untune

P.S. Is this what the Darkstar is destined for? That'll look amazing if so...

I want it!

So good I watched it twice

Basschat top tip #1248

An old birthday candle found lurking at the bottom of a kitchen drawer makes an ideal lubrication aid to prevent screwing-related bass accidents

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1350276167' post='1836636']
On my P-style fanned fret bass, which I keep the bridge ashtray on just for looks, and after all the string changes over the first few years, the screw holes on the body gave out. So I drilled them out cleanly, installed sleeves, also known as anchors or barrel nuts, with internal machine threads, and replaced the two wood screws with small hex-head machine screws of a similar size to the original screws to fit the sleeves. They're small enough that no one can see them, but they will now last the lifetime of the bass.
[/quote]

That's an interesting idea - reminds me somewhat of using threaded inserts in your neck to bolt it on more securely. There was always the option of cutting round the original hole, boring it out and fitting a dowel then re-drilling. But I didn't want to harm the original finish or damage/widen the screwhole which has stayed completely as it was before. Plus with the proximity of the holes to the edge of the bridge, there was always the chance that the fix would be visible.

[quote name='Pete1967' timestamp='1350320767' post='1837274']
Sounds like a great job getting out of jail there.... It's a bit late now but I have 5m of 3mm basswood dowel. You'd have been welcome to a bit!

P
[/quote]

Not to worry! i think it has done the job, thanks anyway Pete

Bridge wire has also been chopped and remade and I'm using a new set of screws from an unopened Fender Vintage bridge. This time - candlewax for lubrication!

If anyone is interested - we ended up sorting this today at last. First tried to cut through just the thread of the screw using a small piece of brass tube (taken from an old aerial) with filed teeth in one end. This just blunted the tube, wasn't enough strength in it.

After that we decided to just take the plunge and drilled it out - 3mm bit, same size as the original screw hole, drill press, going very very slowly and carefully. Took a good 20 mins to half an hour but we got it all in the end.

We were going to use wood glue and cocktail sticks but then found a slightly bigger piece of wood, ground it down so it made a snug fitting plug, and tapped it in with some glue. That's going to dry overnight and we're going to drill it tomorrow and mount the bridge as though nothing ever happened. Won't even be able to tell!

Will these fit a Mighty Mite neck do you know? If so, I'll take them

Cheers

I bought Ryan's EH 12AY7 Mic Pre. It arrived quickly and well packaged and despite it appearing to have been damaged in transit, Ryan was very patient, courteous and communicative at all times despite my delays being busy with work and trying to work out what was up with it. As it turned out the solution was a simple one! Pesky cables Thanks again for your patience.

Great chap, deal in confidence!

Cheers
Lee

Quite like it. I think in Pelham blue with a black scratchplate... chrome pickups.... would look lovely

I'd Dakota Red it all the way, but that's just me

Any pics? Might be interested in the body and also the 1987 tuners (birth year! )

In addition - do you have the facility to make pickup rings perchance, from metal? Drop me a PM if so

If this works out well you could end up with a few orders from the BC community

Beautiful! I wants one

Fixing the bad wires made me chuckle...

Is it just me or do the questions at the bottom sound like he's posed them to himself?

[url="http://www.orchid-electronics.co.uk/acoustic.htm"]http://www.orchid-electronics.co.uk/acoustic.htm[/url]

Any use?

Indeed it does. None of which I have at the moment, typically. I thought things were going a bit too well

Well the screw head has broken off and left the remainder in the body. So I'm quite happy at the moment, as you might imagine.

Thanks for the tips folks, think there are some cocktail sticks in the cupboard somewhere. Shouldn't have tinned the wire I realised, but I cut/tinned them all in one go and it was just force of habit! Trouble is, I didn't leave a great deal of slack as I grounded everything to the vol pot as opposed to the tone as it was wired previously, and that little bit of extra distance means I may have to open it up and redo the wire unless I can managed to 'un-tin' the bridge wire...

Shouldn't be hard, got some braid somewhere, may be able to heat it up and flatten it out a bit

Completely shielded and rewired my CIJ precision on Monday. Everything surprisingly worked, no more buzz, nice and clean and quiet. I replaced all the wires with cloth covered just to look nice and also swapped the bridge ground wire. I must have tinned the wire under the bridge a little too heavily... there was a groove in the finish where the old one sat and I tried to sit it in there. It was a bit thicker and hence when screwed down, the bridge didn't sit flush with the body. Thinking that it just needed a little bit of compression I tightened the middle screw in the bridge (which was the only one in) a bit *too* much and seemingly stripped the thread. Now it's spinning loose in the hole.

Gutting, but hopefully not a massive issue. with the bridge plate between the body and the screw head I should be able to lift it out. Any tips on the most effective way to sort it?

Cheers

Damn.... I thought another had gone up for sale!

Cool, look forward to hearing it

Looks brilliant! Really wish I had the know how for projects like this. Any chance of some sound samples?

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1348771096' post='1818052']
I thought Cliff Richard had died when I read the title.
[/quote]

I was equally disappointed.

I've read the cavity needs a little bit of routing too. Not sure it's worth the hassle, might just keep the stock ones in