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Basschat to the rescue. a very friendly owner of a 63 “pure vintage” reissue bass has offered his flat covers and thumb rest so I’ve snapped them up and will return the incorrect items to the shop.

Anyway - using router guide bushes and bearing cutters to take the ash excess off about 2mm at a time, some noise and lots of dust later, we have a basic body shape You can see here how much scooping's going to go on in the next stages! And that's to get it to 30mm max. I might go even slimmer if I think it's going to balance OK...

Trump isn't the problem with Gibson's potential for recovery, but the continued presence of Henry Juszkiewicz very much is. A while back Gibson's main creditors but together a package that would have allowed the company to continue trading as normal, but the stumbling block was that they insisted on the removal of Henry Juszkiewicz as CEO, and he wouldn't step down, hence the current Chapter 11 situation. Personally I can't see any future for Gibson while Henry Juszkiewicz retains any role whatsoever within the company. So either he will be forcefully removed (if that is indeed even possible) or Gibson will collapse completely and the name and IP will be bought up - Yamaha's name has been mentioned more than once in this respect - in which case they will cease to be a US company and Trump will no longer be a concern. Also I can't see what the big deal is with US-made instruments. The products of all the big US manufacturers are without exception vastly over-priced compared with what is actually on offer. It's not like the 50s and early 60s when US manufacture counted for something, and the rest of the world was still lagging behind when it came to both design as well as actual build quality. Nowadays great musical instruments are being made all over the world, and TBH at an equivalent price point for mass-produced instruments the output of just about any-non US factory is far superior.

Its been a while and this is really late but... I was on the hunt for a head and having taken a trip to the big smoke to no avail I decided to take a trip back to one of my favourite shops PMT Birmingham as it was in my old stomping ground. looking to demo a couple of heads Orange 4stroke,Ashdown ABH600 etc so needed to pick a bass to try them out with. Hidden at the back where they put some of the used equipment a silvery glint took my eye! The bass looked used had some marks and crazing in places I had heard good things so decided to give it a go. It sounded and played beautifully but I wasn't looking for a Bass really but I just kept playing and playing. A brew a bit more playing and finally a deal for a head and the bass came about. Now the special bit is the bass had a couple of quirks but after a chat with the staff and emails from yamaha all became clear the bass is one of the demo/proto basses made to take to trade shows/let artists use I believe 4 were made and this is one of them (picture in another thread here https://www.talkbass.com/threads/yamaha-prototype.569739/page-2) This explains the age related marks and knocks etc. Anyway it's a stunning bass and plays amazing with cobalts on it.

Right, I had this feeling that I was being held back by something and realised it was the colouring. I would go and sand a bit then go and sand a bit more. I have all the bits, the only things I need to drill were the holes for the neck screws and the jack socket. Basically, I was procrastinating, and I had a bit of a colouring anxiety. So I decided, I wanted it red, I have the red and everything else, so if I just do it then it will be done. So I did it (well, I drilled one of the screw holes for the neck then realised I couldn't find my 13mm drill for the collet after doing a 14mm one and it being a bit loose). So I pained it red, with a small paintbrush. It drank up the red like it was going out of fashion. I will go over it again tomorrow, but it has taken the red fine, the line on the back that was worrying me, well, yes, you can see it but no it isn't bothering me. Some bits are redder than others, some a bit lighter. You can see the grain and all the imperfections in the wood, and turns out, I love it. It has an imperfection that I like, I can see the bits where I left a little mark, that I remember doing, I see the bits where the wood is different, where i have been watching it as I was working on it. I don't think it is going to win any awards, but It feels really 'personal'. It will be better once I oil it after the colour is done, but I am pretty happy with this. And in putting the neck on to take pictures, I can carry it round with the neck without dropping it - I guess the pocket is tight enough! Yes - I know I need to repaint the garden table!

Wow it's been hot today. Didn't get in the workshop yesterday, I think I slept most of the day. Started the day by planing the scarf joint flat, I checked the necks for flat and they were both still good. The next step was routing the truss rod slot then making the template for the headstock then drew it onto the wood and bandsawed the shape out then used the offcuts to add on the missing bits on the wings. While the glue was drying I played around with the placement for the tuners as my initial drawings didn't look right. I made a test piece from some MDF just to be sure. Once the glue had dried I again bandsawed the rest to shape and marked out the plan view of the neck and cut that slightly oversize. Now it looks more like a bass. Tomorrow I will I think scribe in the neck joint to fit the body then make a start on the fret board, actually more accurately I'll make fret template for my home made mitre box. Moving on from there, I'll leave the necks be until the fretboards are fully finished then I'll have a last check for flat, glue on the headstock veneer, cut the truss rod access slot and drill through before gluing on the fretboards. That I think will be the ongoing plan

Exactly why I drive a relic'd car!

Because we are converting a 4 string to a 5 string which happens to have a rosewood bridge (that, once again, isn't an off the shelf buy), Simon had to make a new bridge. He just happened to have a block of left over rosewood that was the exact right size. Because we couldn't find a piece of plastic/graphtech or bone long enough for the saddle, brass was used.

Oi! I'll have you for copyright!

The Rumble 15 is pretty good for what it is, and that's a home practice amp. However, the bass in that kit is from Squier's "Affinity" line. Again, this is very much a beginner instrument, with dubious quality control, and you may find you outgrow it very quickly. To buy a Rumble amp and a Squier "Vintage Modified" Jazz bass separately would cost £400 total. This is probably about £100 more than the pack you're looking at, but will be a much more "future-proof" investment and will keep you going for longer before you need to upgrade. S.P.

Yeah but in this case 👉 I 👈 am the drummer's mate 😝. S.P.

Yes! In my experience, it's always been drummer related. With a better drummer, I also find that my own playing usually improves too. Weak link in any band brings everybody down.

I avoided them for years because I thought they were boring. Then one day I decided to see what all the fuss was about and instantly fell in love with the sound.

2024x I can't believe how good it is.

I think it's more likely that any they do stock take a long time to sell, mainly because they're gash. 😋

Would a re-finish involve stripping back to wood, re-painting, then applying the orbital sander for a while..?

Whatever the number, it'll be one less than the combined population of bassists think they need.

I don't get why european bass players like to fosters and moan about the American presidents so much. Clean up your own house......oh wait, we sent a rep to improve the royal line. Things will get better.

I did once see: "Fender Roadworn bass for sale. Mint condition..." I did laugh.

Some guys are too old at 25. Depends on your disipline, apptitude and ambition, not age. Blue

Keep the basses, get a new wife.

A bit like an old Landrover, an outside toilet or a Yorkshire pudding.

They're as American as an apple pie made by an American using American apples, in America. I love 'em (Precision basses, not so keen on apple pies, difficult to get the intonation right).

I'd put the Jazz neck on the precision body and hide the Jazz body & Precision neck from the missus in the loft.

Cort basses are the nuts

In the past I'd never really paid much attention to P-basses, when I'd heard them on gigs they pretty much didn't move me at all, but on Saturday night I had a gig at a 60th birthday playing bass with a Stevie Wonder Tribute band. The birthday boy played in his trio before we hit the stage and had a well used and loved i guess Fender P-bass and man...... the sound was incredible. Full warm and punchy just the kind of sound I read that so many on here love about them and not the dull thud I'd been hearing a lot in the past!

Nice theory but it's not that. I think it's just genuinely that they haven't stopped to think "how many do we need" and are thinking more along the lines of "what's the most we can reasonably ask for?" Anyway, I'm getting on nicely, I'm 8/11 of the way through composing my "cheat sheet", and as we all know, once you've decomposed the song enough to write the cheat sheet, it's as good as memorised. S.P.

thanks - looks useful, I'll take a look.

Hi , yeah... I ! We are all only humans but I can honestly say i try 110% to match people's expectations. Dave's bass was actually Ex demo due to finding a scratch on it (god dammit I hate when that happens....) before concluding the deal. That being said i'm sure some people would send out hoping he'd not see it and then go "oh really?" but I care too much about my rep as a seller to even think to risk that. His bass was the lightest normal scale i've ever had in stock. Most Maruszczyk passive are about 3,5 kilo. I've just sold a 32 inch Chambered J that went below 3 kilo. Which is pretty outstanding. cheers

Thanks @dood interesting article – I particularly like the Producer Switch bit ! Glissando – I suppose it makes sense thinking about it logically – I also liked his description of frets: railroad tracks clicking away Very smooth playing on that Lukather track too

If you really want the position, learn all the songs. Not only that, I'd completely nail them, too. One band I very much wanted to join asked me to learn three songs... I found a recent gig of theirs on YouTube and learned pretty much their entire set. This blew the competition completely out of the water. Like I say, it depends on how much you want the position...

Everyone gets a p bass moment

That would be my guess too. Have a look at the inside of the cover and see if there's anywhere that looks as though it might have had a wire soldered to it.

So a couple of hours have gone past since I did the above and I've come back to it and I can't think of anything I've missed. And so, having popped a couple of locating screws in in the pickup positions, it's being glued as I type. And you all know the mantra. This time it's in the key of F#: "You can NEVER have too many clamps!!!"

It’d be worth checking the pickup casings - My old telecaster needed an added earth wire to the casing when I added a 4 way switch.

Yes I did - we gigged it for a couple of years. Donna Lee is tough(er)

I have a dingwall and they come with banjo frets stock. They’re really low and give you nice smooth glisses

I seem to recall Leland Sklar had mandolin frets installed on one of his basses , if that helps .

Agreed, it's all about what's important to you. However, once your gigging and making money, the rule of thumb is never quit until you find a better opportunity. And gigging opportunities are usually not easy to find for most of us. I'll put up with a lot as long as the money is coming in. Blue

I'm in Bangor.

Never mind the criteria. With these numbers it's just you and Stevie, face to face. Signed Sealed Delivered Sir Duke I Wish Do I Do Master Blaster Higher Ground Another Star Did I Hear You Say I Love You I bought all these on albums when they came out and apart from I Wish I've never played or bothered to learn them. Now I'm having a great time working through the list.

They always say that - just forget - then buy another one. Works for me 😉 Personally I would sell the Warwick as a P, a J & a Stingray are essential. Difficult decision - good luck!

Wow, that´s along story. Here we go: Passive pickups can be seen as a mixed circuit which consists of resistance, inductance and capacity, hence creating a resonant peak at a certain frequency above which the frequency response is going downwards. This resonant peak is highly important for the sound of the instrument because it sits in the presence area of our hearing range. Now if you plug such a PU into an amp then the amp´s input impedance will interfere with this resonant point, usually lowering and eventually broadening the peak as well as lowering the frequency. We´re used to that and we want to hear our passive instrument like that to a certain degree. To make things worse the cable has it´s impact, too, as it sits between amp and PU. That´s why some people like cables of a certain length. Now there comes the DI with it´s own input impedance, typically 50kOhm for a passive DI and 1MOhm for an active DI. This again will interfere with the PU resonance and alter the sound. And things get more difficult if you go through the DI unbuffered into an amp because that will increase the load on the pickup and the resonance point will go lower again. Technically spoken both input impedances are parallel to the pickup giving an even lower impedance than each single one of DI and amp. For historical reason most bassamps have an input impedance of 220kOhm (many exceptions, though) while guitar amps typically have 1MOhm. To have a proper matching between output impedance of a PU and input impedance of an amp/DI the later one should be x10 of the source impedance. Pickups of passive basses have worst-case output impedances of 17kOhm, hence there should be a load of at least 170kOhm. Passive DIs cannot deliver such high impedances. They are the wrong choice. You´re better off with an active DI. Active basses have worst case output impedances of a few hundred Ohms. Here both passive and active DIs are fine regarding impedance matching. The PU resonances are already buffered by the active electronic inside the bass in a way that both DI and amp cannot have an influence on that. For the studio nerd there´s more to check out: if we have micpres with variable input impedance then this will be the next parameter to look for in a chain of passive bass, passive DI + amp. A lower input impedance setting of the micpre (e.g. certain vintage Neve preamps have this possibility) will be reflected through the transformer of the DI. That means the DI seems to have a lower input impedance than it´s nominal value (wrt 1,2-1,5kOhm input impedance of the micpre) and will load the pickup even more down, eating the treble range even more. Historically this problem has been recognized in times when there were no active basses around. The solution were active DIs, back then made with tubes. All that is theory. You will not destroy either bass, amp or DI with the technically wrong choice. It does influence sound, but if you like it then all is good. If not, then see above.

That’s what I meant

He only committed a bit of fraud - not murder, for Christ's sake!