7string

That's a great catch. There's a thread dedicated to Charvels [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=477448"]over on Talkbass[/url] What they don't know about 'em ain't worth knowing.

Congrats on a great bass

Looks very smart

Here's the chaos which is my desk. Main recording stuff is a Presonus Firebox into Cubase Essentials 5. Johnson J-Station, Trace Acoustic pedal, Behringer BDI, Art SGX Nightbass and TC Helicon Voice Prism.

It is extremely cool

Good to see your studio setups. They're both definitely less cluttered and more organised than mine

Being the Basschat GUS aficionado, I thought you'd like this. It comes from "Trade Secrets Book 2" from Stew Mac.

That's fantastic Start a thread in the "Gear Porn" section. GUS have a bit of a following here. [b]BigredX[/b] has 2 of them (I think!).

You could always try and do the inlay yourself. I suppose if your good with hand tools and have the skill and patience (I have patience but absolutely no skill) why not have a go. There's a few books on the subject about. The actual materials aren't that expensive.

Great catch You must have an enormous letterbox.....

Why didn't I read this sooner. Thoroughly enjoying it! Thanks BRX.

[quote name='thedonutman' post='718239' date='Jan 19 2010, 06:56 PM']Is it a Cort? [size=1](I think I cheated)[/size][/quote] [quote name='d-basser' post='718266' date='Jan 19 2010, 07:17 PM']Cort Neil Zaza sig[/quote] Half marks to [b]thedonutman[/b] and full marks to [b]d-basser[/b]. (Dan your instrument knowledge is reaching new bounds ). I was going to post this pics next if nobody knew what it was! And here it is in all its glory: Yup, it's a Cort Neil Zaza signature. It's the first version, the NZS-1. The NZS-1 is labelled as a Cort masterpeice and is definitely a long way from Cort's "budget" status. Maple neck, ebony fingerboard and a layered body of basswood, maple and a deep sea blue quilt maple top finished in "Deep Sea Blue". Pickups are SD's; a SH-11 (Custom custom) at the bridge and a SH-1 '59 model with reverse polarity at the neck. It fools a lot of people into thinking its anything but a Cort, but this thing is an excellent guitar. Even just noodling on it this afternoon, it felt great and after a bit of fettling this evening (just basic setup stuff) it just impresses me more and more. When I did a rock show on Hospital radio here in Glasgow, I interviewed Neil Zaza on the phone from his home in the USA. If you're into melodic, guitar-instrumental music you have to check him out. Great guy and a great player. Shame I had to stop doing it due to long-term illness. Here's the live version of "It's Alright" with T.M. Stevens on bass. It's had over 1 million hits on YouTube. More info at [url="http://www.neilzaza.com"]Neil's website[/url] and on his [url="http://www.facebook.com/neilzazamusic"]Facebook page.[/url]

With the help of my in-laws, I was lucky enough to be able to buy a new guitar last week. I tracked the journey of the new axe as it made its way across Europe and Big Brown (as the American's call UPS) delivered it at lunchtime. It's a really great guitar and I'm going to give it a once over during my college course this evening (2nd session of the Guitar Repair class). As ever, it doesn't exist if there's no pics so I've taken some. As usual it takes me 30 or so shots to get 1 decent shot !! The question is: What is it??

[quote name='Sarah5string' post='717346' date='Jan 18 2010, 11:31 PM']I used to have some ER-25s b my tw*t of an drummer exhusband stole them[/quote] That what ex's are like. My ex-wife still has my coveted Trace Elliot baseball jacket. I'd rather lose the jacket than still have her around....

Like a lot of people, I went from 4 to 6 strings. Now I'm now saying that's better or worse than going from a 4 to a 5, but you're a bass player, it's only one more string. The more you play, the more you'll integrate that extra string into your playing and get used to the slightly wider fingerboard. If you think that a 5 will fit into your style of playing and music then go for it.

Try some of these Etymotic earplugs from [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Etymotic-ER-20-Earplugs/dp/B000VJGO8C"]Amazon.[/url] (It seems that Stringbusters are out of stock at the moment). They fit to your ear better than the foam ones and the effects is like someone just turned the volume down on the world. Not the usual muffled sound you expect. I bought a pair for a mate of mine for an all-day gig a couple of years ago. He wasn't convinced at all, but after 10 hours of music he was grateful for his birthday present.

I'm using some Sony MDR-EX71 in ear thingys for late noodling & play alongs. They're about £15 or so from Argos and sound great with an iPod. I have some Beyer DT100s which I've had for years and they're great for monitoring, but not so great for recorded music. I have to get the soldering iron out tomorrow as one of my cats has bitten through the extension cord for the Sonys. What a charmer.

Been working on the following tracks: After the rain - Nelson Tears in the rain - Robin Beck To make you feel my love - Garth Brooks I am Satan - Paul Gilbert Fugitive - Danger Danger It never seems like work if you like the music you want to play

If it was my cash (and I wish if it was my cash ) I'd go for a new Carvin (see [url="http://www.carvinworld.com"]Carvinworld[/url]) look into a new RIM or go for a used Sadowsky or Sei (NB I would have said ACG as well, But Alan's only made 1 J-type and prefers to do his own thing I think). Why? IMHO, I don't think Fenders are worth the money and that other makers do the Jazz thing as good if not better. Carvin's especially are great value for money with the new SB5000 (not exactly a Jazz shape I know) getting rave reviews.

Oh, I like a lot of those Really great line-up!!

Great stuff The "Middle Eastern" slap is very cool as well.

Have you changed guage or make of string since you glued the nut on? Do you have any buzzing on the lower frets? I know this sounds silly but is the nut the same way around as it was before? A new nut isn't a complicated job, but it takes time and needs accuracy. If you're not confident with files and sanding then a tech will be able to do it for you. Go for a bone nut if you can.

I think it's a new watch but in a big box.

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='690519' date='Dec 21 2009, 11:50 AM']I'd say he was talking utter tosh. Oh, & find another local tech. Pete.[/quote] I agree with you on both counts. _____________________ DAN ERLEWINE IS THE MAN Seriously, grab hold of his DVD from Stew Mac or get one of his books (especially The Guitar Repair Guide). One thing that isn't mentioned on that YouTube clip is the recommendation to loosen the truss rod first. Undo the truss rod nut by turning to the left (lefty loosey, righty tighty helps me remember which way). If the truss rod nut loosens and comes out that's good. If the nut goes slack and then tightens up again [color="#FF0000"]STOP.[/color]. This means you have a bi-flex rod, a truss rod which works in both directions and if you carry on going you'll put a backbow into the neck. The nuts for these rods cannot be removed. If you have a regular truss rod and have removed the nut, blow into the truss rod hole to remove any dust and crud. Blow on the threads of the truss rod nut as well. Now put some vaseline on the threads in the nut and on the bearing surface, the face of the truss rod nut which goes in first. This makes any truss rod adjust better (and this is a Dan Erlewine tip as well!). Put the truss rod nut back in and make sure that the threads catch and that you're not crossthreaded. Now go back to the YouTube clip and use that method to get the neck straight. I've used that method many, many times (haven't seen that clip before though) and it works great. Just don't go overboard. A slight backbow is all you want. Tighten the rod snug again, the neck should hold the backbow and then loosen the rod to get it straight. Hold the strings at the first and last frets and use that for a straightedge. As long as you don't go mad and overtighten the truss rod you'll be fine.