Andyjr1515

Still not a huge amount to photo but quite a bit of activity on this. Although the body will be covered in cream paint, I have suggested that we go for 2-layer mahogany (a bit like Pete's recent EB3-ish) for the 'gravitas' and sustain. It will be chambered to keep the weight under control. It is clearly a VERY long body and I feared we might have been looking at some expensive oversize blanks but then had a look through some planks of great mahogany I bought a few years ago. There's one there ample for the four long pieces of the wings And it's lovely tight grained stuff too - perfect. I've ordered the neck splices from the excellent and reliable David Dyke - two plain maple outers and a rosewood 6mm central splice - this should make the neck very similar in look to Tom's African bass (which and who is still doing splendidly and regularly playing in front of big and notable crowds!): Tom's centre splice is cocobolo but it will be a similar contrast (unless, of course, we paint the neck too!?) In the meantime, Nic is sending me all sorts of goodies. Won't be long before there's some cutting and gluing going on

[quote name='mcc' timestamp='1476712541' post='3156522'] I guess I just wanted to know if anyone has changed the nut on their basses for a narrower option and if intonation and everything (after setting up the bridge) was OK. The issue about the zero fret is that the nut only functions as a string guide for the width not for the height. [/quote] Yes - I've narrowed spacing and widened spacing at the nut. It won't affect intonation, tone or anything else as long as the strings never go beyond where the fret starts rounding off at the fret ends. As dyerseve says, there may be grooves in your zero, but if the new nut slots are properly cut, that shouldn't give problems. If the grooves are that deep, then the zero probably needs replacing anyway (a not-uncommon occurrence in general)

[quote name='Gibbo9876' timestamp='1478798500' post='3171755'] Hi everyone I am looking to mod up a 96 Squire p bass. I want to change the pickups but the circuit in the bass at the moment is a little weak. What would people recommend as a good all round P bass pickup-circuit Combo? I tried the EMG active pickups but didnt find them too amazing, does this indicate that the bass itself is not worth it? All input would be great, Thanks [/quote] Hi I'm sure that there will be many great suggestions (for what it's worth I've been very impressed with the reasonably priced DiMarzio P pickup) but the Squier P bass is a perfectly acceptable framework to put a decent pickup into...

[quote name='Rumple' timestamp='1478679164' post='3170761'] Nice work Andy [/quote] Thanks, Rumple

[quote name='allighatt0r' timestamp='1478680888' post='3170789'] A bit far for me to come, unfortunately [/quote] I think I'll let you off, Bryan Actually, it's a tiny venue. It's the place we practice at nowadays so this is a part 'thank you' gig for them and part charity fund raising

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1478642736' post='3170635'] I can hardly wait! Yet another lovely job, sir. [/quote] Thanks, Paul

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1478629711' post='3170471'] The ever-modest Andy is a bit coy. The gig is at the Milford Social Club, Milford, Derbyshire. Just off the A6 and about 5 miles north of Derby. I plan to be there. [/quote] It would be great to see you there, Neil

Done The wiring is fairly straightforward - standard 3-way switch stuff: ...polished, and the original scratchplate and wiring loom popped in the case in the event that Paul wants to revert to original spec (very easy to do): Quick sound check - absolutely fine. Some VERY interesting sounds in the middle position with small tweaks on the Music Man volume The neck-only and bridge-only positions are utterly different in character to each other but balance very nicely volume-wise. Looks good doesn't it? I'll be passing this back to Paul next week Thanks for the feedback, folks Andy

Got the opportunity to play this at tonight's band practice . It sounds great in full band context. The Model One is a cracking pickup....I noticed Pete only used one of the six settings on the rotary (no surprise, it was the 'neck only') and when I got to play, I never got past that setting either. At the gig on 10th Dec, it will be a bit special because I will have built every guitar and bass used in the band . The fully tally will be the lead guitarists tele and spare, the vocalist's dreadnought acoustic, Pete's EB3 bass and SG six string, my own own design six string. Must remember to get someone to take a photo

It depends what sound you're after, and I love P90s, but for me a Les Paul needs humbuckers...and as a number of folk have said, for me the Tonerider Alnico IV Classics have just got it. Personal thing of course...

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1478470407' post='3169311'] I was relying on you for this one It is time someone invented 'perfect finish', you just spray it on after 80 grit sanding, it self levels and fills large flaws, no runs and it sets in 1 hour. After that buffing with T cut or similar results in a gloss finish that is rock hard yet impervious to dings. [/quote] I'm working on that....it involves a significant amount of alcohol and shellac. You drink the alcohol and then who the f***cares what you do with the shellac

(Ref gelfin' pic) Isn't that great, folks! (well - the bass anyway )

[quote name='3below' timestamp='1478461339' post='3169204'] It will be 'interesting' getting the finish inside the curves. I look forward to finding out how it should be done [/quote] Yes - I agree, 3below. I also look forward to finding out how it should be done Certainly got no idea at the moment!

[quote name='Oopsdabassist' timestamp='1478454122' post='3169138'] A hidden Smoothhound...what a brilliant idea!! [/quote] Entirely gelfin's, I have to confess...

Although I've still got a few other smaller things on the go (including it being 'that time' in the garden), this project very much isn't forgotten! I'm planning to start sorting out the body wood and probably order the neck timber next week. Clearly on a build like this, the body shape is pretty fundamental. I drew out the profile of the original full size and Nic pencilled in some tweaks to do - mainly just slimming down the rear bout, top an bottom just a touch. It is VERY subtle, but actually makes quite a difference to the look. This is the final shape - you can just see the original lines if you look closely!: We are also developing the spec. Subject to changes as things develop to suit anything specific Nic wants, but so far we have: [list] [*]Solid colour - cream [*]Mahogany top and back to give it 'gravitas' but with judicious weight reducing chambers incorporated [*]Maple laminated through neck with single centre splice [*]Rosewood fingerboard [*]Recess to accommodate a 'hidden' Smoothound wireless tx, but also capable of accepting standard jack [*]Headstock shape to be decided [*]P/ups & EQ/No EQ still being discussed (but includes tentative discussion about the DiMarzio Model One - Nic's thoughts and total coincidence that this is what I fitted in the EB-3 but I am WELL impressed with that monster of a pickup!) [/list] Loads of other stuff we are knocking around between us. Can't wait to start cutting wood ...oh...and by the way...keep steady on the plaudits, much as those are always, always appreciated Why? Because Nic has, in his past, built a twin neck version of this himself!!!! I'll leave it to him to decide whether to show or not but it is breathtaking...

That's looking really nice

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1478352202' post='3168557'] Fingers crossed the WiFi holds up... Neck vol,tone, Bridge vol, tone please! Really chuffed with how it looks, too, as I feared the p pup might look a bit clumsy - it doesn't at all. [/quote] OK - no problem. Linear pots should be with me Monday I think it looks very good...like it was meant that way

[quote name='rmorris' timestamp='1478297180' post='3168346'] Bakelite ? I Googled the model number and everything I read says it's ebony ??? [/quote] No - I think it is ebonol. That is black paper and a type of epoxy highly compressed. From an expansion point of view - if differential expansion is the issue - I suspect that is pretty close to ebony and that it is the neck wood that is expanding and contracting more than the ebonol does. An ebony fretboard would, on that basis, have a similar issue.

[quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1478245895' post='3167772'] # That is definitely one of the things that appealed to me I am going to get some rougher sandpaper on the way home from work today. Probably 80 and 180. Hopefully i'll have some time tonight to do a test strip to see if i like the flake [/quote] Hi, Kert You're doing well It's less critical when you are using primer (that usually covers pretty much anything), but the general rule of thumb is to try to get down to bare clean wood so it's well worth the effort with your coarser sandpaper. Certainly if this was going to be stained or oiled it is critical, but previous coating residue can react also with other finishes too. When you've sanded it down through the finer grades to, say, 250, dust it down (vacuuming it is best) and look closely for any dips or dings - they will still show through even multiple coats of primer and finish. The more aberrations you can sand out or fill and sand back at this stage, the better will be the final finish

[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1478316670' post='3168408'] Through the marvels of modern technology I have just looked at this from my room in Mexico. Cracking job Andy. The wiring configuration you have settled on sounds more intuitive than the middle blend thing. Looking forward to my next WiFi opportunity! [/quote] Great to hear from you, Paul . Hope the trip's going well. On the off chance that the technology holds and you get wifi again, do you want (from the fretboard end) neck vol, neck tone, bridge vol, bridge tone or vol, vol, tone, tone? I'm impressed, by the way, with the Aquilar. Even through my little practice amp, it shows some impressive woomph yet retains great clarity

Nothing much to show at the moment, but been doing quite a bit of experimenting with wiring options. A summary of the conclusions are:[list] [*]As suspected, the (parallel coils) standard Music man in passive mode is no match at all for the volume output of the P pickup. Music Man pickups are very low output...it is the preamp EQ that generates the volume normally. It is also beyond the acceptable range of adjusting pickup height to compensate [/list][list] [*]Rewiring the Music Man with the coils in series creates a decent volume balance between the two pickups [/list][list] [*]I experimented with using a blend pot to cover the middle position. With a standard three-way switch it wasn't possible to wire up so that the middle could be through the blend and the other two positions not (that would have been nice!) and the interaction between the other volume settings for neck only / bridge only was too great and not intuitive. Nice sounds, but not really usable for practical use. [/list][list] [*]The option to use a blend and use the three way switch as a 'series/parallel/single' split for the Music Man is not really practical because of the huge volume drop for the single and parallel options [/list][list] [*]It is therefore going to be a straightforward 3-position switch (neck/both/bridge) with 2 volumes and 2 tones. The only thing I might do is pop linear pots on the volume.....this is because in the 'both' position, tiny tweaks to the Music Man volume produce some REALLY different and usable sound differences. However, it is far too sensitive to use in gig conditions. Linear pots should take out that sensitivity. I'll order some linears and give it a try [/list]

It's OK - got it! It's the one combination I hadn't tried on the basis of "Nahh...... can't be that!" For any crazy person doing what I'm doing...it's Red is hot White and black joined Green to ground Andy

[quote name='martthebass' timestamp='1478199753' post='3167536'] I've got a Sterling Sub (USA) that's apparently wired in series....unfortunately it's in the shop having the neck refinned....sorry no help there then. [/quote] So close....and yet so very far away Any one else got any idea?

With Ernie Ball being possibly the most unhelpful web site in the modern world, does anyone happen to know what the 4 conductor colour configuration is of the music man pickup on a Sterling? I'm trying to find which wires are which to put it into series rather than parallel but can't find any info and the physical results don't seem to match the guesswork and multimeter work.... Thanks in advance! Andy

I've got a Vox AC4. No frills, just gain, bass, treble and master vol but I am delighted. Will sonically do pretty much whatever I need a tube amp to do but at volumes from surprisingly loud to very quiet. You can plug an external speaker in too