I may rename this as the slowest build ever, but I see that thread title has already been taken – I've been waiting for the return of my ACG-01 preamp from the repairman for ages now and have bought a replacement to get things moving – once that's arrived it's final sand and re-dye, then lift off.

I snagged a minty, cheap used Schaller 2000 bridge from Reverb and have nicked the chrome bits and put them on the black bridge – idea stolen from the Simms Lionheart basses.

Not long now!

I thought there would be a difference of preferences – my first fretless was a Wal that had them where the frets would be – I wasn't really good enough to play fretless then, but now it's all good – sadly the Wal is no longer mine (though they are over-rated and well over-priced in my opinion, having owned two). There, cat among the pigeons time now maybe…

12 minutes ago, itu said:

No lines, glow-in-the-dark side dots at the frets.

glow in the dark = smart idea – no lines though = yikes!

Same position as on a fretted neck or in line with the frets?

I have an ebony fretless neck that has dots between the fret lines and I find it a bit confusing when I move from fretted to fretless

My preference for my new build will be for faint fret lines and dots on the 3rd, 5th line etc

What do you fretless types prefer?

Bought a couple of MM pick guards from @Old Horse Murphy – perfect transaction – thanks Nick!

which one is best for bass - recommendations please

Thanks @Jabba_the_gut - pm sent to Mr Murphy

Thanks @AndyTravis for the suggestion, will pm him

Does anyone have one of these in .ai or .pdf form, or any digital format for that matter?

Got to make a clear one for a custom pickup arrangement

On 02/04/2020 at 13:21, fleabag said:

And for good measure, Guy aged 22 with Aussie synthers Icehouse playing a cricket bat.

Anyone else see Icehouse at Milton Keynes Bowl supporting Bowie in the 80's ?

I must have seen Guy without knowing it

 

Yes to Bowie at the MK Bowl – my first time there – got there at midday and waited for what seemed like an eternity for DB to come on!

This is great, especially at 14:11

Thanks everyone for your input – I think I will go for a flat board on my new build. I have a 70s Aria jazz with an almost flat board and I really like it compared to my Stingrays and Precisions.

One thing that occurred to me is that a lot pickups have a raised D and A pole pieces – I have a Hausell Triplebucker going in which has level pole pieces so no problem there

Thanks chaps – anyone tried the low-tension LTF-4A La Bella strings?

Is it medium-scale I'm after, as it's string-through? I don't want to get it wrong what with the cost of good flats

Thanks @Twincam – I thought it might be a subjective thing – and no chance of using a bow either, not that I would do such a thing unless I came over all avant-garde like

What are the pros and cons of a flat board?

Your workshop is like mine! Good work!

OK, time for a long overdue update…

I can report that the Fiebings black leather dye is blacker than a black hole and I would recommend it over other brands that I've tested, which all had some degree of show-through resulting in a dark brown colour

A couple of coats was all that it needed, even one coat was very black, with no show-through

Once dry it showed up my poor sanding – lots of tiny scratches across the grain etc – I've sanded it now from 300 through to 1200 and arrived at this driftwood appearance – it's quite appealing and now I've got used to it, but will almost certainly go again with the black, possibly grain-filling with pewter rub'n'buff.

One thing about the driftwood look that I like is that when I inevitably smack it on the edge of a drum kit I won't be too bothered as the ding won't show in the same way as on a pristine black finish.

The Haussel pickups are looking the part – single coil at the neck – a mini-switch will be fitted to allow a few pickup blend options.

Anyone had any contact with John East (of pre-amp fame) recently – emails are going unanswered for some time now

On 28/10/2019 at 06:50, NJE said:

A very good friend of mine works in music production/writing/session work etc and he and a lot of friends/colleagues swear by the Sennheiser HD25’s. Apparently they have a very flat natural response and sound fantastic.

I too have the Sennheiser HD25s – they aren't flat response by any means – they have pronounced bass. I also use Sennheiser HD650s which are as flat as a flat thing and are widely used for reference – I use both straight from the output jack on the bass via John East pre-amps – the 650s are louder than the HD25s. Hope this helps.

Hi

Can anyone shed light on the pros and cons of these two designs, eg can I get a P sound from the first one with appropriate switching/wiring?

double split coil humbucker

https://www.delano.de/mc_4_fe_m2/mc_4_fe_m2_details.html

dual coil humbucker

https://www.delano.de/mc_4_fe/mc_4_fe_details.html

I'll be pairing this with a J at the bridge and will need advice on wiring options, such as parallel/series, two single coils and whatever else might be worthwhile

Cheers!

On 22/11/2019 at 14:36, BassBunny said:

Spot on. I've done it a few times with Delano pickups.

Hi @BassBunny – with Delano pickups, do you have to request extra wires/contacts for series/parallel etc, or is it straight forward to do with any pickup?

I'm building a new bass that has been routed for a Delano MM and a J and I'm exploring wiring options – I will create a new post shortly

Cheers

Not often you see a maple neck on a Wal @medpb

Anybody using one of these? Are they any good?

https://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Electric-Guitar-Foam-Case-by-Gear4music/C86

Dear @Bassbandit – Hank never went without lube, take that back right now 😎