Andyjr1515

Beautiful, @Maude.

Hi Just a quick run through of a small job I've just finished for @3below - changing the binding and repositioning the side dots on his bass ukulele neck to give him on-the-fret-line dots rather than the existing 'fretted' positioning. I don't have a photo of the removal, suffice to say that it was a straightforward 'warm it up and ease it off with a single-edged razor blade. This was it with the binding removed. The original dots were drilled and inserted through the binding into the neck wood and so are still visible: A micrometer check all the way round flagged that the deepest point of the binding slot was 1.4mm deep so I opted for 1.5mm. A check all around with a small length of offcut confirmed it: Next task was to cut flush the old dots and clean up the channels all round - especially in the corners: Next, with the neck fully masked up, it was the careful job of gluing the new binding . I used medium-slow setting CA glue and did it a few inches at a time, holding the binding firmly against the two sides of the channel with a heavy-duty-glove'd hand until it was cured and then moved on to the next few inches: For the two tight corners, I heated the binding (very carefully!) with a heatgun to get it round the corners without leaving a gap (too cool) or distorting (too hot). Great relief! And it was done. Next job would be trimming the excess and shaping the binding into the neck. So next was scraping the binding flush with the fretboard top and neck sides. For this I used a cabinet card scraper, being very careful to scrape down to the masking tape but not deep enough to dig through the paper into the neck finish. Off with the masking tape with fingers crossed that there wouldn't be any gaps! Big 'PHEW!' @3below had asked for the new dots to be in Luminlay. Happily, they have started shipping from Japan again after a few months of no shipments due to having to fly the other way round the world to avoid Ukraine/Russia. The Luminlay method and equipment is simple, but essential is a good quality brad point drill...especially for the 2mm dots fitted to a narrow binding strip. I use a sharp-pointed punch to mark the holes for the bradpoint to follow. This shows those two and also the Luminlay stick being pushed into one of the two dots at the 12th. After a trial fit, I pop a drop of CA on the end, push it in and then cut flush with a single-edged razor: And after some final tidying up, here it is:

There's nothing at all parallel about my universe! More like ziggy-zaggy with a few loop the loops that make me feel airsick. That and strange flashes - or was it flashbacks - of pink

Splendid! Seagull it is, then

Lovely job

Spot on

The journeys, both ways, were simply dreadful... ...but the Bash was sublime. Some great basses, great playing, great bunch of folks, great venue and organisation and great talk and ultra precise playing by @Kingbassist. Perfect day and well worth the pain of getting there and back Thanks, folks!

Nice job

I would avoid the 8th as that is in the Easter weekend, but any of the others are OK with me at the moment.

A Bitsa Build is a great, great way of starting to understand: the basic geometry and mechanics of a bass; the things that matter; the things where you can take major liberties without affecting anything. You also start to realise (eg with your headstock example) how much of what lots of us see as 'the right way' or 'the right look' is simply what someone did 50 years ago that happened to work OK. Welcome to the slippery slope

Splendid!

It's worth looking at the 'Technical Spec' page for this one and check if it is the same size or close enough (ie a bit larger) to be able to sand down to the exact size: www.axesrus.co.uk/43mm-Bass-Graphite-Compound-Nut-p/43mmgraphitebass.htm **Ignore - this one isn't a 5-er**

#1 Andyjr1515 Had to be number one at least once in my life

^

And very lovely it is too!

It is also so that I don't inadvertently cut the nut too low. The different materials used on nuts file at markedly different rates and on some it is ever so easy to go that tenth of a mm too deep...which is a challenge if it happens. And so I initially file the front edge down to the feeler - which is a teeny bit thicker than my target slot depth - and then do a few final passes without the feeler in place to finish off the break angle and also take the front edge down a smidgen more and to its final depth.

And so, I present to you the 'Maybe Not A Lull But Just Look At That Colour!' or, just in case the splendid Lull team have been following the thread, 'Maybe Not A Lull But Just Look At That Color!'

Ah...but not under disco lights

'Essence of Lull' And, trust me, that's much better than 'Essence of Andyjr1515'

And we have tunes! Still one or two cosmetic things to finish off, but the wiring is tidied up: And I've been able to string it up and play it through my valve guitar amp (yes, I know...). Sounds great and the 'mwaah' of the original has been retained Over the knee it is comfortable with no obvious neck dive tendencies and on the strap. Hands off, it basically stays where you put it: Finished weight 6lbs 15oz (3.15kg). I have an aesthetic tweak I might suggest that would take a couple of ounces off but that would be for the looks rather than weight. So just some final set up stuff and a couple of aesthetic tweaks and ready to pass across to Jack at the SE Bassbash I'll take some arty farty shots when the lighting is better.

1. Merton - ACG Mule, chambered short scale fretless, £1600 2. Merton - Warwick Rockboard ISO power supply with lots of different leads, £70 3. Merton, Barefaced One10 with official cover, £300 4. Nancy Johnson - Ibanez Roadster project thing. Haggle. 5. Nancy Johnson - Spector Euro LT. £££ I'll bring it ..would need same day PayPal. 6. Eude - Zoom B3n. Boxed as new, only used for about 30 mins, £100. Cash or PayPal on the day. 7. Andyjr1515 - 'Kert's' Camphor Single Cut, awarded No Treble's Bass of the Week. Open to offers around £1500

Adding myself. I'll bring a couple of my builds and will also be passing across the lightweight and very pink fretless to @Happy Jack while I'm there 1. MacDaddy - Custom Shukers / Rob Allen Mouse / Peavey Vypyr VIP III 2. Binky Bass - Binky 10 string, USA Conklin 8 string, ACG 9 string, 3 x ACG 6 strings, Reiver 7 string (geeeetar), GR Bass Dual 1400 & GR Bass AT410+, Helix LT, Pinegrove straps, Richter straps etc. 3. Cetera - Spector (USA NS2 & NS2X, Euro Classic, Euro LX (w/Haz),Euro 'Rachel Bolan', Pulse II ) Wal Mk1 'Geddy Lee', Fender FSR PJ with East pre, Hamer Impact, Pedulla Buzz 4 fretless and maybe Jackson TBird, GK400RB, GK Legacy 800 & Tech21 VT500 Heads, Genz Benz Neox212 cab. 4. Frank Blank - Jabba short scale fretted, ACG SS Recurve, Ibanez SRC6, QSC K12.2. 5. Merton - various ACGs, Zoots, Conway Instruments basses, Glockenklang Blue Rock, Barefaced Two10/One10 6. Eude - ACG Finn SC Classic 6 string, ACG RetroB 5, ACG TKO Modern 4, ACG ChubstRR Mikro 6 string, 2 X ACG Mule 4 strings (on loan from ACG), GK Legacy 500, 1 or 2 Barefaced One10 Cabs, Dod 250(r) modded with @Sibob 7. Stingray5 - MusicMan Stingray5, Tune TWB6, Tune SWV4-BB, Boss GT-6B, Eden EC15 combo OR Trace Elliot GP12SMX combo. 8. NancyJohnson - NS Design NXT5a EUB, Lull JAXT4, Darkglass A/O900, Darkglass 112 cab, Tech 21 dUg. 9. prowla: Obligatory Rickenbackers, a Warwick or two, maybe a Kramer aluminium necked bass, some pedals, Ampeg & Tech 21 preamps (subject to change), maybe the Minitaur & MIDI bass pedals. 10. Lozz196: US Precision, Ashdown ABM600 & Ashdown ABM PRO NEO 210s x2 Ampeg SCR-DI, Sansamp BDDI v2 11. Silverfoxnik: G&L SB1, BC Rich Eagle, Godin Shifter Classic 5, Sprackenbacker Ricky copy, Mesa Walkabout 15 combo, or Handbox R400 + Vanderkley 1156 MT. 12. Happy Jack: an assortment of weird 5h1t that I can guarantee nobody else will bring 13. WalMan (hopefully!): Wal, Status S1 & S2 & Zon Legacy Elite. One of the rigs (probably Mesa D800 & BF One10 or BBII as there's already One10's on the list) or Helix & Headrush. SkarBassOne pedal. May have an old case & 2U rack to sell/raffle 14. Steve Browning: Mesa TT-800 and Mesa Subway 1x15 cabs. SVL basses. Greco Pbass and Tokai Jazz. 15. OrangeFriday: Latest homebuild items - Tubular Bass and Basscape effects plus maybe Jellybean Bass (the one with a few LEDs in the neck) 16. BillyBass: Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas V (J) and IV (reverse PJ) , Balaguer select series Goliath (HH), Tech21 GED 2112 pre amp, Barefaced Midget, maybe a super compact too. Not sure about which head yet. Jam pedals Lucy dreamer, Hamstead Subspace, Jam Pedals Ripply Fall. 17. Wolverinebass: Aside from bringing sideburns and sarcasm, not sure what I might bring. 18. Mudpup: Zon Sonus Std, Cort A4plus, Mesa Big Block 750, Mesa MPulse 600, Quilter BB800, Barefaced Big Baby cab 19. Simon C : G&L L2000 Tribute, Sire V7 Fretless, Ibanez EHB1000S Headless Shortscale. Various pedals (switch, tuner, Hypergravity compressor, Laney 85 Bass Octave, Bass Clone Chorus, Spectradrive) 20. Rumblefish: Reverend Rumblefish,Bernie Goodfellow bass, EBS HD 350,Vanderkley 112 MNT. 21. bass_dinger - Two Washburn 500s and a step-fronted SWR Workingman 12 with a three digit serial number. And maybe the Boulder Creek 5 string in my avatar. 22. Smanth - Harley Benton B-550FL, Kala UBASS, Roland Microcube Bass RX, TC-Electronics BG250-208, Line 6 Wireless, Some Zoom Pedals, Stompz if it is working, Bits for Phoenix. 23. Andyjr1515: Camphor Single Cut (see also For Sale listing); AJR's "Same woods and proportions as a Thumb but, wisely, a different shape" fretless; passing across the completed pink lightweight to Happy Jack.

Looks splendid

And just how splendid is that! Beautiful.

Someone asked if I was going to add a fingernail scoop for the control hatch. I solve the hatch access in a number of different ways and sometimes do carve a scoop in the body. However, I'm no skilled nitro painter and couldn't be sure that it wasn't going to look a bit naff, so used an alternative that has worked pretty well on a number of builds. It's simply to shave half a mm or so off at one end of the rebate, so that a firm push in the right place lifts the whole thing that can then be just lifted off: I've had a decent day at it today: - fretboard re-dressed - neck re-slurry-and-buffed - still have to tidy up the wiring with some ties, but we have sound! So far I've just tried the 'tap test' - but the sound difference from the three different voices of the Fluence bodes very well indeed Tomorrow I'll get the neck and strings back on and see what we've got. Then that leaves just a tidy up around the now-fitted Dunlop flush strap locks and I reckon it's done. And the plan is to meet @Happy Jack at the forthcoming SE Bassbash, in a couple of weeks' time, and hand it across.