7string

Yup, maple boards are varnished and don't need any maintenance. In a regular house here in the UK, you only really need to treat a fingerboard with fretboard conditioner/linseed oil/lemon oil once a year. Even when it's a little drier indoors because of central heating, it shouldn't have a huge affect on your bass that. If you use naptha (lighter fluid) to clean a really dirty board then you'll need to put the moisture back again. You can always polish your frets with 0000 grade wire wool to get the shine back on them. Remember to mask the board off so you only polish the frets.

The Brutes are getting rave reviews over on TB, but compare the UK eBay prices to the USA. We're about £300 more expensive! Owners of Brutes are loving the playability and upgrading the electronics and changing the pickguard. The bass is front-routed all the way under the pickguard, so there isn't the option of removing it like you can on a Jazz for example. Also it's wood and about 3 times as thick as a regular one. Replacement pickguardsare being made in a range of colors. As [b]erisu[/b] said the basses are made in China. They then go to Brubaker HQ to get setup and shipped out. Looks like Kevin Brubaker is really hands on with this new project. Customers are raving about the personal service they are getting when they call the shop.

No need to take all the finish off. Grab some 0000 wire wool and rub the back of the neck with it. It'll take the sticky gloss off, but they'll still be some varnish on the wood. Takes about 20 seconds and makes a huge difference.

[quote name='Spoombung' post='667571' date='Nov 27 2009, 05:08 PM']Great collection of unusual basses you have there![/quote] Cheers

Lovely on the outside and the inside. That ACG pre is great.

I'd tell them of my concerns and see what they say.

That's a brilliant shop. My wife and I went there during our trip across the USA (we got married in Las Vegas, then travelled across to New York).

[i][b][u]The[/u][/b][/i] shop. [url="http://www.gruhn.com/"]Gruhn's[/url] George Gruhn is the man when it comes to vintage. [url="http://www.thebassgallery.com/vintagebasses.html"]The Bass Gallery[/url] have a '64 in at the moment. I saw it on the list when I was looking through the site last night. Do I get a cut of the finder's fee

I like the mystery over which bass it is.....

[quote name='Clarky' post='661334' date='Nov 21 2009, 08:55 PM']Agreed, as its largely strumming one note fast its dead easy with a pick and this guy is making life difficult for himself (or just plain showing off)[/quote] I thought that showing off was the main reason for posting stuff on YouTube Really fast playing though!

Always like a good gear story. Sometimes circumstances take a swerve and gear gets changed!

Thought I'd throw this in as well.

Yup I have. I bought a block of ebony off of ebay for a few quid and a mate of mine bandsawed it to shape. I then rounded the edges to make it more comfortable.

Luckily the colour of the settee doesn't clash with basses. L-R: Conklin GT7 (de-fretted and ramped by Jon Shuker) Jackson 'Kip Winger' 4 string ACG Recurve Singlecut 9 string Sei Offset Flamboyant 7 string James Tyler 4 string

Can't beat a bit of Platinum Crackle

The Bass Gallery do commission sales. Not sure of the rate, but could be worth a call.

Mate of mine bought a Tyler guitar from there. The service was first-class.

Nothing wrong with some geetar stuff.

Have to disagree with regards to using harmonics to set intonation I'm afraid. The note at the 12th fret needs to be in tune. Sound the open string, make sure that's in tune and then check the note at the 12th fret. If it's different then move the saddle as others have described. The reason for this is that the 12th fret is not exactly half way between the nut and the saddle as you have to account for string compensation. If you get the note at the 12th fret perfectly in tune, you'll find the harmonic is flat. It's a small difference, but it's there.

Have you tried plucking the strings at the last fret. This changes the sound quite a bit and could be what you're looking for. I have a piezos in the bridge of my ACG basses and I like them a lot. So much that I've found myself keeping them switched on all the time. Alan at ACG is now using piezos more and more, so he might be able to point you in the right direction.

I had an Urge Mk1 and it was fantastic. Never had a problem with space to play, but I would put my thumb on top of the P pickup. Pick-wise, I had to use less pick to avoid the pickups, but that wasn't too bad. The Urge II never really got the plaudits it deserved. You have one heckuva bass

Just my 2 cents: For the body (and back of the neck if it's the same) use a cloth dipped in very hot water and squeezed out to hardly wet at all. Do a small area at a time and follow with a dry rag straight away. Any dirt that isn't moved by that can be treated with saliva (which works a treat), de-ionised water (if the saliva thing is not to your taste) or naptha (lighter fluid). A combination of these 3 will usually do the trick. For the bridge parts, take them off the bass if you can, grab a toothbrush and use naptha to clean. For smaller parts, dip them in a mixture of naptha and 3-in-1 oil, then into acetone (nail varnish remover), then into another bath of acetone. This works really well, cleaning and lubricating the parts at the same time. If you have a unlacquered board (rosewood etc), then clean it with naptha and those cotton cosmetic pad things. It's amazing how much stuff comes off a board. As others have said, use 0000 grade wire wool for the frets and either mask the board off completely or use something so you don't hit the board. Don't use anything but 0000 as it'll leave big scratches. All this will take quite a while, but it'll be so worth it when you've finished.

My Schack pre is sitting on my desk and my Sei has an empty space with 2 holes in it. Something really satisfying about taking all the gubbins out of the bass.