Grangur

Good luck with the job @TheGreek

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

Also (as I found) on a PJ guitar if it sounds weak and pathetic with both pickups maxed, you need to swap the wires on the J pickup.

In my experience all Fender basses with 2 pups have this problem.

That's interesting @Stub Mandrel. I didn't think a precision split coil was humbucking? 

I agree the magnetic poles do have a correct way. The pups wont work so well if the magnets are repelling; negatively affecting the induction in the coils.

I've come across this before and both @gary mac and @ikay are right. The actual colour wires you use won't matter, but join them in series and then connect the other wires to the volume and ground. A coil isn't polarised, so if doesn't matter which way round you connect them, but don't install it with the magnets repelling each other.

If you spray in the late morning - lunchtime on a warmish, dry day it should be ok if you then leave it hanging as shown above, in the lean-to until evening. The paint would then be dry and just need more time to harden before you do anything more to it. In any case, use a face mask to avoid inhaling the paint particles.

DON'T be tempted to do it in doors unless the place is well covered with dust cloths and you're ready to clean up WELL after yourself.

Even in the lean-to, cover the washing machine etc, unless you're into experiencing pain when the others get back.

Tip of the day: When you've sprayed it and there are a few tiny bits in the paint. Rub the dry painted surface over with the back of your sandpaper. This will de-nib the surface without you having to sand it back.

Pearl would look good. Otherwise, I think you're going to be needing to paint one.  It's not going to be easy to match that though, unless you get the body AND pg sprayed at the same time.

Edit: unless you like these:

https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/pickguards-c62/pink-t14

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pink-3-Ply-JB-Jazz-J-Bass-Pickguard-Scratch-Plate-Fits-US-Mexican-Fender-/252406004531

When doing this I always start by putting masking tape on the body around the position of the old bridge, This gives you a good indication of the position for the new bridge. Also, as long as the old one was in the right place, it'll give you a good guide for the left/right positioning for the new bridge.

As @KiOgon says, you need to measure to find the position where the saddles need to be. If your bass is 34" scale, the distance from the nut to the 12th fret will be 43cm or there abouts. So the distance from the 12th to your G saddle will need to be about 43cm. The others will probably be slightly further. Work out the 12th - saddle distance to be 43cm, but with allowance for a saddle to move shorter AND longer. 

There is a strong chance you will need to plug the 2 outside existing holes as they won't be in the right place, but they will be near enough to mess up your drilling of holes for the new bridge. Plug the holes using cocktail sticks and PVA glue. Let the glue dry, then fill in any dents and again, let it dry before you start drilling this will mean you have a good, flat surface to drill into. Place a strip of masking tape on the body, under the line where the  new screw holes will go. Assuming you now have a 5-hole bridge, find the position where the centre screw will go, then drill that one first. Screw the bridge into place with that 1 screw, then check the measurements and position again. Then drill the other holes, making sure the bridge is straight.

Remove the bridge, remove the tape and screw the bridge into place.

Welcome to the world of bass building. Good luck

In which case, @vinorange, I wouldn't change anything just yet. I would take a look at the pre-amps on the market and find one that has all you're looking for and go from there.

What bothers me here is if I was looking to buy this bass from @vinorange, at some time down the line, I'd like it to have standard wiring. When all this is done and 3 years has gone by, will Vinorange have the skills and memory to put this back to standard?  (No offence intended here, but if you're struggling with the circuit it's easy not to remember)

If he's after VVT isn't it easiest to simply remove the harness in total. Keep it in a box in a safe place and fit a standard, passive VVT if that's what he wants? John @KiOgon can supply him with a VVT with a stacked volume and it would keep it easy to swap back at some future date.

I'd dip a cocktail stick into PVA or Superglue and stick it into the hole, then re-screw the retainer back in.

Don't use matchsticks. Matches are of a much softer wood and won't hold as well as cocktail sticks.

I sold a Vintage Tony Butler Sig P to Kev. All went well. We met and had a chat. All was good.

Many thanks Kev

I supplied Ovi with some books. All went well. He's a good, easy guy to trade with.

Many thanks!

Nice bass.

This is what Warwick have to say about it:

Serial number:  C 104855-04
produced:   08.03.2004

Description:   Streamer Stage II, 5-string
Natural Oil finish
Afzelia body
Ovangkol neck
Gold hardware 
 
Made in Germany

13 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

If you do use Mr Sheen and other silicone based cleaners, don't spray them direct onto things. Silicone is a great insulator and can play havoc with electronics. Spray onto a cloth and wipe with that.

Having worked in wood finishing I can tell you that if you have used silicone polish on anything no finisher will ever want to touch it. It's not possible to respray anything after you've done that. The silicone repels any paint or lacquer and no rubbing down gets it off.

Silicone remains sticky and attracts dirt as well. What you can use is beeswax. It buffs up well and can be removed for spraying.

TBH I don't think precise positioning of the pups is too critical. String selection and hand position will make more difference.  However 77mm from the nut would place it on the neck, just about in the centre of the 3rd fret.  So I think there's a small error there. Maybe he meant centimeters  not mm.

On a Streamer Stage 1 the P pop is 285mm from the 12th 

The jazz is 375mm from the 12th. 

These are measured from the bottom edge of the 12th fret to the nearest edge of the plastic cover of the pup.

Hi @Marcoelwray, tbh @blablas is an incredible builder of basses. You would do well to check out his builds. He has a stunning collection of basses he has built.

Don't forget the 12th is at 1/2 way point in the scale length. It's easier to measure as you can measure it with a shorter steel rule. A steel rule is more accurate than a tape measure.

Just now, machinehead said:

Since the nut is fixed and the bridge is adjustable, I've give you measurements from the nut.

Frank.

I was thinking the same thing. Otherwise, which saddle do you measure from?

Sorry @thebigyin, you were beaten to it.

Clearing a few duplicates and stuff. All are pretty much in "as new" condition.

All prices include posting in the UK.

The Best of Police  £7

Hal Leonard Bass Method Book1  £6

Beatles Bass Book £6

Bass Builders Muted Grooves  £7  Sold

Ed Freidland Building Walking Bass Lines £7   Sold

Gary Willis Fingerboard Harmony for Bass £7   Sold

Thanks for looking

39 minutes ago, StevieE said:

What I wanted to say but put more eloquently 😁

But  if we accept this and dismiss the conversation completely,  then we wouldn't have conversation at all. On that basis, we wouldn't we dismiss a lot of the conversation on Basschat?

3 minutes ago, StevieE said:

I'd always assumed it would be the opposite of that, but that's probably because of the visual tone of the wood influencing my brain. 

Thing is, all basses have tone controls, so just a little tweek of the bass or treble will negate the apparent affect of the woods..? 

Lozz and I too, had also assumed Rosewood would give the more deep tone.

If you're using a passive bass; as most Fenders are, the "tone control" is a treble cut. If you're looking to have a more aggressive, treble tone, then the tone on the bass won't fix this. Yes, you can boost it on the amp, but this is a discussion on the influence of wood might have on the tone of a bass. In truth any slight variance in the tone that is/can be achieved by the small influence the wood can probably be dialed in/out in an EQ.  

21 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Exactly. Without knowing the other variables it is impossible to say what contribution the fingerboard wood is making. Also your sample size is still far too small. 

Also did Lozz196 know what fingerboard wood was on each bass he way playing? There may have been unconscious bias there to get the expected/desired result.

Does any bass manufacturer make basses with maple necks and maple fingerboards where the fingerboard is a separate piece of wood to the neck? If so are there any comparisons of this to otherwise as close as possible identical basses with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard, and with a neck and fingerboard made from a single piece of maple?

I've played maple neck instruments, but never played one where the fingerboard wasn't another piece if wood stuck on the front; the  same as a rosewood construction. I've also owned rosewood neck basses where there was also a skunk stripe.@Lozz196 was staggered by the result. Before the test he'd made the choice to go to having all maple neck instruments. In the test he found rosewood actually suited the sound he wanted more than maple.

What this demonstrated to me was, there would appear to be a reasonable difference and a consistency in the sound. More than I would have expected from a fingerboard. I would expect the wood of the back of the neck to have a bigger effect as it's the larger mass of wood in the neck.  I'm not so totally convinced about body wood making much difference. If the body was 2 meters long there might be more chance of resonance, but a plank 500mm long doesn't bend a lot.

Thanks @Cuzzie, you're right, of course. 

TBH, taking in the good points from @BigRedX, doesn't this really only point to the fact that there are SO many variables. The points made by BRX mainly point out that it's no good thinking that by having 2 bodies of the same breed of wood, with the rest of the hardware being the same you're ever going to be able to have 2 basses sound in the same.

So, there's really no chance ever of thinking you can buy "X" bass on the internet, no matter the source, and think you're going to know what it sounds like.

Some time back @Lozz196 did a blind tone-test at the Hertfordshire Bass bash. Various basses with either maple or rosewood fretboards were played on stage behind a curtain. There were pairs of different basses; jazz, precision, Musicman etc. one of each pair had a rosewood fretboard and the other was maple. All pairs had the same strings; brand new D'Addarios and all were played by Lozz196.

What came out was the maple necks gave a more bass tone and the rosewood gave a brighter tone. This may have been a coincidence, but it was interesting how this coincidence followed across 4-5 pairs of basses.

Regrettably, I don't think any note was taken about which necks had skunk stripes. This too could have an influence, or maybe not.

Maybe all the Rosewood necks also had alder bodies and the maple necks had ash, but this difference in tone was clearly there.