kevin_lindsay

The body is swamp ash. I don't have scales here at home, but it's lighter than any of my other instruments, including my Eric Johnson Strat (which is the next lightest of my instruments). I also changed the capacitor today. A pet peeve of mine is the way the tone control on P-Basses when it's rolled off cam make the sound really dulll and muddy. So, I changed the 0.022uf capacitor on my bass to a 0.015uf paper in oil capacitor. It's made a great difference, the doings with the tone rolled off now has midrange definition and the harsh top end is all that's removed with the tone rolled fully back. Here's the cap that was originally in place: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/2222f268.jpg[/IMG] And here's the new replacement one installed [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/73f171ed.jpg[/IMG]

I've always loved that throaty growl you get from a P-Bass with the controls fully open. However, whenever I've rolled back the tone knob on my P-Basses, I find that the sound becomes a muddy "thud" with little definition. It's funny, but on my Jazz basses I have no problem with the tone being rolled back - maybe due to Jazz Bass pickups having s different inherent tone compared to the P-Bass? So, on my new Shell Pink P-Bass I removed the 0.022uf capacitor and replaced it with a 0.015uf paper in oil capacitor. The capacitor cost me less than £3 (thanks to eBay!), and took 2-3 minutes to remove the old one and solder in the new one. The difference in tone is remarkable. Now, when I roll back the tone knob, the sound still has midrange definition, with only the harsh top end taken off. Wonderful! I know some guys might like the dull thud of the standard control, but for anyone who wanted more definition on their P-Basses with the tone off, this is a really easy and inexpensive tweak. This was the original 0.022uf capacitor: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/2222f268.jpg[/IMG] And here's the new capacitor in place: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/73f171ed.jpg[/IMG]

Here's a link to the Delta Resonator Cones website. There's a link on the right hand side where you can hear the tricone sound. http://www.deltaresonatorcones.co.uk/tricones.html

Chris is based in a workshop at the 78 Albion Rd location - beside the Easter Rd football stadium. Doing setups and small jobs is Chris's mainstay, just give him a call. Here's a link to his website which has a location map (you can also dee a good location view using Google street maps) http://www.mcintyreguitars.com/

You need the cover in place, the instrument wouldn't last 10 minutes without it! Hahaha. The cones are made of really thin aluminium, so having them exposed would leave then open to dents (which would result in a dead sounding guitar very quickly). I just took the pic with the cones in place to show how the bridge acts on them. I'm out gigging tomorrow night, so it'll be Saturday before I can get the instrument set up with the new cones in place. I'll post some pics of the reassembly and setup as I go along. I'll try and get some sound clips posted too.

I tried silver polish first - didn't work on the finish, that's why I turned to T-Cut. Not the car polish, the metal polish stuff like this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0b1e2cf4.jpg[/IMG]

The "shiny" finish isn't a mirror-like chrome look. Rather, it has a slight reflective shine, but looks like an older finish. Kinda cool. I'm still awaiting delivery of new strings (I ordered 3 sets of D'Addario 16-56 acoustic strings)), and also awaiting the new hand spun resonator cones. It'll be great to get everything back together again.

I've never had s problem changing key. I started my playing in church in my teens, that taught me to change key on a whim, sometimes mid-tune. I guess it gave me a mindset where I just try and adapt to whatever the lead instrument requires.

The bloke from Haircut 100????? We were supposed to get excited about THAT?? whatever next, let's all spot the conga player from Ottowan playing for Renee and Renata???

John Taylor??? Is that who you thought it was iconic?? Dear goodness, you really need your eyes tested! Hahaha

None of us have any idea who this bloke is: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/aee6f292.jpg[/IMG] Are we missing something??

I didn't get as far as 3:21, I was bored senseless by around 3:10. I think the guy needs to develop another lesson along the lines of "don't meander, get to the point!!". Or in musical terns, "don't bore us, get to the chorus!!" hahaha

As I will have to wait for the new cones to arrive, along with some new strings (16-58 gauge. You need heavier strings to "work" the cones. Normal acoustic gauge strings don't really get the right "bite" to the resonator tone), I thought I'd try to clean up the body. The body looks kinda cool with the dull finish, but I wondered if I could burnish it to get it a bit mire "gleamy"? I'd need to clean up the finish and then find some way to stop fingerprints or sweat dulling the finish instantly afterwards. First step was to get a tube of T-Cut metal polish and start to clean up the dull finish. Once that was done I could apply a few coats of Mer polish to create a barrier between the metal and the elements. So, the elbow grease, and disposal of a lot of cleaning rags takes the finish from this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1bd41ce6.jpg[/IMG] To this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/c581c3c3.jpg[/IMG] And this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/389f9b70.jpg[/IMG] To this: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/bf01526d.jpg[/IMG] I've still got some way to go, but it's looking great so far. I'll post more pics as things progress, and will post pics of the new cone installation and re-assembly. For anyone interested, here's how the guitar looks with the cover plate off and the cones and T-Bridge assembly in place: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/724775ab.jpg[/IMG]

Having to prise the original cones away from the seating pan left some of the edges a bit dented. So, I contacted Colin Oldham at Delta Resonator Cones. Colon is Hand spinning and forming a new set of his own design cones for the guitar. They should be with me in the next few days. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/697d6079.jpg[/IMG] In the meantime I looked to the insides of the metal body. There is a wooden. "stick" that runs from the neck back to the tail block. The seating pan has three screws in it that secures this rod centrally through the mide of the guitar. Under this stick, between it and the inside back of the body, there are three "mushroom posts". You can see one through the grill in this pic: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/ed127af7.jpg[/IMG] I decided to do a standard modification on this type of guitar, by removing the middle post, and relocating the outer posts to allow the body to resonate more freely.

First thing was to play the instrument and see how it sounded. First impressions were that is was nice - had that Dire Straits "Romeo and Juliet" vibe to the tone. However, it did sound slightly muffled. So, time to remove the strings and get the cover plate off. My 9 year old son Jonathan looked at the cover plate and said "that looks like the decepticon sign from the Transformers film dad!". [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/ee74a1a6.jpg[/IMG] Anyhow, I attempted to lift the cones out of the seating pan (that are usually just held in place by the pressure of the strings). The cones were stuck fast! Tured out that someone had stuck them in place using a gummy glue like Copydex (for those of us old enough to remember the stuff from school). I had to prise the cones away from the pan using a single edged razor blade. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/3aef84d8.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/2c3cd7c8.jpg[/IMG] The seating pan was left with crusted glue residue. The key to getting good tone from resonators is to endure the seating pan has a flat surface for the cones to contact with. I cleaned all the residue off. Also, the screws that attach the centre wooden rod to the underside of the seating pan - I countersunk the holes into the metal pan, filed the screw heads totally flat and removed any burrs, and then re-inserted the screws. This endures the seating pan is as close to flat as possible for fitting the cones again. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1774b088.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/e461a024.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/693d265b.jpg[/IMG]

I got this National resonator tricone style guitar last week. The previous owner hadn't really used it (as is evident from the "before" pics. So I thought I'd give it a bit of a clean and it should be okay? Hasn't quite turned out that way though. Here's the guitar when it arrived with me: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/389f9b70.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1d24937f.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/1bd41ce6.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/73f6c136.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/7877b771.jpg[/IMG]

My hand made Flynn Amps Tweed Deluxe (based on the 1959 5E3 circuit), and my Fender Eric Johnson signature Strat - yummy!!! [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/bace8388.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='Stacker' timestamp='1344066612' post='1759257'] Pop into the Waterloo Bar on Argyle Street, opp the Radisson Hotel. You'll have a good time! [/quote] Is that the one with YMCA, Erasure, Bronski Beat, and George Michael constantly on the jukebox??

My friend Chello's lefty Sei Bass Flamboyant 5. Incidentally, it's strung tight handed as he learned to play guitar in his early terms using his older brother's right handed 6 string guitar [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/5415ba4f.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/8df7f50f.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/eb5fb68e.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/5c9e7684.jpg[/IMG]

Good man!!!

Deb - mega!!!! Hope you have loads of fun with your new bass.

My pink lightweight (swamp ash) beastie!! [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0456c4d2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/60d6a8f2.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/521e0a91.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/8eece0fe.jpg[/IMG] [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/97830d9f.jpg[/IMG]

It's alive!!!!!! Super lightweight when completed. Chris McIntyre did an amazing job, with his usual meticulous attention to detail. For example: Machine heads installed (existing machine head holes had to be enlarged to accommodate the vintage style collars. These were then installed using a G-clamp to allow for gradual, smooth and even seating. The machine heads had their abutting edges filed to ensure a snug, parallel alignment. The rear of the machine heads' baseplated have raised lugs which normally cause the plate to bend up from the headstock surface. Chris removed tiny slivers of wood in these areas to create little hollows in the headstock in these locations to ensued the machine head baseplated mounted flush to the headstock). Neck pocket routed by 0,5mm to ensure snug fit for the neck. Neck aligned and mounting holes drilled. Frets levelled and crowned Nut dressed and profiled Neck relief set String height and intonation adjusted Headstock string retainer then located and installed. Electronics wired in (with the control cavity having to be slightly enlarged to accommodate the CTS pots) Pickup adjusted for optimum balance across the strings. Ashtray covers aligned and installed. Sounds and plays great! The light weight is a real bonus too. Here's some pics: Front view: [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/0456c4d2.jpg[/IMG] Headstock [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/60d6a8f2.jpg[/IMG] Rear view (note vintage correct large ferrules) [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/521e0a91.jpg[/IMG] Neckplate. The number (6464), which would identify an early P-Bass as being from the mid 1950's, is also my date of birth). [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/a1e72af7.jpg[/IMG] Headstock rear showing alignment of tuning heads. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/8eece0fe.jpg[/IMG] Headstock showing perfectly flush installation of machine head baseplated to headstock surface. [IMG]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/kevin_lindsay/97830d9f.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1343863741' post='1756691']Auditioned one old boy for guitar and the first thing he said when he walked through the door - [i]literally the first thing [/i]- was "You'll have to move the bass amp - I always play on stage left". What [i]possesses[/i] someone to make them say that rather than "Hallo"? [/quote] Hahaha!!! I had the very same thing happen to a band I was in years ago. Knob end guitarist arrives at the audition at the rehearsal room, and before even saying "hi there, my name is xxxxx", he said, "that guitar amp (Marshall head with 4x12" cab) won't get my sound. And, I bet the cab is the wrong impedance. Plus you guys will have to move it to the other side of the room for me". Next thing that was said was me putting my bass on it's stand, walking to the guy to shake his hand and say " thanks for coming. Don't bother getting your guitar out of it's case, you'd be a nightmare to play with". The guy replied "WHAT??? Aren't you going to at least hear what I can do?". To which my response was "to be honest, I think all we want to hear from you is the door closing behind you, you need to work on your people skills. Thanks for coming anyhow". A bit harsh on my part, but saved us a half hour of grief I reckon. The next guitarist who came in was great!! Really nice guy who actually listened to what everyone else was doing and played to enhance our sound.

Car loaded up with 3 basses and 2 guitars. Chris McIntyre will be a busy boy today! I'll post some pics of the completed pink P-Bass when I get home.