Maude

It would appear the signature won't add much, if any, value unless you bump off Mr. W. The ball's in your court .

[quote name='The Twickerman' timestamp='1391181439' post='2354266'] That sucks. I had mine from GAK damaged similarly in transit. Fortunately it was only the plastic knob that was damaged. If I were you I'd return it for repair. Their customer service is excellent. [/quote] I know that's the most sensible thing but it's a right pain for me to be around for collection and delivery in the daytime, I had to go and collect it from the depot this morning as luckily I had a day off, plus my biggest worry is the couldn't give a sh*t courier that takes it back to GAK and then brings it back to me for a delivery when I won't be there, and then takes it back to the depot for me to go and collect next Saturday as they are closed in the evening. It's a long time being kicked around the floor. When I collected it the woman couldn't even be arsed to lift it up, just dragged the box along the floor. I don't have a lot of faith in couriers if you couldn't tell, but it is justified. I think I'll just get them to send me the volume pot and knob and do it myself, as I trust myself. RE the one in Wunjos, I'd be in the same boat with regards to couriers, Squier only put them in one of those thin foamy sheet bags, and straight in the box, it barely took much to do this damage. I must stress this is Parcel Forces doings, not GAK. It isn't a major problem by any stretch but just kind of annoying as hell . Grrrr!............. anyway rant over

I'm not like a kid at christmas anymore. Bass has arrived damaged!! I've rung GAK and my options seem to be return and wait for the next batch to come in, return for GAK to repair and redeliver at the mercy of the couriers again, or GAK send me the parts and I fix it myself. It's taken a whack on the volume knob, scraping the plastic knob and bending the pot shaft to the point it can't be turned. An easy fix for me to do but it's ruined 'new bass day'. I've got to ring them tomorrow and make decision.

I had a phone call from GAK today, my Bass vi is in. I wasn't expecting it 'til the end of February, happy days. It's being delivered on Friday. I'm like a kid at Christmas

[quote name='rubis' timestamp='1390801270' post='2349597'] Lovely........very tidy job Hope you've got somewhere warm and dry to paint, I've been waiting months for the monsoon season to end Good luck Harry [/quote] Thanks, yes rain is being a pain . Your Tele looks interesting, is the aluminium top a skin over the wood or is it hollow with a solid aluminium top? My new pickguard is on it's way from the Bass Doc as we speak, looking forward to it. Paint and rebuild, how long can that take ?

Your Ashdown might be alright with no pre amp in front of it. I use a Perfect Ten minirig and sounds brilliant with the bass just plugged straight in. I have a BBE Acoustimax pre amp which I use when I run through the PA at bigger gigs but I can't get a better sound using the BBE than just plugging direct into the Ashdown, if the Ashdown had a DI out I wouldn't bother with the BBE at all, although the notch filter has come in handy. I use the J Tone double pick ups and got complimented on tone by a professional sound man at the Eden Project. Small gigs = J Tone pickup straight into the Ashdown.

I've really getting into 'Fifth on the Floor' lately, I had 'Distant Memory Lane' by them on a freebie promo cd and loved it. They are more country rock I suppose but some of the stuff is just what I'd call straight country, it depends which way you want to head. I've always loved Creedence and Skynyrd I'd be more country rock I suppose.

I was still nervous about doing the 'f' hole route in the bass as without it I knew the bass would look fine, but with it it would hopefully look better but it might not and it's a pretty irreversible operation. The template looked ok though so I went for it, as I'd always think 'what if' if I didn't do it. So here's the template screwed down in place, the screw holes will be hidden by the pickguard when it's finished. [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/250120141433_zpsbc6f4867.jpg.html"][/url] Right now the scary bit I milled the shape out with a straight bit and then cut back underneath the 'f' hole shape to create a cavity, the cavity is only about 6 or 7mm wider than the hole but I used a bit with a rounded bottom so the cavity would have no visible edge between the bottom and sides to give the illusion of it being wider, if the eye can't see where the bottom finishes your mind assumes it doesn't, and it actually works! I'm really pleased with how it's turned out, so glad I did it now. It needs a tiny bit of finishing if I'm being picky but the edge of the hole will probably be picked out in black to match the binding, and the cavity dyed a darker wood colour to match the fingerboard. The weird colour/staining is that I'd just wiped it down with a damp cloth and certain bits are drying. [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/260120141438_zps588d6186.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/260120141439_zps8fa17da4.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/260120141444_zps4bef1b75.jpg.html"][/url] I also enlarged the holes in the headstock from 16mm to 18mm to take the Wilkinson Fender style tuners I'd ordered, just a quick mock up as I'm still deciding on painting it translucent off white like the body or keep it natural. I think body coloured, but yesterday I thought natural ............ I don't know . [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/250120141436_zpse9e038bf.jpg.html"][/url] All ready for paint which will have to wait until next weekend now

I'm probably going with a single Thinline style 'f' hole which I will route in and then backcut underneath the top to create a faux cavity. A sticker would look ok as you can get nice ones with mother of pearl style inlay around the edge but routing in a hole will look far more effective. Here's the template I've made, it's not perfect but obviously any rough edges can be tidied up in the body afterwards. [URL=http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/240120141432_zpsbe126962.jpg.html][IMG]http://i157.photobucket.com/albums/t49/Maudebass/240120141432_zpsbe126962.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Exactly as Rabbie said . We do covers of Daft Punks 'Get Lucky', Katy Perrys 'I Kissed a Girl' among a few other 'pop' songs but they are arranged differently for the bass, cajon, guitar and mandolin in the band. They work really well with the instruments but if I did them as straight covers with drums and a couple of electric guitarsthere would be no reason to use the DB. I understand what you're saying about using the situation for practice but I wouldn't switch solely to DB if it's a 'regular' band.

At least it's only been relic'd for synthetic purposes, for a minute I was worried it had been done for aesthetic purposes

Thanks guys, just set up a Photobucket account and all is well again. I've never bothered using a photo host since one just disappeared over night once losing all my pictures. The pictures weren't important to me but were used on a forum where my specific field of expertise was very welcome in helping a lot of other folks, of course all of the posts now have blank boxes. Thanks again

Hi all, I may be being thick but I can't upload any pictures to my build thread. Have I used up too much space on the forum so to speak. The message below the uploader thingy says I have used 31.66MB of my 30MB global upload quota. I didn't realise I was limited, how can I add more pictures to the thread?

I belt sanded the pointy bits off the headstock and finished by hand to get the shape to how I liked it. The holes need enlarging from 16mm to 18mm so I can fit the Wilkinson 'Elephant ears' I've ordered. I'm going to make a waterslide decal for it but won't pretending it's something it's not, I think as it's a Variax but will incorporate lot of Telecaster/Fender styling I'm going to call it a 'Varicaster', using the scroll type 'Vari' and the bold print 'caster'. [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/120120141398_zps2b8cf865.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/130120141404_zpsc89fa494.jpg.html"][/url] Next the body, I sanded the black off using a sander but left the sealer coat on to make it easier to repaint, I didn't want to just paint over the black as, if the body has grain, I will use a translucent paint to let the grain show through. Once the front, back and the flat sides had been sanded back by machine I went over to blocking it by hand to finish, but before doing this I really liked how leaving the rounded edges black made it look like it had binding, the quite square edged helped this so I'm going with a faux binding in black on a trans blonde. [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/120120141397_zpsfb1e16d6.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/120120141395_zps1c75aada.jpg.html"][/url] I'd also noticed how similar the shape of the pickguard was to a Tele bass Thinline so have discarded the '73 Tele idea, as I was never fully sure about the upper horn, and made a template incorporating some Thinline lines into the Variax pickgaurd and sent it off to 'The Bass Doc' to have one made in black. Thanks Howard for putting up with my constantly changing mind . [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/TeleThinlineBass001_zps61b1ed27.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/120120141400_zps6b41f53b.jpg.html"][/url] I've got a Tele bridge cover which I'll use and I think I'm going with a painted headstock. I'd ordered a set of stick on Jazz blocks a couple of weeks ago and have put them on the Variax neck and they look really good, now I know that Tele's didn't have blocks but this bass is really just all of my favourite bass stylings put into one (where appropriate), it just so happens most of them come from a Telecaster Thinline. [url="http://s157.photobucket.com/user/Maudebass/media/160120141411_1_zps868920ba.jpg.html"][/url] I'm not sure about the 'f' hole yet, a sticker would look ok from a distance but is a little 'fake'. So the state of play at the mo is, the body stripped ready for paint, the headstock stripped ready for paint, and my pickguard on order from the Bass Doc. I'll update as and when thing occur .

Hello folks, I've started to make some changes to my Line 6 Variax and thought I'd document it here. I'm in a covers band and the Variax is perfect for my needs and I really like the way it plays, even if it is a little heavy, but I've never liked the way it looks. Personally I can't stand perloid pickguards and the Variax has a pretty large one that dominates the black expanse of the body, and the headstock has always been a gripe with it's weird little pointy bits. [attachment=152700:b700.jpg] Soooo I decided it's time to change it a little, I picked it up cheap and I'm not fussed about devaluing it as it's a keeper as it's so versatile. I can't spend too much time on it because of gigs and I don't want to spend a load either so I got my thinking hat on. I am a fan of the more traditional styled basses, call me boring but it's what I like, and I'd like to keep it fairly neutral so it fits all occasions. We play a lot of private functions and mad design might not suit some events. First up the headstock, straight away I could tell that without the pointy bits it would be Telecaster-esque, a design I like, so I thought turn it into a Tele tribute. I was born in '73 and a '73 style Tele pickguard would cover all the electrics well so I went with it. I'm going to end this post and continue in another as my PCs screen driver keeps crashing at the mo and I have to restart it to get it going again, I don't want to have retype everything.

[quote name='BetaFunk' timestamp='1390086153' post='2341408'] Basses as decoration only? Just like the majority of vintage basses that end up in collections then. [/quote] Ooooh! To be fair, the hope of buying two and making one good one will only save you £20, I'm sure those Jazz's are only £100 anyway. And whilst Gear4Music were mentioned, what the hell do they do to their stock? It puts me off ever buying anything off them if they treat stuff that badly.

Sorry for the late reply! Bloody real life getting in the way of this internet lark . On the bridge there is a recessed bit just in front of where the original nylon strings would pass through, I drilled downwards into the guitar body in this recess as it seemed a nice tidy place to do it. [attachment=152096:110120141391.jpg] This is from inside the body so you can see how the strings are terminated. I was going to put a metal washer over the string first before threading through the bridge to stop it from pulling through but the strings are such low tension I didn't think it was needed. [attachment=152095:110120141393.jpg]

I had a similar issue when choosing my Squier Bass VI, I wanted that creamy aged Olympic white, with a tort guard I love it, but the Squier Oly white is very bright, a lot more so than the Fender version, Fender also do 'Aged Oly white' which is creamier than the standard Fender Oly white. The Squier Oly white is so much cleaner/brighter that I ended up going for Sunburst. If you want a very clean white then the Squier is the best bet out of the three I mentioned.

I drilled through the bridge and fed the strings through from inside the body, like a string through body bridge would be on conventional electric bass. You don't need to knot them, they come with a sort of rubber sleeve on the end which will stop them pulling through. I'll take a couple of close ups tomorrow from inside and out so you can see, it's easier than trying to explain.

[quote name='The Twickerman' timestamp='1389206408' post='2331394'] I ordered a customised set of strings direct from LaBella - it was surprisingly inexpensive at about $23 (inc p&p) for the set. They took a couple of weeks to arrive - but that's good value IMO. - Nick. [/quote] Was that for flat or round?

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1389048883' post='2329431'] . . . . . . . . . most punters haven't got a clue what a bass does, or why a band sounds crap when it's not there [/quote] My band sounds crap when the bass [i]is[/i] there

Wow! I hope he knows how lucky he is .

A few more pictures [attachment=151749:060120141361.jpg] [attachment=151748:060120141359.jpg] [attachment=151750:060120141353.jpg]

Volume wise it's not bad at all, plenty loud enough for playing at home. I use 40watt near field monitors with my PC and it's loud enough to play along to music on there at a sensible level, obviously if you crank the volume it won't keep up, but at a 'normal' level it well within it's capabilities. The larger body definitely helps. Strings are direct from Road Toad Music, who I think make the Pahoehoe strings, if not distribute them. $31 inc postage. [url="http://www.bassuke.com/string_store.html"]http://www.bassuke.com/string_store.html[/url] You can get the white Thunder Guts, better name worse colour , which are a touch brighter, more articulate sounding according to my research but I'm happy with the Pahoehoes. I can't see there's a lot of difference anyway. The Pahoehoes do have more sustain than I expected but they have a very strong solid fundamental, think gut strung doublebass rather than steel strung doublebass.

I'm no electrical whizz but my understanding on the way it's being explained is that the tone control is essentially a variable resistor. If wiring the P/U direct to the ouput, either via the volume control or not, is too bright then put everything back as it was and replace just the tone control with a resistor of the same value. I also assume if you like the tone of your bass somewhere between 'fully up' or fully down', as mine seems to have a real sweet spot so to speak, then you could replace the control with a resistor having a value somewhere inbetween the 'fully up' or 'fully down' values on the tone control. I assume it's possible to get a reading of the tone control when it's in that sweet spot so you know what resistor will achieve this 'tone'. Is this correct? I don't want to do this, just interested.