bass_dinger

Anyone who fixes Washburn necks at a very reasonable price, and without laughing at the original workmanship, is a top guy in my book!

The order has been finalised. "I’m going to make the neck blank tomorrow that needs to sit for about two weeks to cure. Should be about a month" As for the price, even the request for a laminate neck didn't add to it (but carbon inserts would have done so). Normally one of his necks would be $650 but "it’s the sympathy discount". The luthier said "So, I have creative license on the accent woods for the laminates?". I said yes. Let's see what turns up!

I am curious as to how you are getting on with this. After 6 months, you will either be playing tunes, or have given up. When my daughter was learning, I kept up with her for about 1 month, but once she learnt to look at a written note on the page and directly connect it to the fingerboard, she was away.

In my saner moments, I think that I would be better off selling the bits, and using it to fund an intact fretless bass. However, I understand that I am not the owner, but the custodian of this bass, and have the opportunity to rebuild* it. If I wanted a fretless XB500, fewer than a dozen were made. A fretless XB925? I have only ever seen one for sale. So this is a labour of love - to take the bits and remake it. It is also an opportunity to have a factory-made fretless XB925, albeit 25 years late - all with the help of the original luthier. Future generations will perhaps laugh at my vanity. I think of it as enjoying my children's inheritance before they get their hands on it.... *in fact, pay someone else to rebuild it....

The aniline blue that I was shown.

So, my luthier suggested three options - including two interesting ebony boards, because I didn't want plain black. 1. The spilt ink stain. Macassar Ebony 2. The wavy hair. Macassar Ebony 3. The chocolate cake. Bokote. This was just a quick sample of what the luthier had - I had requested a patterned ebony, and that's what he had to hand. I plan to talk with him on Tuesday, to finalise options.

I am about to commission a fretless neck, and am leaning toward the dots and edge-markers here. Before I finalise the order, are there any other options that I can consider?

Stuff that the congregation know (so that you won't be singing solo, but instead, starting the congregation off with something that they respond well to). Stuff that you can play easily (no hymns with a chord change on every beat!) Stuff that speaks to you (so that if nobody else joins in, you are still praising alone). Stuff in your preferred key (so that you are not struggling) Bit of reverb, bass up a bit, and all that remains is to select the songs..

I have played at a few funerals - being part of a church band affords one that privilege. It also means that one invariably knows (knew) the person in the casket. Hymns tend to be played live, and are more modern. Anything older is beyond the capability of the band. As they are during the working day, it can be difficult to get a band together, and during Covid, the number of people allowed to gather together was limited (and included the band in the quota). The best (worst) one that I did was when a Gospel group wanted to sing the first verse acapella, and have the band join in on the chorus. "What key will you sing In?" "We are singing that (points at the chord chart)." We let them sing. They were in D flat - definitely not the "that" of the chord chart. "Can you do D? It's easier for us musicians. We will give you the opening chords, you pitch to that, and then sing acapella. " "Of course! " Live service, broadcast online, opening chords in D, they sing the verse, and by the time we were ready to join them, they had drifted to D flat and a quarter. I spotted it by my third note, pianist took longer. Nobody else noticed - not even the singers. Sometimes, the band are crying for a reason other than the loss of a loved one...

The old neck is now with the luthier in the USA. Within an hour of it arriving, he wrote "It’s time for a new neck". He says that it "can’t be repaired, and that whoever put the spline in the neck used an unstable piece. It’s caused the neck to curve." (In fact, it was already curved, hence the spline). He will glue up the neck blank on Tuesday, (holiday weekend there). Finally, says that he is "Pretty sure I can save the headstock veneer". He needed the neck so that he could replicate the neck pocket joint, take measurements of the profile - and to see if a repair was possible. Next stage for me is to decide on fretboard materials, fretless markers, and neck finish.

You're an example to us all. Not saying if you are a good example, or a bad example . . .

Eric Blackmon is solid - mainly guitar, but all the right chords, and inversions, and slow enough to follow it for the likes of me. If your guitarist needs help to learn something, try this YouTube channel

Smoothie Bass - the classic combination of score, tab, tone, and talent. And here, as a bonus, two small children get on camera. Enjoy this circle of 5ths exercise, here:

That'll be the chappy that taught me how to play Africa by Toto (and that Washburns were okay) - Cover Solutions.

I see that I am missing a few bits. Adjustable bridge saddle and a machine head retaining screw. Can anyone help? Full wanted advert here:

A philosophical question - if the new neck is made by the same person who ran the Washburn Custom shop, but has now left, is it still a Washburn custom? But yes, if I sell it, the bits will be included - as will a link to this thread (for those who want a bit of provenance ....).

The "blue of the 928" is aniline blue. The same person who is making my new neck, had also made the 928. He remembers the colour. I will ask him for more detail, and see if it can be replicated in the UK.

So, I am now in a position to take this project forward. I looked in more detail at the twisted neck using a straight edge. You'll see a gap between the wood and the straight edge, on one side. Doing the same check on the other side shows no such gap. So, a bend rather than a twist. I showed the same picture to my chosen luthier and he was upset at the poor workmanship of the original neck. That's because he used to run the Washburn custom shop that originally made these basses, until the whole shop was moved to a new location. Same machines and jigs, different staff - and poorer quality. I have one of the poorer quality ones ( this one - but my other XB925 is from the original custom shop, and is great to play, and sounds good too). Anyway, the agreement is that I will send him the old neck, and fretboard, for him to either straighten, or to use to inspire the replacement neck. I suggested that he uses the same headstock veneer (lift it off of one neck, place it on the other), and he still has the same stamps so that he can replicate the serial number. I will post it off tomorrow, and discuss what I need, when he has it in the workshop. I am planning to have an ebony fretless, with little edge lines. All in, a new neck is $450 (not the $400 I mistakenly quoted).

A quick search for musical dyslexia gave me enough results to suggest that it is a thing - and it even has a name (dysmusia). Read more here https://neurosciencenews.com/musical-dyslexia-17971/amp/

I got a pair for my birthday, and like them for home practice. On my recommendation, the leader got a set to try out, and used them within 2 hours of them arriving - zero stage volume for him! On that recommendation, another leader got a set. I need to make a little box for the IEMs and the jack extension lead, to protect the kit. I won't be able to try them until June, but I am pleased that others (especially the guy with the loud amp) now have IEMs too.

I find that GDAE - 5ths - is more logical, more musical, somehow. Now that I am retired, I can spend more time playing my own GDAE instrument.

A 1992 Lowden acoustic guitar. I tend to sell lesser instruments, when I upgrade. That's due to a lack of space at home, and because I don't see the point of having instruments that are not so good.

I am trying to zoom in to the headstock to see the brand, so that I can buy one too! What is it, I wonder?

I recorded myself once. It was pretty dire - elastic timing, uneven volume, poor tone. Sadly, that was all down to me, and not the software. So, I guess that I got the honest review that @greghagger predicted! I will record myself again, therefore, and seek to improve.

I like it! Elements of a Rick, and a more usable scale length. My own mandolin is a laminate top, and has poor tone. With so little wood to vibrate, the quality of the material is more important than for larger instruments, perhaps? Once I retire, I will invest more time in music - mandolin included