Twincam

Hmmm I had one without the tr adjustment wheel, same millennium font as that one, it was a different model and from Thailand but it was a 2012-13 dated by the electrics (was an active version). I think they did as kodiakblair says change the truss rod adjustment from around that period. So yeah I'm going to say post 2012.

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1458074722' post='3004523'] Low budget Yammies. Every one of them bats out of its league. [/quote] Indeed that's because apparently they have the same qc checks as there more expensive ranges.

[quote name='ped' timestamp='1458069623' post='3004429'] Straight as an arrow. Most people play my bass and say it's unplayable because the action is so low and there's almost zero relief. I play VERY lightly though and like a bit of clank when I 'dig in'. If I alter my plucking a bit I can get almost the same as my slap sound. Combined with 40-100 strings it's very 'supple' and requires zero effort. When I gigged more I raised it a tiny bit (action, not relief) because with the adrenaline on stage I needed a bit more room, but now I play almost always at home or for recording where I can be exact. Relief is critical for me because my bass has no truss rod so I can't adjust it, it's rock solid (graphite). The newer versions of my bass have a slightly greater amount of relief built in (but still not much) which I didn't feel as comfortable with - again, no truss rod, so I sold it on. Here's a pic of my G string to give you some idea - although again this I suppose shows the action rather than relief but it's about this height all the way along (got a zero fret) https://flic.kr/p/dsv2Tp [/quote] From that pic I can tell your bass is well set up and has a good neck!

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1458066946' post='3004399'] I've been doing more than a few set ups lately (see sandpaper for fret polishing) and this topic has been on my mind. To begin with, I'm singing more often than not, so I set my instruments in a manner that will allow for a slightly less than precise playing style, as my attention is often divided between two tasks. Please assume that frets have been levelled and dressed when reading all comments below. Also, I lower the frets from around fret 12 to create a slight ramp In general, I attempt to keep the neck as straight as possible. I find this easier to achieve with six string guitars, as the string movement is less compared to a bass string. In practice, I find something like 1/4 turn of the truss rod is needed for clean playing without fret buzz. Also, allowing 24hrs after truss rod adjustment does make a difference. I've read that others allow a bit more clearance for the A string (as the break angle over the nut is different on Fenders compared to the other strings) and the G string (I assume this is because it travels more compared to the others when struck). I've found this to be the case with both strings. I'd be interested to read any tips that others could give on the topic of setting instruments for low action, relief, factors to be taken into consideration etc [/quote] Well as you have mentioned level frets is the biggest factor. Next is nut height when fretted at the third there must be a paper thin clearance between the first fret and the string, if it's laying on the fret that is wrong and of course if it's too high then that is self explanatory. Next I would say the neck itself need to be in good condition no ski jumps! The fret board must be straight or have a marginal drop off. You can compensate for this by rolling off the frets when levelling but go to far and what happens is you fret a high note and the string then hits the frets between the nut, as said in my above post these noises are not picked up but they should not be there. Then there is correct neck angle which can vary from bass to bass and may need experimentation with shims. And a good adjustable bridge that is the correct height to begin with (not requiring shims in the neck pocket) is handy. The relief is part of the action height in the bigger picture too obvious a straight neck the strings will sit closer to the frets. String gauge and tension are factors too heavy gauge high tension strings move less and can give much less fret buzz, flats are good for this too. And of course how hard you hit the strings Jeff Berlin and others advocate very light playing and will get away with very low action.

The only thing that is hard I find with having a very straight neck is when you get noise from the strings between the fretted note (around the 12th - 15th) and the nut. It doesn't come through the amp but it drives me crazy.

I keep thinking of two relatively cheap bass guitars ive had in the past that were surprisingly good instruments. The first was a peavey millennium active, the ones with the quilted top. Had rubbish tuning heads but the rest of it was a pretty good instrument, zero issues, nice neck, lightweight, easy to setup, decent output. Sold because even though active it was a bit too dark and one dimensional sounding. The second was a squire bronco bass. After I levelled the frets etc it could take a fantastic action. Very easy to play. But I really liked its "rubbish" strat pickup. Not great in the bass department not the highest output but did have good mids and a good growl, I thought it worked really well with pedals too. Again very one dimensional. And being picky the bottom strap button was misaligned. Any other stories of basses that have surprised you in a good way?

How do you actually pronounce it? I might have to look it up on a vid.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1458061778' post='3004322'] Straight as a ruller for me... [size=2]...but i use Yamahas, not those F things that often need some bending/schims/dressing so they dont get fretbuzz... [/size] [/quote] Haha! To be honest ive had mixed results with fenders regarding setup in general. All of them can take a decent setup but very few can go really low without a lot of work! From a playing point of view my preference isn't that low and I think fenders sound and play better with a average setup, rather than super low. In terms of relief fenders should have a bit of a bend.

Trapped wind? No not today. Its taken me a long time to find my ideal action height. While doing a lot of setups ive noticed different basses react different to the relief settings and so does string type used. For those of use that measure these things in curious to know how much relief others like? Anyone like a straight neck, zero relief or say minimally relief under say .005 Does anyone prefer a good bend in the neck by choice? I'm not talking action height just the bend in the neck.

[quote name='Colonel36' timestamp='1456857002' post='2992961'] I've got Dr Duck's also and it's good. Now ........ I've also tried/tested used on different stuff, " Johnson's baby oil " and I cannot tell the difference between that and Dr Duck's. I know, I know that Duck's lasts ages but you can get a great bottle of baby oil for a fraction of the price and as I said...... I can't tell the difference and nor can anyone else that I've asked about this when showing it to them. Also used it on a leather jacket and leather suite and tried Duck's on them as well with yet again, no difference between the two of them. If anyone can tell the difference between Duck's and baby oil..let me know, as I'm interested to see/hear it. [/quote] Please don't use baby oil or any other oil of that nature on leathers. It will work to a degree but without going into the science its not the best stuff. Renapur and ledar grease from altberg boots is what you want. Overtime baby oil, lemon oil any mineral oil will actually dry leather and wood out. Some natural oils are no good either and tend to rot. As for a maple board a slightly damp cloth and a wipe is good, only go further if its really crapped up. No oil at all needs to go on a maple board, what you will end up doing is driving crap into the fret slots where it will fester. Just like rosewood boards etc only need oil on rare occasions for much the same reason. Lighter fluid is good if boards are manky though.

Ok so I seen some bad ads local too me. This guy is selling a few basses and one is a Spector. Note his price of £399 no offers. https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/spector-bass-performer-4-flamed-maple-black-cherry/1159700297 Ok in the next ad we can see the same Spector in the background with a sale price of £250 clearly visible in a few pics on this ad. https://www.gumtree.com/p/guitar-instrument/1989-fender-precision-plus-bass-with-hard-case/1159699392 He has a few dodgy ads on gumtree and I noticed his ebay ads are suspect too.

Great job especially for a first go. I love the gold pg too.

Its all very subjective isn't it. Too me fodera's look boring they have horrible headstocks too. Ive never played one but I'm sure the sound and quality is there. I would own one (custom) if I was well off though, mainly for the quality. Alot of these high end basses or one off customs do have a lot more attention to detail in them that many of the more mass produced or pseudo custom basses don't have. Some wont see or hear it but others do and its definitely there. All those little tiny details really do add up!.

Also and this applies to everyone go to a good chiropractor! You be surprised at how many issues they can treat, headaches, other joint pain, mobility problems etc

Well I know this may or may not work depending on the music you play. But can you not use a tall stool, one of those you almost still look as if your standing. Then you can rest the bass on your knee.

Pretty much the same as others have said I like the bass, it looks good but the headstock and tuners look imo a bit cheap dare I say. Really like the rest of the bass though and the pose ain't bad either. T shirt sucks tho! Lol

[quote name='essexbasscat' timestamp='1457732762' post='3001513'] An hour ? flippin eck ! it takes me all day ! Yes, it does sound like we're using the same crowning tool - yours must be a quicker cutting model than mine I'm going to try this micromesh idea, it seems a lot of people are doing it this way, thanks for the tips [/quote] Was also going to to say an hour! That is quick!. Takes me approx 3 or so hours for a full 24 fret job. As said I use the more traditional files rather than the pre cut crowning file. So much more control over the actual crown shape and size imo of course. One thing has anyone noticed how poor quality some fret material seems to be? One fret to the other can seem very inconsistent and some high end basses can have very soft or inconsistent fret metal. I would like to see companies use more higher end materials quality stainless steel etc. Pain in the behind to re level, crown etc but a better choice overall.

Ok here is mine. As the first recorded in the quickest way possible iPad infront of the cab and one quick take well actually this is the second take the first I ballsed up. I call it the Native American lol. http://youtu.be/8BQUxVAXuIE

[quote name='zvirus' timestamp='1457727880' post='3001429'] Here we have really good explanation. Relief is 0.3mm (sorry I use metric only) And E string has wee gap after fretting at 3d fret. I`d say nut cut is not too low. Why? No buzz at all on an open E string(!). I`d say the gap size is exactly as You will fret the bass on 1st and then 4th fret. You know what I mean? Its not an end of the world. I was wondering is it normal? Or maybe I go a bit too low with filing the nut. By this I can have very low action even on crappy bass. I mean under 3mm E string XII fret... [/quote] 0.3mm is way too much twice to three times to much on average. Any bass even with a relatively high nut should be easy to get under 3mm with correct relief and adjustment of the bridge saddle screws. Don't adjust the height by the nut slot. Although a low cut nut does contribute to a good action it's only a small part. Not sure what you mean 3mm at the 7th fret?

I write this assuming you mean buzz at the nut and fretted note? It is back buzz. It's basically caused by low relief or v low nut. Also commonly found on basses "correctly" set up or basses that are badly set up too. It the string vibrating on the frets behind the fretted note, one cure is to add relief the other is not to have too low a cut nut. Test for too low cut a nut by fretting each string at the third and tapping the string at the first fret there must be a paper thin distance there and not! the string lying on top off the first fret. Sometimes this can happen with extreme reliefs too. Relief should be at least .07 but more likely .10 - .15 measured at the 7th fret while first and commonly 17th fret held down. Of course as said the nut slot can indeed be a tad too wide or the string not having good break ankle at the peg not enough windings causing the downward pressure. Common on fender E and A strings. Reason it's not there amped is because the pickups only capture noise after the fretted note to the bridge.

[quote name='Agwin' timestamp='1457545971' post='2999575'] Looks like it’s me up first again! Here’s this month’s noodle: [url="https://soundcloud.com/agwin/fretless-tune-march-noodle"]https://soundcloud.com/agwin/fretless-tune-march-noodle[/url] Played on my defretted Hohner Precision copy strung with dead rounds. Straight into Audacity then “normalised” (what ever that is – just seemed to make it louder) and a bit of phaser added. It just sort of formed it’s self out of thin air after watching a few minutes of Scott Devine expounding on arpeggios. I was subsequently inspired to fire up my Sibelius software and have a bit of a compose. I seem to have ended up with a potential ITV Murder Mystery theme. I’d be chuffed to bits if you could find the time to also give this a listen– It’s not very long about 01:20 in total. https://soundcloud.com/agwin/murder-mystery-tune [/quote] Haha I really liked that and yes very itv murder mystery. I enjoyed that. [quote name='FuNkShUi' timestamp='1457709925' post='3001213'] So in the spirit of consistency, i'll go second again: [url="https://soundcloud.com/tona-fied/noodle-2"]https://soundcloud.c...a-fied/noodle-2[/url] I know i said i'd do more of a proper bass line, but i didn't really want to sir, and it is a solo bass track sir, and this is just what i am "noodlin" with at the moment sir Enjoy Edit to say it is recorded in Garageband through the "classical bass guitar" sound preset, as that seemed a pretty clean sound. I don't have speakers, and cant get any monitor sound, so i only hear the recorded sound after i record. Exciting . 10% reverb. [/quote] Another great noodle, kinda reminded me of something French dare I say? Yes I got a Parisian vibe off that. Oddly enough I think I went third last time (I think) and was just about to record again now but it's got a bit late and I shall be using the iPads mic again don't like to disturb the neighbours to much. Mine will be up tomorrow evening I reckon.

Ok my process is level, re crown then 400, 800, 1200 wet and dry (used dry) sometimes before the 400 I will use maybe a 240 if needed I use a traditional crowning file which can take a lot longer and can leave larger file marks initially but offer greater control over the crown. Anyhow after the 400,800,1200 it's autosol time and is excellent at bringing out a mirror shine. In regards to how I use the sandpaper I wrap it around a polishing rubber and use it in the same manner as you would use the rubber. Then I gave the whole board a going over with my finger wrapped in the paper bumping allong the frets this works great! Although needs to be done gently. I have all the grades of polishing rubbers but find them crap to no honest. Yes I mask off the entire board twice over. I have pics if anyone interested??? Oh and to add I use a levelling file not sandpaper it much faster although has the disadvantage of larger file marks.

Another thread I've enjoyed recently of late, and fitting as I think I've recently found the one bass. My Jim Fleeting custom. Shame I can't find strings I like and never been happy with my amps although I was once then sold it.