Andyjr1515

I'm interested in this because of the revelation I gained when building my first acoustic steel-string relating to the black magic of 'tap tuning' a top when you are carving the braces. I've just been doing some checks on my fretted and fretless solid bass guitars. Here I have been listening to the harmonics produced on ONLY the other three strings when I play D. My method was a sharp pluck at each fret of the D string and immediately mute [i]with two fingers to avoid creating a harmonic on the D, [/i]and then listening for a harmonic ringing out from the E, A or G by muting each one in turn until the harmonic, where I can hear one, abruptly stops. Some REALLY interesting results:[list] [*]Up to the 5th fret on D, almost no harmonics induced in the other three stings [*]5th Fret; strong harmonics on both basses, E on f/less and G on fretted [*]6th Fret; no harmonics on either bass [*]7th Fret; harmonic on A string on both basses [*]8th; harmonic on G on fretless; no harmonic on fretted [*]9th; A on fretless; E on fretted [*]10th; E on fretless; no harmonic on fretted [*]11th; A on both [*]12th; G on both [/list] Worth trying the simple test to see if it is simply the other open strings vibrating at a harmonic frequency. If it is the above, it is probably simply the mark of a good bass. It is the body vibration that sets the strings ringing at the various harmonics. Usually the better the 'tone wood' the more it happens. For electric basses and guitars, this effect is rarely strong enough to come through the pickups and hence the one side of the 'tone wood makes no difference' argument. On an acoustic it is fundamental and critical to the tone and clarity. So in summary, if it is this, don't worry on three counts:[list] [*]It means your bass is made out of decent wood [*]The audience aren't going to hear it [*]When you are playing a riff rather than fretting individual notes, the open string is rarely open long enough for this to be heard even if it could be [/list] It's a long shot but I'd be really interested in the results of your further checks....

[quote name='adamg67' timestamp='1467272422' post='3082347'] That's it, yeah, and it's a lot more noticeable when playing acoustically - I should dig my mic out and try recording it that way. It probably seems more obvious to me in the soundcloud clip because I know what it sounds like. It's also more obvious compared to much lower notes than I've got in the clip, if you're playing and you run up to a high D it really sticks out. I think it'll need to go to someone who knows what they're doing, I'm just loathe to spend more money on it. [/quote] Two things - diametrically opposed - occur to me in my random musings:[list] [*]If it is purely acoustic and is indeed resonances through the whole body and neck (which acoustic builders like me would give their back teeth for) and doesn't really come through when fully amplified, I wouldn't worry about it because 'it is a good thing'. Indeed, the same characteristics will be actually enhancing the tone through the amp. [/list][list] [*]The other thought is totally opposite. If it is not the body, then something else is resonating. On 6-string guitars, I quite often get this from the nut to tuner stretch of the string. In fact, I pop a buffer - in the shape of a velcro cable tie - on some of my guitars to stop it happening: [/list] Same thing sometimes happens with jazz tail stocks where there is a length of string between the stop tail and the bridge, and also the springs in a Stratocaster tremolo chamber are notorious for doing the same thing. Is there a long run from the nut to the tuners or do you have a string tree?

I think I can hear what you are describing on the clip, although not totally sure. What I can hear is a reasonable level of resonance that you would hear on, say, a good acoustic 6string. Is it that what you are describing and hearing? Basically a harmonic at the same pitch as the note being played? If you play the bass acoustically, do you still hear it?

[quote name='Jabba_the_gut' timestamp='1467055423' post='3080882'] Cheers for the comments. I'm continuing on with the other half of this build - had a go at a scarf joint for the first time. Not too bad, not perfectly square but will be fine for what I want. Truss rod arrived for this today so this neck will progress a bit over the next week or so (I hope...!) [/quote] One of the things on my 'must get round to doing it' list is building a scarf routing jig. My attempts at scarf joints are a little bit different to "not perfectly square"...and not in a good way This looks pretty fine to me, Jez, dammit!

This has finished as it started, Ian....sublime.....simply sublime

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1466792702' post='3078947'] Excellent stuff, thank you Hilary and Mick. The blog is now published! (Apologies for taking this long) - check it out here: [url="http://wp.me/p2ZbyY-vO"]http://wp.me/p2ZbyY-vO[/url] As always, let me know about any errors and omissions. [/quote] Great blog, Silvia Many thanks for all of the effort you've put into this Andy (and I'm sure, the rest of us )

Shallow5 is going to be a stunner, Ian Andy

Kirk at http://www.exotichardwoodsukltd.com/ (not to be confused with the exotichardwoods.com that Grangur refers to) holds a good stock and photos of all of the tops can be seen on the web site. Pricey mind...just have a look at the acoustic sets section and scroll down to African Blackwood....

I love the top carve, Bastav. It's going to look stunning once the finish has been applied

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1465893482' post='3071831'] Cheers Andy it's Melamine lacquer....brushed on. Ian [/quote] Wow - I never get finishes like that with brushes! Top drawer stuff

Just re-read the thread...you are planning white?

Excellent to see the progress on this, Rumple. That looks a decent bit of wood underneath it all. The sections look to be pretty similar colour (sometimes they look like a zebra crossing!). How many sections is it? Also, what colour and finish are you planning?

[quote name='scojack' timestamp='1465897249' post='3071878'] The two buttons are a nice touch and are brilliant when you dont have a stand. Here's Betsy my beloved Pangborn (early eighties) it had the same thing Im off to sob...this is the bass i should NEVER have parted with (20 years....man and boy !) WWaaaaaaaaaahhhh..... [/quote] Slight thread derail, but that's LOVELY, Ian

Nice even finish, Ian. What have you used?

The sheer perfection of the build and finish on Jez's basses is what strikes you first when you see them in the flesh. Remarkable on all levels when you are talking hand built. But there are also some really well thought out design features. For example, a number of us put multiple strap buttons on the tail to offer a player different 'sits' of the bass on the strap. Jez's is the only bass I've ever seen where these allow the base to sit safely upright without a stand. It might seem a small detail, but how many of us struggle with this in venues where space is tight? While the rest of us are looking for a room corner or a radiator to jam the thing against, Jez's will stand up anywhere. Even against the cab. Respect

Been a bit of a whirlwind since the Herts Bass Bash, but didn't want to forget to thank Mick for being a great customer and a great all round guy. Mick's drive and input was an excellent spur to trying to get the best from the Silk Bass and free gifts kept arriving through the post. The lit up acrylic logo light he gave to me at the bash was completely unexpected and something I will use whenever I'm showing off my wares... All round top guy and pleasure to deal with

Ooooooooooh! Silk Bass. I like that

bluejay has posted the video of Nick Smith's impressive demo of the Super Quads given to us all at the Herts Bash. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/277704-herts-bass-bash-2016-sunday-5th-june/page__st__210"]The thread (in Events) is here.[/url] The great thing is that on the video he plays Mick's mystery bass too (and oh, so well)

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1465390268' post='3067759'] I have now uploaded Nick (Doctor of the Bass) Smith's talk about SimS pickups. Still working on the photos from the bash. [media]http://youtu.be/OvwumLSkXzU[/media] [/quote] Perfect timing, bluejay Thanks

If Nick Smith's demo at the Herts bash was video'd, it would be good to see and listen again. Great demo, Nick! The tonal difference between the humbucker setting and either of the other two are like chalk and cheese. Also, to my ears, there is pretty much NO volume drop (still well impressed and not at all sure how they've achieved that...remember, these are passive pickups. The battery is only there to power the LEDs The tonal difference between the P and single coil settings is much more subtle. I couldn't hear a huge difference on my non-bass home set up. I could hear a clear difference in Nicks demo but it is subtle. Also, a P gets its sound partly because of where the pickup is placed, so I suspect that placement could optimise the sound from the SimS if this setting is particularly important? There are a number of good quality videos on YouTube that are worth a look. ...and those LEDs are pretty damn cool....

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1465231335' post='3066353'] Thanks for that! I'd forgotten about all those existing extra bridge holes. And I didn't realise that decent wood for building musical instruments was so expensive these days. It's a long time since I made my first electric guitar but I don't think the wood I used cost anything like that much. [/quote] Of course, you could always go the Jabba_the_gut route. Much cheaper wood source but I presume Jez doesn't have many doors left in his house!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1465222971' post='3066256'] Wow! That's a fantastic looking bass, and a brilliant bit of restoration/construction. A couple of questions: 1. The extra large route and the block of new wood at the bridge was that to give the bridge something a bit more stable to be fitted to rather than the neck laminations? [/quote] No - much simpler than that. As you can see, I had to infill at the neck to get the neck pickup in the correct place and hide the original rout, but also there were a myriad of drilled holes from the original bridge. The stop-tail routs sorted some of them out but a coordinating piece of walnut to the bridge infill meant I could get rid of the remaining ones [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1465222971' post='3066256'] 2. A while there's no denying that it's a brilliant piece of work and great to see a discarded instrument brought to life, I can't quite help but wonder if it would have been cheaper and easier to have started from scratch with some new wood? ;-) [/quote] Maybe getting on for as easy to build from scratch, but with the horrifying cost of decent wood, it would have added approaching £400 to the cost. Besides - and again you see this more in real life than in the photos - it really does now look like a well cared for [u]original [/u]1970s bass. You would struggle to get that same mojo with all new wood... Good questions, though, BigRedX

Delighted you are pleased with it, Mick. By the way, it's 8lb 12oz according to Mrs Andyjr1515's kitchen scales that I NEVER use to weigh basses on....

Thanks, Mick. It was all worth it just to see the look on your face when you opened the case Thanks for letting me have a go at such an interesting project...and we both knew that, underneath the cracks, splits, crud and bruises, there was a really nice bass lurking underneath.

[quote name='SICbass' timestamp='1465203476' post='3065979'] Soundclip soon pleeeeeeease! [/quote] That will, of course need to be Mick. You wouldn't want to completely wreck this gossamer thin illusion of competence by hearing me play! Mind you, we heard Nick Smith at the Herts Bash give it a REALLY impressive demo yesterday. Might have been video'd?