Bloodaxe

[quote name='Junkyard Rocket' timestamp='1374781856' post='2153241']Get a piece of wood, a saw and some sandpaper. Use the saw & sandpaper to remove any bits of wood that don't look like a bass. [/quote] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNfGyIW7aHM

When I started to dabble in woodbutchery, I found this book a great help: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1561581259 As all woodworking centres on the correct use of edged weapons (be they saws chisels, routers, planers or spindle moulders), I found that understanding how the blade works with the wood really opened things up. Add a couple of basic books on joinery & routing to the library & start playing. Skips can provide a good free source of wood to play around with, as can the offcuts bin at your local timber merchant. Beware though, GAS is just as prevalent in woodworking as it is in music. Pete.

Word to the wise… DON'T lose the bolts, they're like hens' teeth to find. I gave up when I did the [url=http://basschat.co.uk/topic/5094-aria-sb-1000f/]hack job on my SB-1000[/url] & found some pan head self tappers that were the right length.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1374614693' post='2151014']Have a look at the prices they want for the 78rpm records they have for sale. [/quote] Indeed. £25 for 'Rock Around The Clock'. £2.50 more like. (£25 seems to be the going rate for the 45rpm version)

[quote name='Cairobill' timestamp='1374342138' post='2147863'] I have a cab in need of some woodwork on the enclosure. Anyone know a backline tech who can do this sort of thing? The gear is based in Deptford/ New Cross SE1 area Cheers! Nick [/quote] What needs doing?

Ibby Promethean = £1.60/W (but £0.80 with extension cab) Ashdown Superfly = £0.50/W @ 8 Ohms (£0.25 @ 4 Ohms). If I factor in what I paid for the cabs, it works out at £3.00/W Axis NH-100 = £0.40/W if running EL34s, approx £0.50/W with 6L6 equivalents (ex-WD CV1947s)

[quote name='ChrisF' timestamp='1373120490' post='2133935'] [b]Bloodaxe[/b].... Your thinking of Elvis... he brought the music into the mainstream. [/quote] I wasn't, although you're right, he did. Elvis tapped the raw nerve & was seen as rebellious, whereas Haley was safe enough to play to your granny (Bill never got banned from the waist down did he:D) - different markets. qv Stones vs Beatles m'lud. Of the 'modern lot' I'm quite a fan of Brian Setzer, especially his Orchestra stuff: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uR35eeADJ8 P.

No mention of Chuck Berry yet, so I'll throw that one in. The early stuff has Willie Dixon laying it down & a lot of it ain't easy. Check out what's going on in 'Johnny B Goode' for an example - sure as hell isn't an R-3-5 walk over the changes, Dixon's having a whale of a time under that. Also worth bunging in are Amos Milburn, Wynonie Harris, & Louis Prima. The latter has (justifiably) got a bit of a reputation as a 'novelty act', but man, could his band swing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmT7jwEKiXo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kTcjXhGbxU

[quote name='ChrisF' timestamp='1373109761' post='2133795']You may have noticed that Im not a fan ..to me, he is very much the "safe-commercial-watered down face" of the music, and there is a huge wealth of artists that are much, much better.[/quote] Plus the one. Haley did a great job of bringing working-class Black music to a middle-class White audience and turned out some great tunes, so I won't dismiss him altogether (plus his band [i]was[/i] rather good), but these two ought to serve as illustration… Exhibit 'A' - The original:— [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMBZHUhBAYU[/media] Exhibit 'B' - The sanitised version:— [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2UkFvKllLw[/media] A similar comparison can be made between Little Richard's original of 'Rip It Up' & Haley's. No contest in my book. P.

Built-in distortion?

[quote name='bob_pickard' timestamp='1372537022' post='2127046']There's always an Aria ZZB as well - ZZ Top special [/quote] Ah, my 'mid-life crisis' bass Cue shameless repost: [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v40/Bloodaxe/Bass/ZZB%20Custom/ZZB-01.jpg[/IMG] P.

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1372526041' post='2126855'] ohh, lead free solder....I never knew that! [/quote] As well as not poisoning dolphins & trees, it has a noticeably higher melting point than 'proper' solder, so you might need to invest in a bigger iron (or get some decent solder from [url=http://www.finescale.org.uk/index.php?route=product/product&path=446_453_456&product_id=3686]here[/url]) [quote name='iconic' timestamp='1372526041' post='2126855']My tone pot is doing something, these Westfield's are as a bright as button (great for slap!)...if the cap' wasn't 'in' the circuit I suppose I would still get the reduction in treble, just not so much?[/quote] If the cap's not 'in' it's not going to have any effect at all. The dry joint scenario is my present favourite as that could produce the effect you're getting. It **ought** to be doing a [i]lot[/i]. I've had a hunt around trying to find a low-pass filter* calculator, & it looks as though a 0.1μF cap should affect frequencies over 100Hz or so (or the first octave A)**. [i]Something[/i] is very wrong here. Any chance of a photo of your handiwork? [quote name='iconic' timestamp='1372526041' post='2126855']PS thanks for taking out to read, and try and understand my poor understanding of electrons![/quote] They're little scamps aren't they? The water analogy is a good ready reckoner for most simple instances, although in some cases it's important to remember that water comes out of the [u]earth[/u]. In the case of tone controls, it's possibly better to use fizzy water - the capacitor then becomes a 'bubble' valve that allows the fizzy stuff to escape leaving you with flat water. The bigger the cap, the more fizz it dumps. P. * technical term for a passive tone control, like wot we're discussing. ** that sounds terribly low, so I fully expect to be told I've got that properly wrong .

No.3 in the Billboard Hot 100 in 1975: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7B5jXYRy3Q Not really a hit. but… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rihpED_obk

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1372495388' post='2126355'][i]just a thought. what effect would no cap have....I may had a dry joint for arguments sake?[/i][/quote] A dry joint would give a random value of anything up to ∞Ω, so could have the same effect as no cap, or (more likely) the same effect as BigΩ in series with the cap which is more akin to a switched 'varitone' circuit. That could result in it having little or no apparent effect. Dry joints are dead easy to achieve with the new EuroSafe™ Lead-Free solder.

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1372347929' post='2124685']the shape of the A specification neck changed in '81 and '84.[/quote] Aha! that'd explain the difference I felt, as the one I tried had an 'open book' headstock (so '81+?), whereas my two SBs are 1980 Batwings. P.

The one I tried last year had the 'standard' SB profile (i.e. nearly parallel), but was a bit chunkier in depth. Felt odd (to me) compared with my SB-1000F conversion & SB-900.

[quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1372232239' post='2123056']I read an interview with Tony Franklin where he said "I find fretless to be unlimited, without boundaries" and i agree. [/quote] Same here. I find it takes awhile to dumb down my technique & readjust to frets - I keep hitting the fret for a bit. [quote name='dazza14' timestamp='1372232239' post='2123056']I'm toying with the idea of getting a loop pedal and going busking with it to bring the fretless sound to the public! [/quote] Beware! There's competition! (albeit oop Nerth) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUO6kYLb6As

Yup. They take over. I'm now 90% assimilated

I left my rosewood board unfinished. It does tramline over time, but that can be mitigated by using either flats or groundwound/pressurewound strings & a lighter touch. Rounds + a heavy hand will tear up the board. I've settled on Rotosound pressurewounds & keep my heavy-handedness, but, tbh, board wear is something I regard as 'fair wear & tear' and I'm now inured to the idea that I'll have to get it levelled every 2-3 years (just as you would with frets, although the intervals between levelling ought to be longer there). I'm not convinced by the Halfords stuff, although I doubt you'd damage anything other than your wallet by trying it. Superglue is pretty much a tried & tested solution, as is using a two-pack polyurethane lacquer such as these: [url="http://www.rustins.eu/Details.asp?ProductID=857"]http://www.rustins.e...p?ProductID=857[/url] [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/rustins-clear-plastic-floor-coating-prod23019/"]http://www.axminster...ting-prod23019/[/url] If you have a chandlers anywhere near you they could be worth a look, as a two-pack Marine epoxy is likely to be as good as it gets (& according to legend/history what Jaco used).. P.

[quote name='iconic' timestamp='1371820951' post='2118506'] …so why the pricing difference?[/quote] I swapped from 250K to 500K precisely because I wanted a more undiluted signal. A 0.1μF cap (irrespective of construction) will bleed a lot more treble to earth with a 500K pot than a .047μF, you might find that's enough for your needs.

Oh, that's odd. I said 'Sunburst' as I'd forgotten about the tactic of taking a meh-looking body & laminating a prettier veneer over it for a 'burst or trans finish. Maybe they just do the lot these days & they get sprayed whatever. This isn't [i]really[/i] helping is it? From what you've described, it sounds suspicious. If it were me I'd be sanding that veneer right off to see if there's a body joint that's failing. If that turns out to be the case it'd need remedying before re-finishing otherwise it's likely to keep moving. P.

Sunburst?

That sandwich construction is quite common on low- to mid- range instruments, & can hide a 'butcher block' filler - i.e. several pieces (or in some cases lots of strips) all glued together. From my reading of your description it sounds like a glue joint is failing in the core. If so, this isn't a particularly good thing. Roughly how thick is the original laminate?

If they're just in the finish, then no. If the finish has cracked because of something bad happening further down, then there's all sorts of potential for nastiness. Pics?