lettsguitars

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1357593085' post='1925128'] Not very easy at all. Get a power sander with plenty of spare sheets of 60 grit paper. You'll just have to do as best you can with the edges. Personally, having done it before, I think I'd rather die before trying it again. Truckstop [/quote]Yes sanding/scraping/swearing it off is a mammoth task and best left well alone.

Wood is surprisingly unaffected by heat. If the wood is nice and dry you have no worries aside from setting fire to it which is easily avoided by taking your time. The main issue is the heat sucking any remaining moisture out of the body which could cause movement and cracking worse case. Worse is a funny looking word.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1357561535' post='1924413'] I would like to think that you consider the instruments you make in part at least art. Would they then not be better if you gave them away for free? [/quote]The difference is you cant download a guitar otherwise I would be in the same position. Also I would say that it is a different realm of art. More like sculpture or pottery with little to no metaphysical aspect. Craft more than art. Obviously any affect on the music industry has a knock on effect to all musically related sales, guitars included.

Walking around with headphones permanently glued to your ears with a constant flow of mp3 music restricted to only the last 60 years of material makes you deaf to quality. IMO!

[quote name='Ruiner' timestamp='1357559835' post='1924364'] Is Flea renowned for his choice of badly set up instruments? Hasn't' he also used Musicman/Modulus/wal basses in his time? Does that mean they are inferior also? Confused. [/quote]I didnt mean much by that, other than to me a player like Willis is in another league to most pop players where the fender is prevalent, and his bass of choice is Ibanez so that tells me they cant be too bad. You dont see many top [i]modern[/i] players with fenders in recent times. I dont like heavy guitars with plastic bits, bolt on necks and uncouth aesthetics, but that's just me. Ibanez sweem to have a little more ergonomiciness and playability. My first bass was an Ibanez and it really set the standard for me in terms of weight, looks and quality.

[quote name='paulpirie8' timestamp='1357559709' post='1924359'] True. I suppose I should have mentioned formats as well. I was going with the assumption that a proper Hi-Fi would be used with either CDs or vinyl. Don't agree about CDs sounding terrible although vinyl (which I'm assuming is your medium of choice) definitely sounds better. Paul [/quote]I cant be bothered with it all nowadays. Spotify through my stereo is too easy not to. Vinyl if I can be arsed.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1357559652' post='1924354'] As this is lacking smilies I'm leaning towards the opinion that you are serious. Can you confirm? [/quote]:I Security and wealth are not very common subject matter and these things aloso do not encourage the creative mind to ponder existence. I speak from a personal level of course. There are very few 'modern' groups and by modern I mean anything past the nineteen fifties which holds any true substance and longevity for me. Pop stars know have very little in common with true artists. They are mostly in it for the fame and fortune. To hell with success. Get a job to pay the bills and save the art for yourself and your friends.

The quality of audio in general has declined over the years since tape dissappeared. The kids now are used to listening to mp3's which have the worst quality of all time. Whats the point of a nice stereo when you shove digital audio through it anyway? cd's also sound awful to my ears. Stone cold!

Any decent band who get paid gigs offer their music for free. You know it's the future.

You just discovered the meaning of fender. Heavy, plastic coated poorly made clones of the highest order. The name sells more guitars than the quality I'm afraid. I'm sure you can find 'good' ones or have one setup by a luthier (something you wont find in a fender factory/plant). You are much better off with your Ibanez. Gary Willis=Ibanez. Flea=fender. Says it all if you ask me.

[quote name='MrTaff' timestamp='1357557423' post='1924295'] I'm not sure that would be such a bad thing, a lack of money wouldn't stop the real musicians but it would weed out the people only in it for the money. [/quote]That's what I reckon. Poets and musicians need struggle to write their best material. Money ruins everything. Unless they can find a way to police the internet properly very soon, noone will be paying for music or video within a couple of generations.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1357550324' post='1924173'] No it's not. On properly designed bass it lets you get your thumb around the neck all the way up to the 21st fret. :-) [/quote] Why would you though? Guitars, yes. Not a technique i've ever used on bass. My personal choice would be singlecut every time.

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1357550061' post='1924168'] Won't the little cages vibrate sympathetically too? Or are they under a great deal of tension from the weight of the rocks?? Never built a stone room myself so I have no idea what the result should be, but I'd expect a long bright diffuse reverb for the room size. Is that even close to your expectation?? [/quote]Excellent point. I would also expect the cages to rattle like mad now you mention it. Maybe it's just for vocals, strings and such?

[quote name='HMX' timestamp='1357515142' post='1924009'] Singlecuts really don't do it for me. [/quote]I am in the mind that the singlecut is actually the only way for basses. It sets them apart from the fenders and just feels 'right'. The top cutaway is actually pretty useless on a bass.

Taking money out of the equation has got to be good for music as an art form. No more x factor in the future! Let's face it, it is only a matter of time before hard copies are no longer produced.

I've used the same 1/4" router for many years. It was less than £60 new. Trend bits are fine. You'll need a laminate trimmer, small short one and a bigger one for bodies and a straight 1/4" for truss rod slots. You'll find you need other stuff along the way but you can make do with very few bits for a start. The main things aside from this are a planer/thicknesser, bandsaw and disc sander. I used a performance planer for a while before it cut the end of my thumb off. Very scary bit of 'kit'. A decent planer will set you back a good few hundred quid. The bandsaw needs to have a cut depth of 7". You can usually mod a slightly smaller/cheaper bandsaw to accomodate by removing the guides and making your own. I shouldn't expect too much from your first builds although you'll be well chuffed initially. Just grab the basic tools and work your way up.

The braid 'earth' is actually just for screening and is not attached to the pickup itself. You can attach the pickup earth to the braid and solder it to the cavity screening. The jack earth also then just needs connecting to the screen to complete the circuit.

You might be better to get an external soundcard with multiple inputs which usually include a free daw. If you dont have one already. Dont get tied down to which daw is best either. Familiarity with the software is key and most of the home studio daws all do the same thing.

Ikay has the right idea. You can recharge magnets very easily without taking the pickup to bits. Google it and then get over to emagnetsuk. Shouldn't be very expensive. A vice or homemade jig is needed along with a couple of strong magnets.

You can only start with what you've got. Always best to get a basic drum loop going which basically fits the idea first.