Snakey Lane

Latest photos from Robbie - it's really coming together

Latest photos from Robbie. As well as the fret markers on the edge of the fingerboard, there is going to be a personalised 12th fret inlay.

Robbie estimated early in 2009. Good things are worth waiting for :-)

[quote name='7string' post='324958' date='Nov 8 2008, 07:57 PM']Always good to see progress pics.

How long do you think it will be before you can take the bass home?[/quote]

More pictures from Robbie. Fretboard glued onto the neck. Impressive clamp collection :-)

Headstock is beginning to take shape.

Truss rod is in.

They work great. I didn't even need character map. Type a chart into Word using "normal" font (e.g. | Cmaj7 | Dm | C#aug |), change the font to the one that SteveO recommended and it renders very nicely indeed. Thanks, SteveO.

Thanks for the suggestion. I'll try those fonts.

[quote name='SteveO' post='293803' date='Sep 28 2008, 11:47 AM']I know sibelius can do it, but it's an expensive solution. I think Guitar pro can print out like that (still not cheap). finale has a free version which may be able to sort you out, but I recon the easiest would be to do it in word. there's a couple of free fonts [url="http://zoundz.pardyline.com.au/fontindex.html"]here[/url] you could check out. Swingdings seems to be just what you want. After a quick glance at the instuctions pdf on that page I'd suggest that you open character map (it's somewhere in the start menu) to select & copy chord symbols then paste into word.[/quote]

Hi there

I want to print chord charts like the attached example. I could probably do it with an ordinary word processor with a bit of fiddling. But does anyone know of a piece of software designed for the job?

Thanks

London College of Music do bass grades. Try this link ...

[url="http://www.registryofguitartutors.com/exams/bass/bass_guitar.htm"]http://www.registryofguitartutors.com/exam...bass_guitar.htm[/url]

Robbie sent me an update with a picture. The maple cap on the headstock is on, as is a black tulipwood contrast veneer under the maple on the headstock. Next will be fitting the trussrod and gluing the ebony fretboard on.

Very good customer service from Robbie. He was concerned that the piece of maple I had chosen for the top of my bass from photos was not quite as nice "in the flesh" as the photo suggested. So he gave up a bit of his Sunday for me to come round and look at it. Upshot is, Robbie will source a better piece for me.

But it did give me - and my son, who I dragged along even though he thinks that "bass sucks" :-) - a chance to see the neck which Robbie has blocked up ready for drilling for truss rod and machining to shape. It looked very nice indeed, even in its raw state.

Robbie dropped me a note earlier this week. He is ready to start work on the wood for the top of the bass. I'm away for a couple of weeks, but I'm going to pop round to look at the different maples he has before I make a final decision. This is too important to do via photos and email :-)

[quote name='alexclaber' post='239219' date='Jul 14 2008, 03:03 PM']I'm getting to know the Q-Tuners and passive electronics better and I can't get over the versatility of such a simple arrangement. Are you going for the same pickup spacing as me, though adjusted for 34" scale?

Alex[/quote]

I have not got into that level of detail I'll take Robbie's advice, I guess, on what works best.

Robbie has started work on my bass

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=9653&view=findpost&p=236091"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=236091[/url]

The spec is now agreed:
[list]
[*]5 string custom Marseer
[*]5 piece bubinga / wenge neck
[*]Ebony 34" scale fretboard, jumbo frets
[*]Ebony nut
[*]Tiger maple top
[*]Bubinga wings
[*]Dyed black tulipwood contrast veneer.
[*]Maple headstock cap
[*]Q tuner BL-5 pickups
[*]ETS MKIII bridge and custom RIM anchor plate
[*]Sperzel tuners
[*]JD straplocks
[*]Passive wiring
[/list]
And as a final touch, since my son and I share the same initials, a custom 12th fret inlay of "RB" :-)

Now all I have to do is be patient !

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290240022271&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=019"]D'Addario Chromes Medium Gauge Flat Wounds[/url]

.050 to .105

Brand new in sealed plastic wrapper and envelope.

Looking for something a bit more special than my Warwick Rockbass Corvette 5 String, I did some research on Basschat and other websites. I soon realised that what I [i]really [/i]wanted was a British-made custom bass.

I discovered Robbie at RIM Custom Basses in his own forum elsewhere on Basschat. He has made some lovely looking basses, and they seem to get rave reviews from his customers. So yesterday I went to see Robbie in Luton. A very warm welcome, some good advice about choice of materials and it looks like we are going ahead!

I'm not in a hurry for the new bass - quality is more important than time. With other orders already in the queue, Robbie estimated 6 - 8 months. Which will make it a birthday present for me next year, give or take a couple of weeks.

I'm going to keep this diary of the steps in the process from the customer's point of view. I guess Robbie will keep everyone updated on progress through his forum. The draft spec to date is:
[list]
[*]maple or ash front
[*]bubinga back
[*]ebony or wenge fingerboard
[*]satin finish
[*]Q-Tuner pickups
[*]through neck
[*]34" scale
[*]16mm string spacing
[/list]
Hope Robbie is ok about me including some images from his website of basses he has already made. The look I'm after is the shape of the 5 string with the contrasting woods of the 4 string.

5 days left on a very nice example of this Hartke bass combo.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=290220609163&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=019"]My Hartke on eBay[/url]

+1 on the Jamerson recommendations. And I know it's corny, but I love Jackson 5's I Want You Back.