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Andyjr1515

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Everything posted by Andyjr1515

  1. You see....that's where people with vision have something I never will have When I first saw it, I was in the 'isn't that a bit big?' camp. Then, when the outer thick ply sections went on, I was in the 'Yes, that really IS too big!' camp. And now it has the covering on, I'm in the 'Wow! That looks SO right!' camp. So no marks for me on my vision capabilities, but I reckon maybe 8/10 for my flexibility of opinion?
  2. There's something a bit special about a fretless bass for certain numbers. Personally, I would have a fretted...but I'd keep and practice with the fretless too. It really doesn't take too long to make the small adjustment in finger positioning and be able to play either. In terms of playing your fretted bass, I'll bet your fingers always hit the same position with the same precision regardless of the presence of the frets...
  3. Hi Just woken up from my slumbers... Somehow, I'd missed this thread - apols. Beautiful bass! I suspect the problem isn't about the action height or the geometry - it's much more down to earth than that. It's about how you cut the frets themselves. And it's about the area once the fretboard gets to the body. Normally, the board would be slotted before being glued to the neck. Generally, this will be: using a fret saw; using a very fine circular saw; using a CNC router Usually, the fret positions would be achieved using a specialist jig or the CNC programming, etc. It is possible to mark by hand and use a mitre block when using a saw, but this can be error prone - even with the ability of handing and clamping just a flat board. The options with a board already glued into a through neck are very limited. You can't use a fret saw; you can't usea circular saw. Theoretically, you could use a CNC router, but how do you jig the bass (and not damage it with the clamps) so that it is EXACTLY in the correct position, accurate in all planes to a hundredth of a millimetre? I used to run a factory of CNC routers and that would have been in the category of 'tell the customer he couldn't afford it' category. So the only practical answer if likely to be to replace the fretboard (and even that isn't easy to do on a finished through-neck bass. Hope this helps Andy I think this is probably where Chris is coming from
  4. Haha! Yes, the sound will noticeably improve over the first three months or so of playing as the top loosens up. Some commefcial builders put a multi-frequency vibration plate on the top to accelerate this process.
  5. Lovely
  6. I passed this over to Matt today I'm pleased and relieved in equal measure to report that he is very, very pleased with it He will do some proper videos of him playing it sometime in the future but, in the meantime, I grabbed these quick mobile-phone clips of his first go with it, as they say, 'straight out of the box': https://youtu.be/-Bckzvnup7I https://youtu.be/4qQ9iHK22IE Well chuffed....
  7. That is such a good solution. Engineered sculpture.
  8. If the capacitor is where you show it on your diagram, it looks to me like it is just bleeding some treble off at all settings.
  9. Wonderful build! Going to be spectacular.
  10. Lovely job.
  11. Excellent
  12. I think he will Having pretty much finished the setup, I put the 'proper' strings on today - and I reckon this sounds every bit as good as my own. So that means I get mine back too! Result
  13. It'll be worth it, though. Looking good
  14. And finished, bar the final set-up tweaks. Forgive the self indulgence: ..and the obligatory artyish fortyish shots:
  15. I've yet to see a poor Darrell Braun video. They are always balanced, informative and based on fact rather than myth. And yes - heeding the 'don'ts' that he mentions ref vintage, lacquered or bound boards - this is a perfectly good way of doing the job.
  16. Excellent!
  17. I can't seem to copy the Axminster tools web link but if the budget stretches to £90 or so this one is a simply wonderful spokeshave: Veritas Flat Spokeshave - PM-V11
  18. Perhaps - and that's actually what the longer allen key is effectively doing. The only way though, in either case, is to get your hand fully into the chamber with the soundhole around your wrist. It's a bit like squeezing your hand into a ladies bangle (so I'm told)
  19. Hi John. Very kind of you but an allen key is actually the easiest way. There's so little room, the bulk of even the mini ratchets don't really help. I had another bash today having found an allen key with a longer long side and a shorter short side. I now have the basic neck angle where I need it - I now just need to go through (hopefully) one more time to get a gap free joint. The really encouraging thing is that - now I've got the strings at a playable action height - it sounds as good as I'd hoped
  20. I've done a build and a number of mods for @wwcringe (Tom) where the tone circuit is completely by-passable or isn't in place at all. Tom's preference is, in any case, to use rotary switches rather than potentiometers so, in most cases, the signal is going straight from the pickup to the jack. My view is the same as @Hellzero 's in terms of an A/B comparison but I doubt if you'd notice the difference as the volume and tone difference from different venues has a much bigger impact than any bypassing of a full-off pot would. Very easy to try it - it's just a single disconnected wire from the volume pot to the tone pot.
  21. It's in the nature of acoustics that, even when they LOOK close to being finished, they often AREN'T all that close to being finished. The thing that makes it look pretty close is that the strings are on: and the neck looks OK: But, in spite of me having had 3 or 4 goes at the neck angle - which is a right old b***ache because every time you have to get the neck off (not easy fiddling about with allen keys through the soundhole) and then chisel evenly and at the right angle the shockingly hard rock maple and ebony - nevertheless, it STILL isn't right. It isn't far out - probably a couple of degrees - but the action is far too high with a test saddle sitting at the lowest practical level, and thus the intonation and playability is pretty shocking. A couple of degrees, including the flush fit challenge and the multiple re-assembly to see how close it is (this is essential because overdo it and you have a REAL problem. Getting that right can change the scale length!!!) will take a disproportionate number of hours. I'm tempted to make up a custom sanding block so I can sand both sides and the bottom of the tenon at the same time. However, there is very little left to do beyond that - truss rod cover, tweak of the nut, final polishing up, heel strap lock - and, I have to say, the tone sounds promising So ETA for finish remains end of next week, albeit with allen-key and set-screw shredded fingers.
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