Kiwi

Funnily enough, I've been toying with the idea recently but please don't read too much in that. The LGBS has gone and while it's been rebranded as the UK Bass Guitar Show in Manchester, many were disappointed at the 2020 show. Stevie Williams stopped organising the UK Bass Show to focus on other things. I hope he won't mind me mentioning this but many years ago he told me that that if he broke even on a show, he considered it a success. So while there seems to be a gap in the market, it's fraught with financial risk for the organisers. it involves a lot of work from a team of people and up front financial investment in booking venues, promoting and securing (often paid) artists to provide assurance of value for money to everyone. And that's pre COVID. Post COVID, the industry has been squeezed generally. Unlike the US, turnover is down and promotional budgets within the industry are tighter. I was looking into exhibiting at a London construction show a few months ago and faced the prospect of being charged 75 quid for a plate of sandwiches if I wanted to buy food on site. Then there are the mandatory PL insurances, health and safety risk assessments, the cost of storing kit away from the stand etc. etc. It was like being nailed to the wall and slowly drained of outrageous amounts of money. But the construction industry is a bit bigger than the musical instrument industry. So while its possible, I think a lot depends on finding the right venue. Maybe somewhere in the non-for-profit sector like a school, charity or trust.

calling @Dad3353

That's the bass I was thinking of.

Sorry, I can't help. I remember a bass up for grabs at some point that was one piece from mahogany but I never paid it much attention as I think that approach to building creates more problems than it solves. I don't know if the instrument I remember was the one mentioned above.

He has superb taste in kit generally, judging by that photo.

It could have been 1988 or 1989 come to think of it, I wasn't really aware of different basses until after September 1987. I would have only been playing for a year in 1987. But regardless, it would be quite something if your father had kept my letter...!

I have a handwritten letter from your dad in a book somewhere in storage...from 1992! I read What Bass at the ripe old age of 16, having taken bass up and left drums behind the previous year. I can't remember what I wrote to him about specifically but I was obsessed about bass and thirsty for information being stuck in the comparative wilderness that was New Zealand at the time. I suspect I was asking him about Jaydees and Status basses.

It's not too different to a wooden necked series 1 apart from being a little brighter and maybe a little more clinical sounding - no room for sloppy technique as the clip below will testify. The neck is like a broom stick, almost no taper on it and the action is super low. alembic series 1 slap.mp3

Oh trust me, this was not a situation of my choosing. Last time I was in the UK was 2016 and then we opened a service based business that couldn't function without me and that basically screwed any chances of coming back to the UK until COVID struck...and the rest is history. I never took the batteries out of the bass before putting it into storage because I didn't think I'd be away for so long...! Any hoo some pics are below. The original pickups gave out so the previous owner sent the bass back to The Mothership and had new ones installed. The rest of it is original and honest - finish issues and all and the facings are walnut IIRC. And one of it being played live:

I would share a pic of mine but it's been in storage for the last 7 years...so all my photos are at least that old if not older.

Pinning the fingerboard was a good idea, I've entertained doing something similar for body wings when I get around to repurposing an abortive through neck build I commissioned. Ken Smith basses have locator dowels on the wings for the same reasons. With the fingerboard though, was there a reason for pinning in a fretslot rather than under a proposed fingerboard inlay?

By referring to Mumsnet...? I can't work that one out. BTW I came close to locking the thread but I'll hold off in the hope things get back on track.

Hi BC'ers, We installed a series of updates to the forum software this evening. We couldn't find anything major with the themes like last time. But if you happen to stumble across any new posting or text field related issues today, please let us know below and we'll look into it. cheers K

I'm doing exactly this with a strat this weekend. 57mm wide neck pocket in the aftermarket body which I've only just confirmed is slightly off centre. It's solvable with some fervent sanding on the longer edge of the pocket and maybe the opposite side on the heel but I risk losing that tight fit.

Well look at it this way, whatever the merits of Rautia might be...the Armstrong pick up is the real deal.

A bit late to the party, I realise. But Kent Armstrong did the originals for Aria and Aaron still has the Alembic licensed moulds stashed away in his storeroom somewhere.

An excellent suggestion.

Great location too, loads of space. A bit of a walk for me though, these days.

I haven't seen anything come in via the Support inbox. If you're having issues, try a password reset on GC. While it uses the same database, it's not shared with BC and your password for GC will be whatever it was for BC when the BC database was copied over. Seven to eight hours ahead, so I'm working while you sleep peacefully. No Indian call centres are involved.

When I hide it, it stays hidden. 😏

Realistically I think the announcement bar probably has a limited life span in terms of exposure before it stops being effective. Perhaps that point has been reached for the time being. So I'm happy to hide it until late Summer and then bring it out again for three month periods.

I bought a cheap one a couple of months ago. Thirty quid and it probably flouts most CE mark standards for getting fingers caught in folding mechanisms. But it's sturdy enough and will fold away when not in use. I bought a second 1200W plunge router for about fifteen quid and a smaller 800w fixed one for six quid. OEM manufactured tools are sold at pretty much wholesale prices online here. After Summer I *might* get my own workshop but any progress on my builds really depends on finding suitable wood and swamp ash/alder are very hard to get hold of over here, as is figured maple. Most of it comes from Russia (often not dried properly) but also sometimes Canada. Nothing from the US thanks to tariffs.

I recognise that headstock shape...:)

I wonder if Roger Sadowsky is assuming the wood weighs the same and has the same density? If they do then he's correct but jazz basses sound very generic to me anyway...which is why I don't play one. For a bolt on construction, the mahogany will almost certainly have an impact. It comprises part of the structure that acts against the string tension, so how could it not? Replace the body with one made out of weakened MDF and see if you get the same timbre! When I had two Smith basses they were identical apart from one having mahogany core wings and the other having flamed maple (and was fretless). Both had different characters and were through necks! The maple winged bass was firmer in the mid range and had slightly less low end than the mahogany winged bass. So that would suggest also that the body wood has some effect even in neck through instruments. On the other hand, in the mid eighties, Musicman were mating necks to outsourced bodies made with poplar and alder (solid tints), ash and they all sounded like Stingrays and Cutlasses should. There were even a few examples with mahogany and those owners reported a slight change in timbre. Some times if the signature tone of a particular bass is wrapped up in the electronics (e.g. Status), then yeah the body wood will have less of an effect than one where the pickups and preamp are relatively clean.