squire5

LOL I always sang "Flies are in your beach suit baby,they're looking at me"

Checked all that itu and right enough,the bridge screws needed a very small tighten.Although I'd have thought a wonky bridge would put the bass out of tune,but it wasnt.I'd like to shim the neck but not quite sure where to locate the shim,as the neck pocket is bigger than normal.Cheers!

Bass is a 5 string MM clone by Harley Benton.Maple neck/fingerboard,21 frets.I had this bass playing lovely,albeit with the bridge nearly bottomed out.I've had it about 6 months and love it dearly,but 2 days ago I lifted it from its 'Ultimate' stand and knew instantly something was amiss.I can tell instinctively when something is wrong,just by the 'vibes'.The action had raised to an unacceptable level,by itself.On checking for backbow I did the 1st fret/15th fret thing and at the 8th fret,clearance was just a bawhair short on credit card thickness.Truss rod seems to be OK.I gave a quick tweak which helped,but not much.I had to bottom out the bridge to get a 'sorta' acceptable action but its not what it was. Now...The neck has a 6 bolt fixing resulting a larger than usual (longer) neck pocket.If i were to shim it,where should I locate the shim?In the usual place? Halfway along the pocket? I dont particularly want to shim it but for the purposes of (a) getting the action back to what it was and (b) future adjustments should they be required,I'll need to. Has any body any ideas how or why the the strange action thing happened in the first place?.Sorry for the diatribe guys.

That,to me, is the epitome of perfection in a bass.

'City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder' Tracy Chapmans 'Fast Car'.I always thought she was singing " and your arms and legs wrapped round my shoulders".I wondered,what were they actually trying to do at that point?

Tell her "Certainly.But its gonna sound weird with 2 bass players playing at the same time.Oh,you want me to stand down? Nu-uh!"

When you think about it though,'machine head' is a weird substitute for tuner.You'd think maybe that the Machine Head was the large flat part at the top of the neck,where the 'Tuning machines' are situated.😃

Well,I have left it just the 'smidge' above the fingerboard as has been suggested mainly because,as Andy has described,I was afraid to take it any further without risking damaging the fingerboard.I know its only a cheap bass,but I only have needle files and was dubious that they were capable of doing a neat job.But I'm not getting any buzzing or suchlike,so thats nice.The 'mwah' factor is still there,so I guess I'll just leave it like that.Maybe someday,when I can afford the ridiculous prices of real 'nut files',I'll have another look.

Ok chaps,thanx for that.My reason for asking is that I managed to procure a J&D fretless J bass for not a lot of cash and wanted to experiment a bit.I noticed that the nut was cut more like for a fretted bass and I thought 'Hello,that doesnt look right'.The J&D is not bad by the way but comes in the sunburst/white scratchplate livery,with an unlined neck and looks ok.I'll get the files out 😄

What is the optimum height of the slots above the fingerboard on a normal fretless neck,can anyone tell me? I've just watched a video where a guy was converting a fretted to fretless and he seemed to file the nut slots right down to the finger board.Is this ok? Is it going to affect the sound either way? Im thinking it might affect the 'Mwah' effect.is it crucial on a fretless,or just a matter of taste? Thanx.

Thats because we're not sure where the bathroom is.......😄

I dont know if its a recording glitch or not but on Gladys Knights 'A Licence to Kill' she definitely sings 'a licence to kilt'.I know its not misheard lyrics but just sayin' is all.

You could try this company.They go by the imaginative name of N I Parcels.I've used them before to send parcels to UK mainland.https://www.niparcels.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA3uGqBhDdARIsAFeJ5r0DLU4v0X_KRv1EX6j68xWiiBDGdVhiE115lCyQT7Khuf_9rQRTk5EaArrVEALw_wcB

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_mb_5_sb_deluxe_series.htm I have one and find it hard to fault.Except the strings.Change the strings.

Most overrated band in the world.Bono's vocals are akin to a pub singer here.

James Taylor - 'Day Tripper' off the 'Flag' album. Surprised at you James.

My amp is the Laney RBG400 which has a lot less inside than that pictured by DGBass.Ive managed to oontact a guy in Lisburn N.Ireland.Says he'll take a look at it.

Not really BB.The hum is not affected by the volume control ie it stays the same volume no matter what you do.Having said that I extricated the amp itself from the cab expecting to see maybe a burnt cap or something but no.Everything looks fine.In fact theres precious little to the amp.A small board about 15 x5cms,a large torroidal transformer and another board for the controls.The caps look fine not bulging or burnt.I may have found a tech about 30 miles from me.I'll see what he thinks.Cheers.

Thank you for your insightful and helpful reply Paul, but if you had read my post you would see that 'proper techs' are thin on the ground,hence my original post.

Thanks for the really helpful input guys.The amp has been sitting in the one spot in my bedroom for months now and only gets used as a 'home noodling' amp,ie doesn't get moved about at all.Its ironic as I'm awaiting delivery of a new Harley Benton 5 string MM style bass tomorrow and now I've no amp.Well I've got a Fender Rumble 15 which is better than nothing,almost.My usual rig is a Trace Elliot 4 x 10 plus 250 watt amp so thats not getting in my bedroom.I'm in the UK (N.Ireland) and amp techs are thin on the ground over here.But I'll keep looking.Cheers.

I was using my Laney RBG400 at home this morning.It started to crackle slightly,and then emitted a loud hum which is uncontrollable.I know its a long shot but can any boffins out there give me any pointers as to what it could be,and more importantly,is it worth fixing?The amp is old and has seen better days.Thanx.

Great album.

Used to put a lot of business McCormacks of Bath Street's way back in the early 70s.Bought a RED Marshall stack there.

Horslips to give them their correct spelling were an Irish folk/rock/trad band in the 60s. Check out trax like 'Furniture' and 'Dearg Doom'.Great band.

Heres what I think.The piscatorial theme makes me think that the 'Bass' in question is actually the fish,and not the instrument,The 'fretless' theme is that the fish is not fretting,and so hasn't a care in the world.So its all about a mysterious happy fish.Plain as the nose on your wotsit.