Leaderboard

Can you imagine the ad for the job? Must look like Paul McCartney. Must be willing to be shot.

I picked this up yesterday. It’s Charvel 1B from 1987 and considering its age, it’s in super overall condition. I was never brave enough and far too cool to own one of these when they were popular, but now I’m older and no longer give a stinky poo, it’s the perfect time to have one! My poor band may think otherwise. I forgot just how good these bolt on Charvel necks are: it’s incredibly comfortable and I’ve been able to get a seriously low action on it. It also doh said great too and the reverse P pickup is a great variation. Now, where’s my hairspray?

Hello! Thanks for having me. I’m hoping to learn from you all and share whatever I can! Briefly, I am a guitarist primarily (I have joined guitarchat), but I also play bass; I teach both. I have spent most of the last six weeks feeding my desire to learn more about the wonderful bass (it’s sooo much fun!!!). I’ve been enjoying Jamiroquai and Incognito, Zander Zon and Michael Manring; and have been working my way through the James Jamerson transcriptions and the Stuart Clayton Ultimate Slap books. Sat on the bass pile of books is the John Goldsby “The Jazz Bass Book” and another Stuart Clayton “Solo Arrangements....”. I can’t wait to get into them but life and the new term will probably get in the way! I’m also waiting for my new TC Electronic BH250 and Eden EX112 to arrive. My main bass is the Peavey Grind 6, which I hope to mod with the help of Ricardo Westie (he’s on here somewhere). I hope I’ve got this right, I’m not good with technology....it doesn’t have the right kind of strings!

Feeler gauges are the normal technique

OK - this is where I have to repeat the warning to folks who may not have seen my other builds - and especially any 'beginner' builders. It is simply this. My threads describe how I personally go about things - and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't. Generally I detail both. They are statements of how I have done things but are never - and will never be - statements of 'this is how it should be done.' I am essentially a bedroom builder and quite often - through necessity or because I have difficulties with the way most builders do things - I go about things differently to the 'conventional' way. When they work, no one is more surprised than me . So by all means try things the same way if you think that it will work in your particular situation - but please NEVER assume I know what I'm doing! So Ironing on binding. (See what I mean ) I've got to that age where I forget things - and when I did the binding for the top, I had forgotten that I once did binding a different way which suited me much, much better. Those of you who have followed any of my veneering threads (or saw my demo at the last Midlands Bass Bash) know that I use Evostick wood glue as an iron-on adhesive. And I tried it once on binding. So here goes again! Basically - other than the iron and a pair of gloves - this is the kit. No bicycle inner tubes in sight (quick snap of the local kids in the street ) - I paint a thin but complete coat of the PVA onto the binding channel - including the bottom edge (important) - then I do the same with the binding (again including the bottom edge) - I let it dry (15-20mins but once dry this will work even days later). You can tell it's dry because it goes clear. - and then I iron it on. I use an old heatshrink iron myself simply because MrsAndyjr1515 goes apes**t if I use her iron - but any hot iron (used dry) will do. - note no fibreglass reinforced tape. No bicycle inner tubes. AND THIS IS COMPETELY NON-TIME DEPENDANT so even here - halfway through, I can go for a coffee and comeback and carry on!!!! Basically, I position the binding in the slot and run the iron back and forward over the flat side of the binding, say, a couple of inches at a time. After 30 secs or so, I then hold the binding firm against the flat side and pressing it down to properly bottom to the channel floor (hence the gloves!) for 10 secs or so until the glue has sufficiently cooled to re-solidify the glue. - Note also IT IS COMPLETELY REPEATABLE. If after it's cooled, you realise say that there's a bit of a gap, you just iron it again until the glue melts and press it firm until it cools - once it has cooled, then it won't move again unless you re-iron it. So you don't need tape. The 6" attached above is the finished job! - once the whole length is attached, you can immediately start scraping / sanding / chiselling. There is no further glue setting time. - which is what I did. The binding on the right is where I was 1/2hr after the above photo: - and, ignoring the rookie tearout on the back wood mentioned in an earlier post, here's what the other side of the joint came out like: This method suits me personally much. much more than the first method. Just got to remember if there is ever a next time to do it this way next time!

Warning! - this thread appears to have turned into full frontal Precision Porn. If you have been affected by images viewed (GAS), please seek help now, it's never too late.

TLDR Hello. Self taught, and been playing for 40+ years man and boy... started with punk in 76. then gave it all up 25 years later as pennyless and didn't want to die like Jaco. Back to it now after a 10 year hiatus of sorts, a slower, older more considered funky shredder. Still have the LesPaul but sold all the rest of me epic gear to pay for rent over the years 😞 currently learning a set for a band called Feast on Mars on the South coast PS. If any one sees my old Vigier Passion serial 0002 PM me instantly.

Thanks guys. My post was a bit tongue in cheek as I have noticed my fingers going where I want them to on the fret board. I do play in our church band but am on a rota and only step up once a month with about 30 minutes of rehearsal before the morning service. It certainly focuses the mind!

It’s worth taking your time on these details looks great 👍

I’ve only got a soprano and a bass. Will they do?

I don't think I've ever seen the expression "Enjoy Huddersfield" before.

Thanks all for the input. I'm going to use the MOP. I spent most of today routing out the channels for the blocks. More or less I used @Christine's method, ie: 1. Masking tape on the back of the blocks, and the fretboard. Use centrelines to line them up. Thin superglue them in place. Score round the edge with a blade. Then VERY carefully prise them off. Very carefully. I had the corner of one break off because I went at it too quickly. 2. I found it useful to use masking tape to make clearer where the edge of the block is. Being a bit ditzy, I can very happily rout away, completely forgetting that I'm supposed to be stopping at the line. So the pink masking tape is there as a reminder! I then routed with my palm router (not a dremel) and a 3mm mill bit. I thought this stage was going to be the most difficult. Actually it wasn't. The router rode on two stacked pieces of 18mm mdf, either side of the neck and it went very smoothly. My palm router (a Dewalt, the best designed tool I own) has a light underneath so I was able to see pretty clearly. I hand routed to within 0.5 - 1mm or so. 3. Chisels to then cut up to the line. This was....less easy. Other than for prising templates off😲, I've never used a chisel in my life. I'm not even sure quite how to use them. Am I supposed to be hitting them with a malet? Just pushing then to sort of slice wood off? I used a combination of both techniques. I found that the most important thing was that they were sharp...(I'm a slow learner!).....I sharpened them before I started and half way through. Actually I think I should have sharpened them 3 or even 4 times. This was the end result... Not perfect, (and this is the best one) but I'm pretty happy. I'm hoping that epoxy and sanding dust will make up for my sloppy work....

I too will purchase used instead of ordering new from EB. The new prices are far too much along with the wait time of 12 months for it to be delivered is pathetic. It should not take 12 months for a guitar that is machined to be made and sent to the UK from the US. If it was 1918 I could understand it but not in 2018.

Ebay has got the exact same block inlay stickers that come from Japan for £7.69 with free p&p instead of £12.20 off Amazon 😀

And the pay must be really bad as he can’t even afford shoes.

You don't want to hear what I'd play to that... Wold make Brotzmann or Zorn's Japanese Noisecore sound like a lullaby!

I think the key here is that when the keys and electric overplayed on their own it sounded great and improved a bit of a bland song - when they all did it it was awful. In church bands there is a problem of musicians wanting to show off and not having learned the ability to listen and leave space for others

So, slowly progressing. Covering up mistakes with paint.

Speak for yourself! I think it's not putting in the practice and study which is the issue. How many of us have the time to spend 8 hours a day practicing? Or even the willingness to? As one esteemed Basschater said to 'you don't need to learn how to slap to play Brown Sugar'. One of Steve Lawson's teachings is 'there are no secrets, here's how it's done'.

My grandson, aged not quite 4 in this pic. And don't suggest getting him a ukulele, I already have. This is what he wants. I might try getting him an Ibanez Mikro. But when I give him the choice of any of my guitars / basses, he always says "I want the big one!" 🙂 But a good U-bass can sound surprisingly good for its size. I know a bass player who is having increasing problems with lifting weight and has gone from a P to a viola-bass to a U-bass. The U-bass sounds better than the viola imho.

Is Australia ten years behind the world when it comes to fuzz?

Just a quick note for anyone thinking about attending any of the Bass Bashes listed in this section - go! The Bass Bashes are informal get togethers of all things bass with people of all abilities with all types of gear. Don't be put off going if you think that they will be dominated by exceptionally talented folk continually slapping on boutique basses as that isn't the case (there will be boutique basses and a bit of slapping but there is more to the bashes). Folk turn up will all sorts of gear and its a great opportunity to try different kit and put faces to the names seen on here. I've met some great folks of all abilities at these and picked up lots of useful info. I've tried lots of basses I wouldn't normally get the opportunity to try and discovered I dislike some I've previously drooled over and really liked others I've dismissed!! For info, I don't play in a band, I'm not a particularly good bassist, I can't read music, I can't slap but I have a pretty decent amp and I make my own basses. If you're thinking about it, try to come along to one if you can. It's great that someone organises these and attendance will reward their efforts and ensure these events keep going. Hope to see you there! And there's usually cake too.....

Dave made mine...maybe all his are 4-pole from the outset. Never had an issue, parallel or bridged.

But just not when other band members feel like overdoing it too

A couple of Yamaha DXR12s for sale in the “other musically related...” section of the classifieds

No, never, any type of stropping causes rounding even if only microscopic which seems to make sharpening more difficult next time. The edge off a 6000 grit waterstone is as sharp as you'll ever need. The idea of pulling the blade backwards is for two reasons, the most important being that you polish the burr off rather than break it off and also so you don't dig into the stone damaging it as well as your blade

Nice job. 👍

Had the same issue with a Wal. Luckily, I couldn't afford it.

I once fell in love with a lefty bass on here, a Zoot Boudicca. So much so, that I considered buying it and retraining!! 😆

Call that yellow? THIS is yellow!

In that case Esperenza spalding

this is really good - thanks @bubinga5

Oh go on then, my recently acquired Status Electro.

No.

I love my Eminence RN4! Feels so similar to my acoustic upright, and I can throw it in the car in 1 easy minute instead of 10 sweaty and sweary ones!

^^ The cake is the most important thing of all, by the way.. 😁

I'd be happy to go purely digital though once a few things had been straightened out. All we'd need IMHO is a commercially successful attempt at providing a universal standard for pedals to be able to download new single FX like you can for VST plugins on your DAW. Then you could buy plugin host pedals either as single pedal sized units or huge multis, that can all interchange the same FX, that can be bought from app stores, or from open source. You'd be able to buy either Zoom's, Line6's or Darkglass's own B7K model for example, and either load it into your cheapo Mooer pedal with a couple of knobs on, or your behemoth Helix style unit, or your DAW in the studio. One day!

Something else to look out for : If you look at the terminal on your volume pot, where the white cable comes from the pickup; there appears to be a length of cable that could come in contact with the pot-body. If this touches, all you signal will disappear. It's good practice to cut these ends short. To save you burning out more pots and capacitors; practice soldering. It's a useful skill to have. When you start, always touch some solder on the tip of the iron to make sure it will melt it quickly. When working with wires to connect up a pot, always "tin" the ends of the wires. To do this, bare the wires, twist them together and then coat the strands in solder. It'll make them easier to solder to the component - reducing the time you need to keep heat on the component. When working, keep a pair of pliars handy to hold the shaft of the pot with, or even better, clamp the pot shaft in a pair of mole-grips. The added chunk of metal acts as a good heat-sink; taking the heat away, so the components don't get wrecked. Good luck next time round.