Andyjr1515

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1490643379' post='3266753'] In which case it's well done for airing your dirty linen in public. What's this forum for if it's not to stop us making a plonker of ourselves? [/quote]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1490623691' post='3266540'] I saw the beginnings of the thread about Andy's new spray booth but no more. I'm sure I'm not alone in jumping to the conclusion here that at least one person jumped in there and said there are factors in the construction which made the design illadvised? Isn't this a positive outcome? If it were not for that thread Andy could be scorched under a molten heap of plastic and chemicals or poisoned with interacting chemical forming gasses; whatever was the potential threat that he faced. I say, "well done Andy for posting. And well done to the other person for jumping in." Andys design for the booth was logical and a solution that was low cost and sensible; if you don't know better. There but for the grace of God go I. Thank you for this opportunity to learn. [/quote] Actually, Grangur, it's 'well done Andy twice.' I'm certain that someone would have tapped me on the shoulder before too long and said, 'Now then...is that really wise?' but actually I tapped myself on the shoulder before anyone else did. One of those '[b]What the hell am I doing[/b]???' moments.... Thanks for the comments though

You know the old phrase, "...and it was staring me in the face the whole time!" Or, put another way - "Now WHERE am I going to be able to find a bracket that has double locking and would fit the spacing of bass strings?" When Mick sent me the Steinberger look-alike tuner, he also sent me the above headstock bracket. The one designed for using normal strings rather than double ball-end. Which I confess I didn't notice until just..... So hacksaw off the semi-circular bracket, drill a fixing screw hole in the middle and either fix it on the top, routing the strings this way round, or (more likely) on the bottom, routing the strings the other way round. Either way - problem solved You're a genius, Mick Andy

Some useful thoughts and ideas above - thanks Something like the Ritter approach, or even clamping ferrules a bit like this (imagine a grub-screw rather than a screw-head and the ferrule sitting in a half-drilled hole from the back, with an allen key access hole in the side of the headstock) would be best for the reasons you state, eude - avoiding the need for double-ball strings: I'm assuming that Ritters are using some custom hardware. If anyone knows of any commercially available hardware like it, Mick and I would be very interested in hearing about it

While Mick has been looking at options for the headstock (we are both trying to avoid the abrupt stop of a conventional headless headstock which would look completely wrong on this shape), I have been trying to confirm the fixing and string routing at the other end. With a full length fretboard, I think we are in the realms of an acoustic-style bone saddle. Imagine the bridge in this picture was the fretboard, continuing forwards and backwards: Something like that. The added benefit is that is makes is a doddle to fit a conventional acoustic-style piezo element under the saddle Working on the fact that lower E strings don't really like bending more than 30 degrees, this fully dimensioned drawing probably confirms the closest I can get the saddle to the tail with the tuner mechanism fully hidden from the front view: Mechanically, I think this would work, although the tuner string retainer adjustment screws will need to be shortened to prevent the ball ends just pulling out under initial tensioning (due to the angled string pull) So far, so good

[quote name='samhay' timestamp='1490609209' post='3266299'] This looks to be interesting. >Hidden magnetic pickup >At the moment in that proposal, the pickup is deeper than the body... Are you planning on burying that pickup in/under the fingerboard, or have you given up on the hidden aspect? In either case, seeing as you are pushing the boat out, why not wind your own pickup to fit? [/quote] There are shallower pickups around than the one that Mick sent me (a nice MEC) so I'm sure I can sort an alternative if needs be. Having said that, my concept may well suck anyway, in which case a custom-wound may be the answer whatever. It's going to be a full length fretboard, so my plan was to fit the pickup from the back and set some iron slugs into the fretboard, either blind or exposed and sanded flush: The scale of this above is, of course wrong, with a standard J pickup being much wider than the fretboard. With a custom wind it would be possible to raise the fixed slugs into a slot in the back of the fretboard... I've been doing some experiments, winding my bubinga pickup right down into the body and then laying a piece of iron across the poles to see what it does to the volume and tone, and also winding out the pole pieces ridiculously high. The former works better than the latter but there's lots more experiments to do....

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1490543829' post='3265838'] Yes indeed, Bastav. On my bubinga you can probably see that I had also done that [/quote] This is one area where the skew helps - the effect will be more marked on this design...

[quote name='Bastav' timestamp='1490543603' post='3265832'] Another thing to think about if you want even more right-swing is positioning the bottom strap button further up towards the neck. [/quote] Yes indeed, Bastav. On my bubinga you can probably see that I had also done that

I will post the progress of the design as it progresses. There are and will be lots of messaging between Mick and me in the background as we develop or abandon thoughts and ideas. I will probably have to build a number of prototype rigs too to try things out. So you will see the design and development process, warts and all. Remember two things:[list] [*]The design and solutions will undoubtedly change during the process [*]Like all of my builds, I will simply say what I have done and why. If you are thinking of building stuff yourself, NEVER assume that I know what I am doing - but DO feel free to learn by my mistakes.... [/list] So, where would I usually start? Geometry and physics. A bass guitar is a series of compromises held together by determination and hope. Pretty much everything impacts on everything - usually making what you were trying to do impossible for practical or practicability reasons. For me, I start with the tailstock arrangement and thus the bridge position , because that will determine how far away the nut ends up being away from your grasp. The further forward the bridge, the longer the neck will be. Sounds obvious but you can easily and quickly end up with a bass that is physically unplayable. The other thing that fundamentally affects the apparent neck length is the balance on the strap. This early in the process you [i]have to [/i]have a decent idea how this is going to hang. If it swings to the player's right (assuming a RH bass), then neck will feel shorter. If it swings to the left, it can become unplayable because you simply can't reach the end of the neck. The above is where the challenges of this build start biting. We are going for a headless mechanism, fitted to the back and hidden from the front view. There is going to be some hacksaw work on Mick's donated tuner assembly, but this is where it will go: Note that due to the forward skew of the upper part of the tail, the tuner mechanism is a few cm further forward than it normally would be. Also this is going to be fitted at the back. So to get to the bridge with any decent string angles, there is going to be quite a distance for the angled strings to go to get to the top. This pushes the bridge even further forward, as you can see in the top (full-size) sketch below: I've written '11cm minimum' here but in reality, to hide the tuners, this is going to be at least 13cm from the centre-line which is itself 1.5" further forward than I would normally aim for. All things being equal, that would make this feel like a 35.5" scale bass!! But, then there's the hang. Here's my Bubinga fretless in comparison, with the bridge in the same position: Playing the Bubinga is pretty much me at full stretch so anything forward of this is a concern. And that great lump of material at the back of the design is going to throw it further to the left. But look where the horn meets the neck - a strap button (probably at the back) here would be much further forward than my bubinga. This would swing the bass back to the right. So...might be OK Another consequence of the forward bridge is the hidden magnetic pickup. Remember that the body will be slim and diminishing. The forward bridge position throws the pickup towards the narrowest and thinnest point: At the moment in that proposal, the pickup is deeper than the body... So that's what [i]I've[/i] been doing this Sunday

[quote name='Bastav' timestamp='1490533007' post='3265724'] now [i]that[/i] is quite the spec. lovely flame on that maple aswell, are you going to add some accent veneers or is it gonna be all maple/light woods? [/quote] The neck will be 5 piece rock maple with some thin accent lines either side of the central maple splice - other than that it will be all as white as we can make it, although clearly it will darken a touch when the finishing is on. That body wood is actually sycamore (related to maple), cut down, cut up and seasoned by a local contact and professional instrument maker. I was pleased to get hold of it because the offset with the bookmatch means that the blanks need to be significantly longer than those normally available. There's a dark spot you can just see that is a quirk in the grain - it is impossible to know until it's carved whether that will get bigger, stay the same or disappear. But, well...that's wood for you...

Oh...and here's the body wood for it:

Hi Other titles I considered was -"Mick throws down the gauntlet" or "It's the last straw the breaks the camels back" or "Here's another fine mess you've gotten us into" The most ambitious project so far....and some. It's for our very own Mick (aka TheGreek) This one is still in conceptual stages in many ways and - with so many technical challenges ahead - going to take some time. And - always a possibility - feasibly might not work. The excitement and anticipation of starting this project has been building rapidly like the internal pressure of eating too many baked beans The plan at the moment is:[list] [*]Contact lens cross-sectional profile: [/list] [list] [*]Ultra-modern skewed profile [/list] [list] [*]Full length fretboard (ie nut to tailstock) [*]Headless tuning mechanism (actual head / no head / part head still in design) [*]Hidden magnetic pickup [*]Possibly piezo in addition [*]Hidden controls [*]Natural, white wood throughout [/list] There - that's it. Pressure released. As they say..."better out than in"

Fantastic!

This just gets better and better. I can't believe the colours you've got out of natural wood!

Thanks, folks, for the encouraging feedback - it is always hugely appreciated. Most importantly, Pete is very pleased with it If I ever get time, I am very tempted to build a six string electric version (yes, I know...shocking) to see if that has the same playing 'feel'. I'll keep you all posted

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1490387531' post='3264872'] Sell the children - you know that they're just a drain on your resources... [/quote] Done I assumed it was general advice

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1490387457' post='3264871'] I love it, looks superb and has the sound to match. I really do need to save up some cash and talk to you about one. [/quote] Always willing to talk, T-bay

A few of you have asked where the makeshift spray booth thread went. Simply, I asked the mods to take it down. Those of you who follow my build threads know that I generally simply say what I personally do and how I do it - I pretty much NEVER say 'this is what you should do'. But, of course, when you post regular threads and when - to everyone's amazement - some even work out OK, you find that you are regarded sometimes as 'an authority.' That is a bit of a responsibility that has to be recognised, even if it is never intended or deserved. And that was the problem, I suddenly realised, with taking the same approach with my spraying experiments as I would do with a general build - that is, simply summarising what I was doing and the results. Because taking someone else's ideas and expanding on them or trying something similar is the very essence of why the Build Diaries are so valuable and so much fun - and this process can result in the rapid dissemination of good ideas. But there's the rub...taking the essence of experiments with spraying and doing 'something similar' can - if you are not fully knowledgeable of the risks and preventative measures - be deadly. So apologies for the abrupt cessation of the thread, particularly for those who are fully aware of the hazards and have been trying to solve similar problems, but it would be a bummer to lose [i]anyone[/i] who might think my build threads are cool

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1490387288' post='3264869'] That sounds fantastic, a lovely tone. Was that clean or any effects on it? [/quote] I think he had just a touch of overdrive on it

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1490378567' post='3264788'] Technology causing a problem?? Nooo!! (actually I've been trying to download photos for the last week) [/quote] Yes - quite! Anyway, here it is - when Pete got hold of the piccolo neither of us were quite sure what it would be best used for other than the primary aim of sofa noodling. We still aren't sure but first practice Pete tried a lead break with it and continued using it as a rhythm guitar during the final vocal verse - [url="https://soundcloud.com/andy-rogers-6/time-to-let-go-piccolo-bass-playing-lead"]here are the last few minutes of the tryout[/url]. It's definitely not a bass and it's definitely not an electric 6-string. So mission accomplished, then

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1490376966' post='3264767'] I'm confused 'cos I'm sure I replied to that thread but darned if I can find it now. Have you been moderated for excessive expletives? [/quote] No - I asked the mods to take it off. I realised that, unless you went through all of the 'do's and dont's', then someone who didn't know the safety issues could get in a bit of a pickle. I'll post the reasons separately rather than hijacking Jez's fabulous build thread!

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1490372112' post='3264730'] Pete's slacking...where his review?? [/quote] His review is the big stupid grin he's had on his face since he got it To be honest, it doesn't improve his looks...... Actually - I've got a clip from our practice on Tuesday when he decided he was going to play the piccolo for the lead guitar part of one of our numbers (!). I'll post it when I can get the flaming thing off the iphone!!!!

Jez - that is STUNNING! (and, assuming you've seen my amended thread, do NOT think about spraying it in a tent! )

Very neat

We started with a Yamaha Stagepas and they are very good but we found they struggle a bit with the larger venues we play at (ie, middle size pubs and clubs) and the speakers, though great quality, aren't really man enough for the bass without affecting the sound of the rest of the mix. We then moved to a Behringer powered mixer (2x800w) driving a couple of Behringer 15" speakers. Although very good price, we have found it very reliable and, because it is running well within its output capability at the lower volume levels required for the small to medium venues, the sound quality is excellent, even when Pete our bassist turns up his bass boost to max! The bonus is that we now use the Stagepas as monitors where necessary.