lettsguitars

technique has a lot to answer for. i s'pose i'm a bit slow and clunky

neck thickness and string spacing is the deciding factor for me. too thin and your fingers have to work harder, i've got small hands so wide spacings are no good. the neck width is not so important.

made in italy! coooool i'd say it was a keeper.

gotta be brian may. oh sorry, thought you said ass player.

[quote name='henry norton' post='1112068' date='Feb 2 2011, 09:50 AM']Oops. It looks like you'll need to do a bit of surgery whatever. Is the rod actually broken (loose, rattling, able to pull it out) or is the thread stripped because if it's just the thread, you can get a tool for re cutting it in situ, especially now it's got a nice big hole around it. Did the truss rod hole originally have a darker wood surrounding it (walnut)? If so, and as it's an 87 it's most likely to be a Fender Japan as Fender only made a few custom shop guitars in the US and they're usually 57/62 reissues, which have the truss rod nut down the other end. You'll never be certain either way if the markings were already sanded off before you got it so I wouldn't let it worry you too much. I'll post a link to the truss rod thread cutter if I can find it.[/quote] i read somewhere (stewmac?) that the fender truss access wood was koa not walnut. who cares? is it possible to pull out a fender truss rod, out of interest? i assumed they were anchored.

if you tap the back of the neck you will/should hear if the rod is rattling. taking up the slack in the rod will/should rectify the problem. could well also be the slot.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1111853' date='Feb 2 2011, 12:07 AM']I'm sure Mark King would be welcomed by all 13'000+ members , Him and Flea being equally the best 2 bass players in the world is something we all appear to agree on! ,and I bet he hasn't seen the drummer is at the wrong gig clip either [/quote] not me.

[quote name='razze06' post='1112031' date='Feb 2 2011, 09:20 AM']Not quite as rock and roll as some others, but there... [attachment=70723:Mayfair_...mall_014.jpg][attachment=70727:Mayfair_...0129_010.JPG] [attachment=70726:Mayfair_...0129_003.JPG][attachment=70725:Mayfair_...0129_006.JPG][/quote] thats a real cool cookie you have there. and in great shape by the looks of it (the bass, sorry )

[quote name='Doddy' post='1111025' date='Feb 1 2011, 02:14 PM']I've got basses with brass,bone,plastic and phenolic nuts,and to be honest,as soon as you fret a note the material of the nut becomes irrelevant. Brass nuts are great,but not particularly vital.[/quote] exactly. if you don't play only open strings, the difference would be unnoticable.

as above! make sure the saddle screws are bottomed out on the base plate. gotta be something loose on the bridge. saddle screws, springs or summink.

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1109978' date='Jan 31 2011, 08:00 PM']don't know about your amp, but bass response starts around 50hz. cut below that to let the kick breathe, and i would never cut around 100hz. in fact a little boost there is quite normal i think. you normally cut around 400hz to let the guitar through, boost around 6-800hz for your mids and cut around 1-2khz for the vocal space. could be your drummers kit needs retuning and dampening.[/quote] my suggestion of a boost at around 6-800hz stems mainly from the problem of bass totally disappearing on small laptop speakers. this boost sorts that out quite well. any boost or cuts should generally be no more than a couple of db. apart from that 800 boost which can be up to 10db.

absolutely no reason why anyone with a bit of gumpsion (first time i've used that one) can't put together one of these. people tend to forget that the best instruments are made and built by hand. it's a no brainer to be honest. all this machine made fender stuff is shamelessly overpriced. building your own guitar can really help your understanding of the instrument and i believe it makes you a better player. there's nothing better than playing a git you made yourself. why d'you think evh smiles all the time.

[quote name='madshadows' post='1109988' date='Jan 31 2011, 08:06 PM']No serial number (looked under the truss rod plate last week where they were sometimes hand -written) but from the Dan Armstrong website they were built between 1972-75, I bought it new in 74 or 75, a mate bought a 6 string plexiglass model at the same time, great guitars. John :-)[/quote] oh wow. then it is the real deal. one careful owner only £1000

school of hard knocks mate thats where it's at.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1110582' date='Feb 1 2011, 07:41 AM']Sounds partly down to the Rotosound strings to me (see many many threads on BC) I find they lose their zing after a week or 2. Could you lend a bass combo to try? The only thing I would say is don't be blinded and over the moon with the top end of a small practice amp only to be putting a thread up I a weeks time with a link to another one bites the dust but you can't get any bass out of it! Secondhand decent combo will be much better than a small/cheap new one.[/quote] +1 on the rotosounds. absolute waste of money. dead strings walking.

i usually go with my gut. if the idea of buying the bass has planted itself in the pit of your stomach, just do it. what's the big deal? £90 and a setup and you could have yourself a decent new bass. i um'd and ahh'd about a usa tele FOR £250 in cash con for 24 hours, and on my return, GONE! if you don't someone else will, and then you'll never know.

[quote name='shinkicker' post='1110336' date='Jan 31 2011, 10:45 PM']Thanks for advice guys i hadnt realised this issue had alrerady been covered previously i have only just joined the forum, that said i should have done a search i guess ooops!!. I have only been playing since Nov last year i brought a cheap brunswick electro acoustic which has given me the enthusiasm to keep the playing going. The brunswick neck is warped so i am looking to upgrade it, my question really really came from looking around a few magazines and seeing talk of passive and active and me not really understanding what was meant by these terms. I did wonder though because obviously i am going to go bass hunting soon and although i realise the choice will be down to me, obviously taking into account how a bass plays and the feel of it. I would have hated to have brought a bass either passive or active then realised i had chosen wrongly, which is where your help is invaluable to a new player like myself. So thanks again and im sure i will have loads of other questions soon enough.[/quote] is your neck 'warped', or just bowed? bows can be easily fixed and an honest guitar tech could fix it for you in half an hour. thats a tenner in my book. a warp=twisted shape or undulations which is not good. most budget guitars are very poorly setup off the rack but can easily be made very playable.

tell you what, i bet it sounds awesome. very well made and a custom build so someone really new what they wanted. got it, and then was cured. the $3.000 price tag sounds about right judging by the quality of the build and the very decent hardware/parts. theres probably about one madhead out there somewhere with a massive collection of money and guitars who'd just buy it and hang it on the wall. prince maybe.

impressive bass. just for show i reckon. it's already in the 'make your own minds' up thread.

korean. i take it you've tried maplins for toggle switches?