Grangur

Juie London Http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DDXg6UB9Qk0o&ved=0ahUKEwiQ76SH8P7OAhWD0RQKHe2PBxkQ3ywIKjAB&usg=AFQjCNEaGxx739baLLrAHXazEXgJ3VSkqQ Jeff Beck & Imelda May Http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhC-V-sjN4k Alison Moyet's version is pretty great too, but it's also much 'busier' so the bassline is harder to pick out. (I hope the links work. I'm doing this on my phone)

I've always had wide taste. But at 16 I was mainly listening to Peter Frampton, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Fleetwood Mac, Rolling Stones and the Who. I was also working in the kitchen in a bar with live bands, so fell in love with their covers of Doobie Broseley, Hendrix, Steve Miller band and a good few more. They were good times.

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1473237544' post='3128156'] It wont be nitro (if it were neither of us should be suggesting mechanical stripping!). Fender haven't used Nitro since the 60s except on a few special models and even these will not check/crack like the old nitro finishes. This is for two reasons- fenders modern nitro is sprayed over a poly base coat which really reduces the chance of checking. And two, the modern nitro they now use is full of plasticisers to prevent this. Regarding why Nitro over car lacquer, the main reason is tradition! A lot of people (not including myself here) will also believe a thinner finish is superior and a Nitro finish is one of the thinnest you can get due to the fact it will shrink back for years. There is also a hell of a lot of bad quality car aerosols out there! The burn in factor is definitely nice too, especially for repairs, but if you know what your doing you won't get witness lines from Poly either. But the car lacquer you've been using could well be acrylic? [/quote] Many thanks for the information. I've been getting some really good results using Halfords car paint and Halfords lacquer. More recently, due to folk asking me to finish things in nitro, I've been using nitro lacquer. I'd thought it seemed thinner and needed more coats to get, what I thought, an acceptable finish thickness. I'm guessing Halfords paint is almost certainly acrylic. In my post I have to confess I wasn't taking on board that paint in some countries may not be to the standard of UK marketed paint. I still doubt that any rattle can guitar paint sold in any country will be any better than rattle can car paint sols in that same country. It's far more likely that it all comes from the same factories, but with different labels. Specifications and ingredients may change, so some will be more resilient to damage than others. So which type would you go for for a tougher finish?

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1473231206' post='3128100'] Each coat of nitro blends into the previous ones so is a lot more forgiving if you overdo a sandback or need to patch it. Polyurethane laquer goes on in distinct layers and if you sand through will be visible as banding There's one [/quote] Thanks. I appreciate that. I wonder, though, if the reason the original finish is cracked is because of it being nitro and un-able to handle some of the environmental conditions the bass has been exposed to? Fender's quality isn't great. But it's not usually THAT bad.

While you're at it, please will you also tell me the benefits of Nitro over normal lacquer, other than the fact that it cracks when exposed to changes it heat?

What is it about using a spray with "Guitar paint" on the can that makes it better? Do you really believe they make it any differently to the paint that needs to stand up against stone chips every day? If anything I would suspect guitar paint is the cheaply produced, less resilient of the two. Good luck

[quote name='Fionn' timestamp='1473189689' post='3127893'] In answer to the original question, for anyone who might still be interested ... I've had my new £6.91 set of tuners on a bass for a couple of days now, playing the hell out of it. They are absolutely fine. No complaints whatsoever. In terms of gearing, they feel like the 1:20 ratio Schallers I'm used to. The turning action is smooth, and the overall finish is decent enough, although not as nice as you'd find on a more expensive set, sure. The said tuners ... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151848365468 [/quote] Thanks for the update. It's good to hear your findings.

That's probably the only real answer.

Have you tried using a multi-meter to check for electrical connection from the windings to the magnets? My guess is that the insulation on the windings has broken down and the magnets are connected to the coils.

I don't blame them. I'm sure they will have had a good share of people coming by only to try out the stock an then shop online for the lowest price. The trouble is too many can't see the wrong in doing that. They might even think that doing if is doing the shop a favour by simply going there and "testing" the stock. /rant

For the paint I'd use a car paint spray. Use primer. You won't get a good finish without primer. Car paint gives you an excellent selection of colours. You can then get a good shine on if using lacquer. You can use car lacquer or nitro, ic that's your preference. For all the spraying. Find a shed where you can hang the body up for spraying. To suspend the body find a piece of wood in the neck pocket like it's a temporary neck. It doesn't have to fit tightly like a neck. If simply needs to be a piece of wood that can act as a handle. Drill a hole in the top of the wood. Then hang the body up on a nail or hook through the wood.... to be continued.

That sounds very do-able. As you want to paint it, that makes life easy. What you can do is simply knock off the loose finish. Then get a sharp blade and scrape off all the hard edges to the original finish and use sand paper to shape it how you like it. I like the re-shaping. I use a 250-300 grit paper to start and I get down to smoothing it down the a good shape. Don't worry about the manufacturers shape. I you want the edge more curved; go for it. Make the shaping into what suits you. Always rub the wood WITH the wood grain. Don't sand across the grain. When you have all the curves just right, run your hands all over the body horns etc and get it feeling good with the scraping and sanding. When that's done, go to fine grain paper. Use as fine paper as you can get. 1000 grit is good. Then get it even more smooth.

I know I'll probably be shot at dawn for this: Good luck to the OP. I'm sure you can make this good where the manufacturers failed.

I'm sure, if you take your time you can make a pretty decent job of this. Besides, it sounds like you're not look to sell any time soon. So as long as you like the results and it looks the business from a meter or 2, we can call it a good result. As you've shown, you can get a scraper under the finish, so I would start it off by doing this. Stick the blade in the cracks and knock off the lose lacquer. Next, use a heat gun and heat the remaining lacquer to get the rest off wit the gun anf a scraper. Be careful not to overheat the lacquer as you may want to avoid burning. Rub down and with fine sand paper, then begin with the finishing. What finish do you want btw?

Nice looking basses and good value at the price shown on PMT. A bit more searching and I found the company's website link: http://www.lodestoneguitars.com Unfortunately the site is down. I would say your best bet is going to be a visit to a local engineers machine shop, or simply replacement of the entire bridge. It's sad, but if one saddle has broken the others may well follow.

Have you tried contacting ESP support? They might be able to advise you on if the TR can be removed without removing the finger board. From my limited experience with ESPs they have nice necks and finger boards it would be useful to be ably to do it without a any major surgery.

I'm still looking forward to doing a gig where I couldn't tell you the names and home address of all those in the audience. Guess what I ticked.

Interesting question. I too am thinking of expanding more from 4 to 5/6. I've got a 5, but can't say I use the B much apart from avoiding reaching beyond the 5th. So I guess I'm asking, is the added string really all about saving the effort of moving about much? When do you use the additional string(s)?

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1473076830' post='3126588'] It'll never rust , it wont warp, and it can't catch fire. What's not to like ? [/quote] Wot no relic version?