Maude

If we're in the mood for confessions of lustful thoughts, I'm having real trouble with two basses in the classifieds. 

One I had successfully dodged when it sold on Facebook, but that fell through and it's now stalking me on here. 

"Buy me, buy me." La la la la la, I can't hear you! 

Just a quick update. I put the side tape on today. Normally a Danelectro would be painted and the the white side tape applied, and it usually ends up shrinking and pulling away in valleys and edges. 

As I did on my Longhorn, I've used a wide centre tape with two thinner outer lines to look like a binding, the whole body including tape will now be clear coated which will seal everything in a help prevent any lifting of the edges. 

I really like the wood effect centre tape and I've gone for a very creamy 'binding' tape. It gives it a kind of hollow body vibe, which it is anyway. 

Just clear coat and a quick rebuild now. 

One down, eleven to go. It's as good as in the bag. 

You Wheelie Got Me - The Kinks 

3 minutes ago, jazzyvee said:

Fine looking modification!

Does it still have all the variax gubbings inside or have you changed those too?

Thanks. 😊

Only cosmetic mods, all the workings are still Variax. 

Where to start, I've got so many that I've modified in one way or another. 

Apparently the beginning is a very good place so this is the first bass that got some serious work. 

It started life as a black Line6 Variax 700. This isn't mine but this is how it looked. 

Changes to headstock shape, tuners, fret markers, colour, binding, f hole, pickguard shape and bridge cover. 

Ended up like this, 

Build diary here  if interested but unfortunately most of the pictures went missing when Photobucket decided they wanted paying. 

12 minutes ago, nilorius said:

Is it vintage ?

No, it's a nineties one. 

This is no ordinary bass... This is an M&S bass.

Mint & Sparkles. 😁

5 hours ago, Marc S said:

 I'm starting to think they may be the funkiest looking basses ever made, alongside Bootsy Collins' Star-shaped purple sparkly bass. Perhaps I just need to dig out my old platform shoes and flares?
 

Should I mention that mine has some sparkle going on? 😎😁

Welcome to my world of polished turds. 😂

I think I may have got too absorbed into this bass but it really is a fun little thing. 

If Carlsberg made Kay basses...

Abandon Ship - Gallows 

D'Addario half rounds are pretty much my go to string and luckily enough they do a short scale set which I have on my Longhorn. Sounds great 

I'm a hard string hitter and really don't like light strings and these help keep a decent amount of tension in a shortscale, no breaking them like Entwistle when we blast through The Who numbers. 

Also, if I'm teaching you to suck eggs then I apologise, the wooden saddle is held by a single, central screw in a longitudinal slot so can be twisted and moved up and down on the bridge plate. It's not the best but you can achieve really, very good intonation with it with a bit of fiddling. I aim to get the higher strings the best as they're the ones you'll be up the dusty end of more that the E. 

I love a Dano bass. I have a Longhorn (ohh Matron!) and I'm currently refinishing a '56 bass. 

The biggest hurdle I found was making my brain not think it's a toy. They are so light and basic that it's easy to not trust it won't break (I play hard) but they'll happily handle what any other bass does. Then when I you do let rip, oh what a sound, everything from Foxton clank to Jamerson girth, but always with exceptional clarity. 

Enjoy your Longhorn. 

Papa's Got a Brand New Bag - James Brown 

So Far Away - Dire Straits 

14 minutes ago, TheGreek said:

Sold for £986...

It must be because of sniping software. I watched it end and price increases were happening live, it ended at £460.

Then when it refreshed to the finished page it was £986.

That neck looks fantastic! I love how dark it is without being the oh so trendy roasted maple. 

The Tonerider is an excellent pickup. I put one in an old Encore P along with a ten year old set of Chrome flats, it sounds glorious. 

There's a Attitude Ltd II ending in half and hour and still only £310, crazy if it ends anywhere near that figure, even double it is a absolute bargain. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166546655593?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=6j2-lBwpQR-&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=i1P6UitjSry&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

On 14/03/2023 at 19:29, Waddo Soqable said:

Looks great, a kind of stylophone for the 2020s 😁

Stylophone have improved things a bit. 

The optimum amount of shankspan to achieve the perfect equilibrium of balance and image is governed by the scale of your bass, ie a 34" scale bass equals a 34" shankspan. 

I'll say I'm a Yamaha fanboi now so I could be biased, but I've always said that at any given price point I feel that you get more bass from Yamaha than Fender/Squier. 

QC seems far more consistent with Yamaha than Fender/Squier. How many times have you seem people trying any number of 'identical' Fenders to find 'a good one'? Pick up any Yamaha of the model you're looking for and it will be pretty much the same as all the others, making distance buying easier. 

On the 734a, I find the necks the absolutely perfect size, and rock solid body joint with the six bolt mitre fixing. 

It's true, as with any satin or matt, that the finish will polish up under use but I personally much prefer the gloss dark coffee burst anyway. In the flesh it I something else, absolutely gorgeous. 

People have mentioned the pickups sounding slightly bland but I think that's comparing to the previous series of BBs which had their own distinct sound. The 734a is slightly more generic sounding but that just means it will fit in anywhere. 

I can't see mine leaving me for a very long time. 

Edit: Our guitarist bought me a mini BB for my birthday and this was the picture I sent him. 

How can you not love that finish? 

The 'dolphin head' headstock does seem out of proportion to the neck but is one of the quirks of Danelectro design. The small button type tuners don't help either. 

It's only a shortscale so lengthwise it looks in scale to the smallish body so that might be my photos, but the headstock is definitely small for a bass. 

On 09/01/2024 at 11:29, Lozz196 said:

I remember back in the 80s it seemed that every band (from the punk/indie scene) that made it had lived together in squats. One of the reasons I decided against it, choosing to live in squalor when not needing to wasn`t for me.

I was going to say loads of bands lived in squats, stole or blagged equipment, ate every other day, drove to gigs in a knackered van with a beer mat for a tax disc if they could get it started, and all because it was easier back in the day?

In these terribly difficult times for a struggling band we, a bunch of blokes in our fifties & sixties who aren't really actively promoting ourselves, get offers of gigs all over the UK and have just had a DJ on an American radio station ask if he can play our music on his show. 

Yes this reply is slightly facetious but if bands want/need to create music then they will find a way, and there are far more ways these days of doing it than there ever has been. 

I've always been of the opinion that the next youth musical revolution is so long overdue because none of them are angry/passionate enough about anything to kickstart that revolution. 

There's lot for them to be angry about but pretend rants on tiktok for likes isn't going to do it. 

Is this the model with the funky 3D neck plate. 

If it is I have the fretless version and it's actually a very nice bass. 

The scratchplate is significantly different in shape to a generic P so an eBay replacement is out of the question anyway. I know you weren't heading down that route, but just in case you were considering it. 

1 hour ago, jonno1981 said:

Fascinating replies thank you. Very helpful to hear the X isn’t much of an upgrade. 

The X in the models number only means it has the pickguard and chrome control plate. It's a purely cosmetic change, ie the 1024 is the same as the 1024x just without pickguard and control plate. 

I much prefer the look of the X but others don't, horses for courses.