JPJ

So during lockdown #1 (yes I'm that old) I decided to get to grips with recording my bass, mainly as a self-improvement tool, and to get over the stress I go under every time the record light goes red. I made use of the inbuilt GarageBand on my Macbook Pro and surprised myself with the results, especially when using the clone of the Avalon DI. However, I now feel that I've gone as far as I can go inside GarageBand and feel I need to move on to a more fully featured DAW if I am to continue to develop my skills. The logical step (see what I did there?) appears to be to purchase a copy of Logic Pro, but before I treat myself for Christmas, is there a better option I should be considering?

Not all 2 x10's are made the same. There's loads of useful stuff on here regarding cabinet design and more importantly cabinet tuning. A modern, well-engineered, boutique 2x10 liked the Barefaced will blow an old school 'stick 4 10's in a box" "designs" out of the water.

Owned the SWR Goliath Snr 6x10 that was an awesome single cab solution but way too big and heavy for your average pub gig or even worse, the upstairs/downstairs gig. That said, I remember Warwickhunt’s neo equipped Tech Sound Systems 610 that was an easy one hand lift in/out the car and I’d really like to try the Barefaced version with its crossover and three full range and three woofer arrangement.

I thought the ‘heft’ debate had concluded that it wasn’t necessarily the amp topology (class A, B, D etc) that caused the lack of perceived ‘heft” but it was the use of switch mode power supplies commonly found in class D micro heads? But then again, I know nothing of amplifier design engineering so I may have picked that up wrong?

Yes, but it’s a Goliath reconed with Eminence Deltalites so it’s all you’ll ever need 😂

I’m either a Luddite or a dinosaur, take your pick, but those new fangled class D jobbies don’t do it for me. As I’ve posted before, I’m a complete SWR freak and my solution to the weight issue was to join a gym 😂

Feels great. It’s very ‘lively’ and resonant. Just what you’d expect from a one piece body.

So the wiring is complete, and the strings are on. First impressions are very positive, even if she does need a really good setup. Unfortunately, my tiny little Allen key that fits the bridge saddles on the Badass is no where to be found so the setup will have to wait until I can either find mine or buy another one. Only had the briefest of plugged in tests through my little TC BG250 208 combo as the family have retired to bed, but what I heard certainly sounded like a precision bass should. All-in-all, after taking a leap of faith with the body purchase I’m over the moon with the outcome.

More slow progress. So having successfully removed all the bits of broken screws and fitted dowels where needed, I got a couple of hours yesterday to press ahead with final assembly. Taking on board all the excellent advice, clearance holes were re drilled to precise depths, and screws lubricated with candle wax and hey presto, everything went together like a dream. Just final wiring and stringing to go and then we’ll find out if the whole process has been worth it or not 😉

More slow but steady progress. Last night I wet sanded the neck which I refinished using a combination of tinted and clear nitro rattle cans from Dartfords. Like many here, my workshop (shed) is unheated so spraying at this time of year is ill advised and sure enough, I’d suffered from a milky finish with the final coat. So I had to carefully wet sand to remove that whilst flatting the finish. I was aiming for a satin ‘well worn’ vintage look and feel and I’m very happy with the result and the lacquer cracks caused by the water getting in through the existing screw holes and tuner post holes has added to that vintage vibe - hey people pay fortunes for this type of relic’ing 😂 Sorry the photos aren’t the greatest but it’s difficult to photo the finish.

Thanks guys for the tips. In the case of the neck screw I definitely hadn’t drilled the pilot hole deep enough as it was locked tight in the neck, but when the pilot drill starts turning up rosewood swarf you kind of want to stop drilling 😂

Today was a two steps forward, three steps back sort of day. First, I completed the shielding job by running earth wires from each pickup cavity to the control cavity, adding the bridge earth and then terminating them all together. A quick resistance check showed a good connection so hopefully she’ll be a quiet one. Then I mounted the bridge, then moved onto the pickups. All went swimming well until two of the J pickup screws snapped, and one of the P pickup screw heads rounded out😤 An hour later and two and a half screws removed. The only way to get the remaining half of the screw out will be to drill around it until I can wiggle it free and then fit a dowel in the mess that’s left behind before redrilling for the pickup screw. As the best way to do this will be in the drill press, and as I need to wet sand and polish the neck I thought “Ok I’ll whip the neck off” and cue one of the neck screws also snapping (fortunately just the head) 😤😤 Moral of the story, don’t reuse screws!

The body was ordered as a five string but the MightyMite neck I have is wider than the standard Fender five string neck but I didn’t realise this until I received the body 🤦‍♂️

In the ‘slow but steady’ progress club, today I found time to finalise the P Pickup cutout in the scratch plate, shield the P Pickup cavity, shield the back of the scratch plate, and trial assemble the stack knob vol & tone setup from KiOgon of this parish, a piece of work so fine it deserves its own photo.

So had a rare day off today, so despite the freezing temperatures I headed off in the direction of the shed with three layers on and cracked on. Today, I’ve cracked on with the scratch plate which has turned out rather well. Still need to scrape the edges and finish the P pickup cutout but other than that I’m happy. Oh and to get the scratch plate neck pocket right I had to first drill and screw the neck to the body which went well and is aligned to within a hair of gnats chuff 😎 Oh and you might notice that in a spare half hour yesterday I shielded the J pickup and the control cavity. I will do the P pickup as well but only when I’m finished fettling.

So being left alone to ponder for the afternoon, my hankering for a fretless Precision type bass took me onto the Public Peace website and after a quick play around on the configurator, I came up with this. Ticks all the boxes, is considerably less money than Fender's only current fretless offering (the very nice Tony Franklin) and as the secondhand market seems bereft of anything decent at around this price point I'm seriously considering pressing the 'order' button. I know a few on here have taken a similar plunge, but what's the general consensus, are these basses worth the price point?

A little bit of progress tonight. Too cold to venture into the workshop (shed) so I sat with the body on my knee in the office and carved the rebate around the battery box opening by hand. Pleased with the result as the battery box is now flush rather than raised.

Two 18’s plus two 10’s and all that weight for just 400W. Maybe the old days weren’t as rosey as I remember 😂

Oof 😍

Finally got a few hours today to get on with assembly. Now you know I said everything was tight, well the neck pocket was 3.76mm too tight to accommodate my MightyMite precision neck. Before I go on, I must mention that the neck pocket fits the replacement Fender scratch plate perfectly so it’s obvious the MightyMite neck heel is wider than the standard Fender neck heel. After puzzling over this for a couple of weeks I decided to adjust the neck rather than the neck pocket on the basis that I’ve already messed on with the neck and it owes me nothing whereas the body is pristine. So today, with the aid of my digital vernier, and some newly sharpened chisels (there’s nothing better than a freshly sharpened and well honed chisel) I set about the neck. Got to say I’m pleased with the results. I also found time to rough out the template for the scratch plate but more of that later.