Lfalex v1.1

Yep. My Epi Blackbird (now with obligatory DR Black Beauties) has a great slap tone. No volume or tone controls, but I did do a lot of work on the pickup heights to balance out the string volume and tone. Oddly, it also does a convincing Dub Reggae tone if you play right up over the base of the neck. Even sounds like it should if you subject it to a bit of Entwistle "Typewriter" action. Weird.

Finally got around to doing it. 2L, 2R Licensed Hipshots and a brass Jan III. Seems Warwick were rather zealous with the adhesive on the original nut. Had to work it off with a screwdriver, and removing the residue took ages. The tuners were straightforward enough. A drop-in replacement. A deepish 15mm socket is ideal to remove / refit the bushes. No ratchet necessary, hand-tight is enough. Barrel jack needed tightening (again) Volume pot is a little bit stiff. Needs some contact cleaner w/lube to sort that out. Adjusted the new nut and left it as low as I could without it buzzing at the first fret when playing hard. Re-did the intonation wearing the bass. I'm finding that doing it on my lap or on a bench puts sufficient pressure on the neck as to render some adjustments inaccurate. I guess it's like loosening the truss rod a bit then retightening it again after the intonation is done. Seems to work. It's in tune right up to the 24th fret on all the strings. Chords ring rather well now, so something must be right! Used some of the Ken Smith Classic wax polish on the body and neck, which came out nicely. Sounds great now, but what a ball-ache!

19. YMCA in Chelmsford in a Thrash band. Using a Westone Raider 1 and a Trace Elliot 1110 combo.

It is 21 years old, but I've older instruments, including Warwicks, that have faired better. The build quality, fit, and finish are fine. It's just the quality of some parts that is questionable. But you're right. It shouldn't be a DIY project, as it's a repair rather than fettling or modding.

Generic Warwick advice for early 2000s models based on my ownership of a 2002 infinity sn4, a 1997 Fortress MasterMan 5 and a 1997 Streamer LX6 I've had 5 Tuners fail on the Infinity (the fifth being an OEM replacement for the first failure) The metal used in the gears is simply too soft. I'm not confident in the quality of the Warwick units. I've purchased some Hipshot units to replace mine. The nylon Just-A-Nut II is awful. It'll break as soon as you even look at it. Both the '97 basses have a brass JAN I, which are fine. The later basses have JAN III units, in either nylon or brass. These are fine also. Both of these issues are a DIY fix, but it's easier if the bass you buy isn't going to self- destruct shortly after you buy it!

Bongo 5HH. Very versatile. Doesn't have quite the options of an L2500, but plenty of tones on offer. Generally light and resonant. The Neodymium pickups and 4 Band, 18v preamp give plenty of headroom and clout if needed. I've had a Ray 5. That was a different kettle of fish; fretless with Alnico pickup. It felt too wide in the body a lot of the time. Coil switching is well- executed in the original SR5 I found the Thumb's ergonomics "challenging". I didn't mind the long reach for the first fret, but the balance wasn't great. And it was quite heavy. I've not tried a Dingwall so can't comment other than that string choice is potentially limited. And make sure you get a bag or a case, as it'll not fit in any you may already have.

Now restrung (perhaps predictably) with 45-105 DR Black Beauties. Have given the fretboard a clean and lemon oiled it. Still tuned to D standard. Have redone the intonation and tweaked the bridge very slightly. Sounds like the neck pickup needs lowering a smidge on the G string side as it's ever so slightly stronger sounding. Oddly, it's got a really nice slap tone. Not that that's ever going to happen. It can also do quite a deep dubby tone if you pluck over the base of the neck. It's remarkably sensitive to plucking hand positron, technique and strength as well as pickup height. Weird for an instrument with no controls that is really aimed at the Hard Rock Market.

Visited BD yesterday. The guys were nothing but friendly and helpful. I actually didn't spend that much. Just purchased spares and consumables.

My (Korean) Ovation was virtually inaudible acoustically. Played well and sounded nice plugged in. Struggled with feedback issues in loud environments, even with a soundhole plug. Better off with a semi acoustic, perhaps with a piezo bridge and a Magnetic pickup. Yamaha BEX 4 springs to mind.

Ahem- He's coming out of my stereo as I type...

I watched the Evertune Vid in a noisy environment and couldn't see what the fuss was about. So I read their site, and I still don't know what it actually does...

That's better!

I'd still be interested to find out what it plays and sounds like. I think the body shape makes more sense when being worn than when it's on a stand- a bit like a Warwick Dolphin.

Hmmm. 4 String. Definitely a Jazz body, perhaps a Boner just to be different. One piece (if poss) Ash body in Natural. B/W/B scratchplate. Quartersawn Maple neck with a nice straight grain. LH on a RH body. Carbon reinforcing rods on the neck. A brass nut, compensated if possible. Bullet truss-rod adjustment at the headstock end. Ebony slab board. Stainless Jumbo frets. Only a double dot at the twelfth fret on the fun face. Dots as usual along the top edge. Passive VVTT (Dual concentric) electrics Using CTS pots and a sprague caps. No notches on the controls. Edge mounted jack socket.. recessed, Not on a plate (like a Warwick) Let's have that cavity (and the pickup routs nicely shielded with copper tape then lacquered so it stays shiny Overwound neck pickup. Badass II bridge. Hipshot lightweight or Gotoh tuners. Schaller Straplock compatible buttons. Strung with DR Sunbeams...

Indeed they are. I bought a barely used SB-2 Tribute on here for a very reasonable sum of money. It's great. I then proved that I'm utterly mad by spending more than £1500 on a second hand mass-produced instrument that looks like a toilet seat and has too many strings.... but what a bass it is.

On the face of it, that should work, but do be aware that the tone controls in the amp stage will still be optimised for guitar rather than bass. It might be best to leave these "flat" if possible an introduce EQ from another device- multi fx, an EQ pedal, or a pre-amp of some sort.

I was going to suggest this or the SB-1. Those MFD pickups are formidable. Re: The heel - I've an SB-2 Tribute, and can easily charge into the dusty end. The cutaways are slightly deeper than a P, so it's less of an issue.

Not any more... Not sure how the Britpop guys would like this- maybe if I stuck a Mod roundel sticker on it?

Depending on how you play at the moment, almost definitely this. I can play most fivers using an anchored thumb, by resting it against the B string. I had to move to floating to play a six, and have found that it's crept into my playing style on every instrument, even fours.

I shall watch with interest...

Neck dive fixed; Went for the same position as the Epi TBird pro uses. I was a little concerned that the bass might fall away from me at the top edge, but this position is slightly higher than the centre of gravity, so it doesn't. Found a woodscrew that was the right length/ thickness and thread to replace the original and accommodate my improvised strap button and a couple of washers. That's a good old (black!) Fender strapblock keeping the strap in place.

The bridge was way too high. I've screwed it down to ~3mm above the body at the back pair of posts and about 1.5mm higher at the front post. That's yielded a satisfactory action around frets 15-20 and left it a bit high at 12-14. I reckon a truss-rod tweak will fix that. (Almost sounds like I know what I'm doing- I don't! 🙃)

I'll razor the ball-end silk off of the E for now, apparently they're of no structural significance at that end.. DRs and Elixirs are definitely in the running.

I'm tired tonight, so I'm having a night off from the newly christened science that is Gibsonics... Or should that be Epiphonics? Either way, there's a laundry list of things to do. But they'll have to wait; De-silk the E string so I can finish the intonation for now Find or buy Imperial Allen Keys- if not for this, then for the SB-2 Tribute (!) Adjust the neck relief (less) Move the front straplock to the neck-plate- I'll need to find an appropriate screw. Lower the G string side of the bridge pick-up. Then order some new strings and do most of it again! Anyone got any recommendations? Looks like it's wearing Rotosound (RS66LD ?)