Lfalex v1.1

Yet no one would call the neck on a Kubicki X-factor "ply"...

Slightly unrelated, but when I recently resurrected an old active subwoofer, it was picking up and amplifying a 50hz buzz. Couldn't work it out, so I tried it with different cables providing signal to soundbar and thence the sub, to no avail, so I tried every combination of cable and equipment available to me. Upshot- it was a loose and rattling fuse in the (IEC1) mains cable. Swapped it out. 50hz buzz? Gone. Moral- check everything. Even the most obscure items can cause their own little issues. Then contact the manufacturers if you can't resolve it. (I had another issue with a Trace Head. Blew an internal fuse every time I powered it up. A phone call revealed that they'd uprated the transformer, and that it had a greater current draw upon start up than the original. Slow- blow fuses of the same value fixed it. Manufacturers don't always get it right, either.)

I am, shall we say, less than impressed. I've taken matters into my own hands and posted an ad in the "Wanted" forum. Maybe one will pop up.

Well... I ordered and paid for it from The Bass Gallery, paid for shipping, downloaded an app to track the delivery. Got all excited... Then they emailed to say the said bass couldn't be found. They'd sold it previously, left it on the site, and the chap I spoke to didn't check to make sure. Massively disappointed and annoyed. Oddly grateful that lockdown stopped me driving down there to purchase a non-existent bass. 😡 Don't think I'll be bothering with The Gallery again.

Why are you only putting the necks in the freezer? 😉

They should've used numbers 2,8,20 or 21 on the Gulf petroleum coloured "48". They're the Porsche 917s that dominated at LeMans during the early 70s. GT40s are cool, but 917s are amazing. And Sandberg are German, after all.

I think you've probably identified the real reason not to bother freezing your strings right there. Too little lasting return for too much effort.

They are horrendous. Of course, they'd be perfect if they had matching headstocks...

I think that the very fact that no maximum loading is specified on the clear acrylic hanger is a giveaway. Stress analyses notwithstanding (excellent work though!) if I were making such a thing I'd destruction test a few every so often and determine a safe working load. I put up some old hangers just last week. In a plasterboard wall (all of ours are!) I used the biggest wall toggles that I could find (2 per hanger on this design) and drove them into the holes firmly with a hammer, put the heftiest screw that'd fit into them and tightened up gently to spread the toggles before removing the screws and fitting the hangers. Just to be sure, I hung my heaviest (and cheapest!) bass on each one overnight with a big beanbag underneath. Just in case! 🤣 It's ok. They're still there. And hardly conspicuous when in use.

Can't see a domestic freezer being cold enough to do anything tangible to steel in terms of making an improvement. Plus, the moisture might not damage windings (they're generally Stainless Steel, Nickel or Nickel plated.) but it'll not do the cores any favours at all. Do they do small vacuum storage bags? I'd keep them in one of those with some (previously mentioned) silica gel. No air. No moisture. Probably the best conditions for storing any materials that might be even remotely ferrous.

My phone speaker really didn't like that low "E"! Just as well they don't do a five- string tuner!

Tony Levin seems to be immortal. He can just fill in for everyone. Forever.

When presented with my making a trip to Norfolk at zero notice to pick up an instrument that appeared on my radar without warning my partner simply said; "A 200 mile round-trip after work in the wet / dark in a Fiesta with dodgy brakes?" "I'm coming too, but it'll cost you a McDonalds and a toffee latte, as we won't have time dinner. C'mon, let's go!" Bless her.

That's interesting. The rear end has transitioned from a flat-bottomed shape like a P bass into a more rounded Ray 5 style. They've also lengthened the upper horn and made the upper cutaway deeper. I think I prefer the mk2.

The configurator is now offering me neck options that weren't there earlier, including 5 strings...

I probably overlooked something. Never underestimate my ability to miss the obvious.

I'll keep my eyes open. It has to be a 5, though.

Was beginning to like the look of Sandbergs, particularly the California P with the MM at the bridge. Had a fiddle with the configurator, but it won't do me a 5 string in any model 😡 Then I realised they're now subject to import duty post-Brexit. I guess that's me out, then 😥

Thanks for the help. Just to clarify; More relief is more curvature, achieved by loosening the truss rod. Less relief is less curvature, achieved by tightening the truss rod. So, by loosening the rod, the strings will (subtly) pull the far end of the neck upward, raising the 2nd fret relative to the third (upon which the string is buzzing) Presumablythe reason that it's happening on G strings is that they run a lower action than the others.

As per the title. All but the Vigier have picked up a buzz at the second fret on the G string. Even the NS Upright has it, as has the Chapman stick on its bass E string (the thinnest one) Never encountered it before. Wondered if it's a combination of my preferred set-up plus the weather? The house is cool at the moment, we don't have central heating and I'm cleaning condensation off the inside of the windows every morning.. The Warwicks can be fixed with a tweak of the just-a-nut. The Stick has a similar facility. I raised the action on the Ibanez, though more than I'd have liked, and that cured it. Before I bust out the bigger Allen keys, would a slight slacken of the truss rod have much effect so far down the neck? (and that'll inevitably cause a higher action around the middle of the neck which isn't that desirable) Any other ideas? Thanks in advance, Alex.

Hi there, See if you can get the serial number from the vendor, and match it up using one of the online resources. From what I can recall, the American Fender I used to own had the serial number on the front of the headstock, but this varies from model to model. Alas that it's all too easy to change a decal and or a neck plate and thereby pass off a cheaper bass as a more expensive one.

⬆️⬆️⬆️ Sorry, wasn't clear enough. I meant that the frequency points of the fixed 3 band EQs don't seem to have fundamentally changed since Ibanez started using them and that the B & T set points are likely the same even if the mid-control is variable or fixed.

I don't think they've changed their EQs since the dawn of time! I can almost completely get Sting's MC924 tone from my EDB605. They're ~25 years apart in terms of age, and of wholly different construction, but the EQ set points (fixed 3 band) seem exactly the same. It wouldn't surprise me to learn that the new ones are modifications on the same theme with a vari-mid F bolted on. That said, if it ain't broke, don't fix it

All the variables that @Chienmortbb mentioned are very valid, especially for mass-produced instruments, but that's where QC comes in. Unfortunately, most manufacturers only really QC the fit and finish of the completed product. Smaller production runs and luthier built-to-order using established designs have the benefit of being able to employ better timber selection processes, using better quality electronic components and better pickups, all of which ought to deliver at least more consistent instruments. There's one catch, though. They're inevitably more expensive. That said, there may be the occasional budget instrument made when the planets are favourably aligned, and those are the ones that seem to be greater than the sum of their parts. If you can find them...

A felt plectrum at that, I believe! Didn't see the mute, and it hadn't occurred to me until it was mentored that the SRX might be strung with flats, too.