it is. Best p bass I’ve had, and I’ve had a lot. An upgrade would be a backwards step and remove its personality. Buy the right bass in the first place. If you f*** up and don’t like it, move it on. Don’t waste your money on trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.

I don't know how you do that. If I eat a big meal before I play, I have difficulty keeping awake/alert. A bit like the lions in wildlife documentaries. They kill and eat something and then go to sleep under a tree for two days.

voting is go

Most amps with an fx loop will let you plug into the fx return cutting out the onboard preamp altogether. SCR > Power Amp > speaker. The Quilter Bass amp was developed via Talkbass forum initially as a power block to take pedals but as it proceeded it became clear it would sell better with a few extra preamp features. Knobs at noon is supposed to be entirely neutral. Markbass ironically some of the few that don't run serial fx loop.

Humble pie

Bought this to get over selling my much loved 78 jazz. I bought it because of the looks but it's also a killing instrument as well.

I voted nothing. Firstly, the majority of out-of-town gigs that I do these days include free food and drink for the band (with any special dietary requirements taken into account) so rarely feel hungry on the way back from a gig. Secondly, for me getting back home a bit quicker so I can get to bed and sleep, always trumps stopping to eat some nasty (not very) fast food on the way. If I'm really hungry I'll make myself some proper healthy food when I get home.

When I did gig, it was without exception, late, far from home and I had a car full of gear. I just used to drive home ASAP.

But they are definitely not Peavey. Mind you, conversely, you could say that folks driving around in Porsches and Lamborghinis are in reality, driving around in Skodas.

Trying to get to grips with my recently defretted J bass....