Lfalex v1.1

Just returned home to a scene of utter carnage in our newly decorated spare room which is used for art/musical endeavours. We left the door open, and the cats went in and somehow managed to cantilever a mattress (we were storing until we can get rid of it) over another piece of furniture into my NS5CR on its tripod which then took out my Ibanez EDB hanging on the wall and a printer and ruined the new wallpaper. That's 2 down. I fully expect my incoming bass (currently in the hands of couriers) to be delivered in powdered form. Everything's still in one piece and I'm assuming the printer still works, but the Ibanez now has a large gouge out of the rosewood fretboard that I'm unsure how to fix. Feel my pain basschatters

Good to hear you're using your time constructively, but please, no Fripp/Willcox style antics..

During lockdown, I'm working more and harder than ever. In my spare time, I've managed to invest some time/effort into Chapman Stick/upright playing. The end result is that my ear for music and plucking hand dexterity have improved dramatically. I've long since given up on bands and don't write material per se, so my motivation is left unaffected by the lack of rehearsal. I play to "relax" in the same way that others might watch TV or read a book.

I feel your pain. My reaction is probably driven by the fact that I've liberated a good deal more space for instrument "display" lately (wall hangers)

According to the "next" video that appeared, Les Claypool auditioned for Metallica. That must've been something, not that they'd make a particularly good fit for each other. He'd leave Lars for dead if he got over-excited.

The one? There's always room for one more.

Yet no one would call the neck on a Kubicki X-factor "ply"...

Slightly unrelated, but when I recently resurrected an old active subwoofer, it was picking up and amplifying a 50hz buzz. Couldn't work it out, so I tried it with different cables providing signal to soundbar and thence the sub, to no avail, so I tried every combination of cable and equipment available to me. Upshot- it was a loose and rattling fuse in the (IEC1) mains cable. Swapped it out. 50hz buzz? Gone. Moral- check everything. Even the most obscure items can cause their own little issues. Then contact the manufacturers if you can't resolve it. (I had another issue with a Trace Head. Blew an internal fuse every time I powered it up. A phone call revealed that they'd uprated the transformer, and that it had a greater current draw upon start up than the original. Slow- blow fuses of the same value fixed it. Manufacturers don't always get it right, either.)

I am, shall we say, less than impressed. I've taken matters into my own hands and posted an ad in the "Wanted" forum. Maybe one will pop up.

Well... I ordered and paid for it from The Bass Gallery, paid for shipping, downloaded an app to track the delivery. Got all excited... Then they emailed to say the said bass couldn't be found. They'd sold it previously, left it on the site, and the chap I spoke to didn't check to make sure. Massively disappointed and annoyed. Oddly grateful that lockdown stopped me driving down there to purchase a non-existent bass. 😡 Don't think I'll be bothering with The Gallery again.

Why are you only putting the necks in the freezer? 😉

They should've used numbers 2,8,20 or 21 on the Gulf petroleum coloured "48". They're the Porsche 917s that dominated at LeMans during the early 70s. GT40s are cool, but 917s are amazing. And Sandberg are German, after all.

I think you've probably identified the real reason not to bother freezing your strings right there. Too little lasting return for too much effort.

They are horrendous. Of course, they'd be perfect if they had matching headstocks...

I think that the very fact that no maximum loading is specified on the clear acrylic hanger is a giveaway. Stress analyses notwithstanding (excellent work though!) if I were making such a thing I'd destruction test a few every so often and determine a safe working load. I put up some old hangers just last week. In a plasterboard wall (all of ours are!) I used the biggest wall toggles that I could find (2 per hanger on this design) and drove them into the holes firmly with a hammer, put the heftiest screw that'd fit into them and tightened up gently to spread the toggles before removing the screws and fitting the hangers. Just to be sure, I hung my heaviest (and cheapest!) bass on each one overnight with a big beanbag underneath. Just in case! 🤣 It's ok. They're still there. And hardly conspicuous when in use.

Can't see a domestic freezer being cold enough to do anything tangible to steel in terms of making an improvement. Plus, the moisture might not damage windings (they're generally Stainless Steel, Nickel or Nickel plated.) but it'll not do the cores any favours at all. Do they do small vacuum storage bags? I'd keep them in one of those with some (previously mentioned) silica gel. No air. No moisture. Probably the best conditions for storing any materials that might be even remotely ferrous.

My phone speaker really didn't like that low "E"! Just as well they don't do a five- string tuner!

Tony Levin seems to be immortal. He can just fill in for everyone. Forever.

When presented with my making a trip to Norfolk at zero notice to pick up an instrument that appeared on my radar without warning my partner simply said; "A 200 mile round-trip after work in the wet / dark in a Fiesta with dodgy brakes?" "I'm coming too, but it'll cost you a McDonalds and a toffee latte, as we won't have time dinner. C'mon, let's go!" Bless her.

That's interesting. The rear end has transitioned from a flat-bottomed shape like a P bass into a more rounded Ray 5 style. They've also lengthened the upper horn and made the upper cutaway deeper. I think I prefer the mk2.

The configurator is now offering me neck options that weren't there earlier, including 5 strings...

I probably overlooked something. Never underestimate my ability to miss the obvious.

I'll keep my eyes open. It has to be a 5, though.

Was beginning to like the look of Sandbergs, particularly the California P with the MM at the bridge. Had a fiddle with the configurator, but it won't do me a 5 string in any model 😡 Then I realised they're now subject to import duty post-Brexit. I guess that's me out, then 😥

Thanks for the help. Just to clarify; More relief is more curvature, achieved by loosening the truss rod. Less relief is less curvature, achieved by tightening the truss rod. So, by loosening the rod, the strings will (subtly) pull the far end of the neck upward, raising the 2nd fret relative to the third (upon which the string is buzzing) Presumablythe reason that it's happening on G strings is that they run a lower action than the others.