kumimajava

[quote name='walbassist' timestamp='1498218054' post='3323178'] Not very, actually, as the cut out is only really at the front of the cutaway. You'll see what I mean in the picture below. <snip> [/quote] Thanks for the pic, and for the clarification - will keep that in mind, should severe temptation for a Wal arise

Just out of curiosity, a question to anyone who's played the Mk2: how comfy is the access to the highest frets (22nd-24th)?

I'm in the same boat, and same year Looking at many of the same models you mentioned - would perhaps add the Ibanez Roadstars of that year (rs924, 824). I think also Greco made some solid stuff around that time. Will stick around and see what other suggestions turn up!

Thanks Am thoroughly enjoying it so far. Will be fun to compare with a lighter-bodied one, if i ever come across a newer one .

Not quite an NBD, since the bass has been with me for a month or so, but due to work and general busyness, only got my lazy bones to post something now. A bit of a bittersweet story with this one I bought my first bass back in November, second-hand from Ishibashi (Warwick thumb). Sadly, there were some issues with the neck on the Thumb, so back it went for a service. Prior to taking the Warwick back, I also bought a cheap 5-string Aria Pro, to see how a fiver would feel, and also to have something to practice on while the Warwick was away. Turns out 5 strings felt quite natural... So, on my way home from taking the Warwick back, I dropped by the main branch of Ishibashi, and saw this thing on a rack. [attachment=238317:16129213_10157916323260315_645071499_o.jpg] The all-wenge body looked great, but boy is it heavy. This older Pangton shape is fatter & more bulbous than the current one - that really is a LOT of wenge! Sat down with it for a quick and incompetent fumble across the fretboard - and the shape actually feels thoroughly comfy. The neck is rather flat, but also somewhat asymmetric. The fret-ends finish a about half a mm before the edge of the fingerboard, and are completely rounded. Haven't seen this before, but the feel is excellent - no fret-bite (is that a word?) at all. So home it came, and now I'm trying to tame it a bit. The 35.5" scale length feels a bit of a stretch compared to the 34" i'd had before, but I'm sure I'll get it to behave eventually. Still a complete beginner here, so hard to say why, but despite the longer scale-lenght and heavier weight, it feels a lot easier to play than the Aria. Same string spacing, etc, and trying the same patterns/exercises, everything comes out cleaner on the LeFay. Electronics-wise, two humbuckers, and a volume-volume-filter (?) setup. The little red light comes on when it's plugged in. Nothing fancy, but sounds good to me so far. [attachment=238318:16121896_10157916323295315_1098289789_o.jpg] The serial number is in the 20s, which makes it one of the very early models (1992/3 ish?). I've emailed Rainer at LeFay for more info, but haven't heard back yet. Not sure what else to say - as always, and NBD is a happy day

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1486365625' post='3231053'] I have seen the guy in Ireland selling them, unfortunately that one has a cracked neck. I have just finished my last project so will see what comes up in the near future, if I get one I will start a thread on here. [/quote] Sounds good Off to see whether there are pics of your previous project, meanwhile

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1486309413' post='3230758'] Why do you want to do it? If you want to have a bit of fun and learn how to make one then I think they are great value. I have seen videos on YouTube where people have got them sounding nice with a few upgrades. If they did a headless one I would be very tempted. [/quote] Not on that website, but plenty of headless kits around (either via eBay or AliExpress): [url="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Afanti-Music-Headless-style-DIY-electric-Bass-kit-guitar-kit-AWT-064/32363623252.html?spm=2114.30010308.3.1.zwImbK&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_2_10065_10068_10501_10503_10000032_119_10000025_10000029_430_10000028_10060_10062_10056_10055_10000062_10054_10059_10099_10000022_10000012_10103_10000015_10102_10096_10000018_10000019_10000056_10000059_10052_10053_10107_10050_10106_10051_10000053_10000007_10000050_10084_10083_10000047_10080_10082_10081_10110_10111_10112_10113_10114_10115_10000041_10000044_10078_10079_10000038_429_10073_10000035_10121-10503_10501,searchweb201603_9,afswitch_2_afChannel,single_sort_1_default&btsid=d228b0ff-029c-4870-a599-d5022f9ad7b7"]https://www.aliexpre...99-d5022f9ad7b7[/url] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Headless-Bass-Guitar-DIY-Kit-Unfinished-Project-Luthier-B-Stock-/311794548459?hash=item4898673eeb:g:PUoAAMXQh8NTdNZS"]http://www.ebay.co.u...UoAAMXQh8NTdNZS[/url] I expect they all probably come from the same place, with similar quality. That eBay option, in that listing, is b-stock, but I expect they'd have an a-stock in, as well, if you'd get in touch. Curious to see pics, if you do go ahead (hope it's ok to post links - apologies if not. Obviously, I'm not affiliated with either vendor)

Thanks for the advice - apologies for the late response; the auto-notification seems not to have worked. [quote name='Fastfret24' timestamp='1484919170' post='3219699'] Simple suggestion, have you ever tried using your ring and little finger to mute the lower strings? It's an unusual technique but I have a similarly shaped thumb to yours and I've found it very helpful. So if you had a 5 string and your thumb is resting on the A string, you could have your ring finger muting the E string and your little finger muting the low B. I've showed this to some of my students who have had similar problems and a few found it helpful (most just found it horribly uncomfortable). [/quote] I've found myself doing this "instinctively": whenever I hear the un-muted boom, my pinky& ring-finger sort of drift to mute the noise. Wanted to check here that I wasn't developing any "bad habits" by doing so. Glad to hear that you're doing this successfully, and it's not a hindrance. I think this is what has come naturally so far, so I'll just let it happen. I'm still at a very early stage, trying to figure out when to use middle/index finger vs raking, etc. - so wanted to be double-sure to check that my muting isn't going to cause long term issues. Very easy to pick up bad habits now. which may take ages to fix later, etc. So - thanks for putting my mind at ease [quote name='Hector' timestamp='1484918931' post='3219697'] Dunno if it's helpful, but I found that experimenting with placing my thumb away from parallel across the strings (i.e. changing the angle between thumb and index finger) eventually yielded good results. EDIT - Oh, also try rotating the wrist a little bit either way - that's a parameter than can affect how well your thumb mutes. [/quote] Thanks, will consider that too, the alignment/rotation of the thumb.

I've looked round other FT threads, and didn't find an answer to this particular issue... so let me try to explain. I appear to have relatively pronounced "knuckles/joints" in my fingers - thumb included. When I follow the FT advice given in the threads here, and in various online videos, there often is a gap between my thumb, and one of the strings i'm trying to mute. So, for example (on the 5-string), when I rest my thumb on the A-string, the A and B are muted - but there is a gap between my thumb & the E-string. If I try to go full-FT, without resting my thumb on a string (and having it fully floating), this issue gets worse. In case the above explanation is not very clear, I've attached a (very out of focus) pic of the kind of gap that I mean. On the pic, thumb is resting against my laptop - similar gap forms when I try to do FT on the strings. I have tried to contort my right hand in various ways to eliminate this gap, but without much success - and certainly not in a position that would feel natural... Has anyone else come across a similar problem? And if so - how did you solve it? Any advice warmly welcome

Thanks for the warm welcome, guys Re: Japcrap. Most of the things I've seen in music stores is pretty decent, but the world of Yahoo Auctions (eBay is non-existent here) is weird and wonderful indeed. Just two days ago there was Kubicki Factor-a-like, under the brand "Fixer - Poor House Factory" (most likely produced by Headway, who nowadays produce Bacchus, I think). I was somewhat tempted to bid on it, but managed to resist... If i did put in a cheeky bid on each weird thing that surfaces, I'd soon be overrun by a horde of random semi-functional bass-shaped stuff Not that it won't happen anyway, eventually but for now... here's that Fixer!

That solution sounds a lot more elegant than the Kubicki claw. If you have (or take) a photo of it sometime, I'm sure quite a few of us would like to see it. Seems like a much nicer solution than a d-tuner. Despite being new to bass, I do find this extended E-string solution very intriguing, and was thinking that it would be nice to try it sometime. This being Japan, some of the Kubciki copies surface time from time. Last week, there was a copy branded "Fixer - Poor House Factory" (probably manufactured by Headway, who now make Bacchus?). Or - i might just wait until skills justify a custom order, and then get in touch with Mr. Shuker, with your bass as a reference

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1484227691' post='3213710'] Both my custom Shuker's have bendwells Where are you based? If you are anywhere near that London you're welcome to have go [/quote] Thanks for your very kind offer - I'm based in Tokyo, so a not entirely close... And i'm still very much in the early stakes of learning to play, so not sure I could make meaningful use of the feature. When not playing, I'm looking at various bits of bass design & tech, and this was one thing that I could't find a good explanation of. Also - I've read through your "build thread" on that bass you posted. Looks great the Kubicki detuner is another of those little innovations that seemed to make a lot of sense. Echoing the question of @MoonBassAlpha - how does the hook work on your design? It looks a lot sleeker than the original

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1484223013' post='3213645'] MK does it here from 5:38 [url="https://youtu.be/C-7pQJN9v58"]https://youtu.be/C-7pQJN9v58[/url] [/quote] Great - that's the first time i see it in action Thanks so much, all clear now!

Thanks for the info - just one more question: so you push on the "bendwell" portion of the string, above the 0-fret? That's the bit I was not getting. Never seen one in real life, hence all the confusion. It's a bit of a miracle that given that there's a fair number of these instruments out there, I wasn't able to find a single video/YT-clip where someone would demonstrate how it works Thanks again for the explanation and I'll make sure to try one when I come across it

Apologies for the obvious noob question, but I've not found a direct answer despite having searched extensively. How does the "bendwell" feature on a bass work? I know it's supposed to make vibrato & note bending easier, but what are the mechanics behind that? Does the extra length of string behind the nut make them easier to bend? Thanks to anyone offering some light on this

[color=#191919][font=Lato, Arial, sans-serif][size=3]Hi all, Been reading these boards for a while, so I think it's finally time to say hi I was a saxophone player in my youth, but some medical issues meant I had to stop. About a decade later (!!), I moved to Japan and finally found a way of making more free time for music in my life, so am just starting out on the bass guitar. With paper-thin walls, playing bass with headphones is a lot more neighbour-friendly than woodwind would have been! Thus, for now, stumbling along, and hopefully in a couple of years (or ten), I'll be up to the average of most other guys on this board. But - enjoying every step of the way. Many thanks to everyone contributing on here - I've already learned a lot from your input. I hope one day, I'll be able to pitch in with some contributions of mine own [/size][/font][/color]