bass_dinger

So, the board is only cut for the inserts. It doesn't yet have any markers. I prefer ebony, and the luthier is suggesting maple. Maple - A clear contrast (light on dark)? Ebony - a hidden marker (blackest of ebony on macassar Ebony, only really visible to the bassist)? Any thoughts or warnings before I commit? Edit. I decided on the maple.

I don't think that the fingerboard above is made from any of the blanks that were shown to me! It may be that the colours and contrast have been enhanced by the finishing - maybe @Andyjr1515has an opinion on whether that is likely, or even possible. Or it may be that I simply don't recognise the slab of wood now that it has been shaped. However, if it is different, it is certainly prettier than what I was originally offered, and actually works better for what I wanted - fret lines hidden in the dark area, and lots of features and curls in the playing area (to act as markers for note positions). I shall be true to my word - " if the wrong one turns up, I shan't be hugely fussed." and " Let's see what turns up!" Edit- it is indeed a different board. The luthier writes "Different board. Thought this one looks better with your top and headstock" and "The other board is cool but the black figuring doesn’t go all the way through the back of the board, so it would have changed the dark patterns after I radius the FB. This one the figure goes all the way to the back of the board" A bold move on his part, but I very much approve.

Now, the fingerboard is shaped, and laid on the 5-piece neck blank. Very striking! Ooh - I just spotted the fretboard markers, so subtle that I initially missed them.

Now with a truss rod.

I am 2nd Tier out - a purchase of a second hand Hiscox Lite Flite mandolin case. Too good a price to pass up. It doesn't fit my current mandolin, but I am hoping that it will fit the mandolin that I am intending to buy... Edit - it does fit, apparently.

I sometimes see some lovely money in my hobby-stuff bank account, and think that it would make a nice bass.

I received an update this morning - I will share the comment from the luthier, and the photos, and let the images do the talking: Opposing quartersawn grain

Instead of a saw, he could have used the Axe of the Apostles... So, the ex Worship Leader _actually_ sawed a guitar in half, or did so symbolically?

Here is a hypothetical situation for church bassists to comment on. Let us say that you are on the rota for a particular week, and on the same week, the Young People Band is playing a single song. The day comes, and it's time for YBP to play their song. They jump up on stage, and the bassist doesn't have a bass with him. His assumption was that it would be supplied - and he is looking at your Wal / 57 P bass / Harley Benton / Skip Rescue. This is news to you - you were not involved in the arrangements. Do you let them use your bass (or guitar, or saxophone, or violin etc)? How does one react? Is the bassist like the 5 virgins who did not prepare the oil for their lamp? Or, having been asked for your coat (Cort?), do you hand over your shirt too? Discuss - extra marks for real-world examples!

Make sure it's for the right reasons - not just an opportunity to play music, but a church which lifts, supports and nurtures you. Let us know how it goes

But the problem is, after one bottle of whisky, you will have forgotten what decision you needed to take!

I stand with a foot in both camps. One Harley Benton PRS electric guitar, in case I need one. One Lowden acoustic guitar, because they were very good and pretty cheap when I got it 30 years ago. That replaced a 1970s laminate dreadnaught that was functional rather than excellent. Basses? Probably mid range - I settled on a brand that I liked and stuck with it. Mandolin next - I have a reasonable instrument now, but will upgrade soon. So, I prefer a few good instruments, eventually.

I am planning to do a Repair Shop-style reveal - when the final price tag is revealed, my wife and children will burst into tears...

I decided against The Wavy Hair (on the basis that I simply wanted to be able to see some whitish ebony, which shouldn't be sufficient justification for using it on a bass). I chose the Caramel River - enough figuring to be interesting, but not so much that it is a distraction. That said, any of them would have been acceptable, and if the wrong one turns up, I shan't be hugely fussed. I want to play it, not display it! The names are what I called them - I needed something descriptive to keep track of the options.

Two more fingerboard options, both ebony. The caramel river The puddle of mud. He tells me it is "programmed and ready to cut" on his CNC machine, so I agreed to give an answer by midday 29th May, UK time. I shall sleep on it...

Anyone who fixes Washburn necks at a very reasonable price, and without laughing at the original workmanship, is a top guy in my book!

The order has been finalised. "I’m going to make the neck blank tomorrow that needs to sit for about two weeks to cure. Should be about a month" As for the price, even the request for a laminate neck didn't add to it (but carbon inserts would have done so). Normally one of his necks would be $650 but "it’s the sympathy discount". The luthier said "So, I have creative license on the accent woods for the laminates?". I said yes. Let's see what turns up!

I am curious as to how you are getting on with this. After 6 months, you will either be playing tunes, or have given up. When my daughter was learning, I kept up with her for about 1 month, but once she learnt to look at a written note on the page and directly connect it to the fingerboard, she was away.

In my saner moments, I think that I would be better off selling the bits, and using it to fund an intact fretless bass. However, I understand that I am not the owner, but the custodian of this bass, and have the opportunity to rebuild* it. If I wanted a fretless XB500, fewer than a dozen were made. A fretless XB925? I have only ever seen one for sale. So this is a labour of love - to take the bits and remake it. It is also an opportunity to have a factory-made fretless XB925, albeit 25 years late - all with the help of the original luthier. Future generations will perhaps laugh at my vanity. I think of it as enjoying my children's inheritance before they get their hands on it.... *in fact, pay someone else to rebuild it....

The aniline blue that I was shown.

So, my luthier suggested three options - including two interesting ebony boards, because I didn't want plain black. 1. The spilt ink stain. Macassar Ebony 2. The wavy hair. Macassar Ebony 3. The chocolate cake. Bokote. This was just a quick sample of what the luthier had - I had requested a patterned ebony, and that's what he had to hand. I plan to talk with him on Tuesday, to finalise options.

I am about to commission a fretless neck, and am leaning toward the dots and edge-markers here. Before I finalise the order, are there any other options that I can consider?

Stuff that the congregation know (so that you won't be singing solo, but instead, starting the congregation off with something that they respond well to). Stuff that you can play easily (no hymns with a chord change on every beat!) Stuff that speaks to you (so that if nobody else joins in, you are still praising alone). Stuff in your preferred key (so that you are not struggling) Bit of reverb, bass up a bit, and all that remains is to select the songs..

I have played at a few funerals - being part of a church band affords one that privilege. It also means that one invariably knows (knew) the person in the casket. Hymns tend to be played live, and are more modern. Anything older is beyond the capability of the band. As they are during the working day, it can be difficult to get a band together, and during Covid, the number of people allowed to gather together was limited (and included the band in the quota). The best (worst) one that I did was when a Gospel group wanted to sing the first verse acapella, and have the band join in on the chorus. "What key will you sing In?" "We are singing that (points at the chord chart)." We let them sing. They were in D flat - definitely not the "that" of the chord chart. "Can you do D? It's easier for us musicians. We will give you the opening chords, you pitch to that, and then sing acapella. " "Of course! " Live service, broadcast online, opening chords in D, they sing the verse, and by the time we were ready to join them, they had drifted to D flat and a quarter. I spotted it by my third note, pianist took longer. Nobody else noticed - not even the singers. Sometimes, the band are crying for a reason other than the loss of a loved one...

The old neck is now with the luthier in the USA. Within an hour of it arriving, he wrote "It’s time for a new neck". He says that it "can’t be repaired, and that whoever put the spline in the neck used an unstable piece. It’s caused the neck to curve." (In fact, it was already curved, hence the spline). He will glue up the neck blank on Tuesday, (holiday weekend there). Finally, says that he is "Pretty sure I can save the headstock veneer". He needed the neck so that he could replicate the neck pocket joint, take measurements of the profile - and to see if a repair was possible. Next stage for me is to decide on fretboard materials, fretless markers, and neck finish.