Norris

The Squier P Bass Special is great if you can find one second hand. Mine was around the price you're looking to pay second hand. I don't know if they did them in Olympic white though. I love mine - metallic pewter with black plate

My azureglo 4002. I part exchanged it for next to no value on an Aria SB-1000. That is a cracking bass too but I do miss that Ric. My current 4003 is not as nice

I would think twice about hefting a bass of that weight. However as regards strap recommendations I wouldn't use anything but a Comfort Strapp. Check which length you need though - some of them are quite short i.e. go by dimensions rather than description and measure up first

[quote name='Manton Customs' timestamp='1486762155' post='3234482'] Lighter fluid is the best for this task as it'll leave next to no residue behind and will not harm the finish. Other products can make any future refinish work very difficult. [/quote] +1 again

Do you rest your thumb on the pickup? It could be that you are inadvertently pressing the pickup into the body and it's just catching on the screw threads rather than popping back out

[quote name='SpondonBassed' timestamp='1486243666' post='3230364'] Are you trying to give me [i]more[/i] GAS? [/quote] Oops! Wrong spelling doh!

Lovely. I look forward to seeing it at the next bash

I went on Thursday. The Saturday tickets sold out really quickly. Lovely black Lakland being played by the geezer

Also a lot of landlords will be filling their 2017 diaries right now, so don't hang about and get out there pedaling

[quote name='dyerseve' timestamp='1486117430' post='3229332'] [/quote] Who said that? Did you hear something?

A lot of it is word of mouth too. If you can get your toes into one or two places and put on a good show then word will get around. If you can also work with the landlord and be accomodating then so much the better. But you do need to go visit a few venues, meet face to face with whoever does the bookings. Take one of your band mates, nominate a night, and go sound out all those places you'd like to play. One of you is going to have to be a driving force

Ah. Just saw your latest reply. I assume that you are anchoring with your thumb when plucking. Try to ease up on that. Maybe have a look at floating thumb technique - even if you don't adopt it you will realise that you don't need to anchor so firmly. It's a reference point, not the support for your whole arm

Also stretch and warm up before a session. Stretching out your tendons helps a lot

I get the impression that the seizing is in your plucking hand. I haven't had that myself but have had seizing in my fretting hand in my youth, especially with repetitive riffs involving stretches. The key to fixing it was practice unfortunately. Being that bit quicker and stronger allows you to relax a bit more because it's within your capabilities rather than on the edge of them. You'll then tend to play with a lighter touch and be more relaxed generally.

I'd drill before the lacquer so you can check everything fits while "dry". I think you need to invest in a set of drill bits. Good luck Edit: And measure twice, three times before you drill

Manchester Guitar Tech do a nice range of coloured nitro and are not too expensive. They can also mix custom colours if you want. If you use a spray you will need good ventilation, whether poly or nitro. The advantage to nitro is that each coat will merge into the previous. Poly will form distinct coats, which will be visible if you sand through. Basically nitro is a bit more forgiving. For less noxious methods, oil as Manton suggested is easy to apply and can be buffed to a good gloss. Also check out some of the Andyjr1515 build threads for his use of dyes and brush on/wipe on varnish - it might be a little more "house friendly"

That's gorgeous you lucky chap!

Looking sweet!

She's trying to drag me to the Rewind festival in Henley this year. Mostly cheesey 80s artists. I suppose Level 42 and the chance to try out our newly acquired VW camper might sway me

Great achievement! When are you starting a saxophone build thread?

That came together very nicely and looks great. Well done!

That's going to look beautiful

It sounds like your truss rod is loose if it's rattling. Does the nut turn freely when not under string tension? If so tighten the truss nut until you start getting some resistance. Standard Fender style (single acting) truss rods sit in a curved channel. As you tighten the nut the rod tries to straighten, pushing against the curved channel and therefore putting back bow on the neck. If the rod is too loose it won't push against the curve at all, and will rattle You don't need to put so much tension in as to make the neck back bow, just enough to stop the rod from rattling

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1484485419' post='3215763'] A couple of thoughts... Is the a string guide/post on the headstock to feed the string under? You can make a sharp right-angle in the string, using pliers. [/quote] This. I always put a 90 degree bend in the string and pop it down into the centre of the tuning post. Also cut your strings to length to allow a couple of wraps around the post