Grangur

Yesterday I opened the box on a new vintage style bass, bought mail order from a seller with a great reputation and I have no wish to "name and shame". The description of the bass I bought included the term "b-stock", so as per the description I expected that there could be signs of use and such. The bass looks great. Nice tone, but low volume. The pup was set low, so it looks like a setup is in order. I checked the neck relief and it was a touch large, so I pulled out the supplied Allen key and it took a turn or so as the double action truss rod was loose. Then the key slipped in the socket. I tried a few other Allen keys and thy either didn't fit, or they slipped. The question, dear friends, is do I get a refund or do I get another one as a replacement? I'm just nervous of if this is a sign of something worth avoiding?

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1458850984' post='3011628'] i'd echo the boiled linseed oil on ebony (and rosewood) boards. I've never used anything else on my instruments - or anyone else's for that matter. [/quote] Me too. Although tried Lemon oil once and it struck me as very similar but thinner and over priced. Came to the conclusion that it's sold in small bottles and priced high in music shops to catch gullible guitar owners.

[quote name='FinnDave' timestamp='1458836623' post='3011410'] I bought a 25 watt Antex iron from Maplins about 25 years ago and it's still going strong. [/quote] Malins didn't exist when I bought mine 40 years ago. Still going strong.

If you like the Mark Bass, then you could go for a Little Mark III and cab and have the versatility of being able to change the cab. I use a Barefaced One10 with mine for practice and its loud enough for gigging too.

Fair point you make there. This juror totally accepts the defence plea. In which case I'd say, if you like the bass for playing off stage for enjoyment and you'd prefer it another colour, why not go for it, or sell and buy another similar bass. Something I find frustrating with MM Rays is that some many of them are I great finishes and look great, but I can't get to like that sound myself. But each to their own. As others have said though, be prepared for a naf piece of wood if you do it. Actually, I remember a member of this parish having a GW Ibanez in black. He stripped it and the wood was less then exciting. It had a big knott in the wood. He continued to enjoy the bass himself but when he came to sell it took forever to find a buyer.

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1458763390' post='3010694'] Stevenage Gumtree is basically that guy's personal selling page! Lots of delusionally priced instruments photo'd against the same background. [/quote] This. There's not a lot of Fender about this one is there? If I put Fender tuners logo and bridge on my bitsa can I sell that as a Fender too?

I know I'm being a cynical old git here, but am I right here? You're fed up with your old bass because you've managed to chip it 15 times when gigging. I you change your bass, how long before you're fed up of that because its chipped just like your Ray? Have you sorted out how you handle the bass at gigs to avoid damage?

I gust bought a book from Lawrie. Many thanks for thst. The book was in new condition, as promised. He's a good honest guy, and a new father to boot! Congrats with the family!

Elixir have some good videos on YouTube and on their site about doing a setup. Also in the repairs section of Basschat there's a thread with a list of folk who are prepared to help other members of this site with such things.

As far as I can see, it would work. The only modification would be drilling the holes for the screw on the other side of the hole for the tuning post. If I were you I'd fit one, without drilling the fixing screw hole and see how it goes, even if you can't get full tension, you'll see if it fits.

Is it just me or is it fairly normal for the E and A to go dead before the D and G? I've got a theory that it happens because they get more fingering than the D and G. After all, when playing the D and G you're often thumbing the E and A at the same time; as a thumb rest.

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1458644798' post='3009291'] something funny going on, says they've only sold 1 and now they've been withdrawn [/quote] Not only that, he put the price up by £10 after I bought one. At the time I bought, there was only Red on sale then. Something funny going on?

I got one in Gaudy Red. If I keep it, which I expect I will, it won't stay that colour. I'm expecting to be routing it to muck about with adding different pups and experiment on putting a veneer on the front and stuff. Many thanks John!

[quote name='pete.young' timestamp='1458638071' post='3009220'] Cleaned up nicely, good job. The gold foils on this guitar are not the ones that Ry Cooder uses. These have strange rubberised magnets. Ry used the ones with Alnico magnets, which have the pole piece adjusters along one edge, not in the middle like these ones. [/quote] Thanks, this doesn't surprise me. The sound from the guitar isn't good enough for even Ry Cooder to climb to fame.

For those interested this guitar sold for £75 plus shipping. The winner was a guy in Sweden.

Do you want a chrome Jazz bass VVT control plate? I think I've got one.

Looking at the fitting suggested. This style of fitting is cheap and when installed outside seem to only last a couple of years before they burn themselves out and the driver fails, but it's worth a try on stage. Don't forget though; without any smoke the audience won't get the effect. 3000 Lumens is less than the power of the fittings I sell to go in office ceilings, but if it's lacking you can always double them up. Besides, some of what you're using is the element of surprise on the audience. And they're looking direct at it.

Unfortunately for this, LEDS are more directional than all other forms of light source. So 120deg is probably about as wide as floods will go. I sell LED lighting for a living. But all the floods I sell would be far too powerful for this use. Mine give 12,000 Lumens. With lighting referring to Watts is like saying "45MPG" when someone asks what your car's top speed is. Watts are the power consumption. At this time an LED can be as efficient as to give 170 Lumens per Watt. I don't know the answer to your question about what output you need for this application. In my job I light schools and hospitals etc. But I'll try to find out.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1458506352' post='3008201'] Great thread! Sadly, I don't have any technical/craftsman skills to offer I'm afraid, but it's good to know that so many fellow Basschatters do, and are willing to help. [/quote] Thanks. I just checked the list and added Neilp. I think that's everyone, so far.

Another thing; you mentioned Modes. They have their place, but something I think is probably more relevant to your playing is Diatonic Harmony. You can find this on studybass.com. Learn this and you'll learn about what notes you should be playing when you play a II, V, I.

A good book was recommended to me. It's not about bass, it's about practising. It's called "The Practising Mind". Don't buy it. It's a long winded way to tell a simple, but useful piece of information. What it says is the problem most folk have with practice is they aren't focused on the practice at all. Instead, their mind is focused on "the result". The problem with this is in practising an instrument there is no "result". There is no key-turning day on which you become a bassist. So, instead of focusing on the result, focus on the journey. If you learn to enjoy the journey you will do better and get more out of the learning process.