neepheid

I appreciate that there is unavoidable wear and tear (like fret wear, lacquer wear on maple fingerboards etc.) and anyone can have an accident, but things like buckle rash get my goat because it is mostly avoidable and a heavily dinged instrument just implies a lack of care and attention beyond the accidental which I tend to see as a negative trait in people. If something's worth doing, it's worth doing right, and that includes instrument ownership.

GAS I expect I'll be making a Wanted post soon.

Wasn't Prosebass making some ultra portable, short scale thingies a while back? The Tanglewood Elfin? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=49584"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=49584[/url]

[quote name='alexharvay' post='734933' date='Feb 4 2010, 12:13 PM']I remeber this, didn't you put some of the metal parts in coke to clean them up?[/quote] You remember correctly

My 1978 G-3's been in a thread already but what the hell: I think I'll get a black switch tip, that white one looks silly

I have read Martin Koch's book "Building Electric Guitars" and found it to be quite good - a sample pdf is here: [url="http://www.buildyourguitar.com/books/beg/b112_115.pdf"]http://www.buildyourguitar.com/books/beg/b112_115.pdf[/url] You can get it from [url="http://www.buildyourguitar.com/books/books.php"]http://www.buildyourguitar.com/books/books.php[/url], either physically or in e-book.

I sold a pristine one for £190 about a year ago, so it's not too shabby a deal.

I'd get the shielding sorted out before you make any further decisions about upgrades.

The writing's on the wall for the fan in my 3500 also, it is very (mechanically) noisy from cold but after about a minute the noise disappears. Will try getting a drop of oil into it if I can, otherwise I guess I'll replace it.

Welcome to the forum

More of a recording blooper than playing, but take your pick from Red Hot Chili Peppers, "Californication" - clipping scattered throughout, the song "Otherside" springs to mind. Cheap shot really and you're probably already well aware of it, the album is often cited as an example when discussing the "loudness war".

Oh, forgot - fret distance calculator: [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/fret_calculator.php"]http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/fret_calculator.php[/url]

I'll try and answer what I can (this may be opinion, not fact) 2) Judging by most basses I've seen it's "a little bit more". Take out too much and you'll be struggling to get the action low enough, so then you'll have to start messing about with shimming. 4) Find out the scale length of your neck by measuring from nut to 12th fret and doubling it. Then use a fret distance calculator to calculate the distance from the nut to the last fret and subtract that from the scale length. You now have the distance from the last fret to the bridge saddle. When placing the bridge, set the highest saddle (G) to about 90% of its maximum forward travel, and place the bridge in relation to that saddle and the distance calculated above. 5) Difficult to say - just don't place them too close together or there won't be enough tonal difference to justify having 2 pickups. 6) How to safely use a router? With the greatest respect. Routers are dangerous beasts, I presume you want to play the bass afterwards? Seriously though, I find templates are the way to go. I make mine out of MDF. You mess up the template, you only mess up a piece of MDF. I probably have a terrible Heath Robinson approach to making templates so I'll see if someone else can give advice on that. 7) Make sure you go deep enough for the pots to come through the top. I speak from experience, I guestimated the control cavity on Rich's (Ou7shined) holey head Jazz and had to go in again twice because of continual over cautiousness with the depth of cut. Repositioning a template over an existing hole isn't ideal, best get it done in one. 9) I do mine 90 degrees. Also don't mess about - use a drill press. You'll never do them well freehand. 10) I don't think you'll need to bury the tailpiece, there should be more than enough height difference between it and the bridge saddles, even at their lowest. Distancewise, it's difficult to say. It's mostly aesthetic and practical considerations. Obviously not too close. Too far will look stupid. The 2 piece bridge may be ruled out by your bridge position. 11) It's possible. Your best bet would be to cut right off the curvy/irregular stuff on the bottom/end edge of the headstock so you have a flat area to glue. Glue ought to be stronger than the wood. Use the same type of wood (maple I'm guessing), use good quality wood glue and apply good clamping pressure for several hours (or even overnight) 12) Shape the headstock first. I apply veneer in this (probably wrong) way - flatten the veneer if it isn't already, cut the veneer roughly to size, apply a thin layer of wood glue to the headstock with a roller, apply the veneer, position it, put an old t-shirt on top then place an iron on it (no steam) to speed up glue setting. Be very careful not to move/dislodge the veneer during this process. After you're done, trim round the veneer with a very sharp knife. Be very careful at corners, the veneer will love to split along its grain. It might be better to trim it close then sand it flush with some fine sand paper (200-400 grit so it doesn't snag the veneer and split it). 13) No, it won't be a problem. Plenty of other people do 3+2 headstocks. 14) I don't like it. It could get in your way depending on your style of play.

[quote name='cocco' post='725217' date='Jan 26 2010, 02:34 PM']Mine is a G-1 sliding pickup version. Tuners are good strings are good too. I think its the bridge if its anything. No one seems to make a direct replacement bridge for it though. I dont fancy drilling holes in it if it can be helped.[/quote] If you do go down the bridge replacement route, let me know as I'd take the original off your hands - a couple of the grub screws in mine are broken and have to be turned by pliers - not ideal! Also if you do find somewhere to obtain a bridge or the parts thereof, let me know.

I sold mine last year for £200, it was Korean but not in the best nick - some cosmetic damage around a neck repair, worn gold foil on the bridge pickup and a couple of deep dings near the bridge. So one in tip top condition would probably go for a bit more, £250 maybe?

No problems here with my G-3. Don't know what to suggest apart from the usual (how fresh are the strings, check the tuners for play/looseness, check bridge, rub some pencil in the nut slots to help the strings pass through without sticking)

+1 for google calendar, so easy to use.

Apart from my first bass, I have never bought an instrument in either of our local shops. Prices are high, stock is low and rarely refreshes (one shop has been trying to sell a Gibson Thunderbird since I started seriously playing bass, it seems) and sometimes they can't even get it together to find me a half decent patch cable. I buy all my stuff online or by private transaction. The shops round here suck and apart from depriving me of a cheap laugh (the only cheap thing in there) I probably wouldn't be too bothered if they shut or stopped pretending to sell basses.

Too much "sacrilege" gone on there I think to be worth what you might think it's worth imo. But in the crazy vintage world, who knows? You've got one of the key words sorted out - Pre CBS

+1 for smaller than average hands but chunky necks. I've said it before but I think it's more to do with bulk than width necessarily - I played a Warwick Rockbass Corvette a while back and although the neck was 38mm wide at the nut, it had a well beefy profile and I got on fine with it.

I suppose in the absence of a will, my wife would become the custodian of my gear. I dunno what she'd do with them, she sings and plays sax.

I've decided to grab a pair of those ER20s today. Tried cheapo foam ones and while they're good enough for attending gigs if you've got nothing better I was less than impressed with them in a band practice scenario - I felt really detached from everything else that was going on, musically. Hoping for better things from these ER20s.