neepheid

Loving every minute that I play that Greco bass I bought which knocked me out of proceedings this year?

This is just my take on bass life, I'm not telling you what to do. Nostalgia is expensive. I have one rule - if it's not getting played, it's getting sold. I've sold my first bass. I've sold my "year of birth" bass. It's just stuff. They're just things. There's no mojo, there's no magic, it's just my brain being its usual soft and squidgy self. If it doesn't bring joy, get rid. Basses sitting around idle is a sin - get 'em sold to someone who'll hopefully play it to death. Or keep it. I'm shrugging now.

Bloody hell, could this thread not be a review of The Inevitable Teaspoons album instead? Got my hopes up there

Small update - frets have been levelled and recrowned. I think the neck did need it, the fret material didn't come off universally so I hope i made an improvement. Also, French polish arrived from @kodiakblair - legend, cheers!

I have no idea if what I'm doing is correct, but I have mine after things which need to detect notes/work on dynamics (tuner, detuner, pitch shifter, synth/envelope) but before my OD/EQ. Works for me, your mileage may vary.

Eat cake in a controlled manner? That's not like you, you trying some new approach?

Nah, no mockery needed, gonna go with the original plan of black, dark grey and white.

Design transferred and traced onto the headstock... Not starting painting tonight though - that was hard work, plus I only have black paint at the moment - need white and dark grey. The plan is to hand paint it with model paints and tiny brushes, flatten it a tad with very fine sandpaper, then lacquer over the top to protect it.

Been toying with some ideas for the headstock in Inkscape...

Legend, mate - cheers!

I am, yes. If you're having difficulty finding a suitable receptacle then as a whisky lover I can safely say I can get my hands on something suitable - happy to send it down to you.

That's very kind of you, thanks! I don't need a lot - just refinishing the area you see above, some in the neck pocket and some in the holes for the neck screw ferrules. 50ml maybe? 75? I'm not very good at gauging it.

Bugger. No-one seems to have Colron French Polish in stock. I have no idea if a different brand (Rustins, Liberon) is going to look the same or not. Don't suppose anyone has a half used tin of Colron French Polish they could spare? Sorry to say but two house moves since 2007 have put paid to me ever finding my old can of it

As it turns out, me. Decided to put my big boy pants on and get the tedious stuff started at least. So now, the area around the neck pocket looks a bit less like someone attacked it with a router and ran away. There's still quite a sharp transition into the new shape, but I've got it about as good as I can be bothered with. All done the old fashioned way, with sandpaper round various diameters of dowel etc. - I must be mad, but I'm in a real anti power tool mood today, just can't be bothered with the noise, I think!

Well, that's the simplest of the jobs off the to-do list - fit the control cavity cover. Had some old screw holes to fill, and one to avoid because it has a broken, rusted out screw in it. Very pleasant hour or so spent pottering with a Stanley knife/blade, mallet, some wood glue, a bradawl and hand drill. Found my nice countersink bit in the shed also, so that was a bit of a bonus! This cover might end up serving simply as a template and might get replaced with something 3D printed, but for now, the gubbins have a functional cover. Totally not putting off the other jobs which involve taking the neck off...

The return of "basses near the settee"

Lots of progress yesterday and today. The final piece of the puzzle (from the procurement point of view) arrived from South Korea: So, the cavities got new copper lining, then wired to the cavity, then the pickups went in. Strings went back on to check alignment and roughly set heights, then it was on with the mounting of the electronics (Artec SE-2 - which had also been in the shed this whole time...) That was me done with it yesterday, but tonight I wired it all up. Unbelievably, it worked first time! So I loosely put some knobs on it (not wedded to these ones yet) And had a bloody good play with it. It still needs quite a few things done to finish it off (in no particular order): area around the neck pocket which I routed off, smoothed, rounded off and refinished suspect I might have to give the neck a full fret level and crown decorate the headstock finish off the control cavity cover (put screwholes in it, then pilot holes in the body, then screw it down) But for now, I can be happy with my work so far. It works, yay!

2009 - my first gig with my first originals band Panda Eyes, at the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen. 28/06/2025 - Me disproving Thunderbird neck dive theory at Maud Football Club with Nine Lives.

What have stairs got to do with it?

@rwillett - you're up

Hey, I'm super helpful! Where's my damn badge?

I wouldn't stay changed, more refined. I have a definite list of no-nos (mostly based around Jazz basses and short scales). I've always deliberately steered clear of regular Fender Precisions (apart from early on I put together a bitsa Squier P), mostly because I think they're boring. Even when I do stray into the territory, I can't help but do it differently - a G&L Tribute LB-100 here, a Cabronita Precision there. The one thing I have strayed away from is Gibson USA - they haven't done anything worth looking at in bass for years now, and I got tired of waiting. For years I was their biggest apologist, but I'm done now. The prices on the older, interesting stuff have gone through the roof, which I find hypocritical in the extreme considering the amount of dog's abuse they used to get. I've been priced clean out of it. TL:DR - If I like the looks of it, and it isn't a Jazz bass or short scale, I might buy it.

Right, that's me finished mucking about with this bass, which has been christened the "Ratlet", because the budget was half what the original "Rat" bass cost (G4M LA Select + Lace Aluma P) I fitted a Sire/Reverend style 3 string retainer on the headstock, and I put a £19 Guyker bridge on it, just because it's fancier looking and it hides the ball ends of the strings. So at the beginning of this, my challenge to myself was to have a "giggable" bass for under £150 - all new parts, not including shipping costs. Final total cost = £144.67. Definitely "giggable" - I gigged it on Saturday night!