Truckstop

I hope your daughters band's getting paid for this? Truckstop

At least a musician can make a bit of cash out of his/her hobby. Try complaining that you don't get enough money to a guy that likes to build model airplanes or go fishing. Gear probably costs the same as ours but they dont get to out and earn with it! Truckstop

I have two so I always have a spare in case sh*t happens! Technically they're the same, but they feel different. I use one for effects and another for normal practice. Switching them just feels weird! Truckstop

Here's mine! Signal chain: Bass > Fender Volume > BDI 21 > Amp Amp Send > Boss ME-20b > Master Blaster > EHX Multiplexer > Echohead (w/ Tap tempo) > Amp Return I'm using the BDI 21 for dirt at the moment but have a Guv'nor on the way to replace the Master Blaster and then I can keep the BDI 21 on the board for a useful Pre/DI just in case. Because the effects go into the effects loop of the PF-500, I put the volume pedal in the Amp input so I can control swells better. I like to have the effects blend on about halfway so obviously attempting swells in the effects loop would sound awful. I can get some pretty cool sounds out of this little set-up mainly due to the flexibility of the ME-20b. The Synths teamed with the Multiplexer sound filthy and using the Echohead with the reverb also works pretty well, can do some really spacey Mogwai kinda-shizzle. Could do with a chorus. Wish I'd never sold my Sea Machine now Cheers Truckstop

Hmmm, my spidey-sense says that I'm not really 100% down with illegally downloading stuff but in the past it has been useful. Especially when I was 15 and couldnt go out and buy porn. I buy all my music these days off iTunes so I pay money which I'm happy to do of course. If I dont like the band, then so what I've lost £0.79. Cheaper than going to see the band and decide I dont like them! Truckstop

+1! I would also be interested in a little singing workshop! My problem is that my volume is all over the place, I either sing very quietly for some notes and very loudly for others. I also have quite an abrasive voice, need some tips on how to tame it a little. Id like a Billie Holliday sort of quality if thats ok? Truckstop

Yeah course I will! Everybody needs to get on board with the Blazer love! Alex

No

Yep, I will be there with bells on! Truckstop

With the tone 'off', it sounds the same or near as makes no difference, although with the tone rolled 'on' to the full, Wicked sounds pretty different. More presence in the mids and a little less treble sparkle. However, I would say that that's more down to the strings I used. I prefer to use La Bella Stainless Steels, but because I have no patience I stuck on a spare set of D'Addarios Nickelwounds I had lying around. I also find it easier to play harmonics and pinch harmonics. I almost think they ring a little clearer too, but that could just be me imagining it or down to the strings (which I quite like playing actually, nice and smooth). I've noticed there is a definite Blazer signature sound that lies somewhere between the Ricky clank and the P thud. I find it very pleasing and of course it sits very well in a band mix. Bloody love em, me! Anyway, thank you for the lovely comments. I'm a bit of an amateur bodger most of the time and it's nice to get a little appreciation when I do a job I'm actually quite proud of! Not blowing my own trumpet, but the finish on Wicked I'm actually really happy with. It feels and looks (in person) quite professional in my opinion! Cheers Alex

Very excitedly I began to assemble Wicked. Now then, here it gets tricky. I refurbed the neck slightly by giving it a little wipe down with some lemon oil and them gave it a little polish. Nothing too extreme as I want it to retain it's aged look. The brass bridge was in a right state, it had started to corrode a little and was proper tough to clean. I decided enough was enough and left it half finished because I was worried I could damage the plating with my scrubbing. Howard (The Bass Doc) made up a replacement pickguard and attached the controls/pots/input jack for me which turned out to be a perfect fit! Unfortunately the brass screws I'd saved for this project for the pickguard ended up on my pedalboard project so I had to use the screws that came with Wicked originally. Which is annoying because I'm missing a few! For some reason, the action when I first strung it up was a good 15mm at the 15th fret. I lowered the bridge as much as possible to get it down a few mm, still not good enough so I shimmed the neck using a couple of business cards and that seemed to sort it right out. Luckily I prefer a slightly high action because I have a heavy handed approach to playing bass! Without further ado, say hi to Blazer No. 2; 'Wicked'! (I took this photo ^ before I sorted out the action for the E. Have a look!) I bloody love the reverse of the body. Reminds me somewhat of my old school desks! Here's a poor family shot. Wicked and Awesome: I've learnt a lot with this refurb. Firstly, I've learnt that I prefer wax finishes to oil finishes. You get a smoother, more natural, sort of 'thick' finish that fills in any imperfections better than oil. I chose a clear beeswax for this project, I think next time I might for for a tinted one to get a deeper, darker finish. I've also improved my soldering skills and also learnt how to shim a neck! Valuable skills for the future! Anyway, hope you like it, thanks for reading and stay tuned for another project coming up soon! Alex

So, rain had scuppered my chances to do some more work on this over the last few weeks, but found myself with a few free hours over the last few days so cracked on machine style (aka 'quickly'). Firstly, I spent about 8 hours working through the various sandpaper grades until I was satisfied that I had done enough. I finished on the smallest grade of Wet n Dry I had and the wood was smooth, bro! I love sanding stuff and it always surprises me at how smooth you can get the wood. Proper glassy like! Unfortunately I had sort of hoped that all that sanding would get rid of all the black dents in the body but alas no. Still had to do on with the black stain plan! Bought some Cuprinol because as it is water-based it'd work better with the wax finish I was planning. I applied a couple of coats over an hour and left to dry for another hour. This ruined my sanding! I started to flat it in preparation for another coat but decided to carry on flatting and leave a sort of enhanced grain finish that I'd seen before on other basses I've liked. Here it is after some staining: And after some initial flatting: I went through another several grades of sandpaper and got it pretty smooth. Looks great too! Luckily the grain's interesting enough and wide enough to acheive the kind of look I was after. Here's a pic before the wax was applied: And here's a couple of shots done after 4 coats of wax. I think that's enough; I want a nice subtle sheen, dont want any shine of reflections! Read on for final completion pics! Truckstop

Welcome! Love the look of that Mark King Jaydee there; volcano red's a lovely colour! Hope to see you offering your thoughts on the forum in the future! Truckstop

So it's a Massive Amounts of Gain and Treble pedal? Truckstop

Welcome! X And one for discreet: X

Proud Mary and Burnin' Love are my favourite basslines. So much groove and drive! Truckstop

I also sometimes use a single 4ohm cab (the Carvin). No need for more cabs with that rig, more than loud enough at 12:00 hours! Truckstop

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1339950544' post='1696656'] Dinnae start min. [/quote] Eh? Truckstop

The Bass Doc He sorted me out with a Blazer pickguard last week. Great service, no fuss, nice and quick! Drop him a PM, I'm sure he'll be able to sort you out. Truckstop

I used to keep a diary and if anything concrete was ever sorted it went in regardless of whether there were any "maybes" floating around on the same day. Sometimes I've regretted it because I've missed out on some big gigs over smaller gigs that was in the diary first, but my conscience(sp? It looks wrong) is clear. You haven't committed to a rehearsal with the originals band so why not do the open mic night? It'll be fun! Truckstop

Ha ha, no sorry I was just being a lazy git. I was agreeing with what Attitude Castle said is all! Truckstop