Jono Bolton

Do they fit together properly?

I'm in two minds about whether or not to pick up the T-40 neck that's on ebay just now to put on the Foundation. It's ridiculously cheap, but I want to replace the vol/vol/tone setup with master vol/tone/3-way switch and don't have the cash for both. I'll probably leave the neck now I think about it as getting the right tuners to fit will be pricey too. I'll wait and see how the Peavey is when it arrives but I think the new wiring loom and a heavier bridge will probably be the only appointments.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1413352696' post='2577341'] Jono . what's overpaid about it. Cheaper than a squier. And another Peavey comes to Scotland. [/quote] My original one was £50! That was about 14 years ago though, but I see Peavey's go for silly prices. A Foundation went for about £80 recently, but it was sunburst & rosewood, and I really wanted the same model as my old one. I nearly bought a second-hand Japanese Squier but thought I'd have a quick search for a Foundation at the weekend and there it was, exactly the bass I was looking for: same version but black and maple! Must have been fate! If this was Talkbass we'd have to assign each other numbers and start a club!

A Matt Freeman went on ebay for £170 a couple of weekends ago - I was outbid at the last second. I just bought a Peavey Foundation on ebay but if I'd missed out I'd have gone for a second hand CV, or one of the two Squier Silver Series P Basses on here.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1413052196' post='2574568'] The Foundation on ebay is at £161 just now so you've saved £80. Result. [/quote] That Foundation is now mine! Reckon I slightly overpaid at £190 but my first bass was the exact same model in red, so for nostalgia's sake - plus having a killer bass for my new band - I'm not totally bummed out about the whole thing.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1413118124' post='2575018'] Have sung along to the blue album with friends like an idiot and spoken of forming a band for the purpose of covering the entire blue album.[/quote] I follow one of the guys that runs Mike & Mike's Guitar Bar in Seattle on Instagram and they've done just that. They've even replicated all the band's original gear; Rivers' custom Strat, Matt's parts Jazz, Brian's Gibson Melody Maker SG, the level of details they've gone to is crazy. Simultaneously the nerdiest and coolest thing I've ever seen.

It's a hole from the CNC machine as far as I know, both my Mexican Fenders have had the same thing.

The shape's not dissimilar to a Warwick Streamer, Warwick being another German manufacturer.

This is proving to be a bit trickier than I anticipated. Because of the screw hole that has now been plugged, the acrylic isn't sitting flat in the bottom of the chip. I've tried building up a couple of layers to get it level but there's stiil a couple of peaks and I'm getting very close to the surface, giving me very little room to fill with glue. I'm worried if I fill it with glue now, it'll be too thin and I'll run the risk of sanding back through into the acrylic after scraping with the blade. My plan now is to use acetone to clean the acrylic out of the chip, and remove the plug in the screw hole and start again, only this time filling the screw hole with glue until it's level with the wood, and then putting a layer of glue over the top of the chip to seal it. Once dried, I'd put a couple of layers of black, and then glue over that once it's dried, creating a sort of glue-acrylic-glue sandwich. Before I go ahead and do it, does anyone know if that would actually work, or am I going to balls things up even more?

[quote name='Pete1967' timestamp='1412101690' post='2565711'] I've only ever used the low viscosity glue so I can't comment. Black CA is black because it has black rubber in it so sometimes it doesn't dry rock hard. I've had success by flowing some black off the end of a scalpel blade in to the bottom of the ding and then building the rest up with normal clear stuff. Do thin layers and build the black up until the wood is covered.. The first coats will sink in. Patience is your friend... [/quote] Cheers Pete, I've ordered a small pot of black acrylic paint and I'll use that to fill the bottom of the chips, then build up clear glue over the top. First job is to fill the screwholes while I wait for the paint to arrive. Looks like I'll have a wee project on the go this weekend!

Are the Bass Big Muffs any good? I don't know if that counts as OD or distortion, but I've seen a few for sale locally between £25 and £35 but I kepp missing out on them.

I think it's the same with any brand; there will be some who like them, some who hate them, and some who are indifferent. When I joined BC it was because I was thinking about buying an Ashdown and members of another forum suggested I canvas opinions here to see what feedback I got. Some said they were great, some said they were "woolly", some said they were unreliable, but mostly people said to try them for myself and make up my own mind, so I did, and I still have the same head now. Ultimately, if you like them and it suits the way you want to sound then that's all that's relevant. If other people tell you that you sound good, it's a bonus, and if other people don't like them then that just means you'll probably pay less in the second-hand market. Win-win either way I reckon.

[quote name='Pete1967' timestamp='1411988769' post='2564506'] You could colour it with a bit of black marker pen and then drop fill it with CA, or buy a small bottle of black CA which is available from some luthier supplies. Be careful with strip sanding. You can easily sand a hole. I'd stick with a small block. [/quote] Would this glue be suitable? [url="http://www.shop4glue.com/black-colour-thick-cyanoacrylate-adhesive-super-glue-superglue-stays-dark-black-when-set-gap-filling-543-p.asp"]http://www.shop4glue.com/black-colour-thick-cyanoacrylate-adhesive-super-glue-superglue-stays-dark-black-when-set-gap-filling-543-p.asp[/url]

[quote name='Bloodaxe' timestamp='1411980809' post='2564435'] Black nail varnish? [/quote] That did cross my mind, or maybe acrylic paint/model paint.

Thanks for the replies fellas. I'd seen the Dan Erlewine video after watching the one posted by HowieBass as Youtube had linked them together, it's very informative, I really like his videos. He does it differently though to the first video, where the dent is filled first and then sprayed over afterwards, Dan drops in a bit of colour first and then glues over the top before sanding. If I did it that way, what would I fill it with in terms of colour? Would I have to get a can of black laquer just for two chips? Bear in mind that the wood is currently exposed where the chips are, if there was any colour left I could have just filled it with glue and then blended it in.

My P Bass previously had a bridge cover fitted, which requires one small screw hole either side of the bridge. Now, whoever drilled these holes can't have been too handy with a drill, because they've caused the finish to split and chip away, leaving two circular chips about 5mm across. They're both down to the wood, although the wood isn't dented, it's as though the poly has just been lifted off the body. Is there anyway to fix this without resorting to a full refinish? The rest of the finish has a bit a of wear (the body's 15 years old) but it's mainly just scuffs and surface scratches, whereas these 2 chips are pretty unsightly. I don't want to go down the route of any ghetto solutions like black marker or nail varnish, I'd rather do it properly but I can't help thinking that it would be difficult to get that thickness of finish in such a small area. Could a luthier sort it?

Sorry for bumping up a 4 year old thread, but I've begun playing in a band where we tune to C# (that's all strings down three semitones, rather than drop C#) and I'm having some problems with the way the feel of the strings. I use heavy-gauge Rotos (50-110) on my P Bass when tuned to standard, and I'd read on here that they would cope with lower tunings, but the lower tension of the strings means that they vibrate more freely and there's a lot more buzz on the lower frets, even with the action raised. Would I be correct in saying that by using the DR DDTs, I could tune to C# and still retain the feel of my old strings when they were tuned to E? There's far too much flap at the minute and I feel like I can't attack the strings as much as I'd like. Also, how bright do these strings sound? My Rotos are steels and have been on for over 18 months now and I really like the tone of them, obviously new strings will be brighter to begin with and then settle down, but how do they sound out of the packet?

I've recently contacted the guys at guitarbuild.co.uk about a new P Bass body for my bitsa. They give you various options in terms of 1, 2, or 3 piece bodies, which wood you'd like, pickup layout and custom options and then CNC the body and sand it down. They don't do finished bodies, but put me in touch with someone that they recommend for applying a finish. I emailed him explaining what I was looking for, and he responded asking if I wanted a nitro finish. Now, I'd never really given this any consideration before. I'm aware of nitro finishes, but never had a bass or guitar with anything other than poly, if that's even the right term. I'm after a natural finish, would one of these lend itself better to a natural finish? What are the pros and cons of nitro vs poly?

[quote name='davedave' timestamp='1410336805' post='2548186'] I've used guitarbuild.co.uk a fair bit now. Good quality stuff. I can recommend Wudtone for finishing too. Nice any easy to apply. [/quote] Cheers davedave, their site looks decent, and I like that you can pick a pre-made one and see exactly what you're getting, there's some nice grains going on there.

It's relatively easy to find replacement necks for sale, and there's a wealth of information about which ones are good quality and give you bang for your buck, but there's not as much about replacement bodies. I've got a 'bitsa' P Bass with a body from an old Mexican Fender which seen better days; there's several dings and scratches which are fine by me, but there are a few unsightly chips in the finish, the worst being where a previous owner has tried fitting a bridge cover and caused the finish to split and chip out in a 5mm circle around the screw holes. I'd quite like a natural finish but as it's Mexican it's a bit Russian Roulette as to what the wood's like under the finish, so a refin doesn't seem like a feasible option, so does anyone have any recommendations for well made and reasonably priced P Bass bodies?