Stub Mandrel

Funnily enough my TE doesn't have the light, but I've bought a roll of UV leds on a strip with a USDB connector. Haven't fitted it yet.

The figure were just to demonstrate it's possible to work to greater accuracy by hand. Despite what people think, you or I could work to the 'thousandth of an inch' mentioned in awe on other forums, I regularly do so.

In engineering, hand scraping is the most accurate process for producing flat surfaces over long distances, by comparing three surfaces and taking off the high spots. https://www.okuma.com/hand-scraping-wp There isn't an accurate grinding machine in existence that doesn't trace it's accuracy back to hand-scraped surface plates 🙂 When optical telescope mirrors need to be made to the highest levels of accuracy (fractions of a wavelength of light) they abandon the machines and finish them by hand. Even the production of gauge blocks (small but very accurate & expensive) was finished by manual lapping until the 1960s. For a fret dress, that machine will work to a known level of accuracy, as it's fairly lightly built 0.02 or maybe 0.01mm is probably about it <it's 0.01mm according to the patent http://www.freepatentsonline.com/6114618.pdf>. Expert hand scraping can work to around 0.000025mm... An expert hand finishing frets could easily work to better than that to a factor of ten (although it's questionable if that would give any improvement). The value of the Plek machine (operated by a semi-skilled person) can do the job to a higher standard than the majority of music shop techs, but i very much doubt it can beat a skilled luthier.

Bad company 🙂

I've got a side project with a black vocalist. I feel decidedly ambiguous about lyrics like 'I'll always be your slave', but it's their call and Sam Cooke didn't have any qualms.

Surprisingly different, would probably go down well in a rock type venue, maybe a bit too extreme for a pub crowd.

Ace of Spades. Properly, with a pick, double stops and all, at full speed. I'm not a plectrum bassist... I keep getting cramp...

Nice. Took my 5 to rehearsal last night. Extra string and four extra frets, I did get lost a few times. Your 'B as a thumb rest' comment rings true! Playing Song 2 (not exactly complex!) was a bit confusing because I had to adjust from playing dropped D... Did enjoy Lil' Devil as I could play it a whole octave down using the low C and D rumbly wumbly 🙂

Hmm, I know enough about precision machining to be sceptical that it's superior to doing the job by hand. I don't question that a machine can do an excellent job, but it's accepted that in principal hand scaping can provide a superior flat surface to grinding so I'd expect that to apply to fret dressing as well. Not least because a manual dress can address any residual high spot without having to repeat the entire process (or even remove the strings).

Nothing compared to people who leave the protective film on their scratchplates or (horrors!) little white circles on the back of their enclosed tuners.

How about an onboard compressor? 🙂 The Elf is 200W but doesn't have a preshape although it claims to be able to give that ';classic Trace sound' with the three band EQ. Is it fair to say the Ashdown preshape is pretty close to the TE one?

Can I suggest rounding the internal corner to avoid creating a stress raiser, even a 3-4mmm radius will make a significant increase in resistance to a split starting at this point if it fall backwards and the headstock hits something.

Well they've taken it down... Other than lack of handwritten date marks or a serial number that works on Fender's database, what's the give away?

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I've started feeling uncomfortable about 'cultural appropriation' ever since an American bride got slated for wearing a kimono to her wedding. My daughter, who speaks some Japanese and has Japanese friends says they were all horrified and couldn't understand what was wrong with other people appreciating and enjoying something they are very proud off - after all it was being used in a respectful ceremony (why don't people boycot Gilbert and Sullivan?) Personally I think 'cultural appropriation' is only an issue when people 'pick and mix' aspects of a culture in a way that is genuinely disrespectful - thing like bastardised versions of religious ceremonies or using special symbols as decorations. I don't think most of the stuff criticised is any more direspectful than non-Scots wearing tartan kilts. But one point you raise is really about 'do you need to have a black experience' to sing this song? To be honest, most black people in the UK have no more validity to sing about lynching than anyone else. The author of American Dirt was on the radio today, she's of Puerto Rican extraction but has written a book about Mexican refugees. She made some compelling arguments such as 'do we replace one set of gatekeepers/censors with another'. I also feel that raising such issues is more important that who raises the issues; if no Mexican immigrants feel able to write their story in the current climate in the USA, it's good that someone, anyone, is. So I'd argue that yes, white people or anyone can sing this song. On this level, is it materially different to a man singing a song about a woman's experiences or vice versa? What I do think is the real issue is the sincerity and authenticity brought to the performance, and that reflects where and when it is performed, to whom and the motivations of those involved. Personally I feel it should only be performed if the occasion suited it and that performers had the audience's 'permission' to do so. This may or may not involve issues of ethnicity or cultural heritage depending on the situation. After all Woody Guthrie sang about lynchings, racism and other such things with no disrespect.

Do you play very near the bridge?

I'm a bit worried about my Squier J-bass. I got it, after a few weeks, it needed truss rod adjustment, and ran out, so I added a washer rather than risk stripping the thread. Since then it's needed two fairly generous tweaks. Not sure if this is it settling in after taking all the tension off or something worse like the rod slowly crushing into soft wood at one end 😞 Be a shame if it does end up running out of adjustment as its a lovely neck. String at one end on a bridge saddle, the other supported at the high point of a curved fret. If nothing else contacts the string what can affect it's vibration. Trignometry tells us differences in tension change with action will be (almost) negligible, as are any minute differences in break angle. But I'm aware that every one of my basses feels different and I therefore play each one slightly differently, I argue this is where perceived changes in sound with action come from - higher action tends to encourage a more aggressive style and more staccato playing by damping with the left hand. Obviously when strings start contacting other frets, that does make changes beyond just buzz, like introducing more harmonics if played hard. Another variable could be if you fret very lightly/close to the fret so the string doesn't contact the fingerboard behind the fret (especially with jumbo frets, light action). I imagine this could reduce sustain and harmonic content. Would be interesting for someone with a spectrum analyser to do an experiment.

Agreed, that's the 'step too far...'

Agreed - one reason why I got one!

Abbey Road Music in Nottingham has one of those 🙂

A bit of googling shows 'Fender Edge' suitcases are not particularly scarce!

A brief bit of thought will make it clear that if the strings don't actually buzz on the frets, the height of the action won't affect the sound directly, just your playing. I'm all for low action as it suits my style and I don't find it stops me 'digging in'. If I want to use a plectrum (Ace of Spades), then I want to get some fret rattle as well! Anyway you are all wimps, Carol Kaye went for 1/4" above the fretboard at the 12th fret; she could probably strangle someone just with her fretting hand alone...

I'm nervous now... does bass playing cause bad knees?

Oysterband country?

Probably but just one pedal at a time, they are a bit 'chipper'...