MoonBassAlpha

I'd give it a go. I did a maple neck Vox standard and it came out fine, and rounds DIDNT chew it up in a hurry either. I just used Plastic Wood for the fret slots - worked fine. With rosewood- you WILL get some splinters as the frets come out - superglue them back down straight away as the fret comes out so you don't lose them. This will save time and extra filling later. Good luck, it's not that hard, just takes a bit of time, and DEFFO worth practicing on a cheap bass first.

A tiny amount of very short reverb mixed 50-50ish helps get the resonance too!

In my experience it takes quite a while for the wear to be anything more than cosmetic. I've a defretted bass, always played with rounds, rose board. No problems in 4 years. That was a Hohner Jack bass. I've got another Jack, defretted which I've finished the board in Tru-Oil which has come up really smooth and satin-y. I'm guessing this will help the board last even longer.

Your original wiring diagram will work, BUT you've missed a wire out! You just need a wire from the top right pin (looking at the diagramme) on the blend to the left (unoccupied) pin on the master. Give that a go!

Line6 Lowdown110 is small and sounds good. Should be smack in your range s/h. Good DI out too, so you can use it on gigs ifthe band isn't very loud. I had one and would heartily recommend it. I only got rid as I got a Shuttle and made a teeny 1x10" cab for practice/acoustic gigs, which weighs less than the Lowdown and goes louder (but is over your budget by 2.5 times)

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='816505' date='Apr 23 2010, 05:52 PM']Out of interest, is that an old Boys Brigade belt for the strap? Looks great - must see if I can get WinISD working again (usually just displays a flat line, except very occasionally).[/quote] The belt is a Levi Strauss bought in the States about 12 years ago. Not essential to the sound... I'm not sure how it compares size- wise to a Whizzy or whatever, but you should be able to scale it visually from the speaker, I'd have thought. Cheaper though!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='815618' date='Apr 22 2010, 11:27 PM']If anyone asks, you offset the speaker to smooth the midrange response. It means the waves reflecting from the sides don't reach the speaker at the same time, so you even out the bumps that they cause.[/quote] Well, that was so obvious I didn't think it was worth mentioning...

[quote name='Marvin' post='815459' date='Apr 22 2010, 08:59 PM']That's brilliant. Are you going to be taking orders? [/quote] Orders! Don't talk to me about orders!

ok, it isn't really finished, but this is where it is now, and it has proved the principle. I've done several gigs with it and the Shuttle including last night at the Wheatsheaf in Oxford, and it's not bad at all. As we all know, the size, bassiness and loudness is a 3-way compromise, but this fits it's purpose, in an acoustic duo, fine, with a band with not too loud drummer, fine too, surprising really. [attachment=48066:P1010476.JPG] [attachment=48067:P1010477.JPG] [attachment=48068:P1010478.JPG] It's got a Speakon connector, the feet are halved squash balls (my other passion!) and the Shuttle retaining strap is a leather belt that the buckel had come off. It stands about 13" high, well, youcan pretty much scale it from the speaker. The volume is about 1 cu foot and the shelf port is about 8 inches long and about an inch high. I offset the speaker a bit on the baffle in case I wanted to drop a tweeter in, but haven't found it necessary so far. (it would also mean actually spending some more money, and did I mention that I'm a tight git!!)

Well, I went to Homebass, sorry Homebase, and saw the sheets of 12mm ply, much bigger than I needed and over £40, so I though "that's a lot to spend if it doesn't sound any good or i cock up the building bit", so I ummed and ahhed, and while I was doing this I saw some offcuts in mdf and chipboard, 90p and 60p respectively. That's more like it! Doesn't matter what kind of a balls-up I make of it for that money, then we'll see if if sounds any good, at least. The boy even cut them to width free! (did I mention I'm a tight git?) I'll post some pictures soon showing the almost finished item, and the other money-saving "features". I think it weighs 14lbs now.

[quote name='SS73' post='802436' date='Apr 11 2010, 11:12 AM']What is needed is removal of oils and grease etc from the string, Iso alc'l will do that but it's not cheap, Meths is cheap but won't do the job as well. What you need is Carbon Tetrachloride and a cheap way to buy it is in the form of Brake Cleaner. Clean fast and strong, oh and it will also remove all the oils from your skin too, but you will have clean strings in seconds. [/quote] Carbon tetrachloride is a banned substance since 2002, mainly due to it's ozone-depleting powers, and that it's carcinogenic and can cause liver and kidney damage. Apart from that, it's fine.

I wouldn't do that^ if there's any plastic about. That could get messy!

or cut a groove in the head with a Dremel disc cutter. Wear eye protection as they can break quite easily and unexpectedly.

Kramer metal necked basses like the 450B, the strings always sound new! They don't cost the earth either. The stock pickups are a bit weak but you could get them re wound for not a lot....

I really feel for you man, but thought it cruelly ironic that you first picture posted said "attached thumbnail(s)". That's just adding insult to injury.

Kind of off topic, but do (Fender) Custom Shop basses actually sound any different to the regular American made equivalent?

Look on it as an opportunity, not a setback!

I think the ACG Harlot single cut is about the only one I've seen that really looks like it was designed, and not an afterthought. Aesthetically, the lines flow well, imo.