EntropicLqd

Another lefty here. There's more on here than I thought there would be tbh. I didn't know you could get left-handed basses and guitars when I started playing so I simply learnt to play a right handed bass upside down. I just flipped the thing over. It's worked out great for the last 17/18 years so I'm not changing it now. It makes getting past the 15th fret a real pig (because of the strap) but I'd have never been able to play a right handed bass in a "righty" way.

[quote name='Mike' post='13103' date='Jun 6 2007, 04:12 PM']...Well, 5 or 6 days since I emailed, I've heard nothing. I rang the workshop today and got no answer. I rang Jon's Mobile and got no answer, left a message. I know everyone's said how great his customer service is. I just wish I could see some of it....[/quote] Heh .. I know how you feel. Jon's a great guy to talk to, and always really helpful, but I'd never say his customer service was perfect. It's more a case of "excellent when it happens". I think his focus is either 100% on building the latest master piece or 100% on his family (more so at the moment than normal) and never the two shall meet. [quote name='Bassmonster' post='13218' date='Jun 6 2007, 06:49 PM']....What Jon needs is an apprentice or someone to deal with the admin stuff....[/quote] That is so true. He definately needs an admin gohper to take pics, handle e-mails, and maybe do first-pass quotes or something. Internet access at his workshop probably wouldn't go amiss either. From talking to him I get the impression that he goes through his emails when he feels like it rather than religiously every night ... but that might just be due to his current circumstances; or perhaps a false impression I've gained from our conversations.

That's incredible.

Thanks for the suggestions so far. Keep 'em coming. [quote name='Muppet' post='11567' date='Jun 3 2007, 09:37 PM']Pretenders, Blondie etc? (do you have a female singer?)[/quote] Sadly we have to put up with a bloke on vocals. I've got some Pretenders stuff somewhere (I think) I'll have to have a rummage and see what I can dig up. I wouldn't mind hearing him try and sing "Walking on Sunshine" though. Although whether I'd be able to get through the song without collapsing in fits of laughter is anyones guess.

Greetings oh people full of wisdom, and encyclopedic knowledge of songs. In 6 weeks time one of the bands I'm in will be playing at a 25th wedding anniversary. There's no real issue with the set we've got at the moment as it's pretty broad, and should be fine for the people that will be there. However, it would be nice to play some "older" stuff for the celebratees (is that even a word?). Can people provide some suggestions for some upbeat, simple (the easier the better) songs that would sound OK in a 5-piece (vocals, 2 guitars, drums, bass) that would be about the right sort of era. I'm guessing late 70s/early 80s. Our singer was suggesting some up-beat walking bass stuff ... I guess he's hoping people will boogey on down to whatver it is we are going to play. Anyways, enough pre-amble ... any suggestions?

[quote name='dood' post='11172' date='Jun 2 2007, 09:08 PM']Simply yummy! What a lovely bit o' wood. That fretboard looks scrummy![/quote] Yeah. It was either the snakewood or some striped ebony for the fretboard. The striped ebony was nice but I felt that the snakewood just looked that bit nicer. Possibly because the lines were not as straight as on the ebony. [quote name='Tinman' post='11286' date='Jun 3 2007, 06:51 AM']Sorry about the pics mate, I had to disappoint Mike as well cos his wasn't there either.[/quote] No worries. The thought was much appreciated. The next few weeks are going to go very slowly I think. I'm stunned by how gorgeous the coolibah (on the back and headstock) looks. The grain of it always comes out really nicely in the pictures. I need a time machine

I got some more pictures from Mr Shuker over the course of last week and I've finally found some time to upload them somewhere sensible. The pictures were taken in the pre-LED state so I know for sure that the bass has moved on significantly. Sadly Tinman wasn't able to take any more pictures over the weekend. I'm guessing that the next set of pictures will be the finished article.

Heh .. I've thought about getting proper cases and stuff but in the end I decided that it was too much trouble (although I'm always reviewing the situation). I keep my main guitar lead in my bass case. The cables for my amp go in the amp case. The cables for my pedal board go in the rockbag I've got to carry it around in. By distributing the cables around like that I know that whatever piece of kit I've got, I'm guaranteed to have the minimum number of cables needed to actually make it work. The only thing that bothers me is that I'm a bit light on spares ....

Nice one. Glad you had all that fun

[quote name='ali-stare' post='6009' date='May 24 2007, 08:13 PM']how are those aussie gum trees tonaly? they look sweet its going to be one niiiiiiiice bass[/quote] Well, the bass is a thu-neck so most of the tone will come from the composite 7 piece laminate neck (maple / mahogany / wenge or maple / black walnut / wenge). I actually don't know what Jon put in the middle (wenge or maple) and I've not asked. However, gums are normally quite a soft wood so I would guess (and this is a guess on my part) that it will soften the tone a little (little more bass, little less treble) although I expect the effect will be minimal as the gum is only a facing on a white ash body.

Since I've been promised some pictures of my shiny bass I figured I'd throw up, not so much a build diary as a "before and after" set of pictures. Hmm, I guess there will be some spec. junkies on here so this is what it will be: 5 string 34" scale 24 fret jumbo stainless fretwire 24" radius f/board 45mm nut (9mm string spacing), 16mm string spacing at the bridge 7 piece laminate thru neck (maple / mahogany / wenge or maple / black walnut / wenge) Asian striped ebony f/board, f/board edge bound matching headstock veneer on front and rear of headstock, black veneers between top and rear headstock facing 2 way truss rod, carbon fibre reinforcement x4 7 piece laminated body white ash body core, laminated 2 piece, black centre veneer bimble box bookmatched top and coolibah bookmatched rear face black veneer between body sides and thru neck black veneer between top and body core and rear facing and body core drop top rear control covers cut from rear facing bound elite neck joint and body carving Black hardware Individual bridge units dunlop straplocks gotoh GB707 tuners or hipshot ultralite tuners EMG HZ pickups x2 barrel jack Sims LEds - Pearl dots, electric blue, between A&D except on octaves(12 and 24),red Leds between E&A and A&D. Edge leds colour matched to the face leds, G string side (left handed, viewed edge). master vol with push/push mute, vol control for each pickup, rotary led switch 4 pos. So anyway, for those that like to drool over pictures of wood: Fretboard: Snakewood Front: Bimblebox (it's an Ausie gum) Back and headstock: Coolibah (another Ausie gum)

[quote name='Tinman' post='5617' date='May 24 2007, 11:15 AM']..Could you give me a little more gen on it, e.g is a 4 string or a 5 etc. I don't want to get the wrong one..[/quote] Heh .. Jon will know It's a 5 string, left handed, thru-neck, bass. The strings are strung right handed though.

I spoke to Jon last night about my bass. Apparently the Coolibah on the back has come out really well and looks pretty stunning. Hopefully the Bimblebox on the front looks at least as nice. Something I still worry about in my darkest moments. Even Jon's best assurances that it looks great aren't enough to quell that particular fear. Two weeks (ish) to go. \o/

Got any other Leeds gigs coming up? I'm away that week.

I quite liked this site when I came across it a while back. [url="http://www.studybass.com/"]http://www.studybass.com/[/url] Nothing spectacular on there, but for a beginner (or someone wanting to do some revision) its pretty good.

[quote name='Tinman' post='3686' date='May 21 2007, 03:36 PM']Do you want to PM me your e-mail and name so I can get the right one? I'll be happy to take as many as you want my friend[/quote] Tis done. Don't really care how many pics. you take, as any info is more than I have at the moment. Many thanks.

[quote name='Tinman' post='3365' date='May 21 2007, 09:53 AM']...I'm taking my camera along with me, so if there are any of you out there in the middle of a build and need photos, let me know....[/quote] Me .... ooh ooh me .... See look, I'm waiving my hands in the air and jumping up and down! Some pics of the bass with the Bimblebox front and the Coolibah back would be fantastic. Ofcourse, I'm on holiday all next week but I'm sure I'd be able to find an Internet cafe somewhere.

EntropicLqd is rapidly approaching his 37th year although you wouldn't know it from his behaviour. He started playing bass (a Westone Spectrum) at the beginning of his second year of A-levels. This had disasterous consequences for both his technique (the bass was dreadul) and his A-level grades (playing was more fun than studying). At this point in his life he played solidly for two years before getting a job and moving away. At the tender age of 21, even though EntropicLqd wasn't playing regularly (or at all), he purchased the bass he still plays today (a Hohner 5-String) along with a Peavy TK80 (long since deceased) and a 4-track of some sort (also deceased) and a 12-string semi-acoustic. Shortly after a Westone Thunder 1A fretless followed. Even these lovely toys didn't encourage him to play more often (shameful to be honest). After moving to Yorkshire as part of a job change EntropicLqd joined a (fairly awful) covers band. This ran for 2/3 years before he quit due to the [url="http://wiki.beyondunreal.com/wiki/EntropicLqd/EntropicOnFatherhood"]arrival of his darling children[/url]. Around 3-4 years ago he took advantage of the fact that his kids were "a bit older now" and started playing in a covers band called [url="http://www.guiseleybaptistchurch.co.uk/LikeSheep/"]Like Sheep[/url] and regularly in church. After becoming somewhat frustrated with the lack of gigs and a plateau in his playing he joined a second covers band, [url="http://www.jwc.ltd.uk/BackIssue/"]Back Issue[/url]. So far the extra practice has started to see him improve somewhat (still average) although he still isn't playing that many gigs. In the near future (2-4 weeks) EntropicLqd will start getting some ad-hoc singing lessons in the hope that it might inspire him to "write some stuff man". He's also hoping that the custom Shuker bass he ordered in November 2006 will be finished "real soon now". EntropicLqd would be a much better bass player if he played fewer games on his PC. TrackMania (the original) is his current poison although he is hoping to ressurect [url="http://www.snout-clan.co.uk/"]SNOUT[/url], the world's worst UT clan, when UT3 gets released. In the far distant future EntropicLqd would like to go "on-tour" just to see if it's true that you never get to see anything. Being left-handed he plays a right-handed bass upside down (no-one mentioned that you could get left handed basses when he started). He enjoys lending his bass to right handed players simply to enjoy the look of confusion on their faces when they realise it's a normal right handed bass.

Registered, signed in, etc etc etc. Much thanks to those long suffering people that made all this possible. That's a cool little favicon you've got there. Neat, clear, and to the point. I look forward to replacing my bassworld T-Shirt with a Basschat equivalent.