Andyjr1515

1 hour ago, PaulThePlug said:

Expensive, albeit a very nice Parts-Bin Special.

The Options and Build Guide makes interesting reading.

I'm sure @Andyjr1515 could custom veneer a J body... I likes Quilted... then Fender Hi Mass Bridge, Bell Plate, Tone Riders or Kent Armstrongs - I'd go PJ 😉

You mean like this one?    :

Sorry for the bling, folks, but - in my defense - it was a pretty dull dinted black Squier when it started... 

Lovely job.  Top drawer...

12 hours ago, Martin E said:

I did read of a 'quick and dirty' solution on here myself sometime but I'm blowed if I can find it. It may well have been you Andy so really appreciative of any of your usual good advice.

OK - here's the main 'Quick and Dirty Method' that I posted a while ago.

But first let's start with the warnings/disclaimers/just general common sense stuff:

 
Warning:  This is NOT the way a pro-luthier would do it because it doesn't involve re-crowning and re-polishing the frets and other important stuff.  The method is merely intended as a quick fix on your own bass and at your own risk.  Also, the absence of a full finish-polish means it's not great if you string bend on your bass (most of us don't).  And don't do this on someone else's bass or any particularly valuable one!!!  
 
1.  Quick and Dirty way of finding and tackling high spots on frets 
 
 Use the straight part of an old credit card to use as a 'rocker'.  Put the straight edge over 3 frets (use both hands...my other hand here is holding the camera) and does it rock?  If it does, then it indicates a high spot at that string position for the middle fret of the three.  Do this next to each string for that middle-of-the-three fret and repeat all the way up the board.  Normally, when I'm not holding a camera, I would be holding the other side of the card with the other hand and just gently applying pressure on either side.  Make a note of any high spot on a simple chart:
 

 
  
You must be using the straight part of the card edge and not where it starts curving at the corners and also the edge must be covering only three frets at a time.  As the frets start closing up, just use the shorter edge to make sure you're still only covering 3 frets:

 
 
On a bass, for the first few frets, a credit card isn't long enough.  Anything straight and thin will do! :

 
 
Note, by the way, that you can't check the 1st fret (rare that this is an issue if the nut is cut properly)
 
Next - on the frets where there is a high spot, mark the top of the fret with a non-permanent sharpie:

 
 
 
Then take an emery board nail file (most supermarkets, Boots, etc):
 
 
Use your finger to apply pressure and file gently back and forth in the direction of the fret and where the high spot was under that particular string.  The sharpie line disappearing will show you if you're filing in the right place which only needs to be under the actual string that you marked an 'X' against on your plan.  A bit either side is OK but don't stray to another string's position unless that was also marked as high.  Make sure while you do this bit that the emery board is level so you don't scratch the fretboard itself (and if you have the opportunity, protect the wood with a couple of thin strips of masking tape).

 
 
Check frequently with the credit card until it doesn't rock anymore THEN STOP!
 
If you have a whole fret that appears to be high, first check that it is seated properly on the fretboard.  If it isn't, tap it lightly along the fret with a hammer and recheck.  If it's still high, then use the emery board, potentially along the whole fret - but check with the credit card at each string position frequently so you don't overdo it.
 
The fret top will be slightly flat where you've levelled it.  On a bass, Quick and Dirty says don't worry about that - I would defy anybody who says they can hear an intonation difference (although you can on a 6 string electric).
Also the fret top will be slightly scratched.  But the scratches will be along the fret direction and shouldn't give a problem.  If it worries you, a fingernail buffer will polish those out to a decent extent (what's a fingernail buffer?  Ask wife/partner/sister/mother...they will be in the same area as the emery nail boards)  

Hi Martin

Yes - sounds like a quick and dirty will fix it.  I'll post the 'how to' in the morning

When you say, 'just getting a buzz on the D string', is that at multiple fret positions?

If it is a few high spots, I did a 'Quick and Dirty' guide not so long ago - I'll try to dig that out...but if it is buzzing at more than two or three specific positions, then there is probably something else afoot and the quick and dirty method may cause more problems than solve them!

I'll dig out the 'quick and dirty' in the meantime

7 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Talk to John east - you need to balance the outputs. He has a product for this 

Great minds alike 

I'm a bit out of date ref today's offerings relating to piezo bridges but, generally, for the piezos themselves I would generally start with Graphtec - their products are generally well made and they have a decent range of most related stuff.  Oh - and ordering from them is generally pretty painless.

But, personally, I would only use them for the piezo hardware itself - I would generally look elsewhere for pre-amps/etc.  Are you planning to continue with magnetic pickups too?  If so, you will need a blending pre-amp to cope with the huge difference in impedance and output of piezo vs magnetic.  For this, I would generally go John East but. as @kodiakblair says, Artec do have some stuff that is great band-for-the-buck.  

Yes - as above

The red ones: loosen them to slide the whole block backwards or forwards to set your intonation.  Re-tighten when you're happy with the position

The green ones: loosen to allow the saddles to move up or down (see blue below) and, again, re-tighten once you are happy with the heights.

The blue ones: to raise or lower the saddles once you've loosened the locking stud, circled green above.

2 hours ago, mrbacco said:

 

different distance from the end of the neck pocket to the right wing and the left wing of the bass, whereas there is no difference in a standard P bass, if that makes sense? or maybe I am just wrong ...

The shape of the body is predominately about personal preference, so no, if you are happy with it, then it isn't an issue.

19 hours ago, mrbacco said:

One thing that is bothering me is that the right and the left of the bass are very different, even if the neck is centered ... but that is still bothering me ... 

In what way different?

Hi @honza992

Yes - Fiebings Black Leather die is available on the Italian Amazon site (and probably elsewhere).  It is very black and pretty much the standard go-to for staining fretboards, etc.

No stain penetrates particularly deeply and so the usual method is to apply the stain, let dry, sand a few times to fully raise and flatten the grain, and then apply a couple of coats before adding your final finish.  What are you using for that final finish?  I use a variation of the Tru-oil slurry and buff method for stained finishes, either as a final finish or as a silky smooth undercoat for compatible gloss finishes (polyurethane varnish covers this very well) but most other finishes will work with the stained wood.

On 08/02/2024 at 08:01, Baloney Balderdash said:

To test if it is the A string rattling behind the nut causing this issues, which is my best guess as well, and actually pretty confident about this too, try tying a broad hair band, or any strip of cloth really, tight around the strings and neck behind the nut, until you get a string tree to fix the issue.

 

Likewise, I used a velcro cable tie when this started happening in a gig.  Around 4 years later, I got round to sorting it properly 

A superb video @funkle and a superb result.

Top quality stuff all round 

Oooooh....  lovely!

Hi, @paulo m

I have a block of ebony waiting patiently for @fretmeister 's next bass purchase (  ) but it is certainly a deep enough piece for two or three ramps assuming the overall length and width that you need is no larger.  So yes, I could probably make you one.  I'm tied up this evening but I'll drop you a PM tomorrow.

Andy

Go for it!

The J-only and the P-J blended sounds will be tangibly different to the P-only sound.  The J will produce a different tone not only because it is closer to the bridge, but also because the sonics of a single-coil J is very different to those of a P design.

I would strongly urge you to consider a blend rather than an on-off three way switch, but, either way, you will find that those different tones at your disposal give you options in different venues and genres that can be very useful. 

Do be aware, of course, that any non-reversible mod to a guitar or bass will reduce its resale value, regardless of how well it's done.

Great to see you on here again, John!!  And very pleased that you were able to make the Italy move in spite of all the challenges!  Hope all well with you and yours.

Your levels of quality always did put mine to shame, but that looks the bees knees.  Lovely job  

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is to get someone competent to undo whatever was done at the last set-up!  But it may not be as simple as that

Do you know if the trussrod is working normally?  And if you hold the G down to the fretboard near the nut at the same time as holding it down at the 19th fret position - what kind of gap have you got in the middle of those two points (round about the 8th fret position) between the bottom of the string and the fretboard.  Is it hard down?  Or a gap close to the thickness of a business card?  Or a gap of a few mm or more?

To answer your original question, having done a bit of searching, yes, it probably is possible to remove and reset the neck...but, looking at the design of the neck pocket and joint, it is not easy and not without risk.  But it is very unlikely, if if was fine before that last set up, that the neck does need resetting.

What is maybe more of a possibility is that the truss rod is massively away from a correct setting/ or inoperative/or broken.  The above test will give us a clue which of those it is.  

What bass model is it?

Was the action OK before the last set up?  

1 minute ago, Andyjr1515 said:

As the saying goes...'it depends'

 

It ranges from difficult but doable, to difficult and risky, to nigh impossible.  What bass is it?  And is it a set neck or through neck?

Also, what problem are you trying to solve?  There are many ways to skin a cat (although, admittedly, most of them feel the same to the cat  )

As the saying goes...'it depends'

It ranges from difficult but doable, to difficult and risky, to nigh impossible.  What bass is it?  And is it a set neck or through neck?

Yes - that's looking really special

If it's a two way switch (on-off) it is usually a Dual-Pole-Dual-Throw switch as @Rich says above.  Something like this:

https://northwestguitars.co.uk/products/dpdt-on-on-mini-toggle-guitar-switch-for-coil-tapping-phase-switching

This is going to be lovely! 

...and yes, there is a relationship between action height and intonation.  

When you press the string down to the fret, you are, in fact, bending the string and the pitch rises, exactly the way you can raise the pitch in, say, a vibrato by bending the string sideways. 

The higher up the fretboard you are, the bigger is the gap between the bottom of the string and top of the fret and the more the string is bending (vertically) and the more the pitch rises.  And the higher the action, the more the string will bend vertically.

So yes, if you have changed the action height, it's worth rechecking your intonation and giving it a tweak if necessary.