Leaderboard

Just received my Machinist from Barefaced after winning their competition on Instagram. Can’t wait to fire it up later today when I’m free from meetings...

And to the carve. Again, in the background there is a fair bit of backwards and forwards PM'ing between me and @Matt P as the carve creeps up towards final. I don't know if other builders are the same, but the final carve contour emerges during the process. I would say, 'the wood talks to you' except most folks would assume I'd been on the whacky baccy. We'd got to this stage: But the walnut was singing like a siren at me. MrsAndyjr1515 helpfully tied me to a mast and threw buckets of salt water over me, but it was no good (other than she, hurtfully, seemed to enjoy the process) - I had to leap into the stormy waves and answer the call. Well, what I actually had to do was PM Matt. What about following the skewed oval... (top tip: school chalk should be handy at every builder's workbench) : ...and do this: Now, personally, I think that looks flippin' gorgeous AND it means I won't get a reminder from @TheGreek to do exactly that because, almost certainly, he will have been ahead of me - he has an eye for such things and I hope that he takes some pride in the fact that I do, sometimes, take notice

If I had to supply the rig I'd be OK....I have a Trace Elliot AH500. I'd probably need to turn it down a bit though...

+1. I’ve owned quite a few over the years and whilst I would never dissuade anyone from investigating them, I do think they are an acquired taste. Possibly no different from any other bass 🤷‍♂️. I do wish I hadn’t sold my first one, but I was too young to know how to solve it’s issues and even then, I did find the bridge system frustrating. I know Fender get a lot of stick for the BBOT, but at least that actually works. I really don’t get sticking with something for so long that really doesn’t work that well. As @Killed_by_Death has stated, the 4004 solves my main gripes. I can put up with the dual truss rod, it’s not that difficult once you get used to duplicating the adjustment - or not if it’s really been messed with 😂. My 4004….

Years back I had a Mapleglo 4003. Hated it. Became a Ric hater, uncomfortable, one tone bass etc etc. Some years later, a mate was selling a 77 4001. I gave it a tryout and really loved the tone - not particularly clunky but very solid. We did a good deal on it. First thing I did was bought a bezel for the bridge pickup so i had somewhere to anchor my thumb. I fell in and out of love with it, gigged it occasionally and kept it mainly as an investment. Fast forward a few years and I joined Stray who’s original bass player always used a Ric. Not wanting to take my old 77 out on tour, I bought a 2016 black 4003. I’ve gigged this bass extensively over the last couple of years and really fallen in love with it. I’ve tried to change to short scale basses as I’ve got little girl’s hands but I keep coming back to that Ric (and the 77 4001). It just feels right now - probably because I used it so much over a short period of time. So what are my thoughts on it? . . . The neck doesn’t taper very much - it’s a very consistent width all the way down. The truss rods never seem to need adjusting - it’s extremely stable. The scale length is slightly shorter than standard 34” - suits me. It’s very resonant. It looks as cool as funk. The build quality (on the later bass, not the earlier one) is extremely good. While you CAN get that classic Ric tone, it’s by no means a one trick pony. The pups sound distinctly different to each other, the tone controls are very effective and you can roll off the top without losing volume and the vintage switch on the bridge pickup brings an extra dimension of flexibility making it more versatile than a normal passive 2 pickup bass. They take a bit of setting up. The bridge on any 4001/3 more than a couple of years old is not very user friendly to say the least, and getting a good pickup balance can be a bit of a chore, however, once set up, they do the job well. The sharp angle around the edge of the body can bug you and cut into your forearm when playing sitting down - funnily enough I only really noticed this on my old mapleglo and not on my second two Rics. I would imagine this is a not issue on the ‘S’ models which don’t have the binding. The 77 is Burgundyglo which looks way cool, it has some nice roadworn charisma and the white bits have all aged to a gorgeous cream so it really looks the part. You also have the option to split the pickups to different amps using the Rick’o’Sound system. This requires a splitter box and isn’t something I’d be bothered with! Personally i think they’re massively overpriced new and I’d never buy without trying as they seem to vary so much over time - my two are completely different beast - particularly the neck profiles, and put the two side by side and even the body shapes and headstocks are different! There’s a lot of haters and that’s fair enough but you’d have to prise mine out of my dead cold hands if you wanted to take it from me! Stay safe me lovelies! X

I'm going to get a 5 string Sterling Stingray and darkglass tone capsule. A compromise we're all happy with.

A DI box and IEMs.

Wow, that took much more time than expected 😂. Lots and lots of wires to solder.... anyway, all done now. Clearly I will shoot some daylight pics soon and so a quick recording. The thing sounds monstrous through my headphone amp, so bodes well! Will tidy up strings when fully intonated.

You shouldn't oil Maple anyway.

I fitted the trussrod, checked the flatness of the neck face, including the run off to the body and worked out my positioning datum points for the fretboard: I kept the offcut when I cut the curve of the heel on the neck blank- exceptionally useful when it comes to clamping because G clamps really only work when the faces are parallel... : And, using fretboard radius blocks as my clamping cauls, it is gluing as I type: And yes - that blue one is bending! They are useful because they are longer reach...but bendy clamps aren't a good thing to have. Looks like I know what's going to be on this year's birthday list

If you have an old 12lb+ ones you're missing out meeting the saucy receptionist at the local Chiropractor...

I do just, Mr Travis 😉 Will go nice with my Vintage White BB414 I purchased from Mojo last year

Dave, it's why I always say bands are better with fantastic people as opposed to fantastic singers and players. I know a very talented female bass player / lead vocalist however she never fits in with any band she joins. She doesn't understand a band is about compromise and team effort. Daryl

If you're commenting about a 4001 or 4003, you're missing out on a the hum, because their pickups are NOT designed to buck the hum. You're also missing out on they joy of trying to intonate it. Solution, get a 4004:

Yeah! And we want proof of the single-ness too! I want to see at least three days worth of washing up! 🤣

what an amazing experience for these guys.

It's here... And it's SPECTACULAR! Edit: unlike my photography skills...

Quite honestly, in 45 years of abusing basses, I have never once seen or heard a Rickenbacker and thought 'that's nice'. I was offered a go on one at an open mic a few years ago, I think the owner was slightly miffed at the speed I declined the offer! Horses for courses, but if I woke up in the morning and thought 'think I'll pop out and buy a Rickenbacker' I'd assume I was still asleep and midway through a nightmare.

The same as I used for 6000-seater arena 😄

I'm missing out on discovering that no bass (or other piece of gear) will ever make me sound like Geddy Lee or Chris Squire. I'm never buying one so I can hold onto that dream.

What am I missing out on with not having a Rickenbacker? Splinters, cuts, bruises, sore finguls, sprains, depression, breakdown of relationships, descent into criminal underworld, incarceration... You will, however, be able to open beer bottles with it!

I had a little time so I redrew the crossover on the computer. It is not perfect but it is clearer.

4068 grams, including batteries for those who want to know.

That is flipping stunning!

No worries, I have been going my own way for 30+ years on bass now.. Starting off on a fretless 4 string in 1990, playing hardcore metal on it. Even back then the stuff I did made people raise a brow. Whatever you guys do be authentic to yourself BUT keep an open mind towards others. Me I want to keep learning and exploring so there's no telling what I will be playing next year, maybe a fan fret monster of some sort? Or even an upright or a balalaika bass.... There really is no limit and it is such fun! This morning I have been jamming on my 8 string (4 with octaves) and even that now plays more easily and faster then ever before. I do blame my six string. It forces me to improve my hand positioning and this pays off on all my other basses as well. For this reason alone I would encourage every bassist to play a six for a while even if only at home. It also expands your fretboard knowledge since when you include some chords - it makes the fretboard boxes tick (LOL!).

Another BC masterpiece....👍

I was a big fan of the Jam back in the day and appreciated the kick and rhythmic foundation Bruce Foxton brought to the band. I've been building guitar partscasters - Tels and Strats - for a few years and this is my first bass and I wanted a black and maple precision. All pre-used parts this cost less than £500. 2018 Fender Player Precision neck, 2016 MIM Precision body, USA pickguard, ebonised tru-oiled rosewood thumb rest, Seymour Duncan SPB-1 pickup with CTS pots and Bare Knuckle .22uF paper in oil cap. Gotoh 201B-4 bridge. It's got plenty of thunk and clang on tap. The Rotosound Swing Bass set are in the post, but the D'Addarios on there currently sound very good. Looks great with my early nineties Rickenbacker 330 in Fireglo (final pic).

There is genuinely a hint of '6+ string player' prejudice in this place! Who gives a monkey about how many strings we play... Person A wants a 1 string bass, cool. Person B wants a 10 string bass, cool. I just don't understand for a second why anyone would think anything negative about a person for playing something slightly different to them. It does genuinely make me wonder what other things in these peoples lives that they take issue with just because there's a 'difference'... The world is not grey, we are all different, enjoy what you do and allow others to enjoy what they do.

Or if she has no musical or technical facility, she could become a singer.

A friend of mine has this at home, it’s his dads old bass. He would really love to know what model it is, if anyone knows. the guy he bought it from in the 80’s said it was the bass used with Bucksfizz .... no idea how true that is lol Stunning to play and has the lowest action I’ve ever come across cheers for any help 😍

Picked this up for 25 quid from Facebook, needs a saddle (if anyone has one) and needs a bloody good clean

It's more a case of struggling to hit the right note whilst thinking something along the lines of 'I bet Gene Simmons doesn't have this problem, the bar steward'

Fortunately, I have not come across anyone wearing shorts in a tab video. Mind you, after seeing my number one idol David Ellefson peddling his wares on Twitter last week, my eyes are freshly bleached and anything else would be positively tame in comparison at this point.

Got the body wings sanded to their profiles. This is when a bobbin sander is priceless. Routed the electronics cavity, wanted a specific place for the battery I'm this bass and lots of areas for screwing setting I keep on forgetting to do! The ash charred a little here but it'll be getting copper foiled so not to worry. Did eventually put a headstock laminate on thought this piece was stunning so popped it on and took a bit of meat off the back side of the headstock to get it back to 15mm Started the rough carving of the neck radius and getting a volute worked out, I'm going to try and get a bit of the shaping done now before the wings are glued on I've left the very edge untouched so I can get the fretboard on accurately, the board is 8mm thick and I like to carve at least 4mm of that in to the neck to create a nice smooth feel. I've done a rough map of where I need to carve once I've fannied on with the neck a bit more again I'll do as much as I can before gluing, not too much though still need good gluing faces! More carving over the next couple of days and a glue up at some point!

Yes - great transfers. Good colours, ultra thin and very reasonably priced

I also like your cat

Another vote for the ToneRider set, amazing pickups, as good as Fender Custom Shop or any PJ boutique pickups. It's not because they are cheap that they are crap, in fact it's the opposite, other conventional pickups, and PJ's are the epitome of conventional pickups, are just way too expensive.

They look great and they have a distinctive sound. Other than that probably not a lot

Yeah Big Als are rare beasties - not many many made - sound great from what I’ve heard though (early production have alder bodies, replaced by mahogany later). TBH my SR4HH gets a good Classic Ray tone (the Bernard Edwards version) amongst others - the SR5 ceramic bridge H (parallel) also but as you say, it has a certain bite to it - unmistakably Stingray though - i make both of those comments based on hearing them in band settings and from You Tube videos.

There was never anything broken on the Octafilter section. Many players didn't understand it but it was never broken. We did change the taper of the controls to make it easier to use.

the way the grain of the top perfectly fits round the pickup really pleases me, it looks like some kind of wind tunnel trace. this build is just getting better and better. Matt

I have a simple solution to this problem... I'm single and live on my own... 30kg of new amp and cab arrived yesterday...