Twigman

I can't sight read but I can translate dots so it would help to find where I'm going wrong...thanks

I thought my GAS had gone but I have an urge to build yet another Warmoth Dinky P but this time. despite my protestations about not liking fancy woodwork, it would have a quilt maple top dyed transparent purple with a black back and carry twin MM pickups and a status neck.....The only thing holding me back is deciding what colour hardware would go with a quilted purple top.....black or nickel?

and then there's this for colour matched polyurethane spray can: http://www.carpaintandsundries.co.uk/polyurethane-paint-aerosol-spray-can-400ml-5

Nitro lacquer here: http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/shop/ if it's polyurethane then I suggest you get it colour matched by B&Q/Dulux then dilute it and use an airbrush.

it's not really my thing but I need to find a 100% accurate tab for the theme to the "revenge of the pink panther" movie...the 1978 version with all the bass runs in the intro....I've been trying to do it be ear but something's just not quite right. An accurate tab would help me out. there's a couple of weird key changes in there too.. Anyone found a tab.... [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlDha5H_uH8[/media] This is more for my own amusement than anything else as it is so far from anything i would usually play.

The whole set, one at a time but infrequently. I have some flats that have been on my JV for about 15 years. The half rounds on my main bass get changed maybe once or twice a year.

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1444503205' post='2883769'] Your action must be like 1mm at the first fret lol. [/quote] Out of curiosity I measured my action at the 1st fret last night with the feeler gauges. The result is 0.15mm. 1mm would be impossibly high.

No neck plate? Are J Pickups right? All looks very odd to me

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1444912424' post='2887240'] You guys with loads of basses (of which I am most jelous) do you have cases for them all? If so, where are the cases? I had six basses at one point last year and they didn't take up that much space on the rack thingy I've got, but the cases took up half the bedroom... [/quote] i have 1 flight case, 1 hard case, 1 gig bag and a SKB bass safe.....they're either under the stairs or in the spare room, apart from the gig bag which is propped up against the wall in the lounge!

I prefer what I call the best of both worlds: self build a Warmoth custom (I've got 3). You get the 'usual suspects' shapes and necks....but put a satin nitro finish on the neck and you get the matte non-sticky tactile finish that you won'r get off the shelf. You can load the body and neck with high end parts - I use babicz bridges and gotoh gbr690 aluminium tuners...and choose any pickup configuration you like and load it with any of the aftermarket preamps. Set it up properly and you'll end up with a quality bitsa that's better than any Fender... Downside is you'll never recoup anywhere near the initial outlay when selling,.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1444034808' post='2879528'] That's because Fender won't allow them to sell new MiJ instruments for export. Anything second hand and pretty much any other make new is fine. TBH I can't really see the point of buying anything new from Ishibashi because IME pretty much everything turns up second hand at some point most often still in excellent condition and of course much cheaper. [/quote] I had a similar problem getting some new car wheels out of japan (manufacturer was brokering a EU distribution deal and didn't want a grey market)....In the car world there are import/export guys based in Japan through which such a deal can be done insofar as he buys from the shop then ships on to you....there must be an opening there in the guitar world for a Japanese resident.

[quote name='JonnyScaramanga' timestamp='1444861214' post='2886884'] I think the 1993/94 date I found was for a Japanese Fender, not a Squier. How do I date a Squier, other than guessing? [/quote] Fender and Squier shared the serial numbers for the MIJ stuff

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1444726979' post='2885313'] Maybe, but a drummer, old fruit. Let's see, now; 'Electronic'... 'Electronic'... Nope. Doesn't ring a bell. Carl... Carl... Carl Palmer..? Carl Allen..? Carl Coleti..? Jimmy Carl Black..? Nope, no 'Martin' there. Sorry. [/quote] and Lego - why did nobody mention Lego?

https://www.eurotubes.com/store/pc/ampeg%20v4bh.htm I found this page seems to explain it well

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Ampeg+V4BH

[quote name='DavidMcKay' timestamp='1444860048' post='2886867'] I get that for the more 'way out' specced guitars but a lot of the boutique basses are a combination of high end components configured to suit, as opposed to crafted by angels from 'golden unicorn horns' and such like! [/quote] And many with figured 'coffee table' tops....and fancy woodwork...and then there's the crazy shapes (eg Ritter) and the FAT neck profiles (eg Spector)..... I guess I just like 4 strings/ slim profile narrow necks and plain colours...and I guess I'm not alone. Demand for the boutique basses is lower than the usual suspects and so the secondhand price has to reflect this. basic market economics.

[quote name='DavidMcKay' timestamp='1444859339' post='2886856'] I guess I'm saying that the bespoke stuff bottoms out lower than the trade names / usual suspects. [/quote] Same is true for many of the luxury cars...BMW 6/7 series go for less than high specced 3 series after a few years....

[quote name='DavidMcKay' timestamp='1444859339' post='2886856'] I guess I'm saying that the bespoke stuff bottoms out lower than the trade names / usual suspects. Seems like people are prepared to pay a bit more for 'labels' than a comparable custom job once they are in the second hand bracket. [/quote] Bespoke is just that though...the original buyer's specification...one man's heaven is another man's hell. The one thing I notice with a lot of high end boutique basses is what appalling taste the original purchaser must've had...rarely do any appeal aesthetically. With the 'usual suspects' you know what you're getting.

It's like any other market....the high end stuff depreciates quicker than the mid range stuff. Take cars for instance ,luxury top of the range Mercs and BMW 6 or 7 series, even the likes of Ferrari and lamborghini take huge depreciation hits as soon as they hit the road. Why should basses be any different?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1444818104' post='2886278'] Watch out for down tuning. If you find yourself needing low Eb and D and some of the runs seem very awkward to play then the song may well have been recorded with non-standard tuning. OTOH there's more than a few songs I know of that have been recorded with the guitars tuned to Eb which are easier to play with the bass left in standard tuning rather than down-tuned to match. [/quote] more than once, in the old analogue days we changed the speed of the tape when mixing down - as a result the song sounds in a different key to the one it was recorded in Live we'd generally play it in the key it was recorded

What I mean is.....I have 'Original's in 3 of my basses. I've got my hands on a new CS62. If I swap the pickup out in one of the basses will I notice a difference between the two, given it's the same bass? Is it worth the effort ? (complicated by the fact that i would have to desolder the pickup from the brass plate and resolder to the cut down brass plate in the bass I want to try this in as the chosen bass does not have a pickguard and so has closer fitting rout that doesn't take the full size fender plate). Or should I just save the CS62 for my next build?

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1444392682' post='2882849'] Tsk tsk young man !! We are not allowed to mention the great one...just look and be astonished [/quote] So what's the back story here? A couple of years ago almost every MDP masterpiece was linked here for critique / ridicule. Is it really not the done thing anymore?

Mick Karn only sounded so wobbly because his intonation sucked - he could never hit the note. Edited to add a smilie but can't find anything appropriate

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1444764246' post='2885805'] [url="https://flic.kr/p/fhJnhd"][/url] My 9lb 6oz of Wal loveliness. No neck dive, no neck twist and I happen to think it's a loverly bit of wood This will be my one and only contribution to this thread. [/quote] First thing that entered my head on seeing that pic was ' toilet seat lid' I think Wals sound great (in the right hands) but look pants.

Fender seem to nowadays have a variety of preceision pickups available. They all look the same. They have vastly varying prices. The 'Original' and the 'Custom Shop 62' both have an DC resistance of 10.5kOhm.... I'd expect them to sound very similar yet many suggest they prefer the CS62 to the 'Original'...is there a placebo effect going on here? What are the differences? The 'pure vintage 58' has a DC resistance of 10.4kOhm - is this going to be much different? - It has the raised A pole pieces for 'period authenticity' i suppose. The 'Pure Vintage 63' has 12.0kOhm so i assume this is a hotter output. How different do they sound from each other?