mcnach

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1484311972' post='3214573'] How many times have you used a public loo and seen someone finish, and just walk out without washing their hands ? The first thing I do when buying a used bass is strip it down, clean it and put new strings on. [/quote] My guitarist saw a guy from what seemed to be the band before us (pub gig, this one) do exactly that and was telling us about it, when said guy approaches us wanting to know who the bass player was. He had tripped on the stairs and damaged his bass, and was wondering whether he could use mine for soundcheck and then run back home (we were playing in their town) to get another. Oh, how they laughed at me...

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1484316943' post='3214635'] For future reference, brand new bass strings £1.71 plus 99p postage. [url="https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Bass-Guitars-Gear/Generic-Gen-4722-Steel-Strings-String-Bass-Guitar/B00CTGOGPI/ref=sr_1_3?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1484316810&sr=1-3&keywords=bass+strings+4"]https://www.amazon.c...=bass+strings+4[/url] [/quote] Ha! Well, I was putting together one of the basses that I want to sell, and in this case I had to put new strings. It had been disassembled since I had it refinished (what a waste of a refinish!) and I had to put strings... so I put a new set of Nickel Rotosounds because I had a couple of them and I've gone off nickel strings.

[quote name='jamusbass' timestamp='1484255679' post='3214167'] I've just sold a bass on eBay, the bass was in (what I deemed to be) great condition. I've just had an email from the buyer asking for a partial refund as the strings are old and need changing. Am I being out of order thinking that this request is ridiculous? [/quote] it is ridiculous... file under "I" for "ignore". I don't think I've ever changed strings just to sell a bass. I may have if the strings were so old that it sounded bad and I wanted it to sound good when demoing it... but that must have been just a handful of times. Conversely, when I buy a bass, I change strings pretty quickly unless I'm lucky that the bass uses my favourite strings already and they are not too old. If he's a pain the the arse and you fear how eBay might rule (they are unpredictable) you could order a set of Coban strings online, sent directly to him. They're £5. No, they're not great. But he'll get new strings, not cash. Screw him

I know you say you don't want a MIM but... their Classic 50 series is really good. And the RoadWorn too.

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1484254958' post='3214154'] I cut the pickguard on this bass: The workflow was reasonably simple. I traced an ES-355 pickguard onto a pickguard blank, then subtly reshaped it and re-designed the routes to match the pickup ring on the bass. I drilled out the two mounting holes first, and used these to screw the pickguard blank to a sacrificial backing board. I used my dremel, and a small cutting wheel, to rough out the outline of the pickguard. I then used some large files to dial in the outline better. As I got closer I used sandpaper on a sanding block (using the curved back on some sections and the flat front on others), and begin to put the bevel on the pickguard by angling the block. For completed sections I roughed in the bevel with a Stanley blade by hand. When I was finally happy with the shape I went around the edges with progressively finer grits of sandpaper to remove tooling marks. For the pickup route I simply drilled the corners of the route then used the Dremel and cutting wheel to cut out the rectangle I needed to remove. I cut out the area slightly too small, so that I could dial in the straight lines and get them to cleanly flow into the drill holes. I've simplified the workflow slightly, as I basically grubbed around my flat looking for things to stick sandpaper to for the correct radius etc. In total it probably took me a few hours to do. Tim at Scratchit! did make me a 3-ply non-beveled pickguard for a Mike Dirnt bass. I sent him the blank and he tried to cut it out with his laser cutter but it didn't work. He instead passed it along to a work colleague with either a CNC machine or a router (I forget which). This isn't Tim's normal line of work, so I don't think he offers it as a service. [/quote] great job! because of you I just ordered a Dremel and some pickguard sheets... I'll end up spending a lot of time on this and I'll make a mess of it, and finally I'll pay someone to make it but I've got to try! (I want a pickguard for my red Maruszczyk Jake... it looks a little naked without one)

[quote name='interpol52' timestamp='1484245860' post='3213978'] This really isn't helping my Stingray GAS. [/quote] Resistance is futile...

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1484245668' post='3213974'] You should sell the lot Jose, get a Stingray 5, series/parallel/single coil switching, maple board, job done [/quote] I don't dismiss an SR5 in my future... but I can't imagine ever getting rid off these two basses. I have a heart, unlike some others here

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1484238001' post='3213866'] I'm very much the same in respect of the US Sub - used mine last Monday at a jam session for which I provide the bass gear. Awesome sound and even more so with the 2x10 tweeter turned up!! A number of people commented how good it sounds and looks (it is also white, a 5 string and with original chequer plate pickguard). Yours looks interesting with the red pickguard. Mine is also a featherweight, which was the main reason I took it. Hooray for relatively cheap basses!!! (Well Musicman ones at least). [/quote] Mine is an anvil, weight-wise. It's one of the heaviest basses I've had, but it doesn't bother me enough when it sounds as good as it does! I had a black SUB5 and I was silly enough to let it go.

Hi, my name is mcnach and I'm a bassoholic. I own... basses. I'm cutting down, slowly (I still have one in order )... but cutting down. I generally only use a handful of basses, so on that basis I decided to reduce clutter. Slowly. But I like basses, the way you get different sounds and their different sound and feel encourage you play slightly differently. So I keep a few different beasts around. Invariably, I go through phases favouring this bass or that other bass... and I may not play my Stingray/SUB (USA version) much for a while. Perhaps only at home. And then one day, I pick the Stingray or the SUB, and it blows me away. Last Saturday there was a private function at a local venue to celebrate a friend's birthday and there were a few bands playing, including mine. My gf likes my white SUB and I had a red pickguard laying around, she saw it and said "hey, you should play that bass with the red pickguard". I really wanted to play the "Precision JJ" [1] as I've been doing recently, or the Maruszczyk P/JJ... but said "fine, it's been a while, it deserves to be out". I loved it! I like it more than my Stingray, in fact! (pickup wired in series, rather than parallel, meaty!). And only a few weeks ago I was thinking that maybe the SUB should be on the list of instruments to let go! (I really have a strong preference for maple fingerboards). So then I used it at practice on Wednesday night. Amazing. Now, I'm here looking around at the racks full of instruments thinking "why on earth??? why???" I just need THIS one. Here's the white SUB with its sibling: [1] and this was originally a Matt Freeman Precision, now I just call it JJ because it's not even a Jazz either:

Noooo! The cream coloured pickup just looks... tacky! Just look at my fretless (seriously now: I do wish I had gone for the black one instead... )

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1484228958' post='3213741'] Neither do i. I mentioned a minority, which really isnt ' general ' As someone mentioned , misunderstandings are rife on forums where little emotion can be determined from a bit of text on a screen. I'm not saying thats always the case. Some posts by the arrogant are exactly that with obvious meaning, but many more times i suspect that the people jump on someone far too quick because they read what they want to read, with little thought about holding back and maybe interpreting things in a different way, or simply asking if thats what the poster meant Luckily, that is a minority. There's no question that this is general BC behaviour, far from it. There's many many good folk here [/quote] very true, very true...

[quote name='thegummy' timestamp='1484183475' post='3213429'] Wow this looks to be exactly what I want!!! Do you know if they'd be able to do a copy of an existing pickguard or even already have the template for a relatively rare shape like the Schecter Diamond J that I want? Never mind, I should have read the site before asking. Now that you've showed me this site I have to think if I want a custom print or just stick to tortoise! [/quote] notice that they don't do 3-ply or beveled edges. It's a 2mm acrylic sheet with a design bound to it on the bottom. It allows you to have any design you like easily, but no good if you're after 3-ply or a bevelled edge is important to you.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1484226894' post='3213697'] You could "ask a question" on ebay asking what the D stamp means, or even "why would I buy this from you when Thommann who you get them from sell for less than half this price?" This scheme is probably why folks on here are finding the deko ones are going so fast. [/quote] he'd just ignore the question and won't be displayed on the ad...

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1484221783' post='3213630'] Disagree there I think a small minority have already decided on the attitude to adopt as soon as someone famous / much talent decides to post here Of the famous that have been chased off by the baiters, were they all arrogant then ? I doubt it [/quote] I can only go by the exchanges I read first hand... there was definitely an attitude (or at least perceived attitude, since with Vail Johnson I later realised that it just came across as arrogant in writing, but it wasn't his intention and in face to face communication it would have been clearer). I've seen arrogant attitudes by non-famous similarly chased away (search for "Inti", although he had the habit of deleting a large number of his posts when he got upset, which was most of the time). Neil Murray, for instance, posted here a few times. He comes across as a very easy going kind of guy, and I never saw anybody chase him away. There are others but that's the first one that comes to mind. I just see no evidence to claim that there's a general attitude on BC picking on 'big' players. It would be a very idiotic thing to do (picking on those players, just because). If there's one thing that we all share here is a passion for bass stuff. Those are the guys who are where they are because they're good at it and have experiences that most of us cannot even imagine. It would make no sense to chase them away. Why do you suggest it has happened with a handful of people? Jealousy?

black!

[quote name='Mister RLP' timestamp='1484162687' post='3213218'] Is this what I should do - use glue - or just place the covers over the pickups? [/quote] Just place the covers over the pickups, and make sure you have enough foam underneath so that the pickup presses firmly against the cover.

[quote name='blamelouis' timestamp='1484140368' post='3212953'] Any of the big name players that have appeared on here have been treated like shitt by people who are nowhere near their level of musicianship or will likely ever be. [/quote] Your level of musicianship is irrelevant when it comes to whether you're treated with respect or not.

[quote name='Mister RLP' timestamp='1484082975' post='3212598'] So I have picked up some Entwistle pickups for my Matt Freeman p-bass and as stated earlier the pickup covers have long ears and won't fit. I need to get different pickup covers. Finding it hard to see which ones might work. Would these be ok do you think? [url="https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KBYYYFW/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A30B8VBSCA3EJZ"]https://www.amazon.c...=A30B8VBSCA3EJZ[/url] or has anyone got a link to where they got pickup covers that fitted? [/quote] I got mine from 'guitars_electric' on eBay: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pair-of-PICKUP-COVERS-in-BLACK-CREAM-or-WHITE-to-fit-Precision-P-Bass-guitar-/190980490847?var=&hash=item2c7753065f:m:mOj0wiAk5TV65_6pNY9TY3g"]http://www.ebay.co.u...5TV65_6pNY9TY3g[/url] Some black ones for the Matt Freeman, which fitted perfectly in the pickguard, and white ones for the Mike Dirnt:

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1484130683' post='3212844'] "Knuckle draggers" might be a little harsh on some, maybe not on others, but saying, "They (Janek etc) bought it on themselves", isn't good enough. When people are baited and goaded it is unnecessary and looks bad on Basschat. From Janek, through Guy Pratt and Vail Johnson down to JTUK. At the end of the day the whole forum looses. It is unpleasant to experience and unpleasant to watch. The Mods should crack down, but they don't. It is what it is, but more respect is needed for different ideas, approaches and opinions. [/quote] Respect should be given/expected regardless of who you are in the bass world. BC is not perfect, but it's generally pretty decent in that respect compared to other fora I've visited over the years. One thing that you can notice here, and I'm not sure how much of it is due to its largely British membership, is that BC is not swayed easily by big names. If you come around here with an attitude, you tend to get attitude back no matter who you are. That is not a bad thing necessarily. But there is a danger (read below). I missed Janek's episode at the time and only found out afterwards. It is a shame, but it did look to me like his demeanour was slightly off. Maybe he was having a bad couple of days, we've all been there... but you can't simply say BC chased him away as if 'famous' people were not welcome here. Neil Murray has absolutely no trouble here, I wonder why... I missed Guy Pratt's episode entirely. I didn't even read it afterwards. It's a shame, as I really rate him and find him pretty entertaining too... but I can't comment on this event. I was in the first row for for Vail Johnson's episode. His attitude, again, triggered it all. I had the fortune to PM with him afterwards (I was one of his critics) and I ended up sad about the whole thing because on a PM level he seemed pretty cool and made me realise that some people, sometimes, just have a different more direct approach to discussion. It seems to me that BC is, by comparison to other fora, relatively easy going and mild-mannered (excluding the odd OT thread!). Maybe this make a more direct/abrupt approach stand out, and it seems people object to that. The thing is that if the same discussion, in the same tone, happened face to face, it would probably be ok. That's what I thought of Vail's thing. Writing here, we miss a lot of cues: tone of voice, body language... and someone coming here for the first time, especially if they have experience of other internet fora, may not realise that things are slightly different here. Does anybody here remember Inti? He wasn't anybody famous, as far as anybody here knows... remember his attitude? He was chased away because of it, not because BC could not deal with top-rate bass players. It just seems that BC has low tolerance towards arrogance and your name means little if your attitude is off. Unfortunately, an energetic and passionately direct approach to discussion can sometimes be perceived as arrogant when in written form. Which brings me to the part about respect. It would be good for most of us (some are already pretty cool) to think about what we post before we post, especially if reacting to somebody's comments that we disagree with. Written communication is prone to misunderstandings. Still... low tolerance towards arrogance is not necessarily a terrible thing even if we end up missing out a bit. I'd prefer that the reaction towards arrogant comments were just ignoring them instead of bickering... so there's room for improvement, but I don't think we can accuse BC of chasing anybody away, as it definitely takes two to tango.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1484128404' post='3212827'] It seems like only yesterday some guy called Peter Balzary from a Chilean band tried to promote his lurid celebrity-endorsed Basses on here. Luckily he was chased off with a flea in his ear.... [/quote] Michael's brother was here? cool

[quote name='BassApprentice' timestamp='1484059757' post='3212297'] [url="https://www.facebook.com/AlanGeorgeGuitars/"]https://www.facebook...nGeorgeGuitars/[/url] This guy seems to batch order guitars from a Chinese factory. Might be worth seeing if he can satisfy your 5 string itch? Jazz type [url="https://www.facebook.com/AlanGeorgeGuitars/photos/a.810800285725980.1073741860.202825416523473/810800499059292/?type=3&theater"]https://www.facebook...?type=3[/url] "Super strat" type 5er [url="http://aggmusic.co.uk/product.php?i=130"]http://aggmusic.co.u...oduct.php?i=130[/url] On the other Yamaha's are very good too... [/quote] Thanks for the link. I was mostly interested in the customisation aspect (at low cost), as a curiosity. If my original idea doesn't go forward and I still want a 5 string I'll probably get a TRBX 505 at some point... or a stock Maruszczyk.