Grangur

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I've got DiMarzios in an Ibanez I'm selling. The sound is very punchy, if that's the word? There's a growl/clang to the tone. Different to the SD Q-pounders. Nowt wrong, just different.

There have to some numbers that would traditionally have a singer/vocalist that could sound good with a talented musician playing the vocal line?

That price is certainly amazing. I could be tempted by the metallic red. A whole PJ bass for not much more than the value of a set of decent pups and strings! That said, if you upgrade this, isn't it a bit like what they used to say about doubling the value of a Skoda by filling it with petrol?

Funny... I've often seen buskers but i've not yet seen a whole band on the London Underground. So they are different.

Can you remove the covers from the existing pups? If you can why not get a good quality pup that will allow you to change the covers, then re-use the white covers? SD quarter pounders and some Fender pups will allow you to change the covers.

Yesterday, I met with Udo and bought from him a MIM precision. It's in need of work, but a lovely bass and he's a great guy to deal with. Looking forward to seeing him again anytime. Thanks Udo!

I know these are old, but I was in a band where both of these happened. [quote name='Bassistclem' timestamp='1317981679' post='1396854'] Keys player: "can you stick to root [s]fifth[/s] on [s]this tune[/s] all tunes, I'm playing the bass line." [/quote] [quote name='mcgraham' timestamp='1317982076' post='1396856'] Anything that a band leader with communication skills at the level of small children for whom English is a brand new third language stops a rehearsal to say: "Alright lets stop there - there are a few really important things to remember that are coming out here, such as, I think, to make sure that, when we kick in, that we cover the parts, and give it a flow, and not rush it, but not do it too slowly, and generate some momentum with the piece rather than no momentum, and the vocals need to be so tight, rather than loose, so that we're all singing the same thing, but just then I don't think we were, or perhaps we were, but I get the feeling perhaps we weren't....hmmm I'm not sure..." ??!?!?!?!?!?? HOW CAN SOMEONE TALK SO MUCH BUT SAY SO LITTLE!?!?!? IF YOU'RE NOT SURE DON'T OPEN YOUR MOUTH IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!!! [size=6]AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH![/size] [size=6][size=4]Ahem.[/size][/size] [size=6][size=4]That is all. You may resume your original discussion.[/size][/size] [/quote] Then the keys player started to tell the drummer to hit the beat at the right points in the lyrics; after the right words.... I walked. I'd rather play in my lounge at home.

If you want a Warwick sound then in all probability, what you need to add to the pups to make them sound like a Warwick is to fit them into a Warwick. You might like to dismiss the effect that wood density has on tone but there has to be some reason why other body-neck combinations don't quite get that sound. Alternatively you could try getting some Andy Irvine fingers, if you want to pursue the other popular theory. If wood has no effect, why don't all Fenders of a specific type sound alike?

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1476908376' post='3158453'] Save the sawdust - you never know.... My experience with rosewood was refretting a defret that someone else had done, hence chip filling. [/quote] Yes, fair point. I used the same method on filling holes in a Wishbass a while ago. Good point though. I might not have done it, had you not suggested.

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1476907529' post='3158445'] If you have any big lift outs / chips it might be worth exploring the PTFE sheet, CA & sawdust method. It has worked really well on my refret and the ebony bridge I constructed recently. Body looks super [/quote] Many thanks. The chips in the neck are really just rough edges. I'll see what happens when I get sanding, but I doubt there's anything there to worry about really. This is the first time I've defretted Wenge. I've done maple and rosewood and done those cleanly. But with the tangs it won't ever come out totally clean. Thanks for the tip though. I'll see how the sanding goes.

Been sanding and oiling the body, then sanding and oiling some more. As I said before; not going too hard on it. Dare I say, it looks better in the flesh. But I've gone for leaving the diggin' in scars. What I have gone hard on is the neck. Last night I ordered some fret-pulling pliars. Tonight I went mad and used the Hosco fret cutters to bite in under each of the frets and look what I've gone and done... Not tooo comfortable about the slots, but I guess with the barbs being there on the fret-wire, I don't think it's possible to do a lot better. In any case I'll be sanding the neck later to get rid of the string-wear marks. I think I can see how Warwick do the slots. There's not a lot of wood left at the sides, but my guess is the slot is cut using a very small circular blade. It cuts in both directions, but is careful to not go through the sides. The under-cutting of the tang isn't as severe as I anticipated. My guess is the fret-cutters will easily nibble off enough to do the same as Warwick's frets; not going though the sides.

The decal says "Precision" the nut width looks jazz to me? I know nowt about Fenders. That might be nothing. Am I wrong?

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1476739768' post='3156913'] How well is the BLO taking to the existing finish? How much existing finish did you take off? I also have a bubinga corvette and it would benefit from a 'light' refresh. Refrets with the right tools (Hosco cutters, tang nibblers etc) are not that difficult, I did my first this year on a 'project bass' with bound fingerboard. Am pleased with the results (though I could improve). [/quote] That's encouraging. I have the fret cutters and fret bending tools. I may well give that a go then. Have to say while I have done regrets, I am slightly apprehensive about the risk of splintering. It did cross my mind to make it fretless but, if I did, would it get played as much? The finish this had was natural oil. It looks to me that the front had been waxed periodically, but the back hadn't seen anything on it from New probably. I have other natural oil Warwick basses. Periodically I re-oil and wax them all. The main thing is never use spray polish, but I guess you would know that.

Thank you Mr Manton for the pointers. I was sorely tempted to contact you for a price on the neck at the beginning. I might still come back again at some stage. What I've done today is sand down the frets some more, file again and finish with 0000 wire wool. I took a blade to the spaces between the fret wires and scraped the wood a little. This has eased the dents a little. I was careful not to totally flatten the radius of the neck by scraping as much from the sides as from the centre. After working on the neck I then put a rule across the frets and checked with a feeler gauge of 0.61mm. It went easily under the ruler at all frets, right across the radius. So, I'm thinking I'll leave the refret for now at least. The body and the back of the neck has then all been sanded to smooth it all off. After sanding I then used 0000 again and oiled it all. The grain is looking good. Initially I was thinking of sanding back to an "as new" finish. But before going for it I wanted to just check how good it can look with its scars of use. Quite frankly, I'm liking it a lot. All the parts have now been ordered from Warwick. So, tomorrow I'll oil again to build up the finish. The oil I'm using is boiled linseed. I like that as it gives a sheen, but not gloss. I'll then get a shine on it by using beeswax. I find thst gives a look of deeply polished wood rather than a "plastic" look of lacquer. (Each to their own, I know.) I'll post more pictures tomorrow. Thanks for looking.

Others with more experience will be along in a minute, but I find it useful to slow the track down. For this I use "Transcribe!" https://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/overview.html I also use a Tascam GB-10. This allows you to slow the track and play along. http://tascam.com/product/gb-10/ Both of these also allow you to change the key, so you can hear the bass line more. I hope this helps.