ezbass

4003s is the way forward for you, no nasty sharp binding to deal with.

Looks like that was a heavy one

Back Door Man - Willie Dixon

Sold mine because it was a boat anchor and made my shoulder ache, I should’ve bought the walnut version over the maple, as they’re much lighter. Oh yeah, this thread - 🧟‍♂️ resurrection.

You Can Ring My Bell - Anita Ward

Southern Man - Neil Young

Iron Out The Rough Spots - Paul Young

Crawling from the Wreckage - Dave Edmunds

Face to Face - Gary Barlow

I have 2 custom built basses (not EB) that are very, very similar in build materials. One has always needed a bit more attention in the truss rod dept than the other, which needs almost none at all. It’s the nature of natural materials, despite being the same wood, unless they’re from the very same plank of the same tree, they are likely to react differently to changes in climate. That being said, I think the older the instrument, the more stable they tend to be due to being an instrument that much longer, seasoning, whatever. I had a ‘63 P Bass that rock solid whenever, wherever, whatever the weather, I don’t remember adjusting it once in all the time I owned it.

Reviled by many, but I really like it and I don’t think there’s a duff track on it.

TBH a lot of other retailers could learn a lesson from Thomann. Admittedly I ordered a few items, but the bass was in its box, which was packed in a larger box with more paper packing than you can shake a stick at. I had to go digging to find the bass box. You mentioned over in the SS thread about noticing more accentuated tonal differences on your modded Mustang than on an equivalent long scale. This is my first 2 p/up shorty and I must agree that the different tonal differences are certainly more pronounced than on my J type 33” scale with a balance pot.

Especially that type. I made the mistake of wearing a pair of shorts for an outdoor, lockdown, streamed gig. They received as many comments as the actual content of the livestream. I should've known better.

Fitted my favoured EB Cobalt Flats today (a used set, in case it went all horrendously wrong); ooh, that's the stuff! Had to unwind the E string a bit as the locating hole in the Gotoh tuner is very wee and I'm inserting way beyond the silk. Because of the tight radius on the tuners, I was expecting the E to break, but no, it seems fine. Had to tension the truss rod a bit, but nothing dramatic, just a 1/4 turn or so. Something I noticed when taking off the film from the pick guard is that there a sort of bloom at the point where the control plate meets the p/g (the top laminate has lifted a bit). When refitting the p/g the reason for this became clear, it's too big. However, a quick pass or two with a craft knife to shave off a bit (probably less than 0.5mm) makes it a precise fit. There are some areas where the shape of the p/g could be smoother, but this is a cheap instrument and the corners cut seem to be in areas that just don't matter that much and are easily remedied. The performance is still blowing me away given the miserly cost.

Robbie was so the man. However, even the coolest of the cool can't pull off shorts on stage. Just say no.

Small steps maybe, but steps nonetheless. Keep at it and, whilst maybe not back to where you were pre this thread, you’ll look back at these early days with incredulity at your limitations and the body’s ability to heal and adapt. With regard to bass playing, if it still gives you joy, just do it in whatever manner is comfortable for you. As pointed out above AJ has always sat as far as I can tell and is still an absolute monster. Positive vibes from the Highlands.

No need for retooling either I would imagine. We may slag off Fender for the continual reissuing of their most successful, historic guitars and basses, but folk keep on buying them and they’d be daft not to keep feeding the beast what it wants. In short, we are to blame.

An update on my HB Mustang-alike post above. It's here and, despite not having the same nut width as advertised (it's 38mm, not 41.3mm), I'm very pleased. A little fettling and modding has taken place and now it's good to go. Got out the screwdriver, soldering iron, fret finishing kit and some copper tape (it's a bit buzzy, but so was my JMJ pre tape and this has a single coil to take into consideration) and battle commenced. Installing the balance pot was definitely the way to go for me, there are now 5 definite tones to be had with, as expected, a kind of 60/40 split, favouring the neck pickup, being my favourite. These Roswell pickups are really punchy and very articulate and not just for money, they are just good pickups, although the edges of the plastic covers are a bit sharp my liking, particularly the bridge p/up, but that's potentially an easy fix down the road (I think plain, solid tops would look ace). Ran some 800 & 1000 grit, followed by some micro mesh over the fret ends and it's much nicer, despite catching the paint work with the emery paper in the lower cutaway like the doofus I am . Some neck relief was required and seems to have settled down well, the set up is now about 2mm at the 12th, with plenty of room for more adjustment in the bridge (the tops of the saddle grub screws are quite sharp and need some love from a file). In conclusion, I'm very pleased and, for the money, I think these these are unbeatable. It stands up well side by side with my other 2 shorties and I have no qualms about gigging it, in fact, given the cost, it'll be the perfect bass for less salubrious venues, without having to sacrifice anything tonally.

OK, concerns sorted with the lovely folks at Thomann (their customer service seems to be very good and an example to other retailers) and I'm keeping it. That means, out with the screwdriver, soldering iron, the fret finishing kit and some copper tape. Installing the balance pot was definitely the way to go for me, there are now 5 definite tones to be had with, as expected, a kind of 60/40 split, favouring the neck pickup, being my favourite. These Roswell pickups are really punchy and very articulate and not just for money, they are just good pickups. The edges of the plastic covers are a bit sharp my liking, particularly the bridge, single coil, but that's an easy fix down the road (I think plain, solid tops would look ace). Ran some 800 & 1000 grit, followed by some micro mesh over the fret ends and it's much nicer, despite catching the paint work 🤦‍♂️ (the relicing begins here). A bit more relief was required and seems to have settled down well. In conclusion, I'm very pleased and, at the money, these are unbeatable. It stands up well side by side with my other shorties and I have no qualms about gigging it, in fact, given the cost, it'll be the perfect bass for less salubrious venues, without having to sacrifice anything tonally. What’s that I hear you say? Very well...

Can't do the balance pot and fret end dressing until I get a reply from Thomann, but a basic set up should be OK. A 1/4 turn more relief in the neck and it's all good there. All the saddles needed moving back for intonation, but plenty of adjustment still available either way for different strings. A good low action (for me) of about 2mm at the 12th fret is easily achievable, without any fret buzz. The pickup height is going to need a bit more work as the P pickup is as high as it will go with the foam provided (I had much the same issue with my shorty 'Ray) and I like to have some adjustment either way. It'll need more shielding as there is more buzz than I'm comfortable with (single coil in the bridge taken into account) but this was also case with my JMJ. The headstock finishing issue I mentioned above turned out to be left over compound and was easily removed with my thumbnail. However, in the daylight there is some sort of dye bleed on the neck binding, which indicates that the fretboard has been darkened to make the laurel look more like rosewood, which it does. Tonally it sits rather nicely between the JMJ and 'Ray, making neither redundant, whilst still adding an extra flavour (the balance pot should enhance this feature more I think). It plays very nicely indeed and certainly doesn't feel like £205's worth of metal, wood and plastic.

I’ve found a tiny chip on the headstock that I’ve also informed them about, the packing was not damaged, so it’s happen pre boxing. The finish on the headstock, where the matching black meets the maple, is a bit sketchy here and there, but only noticeable if you start looking closely. Still amazing VFM nonetheless.

The HB Mustang-alike has landed. First impressions are good, although the quoted nut width of 41.3 mm is incorrect, it is 38mm (Thomann have been contacted about this). Straight out of the box and tuned up delivered a pleasing tone that is in between my JMJ and shorty 'Ray. The setup isn't bad at all, yes it needs a little intonation adjustment (I really mean a little), the truss rod needs more relief (it was shipped with slack strings, so fair play) and the fret ends, whilst better than when my shorty 'Ray was new out of the box, wouldn't go amiss with some emery paper on a block (just a quick pass should do the trick). Regarding upper fret access, I can reach the top frets on my JMJ easily enough, but with the HB it is a breeze. It weighs in at just over 3.7kgs and balances nicely on the strap. The Gotoh tuners are smooth and positive as you'd expect from Gotoh, but the pots are a revelation, they feel really good too, the taper is good, although the tone needs some travel before any significant happens (a different value cap should sort that). For just a fiver over £200, it was a sold buy. I just need to wait for Thomann to comment on the nut width discrepancy before tackling any of the setup work and fitting the balance pot I ordered.

Hell Bent For Leather - Judas Priest

That looks like your problem, a tidy up and perhaps some judiciously placed insulating tape will hopefully sort your problem.