Painy

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1419720253' post='2642270'] I would rather have a comforable balanced 11lb 8oz bass that an unbalanced 8ib 8oz one any day. Anyway I rate anything lighter than 10 ib as light weight. [/quote] Very true and for what it's worth the balance is perfect. Not even a hint of neckdive and I was a bit concerned that there might be having played basses with smaller paddle headstocks previously.

Funnily enough it was the VM P5 that I would have gone for if I'd had a few more pennies spare but given that a P bass was a complete u-turn on my thinking about basses over the last 19 years it was a bit of a gamble anyway. Having now played this at last night's gig through my Ampeg rig I have to say it's a gamble that's well and truly payed off. So much so that I'm now thinking of selling my Cort and buying the Squire (Mmmmm - Olly white, dark brown tort guard and maple board). What do you make of the VM P5 then?

Thanks again for the positive comments and I'm glad people can see the difference between doing this with my own bass with no intention to sell (if anything I suspect I've actually devalued it slightly) and doing it on a commercial scale. The replica kit car analogy sums it up pretty well for me. [quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1419703309' post='2642071'] Very brave reshaping the headstock like that. Nice job! The pickguard looks much better now. I'm quite interested in getting a HB fiver, any ideas what it's weight is at all? [/quote] Again thanks. I trained as a draughtsman (old school - none of this newfangled CAD malarkey) so was quite comfortable drawing the outline of where to cut free hand. After that I just had to grit my teeth and go for it. The scary part is that I have next to no tools so this was all by hand using nothing more than a junior hacksaw, a coping saw, sandpaper and would you believe, a metal file! The weight question is one that always makes me smile. When people are complaining that their 8 1/2 lb bass is too heavy to play a whole gig with i think they should walk a mile in my shoes. My bubinga Corvette weighs in at a little over 14 lbs and my Cort A6 is probably not a million miles off that figure either! Personally I like the solid feel of a good weighty bass. Anyway, I just weighed it and whilst it feels feather light to me compared with my other basses, I suspect most would find it a bit heavy at 9lb 11oz.

Hmm. I guess if it's okay to remove the logo from a fender maybe I should tell people that I bought a fender and removed the guitar from the logo before putting it on my HB as an amusing back story to distract them from the issue.

Haha. Knew this would be a little bit controversial and absolutely fine with all the views expressed. For those who aren't so keen on the idea I do actually get where you're coming from too and appreciate that you've all pretty much said each to their own in any case. For me though this was more about making myself happy with the bass than about fooling anyone else just as most women will wear make up to appear as attractive to other people as possible even though everyone will be able to see that they are wearing make up. Ultimately it's about making them feel as good about themselves as possible and hopefully you can see that this is the angle I was coming from. Logo aside though I'm glad the change to the pickguard seems to be unanimously well received ! Changes aside though these basses are well worth a look for anyone after an affordable five string. I had to raise the bass side and lower the treble side on the p pup to get the output level across the strings and tweak the truss rod a little too to get the action down and it was good to go sound and playability wise. Output from the pickups is pretty weak in all honesty but I just set the input on my amp to compensate and it sounds great!

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1419533384' post='2640737'] I think it looks the biz and I bet very versatile too? [/quote] Thankyou. I've used active basses exclusively for about 17 years now so this is my first passive bass since then and I've been amazed at just how versatile it is. It's also been so much easier to plug in and play with a great usable sound. I'm finding that the clarity of the tone fully up works for me every time as I tend to find its a little muffled when rolled off. After that I can get all the tones I could possibly want mixing between the p and j pups.

Thanks guys for the positive comments and happy Christmas to you all. I know no body else is really likely to have a clue what bass it is with our without the logo or far more importantly to care either way but I do feel much happier with the bass now. To be honest though, I actually feel quite proud of my handiwork so if someone were ever to compliment me on my bass at a gig chances are I'd tell them what I'd done to it anyway

Hello mate. Glad you liked it. Can't tell you anything about that model but if you wanted to try mine through your rig you can always pick it up on the way to practice and drop it off after. I know mine is a sixer but they do the same model with the barts in a five string too for what it's worth. Speak to you soon.

So, A couple of weeks ago I started a thread (which is still running) asking people's opinions on Harley Benton basses as I've been getting uncontrollable GAS for a P bass but didn't even have the budget for a Squire let alone a Fender. After hearing some really good things about their basses for the money I decided to pull the trigger on a P/J hotrod deluxe at a couple of quid under £100. I actually received the bass a few weeks ago and to be honest it looked, played and sounded a million miles above its price point. The only issue for me was that I am a self confessed gear snob. I though I could overcome it as I really liked the bass but couldn't help feeling an irrational pang of shame at being seen on stage with that Harley Benton logo on the headstock and so I began its transformation. Today is my new bass day in the sense that it is now finished and ready to unveil to the world. As I say, please don't judge me on the 're-branding (limelight owners backme up here) it's never gonna fool anyone close up but it's made me feel better about playing it out. Anyway, here she is before (stock photo) and after - headstock reshaped and decal added, vomit inducing printed red tort pickguard covered with subtly glittery white vinyl and finally a thumb rest added.

How about this Schecter as a cheaper alternative to the Sandberg - also available as a 4 string and in metallic blue. This fiver in white though is £529 on Andertons as opposed to £1062 for the equivalent Sandberg on Thomann so, near as makes no odds, almost exactly half the price. Bridge pickup is a bit closer to the bridge than a MM but with a coil tap by means of the push/pull tone pot I reckon there should still be a pretty good mix of tones available given its a passive bass.

Creative Cuts - www.ccinlays.com Loads of designs too if you're after something other than just dots but they can do pretty much whatever design you want if you email them. They're in the US but mine arrived within a week so pretty quick. Got this abalone effect flames design from them:

I know you can get a neck pup cover for a 5 string (for the Marcus Miller V) but does anyone know where I could get a jazz bridge cover for a 5 string from? Nice as an F logo stamped into it would be, I know fender only make them for a four string so plain would be fine if it helps. Any suggestions would help as I'm not having much luck with Google on this one.

As far as positioning is concerned, where you put the mic in relation to the drum is a bit like how far from the bridge you pluck the strings on your bass. It will effect the sound but it depends on what sound your looking for - there's no right or wrong. The massive kick drum sound on Led Zep's When The Levee Breaks was apparently achieved by putting the mic at the other end of a long corridor (not practical live)! Saying that, this would be the best starting point and then take it from there if you need to: [quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1417183597' post='2617904'] Mic the drum by putting this mic right up to the hole in the resonant head, pointing as directly at the point where the beater strikes the batter head. [/quote]

There used to be a shop in Great Yarmouth called Soundgear which had a weird policy that you could only try out guitars on a Saturday morning when their guitar demo guy was there. Must have seriously restricted their sales which may be why they're no longer in business.

Just seen this is a duplicate thread. Reposting on the other one now.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1417079879' post='2616800'] Has anyone mentioned that you should maybe get an amp instead? [/quote] I think they may have done in post 3?

I'd say the ziricote is more 'classic Wal'. Not sure if you'd see that as a good or bad thing but it is the type of grain I have in my head when I think of a Wal.

[quote name='Tweedledum' timestamp='1416901557' post='2614753'] Anyway, if I was in the market for a 5-string P, I'd rather go for the Squier VM, because IMO it just looks better. The build quality is on the same level. [/quote] I did look at the Squire and it does look much better visually but at nearly 2.5 times the price. My plan is to modify the bass to look more like a Fender - mainly reshaping the headstock but also changing the fugly pickguard. The bridge j pup also gives me more options. Very reassuring to hear you'd say you'd rate the HB build quality as on a par with the VM Squires though as they do seem very well liked bases on here

The item number on eBay for the vinyl I used is 161189056270. It does look pretty good even fairly close up. It's self adhesive so you just peel off the backing and stick it down and because it's vinyl it had some stretch to it so follows the contours round the edges pretty well anyway!

Well given all the positive feedback from happy HB owners I've decided to pull the trigger. Sold my acoustic today so gonna be placing an order with Thomann tomorrow 😃! Expect a NBD thread shortly...

You could always cover the existing pg in woodgrain vinyl. I did my whole bass in it! Incidentally I am extremely jealous. I have serious GAS for a VM P5 at the moment! In fact, if you send me your bass I'll cover the guard in vinyl for you. Can't guarantee you'll get it back mind you 😜!

I've never had a plek but I did have a plec once. Seeing as it was a fish though it's no real surprise that it didn't make any difference whatsoever to the harmonics I got out of my bass!

[quote name='Geddys nose' timestamp='1415693147' post='2602666'] Ryan Adams and Bryan Adams are actually the same person. [/quote] Funny enough there was an actual incident at one of Ryan Adam's gigs where he stopped playing and refused to continue until a member of the audience who kept shouting out for summer of 69 was ejected from the venue! This is a genuinely true story. I read about it in a book so it must be! A proper hard back book. Not OK magazine or Hello!

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1416087363' post='2606832'] yes, to the former. However I strongly advise you to either write your ad in Notepad, save it and then paste it into the thread editor so you have a safe copy in case something goes wrong. or alternatively write a quick scratch version and edit it once youve paid and listed. [/quote] Thanks mate, much appreciated. Right, I'm off to take some bass photos

I paid a fee last year for a one off listing and now have another bass I'd like to sell but can't remember how I went about paying the fees! Will I be asked to pay as part of the process of putting the listing on or do I need to pay somewhere on here first and if so where? Thanks in advance!