Norris

I blame a lot of multiple bass ownership on t'Interweb. Back in the day it was so much more difficult to find out about other basses. You were pretty much limited to what your local music shop had in stock (we used to have local shops back then) or what you saw in the occasional magazine. I bet most people can't open a browser nowadays without having bass adverts thrust at them. One search and you're forever plagued with ads for similar items

In 32 years of regular gigging I don't think I've ever needed a spare bass. A spare set of strings yes, but even then I can't recall the last time I broke one - possibly in the early 90s. I've had my amp break down a couple of times and had to plug into the desk, but even that is a very rare event. I didn't even have a second bass at all until I joined basschat

And your purchase is a nice way to round off a day of woodworking - bonus

Nice one. If you've chewed a little bit extra here and there you can always file/sand it down if you're not too precious about the exact body shape. You will have to be a lot more careful with your neck pocket though - that needs to be a good fit

If you are thinking of refinishing it yourself have a look at Micro Mesh. They come in a pack of 9 wet sanding pads going up to 12000 grit! A lot easier to use than you'd think. The key to a good finish is preparation though. An extra hour to get it right at each stage will save you 3 hours at the next stage

Nice one! I think I'd try to follow through with the original design/intentions as much as possible

Do you use a string lubricant such as Finger Ease or Fastfret? That could help if you're doing a lot of slides

When we rehearse it is usually at my house, guitarist brings his little practice amp, drummer plays my cheapo electric kit through a bass practice amp, I play through a powered monitor wedge and vocals are unamplified. We get the arrangements, endings and harmonies sorted, then make some noise at the gig. It doesn't have to be loud. In fact sitting listening to each other is the best way to get it tight imho

If you're using a top bearing template follower bit you might need to put some packing under the template. Pickups are usually a fairly shallow route, so a short bit is handy. However it you use a guide bush on your router you can use a standard straight bit. I find it's easier to get a neat result, albeit with the added complications of calculating and drawing the offset. I have a coin with a hole of the correct size drilled through the middle, which leaves the offset distance. Then I can use it a bit like a spirograph wheel to draw the cut line including the offset

Personally, to do a pickup route I'd use 6mm mdf for the template and a router with a guide bush. You can practice on scrap wood and fine tune sand the template until it's spot on. Perspex/acrylic is usually better cut by machine - water jet or laser. For that you would need it on the computer. Then you'd probably use the acrylic as a master template to cut "disposable" ones out of mdf to use for the actual routing. If you are going to make your own just go steady, take your time and be prepared for a lot of sanding. I wouldn't bother polishing the edges - your router bearing would probably do that as it goes along Do practice on scrap though, and be prepared to bin it and start again if it's not right the first time. Careful preparation is the key to a neat job

That's a beautiful looking bass. Fabulous!

My most pronounced callus is on my pinkie. I think that answers the question

Don't try and get under the decal with the Stanley knife blade as it will dig in. You'll want it at about 90 degrees. Have a look on YouTube for people using cabinet scrapers - it's the same technique

The bridge (saddles) to 12th fret distance needs to be the same as the 12th fret to nut distance for the frets to be in the correct places. That would then involve moving the bridge on your Jag - which would then leave holes and need the bridge ground wire moving. Then your pickups are not in the same relative position... etc. Buy another bass

Any guitar building and modding is fine by me Post pictures though. It should be an interesting mix

I keep my own teaspoon at work! As for removing the TRC, well I had my reasons (see avatar). The original is safely tucked away though

If someone is particularly persistent about us playing song X by artist Y, we'll announce a "new" song by artist Y and then play which ever song we were going to do anyway. Most of the time we'll have a go at requests. We encourage them. As for requesting mid-song we'll usually ignore them until the song is done

Actually you could probably make your own plaque by printing it on the computer and shoving it through a laminator. See my avatar - I made my own TRC to replace the original (and genuine)

You could always leave the original one there and just fit another for your thumb. Or get a little personalised name plaque made to screw into the holes?

[quote name='Muzz' timestamp='1496245904' post='3309909'] We don't rehearse much in the function band (at all over the last few years), but that's just what works for us - we all know each other and every song inside out before we play it for the first time. Since we dropped down to a trio, though, there's been some reworking of the set and new songs, so we've actually had a couple of rehearsals recently. [/quote] Blimey - I could have written that same statement, except for the word function and that we've always been a trio

I have a tuner app on my Android phone. I also recently bought a fairly cheap D'Addario clip on tuner which seems pretty good

I'd be tempted to check the ground connections on the back of the pots, in fact that all ground points have a good connection to the jack sleeve and to each other.

Seriously though, you could try getting him to clap the rhythm as he sings solo

It sounds like he's simply not taking the job seriously. A singist is a musician, the same as every other member of the band. If you're not going to strive to be better, you never will be. Raw talent, to whatever degree, will only get you so far. As the saying goes, take a s**t or get off the pan!

I've had mine a year or two now and it's been very reliable after the initial in-warranty hiccup. It's been gigged regularly and sounds great in pretty much any room. I've never struggled for a bit of heft