KiOgon

PM incoming

We did a great deal/trade & Joe was very understanding when the couriers messed us about for nearly a week! It may not have been the simplest way to do a trade but it all worked out fine eventually Great guy to deal with, the bass I got is exactly as described or better! Just needs a good setup which I love doing, keeps me out of mischief + I believe we are both happy with our new toys, so that's a perfect end to things. I can highly recommend Joe to deal with. Cheerz, John

[quote name='walbassist' post='963492' date='Sep 21 2010, 04:27 PM']Wow that's old skool [/quote] Yep - power to the email! (In a Wolfy voice of course) PS: See my edit above ^^^^^^^^^^ Post #24

2 working days, 2 emails - no reply yet. Come on Stringbusters EDIT: Amazing! Just checked my email & they've come through: "Hello John, Sorry, we didn't seem to pick up the first email. In short, no - they shouldn't be like that. We've had a check on some other sets and the E's are actually shorter but only by about an inch. If all of your strings are through body, theoretically one of these E strings should sit the right side of your nut, judging by your pictures. We can get one off in the post to you to try, we'll enclose an SAE to return the short one back to us in so we can return it to La Bella as well. Let us know if it's still problematic for you though and we'll see what else can be done. Kind regards, A @ Stringbusters" Result

[quote name='lanark' post='963166' date='Sep 21 2010, 11:59 AM']Yes, I know it costs less than £300, but it's the first brand new bass guitar I've bought, so I'ma little excited. I'm picking it up from Mor Music in York this afternoon. They've fitted it with flats for no extra charge (and given me the original rounds as well) and given it a full set up. Any advice on what I should do with it when I get it home (even obvious stuff please) apart from play it? Unfortunately, today's my wedding anniversary as well, so I don't think I'll get away with playing it all night .... maybe tomorrow.[/quote] Very important - first you must take some pictures & post them here! C'mon share the moment Nice of the shop to fit flats for you FOC & a setup, sounds like a good place, long way from me though It's not the cost that matters, it's what you do with it that counts! Congrats on the new bass & the anniversary - have fun Cheerz, John

[quote name='Jigster' post='957106' date='Sep 15 2010, 12:37 PM']hey out7ined have opened the bass up and what you were saying may well be right in terms of the vol control not being very functional - looks scorched doesn't it - but I was playing the bass this morning and the vol actually does work, but within a VERY small parameter.. oh well, i like it loud anyways!! if i get some time i might buy a new pot and re-apply.. thanks for your help with this generally [attachment=58816:IMG_0833.jpg][/quote] Looking at the right hand edge of your picture - if that blob of solder is supposed to be joining the '3rd lug' of the pot to the body - I'd say it ain't! That would probably account for the pot 'working but within a very small parameter'. Have you got a meter? Check for continuity between the '3rd lug' & the pot body, also you can try moving the lug away with a small screwdriver, you'll see if the solder is holding it or not. As said already you may need to clean up the area to solder with a file/emery paper. You also need enough heat to ensure the solder flows. I still use the good old fashioned 'real solder' with 60% lead 40% tin approx from memory, with flux built in. I don't think you can buy it these days so if what you are using is 'new stuff' it's probably far more difficult to get a good joint with. Cheerz, John

[quote name='Jigster' post='960148' date='Sep 18 2010, 08:40 AM']Can I put a 20 fret neck on a bass body that originally had 21 frets? Will there be any intonation issues?[/quote] Measure the new neck from nut to 12th fret, lets say 17", then temporarily put the neck in position & measure the same distance again from 12th fret to the bridge. If the adjustment on the saddles is enough to cover a range of adjustment for intonation you should be OK without having to move the bridge. Hope that makes sense! Cheerz, John

How about [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/25-4mm-BLACK-RED-HEAT-SHRINK-TUBING-4pcs-x-300mm-/400155488341?pt=UK_BOI_Electrical_Components_Supplies_ET&hash=item5d2b203055"]Heat Shrink Tubing[/url] over the foam? Cheerz, John

Vicky is sure lucky to have a mate like you Jack, good on ya! I can't think of anything more for the bass build, but let me know if she's using pedals & needs a PSU, I'm happy to donate one for her. Best wishes to Vicky, Cheerz, John

[quote name='RhysP' post='960728' date='Sep 18 2010, 08:05 PM']My sister would deck you if she heard you say that - she thinks he's gorgeous.............. [/quote] She definitely should have gone to specsavers

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='961314' date='Sep 19 2010, 05:02 PM']+1. In each of my La Bella sets all four strings have close to the same length of non-silked string.[/quote] Thanks for that Dave - reassurance at last! Cheerz, John

I started to watch the Alex Bershadsky solo video but I couldn't get it to run at the right speed Not my cup of tea ta but have fun if you're going.

[quote name='walbassist' post='960924' date='Sep 19 2010, 08:50 AM']Looks like a medium scale E string was packed with a long scale set to me. I've never had that problem with the La Bella sets I've used in the past or now.[/quote] Yep! That's exactly what it looks like to me too Cheerz, John

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='960899' date='Sep 19 2010, 07:01 AM']Oh.. that is odd. I'd see what La Bella have to say...[/quote] I've found the invoice from Stringbusters so I've sent them an email with pictures, we'll see what they say. I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for a reply from La Bella direct, never seem to have much luck with replies from across the pond! Cheerz, John

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='960892' date='Sep 19 2010, 06:20 AM']^^ what he said. I'm afraid to say, you should have bought a long-scale set. As for the stiffness & size of the E.. If you've gone from a .100 E to a .110, it's bound to be a shock. The 54's / Jamersons are pretty extreme. Maybe you should have tried some more 'normal' La Bellas, like the FLs, first...?[/quote] They are a long scale set how else would the A D & G be just right? It's only the E that's short. To be pedantic the 'scale length' doesn't change strung through body or bridge I use GHS on my '51 P bass - bridge mounted & the same GHS on my Skjold 35" scale, they fit either just right. The silks are 3/4" - 1" away from the Skjold nut & 2" from the P bass. The GHS 3060s E string measures .107/.108" & they are sweet & flexible on both so I wasn't expecting the extra 2 or 3 thou to make a big difference in feel, it's not like these are the first flats I've tried, I've used mostly flats for 45 years! I do like a big G string , preferably over .050" so the LaBellas seemed a good choice, size wise. I never expected the E string to be effectively 2" shorter than the other 3 - that's the thing Edit: To make matters worse, I've just noticed on te LaBella packet - "Perfectly Balanced Sets" - I don't think so

Top guy, Graham bought one of my custom PSUs, easy to deal with & no problems, highly recommended. Cheerz, John

Top guy, sold a PSU to Chris, no problems easy to deal with, highly recommended. Cheerz, John

[quote name='Johnston' post='960429' date='Sep 18 2010, 02:45 PM']I thought Labella didn't recommend that you put flats through the body!![/quote] I've never seen any official recommendation other than don't wind the main string around the peg, oh and never let your bollx dangle in the dust Not to mention that these are "Original 1954 Oldies" & how did 1951 - 1954 in fact until 1957 P basses have their strings fitted? Cheerz, John

[quote name='chris_b' post='960423' date='Sep 18 2010, 02:38 PM']You can string the E through the bridge.[/quote] Yeah but no but yeah but - no I can't - if you look at the pic of the E over the bridge you'll see how the winds have started to 'open' & the strings will all have a kink which is not nice if you then put the same strings through the bridge ending up with a not nice bit of string about 1 or 1.5" from the saddles, right where you might want to pluck!

I've just fitted a set of La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass Flatwounds (1954 Oldies) to my Frank Bello & I'm a bit p155ed with them, more specifically - the E string. It has to be said I'm a bit fussy about things & strings so as the E is like a QE2 anchor cable I thought I'd check the nut fit as I was going up from a .100" to the .110" & the old Fender seemed to sit a bit high in the nut. Also because I use a Hipshot xtender I wanted to make sure it had a free run through the nut. I spent a long time fettling & filing the nut slots to get a perfect fit on all strings, judging by the last 1/2" or so of the string before the silk. The Frank Bello has a BadAss3 fitted as standard, again 'as standard' is strung through body. When I fitted the G, D & A I was happy but then the E - it's not bloody long enough! The silk sits in the nut but worse than that, the flatwound section stops almost exactly where the silk starts, so the part of string actually in contact with the nut is not even smooth or even & with using the extender the silk ain't going to last long rubbing against the nut. Another moan is the rigidity & rough spiral of the silk covered ends that wrap around the pegs, they're really hard to guide neatly when winding on. Annoying or what? The other 3 silks end nicely in line about 2" above the nut, if the E was the same it would be perfect, with the main body of the string just on the tuner peg. At first I didn't like the feel or the tension of them either but tweaked the truss rod & left it overnight to settle. This morning I gave it a complete setup, the E sits a fraction low in the nut but I was able to get a good low action on all strings, with the E .100" clear from last fret, the A, D & G .080" or under, with .012" clearance under a 2' steel rule on the 8th fret. I'm hoping the stiffness eases a bit when they've had a good stretch & workout! I nearly went back to the Fenders straight away, or maybe try some Status flats but at £25 a set I'll give them a fair try + of course I'll need a new nut now as well before I can change to anything less than a .110" E. Sorry meant to post in miscellaneous etc. Cheerz, John

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='953211' date='Sep 11 2010, 10:16 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-51-Precision-Bass-Butterscotch-MIJ-/140452289373?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item20b39bdb5d"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-51-Precision-...=item20b39bdb5d[/url] I had one of these briefly (in original spec, I hasten to add). I have to wonder what this sounds like.[/quote] Now I wonder my '51 P RI MIJ is a T05**** serial number & I was told when bought, (from a well known Nick on here), it's a 94/95, Fender website & Guitar dater project both agree on 94/95. It looks as good as a 2009 mind you