All Activity

Thanks Mike, if I was closer I would come and attend for sure, it sounds truly wonderful and a lot of thought, effort and work goes into yours in Somerset. Coincidentally, you are also called Mike the name of @mikebass456 who I quoted and replied to as it seems he is fairly local, comparitively! I'm not afraid of the work. We'll see if there's interest - though there doesn't seem to be too much yet. I'll ask around the local guys too and see what they think.

Wow - your vat is high in scotland!

Given my situation (Brit living in the US... for now), the cost of living over here is astronomical. Almost everything is more expensive, with the exception of petrol and some consumer goods. And the consumer goods are getting more expensive because a certain Tango-tinted sociopath decided to add an import tax to everything not made in the States. I earn quite a lot more here than I ever earned in the UK, but have less disposable income. Groceries/shopping - anything from 50% to 100% more expensive, for sh*tter food. Medicine - don't go there. Bills - energy about the same, phone/TV/broadband much higher. Taxation - once you add up federal and state, not much different in my income bracket. Property taxes - dependent on location, but makes council tax look like a bargain in many places. Loads of "stealth" taxes too. And then, of course, you have health insurance and all its associated expenses, which is just plain usury.

It'll be Herts/Essex

Take it from me, we have it easy in the U.K compared to the U.S.A ( for now, anyway...). Relative prices is a very complex equation, of which the exchange rate is only one factor. Let me put it this way, if you are living in the U.K and struggling to afford a bass, chances are if you had the equivalent life in America you would struggle even more. It's an unforgiving place with some very harsh realities when it comes to money, especially if you don't have much.

Don't you guys know that "each of the worm-holes in fact acted as a sort of resonating chamber resulting in a lightweight instrument laced with unparalleled acoustic properties and overtones"? Luddites.

I'm half tempted by the bamboo u bass on thomann. Looking for something to bring to work on public transport then off on a bus to a pub jam

Yeah, will send some photos when I get back off holiday. i did have another good look over the bass since my posting and I believe the neck does have a satin finish to it after all, perhaps it was the lighting I viewed it under. Also, I was surprised to learn that the neck width at the nut is 39mm which is very close to a Fender Jazz width at 38mm, it’s that actual neck profile that makes it feel a bit chunky. A typical Jazz neck is a low ‘C’ profile whereas the VJ74 has a deep ‘U’ profile which I understand is similar to a ‘74 Jazz neck. Apparently the necks on the ‘75 models are much slimmer. Possibly the Ash body in conjunction with the deep profile neck is why it is quite a heavy bass, but it definitely does not have any neck dive. I’ll post some photo when I’m back, will probably do with and without the chrome covers!

Baby Universal - Tin Machine

Well, today was a landmark in the project - the neck's on! Thanks again to the Mechanical Engineering Workshop at my work, as a drill press is not one of the things I own. Of course, it's never easy and there was a small miscalculation regarding screw length... Thankfully an easy fix, the chip wasn't lost and it was a simple fix - push some glue in the void, then clamp it down with a caul covered in tape to prevent the glue adhering it to the fingerboard. A bit of sanding afterwards and it was like it never happened. So I put some old strings on it, just to see how things were. On the plus side, the strings align with the neck nicely. I have some work to do though. Even with that 2mm plate I glued into the bottom of the neck pocket and a 0.6mm shim, the action can't quite get low enough with all the saddles on the deck. Have ordered those "whole neck pocket" shims off Amazon (the ones which actually get good reviews) which will hopefully arrive on Friday. Also I have a bit of work to with regard to pole piece alignment. I enlarged the two cutouts for the mounting lugs on the left of the hole and managed to eke out a mm or so. There is still some finessing to do and then I might be able to eke out another mm and I think that'll be as good as it'll get. Anyway, a big step forward. Oh, and the bridge pickup is ordered. To get the one I want - https://roswellpickups.com/product/jm4-bridge/ - I had to order it from a dealer in South Korea of all places. So I don't expect to see that particularly soon. I have a spare pickup I could pop in there in the meantime, so it won't slow me up.

Any thoughts on the Nux Melvin Lee bass DI. No compressor but liking what I hear - I only need light compressor at most and light drive

Regular dust will do but it has to be seasoned and blessed by Fender pixies

Sod the tone wood police, LOL! I can say from experience that the woods, or at least the density of them does make a difference. Rob Green told me long ago that yes, most of the sound is from the pickups/strings/the percussive hardness of the fingerboard, but you can definitely colour the tone with a walnut tone block, etc. I've always noticed a difference when I've played a nitro bass. They definitely have their own voicings.

Interesting. I thought jazz bass 1 sounded more open, like there were more frequencies in its range. I would wonder if the body woods had an impact but that would alert the tonewood police and I don’t want to go to BC jail in this heat.

Shared on. Some nice stuff on there!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickguard You'll have to live with this I'm afraid 🤣