Jimryan

Owen, I've done it before with a heat gun on a previous refinish (there's a thread knocking about on here). From my experience doing it, it's not as easy as he makes out. However, he has a lot more experience than I do. With my first attempt excitement and patience got the better of me and I did burn the wood a couple of times but it still turned out fine. With this one I'm gonna try and be a little more careful and avoid making the mistakes I did before.

Well, after a weekend of soaking in extra strong nitromors I decided to open up the bin bag yesterday. Upon taking the bass out I discovered that the nitromors had done absolutely nothing. Which means I'll be getting the heat gun out one night this week.

With all that in mind, is there any BC members that regularly travel between Teignmouth and Portsmouth? Or bits of the way at least? Cheers, James

Morning all, Well this is it, on this day two years ago I started the relay. The bass was used for my first gig with Mr Big Stuff at The Jolly Sailor in Southsea. Since then it has travelled the length of the country, been used by many, seen by even more, raised a tremendous amount for Cancer Research UK and even made it into the hands of a handful of famous bassists. None of this would of been possible without everyone's continued help and support. A big thank you to everyone that's been involved with the relay.

[URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/image_zpsce1a6c07.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/image_zpsce1a6c07.jpg[/IMG][/URL] That's after removing the loose yesterday. Picked up some extra strength nitromors during the day and it's now in a bin bag getting to work. The plan is to have a look on Friday to check how it's got on, but only if I've time.

I've got the pearl white one, but just bought the black abalone one off here but will be happy with either. With the status neck I'm tempted to have one made up with a blue tint and then try and give the headstock a matching finish. Yeah, I was pretty miffed as sending it back and buying a new one would've cost more than paying full price over here. It was just fortunate I remembered seeing that it's possible to reverse the tuners. The trail of thought when, they're reversable...that means the key comes out...yeah I'll try it.

A useful little thing I took was a spare wash bag filled with a spare set of bass and guitar strings, Allen keys, precision screwdriver set, wire cutters, toothpicks & strap button screws, Polish and cloth. Took up minimal space and was an absolute lifesaver on the road.

Morning all, Recently I went and bought a second hand a S.U.B ray 4 with the intention of it being my next project. The first step is going to be a re-spray, followed by upgrading the electronics and I'll also end up sticking a status neck on it. [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsf3525545.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpsf3525545.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Fortunately, the bass cropped up on facebook locally to me and quite cheap too. Originally, the plan was to get the bass and not start the project until either summer or rebate time so only made a couple of basic mods to start with. Firstly, the scratchplate had to go. The previous owner had superglued a thumb rest to it and had been quite generous with the glue. Step two was upgrade to straplocks. On all my other basses I've installed schaller ones, as I have on this one. [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps07219dde.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps07219dde.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Next up was tuners. After fitting them on my other basses, I've decided I really like the ultralites and decided they'll be going on this one too. Ordered them along with a de-tuner, all in chrome, from the same store in the U.S. to save a bit of cash. However, upon their arrival I had a slight problem... [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps0b867cc7.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps0b867cc7.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Different finishes. Fantastic. Straight away I got in touch with the sender and explained what had happened along with copies of my order, and straight away the sender got back to me stating it was my fault that they can't read or pack the right items. The options I had was send the de-tuner back and pay shipping on a new one and customs when it arrived, or keep it. Or... [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps00808ae2.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps00808ae2.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Get the tools out. The U.S. parts and licenced parts aren't a perfect fit together, but damn close and still work fine. Tuner crisis averted and all installed. [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps34a56924.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps34a56924.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/image_zps4b74f699.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/image_zps4b74f699.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Since doing it on another bass, I've taken to the idea of angling back the tuners for comfort. It makes the world of difference and bizarrely makes the bass feel shorter (well it does to me anyway). It was after doing all these bits, I started to get quite into it and thought I'd start experimenting with paint, do a little test piece so I know what to use when it comes to it. After seeing the blue sparkle ray34 on here, missing it, finding it on gumtree and missing it again I decided it would be easier to make my own. At first I considered paying someone like sims, but I do quite enjoy the process and got about ordering the metal flake. The flake arrived very quickly and straight away got to spraying a small test piece to make sure it was what I was after. At first I considered doing a few tests with different densities (light through to heavy) but it turns out that this stuff can be a pain to use. Initially a fair bit fell out the bag, but it became apparent straight away that a heavy cover is what I'm after. [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps1363c669.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps1363c669.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Over the next couple of days I sprayed a few clear coats on it over the next couple of days and decided that I'm definitely going with that. More flake has been ordered, base and clear costs have been bought too. [URL=http://s1258.photobucket.com/user/jimryan88/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps63808df2.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1258.photobucket.com/albums/ii527/jimryan88/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zps63808df2.jpg[/IMG][/URL] Started getting quite excited and ahead of myself and prepared for stripping. It was at this stage I remembered how horrible a job stripping can be. Last time I tried nitromors and after getting excited and impatient had no results and turned to a heat gun. Having learned last time that patience is an absolute must, I thought I'd give nitromors another go. Knowing I'd have a quiet day at work, I popped into Brewers on the way to site and picked up a tub. The entire tub and bass went into a bin bag and that's where it stayed for the next 3 days. To remove any temptation I purposely left it on site so I couldn't crack and try and rush things. Yesterday I removed it from the bag and the nitromors had done a nice job on the clear coat, shielding paint and started on the black and base coats (especially around the cavaties and where screws where). Throughout the day I spent my breaks and quiet patches scraping off any loose and easy to remove bits. The plan now is to get another tin and do the same thing over this weekend. Now that I know the trick with nitromors I'll do that instead of a heat gun.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1423019255' post='2679692'] Well done, James It was very selfless and generous to offer to send your own first bass all over the country to be played at gigs to raise money for charity. What about your second bass, now? Seriously though - Thank you. You've made an incredibly valuable contribution to society through this one enterprise alone. [/quote] Second bass? I sold it years ago and have wanted it back ever since. An early OLP stingray 4, pearl blue finish with maple board and Jim scratched in the paint under the pickguard. Been looking for ages, but never found it 😢 Guys, thanks for all the kind words.

Morning all, Been doing a bit of thinking regarding the relay of late and had a chat with Donnyboy about it the other week. On 16th Febuary 2013 I played the first gig with the bass and thus kicking off the relay. With the 16th slowly getting closer to mark the two year point, I've decided that this will be a good date to bring it to a close. To date the bass has gone up and down the country, been played by many, followed by even more, had press coverage, signed by some of our idols, been helped along its way by the kidneys of many, brought people together and helped raise money for cancer research UK. Since starting the relay we have collectively raised £2423.31, an amazing effort by all those involved. Come the 16th, I'll arrange getting the bass back to myself and from there decide what to do next with it. The just giving page I'll keep open until the 1st of March to allow for any additional donations. Although I can't thank you all enough for helping, keeping the relay going and raising awareness, an extra thank you goes to all those directly involved with making all this happen (I'm not going to name names, but you all know who you are). The relay has been a shining example of what is achievable and how great a sense of community there is amongst the members of Basschat. Never did I imagine the relay getting as big as it has or raising as much as it did, so thank you. James

It's quite handy I got the email through, I'm in need of a new 2x12 as I think my BC212 has died (might just have a fault inside though). Either way, I want one.

This just popped up on my ebay feed and thought I'd share. Interesting choice of pic to try and shift a bass... http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=261733245650

I really like the idea of this and hope it comes to light.

I'm after more control of the mids. The current pre only has bass and treble boost/cut so I'm thinking drop in a 3 band so I can play about with the mids a bit more.

Evening all, I've recently bought a sterling SUB ray 4 as my next project bass. My first upgrade is gonna be the preamp changing from the stock 2 band. I'm thinking either an East 3 band, an ernie ball 3 band stingray pre or the seymour Duncan 3 band with the ceramic pickup. I've used the SD ceramic PU in my other basses before, but with pre's I'm out of my depth. I'm after an old stingray sound, edging towards the east pre for ease, but don't know what to go for and wanted your guy's thoughts. Cheers James

Mike's an absolute pleasure to deal with. Great comms throughout.

Indeed it was. A stones through from my house. Very pleased with it and will be even more so when I get round to modifying it once Xmas is out the way.

Afternoon all, Does anyone know if a standard MM plate will fit one of these?. Last night I picked one up (gonna be my summer project), but the last owner sanded it for a matte effect and (generously) glued a thumb rest on it too. Hoping to order a new plate but don't want to order one that won't fit. Cheers, James

I know the feeling. Thanks to basschat my first bass is touring the country.

I've got a copy and think it's brilliant. Very helpful to have.

Morning all, Cheers for all the replies guys. It was never a risk I was willing to take, just wanted some clarification. Once again, cheers for all the help.

Just heard on the radio that U.S embassy's have just stepped up security after (more) terrorism problems.

Cheers for all the advice guys, do keep it coming. I imagine most of the payments would be cash in hand (which would only look worse if questioned). As far as I'm aware, one of the venues has already started promoting and selling tickets online too.

Morning all, Need your opinions/thoughts on this one... My singer is planning a tour commencing early January, performing around the states and potentially Canada. She's funding the tour and paying for everyone's flights, accommodation, food and visas. Most venues have offered door/bar splits, most are ticket events with the venue promoting them and she's planning on selling merchandise at the shows. It's the visas that are causing problems; I've always been under the impression that to gig in the states a working visa is required. According to my singer, we'll be fine on visitors visas. The discussion between us escalated a little as I really don't want to ruin my chances of going to the states in the future. Throughout yesterday I searched various sites online, all of which pointed to either an O or P visa. Upon finding this information, I inform the singer and get the same response "we'll be fine on a B2 visa". At this point, I still had a hunch so decided to email the U.S. embassy in London regarding the matter to which they repeated my online findings (in a VERY official looking email might I add). This email was forwarded to my singer ..."no, it's fine, I'm touch with the embassy and we only need a B2". This is one of those situations where I'm fairly certain I'm right, but she's so certain in her answers, I'm starting to doubt myself. Does anyone on here have experience of touring in the states? What would you guys do? Thoughts? Also, do you reckon it's worth (signing up to and) posting this on TalkBass? Many thanks, James