uk_lefty

Ha! Well I did need help getting it finished. The email to the luthier started "Terry, I've done it again..." because he's used to me bringing him beaten up second hand basses. When I collected it from him I said I was a bit embarrassed by it and he said "I'm surprised it wasn't in a box, people usually buy kit guitars and don't even get as far as screwing the bits together. I get hundreds of them a year" that made me feel a bit better!

Car seat base and Graco baby seat. Very good condition, just a little dusty from being in the garage for a few months. Collect from AL4 postcode (between St Albans and Welwyn GC). PM me if interested

So I always wanted the Duff McKagan style fender PJ: solid colour body, no pickguard, black painted neck and headstock. They don't do them left handed. I've also always fancied assembling a bass so I set to. I've got a thread in the build diaries about this as it was my first serious attempt. While the result is pleasing it has taken months, been expensive, still needs some improvement, isn't what I set out to make, and probably cost more than a Sire PJ. Still, I think she looks alright and sound pretty nice, though a pup upgrade can't come soon enough. Here she is and a screenshot of a Boxer for comparison. The neck is genuine a Fender P MIM before anyone raises the issue of sticking on labels... The parts are: Ash body, rear routed from Guitarandbassbuilds.com Wilkinson Bridge and tuners Kiogon loom Alan Entwistle pups... For now Fender MIM P bass neck Various bits from Northwest Guitars (neck plate, strap buttons, knobs, etc)

She's done! This was supposed to be a learning experience. So what did I learn.... Nothing ground breaking, some I already knew, but here goes: Not all "standard parts" are the same. For example the tuners for an MIM Fender are different to any standard replacements. And even then its not just the screw holes but also the overlapping of the metal backing. Should have got direct replacement tuners then I could have fitted myself. Also pots, jacks etc. No such thing as standard, there's minor variations that make the difference between fitting and not fitting. Buying necks and bodies from different suppliers is a faff even when the measurements should be right. It took me three necks bought to get a good fit, spending more than I expected, and even then I was compromising on the exact spec. Pre drilled bodies may need some more drilling. They also may need some holes tightening up as they are pre drilled too wide. Setting off to create one thing will probably lead to making something different. Some positives, some negatives. If you don't have the time, skill or tools to do this kind of thing YOU DO NOT HAVE THE TIME, SKILL OR TOOLS TO DO THIS KIND OF THING. There's cheaper ways to learn. If in doubt, get a professional in. I'd have spent less buying a Sire PJ and had the option to send back if things aren't working properly. Cheap pickups are cheap because they aren't very good. Modern MIM Fender P necks are amazingly thin. But better quality than 90s MIM necks. Anyhow, I think she looks and plays quite nicely.

Tune up, yes, but don't be one of those bands where each song ends and there's dead air for a minute or so while everyone double checks their tuning. Once every three or four songs is OK unless you feel you are out. It's nice to have loads of flashy gear, and cheap versions of flashy gear, but really a good bass sound can be produced by bass, cable, amp. More items in that chain means more things can go wrong. And usually the cheap effects pedals are where the interference comes from. Venues never have enough space or plug sockets. Travel light but take a load of extension leads. Have a good time. If you're not enjoying it your audience won't. Or if you think standing looking miserable is going to be your "thing" then you WILL be approached by people asking if you're OK throughout your entire set (lesson learned from my first ever gig!) Don't go over the top apologising to your audience if things go wrong or aren't quite right, laugh it off but don't ever give it the "we're a new band and we're a bit stinky poo and we don't know this song so if you want to drink up and go that's OK..." They haven't paid for tickets to see the Rolling Stones, they've come to a pub with live music on. They'd rather see local people having a good time and making music for their entertainment and won't expect a fully professional production.

And do the experiment ends.... I reached my limit and took the bass to the luthier who does my set ups and repairs. The bass needed a lot of finishing and setting up. Work included: Replace the jack for one with a longer fitting to go through the body, Dowels used to fill oversized control holes, Tuners needed some metal grinding off so that they all fit the rear of the headstock (Wilkinson tuners on an MIM Fender neck), Pickups fitting to wiring loom and bridge earth wire installing, Neck shim, Set up A lot of work to finish but my goodness the bass looks ridiculously good. Very light, action is perfect. Pictures to follow.

Amazing how Sires can be shipped from the far East to Europe, stored for ages, shipped again and arrive perfectly set up... Yet a big retailer selling a Fender for nearly 2 grand doesn't bother to just check it and tweak it.

Thanks, I didn't get that from the original clues, must have been autocorrect or something. Lots of big blowouts going on at the moment, will keep my eye out for more deals coming up....

Interesting looking Yamato lefty on ebay now. 300 quid, looks in good condition from the pics. I'd be tempted if I hadn't had my fingers burned so many times recently from buying second hand basses that need more work than I realised! I might be learning my lesson...

What's the retailer?

Seriously. When I upgraded my beginner bass many years ago there wasn't a lot of choice of decent basses, and definitely not lefties in the backwater town I grew up in. Internet buying had only just started and there was a site in the US offering Tobias, Kramer and Steinberger Spirits. So I had a choice of "standard" looking Tobias bass, headless Steinberger, or fretless five string banana headstock Kramer.... I was in a band playing Hendrix, Sabbath, Zepplin and Alive by Pearl Jam. I bought the fretless and eventually got rid of my beginners fretted P bass and never looked back. You don't have to "mwaaaaaaaahhhhh" every note with a fretless, so it can be very versatile. It still gets gigged today, even when depping in an originals band where I can't play like the original bassist so I got permission to do something completely different...

Pearl Jam, Ten.

I'm in a similar boat to you. My band that had a great 2020 to look forward to is looking like it could fold. Lockdown has been tough. 4 of us are parents, one is a single parent with two teenagers, one has two grown up children who got sent home from uni and working away all while his livelihood was under threat and his wife's job disappeared within minutes of the first lockdown, one has no commitments whatsoever but his work changed his job and he's busier than ever. So my proposal to rip up the set list and start again went nowhere. I don't know when we will meet up and if we do it's likely to just be a social. However between lockdowns I found a drummer and guitarist and formed an 80s band. We brought in a singer who we couldn't work with until 2 weeks ago. Though early days I'm hoping this band can get going because there's great potential.

Unfortunately that may be the way of the world very soon for lots of things, especially as new variants of covid emerge. At least he's given you notice, unlike the person in the other band.

I bet you love saying that! ☺️👍

Ibanez Roadstar II just appeared on ebay in London, looks like an OK price. *I have no connection to the seller, the item, I was not at the Capitol riots, etc.

Mate, that's awful. I think this last year has brought about a serious rise in scam behaviour. Hope you get your money back and justice is served to the scoundrel.

Made effects pedals that needed a different power supply to the usual 9v and when they couldn't sell them for £90 each knocked them out at £30. It's a shame, I've been ogling Eden amps on ebay for quite a while. I quite liked how their styling was really carp but you know there's a really good quality amp in there. I can only hope that Marshall do a more modern version of the Bass State hybrid amps I used to have and the DBS amps I could only dream of playing in my teens.

I'm trying to change, really I am. 1 is up for sale.

It's so hard but I think the lockdown is doing funny things. Without direct contact people are left with too much time for their mind to wander and for a long time it was hard to see if or when we'd be getting a band back together. Hopefully you get the new singer fired up and it sounds like the guitarist has quite a valid reason to leave. Unless you have a really clear vision of what you want to achieve I'd suggest finding an established band that needs a bassist, that rakes away a lot of the false starts you get with trying to set up something new. I've hedged my bets and found a covers band very similar to mine but in a different area that needs a bassist, my covers band may well fold soon, and as a side project I've started up an 80s band but while I'd love it to work I'm not expecting too much from it.

You could trade in the existing P and with the cash buy a higher spec P bass. Or have a Jazz pup fitted at the bridge. Or get one of the Fender Japanese Boxer basses which look amazing. Or get a stonkingly good second hand amp for that cash. Seriously, I like the idea of having one bass that you love and sticking with it. OK, OK, I've got six basses, but if I need to record anything I always get out the fretless Kramer I've had for near 20 years, whether the recording needs fretless or not. It's by far the cheapest and "lowest quality" bass I have, it's just "me" on record. If you really need a spare and your current P is your number 1 forever then go for Vintage, Squier or Harley Benton P or PJ as a backup.

I disagree. If "you could be mine" was on Appetite then all other music could cease, perfection itself would have been reached.

Bad for Good by Jim Steinman seems to be getting a lot of praise now he's passed, whereas it was always considered naff and a bit of a joke as far as I'm aware due to him not waiting for Meatloaf to be healthy enough to sing it. Longest sentence I've ever written on BC.

I used to hate the Police. My uncle years back bought me a "best of" for my birthday and I didn't listen to it for ages. Then when I did I really heard the quality of the lyrics, songwriting, everything. I love the Police now. Others: Springsteen (before I understood Born in the USA properly, now I love Springsteen and a lot of his albums and have seen him live), Bon Jovi I'm warming to though think some of his songs are lame copies of "the formula"

The John Taylor one is the only one I've heard and it's great. They really got the whole atmosphere of listening in on a chat between mates, rather than a staged interview. Also, John was so relaxed talking to them, I got a bit lost when they were talking about some people they all came across back in the 80s without any context who they were or what they did but luckily that didn't go on too long so it wasn't all luvvy industry insider stuff, far from it. Need to make time to listen to some more!