Mikey R

[quote name='dood' post='931116' date='Aug 20 2010, 04:44 PM']As with any technique or style - I choose to use it to enhance a song - not to waste time on some ego-boost mission. They are all legitimate techniques and should not just be limited to one instrument. Hell, if I thought it would sound good I'd have a cowbell strapped to my bass! he he! (ok.. I was jokin'... no more cowbell)[/quote] I agree, write stuff that sounds good! Its an instrument thats got strings on it - why do we need to get caught up in band roles all the time?

So do you have any recordings to share yet?

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='730236' date='Jan 31 2010, 02:22 AM']Funny how guitars can vary so much but a McDonalds cheeseburger on the other side of the world tastes the same [/quote] If we made basses from MDF then I reckon they would all sound the same, and taste as good as a McDonalds whereever you ate it...

The problem might not be your tone, it might be the guitars. What kind of stuff are the guitars playing - you could try asking them to roll off a little of their lower frequencies to give you a bit of room down there?

Kinda familiar, but the other way around for me. Reminds me a little of the first time my old band recorded in a propper studio. It was the nineties so we were recording to ananlogue tape, we had a really good engineer so we tracked the songs all together, puched in the mistakes then did a few overdubs. Listening to the rough mix on the way home, I thought it sounded like a bunch of fairly competent musicians playing our music - all the usual mistakes had been repaired - I felt really detached from the playing and for the first time was actiually able to listen to the songs as a whole. Changed my perspective on writing.

[quote name='henry norton' post='879022' date='Jun 27 2010, 05:57 PM']I always thought oil type finishes looked better on natural wood guitars than a thick, glassy smooth lacquer. That said, you'd be hard pushed to get a metalflake finish using oil [/quote] Ok, a danish oil wouldnt work over paint, but the water or oil based urethanes would probably work just fine. I wonder if you can get a metallic water based paint, then go over with a red milk paint, and finish up with a urethanes based varnish. From what Ive been able to find out, a polyurethane varnish is pretty much the same stuff as the laquer, the difference is only really how its applied, wipe or spray. That, and the two pack stuff cures differently of course, but Im not likely to use that stuff any time soon, so Ive not read much about it. EDIT: I added the word "probably", like I said Ive never tried this so just musing out loud.

With a smaller bit, it might actually be safer to use a fast speed - when the bit is spinning faster its actually removing less material per revolution, you get more control and a clean finish. Nice work!

Ive been researching finishes too, have you considdered either an oil finish or a wipe on varnish? Ive been readingup on General Finishes, either oil based or water based. From looking at their website, theyre look really easy to apply if you follow the instructions. You need to look out for the oil based varnish as the rags can spontaeously combust (!) if you dont let them dry flat, theres instructions on the website on the safe way to do this. [url="http://www.generalfinishes.co.uk/"]http://www.generalfinishes.co.uk/[/url] I might get some of the satin in and try it out, I'll let you know how I get on if I do. Then theres the oil finishes like Danish oil, Ive not looked at these too closely yet.

ok, Chestnut got back to me: [quote]Hi Mike I'm afraid it's impossible tor us to give definitive advice about mixing other people's products with our own as our knowledge of them is limited. I would however expect artist paints to adhere to our Shellac Sanding Sealer. However, we would not recommend using Acrylic Lacquer on top of Shellac Sanding Sealer, we would instead recommend our Acrylic Sanding Sealer. This should also be okay with the artists paints but we would suggest a trial piece first. I hope this is of some help Best regards Terry Smart Chestnut Products[/quote] A bit of a surprise there for me - I thought shellac would make a good base for anything. Anyway, hope that helps. Mike

[quote name='Spoombung' post='863326' date='Jun 10 2010, 02:46 PM']okay...I'm still not sure whether acrylic paint will adhere to shellac. Can you go over acrylic with shellac? (like a lacquer)[/quote] Im pretty sure that anything will go over shellac, but Ive just emailed Chestnut Finishes to get them to confim - I'll post here when they get back to me.

[quote name='Spoombung' post='863098' date='Jun 10 2010, 11:30 AM']Mikey - Maybe this would be better as it's acrylic anyway, and is bound to accept acrylic paint on top? [/quote] The problem there is that when pore filling, you would typically cover the body then sand right back down to bare wood, only leaving the product in the pores. Maybe you'd then leave the final coat of sealer on the surface as a base for the top coats. This is where shellac wins over acrylic - each layer of acrylic goes on like a layer of cling film. It sticks to the previous layer but doesnt become one with it. If you sand through, you'll get white lines like a contour map of where youve over sanded. Not a problem with shellac as it burns in, so theres no lines. [quote name='Spoombung' post='863098' date='Jun 10 2010, 11:30 AM']There is also cellulose version : (I'm not sure what cellulose is or if I could paint on top with waterbased acylic) Here is the product comparison: [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/compare_products.asp"]http://www.axminster.co.uk/compare_products.asp[/url]?[/quote] I dont know anything about cellulose, but I cant see that it would be a better choice than shellac or acrylic. Maybe if I was using a nitro top coat, then maybe it would burn in, but Im unlikely to ever use nitrocellulose. It comes in a metal can, so maybe it eats away plastic? Personnaly, I wouldnt want to use it when theres spirit or water based alternatives. Are the pores really that big? The photo you showed doesnt look like ash.

[quote name='Spoombung' post='861470' date='Jun 8 2010, 09:03 PM']Thanks for the your, Mikey. I'm not sure if I could paint on top of shellac with acrylic, though. I'm noticing there are some vast differences of opinion going on here and disagreements about what will work. I'm surprised there is no standard way of priming the wood, painting on it, then laquering. I've Googled regarding painting on guitars and there is very little information at all. Whether that's to do with people being secretive about their techniques or using a different methods I can only guess.[/quote] Im getting my information here [url="http://thewoodwhisperer.com/category/video/finishing-videos/"]http://thewoodwhisperer.com/category/video/finishing-videos/[/url] - Have a look at vidios 47 and 73, he often refers to shellac as the universal binder. In 47, he puts a water based polyurethane / acrylic varnish over it, so its very unlikely that it will interfere with acrylic paint.

[quote name='Spoombung' post='861073' date='Jun 8 2010, 03:09 PM']1. PVA[/quote] Normal PVA isnt waterproof, so if you want to go over with acrylic based paint, then it will be reactivated. Also, PCA doesnt dry hard unless its a very thin film, so you might need to build up the coats. [quote name='Spoombung' post='861073' date='Jun 8 2010, 03:09 PM']2. Aresol sealant[/quote] I guess you mean the airosol laquer? Would work, but youd need to construct some kind of booth. [quote name='Spoombung' post='861073' date='Jun 8 2010, 03:09 PM']3. MDF primer[/quote] Only really works on MDF, which your bass isnt. [quote name='Spoombung' post='861073' date='Jun 8 2010, 03:09 PM']4. Rustin's Gloss Varnish 5. Epoxy[/quote] The last two are options, epoxy dries very hard so you may struggle to sand it. However, both of these two dont burn in, which means if you sand through, which you are likely to do, then you may get white witness marks. So, can I add option 6: available [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/product-Chestnut-Shellac-Sanding-Sealer-19766.htm"]here[/url]. Its shellac, so you can build up the coats and not worry too much about sanding through, as the next coat burns in with the previous, and its designed as a sealer. Ive not used it, but Im planning on giving it a try on the next bass, to seal in the stain before I add the top coat.

[quote name='Tegs' post='856565' date='Jun 3 2010, 09:08 PM']Don't mess with machinery kids and keep your mind on the job [/quote] Losing a digit has to be one of my all time worst nightmares! Im glad you've been able to carry on playing! My little brothers old bassist had all his fingers removed from his left hand by a lawn mower. He got them all sewn back on, and carried on playing bass the whole time. Tough as nails that bloke. [quote name='Al Heeley' post='856569' date='Jun 3 2010, 09:14 PM']+ 1 : Save the bass! Don't cut it up, sell it to someone who appreciates it then use the money to buy some wood and put together something original from scratch [/quote] As usual, I agree with Al. This bass would probably sell in the classifiedes on here pretty quick. We're still waiting on shop pics!

j[quote name='Tegs' post='855516' date='Jun 2 2010, 10:46 PM']Looks like a solid enough job mate Tell me you haven't planed all those walnut strips by hand....? I will hang my head in shame [/quote] Yep, the only power tools I use are a jigsaw, cordless drill, drill press and a router. The rest is all cut and surfaced by hand. That includes ripping all those walnut strips. I also bought the timber for the bench rough sawn, so I prepared all of that by hand too. You learn quickly that way. If I was doing this for a living then I would certainly get some machines in the shop, but since its just for fun I choose to use hand planes and saws. [quote name='Tegs' post='855516' date='Jun 2 2010, 10:46 PM']I use a fair bit of pu glue (Woodcare is best I reckon) but would hesitate to use it on something like a guitar body as there's a risk of putting too much on. You can easily end up with faces not quite coming together due to the expansion, which is why I asked, as any spaces would obviously be catastrophic in something like a laminated neck. Look forward to seeing the finished product![/quote] Yeah, apparantly the foam doesnt cause issues, and several bass builders use it exclusively. I just dont like the idea of it. Ive not had a problem with yellow glue yet, so Im happy to stick with it. A luthier friend suggested I try epoxy next, something good like West Systems. Its an option for the next bass.

[quote name='Tegs' post='855439' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:42 PM'](the same bandsaw that severed my index finger tendon before Christmas and nearly ended my bass playing career altogether!!!!)[/quote] Nasty! I really hope you didnt lose the finger!

[quote name='Tegs' post='855452' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:53 PM']Woodwork and basses........... heaven! That pristine workbench is alien territory to me though Is that titebond pu or the original?[/quote] Hey Tegs, the bench is pretty good, by pristine I guess you dont mean tidy Its only a few months old, Im still working on getting it all dinged up. Heres a shot before it got covered in tools: I mostly work with hand tools, so the vice needs to be a monster. Its wracks quite badly though, so Im thinking of modifying it or replacing it with the big Veritas twin screw. The glue is Titebond Extend, I had a load left over from building the bench from B&Q 2x4s. The longer open time is better for complicated glue ups. Ive never used PU glue, I dont like the idea of the mess and the need to wear latex gloves. I need to make the most of my shop time and yellow glue is just the easiest to use.

You may be overestimating the amount of effort it needs to carve a neck - on the Shuker course I did last summer, it took me maybe a couple of hours at most, and Im not a joiner by trade. I reckon youd have a load of fun making the whole thing from scratch. Just my opinion though.

That scroll and volute is beautiful! Is that carved the traditional way with gouges and scraper?

By the time youve stripped the laquer, sawn off the wings, jointed and attached the new wings, maybe filled and re-routed the pickup cavities, removed and replaced the fingerboard, reworked the headstock, then refinished it, you could easily have built an instrument from scratch without all the workarounds. If the only thing thats nice about that bass is the neck profile, you can easily clone that on another bass. Looks like walnut and maple laminated neck? Walnuts really my favourite at the moment. EDIT: can we get a look at your shop? Its always nice seeing other people setups

Just bought a set of Bartolini 57J1 5 string jazz bass pickups off Julian. Really quick, posted the following morning. Cheers!

[quote name='discreet' post='849799' date='May 27 2010, 09:05 PM']+1. I've always used Rotosound, but the last lot I got were a bit rough, tbh. Now I'm using DR 'Fat Beams' and they're the business.[/quote] Im trying out D'Addarios nickel roundwounds in medium guage, after a quick truss rod tweek it took me a day or so to get used to them and now Im quite impressed. Much nicer than the same guage Rotosounds, very easy to play for a mid priced set of strings. Im saving up for a set of DRs

A good setup and the right strings can make all the difference.