Roland Rock

Good article by this ultra-talented visionary http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/oct/02/squarepusher-10-songs-that-taught-me-how-to-play-bass//

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1443807471' post='2877928'] Manufacturing defect/unfit for purpose = full refund or replacement (under UK law, but probably European law too) [/quote] IIRC the first six months you have the right to a refund, after that it's a refund/repair/replacement as the retailer sees fit

[Img]http://i1244.photobucket.com/albums/gg580/christopher_brown14/Mobile%20Uploads/2015-10/FB_IMG_1443773496935_zpse331nmx7.jpg" class="ipsImage" /> Edit: just noticed they have used the logo for HH 2014 - FAIL!😂

It doesn't annoy me TBH. It's usually an indicator that the seller has been messed about in the past.

I'll leave the fx tips up to the dirt experts, but I'm with you on loving Loop. I had Heaven's End recorded onto a C60 cassette and damn near wore it out.

I remember it (I was 9) but not particurlarly special to me. Just looked it up, and apparently it was initially released in 1984 and reached no51 in the UK, then when it was rereleased in 1985 it went to no2 in the UK and no1 in the states.

Lou Reed's Berlin - great songs, and some tidy bass from Jack Bruce (and Tony Levin on two tracks)

Yeah, there was a [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/268362-got-bass-chops/page__hl__chops"]thread[/url] with this video a while back - there's some amazing talent out there

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1443542285' post='2875677'] Can't you guess from the clothes, hair and my youthful looks? Me onstage with my synth rock band at the 1986 Nottingham Rock & Reggae Festival [/quote] Haha, it was a rhetorical gybe due to the fact that it is the most 80s looking pic I've ever seen. I had no idea that NRRF had been going so long. Great picture 👍

With my last cab purchase, the overriding factor was the depth of the cab - anything more than 14" and it couldn't fit in the space under the stairs.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1443541457' post='2875672'] [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/Keytar_zpstkhomlis.jpg[/IMG] [/quote] Can you give us a clue as to the decade that picture was taken BRX?

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1443449245' post='2874752'] the BigHead ... seems to have very little headroom. [/quote] Ironic

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1443304796' post='2873804'] First heard this on a tape someone lent me when I was younger. Laying in bed in a dark room with headphones on, I really should still do that but don't, The guitar just took my breath away, so amazingly sad and melancholic, yet angry and beautiful. Just utterly captivating. http://youtu.be/dh3bleXWaCk [/quote] Good choice. I have this CD in my car stereo at the moment and this song is amazing.

I tend to do the following: - get the neck relief looking good - set the action as low as possible, but not so low that there is even a hint of fretbuzz - set intonation I'm not fussed about ultra-low action; I'd rather have the action a bit higher than any fretbuzz. I don't dig in much, so I'm usually able to get pretty low action with no buzz.

How do you get A♭m? Throw a piano down the shaft

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1443118849' post='2872444'] So, to answer your second question, generally they switched from nitro to acrylic in 1968. Pre-’63 instruments vary, depending on the colour etc, so no strict rule, unsurprisingly. Also it should be noted that 1968 and later Fenders are not entirely AUC (Aliphatic Urethane Coating). What Fender did was seal the body (as always), and then spray the sunburst colors with lacquer. Now instead of using lacquer as the clear coat over the sunburst, they just sprayed two coats of AUC. Also the face of the peghead stayed entirely nitro lacquer, even though the rest of the neck was spray with AUC. This happened because the peghead "Fender" decal reacted with AUC. The problem occured because in 1968 Fender now clear-coated ‘over’ the peghead decal for the first time." However, it is also worth noting the following with regard to nitro vs poly finishes, which is quoted from source…. [i]All Fender Guitars made since 1963 are 2-part Polyester coated. Lacquer is put on top of the hardened chemicals to satisfy the general publics belief that Nitro Cellulose (nitro) Lacquer finished guitars "breathe", "dry" and generally are the bottom line for creating great tone. I'm talking USA, Vintage collectable instruments that mis-informed sheep have bought, traded, and sold for over 50 years. Every Guitar that has come from the Fender USA factory since 1963 has a hard plastic jacket underneath it. A suffocating wolf, masquerading under a cloak of Lacquer.[/i] [i]The two-part catalyzed coating named "Fullerplast" (Fuller for Fuller O'Brien, the products creator, and plast for the obvious PLASTIC"), solved all of Fenders finishing problems; encasing the deep wood pores in a self-hardening plastic that wrapped the body in a rock-hard solid coffin. In some cases we have found it to be as thick as a .060 string. Yes, all of the wood moisture and characteristics are sealed in a virtual time-capsule, only to be vented from the body through screw holes and paint fractures. Share this info and be the hit of your next guitar gathering![/i] [i]Fender rarely mentions Fullerplast, or the way it prepares its bodies before applying Lacquer. So, when someone tells you that a Fender "nitro-cellulose" or "nitro" finished guitar will sound better, have more warmth, or will dry out... this is highly unlikely, as the finishing coats will not impact hugely on the tone, if the body has already been sealed and wrapped in plastic finish.[/i] [i]They've been spraying raw Fender bodies with Fullerplast, or similar ‘plastic sealer coat’ since the late 50s, and comprehensively since ’63. Fullerplast is essentially the same thing as polyurethane (a non-catalyzed air-cured plastic coating).[/i] [i]To say that Fender "ruined" guitars by spraying them with poly-u is simply ignorance of the history of Fender finishing processes.[/i] [i]‘Fullerplast’ is a clear, sprayed chemically curing sealer, unaffected by solvents after it dries. It is made by Fuller O'Brien, hence the name "Fullerplast" (and all this time you though it was named after the city of Fullerton, the home of Fender). Fullerplast soaks into the wood and creates a seal that prevents following coats from soaking into the wood like a sponge. This means spraying the color coats is easier and the coats can be applied thinner (saving material, money and dry time). Even though alder is a "closed pore" wood anyway, the first few coats of lacquer will soak in like a sponge without some type of sealer coat. Fullerplast dries in 15 minutes, and is paintable in one hour. It is also applied very thin. [/i] [i]Most experts agree the actual product "Fullerplast" (as made by Fuller O'Brien) actually started to be used around 1963 at Fender. Prior to that, Fender used other products as their sealer coat, but they did the same thing. The sealer allowed any color coat (be it sunburst or a custom color) to not soak into the wood. Since the sealer is essentially a clear inexpensive primer, less color would be needed (and color costs a lot more money than a cheap sealer). [/i] [i]Another misconception about Fullerplast is it's color. The sealers Fender used including Fullerplast was clear, not yellow. The yellow seen in the unpainted portions of a 1956 and later Alder body is actually a stain or dye applied under the sealer coat. This was used to simplify the sunbursting process. The Alder bodies are dipped in a vat of yellow stain/dye. Next the Alder body is sealed with a very thin coat of clear sealer (i.e. "Fullerplast"). After drying, the sunburst procedure is continued by spraying the translucent red (starting in 1958) and dark blackish-brown on the edges of the body, which completes the sunburst look. Finally a clear coat is sprayed over the entire body to seal the colors. By dipping the alder bodies in a yellow stain first, instead of spraying yellow lacquer, there is one less step of lacquer to mix, spray, and dry. * [/i] [i]By the fall of 1964, Fender changed the yellow making it more whitish and opaque to better hide flaws in the wood. This allowed Fender to use cheaper Alder (and smaller multiple pieces) with more cosmetic flaws. The more whitish yellow was then sprayed over the sealer coat, as were the red and brown of the Sunburst. That is why the red and yellow now looks much different on late 1964 and later Fenders. This new whitish-yellow bleeds through the translucent red making it more orangish. Note that even though Fender was now spraying the yellow after the Fullerplast, they still continued to stain or dye the bodies yellow before the sealer coat. [/i] [i]Note in the mid-1960s occassionally Fender would make alder Strat bodies that were well book matched. That is, the glue lines between the multiple pieces of Alder lined up well, making the body look like a single piece of Alder. In these cases sometimes you'll see in black pen "no fill" underneath the pickguard, under the finish. This told the painters not to spray the opaque yellow on that particular body. If you find one of these mid-1960s Strats, usually the sunburst is much nicer than the "normal" yellow opaque sunburst Strat body. [/i] [i]Early (1954 to mid-1956) Ash bodies in Sunburst were done differently. In this case, the yellow is not stained, but is sprayed like a Gibson-type Sunburst finish. That's why 1954 to mid-1956 Fender Ash body sunburst's yellow looks "brighter" than later Alder yellow stained Sunburst finishes. This process created a lot more production work. Not only was the yellow sprayed, but the Ash body also had to be "pore filled" (sealed) before spraying the Sunburst. Since Ash is an "open-pore" wood (unlike Alder), not using a pore-filler sealer leaves a final finish with considerable "sink". This occurs when the finish dries and sinks into the open pores of the wood, leaving a finish with many dimples. To stop this, a pore filler consisting of fine sand mixed in a thick solution is brushed (or sprayed) on the bare wood. After some dry time, the excess pore filler can be scraped or wiped off leaving material in the pores of the wood, thus filling them. After some more dry time, the body can be sealed with lacquer and the color finish can be applied. This process was always used by Fender on Ash bodies from 1950 to the present. [/i] [i]Note there is an exception to the sprayed yellow sunburst rule in 1954. The first two months of Strat production (March-April 1954), there was NO yellow in the sunburst! The two-tone sunburst's center area was actually just a natural Ash wood color, making a "one-color" sunburst. The amber brown of the sunburst was sprayed around the edge of the body, leaving the natural Ash center as the "yellow" part of the two-tone sunburst. This changed by May 1954 to having the yellow center of the sunburst sprayed, giving a more vibrant sunburst finish. [/i] [i]Back to the yellow stain in 1956 and later. Since it was used for Alder Sunburst bodies, sometimes you don't see it on custom color finishes. But again, most times you do. Fender was a production shop that produced mostly Alder Sunburst finished bodies. Hence they just stained all Alder bodies with the yellow, allowing them greater production flexibility. Therefore most custom color bodies have a yellow stained body too. After all, you're not gonna see the yellow on a custom color body, so what's the difference? Fender just stained all Alder bodies yellow and figured out later which ones would be custom colors. Again, in most cases Fender also still used a sealer ("Fullerplast") in custom color finishes too. The custom color spraying process wasn't different from sunbursting till after the sealer step. This simplified the production process, and made Fender quick to react to market demands for Sunburst or custom colored bodies. During the early 60’s, when guitar production was really high, bodies destined to be a custom color often didn't get the yellow stain, Fullerplast, primer, and clear coat procedure. After all, if the shop was really in a hurry it can just spray the color coat right over the Alder without any preparation paint (if need be). All they did was spray more color coats (especially if a clear coat wasn't used). This would cost more in materials (custom color paint was the most expensive paint Fender used), but it sure was quick. And often, they didn't even clear coat the color. Some colors were really prone to "short cutting" by the Fender factory. For example, Sonic Blue & Olympic White often do not have the yellow stain. In the case of these lighter colours, this might have happened because the yellow stain was bleeding through to the white or off-white blue. Other pastel colors were also shorted cutted, having no yellow stain, no Fullerplast, and/or no clear coat.[/i] The only real tonal difference therefore, is because early thin skin nitro finishes are exactly that, very thin, and not thick like some of the 70’s paints, which were extremely thick in some cases, the thinner finishes can help to make the instrument resonate more, and this is what people can hear, notice and ‘feel’, so there is some truth in the tonal differences, but the reason behind this is not correct, it’s not just a simple case of ‘nitro vs poly’. Very anoracky stuff i know, but some of you may find it interesting. Cheers, Rick [/quote] Anoraky? Indubitably. Useful and informative? Definitely. Thanks for taking the time to give such an exhaustive response 👍

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1443043963' post='2871856'] [sup]the earliest oly white finishes were Lucite acrylic, and many had no clear coat on top, so didn't fade. Later nitro finished with clear coats yellowed, I can provide more info on this tomorrow, when I have more time.[/sup] [/quote] Thanks. I'd like to know when the types of finish changed if possible ☺

How come the 60s Olympic white finish stays white, but the 70s ones I've seen go custard colour? Something to do with lacquer?

Thom Yorke (Radiohead) Tom Jenkinson (squarepusher)

"This Guy Invented a System That Lets You Play Music Really Loud Without Pissing Off Your Neighbours" http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/guy-invented-system-boost-volume-without-pissing-your-neighbours-off-101

[quote name='colgraff' timestamp='1442955489' post='2870977'] Why does the drummer have a microphone in his ear? [/quote] Yeah, that's quite a luxury - normally we just jam an XLR up the drummer's arse

Remember the knife thread recently? I have a damascas steel hand-forged japanese kitchen knife. Why? Because they can get incredibly sharp, it cuts effortlessly, and I love the thought of how it was made, and how it looks. It's a pleasure to use. No-one has ever complimented me on how exquisitely chopped the carrots and onions are. That doesn't matter.

"I wrote the song two hours before we met. I didn't know your name or what you looked like yet"

At work: Spotify on headphones In the car: CD or R4 Cooking/washing up: 6 Music Very occasionally I'll actually put a CD on the good stereo and just listen

I agree with our leafy colleague above. Some people have the money and inclination to buy the latest and greatest thing, and then you'll see it on the market a while later when the next toy tempts them. Nothing wrong with it, and it has no bearing on the quality.