Grangur

They certainly do that job well. As well as nipping the ends of frets. The only word of warning I would add is to not use them for stainless steel frets. SS wrecks the blades.

These are the best ones I've had. https://tonetechluthiersupplies.co.uk/fret-cutter-end-nipper.html

Aren't most pole pieces glued into place? You might be able to re-set them if you heat the glue enough for the glue to melt, but then if you did, you'd probably melt the plastic and possibly the solder too. TBH, if the pole pieces aren't set up well, then the pickup possibly isn't a good one anyway. That said, I heard the other night that they used to make the pole pieces under the A string higher, because the A string, back in the day, ws naturally quieter? Watch at 5:30. He talks about his 1957 P-bass with raised pole pieces.

hmm... @Norris, I don't know about that. I'm still using a coil of solder I got about 35 years ago. It's still doing well for me today. That said, maybe my old lead tin/solder is different in this from the newer stuff you get today.

Isn't it really the inductance that is of more interest than the impedance? After all, isn't it the signal is picked up by the metallic string moving in the magnetic field of the pickup and, through inductance, creating changes in the signal that will get amplified? As @Norris says, impedance is a guide to the number of turns, but putting a resistor in the circuit won't help the signal.

Can't say about my own bass lines, but when I've listened to Jamiroquai, to catch the revered bass lines to learn from a master of the art, the more I listen, the more I'm convinced they're not done on a bass. In places they're ok, but at other times they're too repetitive and too spot-on accurate repetitive. They MUST be a drum machine or something similar. It's then I stopped listening and I feel cheated. Sorry if this isn't seen by others as answering the same question.

How about the sound of a classic hand-wound pup? I'm really enjoying my Jess Lourerio hand-wounds. They give a strong, deep gritty punch. Amazing value too. http://jlguitars.eu/shop/index.php?id_category=16&controller=category&id_lang=4

I guess, for a really nice-grain bass, you can always replace the pups anyway. As a side matter, last night I was playing a P bass that I changed the pups in. It's now got a hand-wound Classic P split-coil from Jess Loureiro. Wow it's got a meaty growl for a p-bass. I'm loving it! http://jlguitars.eu/shop/index.php?id_product=11&controller=product&id_lang=4

I've always found any bradawl too big for making holes for the pathetic, small screws on Fender type tuning heads. What I found that does it is using a picture pin; like the ones you buy for hanging pictures on walls. They are finer and long for being able to hold it as you gently tap the head.

Hey, @uk_lefty, I agree with @Twincam, there could be a small difference. If you notice it in a few weeks it could bug you. Also, ask yourself, "when I come to sell this, could it put a buyer off?" You say, it's new. Why not get the seller to replace it?

Hmm.. Maybe, @Twincam I've been lucky, but I've never had a problem with it. You suggest trying on an old body. Not everyone has spare bodies hanging around. What you could do is practice on a spare piece of wood. You can make your own dents with a hammer. My first "practice" was on a brand new solid oak dining table. But I didn't need to make my own dents.

On most Warwicks, the push pull is a passive/active switch, with the passive being when the pot is pulled out. Your bass isn't active. It looks like it's a series/parallel switch. The black wire in this appears to be the Ground. It seems to me that the stray wire should be going to the jack socket. My guess is this isn't a standard Warwick wiring loom. So it's not impossible the push pull could be put in by some past owner hoping to unleash some great dynamic sound. But i may be wrong. Unfortunately the pickup in those basses are, in my experience, disappointing. If you can find a replacement it would be good. Maybe you can get it routed to take a humbucker? But you have to weigh that against the cost of doing that and the value of the bass. If it were mine, I'd solder the black wire to the earth on the jack. Close it up and see if I like it. If yes; rock on!

Have you done it? Did it work for you? I've always found it easy and it's worked every time unless the ding breaks up across the grain too much.

Something else to look out for : If you look at the terminal on your volume pot, where the white cable comes from the pickup; there appears to be a length of cable that could come in contact with the pot-body. If this touches, all you signal will disappear. It's good practice to cut these ends short. To save you burning out more pots and capacitors; practice soldering. It's a useful skill to have. When you start, always touch some solder on the tip of the iron to make sure it will melt it quickly. When working with wires to connect up a pot, always "tin" the ends of the wires. To do this, bare the wires, twist them together and then coat the strands in solder. It'll make them easier to solder to the component - reducing the time you need to keep heat on the component. When working, keep a pair of pliars handy to hold the shaft of the pot with, or even better, clamp the pot shaft in a pair of mole-grips. The added chunk of metal acts as a good heat-sink; taking the heat away, so the components don't get wrecked. Good luck next time round.

Hi @converse320, Thanks for the mention @Geek99. Yes, getting dings out of natural wood seems to be something I've done quite a few times. I've done the same job on a few old Westones and such. Forget all the nail-varnish stuff - that's for painted basses. What you need with this is to sand off the varnish/lacquer over the ding. Get the wood exposed. Then, get a sharp, thin blade and slice into the wood DOWN the grain - never across the grain. Then lay a wet cloth over the ding, Let the water soak into the grain. Then damp it again and get a clothes iron on the cloth over the dent and let it steam nicely. Be careful not to get scalded as the heat transfers down the cloth with the water. Remove the cloth and - hey presto - the ding is gone. After this, to re-finish Westones I've used Ronseal brush on varnish and it's looked just like the old finish all over again. You need to avoid getting crud in the surface, so be clean and keep dust out of the area, but it's all pretty easy. Cheers Rich

It's possible you could be right, but not sure if you're describing plastic/fabric sleeving or is it a woven metal screening round the hot wire? If it's a screening round the hot wire, it will be the screen that's ground. If this is the case, they might be 2-coil pickups. Lets make it easier - what make are the pickups? Or, where did you get them? Edit: Is it like this, but single core?

Hi @Bassmingo, Here's a video on straightening up a neck, if you'd like to give it a go.

I play, pretty much, nothing but Warwicks dated from the 2000 to 2011. Over all I've owned 9 and only ever had minor issues with any of those, except 1. Most of the Warwicks I've owned have been with me more than 5 years. The minor issues have been the silly nuts with the tabs on the sides, a knob that had poor gold finish and a jack socket. The 1 bass with a major issue was a neck through with a twisted neck. The neck had spent a long time without tension on the truss rod. So what happened was a result of poor ownership. I regularly go to Bulgaria and there's a shop I visit with an amazing array of brand new Warwick basses. I've tried a good few out and wouldn't swap any of mine for a new Warwick. The tone just isn't there. The new ones simply don't "sing" for me like my older ones do. Upped their game? Not in my estimation. The new ones all feel like plastic to me.

Surely, there's no more point in a Thunderbird copy than in a Fender? I guess we're expecting the budget cost to be sub-£1k ?

Not that I can help, but is this a wedding? a pub? Private party?