henry norton

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1116273' date='Feb 5 2011, 11:06 AM']i'm not sure about led, but if you have a look at kingblossomguitars on youtube, theres a video which shows the use of fibre optics which looks pretty cool.[/quote] Yeah I'd go the fibre optic route as there's less messing around with solder joints and stuff, asides from only having one light draining the battery. You might find an entire array of LED's are much brighter than you'd need.

I'd personally go for a MIM Jazz. I tried a couple of MIM Precisions last year and they were very good, light and handled nicely so I'd imagine the Jazzes to be up there too. I didn't have an issue with the bridge and so far as I know, all proper single coil Jazz pickups will hum. The only simple way around it is to buy a couple of stacked/parallel humbuckers for it, or use both pickups full on together all the time . If you mod I would buy a second hand Affinity because the woodwork's pretty similar and there's no point in spending money on hardware you're not going to use anyway. That way you can spend more hard earned on pickups, bridge and electronics. Sorted

Just for a start, have you checked the earth wire from the bridge? Not only its' connection to the pots but also whether it's actually connecting with the bridge itself. After that, it's surprising how bad it can sound with just one wire soldered in the wrong place, so triple check everything.

A second pickup route won't need a refin, especially if you're careful about cutting out the scratchplate (you can cock up the route as much as you like then). You'll definitely need a refin after cutting a forearm contour, but you can buy cans of cellulose from places like Manchester Guitar Tech if you want to have a go yourself in the garden shed. If you're getting into new necks you might as well buy a more upmarket copy in the first place IMO, but new pickups and contouring are definitely worthwhile.

I bet it sounds all the sweeter for the money you paid. DiMarzio are the mutts nuts when it comes to a good Precision replacement.

You should be able to find bits of walnut or koa dowel from luthier supplies such as stewart macdonald and touchstone tonewoods. You could drill it out for the access hole and glue it in same as you would do with the plastic pipe. The main thing is to get the hole you've made as neat and round as possible. Once you've done that and glued in whatever you're going to use to make it smaller, you can trim your dowel/pipe back flush with the rest of the wood. You'll find it takes on the almond shape just by trimming it flush with the curve behind the nut - no special skill needed, the trickiest part will be tidying up the truss rod hole.

I've often wondered the same and it's a scary thing in a way as an amp seems a fundamental part of a setup. I've often played smaller gigs without a PA beefy enough to take a DI from a bass guitar (although strangely enough they don't seem to mind DBs), so it's always useful having one around, but there again, that's what hire companies are for and if you only need to use one a few times a year I'd say take the plunge. Let's all go Geddy Lee!!!!!!

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1112084' date='Feb 2 2011, 10:58 AM']i read somewhere (stewmac?) that the fender truss access wood was koa not walnut. who cares? is it possible to pull out a fender truss rod, out of interest? i assumed they were anchored.[/quote] Yeah they are anchored - I was just trying to get an idea of what's wrong with the rod. If the nut's maxxed out and screwed down as far as it will go then either it's snapped in two (in which case it'll be a board off job and you'd be able to slide the broken end out, or it could be the nut doesn't have a washer to bear down on and it has just eaten it's way into the wood behind, which means it might be relatively easy to fix.

Oops. It looks like you'll need to do a bit of surgery whatever. Is the rod actually broken (loose, rattling, able to pull it out) or is the thread stripped because if it's just the thread, you can get a tool for re cutting it in situ, especially now it's got a nice big hole around it. Did the truss rod hole originally have a darker wood surrounding it (walnut)? If so, and as it's an 87 it's most likely to be a Fender Japan as Fender only made a few custom shop guitars in the US and they're usually 57/62 reissues, which have the truss rod nut down the other end. You'll never be certain either way if the markings were already sanded off before you got it so I wouldn't let it worry you too much. I'll post a link to the truss rod thread cutter if I can find it.

[quote name='TheFear' post='1111821' date='Feb 2 2011, 12:39 AM']im in the process of doing a Jazz build, been collecting loads of bits over the past couple of years, got myself some decent pick ups and a high mass bridge, i have stripped all the paint down to bare wood, just wanted to know what kind of paint to use, i want it blue with a nice heavy metalflake finish, i know a wicked car painter who is prepared to spray it for me but just not sure of the type of paint[/quote] You should definitely ask your sprayer, as the Manchester Guitar Tech cellulose makes it easy to use it's more expensive using aerosols and your sprayer should have access to loads of trade suppliers. The pre-CBS Fenders used something akin to two pack (polyester, but an old fashioned version of it) for priming bodies, an acrylic based lacquer for candy apple finishes (like Halfords rattle cans), and the holy grail cellulose for solid colours and necks. Most people avoid polyester these days as it has the reputation of ageing badly (looking beaten up rather than worn), plus the fact that most cheapo guitars were finished in it. Cellulose is softer and generally applied thinner. It takes longer to spray & finish it because you have to spray thinner coats and wait a long time before you can flat it back and buff it, but allot of people like it because it ages nicely and some believe it lets the guitar resonate more freely. Polyurethane is what allot of the big companies use these days, sprayed thinner than the old polyester used to be and also generally better for the health of the person doing the spraying. Hope this answers some questions

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1111414' date='Feb 1 2011, 07:36 PM']After two e-mails with Warmoth what i'd want (Gecko 6 with some things like paint ) and searching the HM sites, (I couldn't find exact figures but its roughly) at total charge of 40% Maximum as far as i can tell which is apprx. £850 or there abouts if my mental maths is right, Which for a Swampash/Basswood body 6 string isn't too bad. It was just an idea for a second 6 which would be nice, If i went to a luthier i'd need £2000 so i could go a bit crazy haha! And unfortunately the only basswood 6s i know of the the Musicman Bongo (£1500+) and all these budget american first six strings =/[/quote] Fair enough, but you (presumably) wouldn't want to use budget fittings and even using fairly decent, run of the mill stuff you could easily get near the £1500 mark with bridge, tuners, pickups, electronics, and all the little things like neck plate, screws, strap buttons. I'm all for building just the bass you want, I'm just saying it's surprising how the costs mount up - approach with caution, unless you're a millionaire...

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' post='1111335' date='Feb 1 2011, 06:41 PM']Not sure yet man. I'm really thinking of trying my hand at removing the fretboard and laying a new truss rod in it (as I have a truss rod from a P Bass neck that never got installed as the project didn't go ahead) but the bad thing is, where I had to try and widen the whole to get to the truss nut to it could be removed, it doesn't look right so If anyone has any suggestions on A: how to remove a fretboard without damaging it B: relaying a truss rod C: Sorting out the truss rod hole then I'll probably use it as it's such a beautiful neck and feels really nice to play I'll upload a picture later of the truss nut hole so you know what I mean about it. Never know, it may work. If I don't and you want it, I'll have a chat with you. Obviously I wouldn't wanna give it away for free as it's an expensive neck but I wouldn't want much for it[/quote] Well, if it really is an '87 Fender it'll either be a Fender USA or Fender Japan - either way it's worth sorting out, and it does have a nice fingerboard too. Replacing a truss rod is quite tricky but not impossible (and much easier than if it was a one piece maple with a skunk stripe). We need to see a few more pictures to show what's been done to the truss rod hole, headstock etc. Also, are there any markings on the heel of the neck as that should tell you where it was made? And good luck with it by the way

What are you going to do with the broken neck???

They go dull and green around the edges if you don't keep them polished. They do look pro though.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1108775' date='Jan 30 2011, 11:09 PM']Pretty much custom instrument, adding say 25% for import tax and shipping and it all still comes to a good price, roughly £650 So say what you can Cheers in advance[/quote] Bear in mind you'll have to add vat to your costs too (to the cost of both the parts and the shipping), as well as finishing, hardware, pickups, electronics, strings and setup if you need it. Warmoth parts are very nicely made - generally better than the far Eastern fleabay stuff, with the big advantage of being able to customise your parts, but my advice would be to add it [i]all[/i] up, look on the HM Customs website to get a better idea of import costs and take a look at what the total cost of the final finished bass will be. Then you can compare it to what you could get off the rack at a shop, or even from a luthier - maybe the difference won't be as big as you think. Sorry to p#ss on the fireworks

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='1107841' date='Jan 30 2011, 09:02 AM']Bearing in mind it was a '71 neck, I couldn't afford to take the risk. I just bought an ebony neck instead. Which was a shame, 'cos I waited AGES for my turn. But then, it means my '71 neck remains unmolested. With the benefit of hindsight, that must be a good thing. Although it would have looked REALLY hot.[/quote] I do epoxied defrets and I won't do necks that are too old or too valuable any more. I've never had any problems, (other than one, thankfully not very valuable neck getting 'lost in the post'), but I've had people with really nice, vintage Fenders asking for this treatment. I'll normally suggest they try an after market neck rather than perform what is some pretty major surgery on their beloved instrument and whilst it's not irreversible, it'll take allot of work to get it back to something approaching 'standard'. You made the right choice there.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1107843' date='Jan 30 2011, 09:12 AM']and you're not wrong, cause in the old days, on the underside of the ashtrays they used to have foam mutes hence the reason for them but...[/quote] Foam mutes over the neck pickup of a J or P will do more than just 'bugger up the tone' I'd have thought. Presumably mutes were kept at the bridge end. I think Fender put covers on 'cos they looked good as much as anything else - Telecasters originally had a cover for the bridge/back pickup and I doubt those were for mutes.

Back to basics! Sounds really nice and will probably end up as your number one player. I don't particularly agree with the 'nitro sounds better' argument but I strongly believe the more pleased you are with the guitar - the more you like it - the better you play, which is as good a reason as any to go for cellulose. It'll certainly age better than most two pack finishes too.

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1106195' date='Jan 28 2011, 02:41 PM']ben sent me some pics of his latest design. THE TOASTER! check it out. dual rail light wound for a brighter sound, by hand! 4 string bass guitar or shorty guitar. basically a paf humbucker with steel rails attached to a bar magnet instead of lugs. bens idea of ligthly wound would be about 9-10 thousand winds. 4 1/2 on each coil or something like that. parallel or series wiring. can be made with tapped coils and also available in single coil versions. more of bens work [url="http://www.lettsbasses.co.uk/root/imp.html"]HERE[/url] i'll try and get some sound clips on the web site over the weekend.[/quote] Looks the mutts nuts - I'd definitely be interested in hearing them.

From my experience the money is in the design rather than the components so if you're handy with pulling and replacing semiconductors from multi layer circuit boards (and of course, how to find the faults in the first place), then you could effect surprisingly cheap repairs. But there's allot more to them compared to simple mosfet circuits. Ultimately, if you're looking primarily at repair-ability, high quality class D amps with switched power supplies aren't what you want. You want VAAAAALLLLLLLLLVVVVVVEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[quote name='SS73' post='1101785' date='Jan 25 2011, 10:46 AM']Don't take them to our friends in Demark st, as you may not get the same ones back. I would call someone like Wizard Pickups and post them.[/quote] What's the deal with Denmark Street?

[quote name='lettsguitars' post='1100621' date='Jan 24 2011, 01:01 PM']there seems to be a lot of mysticism attached to guitar work, like some sort of magic circle. but i think the reason a lot of 'luthiers' overcharge is down to the fact that work is thin on the ground and the bills do need paying. most of the work on a guitar can be done at home with minimal tool requirements and a little knowledge. everything you need to know is on the net. electrics can get confusing though.[/quote] Yeah true, mysticism and fear of cocking it up completely are great ways to convince people they need to entrust their prize instrument to a magic instrument shaman, but if you're handy (like you obviously are), it's easy to think everyone else is. In my experience the majority of players just want to play.

[quote name='BurritoBass' post='1100715' date='Jan 24 2011, 02:02 PM']The Linebackers were around that time (I was in Sixth Form late 80s early 90s). They had a poor reputation but a friend of mine who was regarded as a good bassist at the time had one and swore by his.[/quote] Hah, me too (1988), although I remember them as having a good rep for reliability but weren't that cool, in spite of the Tony Iommi connection.

There are Squiers and there are Squiers - most if not all Squiers are Chinese made nowadays and won't have had the attention to detail an 80s JV Squier had, but they're actually pretty good (even the mega cheap Affinity series look good and work well). I've played a 1982 Squier Precision for over 20 years and it's been a perfect workhorse even though some people didn't think it was a 'real' guitar because it wasn't made in the good 'ol US of A... The Affinity series have alder bodies, not plywood - the days of cheapo plywood guitars are long behind us now.

It's about time a manufacturer gave everyone all the possible options without making the front of the guitar look like an Airbus flight deck, but the thing I like most about having a few different basses to choose from is they [i]feel[/i] different - I've yet to find a bass that can convert from a Precision neck to a Jazz neck then shrinking down to a Hofner violin short scale with a hollow body. I've no doubt EBMM have squeezed just about every tonal possibility out of their two humbuckers but changing musical styles is about more than just the sound IMO, and that's asides from the issue of strings. Maybe Ernie Ball are working on a bass string that converts from stainless round wound to nylon tape wound just by squeezing the ball end. I'll buy a pack of those