binky_bass

@Burns-bass - if I were a Fender man, that's the kind of Fender I'd want! Lovely bass mate.

Looked at a good number of sources and it's a fairly common place 'technique' with no where (including reports on the effects of said 'technique') mentioning any possibility of ill effects. It's a 9v battery with minimal ampage, I don't profess to say it's the wisest of ways to check a battery, but 999,999 times out of a million, it's utterly harmless.

I've had a fair few guitars/basses/amps go through my hands in the last 15 years, some bought to 'try' and then moved on when I'm bored, some bought to bring some life back into, then released back into the wild (and to practice repairs etc. on!) with only the ones I absolutely fall in love with staying with me. Through the course of that I've been lucky enough to have some particularly good deals! Curious to know what 'best ever' deals other have had over the years, which a picture or two if possible for us to perv (I mean muse) over! For me, my 'best deal ever' was definitely my Conklin 8 string USA. Bought for £300 with some definite condition issues and being told the truss rod was dead, the pre-amp was dead, the neck was warped, as well as a blown battery that contaminated the cavity as the bass had been left in a VERY damp case for a LONG time. After stripping the bass down and leaving it to air out for a week, (it stunk of damp!) I reassembled it, put in a new battery connector and was amazed to find it worked 100%. This bass will NEVER leave me as it is almost exactly what I would order if I had a spare $12,000 to order a Conklin of this spec. That's my deal of a lifetime, what's yours?

I tend to remove all batteries from all instruments when not in regular circulation. Saves forgetting about a battery and ending up with a leak which can be very destructive! I know it sounds a bit foolish, but if I'm unsure of the 'life' left in a battery, I'll touch my tongue to both terminals, if you get a VERY sour 'zing' then they're good, if it's dull and doesn't make you squint, or there is no zing at all, then they're on their way out!

Looks like you're doing a truly terrible job... you best finish it and send it to me to put in the 'bin' for you. 😁 Looks like you're doing some good work there sir! Looking forward to seeing the finished article. P.S. I like the matching headstock, shows it's unique and also not pretending to be a Warwick!

Fixed

Indeed, Vintage it is! The oddly thin upper horn and 'thigh to pickguard' bout are giveaways l.

I'm afraid I have to call double bullshít on that! To me the body looks like a Harley Benton MM copy, and the neck doesn't appear to be genuine Fender either.

Maybe when Hellzero freezes over... 🥶

Evening, Binky is an old Bunny these days, knocking on the door of 15 years. A year or so ago I noticed the 9th fret was a fraction proud which makes playing at the 8th fret 'buzzy'. It's now at the point where something needs doing... I have a fret hammer, and a fine fret leveling file, although I've never used the file in anger. Hammering the fret doesn't work either, I've tried this with fair force (nothing crazy) and no dice. From the below picture, can anyone advise what action is best to resolve the proud fret and kill the buzz. Ta. Russ.

Good purchase @JottoSW1. Top end Laney gear is really underrated stuff. These cabs are about £1000 new, so £185 is peanuts. Lully job!

Bought a pair of Guitar Repair books from Alan, absolutely flawless transaction! Would be happy to deal with again, and as we speak I'm about to deal with him again! 😂

Me: Him:

It's a Hofner B-Bass Hi-Series. Says as much on the headstock! £300 new, £180 tops second hand! I have informed him of his error, we shall see what he says!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/274356323941

It's all very subjective, the build quality was absolutely fine, no problems at all. My dislike isn't because of any fault or poor craftsmanship, mostly just down to opinion. I did find the tone the be very muddy and couldn't dial in anything particularly articulate, for me even the best tone I could find didn't cut well through the mix and just sounded lost. But do bear in mind that I an a man who has quite specific tastes in basses! I prefer a much more glassy, hifi sound so anything hollow body really won't be my cup-o-tea!

Similarly with my custom ACG and Binky... I understand that Buckeye Burl and Camphor Burl are up there in the most expensive top/back woods, and they require additional work as they are porous and often must undergo acrylic impregnation treatment. Still... both Alan at ACG and fred at Bee Basses charged a fair price, and yes the price can be based on the figure, and yes I'm sure there are subjectively 'better' figures than the woods used on the ACG and Binky, but nothing I've seen (from Alembic pictures) that could in any fairness justify the cost the are charging versus the cost Alan and Fred charged. I believe Fred gets his woods from the same source as Alembic too.

A Classico Deluxe 6 string with all the trimmings is a shade over $60,000. The top/back wood options are more expensive than the cost of my whole ACG custom 6.