PlungerModerno

Lots of Gold plating & Electroplating service companies - some sell DIY kits - don't know the first thing about it however.

No probs - it's easy to get wires crossed via text - especially when both parties only know a bit about the things in question! Do wait till you have the appropriate sized key. USA necks ususally have 3/16th inch hex truss rod nuts. The unfortunate thing is that while 3/16th inch is about 4.7 mm - it's just the right size to damage a 5 mm hex nut. 4 mm may be able to ring a 3/16ths nut - but It's harder to mistake.

If it was in perfect condition - that is a very high price. As it's in what appears to be pretty OK condition it'd be a lot less - I wouldn't pay $95, let alone $995. I wouldn't be that fussy over original components (e.g. bridge saddle screws, tuner mounting screws, or even things like the nut, or knobs if they've been replaced with something matching the original).

Saw this yesterday - Gorgeous looking bass, a little out of my price range sadly.

Sorry for all the questions - I'm just trying to fully understand the situation you're having & how to avoid risking a pretty valuable instrument. When you (in your last post) mentioned you [i]"got a 1/4 turn clockwise"[/i] it means you were adding tension or backward force to counteract string tension - however in the very first post you say [i]"I measured the relief and it had a bit of a back bow"[/i]. Clockwise turns on a regular fender truss rod will add to a backbow - not remedy it! See pic: Just to clarify - back bow is usually defined as when the neck "bows back" or has negative relief (on the side with the strings). If the neck has a back bow - loosen the truss rod by going anti-clockwise. IME it's good practice to check how tight (and how functional) a truss rod is by loosening it first (counter-clockwise for all but a few). If it's a double action truss rod (not in any fender I know of) you might want to sight the neck first - if it has lots of forward bow, "loosening" a double action truss rod may over tighten the nut in the opposite direction. A few turns should give you a clear impression either way. I would not use a whole lot of force - but you need to be firm with most truss rods. If I'm adding tension to a truss rod I typically loosen the strings a little - especially if they're higher tension (like 50 -110's tuned standard).

As simple / silly as it sounds - I'd try turning the noisy pots back and forth 100+ times to see if that lessens the symptoms - often pots just need plenty of use to clear up noisiness. Unfortunately the stack type are sometimes trickier to clean. In general - unless there's clear signs of damage or loose wires - if electrics are noisy, my first move is to roll those pots back and forth a whole bunch of times... after checking they are turning internally, not the whole pot with wires whipping around and snapping off in the control cavity .

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1430952420' post='2766348'] Ha! Was expecting the story to end with a bang! [/quote] +1 I thought this was going to end with the expensive blue smoke - and some hurt feelings. Glad to hear it still works, and long may it do so.

You're very welcome.

Could be just a poor photo - but I'm guessing it's an acquired taste alright.

A few questions, to help clarify what has happened, and what is being discussed: 1. Is it a regular P bass? - i.e. a Mexican or USA Fender neck, with a 3/8ths inch hex adjustment? (If it is it means it's probably very durable). 2. You mention "Truss rod turned quite easily" but not which direction it was turned. I assume as it had back bow you loosened it? (anti-clockwise turn). 3. How are you approaching the setup? Action and relief are separate things - e.g. a neck can have a certain curve (relief) but have high or low action by adjusting bridge saddle height. Here's one I've used with good results: [url="http://intl.fender.com/en-IE/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/"]http://intl.fender.com/en-IE/support/articles/bass-guitar-setup-guide/[/url]

Saw some decal discussion on this thread: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/255721-the-abused-precision-bitsa-build/page__st__60"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/255721-the-abused-precision-bitsa-build/page__st__60[/url] Good hunting - I know some ebay sellers do "replica" Fender decals and the like - maybe some of them will do custom prints. Quick search showed this [url="http://www.guitardecals.co.uk/samples1.html"]http://www.guitardecals.co.uk/samples1.html[/url]

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1424378742' post='2695767'] I've just retired my Sony MDR-v500's that I've had for fifteen years and replaced them with Audio Technica ATH-M50x's. Incredible headphones and only £107 from Thomann. Check them out [/quote] +1. Only had my m50's for a couple of years but they're top gear. Great sounding.

After switching out the strings and lubing up the nut slots (with pencil graphite) you will hopefully never ever ever have issues of tuning problems ever again. But if the issues return - try getting it looked at by an experienced setup & repair person / tech... Someone you wouldn't hesitate to fit a set of tuners on yer lovely bass. Could be that the tuners aren't reliable. . . could be they're loose or poorly fitted, could be that they need to be strung a certain way (not likely but not impossible). Good luck, keep us posted. I've heard great things about Wilkinson tuners (for the price I've heard they're super), Some people will only trust grover (more common on the guitarist side of things), or schaller, or Hipshot - Only one's I've tried are hipshot. 10/10 for accuracy and stability. Cost a fair bit though.

It should be . . . Your favourite Colour! But if it doesn't suit, or you don't really have a favourite . . . Here's some linkages:

It all depends on the person. For someone who's very fit, strong, and has perfect technique - 11 lbs or even more might be comfortable with a decent strap - but for somebody else almost the same, given how people vary - the same bass may feel uncomfortable after just 5 minutes. I'd recommend listening to your body. If you're feeling discomfort - it's a warning sign. If you're standing for long time I'd say heavier basses should be avoided - even if they're comfortable. If you can find a lighter version of the bass, and sell or retire the heavy version to recording duties - Better safe than sorry. Hope you find a solution that works for your needs, and doesn't cause problems for you later.

Well, as has been mentioned, as I understand it the nut material (density and hardness) will affect the timbre and sustain of open notes. It'll be fairly subtle, and have no effect if there's a zero fret. when it comes to setup, depending on the pickup design, 0.5 mm or more of an adjustment to the pickup distance to the strings (either through pickup height adjustment or bridge saddle adjustment) can noticeably alter the tone. All pickups, machine wound or hand wound are the sum of quite a few tolerances. The wire may be almost exactly the same diameter, the magnets may be almost exactly the same strength. the winds may be almost the same, but the end product is never 100% consistent - just as potentiometers are not always 250K (more like 235 - 265K) - pickups will vary in impedance and frequency response between supposedly similar pickups. With the known complexity of the system . . . I can't say for certain where nut material figures in, and how much, as far as tone is concerned. As I see it, about 50% of it is your hands (how you play it), 25% is the pickups and preamp, 24% is the strings, and 1% is a mix of hardware, shielding, nut, frets (or fingerboard), and unknown factors. Wood may do something, but I can't hear it.

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1429795459' post='2755044'] If the original G&B pickups have gone micro-phonic after not many years then I would say replace them with anything but G&B!! [/quote] That is a valid point. Although they could be reliable pickups if you don't get dodgy or damaged ones (those could have just been overheated during potting for example). Cheddatom, if the MOQ is 10, you're right to look elsewhere. I could understand a inflexible MOQ for 4 or 5 string pickups - but 6 strings+ are rare enough. They should just make you pay a modest small quantity fee - that is if they want to sell to the general public and small companies.

In my limited experience it is all about the thickness of the copper / aluminium as far as workability goes. Thicker stuff will be a little better to solder too, and aluminium a bit harder to get a good joint on. On a related note, I have had the same experience as mcnach: [i]"Truly silent now. Well, except for when I touch the polepieces" [/i]I'm assuming the pickup coils are grounded but the poles aren't. Could test for that now that I think of it...

Sweet. Lovely flaming in that maple, gorgeous colour too.

Pure insanity. Only way this came about was as a joke, a misunderstanding, or an extremely obscure need - Someone who needs BEADG and piccolo EADG tunings for an acoustic gig - or BEAD and say Drop C tuning or something like that. Rare on a bass, rarer still on an acoustic bass guitar. It'd almost be worth having it to be able to hang it on a wall. Playing it . . . not so much I'd imagine, but you never can be 100% certain.

It's back! [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OFFERS-THROW-NUMBERS-AT-THIS-TENNESSEE-15-STRING-EXTENDED-RANGE-BASS-/291427705595?"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/OFFERS-THROW-NUMBERS-AT-THIS-TENNESSEE-15-STRING-EXTENDED-RANGE-BASS-/291427705595?[/url] It's completely absurd at this point.

Quite an entertaining thread - I can't recall if it's been mentioned already - but for a fretless fingerboard - density, hardness, finish, and smoothness can definitely influence tone, texture and sustain on an electric fretless solidbody basses. At least it can change the way you play it. The fretted equivalent would be fret material (density & hardness), smoothness (how highly polished at the crown), and how broad the contact area is - e.g. the weird sounds badly dented frets can make, or the often horrible buzzing and intonation issues of leveled but uncrowned frets a.k.a. "flat tops". My experience is that good fretwork plays and sounds good. I can't say I've noticed a huge difference between maple and rosewood fingerboards in feel either - not like bound vs. unbound fretboards anyway. When it comes to the species of wood - Given the variety within wood of the same species or even from the same tree (as has been mentioned before) it's not reasonable to say, as far as I can see, that wood species and tone are linked in a predictable way. Certainly not for solid body instruments with standard (properly potted) magnetic pickups. For acoustics, semi acoustics, piezo pickups, and other instrument types it may be different. My guess would be that the weight and ergonomics of an instrument matter more to getting a given sound time and time again, rather than having a snakewood or birdseye maple fingerboard:

That is pretty, especially on that sweet figured maple!

I'd look at all the basses featuring similar electronics (and hence sound fairly alike) and see which one feels right in your hands. Then it's just down to picking a colour or body style (if you want to look at custom routes). Depending on what you like the look of - I'd look at ACG, warwick, BC Rich, Cort, Dean, Aria Pro II, Westone, Yamaha, and any other that takes your fancy. I'd look at trying new & used.