Norris

To get something truly flat you can't beat a sanding table. Great for "bingo wings" too They are very easy to make. I used a chunk of thick MDF, glued a batten on the back so I could clamp it in my workmate, then used surface mount spray to stick six sheets of 80 grit sandpaper. You need a reasonable grit or you'll be there all day - I originally used 120 grit but replaced it with 80. You'd be amazed at how smooth it can get when you have a large surface area. Typed while taking a smoke break after an hour sanding a rear access panel. Nearly there...

Sage advice Grangur

Inkscape is good for vector drawings (Bezier curves, etc) and is free

Doesn't it look posh in the write up! Gorgeous

It's a bit of a balancing act (see what I did there?!). Five tuners are never easy to get looking good. Five in a row means the headstock needs to be longer, which affects the weight and balance. Tuners either side of the headstock are difficult to balance visually because there's an odd number of them. Hence the 4+1 is a compromise to keep the headstock looking similar to the familiar 4 string variety

Reading back in my PM discussion with him, we didn't discuss the relative merits of the two models or I'd paste it here. Maybe it was in an email. Anyway I went for the "modern components" one

I'll give Prostheta a poke and let you discuss it with him. Drop him a PM to start the ball rolling and I'll tell him it's there

Thermal underwear ftw. It helped when playing carols outside the supermarket in a brass band and for playing in a marching band (both playing trombone, back in my youth)

Young free & single? What are you waiting for?!

The expensive basses sit in their cases. The Squier gets gigged - because I like it

As I recall, the strings on my Thunderbird are standard EB slinkys. No problem with the reverse headstock

I'm just going to have to listen to them on repeat at every chance I get to get them familiar. Sometimes it's as much to learn the structure, stops and starts as much as the chord sequences. It's not difficult listening though. Not a genre I normally involve myself. There again as a youth I played trombone in an orchestra, brass band and big band - and I wouldn't listen to a brass band out of choice even now The main reason for putting the effort in is the possibility of doing a fairly large gig next year supporting a major tribute band. I don't do "big" gigs often. That'd be fun

The drummer in my band has played in another band on and off for a few years and recently my guitarist has been helping out on their new album. The core of the band is a duo. Anyway we've got a gig coming up soon with both bands on the bill, and for convenience I'm playing bass. The other band is original Americana - a bit different from my usual weekend warrior 70s/80s "dad" rock. As I've also found out, it's a world away from the root & fifth country and western I was expecting. So I have a little under two weeks to learn 15 original songs, that don't have the usual I-IV-V chord sequences! Reputation on the line time! I'd probably enjoy it a lot more if I could shake off this lousy cold. They are good songs though and my first foray into original material

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1478951616' post='3172892'] I guess its the same as painting. Here is a picture of a face - can you do something with it that makes it fresh. Chord sequences are only a part of the deal. The arrangement, timbres, vioces, melody, rhythm etc etc will all conspire to create a whole that is greater thatn the sum of it's parts. THAT is the Art of it. Being original is, in some ways, easier than sounding fresh using old material. [/quote] Eloquently put. The underlying chords are just a vehicle for the melody/riff/hook that makes a good song - at least they do in Western music. There are of course exceptions, but the majority of pop and rock songs will have some sort of chord sequence and usually familiar ones as they "work"

Maybe an old fashioned tea strainer might have large enough holes? Watching with interest...

There is beauty in simplicity. Keep it tasteful and don't overplay it. There are other non-country songs in your set for that

Most of the band-related posts on here will be gripes. People don't usually post to say how much fun it is. Not every vocalist/guitarist is an egocentric maniac. There are some bass-sympathetic keys players out there (although very rare ime)

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&id=262676969453&alt=web He does two different versions - original spec or one functionally the same but with modern components. Edit: I'm in regular contact with him on another website. If you want to PM him I can give him a poke to make sure he visits BC to pick it up

Probably the best replacement pre-amps are made by Prostheta of this parish. They are available via eBay. I put one in my SB-1000, along with a replacement pickup from Rautia Guitars - about the closest reproduction you can get to the original

It's all down to how much the others want to improve. Every musician has room for improvement. Enthusiasm and a lack of ego can go a long way. And as someone mentioned, you can be in more than one band

Most of the ones that I have tried have been crap. However I was quite impressed with the Ampeg BA-108 that I recently got for my lad. It handles the low B on his 5 string admirably, seems full & tight when quiet, but has more to give if you need it. I'm tempted to get myself one now that he's taken it off to uni

I have an Indonesian Squier P-bass Special. Lovely thin Jazz neck, P body and P/J pups. If you can find one and don't mind the non-Fender decal it could be ideal. Cheap enough to replace the pickups for something to your liking. You can't have mine though!

"Warts and all" build threads are the best ones

I saw them a few years ago doing The Lamb Lies Down in its entirety - brilliant!

Just an idea - I'd practice shaking your glitter over a large area. If you put an A4 sheet of paper in a cardboard box, you could have several practices and recycle your glitter. I think the most difficult part (apart from building up lots of lacquer afterwards) is to get an even distribution