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Well, I've just had a knock at the door and opened it to find Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Robert Duvall on my doorstep. Sutherland hands me a packet (well places it on my step, stands back 2 metres and takes a photo of it) and informs me that "The Eagle has landed". @Dad3353, these are fantastic! Thank you so much. Soooo much better than having to resort to a vinyl sticker. The white is actually fine as it is but I'm off to fish out some gold paint in a mo and paint the top surface of one. A little sneaky peak. Once again thank you, a legend indeed. 😊👍

Take 100 guitar and bass builders and there will be 100 different ways of finishing - so, as normal, all I can do is outline how I personally do it. And for both stained and natural woods, and whether I will eventually leave it satin or go for full polyurethane gloss, I usually start at the same place - the trusted old 'Tru-Oil slurry and buff' method. What I find is that - even if I'm going to apply a different finish in the end - it is a great way of grain filling, sealing and finish sanding all in one process. The method is well covered in a number of builds or gun-stock finishing videos (which is what Tru-oil was originally designed for) but essentially it is: - using wet and dry sandpaper where the 'wet' is actually tru-oil and creating a slurry with the sanding dust that fills grain and small aberations with a wood-coloured filler - then wipe off across the grain while still wet, leaving the residue in the troughs of the grain - then, once dry, repeat (usually 2-3 times) but this time with finer paper and not only wipe off while still wet, but buff up (by hand) to a satin finish And this, below, is after just after 2 coats, the first slurry and wipe coat with 320 grit paper yesterday and then, this morning, a slurry and buff coat with 400 grit: And, just for @SpondonBassed - a pseudo volute: To the touch, this is all silky smooth already

I'm banking on everyone having run out of films to watch on Netflix here...but think of this as more a celebration of a great musician playing rather than the rather shameless self-promotion of the builder Matt still has most of my guitars and basses. He says it's because of Covid lockdown but I suspect that MrsAndyjr1515 is probably paying him a pretty sum to keep them over in Notts. Anyway, he's just put this video up. It's just an impromptu study in A, but it's pretty. On it is the Camphor Single Cut bass I built for Kert and my own 'Swift Lite' 6 string electric. Nice to have a reminder what it looks like If you like the playing, don't forget to pop a 'Like'... I know Matt will appreciate it

IBTL

This is my patented “annoy the neighbours” set up. Would love to gig it all together.... one day maybe 😢

Back in 1970 myself and two mates had give up motorbikes and bought instruments. Two of us playing guitars and the other of flute. We were big Tull fans. We were learning as we went along, as was the way back then, if we found a new chord we tried to write a song around it, none of your cover version tosh for us. One night in my parents living room the other guitarist began playing a chord sequence he had come up with so I joined in. After a few measures of this the flautist started playing over our sequence, then the other guitarist played something different over my chords. I followed them and began to listen for patterns to enhance or to subdue, and soon they followed my lead and we ebbed and flowed for about 15 minutes. When we finished we just looked at each other in shock and excitement. We knew bugger all about our instruments but we could improvise on the hoof, we could play off one another, we were musicians and the World was ours to conquer.

There's also a Trace Elliot RAH600SMX with SWR Henry the 8x8 cab in the rehearsal room, but I have no pic of that.

They work fine, I dunno what you're on about.

Excitement here also! Arrived safely this morning and I have to say I am blown away by their quality. Quite incredible. Here's one placed in situ on my bass, already looking a zillion times better than the previous gold vinyl decal. This and Maude's build have got me inspired to restore my bass to good working order. Watch this space.

Well, not everyone can multitask as well as Keith Richards. On balance, music is probably healthier, though not necessarily cheaper. My longest friendship is with someone I met in primary school more than 40 years ago. In the 6th form, we would bunk off and hang around music shops, or hang around his house listening to his outstanding record collection. A couple of years ago, we started working on a few tracks that we eventually released online. He lives in England, I live on the west coast of the US. It was great putting something together with modern technology, including the capacity to emulate equipment and effects that we could only dream of tinkering with when we were feckless, potless teenagers. That friend introduced me to New York new wave, which he loved. At the time, it seemed remote and exotic, a great scene that had already faded and which we could only envy. Thirty years later, I'm writing for the same publications as Patti Smith and Richard Hell, and it tickles my adolescent ghost every time it happens. My old friend has released a few solo albums on a net label, and I'm overjoyed that a friendship with music at its heart has endured so well -- especially given that it took me 25 years to repay him for the Television tickets.

More to do with neatly retaining any copper foil shielding SpondonBassed! No doubt Geek99 will have already trolled your comment and this thread. Suitably Ignored. Guy really does needs to get some help.

if it was not for the refuge of music I'd probably be an alcoholic/heroin addict - as it is I'm tee total and clean

You probably made a prosthetic finger replacement out of Wenge (maple core, naturally) that’s slightly smaller than the luminlay dots so you can use it as a press tool for them, I’ll bet it’s held in place by a (chambered) rivet made of narwhal tusk, magnesium powder and unicorn saliva

Honestly, you all have no idea how pleased this makes me. I've lusted after one of these for about 30 years and snagged this one on eBay last week. Obviously, there's going to be good and bad stuff to consider when you're talking about a 35 year old guitar, so let's cover the bad stuff first (like you do). It was VERY grubby and unplayable out of the case; a frankly horrific back-bow on the neck (I slackened the truss rod by may two full turns), the bridge was at best 'gooped-up', so I needed to douse the part in WD40 to just allow the intonation and grub screws to move. The nut slots are quite wide, but the nut does its job, so no issues. The P-bass pickup wouldn't adjust up or down, took it out, the old foam wasn't doing anything, but more alarming across both elements of the pick-up, three magnets surrounding the poles had come out and two were magnetised to the other side (imagine two books next to each other with the poles between and then two on top of each other with the poles on the spines) - a chap on the Hamer Fan Club site enlightened me to the fact that 70/80s Di-Marzios were all prone to this problem. [Edit: I've added details further down the thread...the problem/solution might help someone in the future.] I've never seen anything like this before. After I reinstalled it (with springs and some soft foam underneath), I did feel that the D&G strings were quite a bit lower in output than the E&A. The strap buttons were loose, so I've taken these out and am waiting on some felts to arrive before I install a set of Dunlops. [Edit: I'll be cleaning the board and oiling it later today.] OK, moving to the aesthetics/good stuff, it does look fantastic to me. Paint is good (7.5/10), zero checking, but there is a bit of chipping around two of the machines and a little (inevitable) bucklerash on the rear (although no paint loss). It is very light (weee). [Edit: There's still a lot of meat on the frets.] After a set up and a bit of additional tweakage, it plays wonderfully, got the action down to what I'd class as 'clean with a bit of rattle. Tried it through the Darkglass and the dUg last night, I have to say it sounds decent enough through both, but feel that theDarkglass favours an active bass, this does sound nicer through the dUg. Nice dirt/grunt with everything open. Neck is lovely... Moving forward. Hmm. I will get a (black) scratchplate cut for it at some point, but no rush. While I do love a tweak, so at some point I'll swap out the pickups and loom. Again, no rush. This bass was more about the getting than anything else, I'm happy with it as it stands. I'll be 100% after I've done with the tweaks. Might even stain the board...

OH Nooo NOT Another Lockdown Bitsa Well yes!! Last week I was browsing on Flea Bay and noticed a parted-out Spector body for a very reasonable price. There were three bodies a lovely, figured maple sunburst, a nice but badly marked red burst and the black “Ice” body which I purchased. If I had been a little quicker I could have nabbed the maple sunburst but got the Black “Ice” seen below. I had a Mex Fender Bronco neck (quite old & never ever seen a Mex one before) which I got some years ago from a Parting-out specialist dealer in the USA. I had previously used the neck on short scale Bitsa PJ which wore a Mustang decal. Following my purchase of a Harley Benton MM 84A SB (See Bitsa thread) I had spare a couple of ceramic, high output Roswell MFR4 N/B Pups, having swapped them out for luscious Warman MM Pups in my Stu Hamm Urge Ray. I picked up a great value high mass 3D bridge on Amazon for an amazing £18 and I plan to use a @KiOgon loom to complete the Bitsa. So, I am all set to do some routering, fettling and assembly to, hopefully create a nice sounding short scale Bitsa to add to the herd.

Evening basschatters! Whiskey influenced post arriving. In my humble being, music has always been a big part of life. My dad passed away when I was 23 (8 years ago) and he was a unreal guitar player and the reason I play an instrument. Aftwr accepting at a young age that I couldn't grasp a 6 string guitar, I've managed to work my way up to a 5 string trouser flapper. I've learnt to live without him but it's never easy. No matter how your emotional state is, music helps. Just been watching a programme on skyarts 'Brian Johnson meets dave grohl' granted through half a bottle of Jim beams finest 😁. Awesome watch with two of the nicest and greatest musos the world has ever seen. Two absolute heroes of rock. Amazing to see how music can influence people and the passion these gents have for music is contagious. I've mainly used this forum for buying and selling as I seem to have a fetish for trying different gear, however as someone who hasn't been active in a band for a few years, it's awesome to be apart of a big music community. I don't really know what I'm getting at so sorry if you've been expecting a Oprah style shocking revelation! Keep playing my low end family, stay safe and enjoy the time with people who matter to you. Happy Friday (just!) and rock on! 🤘

I'll be sending you a bill for my wasted £1.60 🤬

Looking good, I agree with @SpondonBassed, this is shaping up to be up there as one of your finest builds, and... I still want it 😖

Use the octave harmonic if the open string is too difficult to discern. Lightly touch the string at the octave, and release, whilst plucking. This is very accurate for tuning.

Which naturally leads to:

"Those Little Reaction Thingies" (c) TM @Teebs ^h^h^h^h^h @Skinnyman

I’ve been fortunate enough to make some great friends through music, share stages with bands I watched on the TV as a kid, and visit places that in all likelihood I might not have had the opportunity to without gigging, Colditz Castle in Germany being the main one. Best hobby in the world imo, I’m not a particularly sentimental person but I’m sure that at times in my life music has kept me going/given me that boost I needed, probably without knowing it.

It also depends how long you're prepared to wait for the sale... eBay generally sets a reasonable tone for market value as many people will see it and if you list it with no reserve and a £1 starting bid it will sell for what the market dictates is the price. With 12 good photos and a solid description you will get a fair return, especially if you wait until you get a £1 selling fee offer. I just sold an Ibanez ANB306 on eBay for £1266 under the above set of guidelines. Basschat is a worthwhile place to list your bass, £7 for one item for as long as it takes to sell. Again, photos and description are key, as is a reasonable price. Obviously the better the price the quicker the sale. I don't really rate Gumtree, I've advertised a lot on there and rarely ever made a sale, however without fail I always get at least 3 messages from obvious scammers. On commission at The Bass Gallery or Bass Direct is an option, their commission is between 15% and 20%, you will need to physically hand over your bass though, and there is no guarantee it'll sell quickly so you may be without your bass for a while. Selling it to a store, be it GuitarGuitar or Cash Converters, will get you a quick sale but it'll be a low ball price - depends what you want to get. Reverb is good, I've recently sold two USA PRS and a few pedals via Reverb, there is a selling fee (6% or 7% I think), cheaper than eBay and quite secure. It's free to advertise and you only pay the fee once you've sold. This might be a good option. That's my two cents! My advice, advertise on Basschat, Reverb and Gumtree at the same time, if you get no bites maybe talk to the guys at The Bass Gallery or Bass Direct. Or if you're happy to roll the dice and let the market decide the value, stick it on eBay with 12 good photos, a lengthy description AND OFFER POSTAGE!!! Without postage on any platform, you are EXTREMELY limited to who can buy your bass. Good luck!

I have both 735A and TBRX605 and can confirm that with mids full up and treble and bass down you can get a very pleasing tone, a kind of in-yer-face P sound. I like it, but have never had the chance to use it in a band situation.

I cannot stand all this effortless competence 🙄 just for once post “the fcuking chisel slipped ... I kicked the cat and crucified the dog. Twice. Bad day at perfection central”

Some progress, but mainly cosmetic 3 coats of Tuffcab matt black, and an aluminium back panel - to be sprayed black when completed. David

My memory may go a bit fuzzy on this over 40 years of playing bass (off and on) but here goes: Avon SG shortscale. Bought while I was at Birmingham Uni one wet boring Saturday afternoon. A total POC but got me onto the journey and into my first band (a Joy Division Tribby). Sold as soon as I could! Fender JV 57 P Bass (big F logo). Used the proceeds from the POC to buy this new, was a great bass and I let it go because I thought US Fender was better - fool. The one I really regret selling. 1983 US Jazz. Nice enough bass but missing something. Never really bonded. 1990 MM Ray 2EQ. Loved this bass, kept this one longer than any bass I've owned - foolishly let go because I thought I'd look cool with a Warwick. 1997 Jazz Korean. Bought this because I was doing dodgy pubs and clubs and it was a reasonable beater. Played the crap out of this bass and loved it....really can't remember why it was sold. WW Corvette. Did I say I thought I'd look cool?....I didn't. It was nice enough but the dildo jokes did me in. WW Thumb. Sold the 'vette to get the Thumb, less dildo-ish but hated the neck dive so it had to go. 2004 MM Ray 3EQ. Nice enough but somehow never sempt as nice as the 1990 so it was traded for another Ray 20th Anniversary Ray. Lovely bass, sold this in a moment of GAS - idiot. MM Ray 2EQ Fretless. Lovely and light (<8.5lb) and dropped on the floor at a jamnight...made a right mess of it. Sold at a loss because everytime I looked at it it reminded me what I pillock I was. MM Ray 2EQ Fretless - Black. Lovely bass bought to replace the battered one. Kept for many years, only sold as it was getting very little use which was a shame. Lakland DJ 5. Decided to try 5 string....shouldn't have.....sold 2004 US Precision. Decided to go simple. Nice bass, couldn't hear the damn thing in a band setting so it had to go. Sandberg Basic KT5. Decided to try 5 string again...shouldn't have...sold. MM Ray5. Decided to have one last go at 5s as I like Stingrays....what was I thinking....sold. MM Ray5 Fretless. No comment. MM Sterling US 2001. Bought on a whim, wasn't being used so sold it to the guy in Elliot Minor Status Streamline. Loved this bass for many years. Used it in many bands but when the 80s bands finished this one went to trade for a Starry Night Ray for the Glam Rock band. I still miss this bass but as they are now >£2K it's unlikely I'll get another. Rickenbacker 4003. Traded a Ray 20th and quickly traded back. Jazz 75 US FSR. Loved this bass, it was the nuts, sold to buy a Rick 4004Cii.......I Know. Rick 4004Cii. Nice enough but really not a £2K bass. Couldn't get a sound out of it that I liked...traded it for a 4003, ironically the same one I'd had a few years earlier. Still have it and it gets nooddled on occasionally MM US Sub Sterling 4. Lovely bass, don't know why I sold that one. Limelight 63 J Bass. The hardcore aging made me look a Richard, it was heavy but sounded great. Jack Casady. Nice enough but made me realise semis are not for me. Lakland 4401. Ok but bland. MM Caprice. Nice and light but neck dive was too much for me and really didn't like the passive sound, didn't sound right to me on a MM. Squier Mikey Way Mustang. Got this because it was sparkly, it could do with a more pokey pickup but I use it on most gigs these days as it's nice and comfy like a pair of old slippers. Fender CIJ Mustang racing stripe. Nice enough but didn't balance as nicely as the Mikey Way so it was ousted. Squier Jag SS. Ok but I think the body was made of cheese and the neck dive was hideous. 2015 US Precision. Bought on a whim to use for a non-local gig. Lovely and light and great sound. Shouldn't have sold this one. MM PDN Starry Night Ray 4. Lovely bass, a notch up in quality from the standard MM, lovely smooth sound for a Ray. Still in the family. Fender JMJ Mustang. Not a relic guy, but this bass plays sweetly and sounds great. Still in the family. Danelectro Longhorn. Bought as a bit of fun, sounds and plays far better than expectation. Still in the family. MM Sterling US 2013. Decided to have another go with one of these. Glad I did, love the neck and the hissing and spitting pup. Hated the maple neck finish so had it refinished by Shuker in vintage tint gloss. Still in the family. I know that there are some I missed (sure I had a Lakky JO4 at some point?) but the ones above are the ones that came to mind and remind me that I've spent far too much on this pastime over the years. But still, it was fun.

Still, helped @Ricky 4000 continue his run of useless purchases!

If you include a payment of £1.60 to cover return postage and admin fees I'll gladly reimburse you. 😁

A nice slab of Macassar Ebony milled and ready for bonding to the Canadian Rock Maple neck.

No not finished yet. I've got to fit the pickups/switches/controls and then try and wire it up so it works. I've been a bit slack but I just haven't felt like doing it for the last couple of weeks. These badges will spur me on now so will be finished soon.

A lovely afternoon purchasing a CS Jaco fretless...time well spent with good people.

Thanks for this darling, however, I feel I have to be pedantic... *Iver, Iver Heath and Not F****** Ivor The Engine (Park).

It worked! Thanks for the sound advice.

Joking aside, this is rapidly becoming one of my favourites among your builds. The only thing extra I think I might have asked for would be a bend well, KingBass stylee, as I think the club shaped end would lend itself to one but that's neither here nor there. Nice work as always. Respect to @Jus Lukin for commissioning it. I reckon from now on you will be doing much more than just looking. There's going to be a fair bit of noodling too.

Here's my Harley Benton RB414cs that arrived Dec 30, 2020! Amazing bass. New bridge with strings through the body.

Well, I’m stone cold sober - but would like to back up your assertion that music is the greatest thing in the world.👍

"I'm delighted to inform you Mr. BassTool that you have passed your tractor driving test on the 13th attempt. You picked up a minor failing due to occasionally missing one of the three cross-linked reverse gears. Otherwise well done."

The underlying problem is that the amount of confusion, ambiguity and doubt makes a transatlantic purchase too annoying to complete, for me at least. Too many things in flux, too much scope for nasty surprises for reasons beyond one's control. Life's too short. A lot of this will probably settle down, but in the meantime it does discourage international custom. I have suspended all purchases from the UK for the time being. I'm buying German and Italian instead. I feel sorry for British businesses trying to deal with all this, and for anyone trying to execute ostensibly straightforward transactions. I would buy British, but I'm neither a charity nor a masochist.

OK, this might go on a bit, but this is pretty much it. When I was a wee lad, Hamer were the new kids on the (guitar) block; sure, I was aware of Gibson/Fender etc. but my exposure to these brands was likely via Beat Instrumental, Top Of The Pops, the Bell catalogue (and so on). I can still remember the fevered, 'what was that guitar?' conversations at school the night after seeing Slade on TOTP where Dave Hill would be playing the Super Yob or a Burns Flyte. (This would never happen now, I suppose, which saddens me!) Anyhow, in the early 80s, Hamer were carrying out some fairly persuasive and proactive marketing...I'd go up to Denmark Street with my mates and many of the shops there had piles of these full colour US-letter sized flyers for the various Hamer models (The Special, Sunbursts, Vectors, Standards, Prototype - just type 'Hamer Flyers' into Google and you'll see how radical this was); we'd all pick up the flyers and have them taped to our bedroom walls when we got back. Despite none of us having the available coin to actually buy one, we did feel that Hamer was our brand, which was odd considering we were just a bunch of home-counties kids; Hamer were a little bit mental, a bit risky, a bit exciting and a bit edgy. We were all huge Cheap Trick fans too, which kind of sealed the deal. On one trip to the smoke, I happened upon the Cruisebass flyer below...early to mid-80s. There was a small pile of these postcard-sized things and the same shop also had the bass itself (in the same red and black livery) hanging on the wall and it was just beautiful. Cue angels singing. Smitten. The price tag was ridiculously expensive, my memory is clouded, but I think it was well over a grand, maybe £1,250 or more. Back then I was doing filing in an office and earning £250 a month, £50 of which went to my mum in housekeeping(!), so it was unattainable - which is why I ended up playing Ibanez stuff for so long (£187 for a Ibanez Roadster RS924 was pushing it). I was always looking for one; I'd owned other Hamer basses...a Scarab, Chapperal and I still have a FBIV (Thunderbird), but I've always wanted a Cruise. Sure other basses curried favour (predominantly Thunderbirds) and a couple bobbed to the surface for a while (Rickenbacker), but the Cruise was always there just under the surface, just rare enough for them to be out of reach, with sellers believing they're worth way more than they realistically are. I paid £600.00. I know it's not much, but think about it for a moment, it's a handmade (boutique?) bass, made in pretty small numbers by a team of less than a dozen luthiers in a little woodshop in the Chicago suburbs. These were the same people who made these made the guitars used by hundreds of bands from (love 'em/loathe 'em) Cheap Trick, Judas Priest, Skid Row, Kiss, Def Leppard, Lita Ford, The Police, Aerosmith, Nick Lowe, The Pretenders etc. etc. Roll forward to 2021, @cetera was the first of many to let me know this was up stupidly cheap. It was always coming to me...