Leaderboard

And as promised, some fancy pics

Well, the good news is that you don't hate Tobacco Sunburst. You hate Three Tone Sunburst.

It's 4 years since I bought my first PB-50. I'd just signed up on BC and had no idea who Thomann were, that soon changed First time I viewed their site the PB-50 caught my eye but it was £76 and £76 buys you nothing remotely playable. Bought one anyway just out of interest. 2 1/2days later a big box of goodness arrived. Now I don't have a list of conditions when it comes to basses, I like a decent neck, a bridge that holds strings,tuners that hold a string in tune and a pickup to convey bassy sounds. PB-50 delivered that Interest in these spike everytime @discreet posts one of his mods and I will post headstock templates out to any BC'er who fancies having a go themselves. The templates started off for use with a router and guided cutter but as yet no-one seems to have used one. @MrTea suggested I do a post on shaping the headstock so here goes First thing I forgot was to take a before photo so here's the Thomann link. https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_50_sb_vintage_series.htm I use the Mike Dirnt headstock shape and print on 200gsm card The set up on the newly delivered PB was great so the neck was left attached. Removing the tuners was first job. I'm working from the back so left the bushings in place. The screws can sometimes be awkward so if you've an old PH1 screwdriver,file the tip down and it'll seat itself into the screwhead better. The printed template has the tuners marked so align them with the holes and draw round the template. Remove the large areas with a copingsaw or in my case a pullsaw. ( in the photo is a router template made from doubled up floor tile) This is the rough cut, then I used a rasp to clean and round the shape. Sorry I forgot to take a photo after the rasp stage. After getting close to the pencil lines it's sanding next. Make sure you check the front face when sanding as you may not be sanding vertical. If you veered away from the lines you can hide it by sweetening the edges of the headstock. At the tip there it looks irregular. I managed to chip a bit of the front face so it's actually tape holding the glued in chip you're seeing The boss reckons I should tackle the 2 saddle bridge next. I masked off the edges so I had witness points then removed the bridge. Lady Luck came calling and the centre screw on the 2 saddle bridge matched the centre screw on the PB's bridge but I glued and plugged the other 4 holes.After fitting the bridge using only the centre screw I added the new Herrick pickup,this way I could run a string from saddle to nut and see they went over the pole pieces. Another thing was the bridge base was smaller then the PB one so the machine screw on D&G got swapped for a longer one (just robbed it from the PB's bridge) All lining up the back got masking tape before I drilled for the through body holes. Thought I'd a picture of the 4mm pilot holes but guess not The string ferrules had a 9.5mmm body but the rims were 12mm. Marked the depth on a 12mm flat bit and drilled for the rims,then swapped to a 9.5mm countersink. Tapped the ferrules in with a mallet and it was ready for strings and set up. I really shouldn't have bothered with the 2 saddle bridge, intonation is a hassle and I've decided to fit an ashtray There's also a bit too much shiny wood showing so I'm thinking about a scratchplate. Still undecided about the logo, I wished the HB logo had been in a different area so I didn't cut into it Looking at it now I'll get a Benton logo printed up and fit that. No shame in playing the HB

Strong word isn't it? Hate? A couple of years ago I had a dream (nightmare) that I was driving around my locale, visiting friends, in a clapped out old Austin Metro. The jalopy in question had been finished in tobacco sunburst by a previous, semi-professional, pensionable rock guitar wombler, who needed to express his intrinsic love of everything rock and/or metal to absolutely everybody he passed on the street. I'd found myself the owner by virtue of being unable to afford anything else. Each body panel had individually been resprayed tobacco sunburst... the roof, wings, doors, hatch and bonnet each had that brown middle moving into red and then to black along its edges. The stanchions that held up the roof were black, as were the bumpers. I woke up and was awoken to a basic internal disgust for any guitar with a burst finish. At first, I thought it a mildly amusing figment of my imagination, one that I would soon forget. But I can't. My dislike tobacco sunburst has since extended to any type of burst finish, surpassing my previous best dislike of coffee table basses... even more that the nausea I feel when I see quilted maple, which looks to me like baby has just vomited a Farley's Rusk on my shoulder. I despise it. I see perfectly good basses that I'd like perhaps to own, but couldn't entertain the thought of buying just because of their finish. Is it just me? What is my problem?

I'm not a carpenter and use a drill guide like this one.

The law's been pretty clear about two tone sunbursts for the last 9 years or so. Here's a breakdown of what's legal and what isn't: The sentencing tariffs vary from community service (for a RW board P-Lyte) to a minimum 5 years custodial (for an unbound Ric 4000).

I've no time for that bandy legged, aren't I hard, Poundland Stevie Wonder-U-Like dwarf... but my God he always got lucky with rhythm sections.

Remember to set up a dedicated user on the laptop and have all internet, notifications, alarms and updates switched off. Otherwise prepare for embarrassing hour long waits whilst it updates and unmistakeable windows themes tunes coming in at will. Even a usb going on and off will cause the alarms. And set so your screen saver doesnt kick in and lock your laptop mid playing.

Had several brown bursts at the weekend - poorly tummy.

When was after a Yamaha Bex4 it seemed all anyone had bought were the trans orange or blue. I'm so glad I hung on until a tobacco burst one came up for sale. I've seen plenty of blue and orange but you don't see the burst one very often. Isn't it a beaut!

‘Tasteful Slapping’

So my white one, up there ^^, can stay as it is. As today I traded my Musicman Stingray, that wasn’t being used much, for this (that I didn’t even see was on here, Hi Dave!). I’ve been after one for decades. Just never managed to nab one until today! I’m beside myself with joy, just looking at it gives me a huge smile!!

Can you read SPL charts? This compares response of a Simplexx 15 sealed and ported with the Eminence BP1525 driver. Note that if you want to get the same response from the ported as sealed you can, just back off on the bass EQ, which also reduces power draw from the amp. The chart only extends to 200Hz because above that they're identical. The ported advantage in low frequency sensitivity is there, but it's not huge. Now consider this, a maximum SPL chart, which takes into account the response, the driver thermal power handling and driver excursion limit: The sealed cab doesn't even come close down low. The difference is attributable not only to the output added by the port but also the reduction in cone excursion that porting results in, and it's excursion that primarily limits how loud a cab will go below 70Hz or so, not the thermal power capacity. You can get a ported cab to sound like a sealed cab, but you can't get a sealed cab to deliver the low end output of a ported cab. There will be those who say otherwise, but in controlled double blind listening tests when EQ'd for the same response listeners are unable to tell the tone of one from the other.

To echo what the others have already said, I had a great time. It was great to meet a bunch of bass players with all sorts of backgrounds and interests, and play some really lovely and diverse gear. Thanks all for a great time. See you next year!

The Gig with Dream Tröll was a massive success, we almost hit the venue cap. Made tons of cash and paid every band and I'm 80 quid up. A fantastic night all round.

There's some excellent bass playing waiting for you when you get there.

At one point with the Pogues covers band, I was swapping between banjo, bouzouki, fiddle and mandolin for different songs, all 4 instruments routed through the same acoustic guitar amp which I used as a monitor and then DI back to the desk. Something like this would have been very handy - I cobbled something together using an LS2 and both inputs of the amp if I remember rightly.

Well, it's getting closer. The last bits always take an age but I'd be surprised if I can't finish it this week. Final weight, putting everything left to fit on the digital scales, is looking like a touch under 5 1/4 lbs

Ooh, you're going to Hell for sure!!

The Rutles: "Ouch!"

That... rippled beige texture. It reminds me of quilted maple. Gross.

Top Tips: If you think you sound good with 1 cab, use 2 you'll sound even better. If you think you need 300 watts, get 500 watts, turn up and play lighter.

Also, everyone should invest in a roll of ProGaff - you can tape leads down with it and it doesn't leave awful residue. Comes in numerous colours! Lots of flight cases on the tour, all of mine have a white strip of tape on, with my name and what each case is for. Same with the guitar stands, plus, strip round the bottom of the legs, show up under minimal light so you don't trip over them!

I hate TSB and also hate gold, except when they are together on a '57 P, when the sum is greater than its parts:

It's John Carpenter's own soundtracks for me, Halloween,Assault on Precinct 13, The Thing, Escape from New York. They fit the film's mood perfectly.

Great post, but in my experience it often really is the drummer's fault.

Nice Zon @ Bass Direct http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Zon_Sonus_4_LH.html

I play fingerstyle, slap and (alittle) tap. Incidentally, the videos that I posted feature a lot of slap, but thats not why I posted, I was trying to point out their actions. I should have been a little more clear, sorry lads Thank you all!

That tells me the drivers used probably weren't well suited for a ported cab. Some drivers can be used either way, but most are optimized for either one or the other. You probably could have arrived at the same result with EQ, but it's likely the level of EQ sophistication required wouldn't be found in a typical bass amp. The one thing about sealed that ported can't duplicate is the low frequency compression that results when drivers in a sealed cab reach xmax, which may or may not be desirable based on personal preference.

Sorry @Geek99 Never thought about that. I'm a carpenter so it's something I take for granted. Select a 4mm drillbit, put your drill on the slow setting. Keep the drill as straight as you can and start to drill through the string holes in the bridge. Only do a few mm at a time,clear the sawdust then do another few mm.

Not my question I know, but just jumping in here rather rudely - I did mine by lining up the two-saddle bridge (the centre hole of which lined up with the centre hole of the previous bridge), then using that as a guide to drill through the body from the top. Then I drilled the larger ferrule holes from the bottom, using the existing holes as pilots - with a bit of tape on the bit as a depth gauge. Then I countersunk the holes to make the ferrules flush.

Studiospares do a replacement lead for their m1000/2000 phones. Not expensive either. Just chop the (colour coded!) plugs off the cans end https://www.studiospares.com/Headphones-and-Speakers/Headphones-Spares/Studiospares-M1000--M2000-Replacement-Cable-Lead_448765.htm

But, of course

Too much heft.

Not sure wether to be inpsired or just give up

2006 US Fender 890mm the differences will probably be down to different bridge designs. When building a bass I fit the bridge so that the half way point of the saddle's range of adjustment is at 34" from the nut (This is assuming that the scale length is 34" The Fender I measured has the half way point at 34 1/4")

I've measured mine to 894mm.

Come on, cut the guy some slack. How do you know he isn't dsylexic?

+1 ^^, if the budget won't stretch to Superior; less than half its price, and very good indeed.

Radius only makes no difference to string action IF the strings all run parallel and have the same strings spacing at nut and bridge. But in most cases string spacing is wider at the bridge and the strings (particularly the outer strings) then run at a slight angle across the curvature of the fingerboard. The tighter the fingerboard radius, the more pronounced this will be, and this affects how low you can get the action. Conversely the larger the fingerboard radius, the less pronounced this will be and you can achieve a lower action. The difference between the string spacing at nut and bridge is also a determining factor (the more 'splayed' the strings, the more pronounced the hump). Here are some pics to illustrate: Pic 1 - Strings running perfectly parallel with the fingerboard can take a uniformly low action Pic 2 - Strings running at a slight angle have to effectively cross a 'hump' in the fingerboard which requires a higher action to clear Pic 3 - Strings running at any angle across a completely flat board can take a uniformly low action This assumes a fingerboard with a fixed radius (ie, a cylinder with the same radius at either end) which is generally the case. One way to eliminate the 'hump' issue is to have a fingerboard with a compound radius. This follows the curvature of a cone (rather than a cylinder) with a smaller radius as one end and larger radius at the other: This allows a uniformly low action with typically 'splayed' string geometry.

A few of my favourite hacks: Mains IEC chassis socket mounted permanently in the side of my 4U rack case, just under the handle so it's protected from accidental bashes. This in turn feeds the mains 4-way inside the case. Makes setting up even easier. I carry a 1ft square piece of 1" foam inside the rack, which allows me to store the bag of mains/speaker/misc cables inside the rack without them rattling around damaging things. At gigs, the foam goes between the cab and the amp and stops vibrations. The cable bag itself is an old school PE kit drawstring bag. Ideal size. Kiddie's night light plugged into the rack's 4-way. Provides enough illumination inside the case to allow me to plug stuff in without fumbling around.

You're in the middle of a gig, the crowd are roaring for more and your bass goes out of tune. You kick in your pedal tuner and ... nothing! It's borked. What to do? Simply ask the venue owner if you can use his landline phone. Pick the receiver up, crook it to your ear and tune to the dial tone - a combination of 440hz (A) and 350hz (near as dammit F). Because it's an interval either (or both) notes will do. And because you haven't dialled anyone this hack is totally free! Hey! Presto! You're back onstage and ripping the place up with your blazing licks.

How about this for a cable tidy

Honestly? Before coming on here I was blissfully unaware of the variety of basses available & was quite happy with my cheap squier jazz bass & old cheap bass stack. No one in any band ever commented on said bass/amp, only on my playing. "that's great, or that's not great"...end of. I then entered the black hole of bass forums which reached into my very insecure being, and I began to say to myself. "other bass players will look upon your lowly bass/amp, point and laugh!" Oh how I imagined being mocked by the multitude of low enders. So, I started a ridiculous 10 year journey of buying and selling equipment in order to feel better about myself, so that in my imagination, I could look another bassist in the eye and without hesitation spout forth the list of high end gear that I owned (but couldn't really afford). However, no one in any of the bands I played commented on said bass/amp, only on my playing. Hold in I thought, this has made no difference to anything other than my insecure ego & bank balance. I now own one cheap bass, and don't even own an amp. Still get asked to play/gig/record with some great players. So why the GAS? For me coz I forget what matters, & have to admit I can suffer from chronic comparing syndrome. I'm probably the only one, but I'm glad that's off my chest. My name's oldslapper & I'm a plonker.😁

Some questions for the OP that may help to tailor the advice more specifically to his needs 1. Is this for The Angry Badgers or is it a solo project? 2. Are you going to gig the songs? And if so will you be doing the complete album from start to finish? 3. What packaging do you have in mind for the album?

A lot of people, depending on the genre that you’re in, like the artisan approach. I handmade a stencil for some CDs a couple of years ago, and used spray paint.

Allow me to politely disagree. Much of the attraction is in the event itself, not the display of wares (although it may not harm to have professional graphics...). 'Home-made' does not have to be totally bad, nor totally polished, I'd say. Certainly, some may be put off by really bad 'artwork', but if the only option is ordering five hundred (and having four fifty unsold...), it's worth a punt. It's worked for bands here in France; I know of several that 'brew' their own, and have done myself, on a very modest scale. And 'No, I don't think you'd like my 'artwork', either..!'