Lfalex v1.1

Both at once- who needs a chorus pedal?

Ah... I tried all the holes (did I just type that in an Internet forum?) Not all at once, because the neck would fall off... If I used the upper rear-most screw, it didn't balance as well. Either of the lower screws caused what you're referencing; The top edge of the body tips away from you. Top front screw doesn't do this as there seems to be more mass slung below it than there is above it, and that prevents the dreaded tipping.

Thunderball. I don't really like Tom Jones that much, but you can hear the commitment.

Hmm. I've taken a moment. Personally, I think I'd have a switch for each pick-up, a master volume and a 3band with a sweepable mid. Hopefully, that's only a single control plus 2 stacks (B/T and Mid/freq) If there's room in the cavity, I'd have a trim-pot for each pickup to set their respective levels so that switching them in/out delivers the pickup balance you want without any nasty jumps in output. You could even have the cavity cover drilled to allow screwdriver access without taking the cover off (an idea nicked from my Hohner B2A, in which the trim pot allows passive/active level matching) This keeps the front face uncluttered, yet allows maximum flexibility. You can experiment with each individual switch to see what options you like best; All off (not sure about this one!) All on 1 2 3 1&2 1&3 2&3 Apologies if I missed any...

Top front neck plate screw position works fine for the bolt-ons. Nothing to stop you drilling a hole (!) for one of the Tokai is a neck-through.

As already posted, modding a bass might not increase its resale value, and will cost you money. However, the experience you gain from doing the work plus the satisfaction you get from (hopefully) improving something is a reward in itself. Equally, tinkering with instruments is one of the best ways to learn what you really do and don't like about a bass. This can prove invaluable when you buy your next one. (See also: invaluable haggling tool when buying a second-hand, sub-par instrument at your local Cash Converters!)

That's a good score for £240. Congrats

Nice work. Ebony is a good choice. I can imagine the R&D process being quite drawn out when the Black Olive and Malteser prototypes failed...

Yep. And Bruce Dickinson also.

IIRC, impedance varies by frequency. I'd not want it to dip too low at any point.

Currently strung with 45,65,85,105 DR Black Beauties. Tuned to DGCF (D standard), primarily because E standard gave the neck too much relief and I couldn't be bothered to tweak the truss rod. Besides, it sounds lovely tuned down, so I left it!

As I'm not gigging or in a band at the moment, I'm getting by nicely with a Nux mighty plug stuck in the back of a Zoom B3. The Nux does the amp modelling and cab IRs, leaving the B3 free for comp, OD and modulation/delay. If I use the Nux alone, I can run from battery power, including playing music from my phone's SD card, for about 3-4 hours. Good for practising on holiday or during power cuts. If I go back to gigging, unless the rest of the band are using IEMs, I guess a backline will be required.

If he's sitting there, it'll have really bad neck dive...

I'd rummage through my screw tub and use the biggest screws that would fit through the bridge plate holes and not be so long as to go right through the body or split it. I'm assuming the bridge didn't come with screws. My Badass II did, but I re-used the original BBOT screws as they were more substantial.

Tony Levin Tony Butler Frank Bello Steve Harris Herbie Flowers Bruce Thomas Graham Maby Sting Brad Houser Les Claypool

I've found the intonation to be more accurate done that way on most of the basses I've worked on (notable exceptions being a Vigier and a MM Bongo) I totally agree about Ovangkol though. My Wenge-necked Fortress is a model citizen by comparison. Shame, because the Infinty has a really nice tone. And it's quite pretty. see

A bit one- sided for me as I own an SB-2 Tribute and have never tried an LB100. The SB-2 is great. It doesn't quite do "that" P-bass tone, though, even with the J turned right down. What it does do is more varied. Do be aware that it's only got 2x volume controls. The way that these can be used to cancel / augment each other is surprisingly varied. Plus it's got the MFD pickups in it, which are superb; quite hot, but full of character. The MFD J is one of the few that I've heard that can hold it's own against the P, or even solo'd. Fit and finish is good, and it's a solidly built and eminently giggable bass.

Yep. My Epi Blackbird (now with obligatory DR Black Beauties) has a great slap tone. No volume or tone controls, but I did do a lot of work on the pickup heights to balance out the string volume and tone. Oddly, it also does a convincing Dub Reggae tone if you play right up over the base of the neck. Even sounds like it should if you subject it to a bit of Entwistle "Typewriter" action. Weird.

Finally got around to doing it. 2L, 2R Licensed Hipshots and a brass Jan III. Seems Warwick were rather zealous with the adhesive on the original nut. Had to work it off with a screwdriver, and removing the residue took ages. The tuners were straightforward enough. A drop-in replacement. A deepish 15mm socket is ideal to remove / refit the bushes. No ratchet necessary, hand-tight is enough. Barrel jack needed tightening (again) Volume pot is a little bit stiff. Needs some contact cleaner w/lube to sort that out. Adjusted the new nut and left it as low as I could without it buzzing at the first fret when playing hard. Re-did the intonation wearing the bass. I'm finding that doing it on my lap or on a bench puts sufficient pressure on the neck as to render some adjustments inaccurate. I guess it's like loosening the truss rod a bit then retightening it again after the intonation is done. Seems to work. It's in tune right up to the 24th fret on all the strings. Chords ring rather well now, so something must be right! Used some of the Ken Smith Classic wax polish on the body and neck, which came out nicely. Sounds great now, but what a ball-ache!

19. YMCA in Chelmsford in a Thrash band. Using a Westone Raider 1 and a Trace Elliot 1110 combo.

It is 21 years old, but I've older instruments, including Warwicks, that have faired better. The build quality, fit, and finish are fine. It's just the quality of some parts that is questionable. But you're right. It shouldn't be a DIY project, as it's a repair rather than fettling or modding.

Generic Warwick advice for early 2000s models based on my ownership of a 2002 infinity sn4, a 1997 Fortress MasterMan 5 and a 1997 Streamer LX6 I've had 5 Tuners fail on the Infinity (the fifth being an OEM replacement for the first failure) The metal used in the gears is simply too soft. I'm not confident in the quality of the Warwick units. I've purchased some Hipshot units to replace mine. The nylon Just-A-Nut II is awful. It'll break as soon as you even look at it. Both the '97 basses have a brass JAN I, which are fine. The later basses have JAN III units, in either nylon or brass. These are fine also. Both of these issues are a DIY fix, but it's easier if the bass you buy isn't going to self- destruct shortly after you buy it!

Bongo 5HH. Very versatile. Doesn't have quite the options of an L2500, but plenty of tones on offer. Generally light and resonant. The Neodymium pickups and 4 Band, 18v preamp give plenty of headroom and clout if needed. I've had a Ray 5. That was a different kettle of fish; fretless with Alnico pickup. It felt too wide in the body a lot of the time. Coil switching is well- executed in the original SR5 I found the Thumb's ergonomics "challenging". I didn't mind the long reach for the first fret, but the balance wasn't great. And it was quite heavy. I've not tried a Dingwall so can't comment other than that string choice is potentially limited. And make sure you get a bag or a case, as it'll not fit in any you may already have.

Now restrung (perhaps predictably) with 45-105 DR Black Beauties. Have given the fretboard a clean and lemon oiled it. Still tuned to D standard. Have redone the intonation and tweaked the bridge very slightly. Sounds like the neck pickup needs lowering a smidge on the G string side as it's ever so slightly stronger sounding. Oddly, it's got a really nice slap tone. Not that that's ever going to happen. It can also do quite a deep dubby tone if you pluck over the base of the neck. It's remarkably sensitive to plucking hand positron, technique and strength as well as pickup height. Weird for an instrument with no controls that is really aimed at the Hard Rock Market.