neepheid

When is a Celebrations tin not a Celebrations tin? When it's a home made double bass As an amusing sideline (I have been working on the other stuff, don't worry), I decided to have a go at building one of these: [url="http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/doodle-b.htm"]http://www.ehhs.cmich.edu/~dhavlena/doodle-b.htm[/url] I'm making some changes to the guy's design: f holes instead of round holes a real nut instead of the tacks 2+2 bass tuners (nicked from the sixer I butchered for the Zebrano Wideboy 5) an angled back headstock I've made the nut from a scrap of zebrano, and a bridge blank from some scrap rosewood. Tonight I got the fretsaw out. I guess deep down I'm as mad as a bag of frogs...

Welcome to the forum

[quote name='spychal' post='216642' date='Jun 11 2008, 09:36 AM']Ok then, well I had a play of it yesterday. It played nice, and the neck felt good/ the tone and feel was very similar to a fender Jazz. I haven't bought it yet, may well do so tonight. I noticed one thing, the neck plate was plain, no logo. Do mexican fenders have a logo on the neck plate? Now the bad ass bridge. Is it usual for a bad ass bridge to be modified as such with holes through the body? I thought they were a direct replacement for the bridge already on it? If it was a standard jazz surely it would have been more work to drill holes.... The seller did say it had been installed in a shop on denmark street, not that he had any verification for it. edit: i didn't check the ferrules on the back, will do when i look at it this evening.[/quote] It is NOT normal for a Badass II to have those holes. That is an aftermarket modification. It is a direct replacement in its unmodified state (same location, same screw holes, same top load stringing). The through body stringing is an aftermarket modification. As far as I'm aware, Mexican Fenders don't have through body stringing as standard. If it's been done well, then you have nothing to worry about - indeed you should revel in the added stringing option. You can choose to string through the body or through the back of the bridge as is traditional.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='216516' date='Jun 10 2008, 11:40 PM']Matsumoku bolt-neck - errr... neck: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4003-BASS-GUITAR-NECK_W0QQitemZ220244694450"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/RICKENBACKER-4003-BA...emZ220244694450[/url] Doubt it'll be there long. J.[/quote] Damn right it shouldn't be there long. I've no problem with people selling Rick copy stuff, but I've got a problem with people passing copy stuff off as the original.

[quote name='SJA' post='216577' date='Jun 11 2008, 07:53 AM']note it's been strung through the body- that's definitely a mod as Fender pass the strings through in line with the mounting screws. if it was professionally done the ferrules on the back should be in line and the paint won't be chipped or lifting where the holes were drilled.[/quote] Take me outside and shoot me, I didn't notice that one! Misaligned ferrules must be one of the most irritating thing I see on basses. I'd rather take an hour to drill the holes with care (and a drill press) than do a 5 minute job and make a hash of it. The holes in the Badass don't fill me with confidence, mind.

[quote name='spychal' post='216253' date='Jun 10 2008, 03:37 PM']cheers for the advice, I'm trying it out this evening so I guess i'll see how it feels. Is there any tricks to see if the bridge has been installed well?[/quote] To be honest, you can't really go wrong - the badass uses the same screw holes as the original Fender bridge. Make sure it's sitting flat on the face of the bass, if it's not lifting any with the bass tuned up then it ought to be fine. If the saddles have been notched, then it might be worth taking the strings off and checking how good the filing is here - any sharp or rough bits could cause more frequent than normal string breakage.

[quote name='dood' post='216251' date='Jun 10 2008, 03:37 PM']Quite correct, 'the Wife' did feature a Gibson EB pup and the DiMarzio is a remodelled version. I often wondered if it was a direct replacement, or adjusted to fit in to the neck position of a Fender string spacing better. On a similar subject, I would love to know what would happen if you put a MM mpup in the neck position as per 'the wife'. I wouldn't mind hearing what that would offer up sonically.[/quote] Pole piece spacing is very similar. The strings on my EB-3 go over each one satisfactorily, maybe not smack in the middle, but it's still better placed than the factory installed bridge pickup! Might do something about that seeing as I'm in a modding mood. As for your MM hypothesis - get a router out and see! I picked up a Squier P body for £25 recently, so I might investigate this. If it doesn't work out, the hole will be hidden by the pickguard of a P bass anyway

Excellent, I'm pleased to hear this.

[quote name='bnt' post='216095' date='Jun 10 2008, 12:46 PM']Isn't that the pickup that Billy Sheehan uses in his signature basses? He has an EB pickup in his old Fender "The Wife" - he must like the Bass, then. [/quote] I believe so, although I've seen it referred to as a DiMarzio Woofer. This is probably because of its application in the Sheehan basses where it has a seperate output for going to a different amp. I only had a quick play with it last night, but the sound seems a lot tighter and more defined than before. Now I've got a spare EB style pickup to flog. Anyone want to build a "wife"?

I bought a pickup from this gentleman recently and found him to be an excellent person to deal with - chatty, polite and delivers the goods promptly. Can't ask for much more than that. I would not hesitate to do business with him again.

That doesn't include Epiphone EB series copies. I had to fill and redrill the mounting holes and file the scratchplate. Sounds real nice though. Much smoother than the stock pickup.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='212802' date='Jun 4 2008, 10:18 PM']I've always thought the "crazy" German uses the wonky basses as cheap advertising for his parts business. He sometimes has 3 auctions up for the same bass. Mind you, he has a way with words if anyone leaves him a negative.[/quote] Not any more he doesn't. Sellers can't leave -ve feedback any more. The guy's probably traumatised. I want to take that butchered Ripper he perpetually advertises (aye, and not for £450) and fix it up. I've asked him a couple of times if he'll lower the price but he's never got back to me.

Welcome to the forum. Now that you've said hello, why not take some photos and start a thread in the For Sale section and see how it goes

[quote name='eastwind' post='211172' date='Jun 2 2008, 03:51 PM']thanks for the welcome neepheid..... how do you rate the Artec pre-amps as I import a lot of their stuff at the moment ?[/quote] I've used an SE-2 and an SE-2A and have found them to perform well for the money. The concentric pot on my SE-2A is a little cantankerous though, makes some rather nasty poppy/rumbly noises sometimes. Will probably have to replace that.

[quote name='rob_89' post='211155' date='Jun 2 2008, 03:27 PM']just wonderd, can anyone offer me any advice on the Squire basses...is it worth spending the extra cash on a 'Vintage Modified' jazz, on top of what id spend on a standard jazz?? i dont mind the extra cash so long as its worth spending.... any advice appreciated![/quote] Cosmetic differences (improvements?) like block inlays instead of dots. Different (better?) body wood (soft maple vs. agathis). Different (better?) pickups on the VM series (Duncan Designed). Probably a slightly better second hand value when it's time to move on. What I've said is based upon you meaning a fretted one. Better is a subjective measure. Some people hate block inlays. Some people don't give a toss about what body wood is used. It's up to you.

Welcome to the forum. I'll be keeping tabs on the progress of your enterprise.

I got mine from Axminster Power Tool Centre: [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Ice-Bear-Japanese-Kumagoro-Flushcut-Saw-364268.htm"]http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Ice-Bea...-Saw-364268.htm[/url] Full range of Japanese tools here: [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/category-Japanese-Hand-Tools-207021.htm"]http://www.axminster.co.uk/category-Japane...ools-207021.htm[/url]

I would just like to take a moment to sing the praises of Japanese saws. The flush cutting I've been doing recently would have warranted this post alone, but last night I made my first nut blank out of a scrap of zebrano armed only with a Japanese saw, a digital vernier caliper and some sandpaper. The Japanese saw allowed me to cut a 1/4" piece out with some accuracy (+/- 0.3mm) and after some judicious sanding I reduced that to +/- 0.1mm. Oh, and I just did that in the spare room, holding the piece with my fingers. You try doing that with a common rip saw. No idea what I'm talking about? Look here: [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_saw"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_saw[/url] Basically, if you have any need to do anything small scale and fiddly with wood, you NEED one of these saws. Once you get used to cutting on the pull stroke, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it. What's the nut blank for? Never you mind! All will be revealed.

Welcome to the forum

Quick update: all screws now present and correct in the pickguard. The old screws are soft as anything, no wonder there were broken ones to drill out. I broke one myself when I was testing pilot hole diameters. Lucky I had a spare, eh?

Sounds like another one of those dodgy Aberdeen types...

Damn you, GASman

Welcome to the forum

I think what we're trying to say is that any [b]passive[/b] P-bass pickup should just drop straight in - maybe with some minor filing of the pickguard. Inherently active pickups (like EMG) would require somewhere to put a battery.