Ou7shined

[quote name='chilievans' post='1215611' date='Apr 30 2011, 11:06 AM']Ok. Then why do people spend crazy money on old instruments?[/quote] The logical answer is rarity. But then again there is fashion, peer pressure and also the element of kudos that can be bought with a pre-worn guitar because people perceive you to be a more serious player if you play a battered old guitar like the greats do.

Ooh I'll play. No but the unsubstantiated, intangible BS spouted about them does. In all seriousness it's a bit of an open-ended question. For example if guy A prefers a satin neck but guy B doesn't, they both buy identical basses with gloss necks at the same time, as time goes by and the finish wears on the necks guy A perceives an improvement while guy B grows less impressed. If you mean do they sound better as they mature? I'd say not. Magnets lose their strength over time so unless you prefer a quieter bass there is no improvement. Inanimate object can't grow or self repair therefore degrade over time. It is currently fashionable to have a bass that looks old yet is physically functional eg no one goes "omg look how worn the gears on that tuners are, that's a fantastic example". It seems worn aesthetics "improves" bass but if that wear affects the functionality then it's bad. M'kay.

It's gotta be wood if you are routing it out again.

[quote name='RobJF' post='1214968' date='Apr 29 2011, 02:51 PM']To give him his due, he didn't charge me.[/quote] That was noble of him. What I meant was, prior to visiting this guy you had an intact tr which was in all probability simply maxed out. The only way to strip a tr nut is by forcing it to turn more that it physically can due to the threaded section filling the sealed end nut - noob mistake. Not only that he is willing to send you on your way knowing that you now have an unplayable guitar and that you now have to rectify (and [b]pay[/b] for) his mistake. Had he tried what I'd mentioned above (with the washers or similar such fixes) he may have been able to get more turns out of it and you'd be a happy bunny right now.

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1214762' date='Apr 29 2011, 11:58 AM']Any decent professional repairer in most businesses would try and rectify their mistakes, and in a lot of cases carry insurance to cover for them as well.[/quote] Agreed. That's why this "local guitar tech" shouldn't bugger up this guy's tr* and hand it back to him and send him off to the manufacturer for a replacement. Sounds like a total cowboy to me. * unless (if under duress) he specifically said "ok I'll do what you are asking me to to do but it might not end well".

Swap it for a nice new one. He'll be over the moon.

[quote name='RobJF' post='1214609' date='Apr 29 2011, 09:43 AM'].......As for naming and shaming, that seems a bit drastic. I'm in the repairs business myself, computers rather than guitars, and I occasionally make mistakes, which I'd be horrified to see publicised, with no mention of the hundreds or thousands of good jobs I've done for each mistake.[/quote] Do you make your customers pay for your mistakes though?

[quote name='KiOgon' post='1214581' date='Apr 29 2011, 09:17 AM']I'm not getting senti or mental but - Yes I know some Badass brides have 'non filed' saddles & that degree of filing is not in question. It might only be a bridge but it seems that some people pay a lot of money for them & if the saddles are filed out too deep IMV I'd call it bu55ered! I imagined the depth of filing that might be required & the time/effort to do so, to remedy a problem (high action) that has a far simpler resolution. As the wiki link has been posted already that explains the reccomended course of action I find it strange that some people are still coming up with IMO more difficult alternatives.[/quote] I agree. Firstly, people who file them themselves always (from what I've seen) make a bollocks of it* and secondly, once a BAII has been filed it is effectively a specific custom fit for that guitar only*, which is fine if it's a keeper. There are alternatives to wrecking a perfectly good bridge. I've put two basses out with ungrooved BAII's on, neither of which I had to resort to filing. * admittedly this doesn't seem to have any effect in resale value as people will still buy any old BA just because of the name.

Only contemplate the above if you are not worried about the tone, longevity or the integrity of your strings. If none of that bothers you then yeah dude go for it.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1214119' date='Apr 28 2011, 07:44 PM']Pass the sandpaper... where's the sunburst paint! [/quote]

Natural blonde too -> [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180659486134&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:GB:1123"]linky[/url]

[quote name='KiOgon' post='1213904' date='Apr 28 2011, 03:56 PM']No no - the neck needs a shim under the heel - there's a sticky somewhere I think...[/quote] Totally. Some "advice" on here is shocking.

[quote name='RobJF' post='1213596' date='Apr 28 2011, 10:16 AM']Got the bass back from the local guitar tech yesterday, and he'd stripped the threads, unfortunately. If I'd spent some time reading basschat before giving it to him, instead of after, I'd have tried tightening the truss rod gradually over a period. So the plan now is to order a new truss rod from Warwick and meanwhile clamp the neck to something like an angle iron (with padding to protect the frets) to try to straighten it out.[/quote] I hope you kicked him in the nuts for screwing up your tr. I'm not sure clamping the neck to something is going to help much.

Ohh and the bridge being longer will have had nothing to do with your increased relief. It's most likely just down to atmospherics.

Follow [url="http://www.garywillis.com/pages/bass/bassmanual/setupmanual.html"]this[/url]. It'll keep ya right.

I'm not aux fait with Warwicks so this might not work but you can sometimes eek out a few extra turns from a maxed out trussrod by slipping a washer or 2 under the adjuster nut.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1212171' date='Apr 26 2011, 10:53 PM']Anyone tried leaving things soaking in Coca Cola? I once had to replace a head gasket on a Rover V8 and couldn't get the bolts undone, someone suggested making a blu-tac ring around the bolt head and filling with said soft drink overnight. The bolts came undone very easily after 24 hours.... If it can do that, it can eat away the chrome on a Fender bridge in minutes! [/quote] Yep Coca Cola will do it. I once dunked a set of grubby tuners in coke over night (thought I give them a decent soak as they were real manky) I came down in the morning and that sh*t had eaten right through to the nickel. Gutted.

Long live Jeff.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1211455' date='Apr 26 2011, 09:11 AM']That Ripper ad reminds me how thankful I was that punk came along...[/quote] Right on!

Looks nice. Did you have a play on it? Looks like it might have a thiner neck than a real 'ray.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1211290' date='Apr 25 2011, 10:47 PM']Yeah, why engineer some of the best cars in the world when you could be looking at pictures of sturdy women holding Esh basses?[/quote] Don't fancy yours much.

[quote name='Huwberry' post='1211276' date='Apr 25 2011, 10:30 PM']After reading that sales pitch does anyone else immediately want one, or am I too impressionable?[/quote] I used to have one ('til it got nicked) playing in a grunge band back at the start of the 90s... loved it. I seem to remember having a crack at the moustache too... it looked like one of my eyebrows had come down for a drink.