Kiwi

If you mean the grain, aim for a late 80's instrument. If you mean the polyester finish then most basses before the late 90's had it and most produced even today. We could probably date your preferred instrument if you gave us the serial plus shots of the bridge and neck joint. Stingray necks are approximately half way between a j and p bass.

I tend to use compression after the synth pedal to even out any cone-blowing peaks

1984-85 was one of the worst years for Musicman instruments. My mate Hugh had an 84 stingray with a wonky neck. Apparently Leo's company was subbed to make necks for Musicman at the time and they didn't do very good work. Some were shipped without attached truss rods (ie. fitted but not anchored). Certain parties even suggested the drop in quality control was deliberate...

Jon was in Shepherds Bush to catch the Stranglers at the Empire tonight and dropped off a first run of the body using a cracked piece of mahogany waste he had lying around. [attachment=16015:prototyp...irst_cut.jpg] The edges haven't been radiussed, the two halves of the run are slightly out of register, the pickup routs are a mess (because of the CNC machine's own limits) and slightly too close to the neck and I'm not certain about the return for the headless tuners either. The neck pocket is also going to be done by hand to ensure a close fit ... ...however I'm quite pleased with how sexy the shape is and with the neck it should balance almost perfectly on the leg. The body is very wide but definitely feels good. There's support in the right place for the right forearm and I'm thinking about chambering where the wood is thickest. The rough cut is very thick still so I'm in two minds about whether to leave it like that and have two very deep but also quite comfortable chamfers, or to make the body thinner but less contoured.

If you're going to use a compressor, its probably a good idea to make sure you don't use extreme compression settings. The raised gain will result in a raised noise floor and may create false triggers when you're not actually playing notes.

Jon sent me this pic. Apparently there have been some issues with lines in the wood that haven't hardened properly when the original layers of finish were applied. Jon's not sure about why it has happened, it could be pores or pockets of resin but he's chased out the unhardened lacquer with some acetone and he's filling them with superglue. [attachment=15981:DSCN5059_1_.jpg] No getting past how mouth wateringly stunning that wood grain looks though. [quote name='mcgraham' post='296131' date='Oct 1 2008, 06:56 AM']You getting excited CK?[/quote] Now I've seen how the facings look, I am! It's been a bloody long wait though.

I've sorted it.

[quote name='mistahbenn' post='166417' date='Mar 30 2008, 05:17 PM']Here are my beauties, all that I could ever ask for in tone and funkability. All classic in their own right, and they sound and feel great! especially the P! Really light and just fits like a glove. NEVER GONNA BUY A NEW BASS AGAIN. Here we have a 1973 Jazz and Precision and a 1995 Stingray 5.[/quote] That is a classic and highly versatile collection sir, all the important bits and nothing else. Most of us would probably end up at that collection after spending countless thousands and about 5-10 years. All you'd need is an SR5 fretless and you would have every bass for every situation.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='329224' date='Nov 14 2008, 04:28 PM']Bugger me that was a bargin......! [/quote] Well you say that but its worth bearing in mind that its basically a standard 1998 Fender Jazz Deluxe with a blue paint job and neck LED's. I suspect it might even be a MIM (IIRC Fender released the deluxe as MIM first) but I don't know that for sure. Maybe someone else could confirm?

I sense some bragging rights going begging here...

welcome!

hmm, I have an Axon AX100 at last. Stay tuned...

Well I've just pulled the trigger on an AX100 and it arrived yesterday, but I'm still waiting for the bass!

[quote name='SteveO' post='328826' date='Nov 14 2008, 07:22 AM']Good point, 'tis why I make sure mine are full before a gig (pre-gig ritual test with a multimeter). I also test because in every charge-drain-recharge cycle the battery holds slightly less charge (dunno why) There will come a point when a full charge will not last 3 hours, but I suppose it'll be years before that happens. Aren't they good for something like 1000 recharges? it'll be 20 years at one charge per week before I need to look at a replacement, but I'm a paranoid bugger and hence the testing.[/quote] I've found the same thing with my rechargables. The manufacturers claim they can hold 100 cycles but in practice it seems to be more like 20 or 30. [quote name='budget bassist' post='328775' date='Nov 14 2008, 12:25 AM']I dont think 18V ones last longer... they just have more output...[/quote] Not strictly true mate, they have more headroom. That means the overall gain is the same but the circuit is capable of passing on transient peaks in the signal more faithfully. In other words, the loudness of the attack on a note is passed on more cleanly. Jonas Hellborg has been interested in reproducing the transients in his playing for quite a while, his signature Status bass had a 36v powered circuit. A number of circuits on the market such as those by EMG and Aguilar are capable of taking up to 27v or more. It seems to me this same interest has been behind the production of his signature warwick amps too. [quote name='BassManKev' post='328776' date='Nov 14 2008, 12:26 AM']if my batteries pass the tongue check, they are good to use! when a battery is running low, your sound will start to distort, particularly the bassier strings, just make sure it suitably zaps your tongue before going on stage and its all good. change once a year-18months should be about right for a standard active[/quote] There's no such thing as a standard active circuit. Normally the current draw depends on the op-amp that the circuit is built around. Some have hi fidelity and high draw, so you'll be lucky to get 3 months with a weekly gig . Others are low fi and last longer but are not so clean sounding. There's nothing wrong with these low draw circuits if you don't have a particularly hi-fi rig (for example valve based) and play live in a rock band or similar. In any case, your battery life depends on how often you play and for how long. Eighteen months would be possible if you played mostly in your bedroom and had a low draw circuit.

The most important thing to me about a custom bass is the neck. Jon builds superb necks, at least on the instruments I've tried. Apart from that I can't say anything else until mine arrives.

[quote name='Shaggy' post='328096' date='Nov 13 2008, 07:54 AM']Same here. All my actives (apart from the Eagle) are oldies and suck batteries dry in no time compared to modern pre-amps. The new Ni-Mh rechargables hold much more charge than the old Ni-Cd ones and are pretty cheap now - use them in my pedal too[/quote] Based on personal experience I would recommend against using rechargables in a bass unless you have a passive mode. When the rechargables lose current they collapse in minutes. With non-rechargables, the power drains more slowly giving you more warning to change. I buy 9v Durcel Procells in bulk off Ebay.

did you meet him?