Bloodaxe

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='47726' date='Aug 20 2007, 02:18 PM']I had hoped to update the strip with a pic or two but I've just been around to see Joe the guy doing the job and the finish (lacquer/acrylic/clear gloss) applied on top of the paint is steadfastly refusing to budget when lashings of nitro-morse was applied! I didn't want the initial paint strip to be done with sanding as it is quite a thick paint finish and I don't want the subtle dishing/curves that you get on the early Warwicks compromised by hand/power sanding from scratch. A different type of stripper is being purchased as I type and hopefully we should be down to bare wood in the next couple of days [/quote] If it still proves cantankerous, try NitroMors yellow, very runny but extremely effective. It needs to be neutralised with turps or similar - water has no effect - and it nips a bit if you get it on your hands. The Green tins are strictly aimed at the home D-I-Y market. Good Stuff! Pete.

Also, when encountering a new drummer I find it helpful to position myself where I can see their right foot, rather than struggling to pick it out of a welter of other information. Helps me to lock in Pete.

Short question, Huuuuge answer. Give us a clue... What sort of stuff do you play? What don't you like about the Carvin? Pete.

It is an Aria, it's an XRB made between 1987 & 1989 (so could be Japanese or Korean). Re the P/ups - I [i]think[/i] they're just screwed right down flush with the body, if they weren't there I'd expect to see a hole painted white. Either way it looks to be a complete plank, & I wouldn't touch it with yours. Pete.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='46491' date='Aug 16 2007, 03:54 PM']My Warwick Streamer is in getting a refin' and I'm considering keeping the finish natural as per usual Warwick spec'. Is it necessary to seal the unfinished wood (maple) prior to applying oil or wax or is it OK to just build up layers of said finish?[/quote] Depends how much you want to colour the wood really. If you want to keep it pale apply a sealing coat of lacquer & then just wax polish it as required, if you fancy the warm honeyed look then get stuck in on the bare wood. The regime for oil finishes (according to a book I had on furniture restoration) is 1 coat a day for a week, 1 coat a week for a month, 1 coat a month for a year & after that maybe once a year to keep it topped up, but it will darken with each coat & will further darken over time under the action of UV & general oxidation. Wax will take more work as it will need to be rubbed in - a cheat is to apply the wax & then run a hairdryer (on low power) over it so that it softens & gradually soaks in - but will tend to colour less. Both finishes present few preparation problems for future refinishing unless... [rant=] A word about waxes... Silicone. Don't touch it. It is an Abomination. An outsqueezing of Beelzebub's undergarments. A lot of the cheaper brands are loaded with this rubbish & it's a very bad thing indeed. Pay the extra & get a traditional beeswax/turpentine mix (try Antiquax in the blue tins or the Liberon range). Silicone will soak through a good many finishes, lurk in the wood & attempt to push off any subsequent attempt at refinishing, should that be a future option ("Fish-Eye" holes in the paint/lacquer are a symptom). A mate of mine used to run a car-spraying shop & the mere mention of the S-word brings him out in Anglo-Saxon - silicone contamination can shut down a paint shop. Happy Shopper products like Mr Sheen are best left to the G-plan/Ikea brigade, don't use 'em on quality joinery. [/rant] Pete.

Greetings, You could try sticking a flyer on "the wall" in Denamark Street. It's in the alleyway next to where Andy's used to be, & is usually plastered with the standard "we're poised to take over the world" schtick, but does harbour some ads from normal people. Pete.

Been using these for a while, & they seem very good. Top value for £6 a set - not sure about the sweeties though. My only (slight) concern is that I had to completely redo my intonation with the last set & the G saddle is only just in range (the set I put on my SB-900 has the same issue). I'm putting it down to a slightly rogue packet. Its high time I ordered some more. Pete.

[quote name='Sharkfinger' post='45653' date='Aug 15 2007, 10:45 AM']Thanks for the tip. Was the whammy bar standard?[/quote] No. Always wanted one (despite the plaintive cries of guitarists), tried an ex-Entwistle Alembic that had one at the Bass Centre when it used to be in Wapping & was hooked. £250 as I recall in 1988. They're a lot cheaper now. There was a production Aria with a whammy - the [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/temp_pages/nikki_cats/86/whole_enchilada_inside.jpg"]GSB-6000V[/url] a headless 6-string with a graphite neck. Never seen one. Back to the delights of Ebay... One for our American contingent, a 1981 [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290150416229&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=019"]SB-600[/url] with hard case. 9 days left to run & currently at a paltry $150. Dealer says he'll ship to Europe, but won't be cheap. Pete.

[quote name='Sharkfinger' post='45176' date='Aug 14 2007, 11:01 AM']What, like this one? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=398&hl=classic+laser"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...l=classic+laser[/url] Seriously, though, I'm on the look out for a medium scale (32") Aria, Cardinal series, right handed. If you come accross one, would be grateful if you let me know. Cheers, Frank[/quote] Ahh, no... Bloody Red is the factory term for "White with all red paint splattered on it" [url="http://www.matsumoku.org/models/ariaproii/catalogs/1985/85_ap2_cat_pg19.jpg.html"]Like Here[/url] either the B/W or the BLD finish On the 32" side, don't rule out the TSB series - to my eye somewhat more attractive than the CS. Mine... Pete.

I've been on holiday for much of the last two weeks, hence the absence of any updates... The [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300130668666&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=020"]SBR-80/Elite 2[/url] ended up at £335.71 - a fair price for an absolute stunner, whilst the [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=140137944007&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=004"]AriAlembic[/url] looks to have failed to shift with a top offer of £335 failing to meet the reserve - the difference between Mint & Modified perhaps? The [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=160139258664&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=006"]RSB Deluxe[/url] with a hard case & a tuner thrown in that had Bassassin foaming at the trousers topped out at a piffling bargaintastic £67, whilst the somewhat modified [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=330147959419&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=014"]L/H Laser[/url] ended up being snaffled by me for a very reasonable £69 + P&P. I bought it on behalf of a mate of mine who was sick of using a R/H for recording & getting chafed in the process - I still haven't seen it, as it arrived whilst I was on hols, but he seems happy (& more importantly he's paid me for it). Sneaking in under the radar was this very nice [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260146308029&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016"]SBR-60[/url] with original hard case & some nice figuring to the ash body - £280 doesn't seem too bad for that. Up for grabs at the moment are... a [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=260149209748&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=016"][b]ZZB-Deluxe[/b][/url] in the stock metallic-blue-sunburst-with-all-gold-bits finish. Looks to be very original, but no mention of the case (they were branded for these & the XX flying V series). £150 for starters [i]might[/i] be being hopeful - especially for a zero-feedbacker. These don't surface very often, so I'm watching with interest (note to self: Watch ONLY! it's not the Schenker model, nor is it in Bloody Red - so you're [i]not[/i] bidding on it o.k?) & an oddball classic to finish - a c1980 "batwing" [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250154279380&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT&ih=015"][b]SB-600[/b][/url] - no reserve & in mint condition so it should do very well. Why "oddball"? well looking at it from the front it looks like the standard "skunk stripe" laminated through neck, but seen from behind the neck is obviously glued on. This design quirk straddles the "batwing" & "open book" headstocks but seems a bit superfluous when you're producing through-neck & bolt-on designs. I'm drawn to one of two conclusions - either the Matsumoku design team were as mad as a box of frogs, or a large through-neck production run went very pear-shaped & the set-neck solution saved chucking the whole lot in a skip. Either solution is viable I suspect. Pete.

Ye Gods. Looks like long-term water damage. How? I'd suspect the integrity of any glued joints (like the three-piece body) & wonder about the state of the truss rod. If the latter's fine it should be salvageable.

Greetings, Recreating the logo isn't a problem given a photo of that quality plus a good vector drawing program like Adobe Iluustrator, Freehand or CorelDraw (assuming that the logo isn't on one of the logotype websites). The problem is printing it in white. If you know anyone with an ALPS printer you're quids in, but they're rare. I'm faced with a similar problem when I get around to refinishing a rather butchered Aria SB-1000, except I need it in gold. I'm planning on experimenting with a full headstock overlay printed on clear waterslide transfer film with the lettering remaining clear whilst all else is black. I'll either spray the face of the headstock gold, or probably gold leaf the areas needed & then apply the transfer over the top so that the gilt shows through the clear. The challenge will be to get my black transfer to be the same shade as the body. Yes, there are shades of Black! It's all at the theory stage at the moment as I'm at least a month off starting the respray, but a Build Diary will occur when it happens. The SB is hopefully going under the router next week, it all depends how that pans out. Pete.

[quote name='MoJ' post='36947' date='Jul 25 2007, 05:29 PM']Bill Fitzmaurice to release plans for the O15 Tallboy and have myself a self build Andy[/quote] Tallboy? [url="http://www.lancastermuseum.ca/s,tallboy.html"]eep.[/url] Will it be followed up with a Grand Slam? [url="http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/grandslam.html"](bigger eep)[/url]

Assuming they're in parallel, it'll be 2.666 recurring. The formula for parallel resistances is 1/R total = 1/R1 + 1/R2 + 1/R3 + ... + 1/Rn Pete.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='34548' date='Jul 20 2007, 11:53 AM']Bloodaxe - d'you want to keep this thread strictly Aria or are you cool about other Matsumoku basses being posted in here? I've seen a few very nice & rather interesting Westones lately... Jon.[/quote] Greetings, If you're in the habit of keeping tabs on 'em I've no objections - I think we're all pretty much agreed that Mats are a quality product. I'm pretty much gassed out at the moment, but keep the search running as I'd dearly like a ZZB Deluxe in either Bloody Red or the Schenker black/white option. As a by product, anything else of interest gets posted here on a weekly basis. Pete.

Pick mostly but fingers if'n it needs to thump.

It's Friday, so... The modded Cardinal didn't sell, no surprise there then. The SBR-150 fretless fetched a nads over £250 which seems a good deal for someone, though a lot less than the original seller was hoping for. The long-suffering white CAT eventually found a new home for the princely sum of £75, whilst another in red went for an even more bargainsome £67, and the ZZB with suicidal tendencies keeled over at $137.50 (£66!) - snip of the week there I feel. This week, there's a gorgeous [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=020&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=300130668666&rd=1&rd=1"][b]SBR-80/SB Elite[/b][/url] which is struggling at £77 whilst people fish around for the reserve. Fabulous colour, deserves to do well. Also worth a look is a very nice [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=006&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=160139258664&rd=1&rd=1"][b]RSB Deluxe[/b][/url] in metallic red. No reserve, hard case & tuner. And for those of a sinister bent, a Lefty [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330147959419&rd=1&rd=1"][b]Laser Heritage[/b][/url]. Well mullered in the pickup department, & the bijou scratchplate-ettes worry me. Another with a reserve - we shall but see. The Arialembic is creeping up - currently at £312.50 but still short of the reserve. Possibly an optimist at work here. Pete.

Would it involve something that doesn't have a medical degree?

[url="http://media.putfile.com/Taystes-FX-Challenge"][b][i][color="#0000FF"]Alesis Midiverb II - Patch 45, Bloom 1?[/color][/i][/b][/url] Mine with added Pearl Octaver 1 up & 1 Down plus a modicum of Whammy bar. Pete.

Dunno about commercially, I make my own out of Van Damme Cable & right-angled Neutriks. If you don't fancy the DIY approach, then I suspect our very own OBBM will run some up at very reasonable prices. Pete.

Pictures of Home - Deep Purple (Machine Head) La Villa Strangiata - Rush (Hemispheres) Bullfrog Blues - Rory Gallagher (Live! in Europe) Pete

[quote name='johnakay' post='32704' date='Jul 16 2007, 08:24 PM']I remember seeing a guy on you tube ,playing a bass guitar(4 string) with a tremolo.and he sounded really nice.of course he had lighter strings on.jet harris had one on his bass but 6 strings. the thing is I like to know is can you buy them?I know what do you want them for? well I'd like to try something different.[/quote] Greetings, Yes they're available. Kahler are back in business & do a multitude of variations one of which should fit just about any instrument you care to name provided it's got between 4 & 6 strings. They're not a simple retro fit though, a degree of routing is required to give clearance for the roller cam. What do I use it for? Going woo--eee--ooo--woeeooeoeeooo--waaaarggghhhhhh mostly. If you're anywhere in the Southeast & are planning on going to the Bash on August 18th in Guildford, I'll be bringing one. Otherwise the next National Bash, whenever & wherever that will be. Have a close-up... More info... [url="http://www.kahlerusa.com/home.html"]Kahler USA[/url] [url="http://www.kahlerparts.com/Other_Pages/Model_Specs.htm"]Dimensions Guide[/url] [url="http://www.wammiworld.com/"]WammiWorld[/url] ... or feel free to ask. Pete.

Would this be a Thunder III that you're thinking of "ripping" perchance?

An update... The TS-650 ended at a shade over £240 inc postage, which is probably a good price for one of these if only for the quality of the construction. The Cat is still around, had a brief BIN of £80 (which then vanished) & is currently sitting at £75 with one bidder & 2 1/2 days to go - still very much in bargain territory at the moment. The German SB-900 Fretless topped out at E380/£260 which has to be a steal with the hard case - these things sing! The Cardinal fetched a mere US$150. Onto this week's selection... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=014&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=330146476868&rd=1&rd=1"][b]Cardinal[/b][/url] Laugh? I nearly started. Lawsuit indeed. I'm not saying it's a POS, but the list of mods that the seller owns up to won't have enhanced the value - quite the opposite. Speaking of optimists... [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=018&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=280132596386&rd=1&rd=1"][b]SBR-150 Fretless[/b][/url] Lovely looker, hard case, seems to be original factory fretless too - slight question mark over the electrics though (& if they're anything like the SB-1000 circuitry they'll be weird). I wish them all the best in their quest for half a grand. Finally we have this [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=004&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&viewitem=&item=140137944007&rd=1&rd=1"][b]"Arialembic" ex-SB-900?[/b][/url] Doesn't say if he'll chuck in a degree in Astrophysics to understand all those knobs, but could well sound staggering, grain looks nice too. Watching this one with interest. [b][u]International Section[/u][/b] This [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=110146823661&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:uk"][b]ZZB[/b][/url] has been around before. Methinks the B stands for "Butchered" in this case & it's nice that the seller has treated it to a new set of strings. Still... bargain basement stuff at US$112.50 & feasably restorable. I'm gassing for one of these, but I think I'll let this one pass. Pete.

So near... Now if only it was pink with a big Hello Kitty graphic.