HazBeen

I’ve had the Markbass Ninja 500 210 combo for a while now, great sounding, simple, compact, light. Today I bought a gently used Markbass 102p 2x10. They stack up perfectly, giving me a “line array” vertical 4x10 500 watt stack. Good for me  

I have to admit that I didn’t get a kick out of this, it is probably due to a Stingray sounding like a Stingray due to the pickup position, not the preamp (well, preamp has significantly less impact) and there are already shorty Rays around. The type of thing that marketing departments come up with. The main thing clearly is that the bass will sound great, so congrats if you bought one, and I do think TC needs to be recognized for being awesome so a signature bass is certainly appropriate.

Looks good quality alder, and it clearly has been well put together. Shame I am the continent else I would snap this up in a heartbeat.

9 hours ago, benh said:

And a new toy to play with - kindly given to me by my father in law, a planer/thicknesser

Yeah, an 8” machine methinks? Will do lots of good things for you  I have a very similar one.

57 minutes ago, Hellzero said:

It's the Bunny Brunel filiation. 😉

Some people just prefer lined fretless……. Bunny Brunel, Gary Willis, Kyle Eastwood, HazBeen …..

okay the last one is a joke 🤪

4 hours ago, benh said:

Hope you don't mind me tagging you @Andyjr1515 @Jabba_the_gut @HazBeen @mhoss32 @spacecowboy- easier than sending separate PMs!

I get them local, so not of much use. Dimension wise, I always use 5mm x 2mm magnets, same size for cavity and hatch. Trussrod covers I use 2mmx1mm ones. The pull on my 5x2s is a little higher, 0.5kg. 

Having owned many Lulls over the years, I will go out on a limb and say this is the best P on BC at the moment ….. if you disagree with me, prove it  

2 hours ago, benh said:

More wood/truss rod/inlay materials ordered, just in case 🙂 unfortunately couldn't find any padauk dry enough, so gone for sapele and maple. Even if I carry on with the neck I have, I'm sure it'll come in for the next project!

Smart, I do not know anyone who has built from scratch to stop after one. 😀😎

5 hours ago, benh said:

Thought I'd give the blocks a go, with the frets in. Not as neat as I'd like, but I'm confident I'll do better next time. First 2 in.

Has to be said, not bad attempts. With frets in much more complicated, so well done.

1 hour ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Mine too 

 

And here!

Horrible news…. RIP

Drat! Missed it.

1 hour ago, benh said:

Thanks. Yeah I've already taken the 2mm off - the way I'm approaching it at the moment is: if it all goes to pot, it's a learning experience and I'll make a new neck (and hopefully not make the same mistakes twice!). I was starting with pretty tight spacing at the nut to begin with so didn't want to reduce the width too much. 

For the block inlays I have a few offcut strips of padauk which I've pre radiused with a sanding block, if it works it could look OK I thought.

Horses for courses, but block inlay appears to be your best bet. In my experience pre-radiusing works, but you will almost certainly need to sand a little once in place. Not an issue if you do it carefully.

It will be a challenge to route the block cavities with the frets on. If it were me, I would likely take frets out, do the inlays, radius and then refret. More work, but easier to get right.

All part of the process, so hope you can forgive yourself and enjoy the journey. Mistakes are what drives progress.

Really if you mess up, first thing is to see if you can fix it and make it (near) invisible. Have you already taken the 2mm off? If so, can you reduce the other side with 2mm also? 5 strings, mean 4 string spacings or 1mm reduced spacing per string. That may still work, dependent on your starting point. Otherwise block inlays may work, but that is another challenge to get right then…

Much appreciated! I suspected it was a water based lacquer, I will finish my current bass project body (which will be stained black) with Colron if I can find it. Otherwise I have a local alternative in mind.

Just now, SpondonBassed said:

 thanks, I want to know what lacquer was used. Think I know, but want to be sure  

@spacecowboy what finish did you use on this bass? I simply have to try it on my next bass.

Lovely

These are great amps, never a commercial success story but man the combination of a passive Fender/Alembic type pre, with Tube power section is ridiculously sweet sounding. TE got it very right with the V series.

Happy client! Initial feedback was that it plays well, sounds really open and certainly hit the brief. Great! 
 

If you are buying new, and want good but not too expensive.

I would get the PBD40 Bosch drill press, it is light and compact but has a very decent light and digital depth gauge. It is accurate enough for building and just really convenient.

Band saw, depends on money you want to spend. I have a Scheppach Basa 1 that I really like, not the biggest table but enough for my builds, but I would probably suggest getting a Basa 2 or a Record Power BS250.

Triton does a great thicknesser, but I would actually recommend getting a jointer/thicknesser. An 8” version would suit most situations and would not cost an arm and leg. I have an Einhell TC-SP204 (many clones of these available all from same OEM) 

The good news is that I will be doing just the bass again soon 😂

Just soldering, intonation, setup and usual tinkering needed…

Glorious result!