Clarky

I used to reserve my '72 Precision for decent gigs and my (now sold) punky, beat-up CIJ P bass 'Sid' for any gig where I thought the bass might get bashed or where there wasn't a secure storage area for gear. In practice this meant I almost always took 'Sid'. Thats why I sold it, so I could play my 72P a great deal more. Only then I bought an Alembic (and played that at our last gig) and then our drummer quit so no gigs for foreseeable future ..... Ho hum

[quote name='tino' post='960378' date='Sep 18 2010, 01:44 PM']I have had the problem I know you will be refering to...I solved it with further instruments by use of chamois leather .I cut it into strips the width of the foam rolled it round and superglued in place putting the join at the bottom so its nowhere near the instrument....works fine as far as I can see.......wheres the CS gone?????[/quote] Thanks Tony. The CS is withdrawn from sale for the time being as I think I may regret selling it. It's damn nice! Edit: of course, me being Clarky, it was back on sale again a few hours after posting this

Further to my post yesterday about the resilience of nitro finishes, are any bass stands safe for use with a nitro finish or is the foam on all of them liable to stain? PS, I know I could put some old T-shirt material over my Warwick Rockstand (which is next to my bed ) but Mrs Clarky, being house-proud, might object to that

I guess you can give the dalmation puppy and small baby back to their owners now, Beedster I just wear a Johnny Depp mask

[quote name='tino' post='960282' date='Sep 18 2010, 11:36 AM']I am OK with the bass itself ....just looks so drab....the refin I would do myself other than the defret....just wondering how far I could go obtaining used parts from here & there.....so really looking for ideas [/quote] In which case I would just do a 'fireglo' re-fin. The classiest finish for a 4000 series IMHO. I wouldn't change the pick guard or defret.

I have always liked the sunburst ('fireglo') finish best on Ricks - that maple is a bit bland looking, agreed. But a re- fin will be pretty pricey compared to the value of the bass - Sims would charge about £400. Why not flog it for what you can get ( or trade) and get a bass you want? Probably end up costing you less in the long run

Any pics of the bass, Tony, so We can all chime in with suggestions?

I can't speak for the Who, but distortion is used by Metallica's bassists (Burton, Newsted, Trujillo) pretty sparingly. In over 20 years of output, i can think of only a couple of recorded songs with distortion (for whom the bells toll, Orion; and only in discrete sections of the song) ... other than when they did some Motorhead covers. Jason Newsted used pedals to show off in his solo piece as per the clip you showed (and I agree it sounds rubbish!) But the vast majority of their bass is straight from the instrument to the amp. When they use distortion ( that live solo apart) it's because it adds a different texture.

[quote name='jazzyvee' post='960145' date='Sep 18 2010, 08:37 AM']Hi Clarky, how you getting on with the new bass? Jazzyvee[/quote] Hey Jazzyvee! The new Elan 5 is very nice. Very fast, flat/shallow neck (I have taken the action down pretty low although I need to get some new strings) and it really could pass for a new bass if you don't inspect too close up (amazing for an 18 year old bass). It sounds similar to my Spoiler ( not surprising given it has the same pickups and similar electronics) and very Alembic! Weighs 10.5 lb which is completely manageable and half a pound less than my Spoiler despite being a bigger bodied bass and with a wider neck. The flame walnut top is beautiful but I think I would prefer it in black. I will probably send it off to Sims in the next week or two to get it re-finned and keep the back of neck as is - unless of course you want to sell me your bass (OK, I know the answer is no!)

Again thanks gents. In fact the nitro finish on my now-departed Alleva Coppolo Willie Weeks was very robust and felt like it could withstand normal wear and tear. By contrast the Fender Highways seem to shed finish when you so much as look at them. I guess BB2000 answered this - there must be something different in the way the nitro is composed or applied in this case. It was the Highways that had me worried.

This is a mighty fine band with more inches-in-height per guitarist than any other London band Recommended viewing for BassChatters

Thanks Jack. I am 50:50 about keeping this. Mind you I do have a history of falling for a Jazz bass and then selling it on prompt-ish when I re - discover that I like my Precision better. Decisions .....

[quote name='BB2000' post='958907' date='Sep 16 2010, 10:39 PM']After 4 years it's pretty much as hard as it's going to be.[/quote] Thx BB2000, so if the finish is fully hardened does that also mean that its less fragile - just so I am clear ? And wOuld it by that time be safe to put on a foam covered bass stand - or could it still lose chunks of finish by the strap button where it rests on the stand (as I have seen happen to some other basses in the FS section)? Apologies if I'm slow on the uptake here!

[quote name='deaver' post='958892' date='Sep 16 2010, 10:25 PM']Keep it, play it...then sell it to me when I can raise some cash[/quote] Groundhog day, John!

I have a lovely 2006 Fender CS 64 Jazz for sale. Even though I have already spent the possible sale proceeds, I am half thinking about hanging on to it as I played it this evening (got it in a trade, arrived yesterday) and its so nice. My only concern would be whether I am too oaf-ish and would damage the nitro finish badly. Now I know nitro finishes are fragile, but do they toughen up with age? I read somewhere that nitro takes a long time to dry out and that it is very reactive to begin with. But does this change? Or would the finish still stain/react for example if I put it on a guitar stand with the wrong sort of foam on it even though its four years old?