SpondonBassed

I think of him as the man who made a Honda 250 with full fairing look like a full dress Gold Wing. Pop.

Fair enough. I said that because a lot of an instrument's character comes from how it is put together. Folk make sharp distinctions between the big F's products based on who puts them together for example. American, Mexican, licenced to another brand name, they all look the same (to general onlookers) but their owners will quickly tell you what's different. Assembling at home adds uniqueness for someone like myself who will probably not invest in making from scratch. But I do take your point about scratch building being truly unique. It's a LOT less worser than buying parts off the shelf.

I missed that first time 'round. Excellent.

Kits and pre-shaped parts are a great place to start if you want a truly unique instrument. You'll get you a deeper understanding of your instrument. You will also get an idea of whether you want to progress onto a scratch build. It often comes down to you owning or having access to a thicknesser as to whether it is feasible to make a scratch built body. I think most good timber merchants will supply to a specified and uniform thickness however. Then it comes down to making (or sourcing) templates that will guide a router. After that, hand carving is always an option. I've yet to attempt a scratch build. I probably wont do it. I have to prioritise and playing better is higher up on my shortlist than gear acquisition or building.

No need to apologise. Not meaning to take the weewee but with your screen name your situation is particularly ironic. Better luck next week mate.

It's a very good question. I have put a crude shim in my kit build to raise the neck from the body. This allows a better range of saddle height adjustment at the bridge. What I really need to do is alter the plane angle of the neck pocket floor and remove the shim. The instrument plays and sounds okay as it is. My natural inertia stops me from modifying it because I have not yet got my head around how I'm going to do it accurately enough. I also have the idea that I could leave the neck pocket as is. I was lucky with my kit in that the neck and pocket came with a really good fit. I imagine that, like me, you would be reluctant to risk cocking that up. In that case a change of bridge height would work. This could be done by making a rebate for the bridge, similar to how high mass bridges are installed. One day I might be in the right frame of mind to tackle the issue. For the most part, I want to spend more of my bass life practising than building. The kit is a potential test bed for some control tweaks somewhere down the line and that might be the time to refine the neck/bridge relationship.

Welcome Jacob.

Yes and indeed there used to be an Open Mic night at Derby's Horse and Groom with PA, monitors, backline, bass, guitar, keys and drum kit provided if required, all on stage ready. It was a hybrid though or misnamed because it was a jam more than owt else. The Wednesday Open Mic is not on the website any more. The chap running it dropped out of contact with me some time back. So there is confusion about what constitutes a jam or an open mic out there even among the organisers.

Wow. Freaky in a good sort of way. Thanks.

Woot!

Sorry. Good work. I know lots who would be in too much of a hurry to go the extra layers.

*splutter*

My mate was caught with that when he wanted something from the 'States. He'd got all the address details and delivery charges sorted out and something made him check. When he found out about an additional charge from PP he binned the transaction. He will not buy from North America any more because of the undisclosed additional charges. I bought a bass kit from Australia and was informed on the vendor's webpage of the additional import charges before I committed. In this case I was happy to accept having been given opportunity to consider. Good. Had I only found out while the goods were being held at customs I would have taken it as customs holding my goods hostage. Not good. Additional charges should be made clear at the point of sale in my opinion. It is the world wide web after all. No-one can really fall back on the lame excuse that because they are exporting they can't say what additional charges will be applied. Brexit or no Brexit it makes no difference. If a website can give you prices in your own currency there is no excuse for leaving out the import charge. Whoops. Pardon me for the rant. Thanks for the clip.

Here here! Leave agendas and preconceived notions at home and come jam. That's the spirit of a jam right there. An agenda is better suited to an Open Mic event.

Cutting compounds can remove more material than you think. Generally speaking, they are intended for use on orange peel defects or for removal of the thin oxide layer on older exposed paintwork. They are not good for dressing out runs in the paintwork. You might not spots the signs of break through as easily as with dry abrasive because you are making a paste of the same colour as your paint. Only when you wipe it clean can you see if you've gone too far Fine grade dry abrasive paper or cloth is less of a pain. Micromesh pads are highly recommended by a few Basschat builders. You MUST have good lighting to do this without snags though. I think that there are a couple of different standards for grit classification but I'd try a dry an 800 first on a safe test piece to get the feel of how much of a cut it is taking. If that's okay on a flat surface, I'd then use 1200 on the edges for added safety.

Welcome Dom.

So - an Open Mic then. Just saying.

I think that that is a far better way to have it. There is a clear distinction between the two types of event and everyone knows exactly where they stand.

May I nominate that for the Basschat Word of the Month award? I respectfully suggest for those who like to shorten words that the contraction narseness be adopted from this day forward. Narseness is like niceness only it's applied in an inwardly direction by shoving one's entire head up one's own fundament.

The Cabbage Patch huh? If that's all that's left I am well out of it. I suppose Twickenham musos have to go to Richmond on Thames now. Cuh!

Not an open mic or jam but I used to love the Mulberry Tree when it was a music pub. It was a restaurant last time I looked it up.

Yes. Quite right. Leave your coat on the hook. I'm a bit chuffed by that if I'm honest but I really didn't mean to hijack the thread for Mr O'Malley. On with the jam...

Take him there on Pancake Tuesday and sit him near one of the stands. I bet it'll get his little nostrils twitching in short order.

Our local Folk and Acoustic Club (Vernon Arms, Spondon, Tuesday nights) simplifies things by not calling it a jam night nor an open mic night. Anyone who shows up with suitable material gets two songs in their turn. Ability is not usually an issue. It is well populated each week. The host will usually kick off with a couple of songs that he accompanies with guitar. If it's a quiet night there are almost always enough players to go around a second time. Then, a few times a year, a folk act will be booked as guests. That's quite a good night too. Isn't it funny that so many find jams and open mics more cliquey than a club night that charges a pound to non-members if you're performing and two pounds if you just want to listen?

F-f-f-f-f-fantastic. (Who said that?)