JPJ

Dave then turned his attention to the neck again, and specifically the headstock. I had asked for the headstock to be finished the same as the body. Dave suggested that we carry the green on right up the neck into the headstock and I followed his suggestion: [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/headstock%203_zpsw2qopdkp.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/headstock%203_zpsw2qopdkp.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/neck%201_zpsctw5ebnx.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/neck%201_zpsctw5ebnx.jpg[/IMG][/URL] That's pretty much where she was at the last update last weekend. There is still a while to go as Dave applies the numerous coats of clear to build up the gloss, but so far I am over the moon with the progress he has achieved.

Having tackled the neck, Dave moved on to the body. I had asked for a 'green'burst' finish with a 57 style black edge. I was looking to pick out the grain of the sycamore with a black grain filler and then for a translucent dark green (think British racing green) to avoid the aquamarine colour some greens can look in certain lights. After the first colour coats, she looked like this: [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/top%201_zpsxobiqa86.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/top%201_zpsxobiqa86.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/top%202_zpsshbalaej.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/top%202_zpsshbalaej.jpg[/IMG][/URL] In consultation with Dave, we decided that this wasn't quite dark enough so back into the booth she went for another green coat or two, the end result being this: [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/top%203_zps75yfnloj.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/top%203_zps75yfnloj.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/back%201_zpsaqiaafr9.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/back%201_zpsaqiaafr9.jpg[/IMG][/URL] This was pretty much exactly what I had in mind when describing the brief to Dave at the outset.

So this project started off back in 2013 when I traded my Musicman Stingray 5 string with Rumple of this parish for this Overwater Perception This beauty had begun life as a fretless with a beautiful unlined ebony fretboard. At some stage it had been fretted but apart from that was a stock Perception with a flamed sycamore top and back with a thin ebony black veneer line and a walnut core. Shortly after she became mine, I opted to replace the Overeaters 3 band pre with a U retro, which to my ears suited the bass better. In truth, right from the get go I noticed that the fret job wasn't the best in the world, with the ends of the fret tangs extending just enough beyond the ebony to make sliding your hand up and down the neck more akin to sliding your hand up and down a Zip. After a few gigs, rehearsals and home practices, my annoyance with this had reached the stage where the bass wasn't getting any further use. At the same time, I couldn't bring myself to part with her, and so this plan was hatched. I decided to have the fret job reversed and also to cover up the 'G Plan' woodwork with a paint job. I had very specific requirements, but I am fortunate to have Mr Dave Wilson living close by, and with his reputation and history, he was the perfect man for the job. More time passed as we tried to coordinate my availability with his, until eventually the bass was handed over around four weeks ago. What follows is some low resolution progress photos exchanged by Facebook, but I am so excited by the progress Dave is making that I had to share them here. First, he defretted the neck: [url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/defret%201_zpswrywrwnp.jpg.html"][/url] Then he filled the fret slots with African black walnut as I didn't want to great a contrast to the ebony: [url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/defret1_zpsarvrkwyu.jpg.html"][/url] After a lot of trimming and sanding, this was the result. [url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/defret%204_zpstecasxsp.jpg.html"][/url]

if its any help, I replaced the elements in my Stagg EUB with the Artec one's and it was much brighter sounding and louder after the change, but that could have been due to a mismatch with the stock preamp.

I've been using the XR-18 for since they first came out and I have nothing but praise for the mixer. Yes, the software is a bit all over the place with different versions doing different things (X-Air edit on Mac or PC having different features, same with iPad and Android apps) but other than that its fine. I use X-Air Edit on the Mac at home to setup the mixer for a gig, then use an iPad mini from the stage to mix the show. Generally, I can do most of what I want to do on the iPad. I do use an external router (AirPort Express because I wanted the ability to have the iPad connected wirelessly and the Mac connected over Ethernet to record, but I've never actually gotten around to doing this. Finally, if you have one, or are considering buying one, I'd recommend joining the Behringer X-Air forum on their website. Loads of really useful end user experience and advice and guidance.

I remember seeing a custom bass in a magazine a few years ago (might have been an SEI) that had three led's built into the end of the neck just above the body on the player side which replicated the three lights on the (reference) TU-2. I always thought that was a pretty neat solution.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1451314752' post='2939486'] That's fab, that. Looked like a great night... [/quote] Cheers mate, it was absolutely awesome. Great set of bands, no egos, just good clean('ish) fun, and all the better for having the bairn up there with me.

I wouldn't normally as I'm not a patch on some of the players around these parts, but my band recently did a tribute set to Lynyrd Skynyrd at a multi-band tribute show at our local O2 Academy and I had the great pleasure to have my youngest daughter up there with me as one of the 'honkettes' backing singers. Its a truncated version due to a 40 min set limit but here's our take on the classic Freebird. [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WI1EEZrBk8&feature=youtu.be"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WI1EEZrBk8&feature=youtu.be[/url] Bass = Overwater J5 with J-Retro; Amp = Aguilar AG500; Cabs = 2 x Ampeg Classic 4x10's (provided by venue/promoter); Line 6 G50 Wireless

Great effort and result. Rather than purchasing a drum sander, go for the pillar drill and get a sanding drum like this one [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-sleeveless-sanding-drums-ax896201"]http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-sleeveless-sanding-drums-ax896201[/url] to mount in the chuck - two birds, one stone :-)

OMG!! That's just beautiful isn't it. I can remember ogling the Acoustic gear in Kitchens in Newcastle while waiting for the bus home from town. Must have been around 77-78 as the had one of these with a 370 head (I think) and the first Musicman Stingray I'd seen in the flesh in the window.

My Two penneth Neos - my experience is limited to Eminence Deltalites loaded into an SWR Goliath 4x10. At the time when two of the original PAS drivers blew, these were my (lucky) choice, and as I was running two Goliaths at the time I was able to A/B the neos against the ceramics. To my ear, loaded in the Goliath, the neos had a better mid-range response so much so that when I sold one of my Goliaths, it was the ceramic loaded version which went and I'm still using the Neo version today. Whether the difference is down to the magnet material or the thiele small parameters of the newer designed Deltalites I am not qualified to say but I prefer this combination. Class D - my experience is again limited to three amps - a TC Electronic BG500 combo, an Orange Terror Bass 500, and my latest acquisition (from the OP funnily enough) an Aguilar AG500SC. Both the TC and the Orange were loud, and neither could be said to be lacking in the bass department, but neither had the heft or authority to the bottom end with both feeling either spongey or processed. The Aguilar on the other hand has that missing component of heft which leads me to the conclusion that class D works fine, but its actually the switch mode power supplies used in the TC and the Orange that are at fault as the Aguilar has a Class D heart but in combination with an old skool toroidal transformer. I might be wrong on both counts but that's my current perceived wisdom on the matter

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Overwater yet? Build quality equal to SEI but with a shorter leadtime and all the options you could want. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/OverwaterJ52.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/OverwaterJ52.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Hello Peeps, Quick question, anybody here had to replace the LED on the mute on the Aguilar AG500? Is it an easy job and if so, where did you get your LED from? I've fired an email off to Aguilar Tech Support but I'm still awaiting a reply.......

[quote name='Alec' timestamp='1450092040' post='2929437'] And, while I think everyone else is likely to be right in guessing that it's the active pre in the bass that's giving the extra gain - it's worth checking that you don't have some massive make-up gain set on the compressor? [/quote] Also, check whether the compressor has a mic/line switch and check your running on the line level if your putting it in your loop, or mic level if your sticking it in front of the pre-amp where it belongs imho.

I'm sure there was a bigger 130w version too? Until recently, there was one of the 80w ones in a local rehearsal studio than seemed to be damned near indestructible

So I got to use 'Christina' (as my band mates have christened her) in anger on Saturday night. Tone controls all at 12 o'clock and the pre on my J-Retro equipped Overwater J5 in the centre positions and the tone was big fat and powerful. Rolled the bass control back a little on the bass (which I do on most gigs as the J-Retro has a built in bass boost at the centre position) and wow, there it was my tone and in spades full. Playing through my Goliath 4x10, she wasn't lacking in volume either despite the published 250W into 8 ohms. The master volume (never a reliable indicator of loudness) was at about 11 o'clock and she had no problem keeping up with two 100w valve equipped guitarists and a loud drummer. All in all a lot of very useable tone in a relatively small lightweight package. Oh and Saturday nights gig was upstairs, and it was a pleasure to load in/out with my amp in one hand and my bass in the other instead of the two-man lift of the SWR!

Just bought Geoff's Aguilar AG500SC. Great transaction, excellent friendly communications and fast delivery. Just the way it should be in a community, I have no hesitation recommending Geoff.

My back is going to love me. This is a genuine one hand lift so amp in one hand bass in other type load-in. My band mates will be pleased as the SM1500 is a definite two-man lift.

Well its new old amp day here at JPJ towers. I've been searching around for a replacement for my Orange Terror Bass I let go a year or so ago, something smaller and lighter than my SWR SM1500. Being a bit of a luddite, I've only recently weaned myself off either big cabs or multiple cabs, and I'm doing more gigs these days using just my SWR Goliath 4x10 (albeit reconed with Eminence Deltalites). As I normally run through the PA, the reality is I have no need for massive backline and as much as I love the SM1500, the weight is a real issue, especially on upstairs gigs. I'd narrowed my search down to four amps, the AG500, the Markbass TTE, the Mesa Walkabout, or the GK fusion 550. After a few false starts, our own Geoff90guitar stuck his AG500SC up in the for sale section at (what I consider) a bargain price, so the trigger was pulled and the Aguilar arrived safe and sound today. Initial impressions at 'man cave' volumes are extremely good. It looks like the combination of the AG and the Goliath is a match made in heaven. The AG has that 'thump' that you can only get from big old transformers imho, and it takes none to very little eq'ing to dial in a very useable tone. This is the first amp I've used in a while (save for the terrorbass) that hasn't featured either a semi-parametric or graphic eq, and I'm quite excited by the simplicity of the four knob approach of the Aggy (bass, low mid, high mid, treble). Saturday night will see her first gig with me and as its an upstairs hump, she'll be a joy to load in/out compared to her stable mate. Further reports and photos to follow.

[quote name='hookys6stringbass' timestamp='1447247464' post='2906064'] Would like to have a go at making the pickguard any suggestions??? [/quote] I've had mixed results using a router to make scratch plates. My current technique is to stick the scratch plate material to an MDF template using double-sided tape and then use an edge trimming cutter with the bearing on the bottom. Experience has taught me to rough out the shape of the scratch plate first with a fret saw so the router is only removing the last 2-3mm. Also, I've found that its best to trim to shape and cut the chamfer in one pass using a 45 degree cutter with a bearing on the bottom. Word of warning though, the router will not only cut the plastic but melt it also, and be prepared for an unbelievable amount of swarf in the form of small electrically-charged chips which stick to everything like those annoying little polystyrene balls.