Andyjr1515 Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 (edited) Hi I know that Shockwave is doing a HB deko refinish thread in the Build Diaries (it looks great, Shockwave ), but I thought it was worth popping this in the Bass Guitars section. I won't go through the 'how', just the 'what' which has made an unbelievably good value acoustic bass (less than £50, Chris?) into an unbelievably good acoustic bass, period. It is Chris Sharman's deko 5-string, as mentioned in Annoying Twit's epic thread. a ) The first recommendation I made to Chris was to fit some D'Addario black nylons. Yes - they cost almost as much as the bass, but I lent him my 4-string deko to see how much difference it makes. He gave me almost immediate thumbs up: I had to needle file the bridge a little to get the generous blue bindings through the holes (and should have tidied up the resulting fluff on the B string ) b ) The frets needed levelling in a reasonable number of places. Not bad enough to have to get the levelling beam out but there were high-spots on a good number of the frets c) Tightened the trussrod about 1/2 turn to get the right amount of relief d) The action, however, was far too low....unplayable. With a fixed neck, the only way is to raise the saddle. As a temporary fix, all I could do was shim up one side while I ordered a deeper saddle. The result was fine for acoustic (and MASSIVE improvement) but that's no good at all for a piezo pickup which needs flat contact right across the saddle. Good feedback from Chris, however. e) Bone saddle ordered, thinned and shaped. Look at the difference in height from the supplied plastic one. The little notch sanded out, by the way, is because I noticed that the very end of the piezo (not under any string) was high. If the notch wasn't there, it would lift the saddle off a bit on the treble side and the G string (and maybe more) wouldn't sing right through an amp. By the way, although it stinks when you sand or cut it, there is NOTHING quite like bone for saddles (or nuts for that matter) of acoustics - whether basses or 6-string steels. It transmits significantly more of the vibrations to the soundboard and piezo than plastic. Cheap too, even with the cost of the clothes peg you'll need to stick on your nose. f) Final tweak was to file the B and E string nut slots down a bit: The result is a really nice looking acoustic bass... : ...but one that - at least to my ears - also sounds great too. The best judge of that, of course, is Chris himself. What's your verdict, Chris? Edited August 19, 2015 by Andyjr1515 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Sharman Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 My verdict? - Top Job! It now sounds even across all the strings both acoustically and amplified and plays far better than I would have expected for an instrument of that cost. The work you have done on it is certainly up to your usual standards Andy, for which I once again find myself in your debt. From what I recall the bass did cost about £50 delivered although I dont know the exact cost as it was a birthday present from Mrs S but it was somewhere about there. Funnily enough one of my friends popped round this afternoon and is considering having you work over his acoustic bass when he gets it back as he is really taken with those D'Addario strings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 You'll find anywhere that sells Pet Food usually sells Boiled Bones. Those not stuffed with marrow make a very cheap source of Bone Bridges! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1440008700' post='2847564'] You'll find anywhere that sells Pet Food usually sells Boiled Bones. Those not stuffed with marrow make a very cheap source of Bone Bridges! [/quote] Good lead! Presumably gives you a nice shiny coat too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted August 19, 2015 Share Posted August 19, 2015 [quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1440012314' post='2847618'] Good lead! Presumably gives you a nice shiny coat too [/quote] Yes,..... the Pet Food Shops do usually sell leads...! Seriously, depending on the size and shape of the bone you can usually get 4 Bridges from a £1 Bone and the more you make the quicker you get! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted August 19, 2015 Author Share Posted August 19, 2015 [quote name='Chris Sharman' timestamp='1440008170' post='2847561'] My verdict? - Top Job! It now sounds even across all the strings both acoustically and amplified and plays far better than I would have expected for an instrument of that cost. [/quote] So, there you have it. Harley Benton acoustic basses (and many of their other products) can be very readily made into something that bangs well over the buck...and Chris's was one of the quality rejects!!!! The full price ones are even better and still bloody cheap. Rubbish news for aspiring builders like me, of course, but great news for the guitaring and bass-playing public in general. Can't think that there's ever been a better time for a huge choice of quality products at crazily low prices (not just HB but Epiphone, Squier, Ibanez, etc, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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