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My 9yr old daughter has been bugging me to build her a guitar so I thought I'd better get started on it She's a bit too small for a bass at the mo so I had an old strat copy kicking about she wanted it orange after seeing my Jazz I'm just going to put a black pickguard on it and back cover and chrome hardware

I'll be along shortly...... once I've got my whole list together...!!😂😂😂😂

Sides trimmed and mahogany front and back blocks glued on: And the (unsanded) back also cut - leaving it oversize to allow both wiggle room and for the contraction when it is dished to its 15 foot radius: Much of the build will be done with the sides remaining in the mould: The top wood (sitka spruce) and bracing / kerfing wood is on order so not much more can be done on the body at the moment. While I'm waiting for the wood to arrive, I'll start on the neck and fretboard. Busy tomorrow but I should be able to make some progress on Wednesday

I'm surprised that this bass is recyclable. Everyone knows that Hofner basses are stuffed with dead cats and sawdust. Much like DFS sofas actually.

He does that. It’s mildly annoying as you end up planning your own projects- but in my case without the skills

Well today was a good day, one of those days when I remember why I like making things First job of the day was to get the necks glued on, a bit of masking just in case I got some glue seepage (I did and was glad of the tape) then some titebond and clamps and there they were, two bass shaped things Then after a couple of hours I gave the tops a light sanding and proceeded to spray, a total of three coats went on today. By the time i cut back the second in readiness for the third my worries from the other day about grain filling were completely put aside. Then the third coat went on and I have to say I was very chuffed, I'm not an experienced luthier by any means and I was very surprised how good it was looking, in fact I spent an embarrassing whole hour just looking at them. Days like that are far and few between, I hope all you other makers get them too, sadly its something that you just get used to doing and the novelty wears off eventually, that is a sad thing I think

The Parable of the Lost Bass Player. Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred guitarists but loses the bass player. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost Bass Player until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost Bass Player.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one Bass Player who repents than over ninety-nine (self)righteous guitarists who do not need to repent. We welcome you back, oh lost one....😂😂

Tell her that even fewer people will like her if she looks like Adam Ant.

Saw Chic and Nile tonight. Very enjoyable, they know how to put on a show. Bass player wasn't bad either lol. Actually, he was top notch. I was air bass-ing it tonight, sadly enough. I slap so much better without a bass.

Although I am currently MM-less, here are my previous 'Rays:

"Hey, you sass that hoopy Bluewine? There's a frood who really knows where his towel is."

Here's where I'm up to. Reshaped Headstock, decal added, tinted neck, sprayed scratchplate cream. Just a bridge ashtray and then I'll decide if I wanna smash the body up a bit! It's been fun.

hi guys & girls !! I'm joris and I leave in France and I salute all the members of Basschat who read this lines !!

In days of yore, there were way-stations, taverns and lodging houses all along every highway of this island. Travellers would be compelled to stop at one or other of these inns, as travel was on foot, on horseback, coach or bullock cart, and there was a limit as to how far one could go without feeding and watering both the rider and the steed. With the advent of alternatives, (rail, cars, motorways...), some vestiges of these services remain, albeit much evolved, but anyone trying to do things 'the old way' would have a hard tome of it, I suspect. Times change, and the services one needed, even in pre-war days, are now redundant, or so changed as to be no longer recognised. Farriers are now rare, in a not-so-distant future, local filling stations will be just a memory (already the case in some areas...). It's the same with local commerce, whether music shops, book shops, cobblers... There will be a place for niche outlets, but they will no longer be dependant on local trade, I suspect. There's no going back any time soon, so best to leave the sentimentality and nostalgia behind and make the best of what's 'now' and tomorrow. Is it a Good Thing..? Does that matter, as it changes nothing..?

This picture from my archive must from 2004 when I had a thing for Musicman basses. The last of these, the Pacific Blue Burst SR5, finally left two weeks ago. Its place has now been taken by a natural Sterling, the third I've owned over the years - I'll never understand why I ever sold the others.

The Sterling HH switching is the same as the 'ray, except the coils are in series. The 'ray is wired parallel.

Lot's of lefty basses in a limited space. This picture was a experiment with a extreme wide angle lens, just to see if I could make a acceptable picture with all the distortion going on, not a bad result I think.

I've had a good laugh here, you just make that look so easy! I'm impressed

Calling @cetera... I believe he has one or two bass guitars, if memory serves...

Buy it and find out...I'm fairly sure that Sylvia will "adopt" this long before you get the chance. 😃

Ha ha.... I need to rename the posting as I have done the measurements, basically using my trusty calipers on a picture of a Thunderbird at full zoom and then transposing measurements to full 34” scale. Thank you maths... the P is staying a P. As I do not want to tamper with the graphite neck I cannot get the front pickup in the period correct spot exactly, but very close and the back pickup I can get just right. Thunderblackstone it is! Project estimated start date end of August on a build diary near you , will focus on the build element first but if it turns out right I will also do a repaint in TB Pelham Blue at a later stage.

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I think that's endemical on post 2008 Musicman Stingray5s/Sterlings. Back when the 3 coil ceramic PUs in Sterlings/Stingray5s there wasn't such volume or EQ mismatches as there are now with the 2 pickup models. Overall this Sterling5 HS sounded thinner than my old ceramic Stingray 5ers, most notably in the two "classic" Musicman positions (just the humbucker, series or single coil). I think the post 2008 redesigned EQ has something to do with it, modern Stingray5 basses also sound thinner than my old ones. In fact Ernie Ball seems to have played a real crappy marketing move lately, they sell you the 30th Anniversary Stingray5 with a "redesigned preamp", but it's in reality a pre-2008 3-coil ceramic PU Stingray5 with the preamp it had back then, exactly like the SR5s I own, just with the added binding and fancy roasted maple. I've tried 2 and they sound exactly like my old SR5s, the EQ acts the same (in modern Stingray5s, besides the obvious change to alnico, the EQ is more tame somehow, in old ones a little boost or cut goes a longer way). To summarize, you should expect not that much of a volume mismatch but certainly be ready to boost some bass on the onboard preamp when moving the switch from anything neck or neck+bridge to only bridge.

For me the HS is the best of both worlds. It retains 2 out of the 3 single PU tones you get in a regular Sterling H (series and single coil, parallel and single coil on a Stingray5 HS) and still offers 2 flavors of J (sorta') plus the neck pickup soloed. A tad more diverse than the HH model (which has 3 J-like tones, and series for each pickup soloed -parallel on Stingray5 HHs-). Here's a sample of the 5 positions it had (neckside to bridgeside, clean & compressed, then positions 1 -sorta' P- and 2 -sorta' J- picked widh SansAmp crunch). Also, here's a sample of the 9 positions in my current Ray35 "HS" (quite modded). I much prefer this bass. Half the price, similar weight and I added that single coil pickup (AliExpress creature -very decent sounding-) in a position that makes it a little nicer at the P game. The tradeoff of the closer distance between it and the stock humbucker is that J-like tones are a little "Spectoresque", there's a certain "metal friendly" but indeed nasal scoop to it, and also some combinations don't humbuck (there's no phantom coil in this so single coil is real single coil), not a bummer in any way as it's hardly noticeable. I also prefer this bass to the Sterling5 HS because I can mod it without remorse (it's intended in fact to be my "Sagrada Familia", a living creation) something I'd never dare on an EBMM (my Stingray5s, both old 3-coil ceramic, are in fact modded but nothing as invasive as adding a pickup).

This isn't the topic I expected.

Well I hope you are all happy with yourself. If it’s not bad enough having the loss of Barry Chuckle to deal with, Rock n Roll is a tall order.

I was doing my first summer season back then , I’m old now but was a great time to be learning bass lines .. Remember playing loads of Nik Kershaw in our sets ..The Riddle , wide boy .etc Also Level 42 , Toto , Prince and many others of that era ..I’d only been playing a couple of years so there were some challenging basslines to learn for me at the time .. I went on to work in many bands after .. but think this was my favourite time being a bass player .. skin tight jeans , yellow converse and a bleached mullet .. the fashion however sucked 😀

At least since its recyclable you won't feel so bad when it quickly goes in the bin.

I've never understood the "not versatile" thing, there must be an example of one being used in every genre of music to good affect. I think there are players that have a fixed way of playing that are used to being able to adjust from front to back pickup along with the tone or EQ controls to get a variety of sounds, imo it's the player that lacks the versatility not the bass.

Strings Direct have a 20% discount on plectrums at check out, using the code PICKS20 Ends Sunday 12th August at 23.59. Cheers.

I want the Fender to be 1, but it's the Lakland.

They're lovely!

I bought a Krivo out of sheer desperation about 3 years ago and haven't looked back. I've not tried the Schaller so I can't comment on whether it's worth spending more on the Krivo. String wise, I'd recommend starting with a set of Spiro weichs as if you really don't like them you'll easily sell them on again. If you want a really low tension string that works with magnetic pickups, then the Presto Nylonwound lights are the way to go.

It's for a 5 string bass. 5 string is a lot more. Love it. Going out to buy some ice lollies and I'll give it a go

And like that, the thread was over before it had even started! Excellent suggestion, my friend! Exactly what I was going to recommend too!

I used a strap handle on my 25kg 1x12 I made ages ago (18mm baltic birch, using the EV TL806 plans). I used teenuts for the strap bolts though - not just a screw into the cab timber. It was absolutely fine.

Da hotness!

I'd give my left nut to have a Wal like that.

How best to react to a drummer who keeps changing the beat?

Why would a bass need to be recyclable? They live forever don't they? In a "journeyman" existence, slowly being sold/traded amongst the BC collective...

I like the nudity causing alarm sub headline... but well done; really great news - the stories we all dream of...

Yep, I would certainly vouch for Sonarworks (having used it myself) and also Dirac Live (which I use now). The latter gets a better grip on the low end in my experience; at least that's what I observed from acoustic measurements taken in my own room. Room EQ software does nothing to fix boundary reflection nulls and slow decay time problems, as you mention. But it's great for reducing peaks and allowing you to control the overall shape or 'house curve' of your room's frequency response, in ways that are difficult to achieve with acoustic treatment alone. Some pro studios also use Trinnov, but you need around £4K to burn for that. I'd normally recommend EQ software as the 'icing on the cake' - something to use once your room acoustic treatment is otherwise finished. But if circumstances dictate that it's the only option available then sure, go for it! 👍

You don't need to reproduce 30hz in order to get a great sound out of a 5 string bass. SVT810's cut off at 40hz and so do many other cabs. 5ers can get a good solid tone , at high volume, out of most cabs. You want low end without mush? All the top quality cabs should do that, if you EQ them right. BF cabs will always be capable of performing towards the top of that list.

It depends what kind of look you’re after. I originally planned to clear coat and polish mine but in the end I just applied the amber nitro and left it to age and wear naturally. I lightly sanded with very fine paper, 2000 grit I think, to smooth it. I’m happy with it.

Cello fingering is not so different in terms of positions; just that 'cellists have names for them. It's still a matter of placing first finger on a semi tone note; so on the D string: 1/2 =fingers on Eflat, E, F, F#. 1st = fingers on E, F, F#, G, 2nd = fingers on F, F# G, G# 3rd = fingers on G, G#, A, Bflat etc. just like the bass on the same string. But the scale being shorter, you can extend each position, ie by reaching back with one finger from 1st position you can get E flat. by putting finger 2 on F# instead of F, you can then reach G# with your 4th finger. In fact you CAN do the same on a bass, even a double bass, by using "pivoting" (thumb stays in same place, hand rotates back or forth around it) .. though traditionalists don't think it "proper". I think the thing that makes scales and blocks different on a 'cello is the short neck - you can only finger normally up to first finger on G (on the bottom C string) after which you have to bring your thumb round onto the finger board. This combined with avoiding or deliberately using open strings raises a load of avoidance strategies in which fingering a scale from the same pattern gets non-optimal above about F major whereas on the Electric bass you can go on forever. That end to the neck does make one thing MUCH easier though. you can always find "4th" position "blind" as it happens when your thumb hits the heel of the neck, then first finger down = automatic G, D, A, or E. you can play almost any tune in first (with forward and back extensions) and fourth position; 2nd and 3rd are niceties that avoid moving your hand around too much. On the Electric Bass, it is VERY easy to get lost without looking at your fingers now and then! Anyway. Easier? No. Different? Yes. Playing one string instrument won't crack the other but it will give you a leg up. As a classical grade 8 ish 'cellist I bought a double bass and was immediately about grade 5 (took another 20 years to reach 8 ish).

Very nice I'm starting to have a real thing for orange Basses!! 😁

In terms of making the control knobs, I used the same method as my first attempts with Jane's lightweight electric. For the backs, with my press drill locked in position, I drilled a hole for the 6mm grub-screw collet to fit into from some ash offcut with rosewood veneer glued on the back : Then a forstner to create the rebate for the pot nut and washer: Then my panel-hole cutter: Leaving me with a back, with all drill cuts concentric: Then glued the poplar burl tops and cut the assembly to height, ready for insertion of collet, drilling of side grubscrew access hole, installing of position dot and final shaping, which are the next jobs on the list: