Maude

Hello, this little build will be more about trying new things and giving me something to potter with than to create a masterpiece, After a member, I'm sorry I can't remember who now, posted a link to this conversion I thought why not? I've often thought a Ubass would be handy for trips away and such like but never fancied spending so much money on something that would probably never be used in a band situation. Also, as mentioned, it would give me a chance to try new things such as a de-fret without risking ruining an expensive instrument. I started looking on good old Ebay for a 3/4 classical guitar with a scale length of as close to 21" as I could find, as I believe that is the scale length of a Kala Ubass. I messaged a few sellers about this measurement but none were forthcoming so while in Plymouth yesterday I went into the used equipment emporium known as 'Wants' armed with a tape measure. The best I could find was a 23" which would be fine as 'Road Toad' who make the Pahoehoe strings used on Ubasses do a long scale set designed for 22-24", so perfect. Also being a slightly larger body and longer scale should help the acoustic volume. It's still an experiment remember . Anyway I bought the guitar for £15 so a nice cheap base (not bass yet ) [attachment=140755:030820131052_1.jpg] [attachment=140762:030820131058_1.jpg] Once home I set about pulling it apart, strings off, tuners out, nut removed. I prefer the fretless Ubass as this will be used more in conjunction with my acoustic band in which I play doublebass than the electric band so I pulled all the frets out as well. [attachment=140757:030820131053_1.jpg] [attachment=140758:030820131054_1.jpg] [attachment=140760:030820131057_1.jpg] Lifting the frets with a screwdriver has left little dents in the fingerboard but I'm not worried as I will obviously be sanding it after filling the fret slots. I may finish it with a glossy clearcoat but I'm not sure yet, it depends how the strings work with it. I'm not sure which strings to use, the Pahoehoes or the Thunderguts but as the Pahoehoes are available for a longerscale I suppose it has to be them. Listening to soundclips I prefer the sound of the Pahoehoes as they have a deeper thump than the Thunderguts which seem to have a brighter top end but the Thunderguts are more stable after tuning and higher tension. Decisions, decisions. Also I assume if the Thunderguts are higher tension to start with and designed for a 21" scale then they will be even higher tension when fitted to a 23" scale, putting the guitar under possibly too much strain. Plus the Pahoehoes are black and I was planing on taking the finish off the front of the geetar and refinishing it in a nice dark wax or oil and the Thunderguts are bright white, more suited to an 80's flying V Ubass but that'll have to be someone elses project . Anyway, I'll look into that some more. Also ordered a set of black P bass tuners yesterday as they will fit across the vertical slots in the headstock, I probably won't fill the original tuner holes as it will add extra weight to the headstock which will be heavy enough once P bass tuners are fitted. I'll update when some more happens .

I'll bet a lot of the unwanted noise is something you're worrying too much about, you'd be surprised how much noise some top players make when listening to their isolated bass tracks. Go on Youtube and find some of Fleas isolated bass tracks, very noisy. I'm picking Flea as he must play with a very low action and a hard attack, and some of that 'clatter' is part of 'his sound' but I reckon you'll still be surprised how much of it there is, it's just hidden by the rest of the band. As others have said, less noise will come naturally with practice but I wouldn't worry if it doesn't go completely.

Just to add my Harley Benton EUB, at the cheapest of the cheap end of the scale, was sent in a huge box sandwiched between two moulded polystyrene slabs, that sucker wasn't going anywhere.

It's not very green to have to send a van to pick it up and then send out another one if the first is damaged due to lack of protection ...... but I see what you're saying. It's six of one, half a dozen of the other.

I use one or two Ashdown 10" cabs depending on space and volume of gig with both EUB and DB and they sound fine. I tried some other amps/cabs that have been 'in house' that have sounded bad and others sound good. I have found it seems to matter more with DB than EB to have the 'right' amp/cabs and there doesn't seem to be any real reason for it sounding right, just trial and error. Go with what sounds good.

I'm not saying a gloss finish has to be a sticky finish, I have basses with gloss necks and have no trouble at all with stickiness. But the fact remains that if you have a gloss neck that feels a bit 'grippy' then a very light sanding will more often than not make it feel less 'grippy'. It's not psychological, the fact that my double bass has less left hand noise acoustically amplified through the instrument after sanding proves this. Just 'feeling' better after sanding could be the placebo effect but an actual difference in unwanted noise cannot be.

I don't know the science behind it and I don't really care, but the fact remains that if you take a smooth piece of wood which has been lacquered to a gloss finish, push your finger into it with a reasonable pressure and then try to push your finger forwards, your finger will (not always before anyone jumps in) probably squeak and move forwards in small jerks and jumps before moving smoothly, now lightly sand the finish (not rough) and do the same with your finger, it will more likely move much more freely with no noise. It's not the material used to finish the wood as your haven't removed the material just how it's finished. When I got my new double bass, I had a fair bit of left hand noise resonating through the bass until I lightly sanded the neck, now no noise as I don't have to break that friction creating small sqeaks and noise. Heard the expression 'squeaky clean'? Why does your finger squeak as you run it down a clean wet plate? Surely as it's smooth and the water acts as a lubricant there can't be any squeaks, why does your finger grip the plate and then make a noise as you break that friction? Now try and make the same 'squeaky clean' squeak with a slightly rougher surface, it won't work.

Welcome to Basschat . I don't know if you're just starting out on bass or if you're just new to the slap style but either way I'd go with your 'heart and groin', as long as it's a good bass and in your price range, rather than your head. Sure your head might tell you the sensible thing but if you don't love it, especially when new to it, you won't want to play it. You shouldn't be able to walk past it without feeling the need to pick it up and play it.

I bought one of those really cheap ebay jobbies, they seem to be labelled 'Swift' now I think, mine was an earlier one ('Atrics' I think) but is identical. £60 brand new for electro acoustic or £50 for acoustic so I thought why not? With a bit of fettling, lowered action, adjust trussrod, better strings it's actually really quite good. I only wanted it for bumming around at home with but have done a few acoustic jam nights with it and it's fine, sure there's gonna be better ones but it's basically a Saturday mornings overtime and it's all paid for. I put Chrome flats on it two years ago and the neck's been fine with the tension so build quality wise they're ok too.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1374948876' post='2155176'] Wear silk gloves. I never have that problem of sticky sweaty necks now. And the massive bonus is the gloves make you look like a right slag and people notice the bass and ask you questions after [/quote] I hope they're the type that go up past your elbow ........................... erm .... sexy?

Electric bass for 'Cloud City Rebels', rock covers pub and function band, And double bass for 'Triptych', acoustic fivepiece alternative covers band.

Yep, I've always found just taking the gloss off the lacquer helps a lot, still leaves the lacquer to protect the neck but it's the glossiness that makes it sticky. A nice fine scotchbrite will do it. Over time your hands will polish it back up slightly but a quick rub will sort it again, easily reversible if not happy as long as you don't go too mad with the Scotchbrite.

Yamaha RBX 374, I think they're great basses for not a lot of cash. Nice modern sound for slap from the pair of 'Stingrayesque' pickups and will do everything from old motown thump to bright, grindy modern tones.

Please don't take this as trolling because it really isn't but I just can't get my head round Stanley Clarke. I'm pretty open minded about all types of music and like to think I take influences from all genres, I bought the 'brown album' about 15 years ago and it really bored me. On the strength of this thread I've just tried it again hoping I may have 'matured' into the sound but nope. Granted he is fantastic at what he does but what he does just doesn't do it for me, I'd like to like him but I can't. I'd like to be able to learn and take something from his playing to add to my influences but I just can't listen to him. Just goes to show what a force of nature music can be to stir such different emotions in different people. My loss really. Enjoy SC for me.

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1373390304' post='2137050'] Hi, Myke Never made a bass uke but I doubt that you want to be thinner than 1.5mm... Most Ukes seem to be between 1.6mm and 2.5mm so I am sure a bass would be no thinner (and probably the upper end of that range). An acoustic guitar comes out at around 2.4mm and (I gather from the attached link) that a bass uke is similar or same scale length as a 3/4 size classical. I'm sure you can get some 2mm ply from the internet but why not go for the real thing - mahogany? It usually comes thicker so you have to plane / sand / scrape it down, or the attached idea is no bad approach - start with a second hand 3/4 classical: [url="http://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Bass-Uke/"]http://www.instructa...d/DIY-Bass-Uke/[/url] 3/4 classical guitars are usually bought for younger musicians who either abandon or grow out of them - very cheap good ones can often be seen on ebay or gumtree. The advantage is that the wood will already be the correct thickness, there or thereabouts Andy [/quote] Wow! Thanks for that link on converting a classical, that's my new project. Should be really cheap depending the price of the strings It'll be perfect to take places so I can keep up with practices.

Wow, really nice looking bass for a bargain price, well done. You like the sound it makes and it puts a smile on your face, job done, enjoy .

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1374267449' post='2147139'] [url="http://www.musiker-board.de/attachments/f3-musik-instrumente-know-how//f76-bass-forum//f11-e-baesse-bass//21087d1140822464-yamaha-attitude-special-attitude.jpg"]http://www.musiker-b...al-attitude.jpg[/url] Like that? [/quote] That's the puppy! I never knew if it was a budget Attitude or not, as far as I recall it didn't have Attitude on it anywhere, just the big Yamaha decal on the headstock like in your picture. The player had attitude though . I quite like it back in a silly sentimental way .

It may seem a strange question but bear with me. My first bass was a horendous SG copy, the body was so thin I thought it would snap, action you could comfortably have a picnic under and strings I'm sure were nicked from a farmers fence, BUT, I was hooked. I knew nothing about setting up basses or strings so I just assumed it was sh*t, it probably was but curiosity now makes me wonder if it may have been alright with a bit of fettling. Anyway I digress, with my new found love of bass I saved my pennies and went to the closest shop in Plymouth, which I'm sure was Mansons at the time, to have a browse and a mint green sort of P bass copy caught my eye. I was informed it was a Billy Sheehan signature bass, Billy who I thought, anyway it was ,I think, £200 and after playing (read 'looking' as I couldn't play) with it for a bit I got it for £175 (in 1996). Happy days. I learnt on that bass and started gigging with and it was brilliant, but one day I fancied a 5 string and couldn't afford another bass so PX'd it back to the shop for a brand new Yamaha BBG5S, which was also fab. Now my dilema, all the Billy Sheehan basses I see are far more expensive than the one I had, and I've never seen another like mine. It was that mint green with a maple neck, the neck had the typical offset Sheehan black fret markers (not carved into the board like most), white pickguard with black P pickups and a huge white slab neck pickup, chrome hardware and only a single jack socket on the side of the body, not the twin one on the front of the body. Does anyone have one of these or know of any? No real reason for this, just curious as to what type of Sheehan bass I had without really knowing it, now I know I reckon it was a pretty cool bass to learn on and start gigging with.

I picked up an Aria STB P bass for £40, with 1/4 pounders and Chromes it's awesome, tort pickguard and a bridge cover and it looks awesome, my opinion? This bass is awesome . I want a matching J to go with it. They play really well for the price,I'd say they play really if they were four times the price.

Also, not a tribute as such but the name made me chortle, while in a pub in Woolacoombe there was an ad for a mariachi band called 'Juan Direction'

'Pearl Glam' I want to start a band doing Pearl Jams songs in a glam rock style . As Haircut 100 have been mentioned, our drummer was asked by Nick Hayward to be H100s drummer when they were on the up, he turned it down as, in his own words, "they were sh*t"

I have a Yamaha BBG5S which I've had from new but hasn't been played seriously for about three or four years now. After buying a new doublebass I'm going to have to sell a few basses and this will be one of them. I know you said you didn't want a Yam, I'm just putting it out there .

I've just noticed Johnny Dissident is next on the list before me.

Message sent. Nice timing indeed .