Hellzero

With a friend, who like me was fed up of endless subcategories in the metal genre, we decided to call metal anything played with distortion and jazz everything played without distortion. It was a very effective way to categorise. 😎 That said, there's even a faster way to categorise things : music opposed to dire.

On the other hand, sorry, but I didn't learn anything and to be frank, the title should be "The *ss licking documentary". The assertion that comes back all the time saying "no one can play like Jaco" is so stupid. Never heard of Michel Hatzigeorgiou who plays Jaco better than Jaco and who has transcribed all Jaco's music... Hatzi also played for years with Toots Thielemans who has been ignored in this documentary. Maybe worth asking Hatzi (as he lived with Jaco for a few horrible weeks and simply run away) or Michael Manring who Jaco really was... I love a lot of his work, for sure, but this kind of documentary is really useless and soooooooo incomplete. Won't make friends, I know, but it's not the point.

I've did it a lot of times. Finding wound strings for the F is the main issue, but Kalium in the USA provides almost anything you want. LaBella and D'Addario 0.020 F strings are plain. In the U.K., you can have a set made to measure by Newtone : https://newtonestrings.com/shop/custom-bass-string-configurator/ In Germany, Pyramid will do the same for you : http://pyramid-saiten.de/de/custom-shop/custom-shop.php All these manufacturers make excellent strings.

They both look good to me and certainly get requests. 😉 That said, even if Ray Brown is the original double bass player on this huge piece of music, the way NHOP is playing it is very interesting too and I tend to prefer it over the "original". Maybe it's because I've listened to this Oscar Peterson album hundreds if not thousands of times. So it's a bit like a refreshing or rehearing of this very tune.

Granny Awkward !

Indeed NHOP never got the fame he deserved. He was such an amazing player, always grooving. Thanks @Barking Spiders for reminding the bass community that if Jaco only needed 4, NHOP played with 3. Hats off.

Absolutely totally fully non original. Look at the decal that is not a ... decal and the chrome plated tuners with the Fender® stamped on them that appeared in the 70's ... without forgetting the brass nut and the greasy dirt everywhere on the neck. That said it's only £400 ... binned.

No more TLRT's so here is one for you fantastic work ! 💙

No more TLRT's so here is one for you fantastic work ! 💙

Thanks for the heads up. You did it and all was fine, at least as expected (too bad for the missing crowd), which is what music is supposed to be : fun. 👍

Was kidding Douglas. 😉

I guess it will work with a thin flat blade screwdriver. Don't we all agree.

Use a flat blade screwdriver and it will come out with the right strength applied.

Shall we start listening to some Talking Heads ?

If the pickups are wired exactly as indicated, they shouldn't be out of phase... Maybe your neck pickup is way too close to the strings... or the bridge way too far. Concerning the fact that you only hear output changes on the remaining 10% of your pot, it's normal as your pots are logarithmic ones. If you want to hear a better progression, put some linear pots instead. Nothing wrong with the way you made the grounding. To be sure just check the grounding continuity.

Or she was so good that she's been hired for a world tour that started immediately. 🤔

Elder twin, indeed : Vélémoteur was released in 1987 and Crash in 1988... For once, the French didn't copy a British tune. 😉

So, how was it ?

Thanks, @Chienmortbb, but don't start this sterile written debate about wood, especially here as it was not the point. If you believe that wood makes no difference, it's fine, but no need to yell it everywhere. As I wrote, lutherie was my job in the past century and I can tell you that any part, and especially on a bass as it's the most acoustic instrument of the electric range, has an influence on the final sound. I've owned and played over 300 different basses and set up thousands, assembled a lot and built some too with attention to every detail, including the choice of wood taking into account the thickness, shape and sound by tapping it, to get a precisely decided final tone. Pickups and preamps can't turn an unplugged bad sounding instrument into a terrific sounding one when plugged. If the base is dull, the end result will be dull. Maybe you can't hear any difference, but it's not because you don't that there is none. I can hear the difference between two woods of the same species because of their obvious inherent differences as I can also hear the difference between two different CD players. But I'm no extraterrestrial, I simply have very well trained ears, that's all and still today as my ears are still excellent (yearly test by a specialist). That's what made me hear the bad original nut by simply tapping with my nail on it, but to prove I was right the first time, I let it on the neck and only changed it afterwards : the difference in tone was just amazing as said the friend who was there when I made the new nut and put it on. Maybe you don't know it, but when building or assembling an instrument, you have to make the right choices to get the final tone you want : not that complicated when you know the interaction between the different elements. On this assembly, I chose every component with a specific tone in mind, that's why it took me some time to finalise it. So please, as it's only your opinion, don't present it as the only true one. Remember that for a long time the earth was flat, and for some still is, even if it's been proven that it's not.

Here is my fully non original non Fender non 60's non Jazz Bass non Flea non Custom Shop, but real Bitsa, the only real Fender part being the strings retainer ! Long story short : I bought a "Flea kit" from Chris aka @Beedster, except the fake Fender decals, strings, pickups, pots, knobs, capacitor, stereo output jack (for secure grounding), pickguard screws, tuners screws, serialised neck plate (and screws). I decided to go for an all maple neck (Chris was selling the "Flea kit" with a maple Squier rosewood fingerboard neck) that I bought brand new. The body was already reliced in this Shell Pink as you can see it, but had absolutely no holes drilled, so had never been used. I did all the work, including the full copper shielding and decided to go for a copper to the bridge grounding like the original Jazz Basses. The neck is really very very tightly fitted in its pocket and doesn't move at all. I sharpied the neck and neck pocket with the imaginary serial number and my initial to avoid any fakery (who knows). The decals are not period correct at all and as fake as can be (thick home printed by an eBay guy in the U.K.). I eventually opted for ToneRider pickups which, to me, are as good as any boutique ones. I put a TAD Mustard 22 nF PIO capacitor and used cloth wire, with fully copper shielding. The knobs are Sadowsky-like from Sivcak. The strings are the Ernie Ball Super Slinky 45~105 and are a real good match. The action is a bit lower than my usual 1.5 to 2 mm at the 12th fret. The neck is dead straight with no default. I only had to put a bone nut as the original plasticised cardboard one was real dire. Add the massive Schaller bridge to the equation and you get a longer sustain than the usual all maple neck Jazz Bass. The Sadowsky knobs add the final touch to this really good sounding and resonant Jazz Bass (the light alder body is also part of the sound here). I put a brand new set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinky Bass (45 - 65 -85 -105) that really serves this Bitsa. I then fully set it up professionally (used to be my job in the past century). As I said to a friend of mine, it's 4.080 kilos of amazing sounding bass. And before anyone asks, the decals are just there for the fun as they are absolutely fake and it's more than obvious !!! Here are the specifications : Body : 3 pieces light alder Neck : bolt-on maple Fingerboard : maple Frets : 21 small (with fretboard extension) Headstock : 4 in-line Pickups : 2 x ToneRider Jazz Bass in 60's position Controls : volume, volume, tone (TAD Mustard PIO) Tuners : Schaller BMF Bridge : Schaller 3D-4 Strings spacing at bridge : 21 mm Nut : real bone Strings spacing at nut : 9 mm Knobs : Sadowsky-like Scale : 34 inches Hardware colour : chrome Truss rod : one double action Finish : shell pink reliced satin finish on the body and high gloss vintage on the neck Land of craftsmanship : worldwide Serial number : 62188 Year : assembled in May 2021 Weight : 4.080 kilos Action : a bit under 1.5 mm under the G string to a bit under 2 mm under the E string at 12th position (can go way lower, but is perfect for me) Now, here is some work in progress and my usual photos on the more than 400 years old oak floor.

It's also very nice sounding, especially since yesterday as I've fitted some (expensive) Alembic CX-3 strings. Strangely, this is my fourth Alembic (two Series One, a Spoiler and this Elan), and every time I've put these Alembic strings on them, they sounded way better... Odd, I know.

And puppets too.