Andyjr1515

The dip where the previous owner had tried to sand off the logo was almost down to the veneer and at first I was concerned that, in trying to sand it flat, that I might end up sanding the decal itself. However, I am beginning to think that is is, in fact a white-filler filled routered logo! I used a flat sanding block. First 120 grit to get rid of the bulk. You can see the dip as the darker line across the logo: Here it is with the dip fully flattened: Then it was progressively finer paper down to 1000 grit to remove any visible scratch marks. I put masking tape around the edges and gave it the first coat of Ronseal Hardglaze, thinned by around 15% with white spirits and wiped on with a micro-fibre cloth. This is it after coat 1: Thanks for looking Andy

First job was to take off the nut so I could get a clear sweep for the sanding block and the leveling beam. I carefully scored the join line of the nut as it appears that the nut had been epoxied in and there was a subsequent risk of tear of the fingerboard or headstock veneer. With a sharp tap of a hammer and drift, it came off cleanly with no damage to it or the neck. There were signs of sanding scratches on the fretboard so presumably the previous owner had had a bash at doing this before! I checked that the neck was dead flat and started with even and long strokes (with the grain) of the radius sanding block with 120 grit paper, cleaning frequently using an old toothbrush get rid of the build up of old finish that can, if you don't get it off as it forms, put grooves into the surface you are sanding. Every now and again, I ran the leveling beam over the whole fretboard length to ensure there weren't any curves or dips being formed by uneven pressure. Better this way round otherwise you can end up with irregular flats down the board. This is it in progress: Note that the body is all wrapped up to protect against knocks or scratches and to keep the VERY fine dust out of the workings. You can see why my wife insists that she does the Christmas wrapping In little over half an hour, the last of the depressions were gone: I repeated with the radius block with 400 grit, 600 grit, 1000 grit and finally with microweb until it was silky smooth and then popped on a light coating of lemon oil: Bootiful! I also made some decent progress with the headstock - I'll post that in a few minutes Andy

Met Chris again last night and took possession of his precious bass. I resisted the temptation to jump in the car, drive off and find a quiet corner of Scotland to play contentedly to myself for the rest of my days... Instead, I thought I'd do a short blog of the progress on this lovely but short-lived make and model. I had a largely free day today and was able to make decent progress. First I checked it over, checking also the string heights and relief for a datum on reassembly. As Chris and I had discussed, there are a few body dings we agreed to leave alone, but there are around 10 quite deep string wear grooves on various strings at the 3rd, 5th 7th and 9th 'fret' positions (my primary job). A previous owner had tried to sand off the headstock logo, leaving a deep depression in the poly (my secondary job): The previous owner has also had sanded off the logos on the pickup covers leaving nasty scratches in the plastic (which we agreed I would try to polish out): I took a good look at an ominous-looking lacquer crack at the back of the neck but concluded it is just that - I suspect it has been dropped in its past and the headstock flexed enough to crack the lacquer but not enough to split the wood (moral - laminate necks like this one are strong!): Other than a missing screw and broken switch toggle, it seemed to be pretty shipshape. I measured the fretboard radius and it was a surprisingly tight 12". I build 6-strings at 12" so happily had a 12" radius sanding block. I'll post the rest of the progress today shortly. Andy

Hi, funkle Basschat member Chris Sharman has just alerted me that you have been trying to contact me. For some crazy reason (probably me!) neither my ipad or iphone are picking up my ajrguitarmods mails. I HATE it when people don't answer emails so please accept my profuse apologies. I have PM'd you and attached my personal email and phone number if you want to contact me, even just to talk though what you are trying to do. I hear only good things about Martin Sims and Rich Lewis (ou7shined) and I am flattered to be on the same list as those guys. In reality, I think they are both probably better equipped than me to give you what you are looking for and would heartily endorse either. Having therefore stepped back from the contenders, if you want an unbiased chat through what it is involved in what you are trying to achieve, feel free to give me a call on the PM'd phone number. Andy

This is looking a really nice build!

It's a stunning looking bass. Premier league!

We run the whole band through the PA (albeit it's our PA with the EQs set to suit each instrument) In reality, we don't even run DI's as such...the 6 strings do go through pedals that do the same thing, but the bass plugs straight into a pre-amped channel. We do have short cable runs, however, which helps. It is a lot lot easier to get a good sound to the front of house this way, but as JamesXP says, the monitors need to be pretty good. We use two wedge monitors plus 'semi' individual mix earphones. We are consistently told that our sound balance is better than most of the other bands and you can hear all the instruments and the vocalist, rather than the usual ever-increasing backline volume competition. I think it's a bit all or nothing, though - if the 6 strings have a back line, the bass needs to be similar. If the 6 strings are also going through the PA, it can work very well. Also, obviously, your PA speakers need to be hefty enough to take the bass without distorting the treble and vocals. Depends what you're playing, how you're playing and where you're playing... I can already hear some readers going 'Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!'

So, the postscript of this is:[list] [*]Yes - we do live 3 miles away from each other (small world) [*]Yes - I did meet Chris and his lovely wife for a pint at the Pattenmakers Arms last night [*]Yes - the Westone Thunder 3 is a beauoooootiful bass [*]Yes - my freedom from the b****y wedding coincides with Chris's availability of the Thunder for the fixes [*]Yes - the one crazy man is trusting his precious bass with the other crazy man [/list] We'll keep you posted in a few weeks time By the way - follow Chris's band's website link above - some great and original music. Trip Hazard is sublime... Andy

It's a small world...I've PM'd you, Chris. The things we blokes have to do to get out for a pint....best excuse yet, though. I normally have to tell my wife 'I've just got to go and see a man about a dog....' The 'I've just got to go and see a man about a Westone' just has so much more cachet about it Andy

In fact, based on your band's address, we probably live about 3 miles from each other I'm in Duffield - you're near Belper? If you want, you can pop round this evening for me to have a look and for you to see if I know what I'm doing Being so close, I can probably do it a bit quicker, too. PM me and I'm sure we can sort something out

Hi, Chris Where in the East Midlands are you and how soon do you want this sorting? I'm just north of Derby and, if late May is OK for you, happy to do it for the cost of the materials (if there are any, which there probably won't be). Have a look at my website www.ajrguitarmods.co.uk in terms of the stuff I've done in the past. This was a scratch built fretless I did for our band's bassist: ...and this was a veneer job and refurb (including getting rid of the old round-wound indentations!) on an old Yamaha fretless: As I say, no charge but couldn't do it until the end of May (eldest daughter's wedding is taking over the family's life!) PM me if you are close by and interested. No problem if not Andy

+1 for hipshots. They are excellent.

If it disappears with water I would think it will also disappear with tru oil. Try a little in a non obvious place...you can always sand it off again.

[quote name='Dolando' timestamp='1393747927' post='2383859'] Thanks Andy, and thanks for sending that mahogany. Its really finished it off nicely. [/quote] No problem. I actually used some of the same eventually to do a control chamber cover on my yew/ mahogany home built. As you say, finishes it off nicely .

Yes - stunning result. Sooooo much better than the original!

Looks fantastic, Dolando

[quote name='Dolando' timestamp='1391339533' post='2355865'] I need a little help on some electronics. I've wired up my switch for series/single/parallel switching using a standard DPDT on/on/on switch[i] (picture attached of how i've wired it)[/i], since I've got an on/on/on slide switch that i intend to have sticking out the control cover, so I can switch sounds without removing the cover. This is the switch I've got; [url="http://s917.photobucket.com/user/DolanCustomGuitars/media/Warmoth%20Gecko%20Build/D3049611-1F61-4658-BF2D-438F0859E1D8_zpsl2y7fuc2.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s917.photobucket.com/user/DolanCustomGuitars/media/Warmoth%20Gecko%20Build/50721990-CD44-4182-8C6A-10435C06A5A9_zpsifhd7i5w.jpg.html"][/url] My issue is, this has 8 lugs and the current switch has 6, so not sure which ones I should ignore, so if anyone has a wiring diagram or can explain how this should be done then that would be great. Thanks [/quote] Hi Dolando Are you just wanting a two position arrangement but just happen to have a three position switch ? If so, wire it up exactly the same just ignoring the top pair of lugs ( this will switch one end and middle) or are you trying for options with all three positions? Andy

Looks great !

[quote name='Dolando' timestamp='1389717481' post='2337175'] That would be top. I'm trying to keep this slick and hide what I can. I think that would be just about wide enough, I'll have to make sure when I get home. Thanks, [/quote] PM me if that would fit. I can get it in the post to you on Friday when I'm back home. Andy

How wide is the control cavity? I've got hold of some 100x450x3mm mahogany panels to tidy up some of mine. I have much more than I need - if they're any good to you you are welcome to one for free

I've just started building one....same sentiment !

That looks absolutely beautiful :-)

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1389096343' post='2329770'] 'afternoon all, Apologies if this one's been covered before, but if I'm honest, it was hard to know what to search for! Is there likely to be any discernible difference in output between a wound and an unwound electric guitar string of the same (or comparable) thickness? I only ask because my guitar's "G" seems to be quiet in comparison to the rest of the strings, most noticeably when playing clean. I recently upgraded the pickups, and although everything sounds better generally, I can still hear the difference in volume. I can't say for certain, but I'm sure I only noticed this problem after moving up a gauge to playing 12s, which typically come with a wound 3rd string, whereas the 11s I was on before were always unwound. (And daft secondary question: presumably I can fix this simply by moving the "G" polepiece up a notch?) [/quote] Not a daft question at all - yes...just raise the screw on the pickup a tad. 3rd strings are notorious for never quite sounding right. The advantage of an electric over an acoustic is that you are able to balance the volume of the individual strings

[quote name='Dolando' timestamp='1388964955' post='2328319'] The bass is complete and it's sounding awesome! Pics to follow. One other thing, when intonating it, I had to take the saddles as far back as they would go to get it intonation right. Am I doing something wrong, or is this normal for a 35" scale? [/quote] Hurry up with the pics! The WIP shots look great!!! As long it has actually intonated OK, don't worry about the saddles being fully back. If you haven't quite got enough movement, lowering the action a tad (if that is poss) will help a bit. Andy

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1389174486' post='2330795'] that's my worry! stewmac is working on a flat body ding, whereas mine is on the round bit of the horn so i expect this is more tricky. . . [/quote] To be honest, I would start with nail varnish only and see how you get on. Then you can use a nail varnish buffing pad to smooth it out and polish it up. I think you will find superglue a bit tricky to smooth it down without digging into the surrounding finish. The horn isn't a high wear area so it should be plenty tough enough.