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No. 8 Wire

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Posts posted by No. 8 Wire

    Scott’s membership - worth it?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    29 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

    That is very true, I do tend to skip ahead a lot of the videos.

    Me too. I think he tends to waffle on a bit about SBL in general during his seminars. It probably made sense live, people give him 100s of questions, but on a replay it's not good.

    Where is this workshop though, i don't really remember it. Is it a seminar or on one of the courses?

    What Musicman should I get?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, mcnach said:

     

    Stingray and Telecaster only do one thing? :D !!!!!!!!!!

    sure thing... love it!

    My Stingray only does one thing.  I tried it as a toaster, a car jack, a ladder, a cheese slicer and a hammer... but it was totally useless so now I only use it to play bass.

    • Like 1
    • Haha 4

    Scott’s membership - worth it?

    in General Discussion

    Posted

    44 minutes ago, Zalastar said:

    I'd love to do this but I'm assuming that you have to fund it all up front as the site says $14 per month billed $168 per year. Sadly I can't find that cash up front so it's stick to the free stuff for me.

     

    edit.. 

    just found the monthly option, $14 - $25, wow that's a bit of a price jump.....

    I could however give the kids less food 😁

    That's a big jump!

    Cheaper to bang it on a credit card and pay that off instead.

    Scott’s membership - worth it?

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by No. 8 Wire

    Further to that, for me and many others, meeting up with a teacher regularly is just impossible. SBL and the others like it are bass training on flexitime. The next best thing to a (good!) teacher.

    And yes, on SBL you can get almost one on one with Scott by submitting videos for review. Although I've only managed it once so far!

    Others have touched on it, but SBL isnt just Scott, i think he's been very forward thinking in getting other players and teachers in to deliver complimentary courses, spreading his success around if you like.

    • Like 2

    What Musicman should I get?

    in Bass Guitars

    Posted

    2 minutes ago, LITTLEWING said:

    None. Who's the last one you saw anywhere with one? Get an active Jazz. Can't go wrong.

    I had a passive 'Ray and it simply didn't fit sonically anywhere in our varied 50 odd covers sets except maybe two funk numbers.

    If it was passive surely it wasn't a Ray?

    • Like 3

    Scott’s membership - worth it?

    in General Discussion

    Posted · Edited by No. 8 Wire

    There are 3 sides to SBL - 1. The Social Media (youtube), 2. The Campus (bass forum).  3. The Courses (academy).

    1. Scott's social media has become really atrocious, really horrible clickbait stuff and as has been said, often doesn't even reveal what the answer to the click bait title is.  Avoid unless you can win something.  I don't know if there is some formula out there that makes it compulsory to treat the entire public like tools, but the majority do it so it must work.  To my mind youtube really undersells the academy, the academy really is the opposite of the latter day youtube material.

    2.  The campus (bass forum).  Yes, there are fan boys in there but in the main it works for what it is for - helping each other learn - not so much chat about the minutia of bass gear etc - that's what basschat is great for.  There are women, men, teenagers, children, all nationalities, all religions, many different first languages (but English is mostly used) so yes politeness and staying on topic are the order of the day.

    3.  The Courses!  This is what you actually pay for!  I'm constantly amazed at how many people pay good money and then only ever do numbers 1 and 2 above, its odd! Then again an equal number join and then just get into the courses not wasting time on the clickbait or the forum - probably the best way to go if you can be that disciplined, I can't and I find the forum does help to keep me moving.  The courses I've done so far have been extremely high quality and useful and not at all like the youtube stuff.

    In my first year there I had a bit of time (30 min a day approx) to do some practice and I found I made a lot of technique and theory gains in that first year.  Since then I just haven't had the time to apply myself properly but I'm happy to know I can get straight back onto the courses when time and inclination allow.

    If you are doing a free trial, make sure you start it when you have enough time to really dig into the courses and get a good feel for all the different instructors and the courses in the pipeline.  Avoid getting lost in the free content and forum in the first days - I didn't post anything in the forum there until 2 months after I joined.

     

    • Like 5
    • Thanks 1

    TC Electronic RH750 broken knob

    in Repairs and Technical

    Posted

    Standby for the knob jokes....

    TC electronic website has a customer/tech support page, you email them through there and they tell you what to do and where to go.

    At least they did with my *ahem* cracked knob problem.

    It'll probably be a rip off price and you'll be tracking down an independent amp tech, but it might be better with the change of ownership.

    The mod formerly known as AVRI P into PT (a.k.a. Project Thunderblackstone)

    in Build Diaries

    Posted

    9 minutes ago, HazBeen said:

    A luthier building it will be more expensive than just modding the P. I am more than capable of doing it, so to me it makes sense. Resale value never bothers me, I own several basses that are just for me anyway. But I get the sentiment.

    I would use a new body to do it. Not so much because you could rebuild the AVRI if you wanted to, although that would be a bonus, more because the cost will be negligible compared to the pickups and other components. Most of all, I think it would be easier to rout into a blank rather that mod an existing body.

    Also i would want the TB position like Pino, because if you are going to do it, go all the way!  Also I might be inclined to finish the bass in TB colours too.

    Nickel-Like Steels or Steel-Like Nickels??

    in Accessories and Misc

    Posted · Edited by No. 8 Wire

     

    On 09/07/2018 at 11:13, thisisswanbon said:

    Hi Folks!

    Looking to tap into the wealth of knowledge available here...

    For the 16 years I've been playing, I've yet to find a string that's MY string...  I've flitted between all of the big brands, coateds, nickels, S/S etc and I've got a good idea of the qualities I'm looking for; I just need them all in the same string!

    Ideally, what I'm looking for is:

    • Really low tension
    • medium gauge: 40-95
    • Bright, growly quality to the sound - more aggressive
    • As smooth as possible under the finger - Currently using D'Addario Nickels and that's the sort of texture I'd like.

    Does anyone know of anything that would fit the bill? :)

    Thanks! 

    What you are describing sounds exactly like Ernie Ball Extra Slinky.

    I've tried a lot of nickel strings and i keep coming back to these for the growl and feel. I use them on a stingray and i cannot find a better string for that bass.  I had a 5 string set on a Jazz and again, nothing better for me.  Also had them them on a P for a little while, super aggressive on a P.

    I find string choice really bass specific, what works on one may sound or feel terrible on another. But at least EB strings are cheap enough to try out.

    Withdrawn

    in Basses For Sale

    Posted

    Replied to all PMs.

    I'm not sure I'm ready to let this go yet. I had a play today for 10 minutes and it's too good for the money!  Plus there are some more mods I'd like to try.

    I'm going to withdraw it for now and think about it some more.

    Thanks for the interest, Dan

    Thunderbird is go

    in Build Diaries

    Posted

    On 3/30/2018 at 15:56, Andyjr1515 said:

    I'll cover the basic method I use and then a couple of variations.  Like always, I just will outline 'this is how I do it - and it consistently works for me - but I'm not saying this is how it should be done!'

    It's very simple.  For a basic stained finish, non grain-filled, I do the following:

    • I sand down to 250 grit.  If it is a bought body, I take care that there is no releasing oil or similar on it and that I'm down to clean wood
    • I vacuum the body with a brush attachment to make sure all the dust is out of the grain
    • I apply the ink, straight out of the bottle, using a piece of old t-shirt or similar, bunched up and soaked in ink using a circular motion, making sure that the ink has properly gone into the grain.  Latex or nitrile gloves are essential unless you want very brightly coloured hands for a few days....
    • I let it dry and repeat if necessary.  2-3 coats is usually fine.  Remember that each coat will darken the end result
    • The colour when the ink is first applied and still wet is the best indication of what the finished, varnished, colour will be.  When the ink dries, it will look completely different - don't panic!
    • I let it dry fully
    • I finish it with Tru-oil or polyurethane varnish

    If I need to fill cracks or grain, I use one of two methods.  Basically, the water-based ink will absorb differently on different woods and surfaces so, for example, if you sanding sealed it or used many types of filler, the ink colour would not absorb in those areas 

    Grain Fill - Method one.  Stainable Timbermate

    • I use the dark stainable one
    • 68IR6Ynl.jpg
    • This veneer had multiple deep fissures.  The Metolux Timbermate will mix with water stains and - to an extent - absorb stain once dry.  For best results I do both
    • I mix some ink into the Timbermate
    • jWsHw7fl.jpg
    • Then prefill the gaps, then when the timbermate is dry and sanded, apply the stain in the normal way
    • hf02Uq0l.jpg
    • If I had just filled with the Timbermate out of the tub, the filled areas would have shown up as lighter shades.  If I'd used the 'light stainable' Timbermate, even premixing ink into it, the same would happen.  Using 'dark, stainable' Timbermate, premixed, the filled areas end up the same shade or slightly darker, both of which look fine on the finished result

    Grainfill - Method two.  Tru-oil slurry and buff

    This is a method I've never seen other people do.  Generally, it is said that you can't slurry and buff a stained surface because you will sand the stain away.  Actually, if you are careful, you can.

    This is how I do it:

    • I stain in the normal way
    • I apply a coat of tru-oil and let it fully dry
    • I apply a second coat of tru-oil, applied with 800 or 1000 grit wet and dry (you can also use micro-web) slurrying VERY gently.  The slurry WILL take up some of the stain but the trick is not to go deep enough to expose unstained wood.  Basically you are trying to slurry the first tru-oil coat, not the stained wood 
    • The slurry will fill grain perfectly well.  While still wet (within 10 mins) very gently wipe the slurry off
    • taXtmIPl.jpg
    • Let it dry, then repeat the slurry and wipe
    • Repeat once more then leave as is (hand buffing to satin smoothness once it's properly dry) or add more tru-oil coats for a greater gloss or over-coat with varnish, whichever preferred.

    If you don't add the top gloss coats over the slurry and buffed finish, surely the ink will come off on your hands when you play?

    Well - it doesn't seem to.  In fact, because I like satin necks, this is how I do all my stained necks nowadays - even for very, very regular players - so far they assure me they've never been caught red handed. xD

    Hope this helps

    Andy

     

     

    Andy, what's your method of dealing with staining the end grain so it's an even colour with the rest of the piece?

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