Truckstop

Yeah totally, funnily enough though it always happens in different places in different songs each week! At last weeks rehearsal, Back To Black (Amy Winehouse) sounded incredible. Espeically the middle section. Everyone played their parts perfectly, the balance was just right, the pace, the volume. Really quite magical. But the week before was an outro to Forget You we've made up for gigs. Sounded so soulful, so perfect. The keys and the guitar were playing off each other, I was making lovely little runs in the right gaps and we were well and truly in the pocket! You gotta hold onto those little bits of magic and fight and work to get that feeling back, that's what being musician is all about. Truckstop

Now, I put it back together and get it set up just the way I like it. You'll notice I decided to not finish the neck. This is mainly because I didnt want to damage the headstock and also one of the things I really love about this bass is how comfy the neck is, so I've left it in the hope it'll be just as comfy and worn it was before. At some point I'll need to get the frets levelled, but dont have any money I also decided to not shield the cavities. I bought some copper tape in preparation, but again, I wanted to keep the bass as original as possible. I also didnt want to mess with the tone in any way shape or form and I was terrified that shielding everything might do that! The pickups were a right bastard to fit back in. The screw heads had rusted big time, so I use some needle pliers to screw them in. A lot of swearing and cup of tea later, they're secured. Here's a picture of the electronics; no expense spared! Again, I toyed with the idea of replacing the electronics and the pickups with something more modern, but decided not too. Keep it as original possible etc etc don't touch the sound etc etc! And here she is! All finished, good as new(ish) and set up ready to play! I think given more time and money, I would have gone for a glossy lacquer finish, but I've found the oil/wax combo to be quite similar to the original finish. Overall I'm really happy with how it's turned out. I know it's a simple job compared to some of the other refinishes here, but it think a simple finish suits a simple bass very well. I'm glad I didnt mess with the originality of the bass and I'm sure it'll last me many many years! Thanks for reading! Alex

Now we're onto the home stretch! Waxing, buffing and putting it back together again! My dad managed to provide me with some Black's Beeswax; apparantly it's super good? After the final (started to get bored of applying a coat and waiting 6 hours to sand and do another) coat I left overnight to settle and buffed the hell out of it. I applied a little wax and did 2 coats about 5 hours apart and then gave a final hand buff to get a subtle sheen. At this point the grain is looking simply supurb and I cannot wait to put it together! Looks lovely dunnit, eh?

The next day I started to apply the finish. I was unsure what finish to go for; I have some danish oil here, some Tonetech Lacquer and Beeswax. Suddenly I remembered the build thread for Sheps RIM Marseer and I remember asking Robbie (of RIM) how he acheived his wonderful slightly sunbursty finish. Turns out he used two different types of oil and then waxed for the finish. Sold! Because I am also legendarily impatient, I couldnt be bothered with the whole sealing, lacquering, flatting process required to get a pro finish. I also have not had much experience with spraying finishes and in no way can afford to send if off and get it don by someone who knows what he's doing! So, I broke out the oil and got started. Over the next 3 days I applied 6 coats of danish oil using some wet and dry inbetween each coat. Not even sure if I was supposed to do that, but I did anyway! Here's a picture after the 3rd coat; you can begin to see the grain begin to really pop out: Really happy at this point, everything I've done seems to have worked out perfectly so far!

Armed with lots and lots of sandpaper, I set to work. Luckily the previous finish (or rather, what was left of it!) came off without too much trouble using 60 grit sandpaper. I sanded for day and night for nearly 8 hours. I worked up from the aforementioned 60 grit through 80, 100, 140, 240, 300, 360 and finally some wet and dry for the hell of it. As instructed by my dad, I used his old adage of "If you think you've finished sanding, you havent. Do it again!" So I did! Because this was just a refinish rather than a build from scratch, I felt that that was more than enough sanding. It was as smooth as a baby's arse and with each grade came a different level to the grain. It really started to look quite special! And the back: You may have noticed a couple of dents in the wood. These are the remnants of its bashed about past. I thought it'd be nice to leave the dents in as a little reminder of it's history. I doubt i'll ever sell this on anyway. Also, I don't know how to get dents out of wood or if it's even possible?

Hello all and welcome to my little Ibanez Blazer refinish thread! In the past, my refinishing and/or relicing projects have been...poor, to say the least! There's a thread with some detail on that here: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/163906-ou7shined-does-it-again-diary-of-a-respray-job-on-a-completely-sodded-fender-jazz-5/page__p__1489095__hl__ou7shined%20does%20it%20again__fromsearch__1#entry1489095"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/163906-ou7shined-does-it-again-diary-of-a-respray-job-on-a-completely-sodded-fender-jazz-5/page__p__1489095__hl__ou7shined%20does%20it%20again__fromsearch__1#entry1489095[/url] So, I found myself with an afternoon off last week and I wanted a little project to get my teeth into. I had previously restrained myself from refinishing the Blazer because I thought that it looked nice and beaten up, nicely mojo'd and (rather shallow, I know) I thought it'd retain its value more if it was kept as original as possible. But the other day I gigged it and my fiancee was there and she said to me that she thought it looked awful. She said it looked like I'd found it in the bin! How dare she! But, I had to agree. Looking back at some live shots, I had to admit to myself that it did look grubby rather than 'vintage'. So! To conclude the introduction to this thread, here's some 'before' pictures. I did take some of my own, but they were rubbish, so I'm borrowing these from FlatErics for sale ad: [i]Will he be able to complete the job before his time runs out? Can he save the villagers? Stay tuned for part 2![/i]

Aw, rubbish! Got a gig this saturday in Hayes Break a leg though! Truckstop

Are you allowed to put a disclaimer in the ad to not sell it if it doesnt make enough money? Truckstop

Personally, I would focus on getting my punctuation, grammar and syntax right before writing an essay. If your work doesn't make sense to the reader (read: the person that will be grading you) you'll get a big fat 0 regardless of how good the content is. Of course, if you are just relaxing your writing style because it's a forum then I apologise; it's just that bad use of written english really gets my goat and syntax can account for up to 15% of your overall grade! Anyway, it's a tricky question. Seeing as the question is not being period specific, I would assume that the grader doesnt want a history essay. Of course include a paragraph with historical precedents, but maybe think about how politics affects music at the grass roots level. There's a million bands out there that have a political message (SOAD, RATM, Dylan, Baez, Pistols, Enter Shikari etc) but has the music itself actually been affected by the actions of a political body? Personally, I would be looking at what the government has done to get people listening to or getting involved with music. Are there any financial incentives for people to learn 'music' as there are nursing or social services? Despite evidence, why doesnt government endorse music therapy? Loads of stuff to ask there! In my opinion, you need to look at this question and think how politics affects music-makers at the most basic and smallest level. Lovely, open question there! Loads of great ideas up on this thread already, I just think you should look further than bands with a political message. Actually, maybe you'd need to clarify what 'politics' is?! Truckstop

Why does everyone call it 'stage movement' etc? Just call it dancing because that's what it is! Ive always been a mover and shaker and I've been practice my bass chops while dancing at home. After seeing Bruno Mars at the Brits though... I think I might actually need a little professional help to get my moves better. Audiences respond to confident stage movement(!) and if they see the band having fun it really is infectious. I see a different band at my pub every week and the bands that get more dancers on the floor are the bands that look like they want to be on the dancefloor themselves! It's impossible to 'be' cool. Just go with the flow and enjoy yourself. If standing still is what it takes to enjoy yourself at a gig, then so be it, it's better to look confident than look cool. Truckstop

I would say sunburst and natural are probably the two most common bass colours here. Maybe some kind of red too. And black. Quite a few blue ones too I think. Truckstop

That ernie earplugs yam hand doo-dad looks fun! Anyone know where I can grab one? A quick search on eBay yielded no matches Truckstop

Ive been listening to David Gilmour's On An Island album all morning and that is also well worth a listen. Plenty of Pink Floyd-isms! Truckstop

I used to struggle but then I just learnt the bass and the singing parts seperately rather than learning them together. I think of it as training my hands to do one thing on autopilot and my voice to do another thing. Just train yourself to do two things at once! Having said that though some parts are really tricky. I proper struggled with the backing vox for Brown Eyed Girl. Especially the "Sha-la-la-la-la-la-lala-lala" parts at the end. So hard! Truckstop

Play the G and then practice scales on the lower strings! I set my delay on for aaaaaages and pluck the G (or whatever key I want to pratice in) and use it like a tuneful metronome! Anyway, didnt go to the LBGS because I dont have any money and also because I couldnt get the weekend off work Truckstop

Listen to 'Echoes' and 'Comfortably Numb'! Truckstop

Yeah, buy blind! I've been through Ampeg, EBS, Mesa and SWR cabs in the last couple of years and I've stuck with Ampeg because they have the tone that I want! In answer to the question though, my cab cost £20 less than the amp (£230 and £250 respectively). Truckstop

Ah, coat firmly in hand! That'll teach me to jump to conclusions! Sorry mate Alex

[quote name='1SHOT1HIT' timestamp='1330651336' post='1561144'] That guy (The OP) is a real, Piece of work. He stole it from that poor guy and there's just nothing else to it. I sit around every night hoping that he crashes his car into a telephone pole because he has it and I hope it really happens. He needs to do the right thing and dig that guy up and give it back to him. Along with a letter of apology, some candy in a heart shaped box, a dozen roses, and an apology card hand written. I can't believe we still have such horrible people running around the world today. what a waste of space. I heard he bought it from a maintenance man after the original owner moved out and left it behind,,,,,,That is sooooooo illegal it's not funny. They should burn hi at the steak then take his remains and string him up for all the towns people to pee and spit on him. Karma is gonna have her way with this guy and I know the lady she is a real B!+CH!!!!! I am personally gonna make it my mission in life to find out who this guy is and steal that bass back and give it back to the rightful owners, and if not them than I will find a brother of the bass (Tongue in cheek) to give it to. And if that doesn't work I think it is right that I keep it seeing as how I have done all the proper steps of morally obtaining ownership of something that isn't mine. I'm embarrassed to even live in the same time as this P.O.S. [/quote] That is disgusting. Who do you think you are? Some sort of judge and jury on how people can act? What do you think gives you the right to come here to this forum, where we treat people with respect, and type that kind of bile? If you have these sorts of opinions on people and wish that they would die so gruesomely, keep them to yourself in future, we're not interested. Truckstop

I love the drive home too. Depending on my mood, It'll be some Patricia Spero maybe, or some nice jazz. Listened to Kind Of Blue twice through on the way home from my last gig. Maybe some Mogwai, Sigur Ros or EITS. I like instrumental music at night. I love stopping and getting a coffee and sitting outside those giant motorway service stations watching passing traffic with a cigarette. Calming, isnt it? And there's no-one there to tell you what to do and you know no-one's gonna call your phone and you've probably not got to get up early the next day. There's no feeling quite like it! It's one of the things I try to explain to my fiancee when I try to describe the reasons behind spending money on gear, rehearsal rooms and driving for hours to play to 3 people. The drive home! Truckstop Truckstop

I know he's alive (and I voted for Doug) but how about a book on Jim Mullen? Im sure he's had an interesting life aswell as being a truly gifted guitar player! How Pat Methany ended up bigger than him really vexes me! Truckstop

Much like Nigel suggests, I take 10 or 15 minutes out each day to write Haikus. I find the subject matter by literally by turning on the TV and picking a word that someone's said. I used to write lyrics for my old band by expanding on them. You just gotta know when you're writing well, and when you're writing utter rubbish! Too many adverts, Just let me buy what I want! Sadly, no money As you can see, I'm going through a dry spell! Truckstop

I think you can find 'the one'. I havent yet, but some basses I've owned have come pretty close to being perfect for me. I know the characteristics I look for in instruments now so maybe one day I'll see a bass with all the technical aspects I know I like, but also has that extra je ne sais quois and it'll be the one! Truckstop