Rayman

This is our 41st year as a band (admittedly with some breaks and other projects), but we’re going stronger than ever, writing some really great new material, and attracting a lot of younger people to come to see us live. My voice is fine, drummer can still do it, So we have no plans to retire yet, as we’re having a bit of an Indian Summer to be honest…. even though, I managed to fall sideways off the stage at the last gig last weekend.

Ditto. I did see something on SBL about her, but totally ignored it, like I do with a lot of their content. I’m guessing that if she looked like Bella Emberg (Google it), then nobody would give a monkeys who she was. The bass isn’t my bag aesthetically, but I’m an old man who likes Thunderbirds, so what do I know about any of it.

I replaced mine with this: https://www.allparts.uk.com/products/control-100kb-centre-detente-mid-boost-deluxe-series-basses 👍🏻

I guess so, although MIJ ESPs are worth quite a bit, especially the older ones, whereas LTDs generally aren’t. So maybe that was the thinking, I dunno. It’s like scratching Squier off the headstock and sticking a Fender decal on there instead, it’s just ridiculous. Just let the bass be itself…. if it’s cool it’s cool, if it isn’t it never will be, regardless of what it says on the headstock.

🤘🏻

Just waiting on the pups, The tuners are staying for now. I took them apart and lubed them, and they seem pretty decent. I can’t really justify spending money on Hipshots at this point in time, so these will do fine… Whoever did the fakery on this bass previously, in terms of applying the logos, obviously lacquered over their handywork, so I’m stuck with them for now. I can’t be bothered stripping and re spraying the headstock. I’ve never understood trying to pretend that an instrument is something that it isn’t. I’d rather there was no logo at all tbh.

Happy with the neck… Next up is a hi mass bridge courtesy of Michael the Bass Wielder, and the Seymour Duncan Quarterpounders are due any time now.

Cheers! It’s a surprisingly good bass actually. Lots of low end, great for a thumpy dub tone, and very nice to play, with a nice action too.

Officially finished 👍🏻

Great bit of work

Frets have come up lovely…. Next up, an overnight soak in Monty’s ageing wax….

Parts upgrade primarily. The timber seems decent, nice rosewood neck, so it’s another project to practice my tech skills on. Quite a few of my basses have had the same treatment. In this case….. a fret dress, new pickups, new control plate (which I built yesterday)……. and probably a replacement bridge. The tuners seem reasonable. I Don’t currently have a jazz type bass, so hopefully this will be it.

Ok, so mystery solved I think. It was the tuners that gave it away, and after a lot of digging, turns out it’s a Chinese LTD. No big deal really, as the only parts I’m keeping are the wooden ones, and they seem like decent pieces of timber. Onwards.

Oh…. the fret job isn’t great either. I’ll sort that too.

The answer is no it isn’t, at least I’m pretty sure it isn’t. It’s definitely ESP shaped, but the decals are clearly aftermarket additions. The headstock is the right shape, and the neck and body clearly have age, as both the pick guard and the neck lacquer have discoloured nicely. It was advertised as a possible Japanese ESP from the 90s. It’s certainly isn’t MIJ, but it could be 80s/90s, maybe Korean? Please do give me your opinions. Solid one piece maple neck, and rosewood, and a solid alder(?) body or similar. Total rubbish electrics already in the bin… I’ve made the new control plate this afternoon… and SD QPs on order from Guitar Guitar. Check out the mad pickup routing??…… The neck pup rout is way bigger than the bridge one….. definitely not a high end job. Anyway, work is underway as you can see, lots more to follow. Hit me up with any input on its origin. It definitely has age, and they’re nice pieces of wood, a good solid foundation to build on I guess. Re- badged LTD maybe?? Don’t know. It’ll be a belter when I’m finished though. Watch this space

Drugs make you think your bad ideas are great.

Well for now at least I’ve gone for this Laney R1……. Not anything like tiny, but as a 65W 1x10 kickback it’s perfect for home playing. I’ve already replaced the speaker with the yellow Celestion BL10-70 you see here. I’ve also put a decent horn in it. So it sounds great and handles the low B on my Aria with ease. However…. the search for a tiny option continues.

Niiiiiiiiice

My first gig, Maiden at the Manchester Apollo, with the original lineup, probably ‘80/‘81. DiAnno was my hero after that. I was gutted when he left, and those first two albums are still their best. I never did warm to Bruce. Never seen them since.

Good job. It’s a pain, but, very fulfilling to have to figure out these problems for yourself. I had the exact same issue with a BB300 a few years ago, and a MIT BB1100. I ended up fashioning something similar to you.

Yes, Laney are tarred with the ‘budget’ brush I think. Shame really. The Richter amps are really good. One of my favourite guitar amps ever is the Laney linebacker 65, absolutely awesome it was.

Yes indeed! I was one of them! 😆 I’m still bitter.

I have no concept of Linkin Park, apart from the fabulous stuff they did with JZ. Mrs Rayman on the other hand is/was a massive fan, and she is far from happy with the new singer. That’s about all I know!

Very pleased indeed with the new (used) 10” speaker. It’s a like for like Celestion BL10 - 70, used but tested by the seller, the only real difference is the yellow painted cone which looks very cool. The horn, a Stageline HT30 is head and shoulders above the previous plastic job in terms of quality, so I’m delighted really. I did however have to rout out the hole with my Dremel in order to get it in. A great range of tones, plenty of low end for laid back grooves here in the flat. Noticeably the clipping seems to have gone until you push the gain up hard, so no surprise there. Was it just a loose speaker after all that? Vibrating maybe? It’s possible, as I see absolutely nothing wrong with the old speaker. Either way, I’ve ended up with a great home practice amp.

I was there on Thursday. A lot of Algam stock on the shelves. They’re going to need a bigger warehouse to accommodate all the new equipment. Bass amps will still play an important role, but there’s a lot of other irons in fires by the looks of things.