gary mac

Wish you luck in your new home Nik. Hertford, Stevenage, Welwyn have/had a fairly busy music scene. There is Hertford Guitar Club that meets once a month, I've not been but think it's an open mic type night. Think this one does attract good musicians from what I've heard. I'm sure there's a social club that we've played in Potton. I'm in Hoddesdon and offer guitar and bass set up work, mods etc. Have carried out work for a fair few Bass Chatters over the last few years.

A bass with a piezo system in need of attention😂

Good luck with it

A careful approach is a must. Armed, ideally with the correct fret lifting pliers, you need to start at one end and gently manipulate the edge of the pliers under the fret, then work your way across. Sometimes the fret will lift out very easily, other times not so. If it seems stubborn, then it's probably safe to assume that it has been glued in. You will then need to use a soldering iron to heat up the fret and melt the glue. Things to be aware of: You need to not hold the iron on the fret for too long, as scorching of the fretboard can occur. Also if there is an edge binding, it can melt. If the board is rosewood or similar, you are very likely to get some chipping out. There are fretboard protectors available to mitigate this issue. If you do get chip out, then rosewood dust and very thin super glue will be required for repairs. I doubt that the fret will be re usable, so have a measure up and order a replacement (or two) Northwest guitars stock fret wire in small quantities. Unless you already have all the tools, it might be more cost effective to pay a tech to do it. Good luck with it.

Humble Pie, Rockin the Filmore

Super glue and rose wood dust is the way. I recently refretted a les Paul that had some serious gouges to the fretboard. Using the glue and dust method, none of the repairs were visible once finished.

I've always been able to get a clean sound out of mine, first with Markbass cabs and then Barefaced. The only time it got a bit fuzzy, was when the preamp valves needed changing. I swapped them out and it was back to how I liked it. It's a bit of a faff changing them but I got it all done in under an hour.

If you need to get the neck straighter Nick and the truss rod nut feels tight, don't force it. If you are confident in doing the work yourself, you need to get the neck straightened by clamping it. This will take the stain off of the truss rod. Then try loosening the nut first, just to release it. You should then hopefully be able to tighten it (after apply a little lubricant), sometimes an extra washer needs to be added but not always. All being well, this would do the trick. If you need a bit more detail, happy to chat via pm or phone.

Not a good plan if the finish is nitro though.

Mick, you should the state of some the instruments that I get to work on. The worse ones are school music department guitars and basses.

The pickups being too close can cause problems even when unplugged. You could try lowering them and see if there is any improvement. If the problem isn't cured, just return them to how they were.

Could be the nut or that the pickups are too close to the strings.

Wishing you a very happy birthday Jack. I would liked to have got your bass back to you in time for your birthday but it's been giving me a hard time, plus I'm on shut down until the new year

A decent iron makes all the difference, quicker, safer and much more efficient.

Hasn't all of this been detailed in the Barefaced pedal thread?

He had some great session guys on the albums. Have to admit to still playing them on occasion.

That sounds pretty awful. I'm extremely careful/scared around power tools, having seen the damage that they can inflict.

Will have to check that one out Lozz

I really enjoyed working on your Tele Mick, nice player.

No I crossed the border from Herts 10cc was a good one

Is it time to admit that you saw the Bay City Rollers there?😂

Unlike Beedster, I do the truss rod adjustments first, followed by the saddles. Well actually, I tend to check the nut slots first, then neck relief, then saddles.

Saw them at the Sundown a few times as well. Was it Harlow Town Park that you saw them at? That one was a freebie.

Which album(s) did you try Chris? I'm a big Yes fan but even so, there are a few albums of theirs, that I just can't listen to.

Still repairing, setting up and modifying, guitars, basses and mandolins. The first three months of lock down were dire but since then it has improved, to a point where I'm as busy as I want to be at this stage in life