pfretrock

Are your first three frets level? If they are, fret at the third fret and check the gap at the first fret. This should tell you how far out the nut is. My first attempt at replacing a nut was almost a 100% success. The original nut was awful (probably a Friday afternoon job). I had to saw the old nut out, there was so much glue holding it in. Cutting my first nut was relativly easy, although I went too deep on one string. So I put a mylar shim under the nut - I had not glued it in but had sanded carefully so it was a good tight fit. I've heard of building up the slot (there is stuff on youtube) but this seems a real hack. If the bass is of a good value, i'd get a luthier to do the job (mine was < £200 so hackable with few worries.) I have had a bass where there was slight open string buzz, which went away when I replaced the rounds with flats (stiffer, less swing) and did a setup. Rob - before I removed the old nut I did put some of the mylar film in the slot as a temporary measure until I found the courage to hacksaw the nut out. It worked but had to be held in place when tensioning the string else it slipped out. The excess was trimmed out with a scalpel blade. The Mylar was just a few thou thick and quite tough.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1430220988' post='2759052'] Talk Talk are reforming and looking at doing a collaboration with Blondie... [/quote] So, Chuck Berry turned them down?

[quote name='ras52' timestamp='1430157780' post='2758506'] The Rustle of Gypsies? [/quote] Och, that disnae make sense?

WD40 and Loctite should never be allowed on the same planet as electric guitars.

[quote name='Fettsman' timestamp='1430137714' post='2758249'] The way they go limp doesn't help either. [/quote] One of mine currently has a machine gun in it (no panic, its deactivated for a forthcoming exhibition!). Hope Mrs P does not find it - weighs about the same a three Ps. (the bass not the OH!) Alway reassuring to the rest of the household to have empty gig bags or wall hangers, shows you are not exceeding the limit.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1430136396' post='2758234'] Yes, I'm "Up, Up and Away" on laughing gas most of the time myself now.... [/quote] Not much different here, I just surry down to a stoned soul picnic.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1430127069' post='2758110'] I'm impressed you stepped back in time over a month to bring this to the readership.......or did you? Are you in a parallel universe? [/quote] I'm a big fan of the 5th Dimension.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1427021660' post='2724709'] "Zany" Zayn Malik will announce his new band early next week. Bookies have the favourite as "A Different Direction" [/quote] There is hope, from another d̶i̶r̶e̶c̶t̶i̶o̶n̶ dimension... [url="http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/27/stephen-hawking-tells-fans-zayn-malik-could-still-be-in-a-parallel-one-direction?CMP=EMCNEWEML6619I2"]http://www.theguardi...EMCNEWEML6619I2[/url] ̶

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1429832611' post='2755494'] I'm sure Thunderclap Newman would be happy to comment however? [/quote] Nanette Newman turned down a backing singer session on the Stone's Let It Bleed recording, it was too late however and the sleeve notes were already at the printers. But she did contribute backing vocals to this one hit wonder band.

[quote name='RandomBass' timestamp='1429815134' post='2755315'] Alex Higgins is obviously not available for comment. [/quote] Hurricane Smith, one time Beatles recording engineer and Pink Floyd producer is also not available for comment. Clearly there were hurricanes.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1429803484' post='2755143'] So was Bill Haley... [/quote] The Tornadoes, of Telstar fame, are however related to Michael Fish (don't mention the great storm).

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1429801539' post='2755115'] The Shadows only gig on sunny days and with their backs to the sun. [/quote] Which reminds me, Jet Harris is a distant relative of Wernher von Braun.

[quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1429780785' post='2754800'] Same neck maybe. Shame - that would put me off. [/quote] Looks like it, one size fits all, carve your own head. I suspect the neck pocket is to Fender dimensions. HB's short scale (30") P bass has a wide neck so is more like P than J. Not sure why, shorties are usually narrow.

[quote name='darren' timestamp='1429731650' post='2754453'] Thomann do a home brand p bass and jazz bass kit for £70 [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_bassguitar_kit_pstyle.htm"]http://www.thomann.d..._kit_pstyle.htm[/url] [/quote] Interesting that the J version has a P width nut. Gaskit attack!

I'd always assumed the OPs original question was academic and nothing else. Given all other components are identical, is there a difference between rosewood and maple? and not a thing you would choose between for tone. I suspect if he does the chamber experiment he may get some who can hear a difference, but does not get any discrimination in whatever spectrum analyser he uses - you need to go a long way in technology to beat human lugholes and brains. My maple and rosewood basses have too many other differences to make any meaningfull comparison of the necks. One question. If you believe the neck has no influence on the vibration of the string, do you have an explanation for dead spots, which do exist? Oh - and I've stuffed SpongeBob under my strings near the bridge, so I now have plenty of funk.

Is it OK to take my own music stand?

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1429608785' post='2753033'] I wonder how many they've got? The last batch of these must have been quite big as they stayed around for a while. [/quote] They sold so well they had to order another large batch from China.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1429555109' post='2752598'] A nice example of visual aliasing. [/quote] Aliasing Indeed, We had a similar video on here a few months back.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1429442493' post='2751366'] Singer Marc Almond actually prefers Nutella on his morning toast. [/quote] He formed a duo with his brother, abandoning the nameThe Almond Brothers in favour of Soft Cell after a late night phone call from some irked southern rock band.

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1429369900' post='2750882'] I'll arrive very drunk.... [/quote] Wady's canal water?

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1429306344' post='2750381'] plus it soaks up lemon oil like a, er, sponge! [/quote] Well that's buggered your tone.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1429304166' post='2750353'] All makes sense, except that rosewood is definitely more dense and less 'spongey' than rosewood. I know this from having worked with both woods a fair bit. A quick Google confirms this; density of maple = 39-47 lb/ft3, density of Rosewood = 50-55 lb/ft3 Edit: strangely enough, despite being more dense, rosewood is more porous. No Idea how this has a bearing on tone [/quote] Rosewood is also considerably harder. But I think the relevant property is the modulus of elasticity (which is a measure of how much a material bends under load). Geeks can go here:[url="http://www.conradfp.com/pdf/ch4-Mechanical-Properties-of-Wood.pdf"] link[/url] Incidentally if anyone has two (maple, rosewood) bases that only differ in the neck can they try holding the body and tapping the back of the neck behing the 5th fret with a knuckle. Does one sound duller? Does one sound sharper in pitch?

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1429271044' post='2749870'] I think your strings would affect the tone more than the wood on the board. [/quote] True, but the test is to use identical strings (and all other things!) on both necks. Let's hope the winding tension is identical (ie both sets are manufactured under identical conditions and are indistinguishable). I've always assumed a laminated neck would be stiffer and therefore change the way in which it absorbed vibrations in a frequency dependent way. Which may explain why maple sounds brighter. Thunderbird necks are 9 ply, so presumably very stiff. This may explain their low response, but I suspect the fat inductive humbucker has more influence.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1429172141' post='2748668'] one bar and terrible food stalls round the edge was no fun at all for me. [/quote] Leon's Feast and 6X, what's not to like?

[quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1429167361' post='2748606'] Cropredy has always worked for me - only one bar so anyone playing who wants a drink has to mix with the crowd, which is nice. Usually plenty of acts I want to see and some that are a pleasant surprise, not overly expensive, toilets that are regularly cleaned and have bogroll, etc., but weirdly I don't like Fairport that much and go to the pub on Saturday at about 8.00 and skip their finale (all three hours of it)! That' probably going to make me persona non grate next time I go. [/quote] Cropredy alway worked well for me, went about a dozen times. You're not alone, I always gave the Fairports a miss. Always something sublime in the line up I'd never heard before. Would spend a small fortune on food and beer.