iiipopes

I've played an original '50's Fender mandolin. Meh. Now, this new instrument - gives a brand new meaning to the old tuning song for ukes: my dog has fleas.

Just remember - she bought you the bass, so she would have no reservations about using it on you. Treat her well.

What to do with the 4th hole? My Ibby SRA305 is a passive pickup bass that has an EMG EXB between the output of the pickups and the jack. The EXB is a variable scoop control that I have found most useful in gigging: buffering the output, and the ability to dial in the exact amount of scoop for straight-to-scooped, vintage-to-modern, fingerstyle flat-to-slap contour, etc.

The Ibanez SR and SRA series basses are great value-for-money. I gig with an SRA305. I have put EMG actives in it because I prefer nylon tapewound strings, and that caused a grounding issue with the stock wiring. But the stock wiring is excellent. Are you sure you don't want to go active? New preamps have very little current draw on a battery. The GIO series has taken the place of the SRA series. It has passive pickups, but also has Ibanez' version of the EMG EXB, the variable scoop control, which I have found most useful in gigging for general tone modification, vintage-to-modern, straight-ahead-to-slap-contour, etc. [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/products/u_eb_page14.php?year=2014&cat_id=2&series_id=55&data_id=290&color=CL02"]http://www.ibanez.co...=290&color=CL02[/url] If you don't want the scoop control, you can always unsolder it from the circuit and have a completely passive bass.

I gig with an Ibby SRA305. I got it on a closeout at a substantially discounted price and it is the best value for money bass I've played in my 38+ years of playing.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1408841989' post='2534032'] Isn't that often called pau ferro - used for fretless fingerboards - indeed most fretless Stingrays have it - haven't tried metal on mine - Ok when used for some RATM though :-) [/quote] No. Two completely different species. Consult the Wood Database web site. [quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1408911365' post='2534568'] I've said this before on a similar thread but I heard someone at NAMM ( on line) pronounce it "Bass" as in the fish or Alfie.... [/quote] Yes. Like Americans pronounce the name of the popular sport fish: bass·wood ˈbasˌwo͝od

Hmm. The repairs look fine, but again, if you can play it before you purchase it, that would be best. It does look original, as there are no tell-tale signs that anything about the pegbox has been altered or replaced. My main concern is the neck repair: is that solid wood, or a veneer covering a different kind of repair that may not be as stable? One traditional tuning for 3-string basses was G-D-G, or true fifths with G-D-A. With only a 40 inch mensure, that makes the bass more like a "5/8," but with a "3/4" body. Depending on your hand size, that might work well. I had to "false nut" my bass down an inch so I could reach the F to f 1/2 position octave.

If you are careful and have a light touch, and you can match the existing fingerboard, then simply trim your veneers close and go for it with a regular block. If you are not sure, or especially if your bass has any uneven spots, either to begin with, or from wear from playing, then a radius block will help not only smooth the veneers into the crown, but bring your entire fingerboard into line which will help overall setup. I recommend tapewound strings, either La Bella for a more "electric" sound, or Rotosound for a more "double bass" tone.

From the web site [url="http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/basswood/"]http://www.wood-data...woods/basswood/[/url] [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/common-name/"][b]Common Name(s):[/b][/url] Basswood, American Basswood, Lime, Linden [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/scientific-name/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Scientific Name:[/b][/color][/u][/url]Tilia americana [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/distribution/"][b]Distribution:[/b][/url] Eastern North America [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/tree-size/"][b]Tree Size:[/b][/url] 65-120 ft (20-37 m) tall, 3-5 ft (1-1.5 m) trunk diameter [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/average-dried-weight/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Average Dried Weight:[/b][/color][/u][/url]26 lbs/ft3 (415 kg/m3) [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/specific-gravity/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Specific Gravity (Basic, 12% MC):[/b][/color][/u][/url] .32, .42 [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/janka-hardness/"][b]Janka Hardness:[/b][/url] 410 lbf (1,824 N) [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/modulus-of-rupture/"][b]Modulus of Rupture:[/b][/url] 8,700 lbf/in2 (60.0 MPa) [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/modulus-of-elasticity/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Elastic Modulus:[/b][/color][/u][/url]1,460,000 lbf/in2 (10.07 GPa) [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/crushing-strength/"][b]Crushing Strength:[/b][/url] 4,730 lbf/in2 (32.6 MPa) [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/dimensional-shrinkage/"][b]Shrinkage:[/b][/url] Radial: 6.6%, Tangential: 9.3%, Volumetric: 15.8%, T/R Ratio: 1.4 [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-color-appearance/"][b]Color/Appearance:[/b][/url] Pale white to light brown color, with sapwood and heartwood sections not clearly defined. Growth rings tend to be subtle, and color is mostly uniform throughout the face grain of the wood. Knots and other defects are uncommon. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-grain-texture/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Grain/Texture:[/b][/color][/u][/url] Grain is straight, with a fine, even texture and moderate natural luster. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/hardwood-anatomy/"][b]Endgrain:[/b][/url] Diffuse-porous; medium pores predominantly in radial multiples or clusters of 2-4; growth rings indistinct or distinct due to marginal parenchyma; medium to large rays, normal spacing, noded; parenchyma banded (marginal), apotracheal parenchyma diffuse-in-aggregates. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-durability/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Rot Resistance:[/b][/color][/u][/url]Basswood is rated as being non-durable in regard to heartwood decay. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-workability/"][b]Workability:[/b][/url] Easy to work, being very soft and light. Perhaps one of the most suitable wood species for hand carving. Basswood also glues and finishes well, but has poor steam bending and nail holding characteristics. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-odor/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Odor:[/b][/color][/u][/url]No characteristic odor. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/"][b]Allergies/Toxicity:[/b][/url] There have been no adverse health effects associated with Basswood. See the articles [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-allergies-and-toxicity/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Wood Allergies and Toxicity[/b][/color][/u][/url] and [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-dust-safety/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Wood Dust Safety[/b][/color][/u][/url] for more information. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/wood-pricing-availability/"][b]Pricing/Availability:[/b][/url] Widely available as lumber or carving blanks. Prices are in the lower range for a domestic hardwood, though larger carving blocks are more expensive. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/restricted-and-endangered-wood-species/"][b]Sustainability:[/b][/url] This wood species is not listed in the CITES Appendices or on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/common-uses/"][b]Common Uses:[/b][/url] Carvings, lumber, musical instruments (electric guitar bodies), veneer, plywood, and wood pulp and fiber products. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/comments/"][b]Comments:[/b][/url] Species in the [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-identification/by-scientific-name/"][u][color=#0000FF][b]Tilia genus[/b][/color][/u][/url] are usually referred to as either [i]Lime[/i] or [i]Linden [/i]in Europe, while in North America it’s most commonly called [i]Basswood[/i]. Basswood is an ideal wood for many woodcarvers. Its soft, fine, even texture make it easy to work with, while its pale, inconspicuous color doesn’t detract from the carved patterns of the finished product (which also makes it easier to paint and color). Though Basswood has high initial shrinkage, the wood is stable in service after it has been dried. And though the wood is both lightweight and soft, it has an outstanding MOE-to-weight ratio. However, its MOR is on par with its low weight; simply put, when put under stress, the wood will remain stiff, but will still break (rupture) at a relatively average weight. [url="http://www.wood-database.com/wood-articles/related-species/"][b]Related Species:[/b][/url] [url="http://www.wood-database.com/lumber-identification/hardwoods/european-lime/"][b]European Lime[u][color=#0000FF] (Tilia x europaea)[/color][/u][/b][/url] And from the web site [url="http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/all-about-tonewoods/14591"]http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/all-about-tonewoods/14591[/url] [b]Basswood.[/b] Affordable and abundant, basswood is particularly associated with mid-level or budget guitars. But basswood is a good tonewood by any standards, and it has been used by many high-end makers with excellent results. It is a very light and fairly soft wood, and it’s light in color, too, with minimal grain. Solid basswood bodies have a fat, but well-balanced tonality. There’s a muscular midrange, but also a certain softness and breathiness. On a well-made guitar, basswood can yield good dynamics and definition with enough grind to give the sound some oomph. And from the web site [url="http://www.warmoth.com/bass/Options/WoodDescriptions.aspx"]http://www.warmoth.com/bass/Options/WoodDescriptions.aspx[/url] Basswood (Tilia americana): This is a lighter weight wood normally producing Strat® bodies under 4 lbs. The color is white, but often has nasty green mineral streaks in it. This is a closed-grain wood, but it can absorb a lot of finish. This is not a good wood for clear finishes since there is little figure. It is quite soft, and does not take abuse well. Sound-wise, Basswood has a nice, growley, warm tone with good mids. A favorite tone wood for shredders in the 80s since its defined sound cuts through a mix well.

For me, after playing for over thirty-eight years, whether a bass is suitable has become intuitive. If I find myself constantly adjusting something that has nothing to do with the song itself (like dialing in a scoop for a funk song, or rolling off the treble for a dub song, etc.), or if I find myself constantly adjusting the position of the bass on my body, or my hands, then I know it won't work over the long haul. Don't worry about what is on the headstock. If your inexpensive P-copy with the SD quarter-pounder sounds great and suits you, go for it! After 38 years of bass playing, I gig with an older Ibby SRA305 - a relatively inexpensive bass, with really good fit, finish and tone for its price point, which I got on a closeout at the end of the model year. I would keep the P-copy as a backup and reference, since you do like it. Since it is not an established brand, you may not be able to get that much for it, and it would be more useful to you as a backup. Have you thought about adding a J-bridge pickup to it to get your P/J? It may or may not be cost effective, but worth investigating as to price.

I know who has my 1975 Fender Jazz Bass I sold in 1981, and I have a visitation invitation if I ever want to play it. I leave it be to his care.

And to follow up to an earlier post for an intermediate scale length, tune the bass Bb Eb Ab Db Gb and put the capo on the first fret for a 32 inch scale. 32 inch scale basses are more common than they used to be, and most makers put the string anchor far enough back that you can use conventional strings. It's not just the lesser scale, and I understand the issue because I had to put a false nut to shorten the scale on my double bass. The string tension will be about 12% less on a 32 inch scale and about 25% less on a 30-31 inch scale, using the same strings. 32 inch basses that are currently in production include: Fender Squier vintage-modified "Tele" bass

Whew! I'm just glad that when it let go, it did so incrementally so you could tell it was coming off, rather than as a pyrotechnic display that could have damaged the bass!

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1408280061' post='2528552'] Iiipopes I salute your dedication! I would be very interested in learning to do my own set up but I imagine its not something you could just dive into without some knowledge of what's right and wrong. If something has lost it's varnish etc is it more susceptible to humidity or moisture getting into the wood? Are carved tops better than ply sound wise or more/less sturdy ? [/quote] Thanks. I only did it knowing I did not need the bass immediately for a gig, so I had time to sort everything out, and that I have tinkered with other instruments for decades, including the half-fanned P/J build that is chronicled in another thread on the forum. No, because the interior is usually not finished; it is bare wood inside. The finish helps prevent wear as much as anything else. Carved basses [i]can[/i] have better tone if done correctly. But you pay exponentially more for it. Ply is definitely more durable. My bass is ply, because 99% of what I play is jazz pizz on the occasional one-night-er gigs, and the bass, the amp, and all accessories have to fit in my rather small automobile.

+1 to the above - why not try fretless? Working on fretless can only help with musicality, phrasing, intonation, overall tone, etc. As to fretting the fretless neck - the economics of everything indicate that a new fretted neck with the same specs and dimensions from a standard aftermarket source will be less expensive than hand-fretting.

My SRA305 was a perfect gigging bass until I decided to put La Bella black nylon tapewounds on it. Then, just like any passive bass, the nylon tape wrap effectively disconnected the ground to the bridge, causing hum and noise. So I had to go with EMG actives, because they do not require a bridge ground. To the contrary, EMG specifically instructs a player to not connect the bridge ground, as the pickups are grounded internally to a noise floor greater than -100dB. As far as the fit, finish, comfort, and playability of the bass, it is superb, and it is my main gigging bass. The only different between the 300-series basses and the more expensive basses is the woods and appointments. The fit, finish and playability are all superb. If I still played conventional rounds or flats, it would still be a perfect gigging bass in its original passive configuration with EMG HZ passives.

I can say don't get a new bass that is nothing but a CCSBO (Cheap Chinese bass-shaped object), or any other bass with a new price of less than £1000, because unless you have the ability and the tools to set it up properly and do everything necessary for a setup: nut shaping and notching, fingerboard dressing and scooping, bridge contouring and notching, tailpiece afterlength, soundpost, strings, etc., it will not be playable without a complete setup, and then you're talking about enough money that you're better off saving your money and purchasing one used from either this forum or from a boutique; and even if you do purchase one here on the forum, it may still need adjustments to the setup to conform it to your playing. I say this, because I did purchase one of the inexpensive ones. But I knew what I was getting into from the outset, as an intentional purchase, because I wanted to do exactly that: do all the setup, including reshaping the back of the neck with a modeling plane, in order to learn how it goes together so I can keep it maintained. I am about 300km from the nearest luthier that specializes in double bass, so once I determined that the bass I purchased had a good slab of ebony for a fingerboard, and enough glue in the body to keep it from flying apart, I went ahead and purchased it. And yes, I had to do all the above to it and more, including re-cutting the overly tall bridge down on my band saw. It took about a month and half of spare time on weekends to get it to where I wanted it, including installing a false nut, because my left hand pinky is so short and the pinky and index are both slightly curved in, so I have a reduced mensure from the standard "3/4 - 106cm - 41 3/4 inches" in order to make that 1/2 position index-to-pinky F-to-f octave on the E and D strings playable for me.

[quote name='owen' timestamp='1392589877' post='2370495']Slightly lower tension than Spiros, but really nothing in it, but they have the same immediacy and sound focus (is that even a concept?). For me, on my bass.[/quote] Which set of Spiros? There are at least seven different sets that can be used for jazz pizz, not counting the Red Mitchell quint sets: 4/4 S42 in weich, mittel and stark, 3/4 3885 in weich and mittel, and solos tuned down in both 3/4 and 4/4.

[quote name='philparker' timestamp='1390825585' post='2349879'] I've just finished testing these and made a quick YouTube comparison between these and my previous Evah Pirazzis and most recent Belcantos. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvNuVif43-Y[/media] I was pleasantly surprised and very impressed with the Innovations. In the very short time that I’ve been playing DB I’ve managed to try out 7 sets of different strings (including 2 sets of Daf’s trial Innovations). The Arco/Jazz is aptly named if they want to remove the ‘Hybrid’ tag. They are very similar to the Evah’s in ‘feel’ and I think they bow and pizz very similar as well, with just a slightly more neutral tone compared to the darker tone of the Pirazzis. They also have a little less tension even though they feel to be about the same gauge. I’ve only used the Belcantos for a short time now and they seem to bow a little bit better than both the Evah’s and the Innovations and the dynamics are easier to control with the bow. The Innovations must be a 10/10 for value although I don’t know how durable they will be over time compared to other makes. [/quote] Um, hate to say anything, but in the titles of your video, aren't the Bel Canto's a T-I product? Mine are. And yes, they are designed to be better under the bow.

Does this amp have an fx loop? You might try your fx there, and see if the same thing still happens. With tube/valve amps and hot summer gigs in the midwest USA (35 - 40 Celsius), I've been known to point another small electric fan at the back of the amp, because nothing else will keep the amp from running hot in direct sun summer gigs around here. It may be duff, it may be a characteristic of the amp (like Jaguar E-types running hot everywhere but the UK due to the small intake), or it might be your fx are just overloading the front end that much. ***As I remember, some Hartke's have an input tube/valve 12AX7/ECC83 - does this one? If that tube/valve is overdriven continuously, it will also cause more heat. If you prefer your fx on the front end, you might try using more of the solid state input than the tube/valve input.

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1406886577' post='2515565'] The key thing is to keep the wax away from any flame. A special electric heater to heat up the wax to a controlled 65 degrees, or whatever, [b]and no more [/b]is ideal.[/quote] And no more is the key so you don't risk any damage to the pickup. Oh - and don't heat the wax in the microwave, either. - As stated above, the fumes are flammable, and the microwave can't keep a constant temperature. It will get hot spots that can damage the pickup.

For pickguards, the best place is The Pickguardian, pickguardian.com

Or a darker brown, here: [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fender-Deluxe-Electric-P-Jazz-bass-gig-bag-New-condition-/141365758787?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item20ea0e4b43"]http://www.ebay.com/...=item20ea0e4b43[/url]

You can get one here: [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fender-Tweed-Urban-Bass-Gig-Bag-Heavy-Duty-New-/301200038270?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4620ebd97e"]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fender-Tweed-Urban-Bass-Gig-Bag-Heavy-Duty-New-/301200038270?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4620ebd97e[/url]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1402850390' post='2477227']I quite fancy a set for my fretless and the Rob Allen players seem really happy with their DB-ish sound (I realise that is a lot to do with the bass itself).[/quote] To actually answer the OP's comment, To me, La Bella's sound more like regular bass guitar strings with the slightest bit of damping of the initial attack, and just slightly damped tone and sustain. If the OP wants more of a "double bass" sound, and wants to try tapewounds, then Rotosound tapewounds are specifically designed as such. I had a set of the Rotosounds tapes on the same bass for awhile, and to me they do sound more along the line towards emulated double bass tone than do the La Bella strings. And to answer another question above, the La Bella "white" tapewounds are brighter in both colour and in tone than the black.