Grangur

Here's the first video of a great series that covers how to set up your bass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te44eWXd9pc If you still struggle, may I make a suggestion that you take a look at the thread linked below. Find someone close to you and arrange to take your bass over and get an on-the-spot lesson on setting up. http://basschat.co.uk/topic/277468-bcers-prepared-to-help-fix-a-bass/page__fromsearch__1

[quote name='luckydog' timestamp='1470230116' post='3104291'] I take that to mean 'had a fault which was repaired', so would enquire as to what was repaired and try to gauge how well any work might have done. LD [/quote] This ^ I would interpret this as the tech saying, as a closer on the description of works to be done, ".... and I'll give it a full service, so you can be sure it'll be ok".

This is publicity. Why no name the time, place etc. Maybe folk here can come along?

What I would do to start is slacken off the strings. Slacken the Truss Rod. Take the neck off and remove any shims that anyone may have put in the pocket. Then refit the neck, making sure the neck is well seated in the pocket as you do the screws up. Let the neck settle over night and then re-tune. Then go through a standard set-up. Then if you find the action too high, you might find you want the shim back in, but you need to find out what you have first. Also, it seems that on finding the action too low, you've gone straight for the truss rod. The job of the TR is to straighten the neck. This is called "the Refief". What you should adjust for the height of the action is the bridge. If you'd like a set up you can send the bass to me and I'll do it for you FOC. OR if you can wait a few days I'll probably be in the Hampton area, I could collect it, or maybe, fix it on the spot.

This "Never been gigged" thing. Couldn't this also be rephrased as "Good luck with this, I hated it from day-1" ?

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1470157149' post='3103707'] Similar to some on here feeling that any instrument that has been displayed for any amount of time in a music shop is ex-demo. [/quote] That's just optimistic oportunism

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1470079042' post='3103149'] Nice work. Are you going to tint the neck? [/quote] Yes. Certainly have. Here's a picture next to the other headstock to show it's getting there. I'm using a different lacquer on this to the one I've used in the past, so I'm not sure if it will go any darker, but either way will be ok. From the pics I've seen of 70s headstocks there seems to be a mix of necks that have darkened and those that look like they're brand new. I guess this is going to be a "halfway" one.

Things I've been working on today have been the body; improving the relicing. MJT did a great job in some things, but the dings have been bothering me. I know this bass isn't mine, but I want it to look cherished and played to death. I don't see the attraction in a bass that looks like it's been used as a shovel in the back yard. So I got out some sandpaper and 0000 grade wire wool and got to work on it. I've not gone mad at it and changed much, but the back had no wear-through white. The front had it, but not here - where it would rub against your body. The pg was also to "new" so that's now mildly distressed. I've also been staining the neck. I've not done a lot, but I'm finding the headstock wood and the back is slowly becoming less like the colour of my legs in winter. The fingerboard, however, isn't changing much. I've used 2 types of stain and it's darkened in places, but not taking the stain to the level that the headstock is. So I'm stopping on the stain. I was hoping for a real honey colour throughout. Ideally like the bass in this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6slbqEMiKsI What I don't want is "rosewood in reverse". So I'm stopping with it like it is. I'll let it dry and move onto the nitro. Yes, the nitro arrived today.

Over the last couple of days the project has moved slowly. I've been working on the neck mostly. I've rounded the ends of the frets and added a smidgen of mojo (dings) to the neck. This is mostly on the headstock and a couple on the FB. Nothing on the back of the neck or and dings to the binding as I don't want anything rough becoming an irritation to playing. Besides, I want someone to really gel with this bass. Here you can see how I reduced the width of the back of the nut. In hindsight could have left this section wider; not cutting off as much, but the nut is seriously tight in the slot, so when in place aligned with the sides of the neck, it won't go anywhere out of line in a hurry. And there it is, with the nut in place. I wasn't happy with the angle of the slots in the nut, so I've filed those a bit. Not lowered the slots, but just improving the break angle.

Don't you mean [i]Dave [/i]Gorman? Welcome anyway. See you around

Is it possible that the drivers are dirty and dusty. I've found this happen on a couple of my cabs. If so, take the front off and maybe remove the driver and gently take a small nozzle of a vacuum cleaner round the cones and any parts that move. If it helps, get a small paintbrush and wiggle it into any small crevices to get any dust out. You might not see much dirt there, but it doesn't take much to cause the cone to stick. I've certainly found this works.

That job would be easy. All you need is a coat or two of clear lacquer. As long as nobody has been near it with a can of aerosol polish it would be fine to do.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1469963623' post='3102285'] Sorry. . . reread your post. My only suggestion is that the sound of a Jazz bass is the sum of both pickups and a PJ will sound like a P with a little extra, rather than sounding anything like J. [/quote] Have to agree here. I've got a P, a PJ and jazz. They're all different. The PJ is nearer to a P than a jazz. With a PJ the bridge jazz pup seems feeble compared to the P pup and the sound has a distinct P-bass thump. The addition of the bridge pup could very easily be a disappointment. I've found this on Warwick and G&L basses, so it's not only a cheap thrown-together bass either. The Jazz tone is a more relaxed, more laid-back tone.

I usually recon on about £50 on paint and lacquer and about a day in time taken, on and off. Plus stripper/hot-gun-gas, sandpaper, breathing mask, masking and other materials. Quite frankly, it's worth £130 to not have the hassle and cost. And you get a better job than you could do yourself, without the uncertainty. It might not be the [i]best job in the world, but[/i] it's not your headache. If you want the best job in the world, then you need to shop around, see examples and be prepared to spend time and a good amount of cash. It doe make you question how folk like Gear4Music can get a pretty well finished bass to the market for <£100 doesn't it? For an example of MJT's finish, see the thread: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/289206-70s-jazz-repro-build/page__fromsearch__1

I'm currently working on a bass for a friend here on BC. He bought the body with a distressed finish, from MJT in the USA. It cost a lot more than £130. 130 is actually a cheap price.

I've bought from them too. Really helpful people. I'd have no hesitation in going back to them.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1469918903' post='3102059'] Yes but do they know how to work with wood. [/quote] I wouldn't go to a car sprayer necessarily. The guy I learned with was a french polisher. We sprayed furniture, using both lacquer and paint. We used to do shabby chic distressed furniture. I not only spray but do the distressing too, putting in the dents and removing them too. So there are folk to there.

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1469921278' post='3102083'] Isn't the gloss all about the hours spent buffing [i]after[/i] the painting? [/quote] Gloss finish might rely on buffing, but filling the wood grain is the first consideration. I like to see the wood grain. You can fill the grain with enough coats anyway, but a good sprayer will know how to do it in fewer coats and so save money.

If I want the engine on my car fixed, I'd go to a mechanic. If I want a spray job done I'd go to a pro sprayer. I'm always surprised how often folk here recommend a luthier for a spray job. A pro sprayer will know what grain filler to use to get rid of the pores in the grain.

[quote name='JimBobTTD' timestamp='1469908233' post='3101972'] Thanks for that. I had not heard of MJT before. The body looks tasty. [/quote] http://mjtagedfinishes.com/

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1469902693' post='3101924'] Who did the relic work? There is some very realistic checking going on! It really looks like a 70s Olympic White body that's gone creamy over time, like they do... [/quote] Thanks for the comments and info. That's interesting about the rust and corrosion. All the relic work, as far as I know, was done by MJT. Some of it was a bit jagged to the touch to my opinion, so I've rubbed some down with 0000 gauge wire-wool. So now it's a bit smoother to the touch, but the look hasn't changed much.