hamfist

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1403453022' post='2482794'] Agree, quality parts used there, no wonder it sounds good. [/quote] +1 !

THat all sound like good advice Maude. I've done a couple of basses but am still far from finalised on my technique. I think it's the sort of thing one will need to do dozens of bodies to get really accomplished at.

[quote name='alyctes' timestamp='1403395183' post='2482405'] Tele headstock is the only thing I would do (that would reduce the weight somewhat as well). Maybe even by reshaping the existing one? Cheap too - then you could buy something else to rework Or possibly reshape the headstock for a more Peavey-style shape, slightly pointy to match the body. [/quote] I like that idea. I could certainly do it myself too. I could refinish the neck in a less yellow oil/wax at the same time.

[quote name='ubit' timestamp='1403286589' post='2481563'] Tried a bent piece of wire through a neck screw hole onto the washing line and that seemed to work. Still tricky though! [/quote] I used a similar technique .... a bent coathanger through a neck screw hole and hung by a hook on my shed's ceiling. Worked well.

Agreed. That's a great job. Well done.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1403267775' post='2481331'] Is that the stock colour? I love it! If you refinned it yourself, what paint did you use? Looks very like Fender "surf green" to my eyes... [/quote] I refinished it myself. It's Plastikote Super (enamel). I think they call the colour Peppermint Green. As for the bass itself, I think I'm veering towards using the money on something else. I don't think anything I'll do to it will improve it. significantly. Change it, yes, improve it, no. THink I'll probably spend the cash on a new bass. Hmmmmm, Now what's out there for about £300.

Lots of great suggestions and ideas. but ......... I definitely like the Fender style headstock, much better than the 2+2 Westone style (on this bass at least). The colour of the neck and headstock in the pics is pretty realistic. It doesn't bother me the "yellowness" but it's not something I would have chosen. I do have more paint to spray the headstock, but I'll be honest, I hate paint refins, they take soooooo much effort. A Humbucker in the bridge position is certainly something I have considered. I have made a couple of MM/J configuration Basses (all on Westone Thunder bodies as it turns out). Didn't really grab me. The split "single coil" MM option was not as good as a "proper" J bridge pickup and I guess I'm just not a Stingray guy in terms of using it as a full humbucker (either in series or parallel).

I'm in the lucky position that I have a little money to spare and I'd like to upgrade my "Westone Thunder" custom. This bass has been through so many incarnations in my hands, it is certainly Buddhist by now. It is only nominally a Westone as all that is left is the body wood and the neck plate. But anyway it's a cracking bass and sounds incredible. There is nothing "wrong" with it, I just love tinkering. OK, currently it's got ...... Westone Thunder 1A body Maple/Rosewood Custom World guitar parts jazz neck Tonerider Jazz pickups Probass STinger preamp Gotoh bridge (can't remember the model number but it has adjustable string spacing) Generic tuners and other hardware. I'm toying with the idea of getting an all Wenge Warmoth neck for it, slim contour, Jazz neck (about £275 all in). It's a fair bit of dosh though so I'd like your thoughts on that as an upgrade or what else you might change if you had the same amount of money to spend on it. I've done a fair bit of playing around with necks and bodies but it's mostly been with relatively cheap necks. Would the all Wenge neck really give me something extra. ON all my other basses I have East parametric mids units, but the mids on this bass are so perfect I just haven't felt the need to add dedicated mids control, although of course it would increase versatility if I did. Another addition could possibly be lightweight tuners. COuld anybody suggest any in particular and let me know roughly how much weight that would actually save. Any other suggestion definitely welcome ! [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/westone-jazz-a.html][/url] [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/westone-jazz-b.html][/url]

Just bought a pedal from Ryan. He is a top bloke who does what he says he will do. THe pedal was packed well. Very happy all round. Deal with confidence with this man.

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1402932624' post='2478023'] The sound is generated by string vibration, which is in turn affected by the mechanical integrity of the structure which supports it at each end - as the instrument vibrates in sympathy with the strings, certain frenquencies will be cancelled, attenuated or boosted by the interaction between the string and the structure, this isn't some dippy xyz wood species sounds a certain way BS, but simple physics, and the same reason that deadspots occur on bass necks. Propagation of vibration through solid materials is directly affected by their physical properties, for engineering purposes, these properties are easy to control for refined metal and plastics, but trees not so much. IMHO the grain structure, density and moisture content of the timber is way more important than specific wood species, and is one of the reasons why if you try a bunch of identically specced mass manufactured guitars or basses back to back, you will find that some are better than others and this is noticable both amplified and unamplified, and that weight can vary quite a bit from one example of a given design to another. The main variable that cannot be controlled easily in a modern production enviroment is the quality of the individual bits of wood. The cheaper the instruments, the bigger the variation as they are being built down to a price, so lower grade timber isn't being screened from the production process. When I've made comparisons like this in the past, the difference in tone tends to be subtle, but responsiveness to playing dynamics, clarity and sustain is much more noticable and makes certain instruments seem to "sing" easily in comparison to others, or the notes in certain registers have more energy or definition, with the exact same strings, pickups & electrics through the same amp on the same settings. You could also make the argument that some of this variation might be caused by inconsistency in the amount of glue used in joints, neck/pocket seating accuracy, nut seating etc and I would be in agreement, but modern manufacturing processes have really tightened the overall QC on even the cheapest instruments and consistency is much more about variations in materials now from what I've seen of modern buget offerings including basses that retail new in the sub £100 bracket. [/quote] A very fine post sir. Hurrah, and well worth a long, slow read by many of the folks spouting all sorts of nonsense they know nothing about. Although I would adjust one sentence ... "the grain structure, density and moisture content of the timber is JUST AS important than specific wood species".

I don't play fivers but my 4 string MIJ SR1300 (paduak/mahogany sandwich version) is a most incredible bass. Extremely high quality

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1402817654' post='2476927'] Ignoring the crossover, gate, and improved blend control, has anyone compared the deluxe to the standard and found them to sound the same? You should look at the COG Grand Tarkin also if you haven't already done so- a great Russian muff clone with blend and mids control. [/quote] The deluxe muff has much more prominent mids than the std bass muff and is much more present in a band mix. Personally, I like it a lot more than the Tarkin, which I just could not get to sit in a mix the way I wanted it to.

[quote name='bassmayhem' timestamp='1402860159' post='2477368'] How to make a sexy, good and expensive bass look cheap: Henman-Bevilacqua!!! [/quote] Agreed. But still nothing is close to the Lindert one for me.

Why the hell not is my answer. My one and only caution would be that with 4 pickups, magnetic string pull may start to noticeably dampen your sustain. My tendency would be to initially mount the neck mudbucker well away from the strings. But then you would probably do this anyway to achieve a decent balance between the pups I suspect.

I thought it was a very impressive pedal, and easily the most versatile fuzz out there for anything near it's asking price. You will not get better, just different, at any price. Well worth a try. Personally I found the crossover and the noise gate both very useful. It sat very nicely in a band mix. A huge improvement on the std Bass big muff. I have not used Russian muffs so cannot compare to them.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1402590674' post='2475122'] Are not Mr James Tyler's headstocks the ugliest of all? [/quote] No way, those Tyler headstocks are gorgeous compared to the Lindert ones.

I just can't resist giggling when I look at that picture. And I don't usually consider myself juvenile.

A picture paints a thousand words .... [url=http://www.ephotobay.com/share/-57-10.html][/url] The bass with this monstrosity is on sale for a mere £700 on the bay. I think there's going to be a bidding war. edit ... no idea why the picture has changed to a jigsaw !