cameltoe

I've got some in my cupboard!

[quote name='rodl2005' post='941664' date='Sep 1 2010, 06:38 AM']www.headsupstrap.com[/quote]

Brilliant!

Not being funny, but you'd think seeing as he's asking $15,000 for a bass, he might want to sell it a bit better.

One photo? It looks like crap, and his description is no better

I know they're sought after and all....

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='941600' date='Sep 1 2010, 12:02 AM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/4-x-THROUGH-BODY-BASS-GUITAR-STRING-FERRULES-CHROME-/200258888322?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories"]These'll[/url] do ya and if you can wait for US shipping [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-FENDER-American-Standard-BASS-String-Ferrules-/300454406846?pt=Guitar_Accessories"]these[/url] will be better.[/quote]

Great! Once I've sortedt= the new tuners for my Road Worn I'll get the bridge on order.

Will get the Am ferrules now!

And then, I guess, just drill the hole all the way through the body to the same diameter as the width of the ferrule.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='941593' date='Aug 31 2010, 11:56 PM']All you need are the ferrules. The holes are the same all the way through (the ferrules catch the ball end as they narrow inside) and are normally perpendicular to the body.[/quote]

Excellent cheers.


[quote name='synaesthesia' post='941594' date='Aug 31 2010, 11:57 PM']Not to rain on your parade but look into it a bit more and you may save yourself a lot of grief, money and trouble finding strings long enough. There is no appreciable gain in sonic terms though some claim they can hear a difference. All power to those who can hear a difference, I own commercially made string through basses and guitars and have even built at least 3 basses with string through body tailpiece arrangements and I say there is no sonic difference. The backs look cool though.[/quote]

Yes you are raining on my parade!

It'll only cost me parts.

Where do all the American Standard Precision players get their strings from then?

I usually have to cut a decent amount off the end of my strings, as they're too long and have too much wind round the string post otherwise.

This is a fun project intending to add some decent upgrades to a Squier bass, so if I don't get blown away by the sonic difference it won't matter too much. I wouldn't have thought I would hear much difference from Basswood anyway.

Who knows? At least it'll look cool, like you say.

[quote name='BB2000' post='941571' date='Aug 31 2010, 11:38 PM']See what you current tuners weigh. If you've decent kitchen scales make up a few bags of sugar, flour (whatever) corresponding to a set of your current tuners, the gotoh's and the hipshots. Remove your tuners and hang each bag from your headstock in turn to see if the gotoh's would cure your problem, or if you need to go for the hipshots.

The hipshots are OK but they will look a bit silly on the bass. The Gotoh's are also available in reverse wind to match your current tuners.[/quote]

Exactly. The only thing that stopped me buying the Gotoh's tonight is that I can only find them at £130, £40 more expensive than the hipshots.

I don't suppose it matters though. If I'm spending, I'm spending. Best do it right or not at all.

A link to some discount Gotoh dealers would do!

I've already posted about possibly changing the neck on my CV Precision, and something I've always wanted to try is coverting to thru body stringing.

I have a freind who can carry out the work for me, he's very skilled and this would be no problem, however he does specialise mainly in metal work. He has all the tools needed to do this though, so was hoping for some further instructions.

Aside from a suitable bride, what other parts would I need? I know I'll need some string ferrules, but don't know where to get 'stock' fender ones, or at least true fender fitment ones.

Is it just the ferrules for the end of the sring that are needed or do I need a metal 'guide' for the strings that goes through the body? The string could just pass through the wood I guess, but I don't have an Am. St to hand to check.

Is the hole for the string the smae diameter throughout it's depth? I.e, it doesn't start off narrow, then step out wider where the ball end would be does it? Like a countersunk hole (when viewed from the back)

My plan is to buy a Fender or Gotoh bridge with string thru, possibly a High Mass Vintage (at least standard fender fitment) and fit this to the Squier, and using this as the guide for where to drill the holes.

I'm presuming that the strings do not pass through the body at an angle other than 180 degrees to the length of the body? If they do, it shouldn't be a problem so long as I can find out what the angle is.

Hopefully with a few tweak this bass should end up being a fun project, with some great little mods.

I'll get some pics up if I pull this off.

[quote name='7string' post='940132' date='Aug 30 2010, 05:30 PM']Just grab some 0000 grade wire wool and run that up and down the neck.

That'll take the heavy, stickiness off of the neck and still leave lots of lacquer there. Takes about 30 seconds and makes a world of difference. I nicknamed this a 'satinised' neck and it's an option on every setup I do.

Don't use sandpaper or anything other than 0000 grade wire wool as you might do some damage.[/quote]

Great, will try this first!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='940977' date='Aug 31 2010, 02:14 PM']If you want the lacquer off, Danish oil will seal it and gives a lovely feel, plus it is easy to put new coats on as it wears.[/quote]

Ok cheers

It's starting to annoy me though, and I don't want it to, because I love this bass.

Plus, I can use the tuners from the Road Worn for my CV Squier, which I'm planning to pimp, if no one trades for it.

It can always be put back, and lightweight tuners will only make the bass lighter!

[quote name='BB2000' post='941082' date='Aug 31 2010, 04:25 PM']Read my earlier post.[/quote]

OK thanks, I didn't realise that the product code was the correct fitment.

These look great, and I see thay weigh in at 64 grams each.

The hipshots weigh in at 47 grams, according to [url="http://www.talkbass.com/wiki/index.php/Bass_Guitar_Luthiery"]here[/url]

I'm going to weigh one of my tuners tomorrw, to see what they come in at.
Obviously there's a bit of a difference, and I can find the Hipshot's for a fair bit less (about £90 to the Gotoh's £130), BUT- they do look a bit crap TBH.
The gotoh's slot in as standard. I realise I can take it back to standard, but once they're on I won't want to take them off unless I was selling the bass (which I'm not going to).

Any further advice would be gratefully received. I'm umming and ahhing between the two.

Who buys PRS stuff anyway?

Great for playing in a recording session I'm sure.

Nothing has the bite of a good telecaster though.

I've been spoit in my band- our g'tard isn't that precious about finding his 'holy grail', just enough 'balls' to cut through the mix.

And I'd say bassists were fussier about tone, from my (admittedly short) experience. The tone, volume and correct EQ of a bass can make or break the whole sound of the band.

Who buys PRS stuff anyway?

Great for playing in a recording session

I've just sent a cheque for £370 to a guy on here for an Orange Bass Terror head. Normally, I'd want to use Paypal for any transaction at this amount of funds, but I've had nothing but good experiences from Basschat traders so far (fingers crossed) and the guy I'm buying from has an excellent history and great feedback.

Yes, it's trust based, but having been a member of various forums in my time (including a couple of Vw forums- Clubgti.com and corrado-forum.net, both excellent, and both great for buying and selling) you soon get an idea of how these sites work, and anyone dishonest is usually found out very quickly. Basschat is as good a forum as I've been on, and it really is a community. Should the worst happen, I've no doubt fellow BC'ers in the area of the 'seller' would be round there like a shot to sort it out for you.

Oli bought my RAT pedal from me.

No hassle whatsoever, easy, swift payment and a nice touch to have the funds sent over as a gift.

Recommended!

I'm definitely going to pursue the lightweight tuners, and take it from there. Thanks for all the advice so far. If the tuners themselves don't do enough then I'll look into a higher mass bridge and a bridge cover. The roadworn already has the holes drilled for the cover so it's no bother!

Can anyone tell me what size tuners I will need?

I also noticed Fender do there own lightweight tuners, as fitted to earlier Am St. Precisions, are these not really worth the effort? Just thinking they may fit the orginal holes.

I've only played the one VMJ so can only give my opinions on that. (and I was in the same position as you, choosing between the pair)

It was heavy, not as well built as the CV series, looked cheap (the neck blocks and binding appear to be just drawn on in felt tip), but I felt it sounded better than the CV. Of course, these have the Duncan pickups, but I'd say electrics aside the CV was better quality.

Depends what you want I guess. I've just chucked a different pickup in my CV.

Aren't the standard CV roundwounds D'addario XL's?

I'd be suprised if you couldn't get them to sound nice!

Good work,

Any idea where I can get these in the UK? or will I have to have them shipped over?

Also, what does it mean when they ask 'Bass side' or 'Treble side'? Or does 'Treble side' just apply to basses that have tuners upside down on the bottom of the headstock?

Do these fit the standard Fender screw holes? I notice they are standard fitment on the new 2010 American Standard Precisions, so maybe.......

*EDIT*
Doesn't look like they will, not with only one screw!

I always wanted to try a L2000, and did recently in the gallery. Lovely action and neck profile, so easy to play. But very heavy instrument.

[quote name='Balcro' post='940225' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:11 PM']Without even checking the spec, I'd guess your RW has an ash body. Beautifully resonant, but outweighed by most necks. Mine only suffers slightly in comparison to your dilemma.

+1 to what Bassassin said about the strap. The other thing that I do is to flip the tail end of the strap over to the front side of the body. Not only does this pull the angle of the neck up several degrees but it tilts the face of the strings toward you. I know it's only a temporary expedient, but it might be better than disfiguring a bass by drilling holes in it.

Balcro.[/quote]


I've no idea on earth why this should work, but it does. Tried this at rehersal tonight, and the neck did come up a couple of inches. Why does this work?

Of course my lovely, comfy padded strap now cuts into my shoulder, but it's the best I've had the Precision to balance against me.

Great advice, cheers.

Now if i could just get a strap that has padding on the back bit!

[quote name='Bassassin' post='940261' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:43 PM']You'd be surprised how much weight there is in a set of tuners - and in this instance you're basically putting 4 big lumps of steel at the end of a long lever!

Out of curiosity I just weighed some bits I have lying around:

Ibanez Blazer neck (1 fret longer than a standard P neck) - 770g

Ibby Blazer tuners, minus screws (these are a good bit smaller than Fender-type tuners) - 370g

Schaller BM full-size lightweight tuners - 190g

Considering the weight of the neck is spread along its entire length, I do think light tuners will make a big difference. I doubt you'd need to add weight to the body.

J.[/quote]

Great, thanks I'm going to try this as well I reckon. A couple of tweaks should be enough hopefully.

[quote name='Darkstrike' post='940301' date='Aug 30 2010, 08:13 PM']I'd definatly try light tuners, they make a big difference, IMHO.[/quote]

Any ideas on the best brand to go for, or are they all basically the same?

What size would I need also?

Cheers

[quote name='Balcro' post='940225' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:11 PM']Without even checking the spec, I'd guess your RW has an ash body. Beautifully resonant, but outweighed by most necks. Mine only suffers slightly in comparison to your dilemma.

+1 to what Bassassin said about the strap. The other thing that I do is to flip the tail end of the strap over to the front side of the body. Not only does this pull the angle of the neck up several degrees but it tilts the face of the strings toward you. I know it's only a temporary expedient, but it might be better than disfiguring a bass by drilling holes in it.

Balcro.[/quote]

You mean have the back of the strap on the front of the bass? Hmm, sounds interesting! Hopefully that'll help.

I wouldn't worry about disfiguring a Road Worn. It already has a few pointless holes from factory! A bit of mexican spit, some dirt, some rust.....

[quote name='essexbasscat' post='940223' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:10 PM']Interesting post. I've just checked my Roadworn P for balance and found that the neck on mine is ever so slightly heavier than the body as well.

I use a 3" stap, which seems to inhibit the neck in it's creeping tendancy towards horizontal. I do agree that the neck does seem inclined towards level, but my strap does hold it in place.

I position the height of my bass to be the same in standing as it would be sitting in a chair with both hips and knees bent close to 90 degrees each.

I wasn't aware of this issue until now, as I've yet to gig mine, but I do wonder if the neck pull on the strap will lead to shoulder discomfort on a performance of a few hours or more.

All that said, they are fantastic basses, there's hardly a day that goes by when I havn't picked mine up several times. The first time is often before I go to work in the morning, which believe me, is something new. They really are impressive Precisions - mine won't be going anywhere without me

T[/quote]

My teacher actually suggested having the bass sit the same on my body as it would in a chair, so maybe I'll look into that and try new techniques to stop my wrist curling round and causing me discomfort.

I have a 3" suede strap, and a big fat wide leather strap, but the inside of that is fairly smooth and slidy. Maybe I need a fat suede strap!

Yep they are amazing, and I'm not even thinking of getting rid, just solving this problem. I also pick it up way more than I have any other bass I've owned.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='940215' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:00 PM']Lightweight tuners (Hipshot, Gotoh, Schaller etc all do them) is the first thing that comes to mind - there's not a lot of weight in the average neck so this should make a big difference.

Maybe try using a strap with suede or similar high-friction material on the inside.

Jon.[/quote]

I have a grippy suede strap, so that's out. It does help, but the bass still 'pulls' down, and nearly always still moves a bit before it catches.

I had considered lightweight tuners but wasn't sure how much of a difference this would actually have (can anyone confirm?)- with something else on the body side it might be enough do the trick though. The reverse tuners are doing my head in anyway! (ALWAYS turning them the wrong way!)




[quote name='mcnach' post='940217' date='Aug 30 2010, 07:02 PM']Try helium balloons attached to the headstock? [/quote]

Well, it would work!

[quote name='spaz91' post='940195' date='Aug 30 2010, 06:38 PM']I know you have your eyes set on another Squier but just in case: I'm after trading my Spector Q4, would you be interested?

(Also the 60's Precision will have the same lacquered neck.)[/quote]

I'm hoping the finish won't be as thick, as it'll have a rosewood board which will be kept unfinished.

Erm, never tried a Spector. No idea what this will sound or feel like.

As you said I am really after a trade for the 'other' CV series P basses. Having said that, you never know what you're going to like until you try, but unfortunately you're a bit far from me to try the bass out! I'd be completely blind on this one. Looks nice though.

Not near Cornwall are you?

Hi there.

So I've been a big fan of Fender Precisions since I started out playing only a couple of years ago. They're pretty much the benchmark for me, they do everything I need them to do and they're really comfortable!

I recently had a lovely birthday present from my girlfriend in the form of a Road Worn Precision in Fiesta Red. It was amazing, and it feels sooooo good that I had to have it, even though it was more than she'd wanted to spend

One of the first things I noticed about it, was how light it was. It was incredible, even back-to-back with the regular Fender Classic '50's series, it felt much, much lighter. Seeing as my bass at the time was a bit of a boat-anchor I didn't figure this would be a problem.

However, a few gigs on now, I'm starting to realise that maybe the lightness of the body works against it, in terms of balance. It's great to have something light around your neck for once, but it's just, ever so slightly, weighted towards the neck.

This doesn't result in the dreaded neck-dive, but it does mean that the bass's natural hanging position, if you will, is exactly horizontal across my body. Therefore when I'm playing something a bit more technical or busy, I cannot let go of the neck even for a second. For the most part this isn't a problem, but sometimes it does make reaching stuff a bit more awkward when I have to have a certain amount of my left hand action holding the neck upwards at the angle I like it at.

At first I got around the problem by having the bass very high on the strap, which meant it could get away with hanging level as it was higher. This was fine, but I started to get pain in my right hand due to having to curl my wrist around the top of the body. It's also not ideal for playing at the very first fret, as it's more of a stretch for the left arm. I also found the top curve of the body became a bit of an obstruction.

Currently I'm spending most gigs constantly faffing with my strap, to try and find a perfect place where it's comfortable, and the 'dive' won't bother me.

My favorite position is to have the bass hang just above waist height, with the neck tilting upwards around 45 degrees. It's very comfortable for both hands and I can reach everything without a struggle. This was where I had my old MIM Precision, which didn't move from it's spot when I released the neck! It was also fine for the cheap Aria Jazz bass I just sold. But the roadworn just wants to dip it's neck down to be dead horizontal!

I'm not going to get rid of the bass, but I would like any advice or suggestions on how to get round this, or even how to ignore it. Even position advice may help.

I have wide and grippy straps, but the neck still pulls it's way down. With half my t shirt!

A friend suggested either moving the strap pins slightly (but to where?) or adding a bit of mass to the body (how?)

Any help would be fantastic. Someone must have had-and solved- this problem before!

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='940125' date='Aug 30 2010, 05:25 PM']Actually it is a P, based on the Fender '53-4 Precision.

I'd love to know what the "wiring upgrade" is as these have the simplest loom know to man. [/quote]

Yes they do. But the components can be upgraded from the cheap parts they come with to US quality stuff.

[url="http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bass_electricalwiringkits.htm"]http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bass_el...lwiringkits.htm[/url]



I'm surprised you haven't heard of this! Definitely more substantial than the hair-width wires that were in there.


[quote name='EssentialTension' post='940144' date='Aug 30 2010, 05:45 PM']Very nice, but surely it's lake placid blue not sonic blue?[/quote]

Yeah of course, I want to trade for possibly the Sonic blue '60's one, so I had that in my head. (as you can see in the post!)