neepheid

I once modded a Squier Bronco for through body stringing, thinking it would make the short scale a bit less flappy. It made little or no difference to the feel of the strings as far as I was concerned and although it was a cool mod, it ended up being basically cosmetic. Speaking from a Gibson-centric point of view - stringing through the body exerts some downward pressure on the entire bridge, which should prevent the ghastly three point bridge from lifting the threaded inserts out of the body under lateral string tension. If the holes through the body are not obscured by the bridge (like RDs and Rippers) then they look pretty stupid and redundant if you don't fire the string through the holes. There's something reassuring about stringing through the body from a structural point of view, a stronger anchor than simply your bridge screws versus string tension. Sometimes despite appearances stringing through the body is mandatory - for example, a 5 string G&L MUST be strung through the body because if you don't, the bridge is only held on with two screws. Don't fancy that much. They can be modded for top loading with machine screws and threaded inserts in the string anchors though. I think that's all my thoughts on the subject. Other than that I don't really care. If the facility is there, I'll use it.

RE: pickup cover/neck gap - it's little things like this that piss me off when I'm laying down significant coin on a new bass. If I'm buying something new, I want it to be pristine and properly screwed together, especially as it's supposed to have had some decent one-on-one time with human beings during its production - isn't that where the price premium goes? Sounds cosmetic though, won't matter a jot operationally I would think. As for the perceived quiet E, it could be lots of things. Could be a duff string. Could be that the action on the E side of the bridge is a touch high, thus taking it away from the pickup. The pole pieces can be height adjusted a bit on an SG bass, so the E could be brought up a bit. Did it seem quiet on one or both pickups?

[quote name='lowvoice' timestamp='1369044416' post='2084115'] Well to be honest when I started playing electric guitar Squier were really a bit of an argos brand to be avoided, and even though the one I tried out felt very nice indeed [b](in fact it's fit and finish was better than the mim fenders I also looked at)[/b], I still can't shake the idea that it is a brand to be avoided! I guess I just don't have much faith in it. Also, the Squire is £291, made in Indonesia and comes with nothing, the Gibson is £649, made in the US, and comes with a Gibson hard case. The Gibson seems to be to be the far better deal? As it won't be my primary instrument, I can't see myself buying loads of basses (as I have done with guitars), and I'd like something that will literally last me a lifetime. As a Gibson fan, could you advise me as to any potential issues to look out for when buying an SG bass. [/quote] You've kinda answered your own question with the bit I highlighted in bold. Trust what your eyes and hands are telling you, the name on the headstock and its country of origin are in my opinion irrelevant. If your senses are telling you it's a good instrument, then it is a good instrument. The quality of output of the Indonesian factories is excellent. Would G&L or Lakland have trusted the construction of their "budget" basses to muppets? I think (and know) not. I have two G&L Tributes and they are exceptionally good instruments for their price point. In fact I would say they are "too good" in the sense that I have never felt the need to "upgrade" to a USA made G&L. Of course if you're really bothered about the name on the headstock then there is a "proper" Fender Mustang but even that's made in Japan if memory serves me correctly. There are Chinese made Fenders. The game has changed. Everyone in the far east has upped their game to the point where at times it's embarrassing to the old hands in the west and seriously calling into question the worth of the price premium. Regarding your Gibson question - just check everything and double check it. In no way can 2 instruments condemn the entire output of a factory, but at the start of the year I tried to buy a Gibson Grabber 3 70s Reissue bass and both of the ones I received had issues and had to go back, including strap buttons screwed in squint, orangy peel finish, wiring issues (touch buzz on pole pieces and hum/buzz in general) and basically I didn't feel like I got my money's worth, it didn't feel like an £800 bass. I have an old Yamaha BB450 that I resurrected and it felt and played better. Of course, these judgements are deeply personal and only applicable to me. But as far as I'm concerned (and this was the double whammy of my first ever brand new Gibson USA purchase), there's something rotten in Nashville at the moment and it saddens me. In the end I went and bought an Epiphone Jack Casady for just over half the price and it was so much better. Better looking, better feeling, better built, just intangibly better. And for the record, it's made in South Korea. So, to bring it all back round to my initial point - ignore the name on the headstock, ignore the country of origin, it's either good (by your own standards and definition), or it isn't.

Sorry to leap straight in with a question but why wouldn't you be proud of either bass? The Mustang is probably the better all-rounder in terms of sound and I would imagine an easier introduction to bass. The SG is a little more polarised in its sound, given the nature of its pickups and their relative positions. On the other hand, the Mustang has a 19 fret neck, the Gibson has a 20. Not a huge issue unless you're wanting a high Eb, but I thought I'd try and balance things out. Either could be a great bass. But as much as I am a dyed in the wool Gibson fan, I wouldn't recommend an SG for a first bass. The Mustang has a much greater chance of being a simple "plug and play" and the ergonomics are probably a bit more forgiving.

Who am I to judge? What's the difference between owning multiple basses and multiple amps? I'm a one amp guy myself. Two cabs, technically. One can take the carrying spares thing too far in my opinion - do you tow a car behind your car in case car #1 breaks down?

[quote name='uke' timestamp='1368792396' post='2081556'] How rare are these! [url="http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/rare-1956-gibson-eb-1-violin-bass-with-stand/1018866982"]http://www.gumtree.c...tand/1018866982[/url] Got to be a good buy for someone! [/quote] Not working - ad pulled?

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1368710786' post='2080486'] Why? (just generally curious as to why you think that, not questioning your reasoning). [/quote] If the resonance of the wooden or other substrate(s) that the ends of the strings are anchored to/vibrating off comprises more than 10% of the final sound coming out of an electromagnetic pickup mounted to said substrate(s), which principally works by a magnetic field being disturbed by metal strings vibrating through it then I'd be very surprised (and I think I'm being generous). Without a definitive means of measuring whatever influence the wood may or may not have on the final output of an electric bass then it's ripe for distortion through personal opinion and subjectivity. I'm not saying definitively that there is no effect, because I can't but no-one so far has definitively proven to me there is an effect, let alone tried to quantify it.

Mind the "M" at the end of that model number, chief - [url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/ibanez-sr505m-bass-guitar-brown-mahogany--82508"]http://www.dv247.com/guitars/ibanez-sr505m-bass-guitar-brown-mahogany--82508[/url] - only one in stock.

You fool, what have you done?

[quote name='Jono Bolton' timestamp='1368552203' post='2078479'] I don't know if the thread title is technically correct, but my P Bass sounds excellent when I don't have it plugged in to the amp, it's loud, resonant and with nice focused lows. So what does this mean? I've heard a lot of people talking about the importance of a bass's accoustic tone, but why is it important? Surely any EQ on the amp would factor against it? Or perhaps I'm missing something? [/quote] I don't think it is important.

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1368695247' post='2080195'] Hello all. I recently scored a Seymour Duncan SMB4D pickup to install in my passive OLP and I'm asking for suggestions as to what might get the best use out of it. No pre amp, so what are the options? Two Vol one Tone or the reverse? Series or parallel? A switch for the above? I don't need anything too complicated, I don't usually touch more than the tone control during a gig. Advice gratefully accepted. MM [/quote] If I remember correctly, these passive OLPs were wired up with a volume for each coil and a single tone. I think that's ridiculous, personally. Perhaps a three way switch to give you series/single coil/parallel operation, volume and tone?

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1368692987' post='2080155'] Ooh very nice! I don't suppose you noticed there's another Grabber/Ripper/G3 in bits on the EBay? Body, neck, pickguard and pup surround. Maybe email the dude; might have some difficult to source parts? (it's not being sold as Gibson, just as 'bass guitar body' etc) Truckstop [/quote] I had a look and it's a Grabber copy, not the real deal. Not much common parts between the Ripper and the Grabber either. Cheers for the headsup though In any case I can't afford to do anything more this month - car goes for MOT tomorrow, and I know it wants front brake pads (and possibly discs) at the very least The only "weird" thing I need to find is the 4 position dial plate for the varitone rotary switch. It looks like this: It's far from essential, so I'm not losing any sleep over it, but it would be nice!

RE: the GIMP - if it's free vector graphics you want, then you want Inkscape. It's not super technical like CAD though (I wouldn't trust a measurement from it) - it's more like a free alternative to Adobe Illustrator. For free 2D CAD, try QCAD - [url="http://qcadbin-win.sourceforge.net/"]http://qcadbin-win.sourceforge.net/[/url] - I've never tried it, but it looks fairly straightforward from the screenshot on the page.

For me the neck has to have bulk. I have a preference for wider (P-like) nuts, but I had a Warwick Rockbass Corvette for a while which had the Jazz nut width but was extremely chunky in the neck profile. That was also fine. Thin/skinny necks (Jazz etc.) feel wrong to me and I don't find them comfortable at all so I shun them. I'm getting a taste for the middle ground (G&L Tribute M-2000, Yamaha BB) - thinner/slimmer than P, wider/thicker than J. It's probably all in my head, of course. Probably from the same part of my brain that tells me that £100 pickup must sound better than the one it's replacing - BECAUSE IT MUST.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1368659796' post='2080043'] Have you decided on a colour? Cos natural looks pretty sweet actually! It'd look great with an ultra-glossy finish I reckon. That or mocha. Truckstop [/quote] Yes, I have decided. The colour will be "Wine Red". Only Grabbers were available in it back in the day, but I think it looks great! That's a mockup, but if it looks as good as that when it's finished, I'll be delighted.

Pics as promised. Also one pickup arrived

Basically, for width I tend to use the P and the J as "standards" and then describe in relation to that. That is a standard P nut is 41.3mm ([color=#333333][font=open_sansregular, sans-serif]1.625") [/font][/color]and a standard J nut is 38.1mm (1.5"). Anything P or wider is "wide" and anything J or slimmer is "narrow". Anything between is just that (and often very comfy indeed for most players). Neck profiles are more of a minefield. What the hell does "medium C" mean anyway? Too many flowery terms and not enough hard numbers. Get the callipers out! Remember also that fingerboard radius plays a part in the overall feel of a neck. I've learned to take people's wordy descriptions of necks with a pinch of salt, as they are frequently based upon personal opinion than outright fact. I discriminate by nut width, mostly because that's often given in absolute measurement. After that I've found that I don't tend to mind what the back to front profile is like.

You aren't helping with your generalisations in brackets there, chief. There are G&Ls with wide/thick necks and ones with thin/slim necks. USA G&Ls have the option of both. Tributes are wide/thick (L-2000), thin/slim (SB-2) or somewhere inbetween (M-2000). In short, it isn't correct or useful to use G&L as an entire brand to aid your understanding of this matter.

Wheeee! Pickguard and tuners arrived today Got a band practice tonight but hopefully pictures later.

I did a similar thing to you after about 4 years of actual playing and several years before that of pretending to play. It was great to put names to things that I already knew, but didn't know what they were called, what they were for and why I used them. It kinda filled in gaps in the knowledge bank which made a lot of things make a lot more sense.

Three's plenty. I did experiment with a push pull to wire the PJ in series with each other but ran into difficulty with noise so I removed it and went back to straight 3 way with vol and tone.

[quote name='mikegatward' timestamp='1368543603' post='2078261'] Still a great movie. Fave scene is where all the wannabees knock at jimmy's door for the vocalist auditions. [/quote] Who are your influences?

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1368535945' post='2078102'] What about Fender then: Squier, Mexico, USA and Custom shop...all look virtually identical when up on a stage! [/quote] Squier and Fender are distinct and separate brands, even if they are ultimately part of the same conglomerate. Just like Epiphone and Gibson. In the case of Yamaha there is no brand separation, so one major distinguishing factor is gone. Also the geographical pedigree is less defined - they'll all be Far Eastern instruments to some, to those who find these considerations important. To those who don't care about such things (like me), it's even HARDER to differentiate between them. Without trying one (which is my modus operandi given my location), I'd find it really hard to justify the spend on the 2024 (or even the 1024) when the 424 is likely to be a wee cracker of a bass.