Jakester

Thought I'd post this here - not quite a Build Diary, more a light tickle memoir, of summat what ain't a bass, for anyone who might be interested. There's a backstory to this - I picked this up quite a few years ago. It used to belong to a well-known player who sadly died too young, and some equipment was sold to raise money for his family. My family used to know his parents when he was young, so I thought the least I could do was contribute some money. Fast forward a few years and I have let it get into a right state. Much of this is down to where it's been stored - one of the things that attracted us to this house was the large stone outbuilding that the owners assured us was dry. Piled all my musical gear in there - cue finding out actually it's quite damp. This snare drum was one of the casualties. Although it has a Gretsch badge and hardware on it, I don't think the shell is a Gretsch - though there are exceptions, the factory drums tended to have a lining of 'silver sealer' on the inside. Much of the hardware is correct, albeit I think the throwoff is a Yamaha. Lots of corrosion on the inside: So I've decided to strip it down and try and bring it back to life. The shell didn't appear to have any lacquer on it (suggesting again it's not a factory drum) and my initial thoughts were to use some Tru-oil to finish the shell inside and out with. However, after stripping the shell and a light sanding it's clear that the corroded fixings have left stains on the shell: I expect these will also show through any finishing oil, so I'm going to have a think about what to do. Perhaps I might try staining the shell. I put the worst of the hardware in some vinegar to try and lift the rust: There were also a couple of small cosmetic cracks in the shell so I've put some superglue into those which should hopefully stop them propagating.

Oh, and I think I read somewhere that some of the Yamaha pickups are a different impedance to 'normal' ones - the Yammy preamp buffers/boosts them but some aftermarket preamps don't work, so perhaps worth checking that out too, though if it's standard jazz-size pickups you'd be fine to change those (mine has non-standard soapbars).

I have a much later TRB and I’m fine with the electronics, but based on experience with other basses, one of the best things you can do is fit a John East preamp. Have a look here and there’s bound to be a configuration that will drop in: https://www.east-uk.com/index.php/bass/u-retro.html

I think that you have to identify what would be a 'gig-stopper' and work down from there. For example, I recently went to a rehearsal, and my bass just 'went'. Changed battery, tried with preamp pedal, without, direct into amp, changed leads - nothing worked. If that had been a gig, and I had a backup bass, it would have been the work of seconds to swap over. (Transpired it was, in fact, a dodgy lead). As it was, I used a lead from someone else into the PA. So if, for whatever reason, your bass 'stops' working, what can you do to ameliorate that problem? If it's a head/cab issue, at least you can go into the PA, particularly if you use a preamp pedal too. Pedals - you can bypass. Leads - easy to take a spare (unless you're me above!). Strings - bring a pack of spares. Etc etc

Yep, I'm anticipating that - thanks.

Good shout - thanks!

I have an outbuilding, which is what sold me on our house when we bought it - I intended to use it as a studio and store all my musical equipment in there. Unfortunately it transpired it suffered catastrophic damp problems and rapidly damaged a lot of gear (lots of mould/mildew, finish cracking etc etc) and knackered a load of music books etc. We eventually got the money together to get it tanked, and once it had all dried out, put everything back in again. Only to find it damp inside again. Mould all up the walls, some cheap MDF Ikea bookshelves warped in a couple of months. It's only single glazed, and there's a big gap under the door, so airflow isn't an issue. However, it just wasn't ever getting dry enough inside. In the end, I purchased a dehumidifier off eBay. Since then it's been great - started out around 85% humidity, but running it on a constant has dropped that down to 60% and no further problems. The model I bought can be set to cut off when it reaches the target humidity and I've fitted a permanent drainage tube so if I don't go out there for a few days, it keeps working. It's one of these, if anyone is interested: https://www.screwfix.com/p/blyss-wdh-316db-16ltr-dehumidifier/368gy I paid about half that as it was used, but I'd say for the use I put it to, it'd be worth paying full price for another.

I think that could partially be the angle of the picture - not had any problems with the B (but it could do with the slot widening anyway as it's a bit fatter than the last string that was one there). Yes, that's what caught my eye - I suspect it probably had a new nut at some point in its life and it wasn't quite bob on.

Playing my relatively new-to-me 5-stringer, I notice I kept pinging the G-string off the fretboard. It's not a huge problem, but annoying from time to time. A closer inspection suggests that the G-string is closer to the edge than the B, and that there is a larger gap at the nut between the D and G than any other string. Essentially, it seems to me that the nut needs to be recut so that the slot for the G-string is a little closer inboard. Here's a pic: Given there isn't much likelihood of my local guitar shop opening soon, I was thinking about buying one of the pre-slotted Graphtech nuts and giving that a whirl. Has anyone done that? Any particular type better or worse than any other? Or should I have a stab at doing my own with a couple of synthetic blanks? I could get some needle files (not shelling out for proper nut files at the mo!) and probably get a reasonable approximation of the current nut. Anything I should watch out for (other than horlicksing it completely)?

I've been going between 4 and 5 for years now. First three times with a 5'er I gave up, flogged it and went back to 4. Each time I thought 'this is the time', bought a 5-string, played it, ended up with fingers in a tangle (and once memorably played a tune at a gig an entire string down!). However, the last time I persevered and actually sat down to figure out what it was that was causing me difficulties. I realised that I can't cope with a narrow string spacing, so looked for a 5'er that was close to the spacing of my 4'er and that seems to have done the trick, along with forcing myself to only play the 5-string. I recently picked up the 4 string and the neck felt too thin and I constantly found myself looking for the missing B-string. I didn't actually realise how much I used it/relied on it until then. I've since done a couple of gigs and recording with it and it's fine. If you're really struggling though, one option might be to string it E - C. I tried this as part of my coping strategy the last bass-but-one, and it worked fine - I just realised I'd be better off with the B than the top C.

My understanding of powder-coating is that it can be problematic for small, fiddly parts (such as saddles in bridges) because the coating is relatively thick. I know people who have had it done on things like bike frames, and it gummed up threads and put parts out of alignment because of the thickness of the coating, so it had to be cut back. If you're prepared to properly mask and/or ream out bits that have been coated, it might be okay, but I think spray painting - or anodising if metal as suggested above - would potentially be better, depending on the finish you're looking for.

Too good to waste!

This one in particular upset them: Though this tune by Soil&"PIMP"SESSIONS caused consternation (not least because of the screaming at the outset): Can't see why myself....

The front ones?

We went to Cheltenham Jazz Festival last year. One of the acts we went to see was The Bad Plus. I thought it was great: my wife, when questioned, said "it was physically painful and I never want to hear anything like that again". My son concurred. So anything by TBP tends to work, but all you need to do is say "it's jazz'" and they run a mile.

Yew've done a cracking job!

Excellent - looks like a couple of my (sadly now departed) Japanese Fenders:

I recently picked up some Tannoy 402 Reveals from eBay for basic home studio and general PC use. Unfortunately, one of the pair was destroyed by the courier in transit, but the other one when fired up sounded pretty good, and they do have good reviews, so I'm on the look out for another orphan to complete the set.

Just bought some tapewounds off Gareth, a perfect transaction. He was really helpful beforehand to check they would fit, and sent them out really quickly. They were even packed in string order in the packet! Top-notch gent, thanks again.

Thanks - I’m after a ‘Bender - ImPrecision Bass’ one!

Looks good. Just out of interest, where did you get the decal?

Absolutely - as I'm also within the risk categories for respiratory issues anyway, that's certainly something I want to avoid!! In my limited googling, getting the filters doesn't seem to to be the problem, getting the masks is, as all appear to be diverted to medical uses.

I’ve been considering starting a project bass build as something to keep me occupied in the current circumstances. I’d really like a Sonic Blue P-bass, so would like to have a crack at painting a body using Nitro cans from somewhere like Manchester Guitar Tech and then a light relicing (I know, I know...). However, I regularly read on here that proper protection is necessary as it’s pretty noxious stuff. My question therefore is this: as masks etc are presently (and rightly) nigh-on impossible to obtain, is it possible to still spray nitro safely? If not, are there any alternatives that would be safe and which would give a comparable colour, if not finish?

What sound are you looking for? If you are able to articulate that, then it may be possible to give you suggestions in relation to EQing etc. I’d also echo all of the above - MB amps work slightly differently to other brands in that the filter knobs start affecting the tone straight after ‘zero’, rather than from 12 o’clock. My first mistake was to set *everything* flat (including the filters) and it didn’t sound great. However, start the EQ flat and the filters at zero and you should get a great starting point.

Top notch, thanks.