Dom in Dorset

this place is great for cheap generic parts : [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CH-GUITARS"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CH-GUITARS[/url]

Get a copy of this book: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Your-Own-Electric-Guitar/dp/0953104907/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1286654194&sr=8-3"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Make-Your-Own-Elec...4194&sr=8-3[/url]

[url="http://www.roballenguitars.com/mb2.html"]http://www.roballenguitars.com/mb2.html[/url]

Strings make a huge difference, I use black nylon wound some like the ebony board/rounwound combo, there must be those who favour regular flats. It might be worth getting a cheap bass de-fretting it and experiment with string types even pickups to narrow your options before you splash out on something special.

A quick look at timber prices at my local wood turning shop shows little difference. There are however several typesv of rosewood some of wich may be more expensive.

Piezo bridges can be bought from several outlets , CH guitars do a cheap one , I've got some but not tried them yet. Acoustic basses use piezos, you can also buy these pick ups and pre-amps on ebay. I built myself an acoustic fretless with one , it's my main bass now.

I'll take it. how much?

If they are offering you some free strings take them, I can't see how they can check up on you to make sure you use them and you never know they might be good.

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='963606' date='Sep 21 2010, 06:08 PM']OK, I'm imagining Steve Harris. Now what do I do?[/quote] Tell him to re-string his bass and stop messing up my contribution to the debate.

[quote name='KERMITNT' post='963546' date='Sep 21 2010, 05:04 PM']sorry i have to say it the inovation slaping the bass and roundwoond strings other techniques as well make the bass sound awsome[/quote] Roundwound strings +1 try to imagine any rock bass player using flats. I read somewhere that it was down to John Entwistle nagging Rotosound that roundwounds for bass came into being (I could be wrong) before that it was all flats.

I have exactly the same problem + even when I'm using my own amp and get the time required to ballance to volume between my basses the singer launches into the intro before I've had a chance to change! solution...twin neck under construction.

"Because the first one is not worth using for kindling. I bought a finished jazz neck from this lot and it was totally crap. Finishing on it had been done by a madman with a sanding machine and the nut was so gigantic that when I attached it to my bass body and put strings on the action was so high I could have used the bass to shoot arrows with." - almost totally the opposite of my experience! the only issue i had with the finish (they could be described as unfinished) was a couple of minore dinks that i sanded out.There were no visible sanding marks , there were a few ragged bits around the holes for the machine heads. The nuts were the standard size that I've seen on any jazz bass, I would expect them to be slightly oversized to alow for some adjustment. I've also seen the same criticisms given to more expensive necks when I posted a similar enquiry last year! I think it depends how much work you are prepared to do yourself, the more you spend the less you should have to do to it.

I did some research on this a while ago and as far as I could tell people had good and bad experiences with just about every brand neck. On the whole the £59 necks had slightly less bad reviews than the £150 ones! As I was making a twin neck I went with CH guitars (£59) to keep costs down, and so far I'm happy with them. The finish needed a bit of attention (ten minutes with some sand paper). I bought jazz necks and they look quite delicately made, not the chunky things you sometimes get on a cheap bass. I haven't finished the job yet so I have no idea how they play.

New neck and body! I'll get an off the peg neck and make a body , probably from recovered or discovered timber. i've got lots of nice wood in the workshop but i like the idea of a total one off using some interesting bit of timber. I've got another build on the go at the moment (twin neck in build diaries) so I'm in no rush, a suitable body will present it'self in time.

It should be an interesting project, thanks for your input, it's helpful to know what I've got before i decide what I'm going to do with it.

i've seen a couple of shines, they do a six string that's good value. they seem nicely made for the money, the one I now own isn't to my taste in looks, if the hardware can be extracted without doing too much damage the body will be available if anyone wants it (postage only or collect for free)

"Well it might be Vol, pick-up pan/select, bass, mid, treble, thats the most common set up" - so , pick up selection but blended rather than neck or both or bridge and a three band eq?

I've bought a broken one of these: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SHINE-GUITAR-ELECTRIC-BASS-5-FIVE-STRING-SBA-625-NEW-/370356711461?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item563afaf025"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SHINE-GUITAR-ELECTRI...=item563afaf025[/url] the neck is f#cked and I hate the body so i'm going to harvest the hardware and build something else with it. the battery box is also missing so i can't play it to find out (yet) Question: what do all the knobs do? I'm not used to active basses so I'm wondering what I've got , vol, vol, tone , tone, ?

Re: my earlier comment about "the worst bass I've ever seen, " I saw it again today, it's labeled "Benson."

I've contoured the body, sanded it and drowned it in linseed oil. i'm goingf to give it a final buff with bees wax before final assembly. the headstocks have been shaped and the necks stained. Next it's scratch plates and wires...

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='954748' date='Sep 13 2010, 01:55 PM']I accumulate spare parts until I have an especially boring day, then I have a new bass to play with.[/quote] I'm also doing this, it's also worth a trawl through ebay see what odds and ends turn up.

Don't spend too much on your first project, treat it as a first lesson in instrument making. The Thoman kits : it says on the website "Harley Benton Bass", I've not tried the kit but I've seen a Harley Benton bass and in my opinion it was the worst bass I've ever come across. The one I saw appeared to be factory made, neck pocket cut so the neck sat at an amazing angle giving a sky high action. If I remember rightly it had a short scale neck. Have a look at CH guitars : [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CH-GUITARS"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/CH-GUITARS[/url] For about £200 you could mix and match parts to build something prety descent. I've used CH many times now, unless I'm after a certain brand they are my first port of call.

after the gig , usually nobody. Once , before a gig (bass strapped on ready to go) ......."What's your bass player's name?!!!!"

I've always rated Pegg but it wasn't until Glastonbury last year that I really appreciated his genious.I saw him playing from less than 20' away, stunning stuff, throwing in open strings all over the place, he knows that neck inside out.

I put rounds on a rosewood board and they started chewinging it very quickly. Ebony seems to cope with rounds better. I'm a big fan of nylons.