Skybone

Obviously, you have to be interested in Ric's to read the book, but it is full of useful info regarding the history of the Ric basses, colours, models, year codes etc. Plenty of very good pictures.

Tha reet cocker? Welcome aboard

Welcome aboard

Spend quality time with your wife. Explain to the band you let them know you weren't available that night, if they accept this, move on, if they don't, you move on & find a new band. But I agree with the quotes too.

A lot depends on your financial situation, especially if you've committed to lessons. If you can afford the Jazz AND the lessons, then go for it. If you can't afford the Jazz and the lessons, stick with taking the lessons, learn some more, and then buy the Jazz afterwards. Definitely agree with "try one out first".

I had a nosey at Andertons and a few other shops today, to check on the pricing. Sure enough, they're currently charging the full UK RRP for the Helix & LT, where most other shops are continuing to discount both units. Still can't afford one, but still want an LT.

You can always trace it, scan it & email it to them. Yes, Tim has made 2 scratchplates for me in the past, both clear single ply 'plates with a print behind. Very good quality, but can be a tad flimsy if a pickup is mounted directly on the 'plate.

Unfortunately, that is too true.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1501752972' post='3347074'] Rather than pick [i][b]sizes[/b][/i], I find it's pick [i][b]hardness [/b][/i]that makes the biggest difference. I always use picks made of Delrin and I have two types - similar but different. Switching from the orange (thicker) to the red (thinner) has a surprising amount of impact on my sound and my playing style. [/quote] ^ This Try experimenting with different picks, even picks of the same thickness, but made of different materials, like nylon (flexible) or wood/metal (not flexible). When I played with a pick, I always preferred a softer material, as they gave a slightly softer attack on the strings. Well, I liked it anyway. Just play fingerstyle these days, sounds far better to my ears.

The bass you have access to.

It seems that around here, 85-90% of bands do covers, young, old, inbetween, mostly covers. There's a few bands playing their own songs, but not many unfortunately. Personally, I've always found doing covers a bit boring, because "you've got to play it like the original", some of the best covers I've heard have been a bands interpretation of a song, played in their style. I remember being "berated" by the guitarist of a band I was in, because I wasn't playing the song right. "Which bit", asks I, "the pauses in the bit there are out, you aren't playing it like the original". Pretty much sums up my experience of doing covers "You're not playing it right", sorry, but I bet the band that recorded the song originally never quite play it "right" either.

I bought the Dremel 3000 with the 15 attachments a couple of years back for another project, so it already has the sanding attachments & cutting discs. IIRC, the router attachment is about £14, might be well worth it.

It sounds like I need to make a trip to Glasgow when funds allow!

[b][u]Style[/u][/b] Traditional or custom - Traditional: Rickenbacker 4001/4003/4004 No of strings - 4 [b][u]Woods[/u][/b] Body (inc finish) – flame maple & walnut, natural finish Neck – maple (through neck) Fretboard – rosewood / pau ferro / bubinga with triangle inlays [b][u]Hardware[/u][/b] Machine heads/tuners – Schaller Nut (material and width) – graphite / tusq, 4003 width (approx. 43mm) Frets – 20/21 Pickups – Ric style humbucker or single coils with RWRP wiring Pre-amp - passive Pickguard (if any) - none Bridge – 2 piece Strings – brand, gauge and type – 45-105, Stainless Steel Roundwound Controls - 2 stacked Vol / Tone knobs, pickup selector switch Other - Basically, a 4004, but with 4003 inlays & probably the 4003 bridge pickup mounting ring. Neck pickup to have the 4003 style 1" gap between the neck. Maybe have the "Vintage Tone" switch as well.

Well, that first one ended up to be too small, thanks to some very dodgy sanding and a dreadful pickup hole. So, decided to have a second shot at it, this time using the jigsaw. Cutting out the shape was fine, much quicker than using the Dremel, though I thoroughly managed to make a complete and utter mess of the pickup hole again. Back to the drawing board I think. Maybe invest in the Dremel Router attachment?

There seems to be endless numbers of channels showing the same videos over and over again (bit like most radio stations, but with pictures). BBC Scotland & BBC Alba always seem to have some live music somewhere, the Quay Sessions, bits of Heb Celt, the Trans Atlantic Sessions, Belladrum. I suppose that it's more down to money than logistics, but it would be good to have more live music on the telly. Something like The Tube would be great.

Trace were everywhere in the 80's and 90's, well, until Gibson bought them and moved production from the UK and basically killed the brand. Ashdown came out of the ashes and have filled the space that Trace used to have (which is mildly ironic, seeing as they were the same people). I remember playing guitar in a band where the bassist fried at least 2 Trace rigs. One of them was his own, and it took quite a few years to get the parts to fix it.

Well, for all of their foibles, they're a great bass IMO. Shame they're so flaming expensive. Yes, the saddles are a complete pain to adjust, the mute system is useless, the bridge pickup cover generally gets binned, but they still have plenty of fans. And if you like the look, but not the old style of the 4001/4003, there's always the 4004. They're expensive though... even more so now. Dave does come across as a bit of a grumpy old chap.

Or the cable route from the control cavity to the neck pickup.

He's just a cowboy...

I was working on a project a few years back, and had to ring around to make some enquiries about a particular part of the job, so, I rang one place up, asked for the Estimating Dept. only to hear, "Yes, you need to speak to Roy Rogers". I like think I managed to conduct the enquiry conversation professionally, however, I'm not sure I pulled it off too well for sniggering most of the way through.

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1501158127' post='3342915'] I'm on the outskirts of London, and "local" guitar shops are few and far between in my area, but there's loads of choice in town. The item I'm looking at isn't stocked at many places and where it is stocked its expensive compared to ordering on line - only by 30 or 40 quid. Plenty of places I've been will set up the guitar to your liking at no extra when you buy. [/quote] I think a trip into town is in order then. If the bass you're after is only £30-40 more than online, then it's worth the trip as you're not saving that much, and you can actually get your hands on the bass and play it, the shop should do you a setup & fresh strings as part of the deal, rather than buying new strings & setting it up yourself. In comparison, there are 2 music shops about 13 miles away, there's another 1 about 50 miles away, and a few more over 100 miles away. Most of these shops only have a handful of basses in stock, and even then, it's a limited choice. Buying online is basically my only choice. When I lived in Yorkshire, there was a great shop that was only a few miles away from the house & they stocked quite a lot of really good basses, they were always worth a visit because of the service you'd get.

Try out as many as you can, and buy the one you like the most.