basexperience

Also - BC advises putting ownership into the pictures (like including a post-it note with your BC handle or something) so the pictures can't be used to rip someone off elsewhere (or on here)

Another Maruszczyk owner here whose cheesy truss rod snapped. Best description I read was "That looks like soviet era technology" 🙂

I too had the neck repaired and carbon rods put in, by the amazing @Manton Customs - mine's an elwood 5 and Robin even managed to match the aged binding around the board.

They're lovely basses, once the truss rod issue is sorted, I love mine 🙂

GLWTS!

On 02/07/2025 at 12:20, bigmuff69 said:

Does anyone know what brand this is?

So cheeky to use that “R” - it’s *exactly* the same as the Rikkers guitars guys - based in the Netherlands. 
 

looks like a lovely bass, saw it over on FB. 

On 25/05/2025 at 15:33, itu said:

We need pictures, or it isn't back.

In use yesterday at the Dubs in the Middle festival (wicked stage, and the backline provided was an entire 1x15 / 4x10 Ashdown stack on castors - impressed!) - TBH I've seen promo shots of Absolution 5a Elwoods where the binding looks completely identical to this. The finish is impeccable!

The binding is the most amazing job, and the bass performed beautifully!

1 hour ago, Obrienp said:

Right. I didn’t have the joy of configuring this one but apart from the bridge, it is what I would have chosen. TBH I mostly use it passive anyway.

 

I had a play at configuring a medium scale Jake on Public Peace with two soap bars, chambered body and lots of other “name” parts. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw the price! Now I know the truss rod could be dodgy I certainly won’t be pulling the trigger.

I'd certainly ask what truss rod they're using now. This bass was made in 2014, I think - I bought it from Quent: manufactured in 2014, so it's an 11 year old bass now. I'd hope they have improved things since then.

I can recommend @Manton Customs - Robin just did an amazing job on my Maruszczyk Elwood 5a Absolution, truss rod replacement for the "soviet era" rod in there after it gave up (seriously, it's not a good design) - also put carbon rods in. Sourced, aged and replaced binding for the board which looks excellent. Now playing so nicely!

There's a thread for the work over here: 

Another update - THE BASS IS BACK! Arrived very early at 8am yesterday, and after a little time to warm up in the house and a couple of setup tweaks for relief and action, this bass is now 100% where I want it. Low, low action, fast to play, great tone, and looks amazing.

Robin has done a great job of getting the finish right - you have to look really closely to tell it's had work done to it at all - the neck binding in particular is a lovely piece of work, blending back into the original around the headstock.

Truss rod now works in the normal direction, with a seriously long key available (nice one!), the carbon rods are in there doing their job, and the whole bass just feels so much better. Thanks @Manton Customs!!

If anyone would like to see some pics of the completed article on here, let me know. Cost was seriously reasonable considering what's been done here - the bass overall cost to me is still a lot less than a new one, and I can have confidence that it won't need work like that again.

It really is a stunning instrument.

On 02/04/2025 at 12:16, Jack said:

Are we allowed questions in here or just for showing? If it's allowed then I have a '91 thumb with the brass frets. Will stainless steel rounds 'hurt' it? Conflicting statements online about whether brass frets are longer lasting or not vs others. Thanks! 

 

I have tried to post an image, but it seems nothing quite sneaks under the upload limit and the imgur link won't do anything. Downer.

 

You’ll be fine. I’ve got 2 wicks with bell brass frets and a couple of basses with stainless steel ones, and I only use D’addario XL nickels, no worries at all. I’ve used stainless steel strings a couple of times and I don’t think you need to worry about excessive fret wear. 

3 hours ago, Bilbo said:

I did a little jam session thing yesterday, second gig in three years and I had no amp so went through the pa and sounded dreadful. There were poets and the usual string of lunatics but watching the tiny crowd watching enjoying themselves was life affirming and I realised that life is not about how I experience things but how WE do so. For that reason, it was a triumph. One lady who was celebrating her 70th birthday yesterday sidled up to me and said she had been volunteering at Rock Festivals for decades and had never heard anyone play bass like I did. She said, '...but I got it. I really did'. Made my little day. 😊

I recognise this feeling so much. I've played a lot of jam nights in the last 2-3 years, and they can be just like that. One particularly rough pub in Reading yielded occasional moments of inspired stuff, truly eclectic song choices and some hair on the back of the neck moments. Random people telling you they love the bass and normally it doesn't get a chance to shine - when I hear that, I just know someone really heard what I was doing. That's when the house band fee feels like it's worth the candle.

I hope you get that feeling as often as possible - it's the feeling of having actually entertained someone. 🙂 

On 02/05/2025 at 23:52, ordep said:

@GisserD is the man for FI enclosures

Yep! I wound up finding him on Facebook via the FI group there. Blue case coming this week!

On 01/05/2025 at 09:24, Woodinblack said:

 

Why can't you?

As it turns out, I can! I didn’t realise there was anyone still making them - but there’s a fella on Facebook who’s in the Future Impact group, and I’m now in touch. Yay!

4 hours ago, vbance said:

yes....just outside Newbury...practice at Studio 91 at Greenham Common.

Oh cool, not heard of that one, I’ll make sure the band know about it!

5 hours ago, rwillett said:

 

What does that monster weigh? Is it on wheels and motorised?

Christ, that’s a good idea

6 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Why can't you?

The fella who made them just stopped doing it, sadly. 

I needed some weird reverbs and noises, so I took a £50 punt on the M-VAVE ANNBLACKBOX and I've got to be honest, it's better than I expected. I need to repair the FI again though, the output level pot has died just like last time. I'll have to take it off the board, the pot isn't solid enough to survive being in the bag. What synth do you think I should replace it with? Wish I could get one of the 3D printed recase kits to turn it into the mini version, then I could pull it into the board a little and off the back edge, which would protect that pot... replacing the pot is a complete ballache as well.

15 hours ago, vbance said:

Second gig for my originals band last Saturday evening in Reading. Gig put on by a local promoter who has delt with our guitarist before. All new to me and was slightly nervous as only required to take Squier PJ-555 and pedalboard.

Happy to find Markbass lm3 and 2x10 cab supplied. Small pub but a sizable enthusiastic crowd for the four bands. We were on second and went down very well. Friendly sound man and I could hear everything fine which encouraged me to do my backing Vox. I'm not great but it's so much easier when you can hear yerself. Lots of positive comments from audience members and one of the other bands want us to do a gig with them in September.....so far so good.

Hey, you must be somewhere near me! I'm based out near Newbury after many years near Maidenhead and I gig up and down the M4 a lot.

On 30/04/2025 at 00:40, Woodinblack said:

 

Couch straps are all vegan

The wide ones look really comfortable. What's on the other side? Would it grip a little and counteract neck dive a little?

I've also always been very wary of couriers and instruments - however, recently I had a courier recommended to me by Manton Customs, who I was shipping a bass to for repair. 

https://lenspeedlogistics.com

these guys are the real deal - the courier who collected my bass is a musician himself, and I gather the company was formed in part by musicians who were sick of having expensive equipment royally kicked about by the usual suspects. I can recommend them!

That glucosamine habit can be an excellent one to get into. I’ve been taking it for nearly 20 years (I’m 54 now) and I’m convinced it’s the reason I don’t have major joint issues. Yet. What age are you guys? Do you tend to fret hard?

I recently joined an Alanis Morissette tribute act, Jagged Little Alanis. First full set was last weekend at the Essex Arms in Brentwood - great little venue. The amazing fella who did sound videos everything. Here’s me trying to be Flea 🙄

I’ve had an update from Robin at @Manton Customs - neck is back together, everything is great, all that remains is the cosmetic job to ensure the new binding looks in keeping with the slightly aged binding on the rest of the bass (this thing has binding on all the edges!). So that’ll take maybe another 2-3 weeks. 
 

really looking forward to getting it back. Being able to play it like the Rikkers will be amazing. 

On 11/04/2025 at 14:06, Woodinblack said:

My action is a bit to high on my elwood at the moment, it has put me off adjusting the truss rod!

Don’t be put off - critical to me finding out I had a problem was discovering I couldn’t adjust things to my liking. I’d say it sounds like very small adjustments, then give it time to settle, and critically remember the anticlockwise reverse action on the rod. 
 

I’ve thought about this a lot, and I wonder if the old rod design could even get the neck as flat as I wanted it. I’d had the bass around 2 years at that point, and it had never been quite as ludicrously flat as I keep other basses… 

I can say that getting the bass fixed has been a great adventure in itself!

Great gig with Jagged Little Alanis, at the Essex Arms in Brentwood - nice venue, a real stage! Used the Rikkers and the current mega-pedalboard, which I'm going to cannibalise a little for a more targeted one for this band 😄 

I'd always rather have a rod which needs a little more turning to achieve the desired result (within reason) as this allows for finer adjustment - if you're a picky bugger like me who loves the neck totally flat with pretty much no relief at all, it makes all the difference. I'd also imagine a rod with a rather rapid adjustment might get "stiff" faster, as presumably you require more force per unit of relief (the forces here remain the same, it's kind of like gears on a car - I'd like first gear on my truss rod, not 3rd)

1 hour ago, Aidan63 said:

is the original truss rod made of left hand thread bar ? Is it straight or curved ? Was the slot flat top and bottom or curved ? What's the tpi or thread pitch ?

Just trying to get my head around how it worked compared to say the original Fender truss rod design, as opposed to the more modern design type Martin is using to replace it.

I traded my Maruszczyk back through BD a good few years ago, never had any problems but it was incredibly sensitive to adjustment, forget your 1/4 turn adjustment, you'd move it just 5' and the neck relief would move by 5 thou 

If you look at the picture, you can see the original rod is threaded so it tightens anticlockwise (the head was attached to the top of the rod as you see it in the picture, I think). It looks pretty straight to me in that pic. I can see why it *was* sensitive, the threading at both ends presumably means you get a lot of travel for a small amount of adjustment at the head. What I can say for sure, is that I knew all along it was a reverse action rod, and I never got the neck flat.

@Manton Customs - did the old rod channel show signs of compression where the rod was mounted internally? I'm curious, too.