T-Bay

My first Bass was a Stagg bought cheap off Gumtree. If you have never used anything else they seem ok but as soon as you pick up anything better you realise they are pretty awful. A good set up helps obviously but they just aren't very nice in any way at all. That one is cheap at the first price for a new one I suppose but at the second price of £190 I wouldn't go near it with a barge pole. I still wouldn't buy one though, even at the first price.

The new bridge arrived today so I now have all the parts and paint I need. The weather is not helping though as the cold still means it's taking an age for anything to go off. The lacquer will go on the neck tonight but I will then have to leave it a few days to fully harden so I can mask it up to do the body. Once the lacquer has gone off I can bring it in the warm to harden at least.

It's been slow going the last few days doing the final filling and cleaning up. It's only a few minutes at a time but the paint/ filler takes a few hours to go off fully. Finally got around to reblacking the neck tonight and it is looking good. I will flat it back tomorrow night with 2000 (or possibly 5000) grit pads then lacquer. Friday will see that backed off a little and then it's done. I also picked up the paint tonight. Had about 5,000,000 options it seemed but have settled on a nice colour, well I think so. With any luck colour will be on at the weekend.

But it's not a 'business' if no net income is earned, it's a hobby ;-)

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1483393563' post='3206857'] I have many hobbies that require driving to and from places with stuff in the car, I'd only declare any that I'd class as a proper income, proper incomes I'd class as anything where a tax return is filed each year. [/quote] When I was seriously into target shooting a few years ago I would regularly travel with £10k of kit in the car. Obviously it was never left in the car but it was specifically covered under the house insurance so it was never mentioned to the car insurers as there was no need. The only time I have ever mentioned a hobby to them was when we were doing a fair bit of black powder shooting as that comes under an explosives licence so I thought it best to mention to them even though the amounts were small enough that the 60litres of fuel is far more of a worry in the event of an accident.

I think the red is gorgeous. Having seen some of the other outcomes I think this will be another killer.

If you think of it with your tax mans head on, cost of fuel, cost of equipment, depreciation of equipment, etc etc then you probably aren't actually making on it with the number you are doing so it is a hobby not a second job. If you rely on it to cover household bills your main wage doesn't then it would be different. Just be careful that your kit is covered for theft/ damage though (but it usually is on your household insurance anyway).

Loads of repair threads on here as well. Why not have a go yourself? I am doing an Epiphone EB3 at the moment that was cracked so bad the corner was almost hanging off. Once it's finished I doubt you will be able to tell it was ever damaged. I am planning to change the colour and the bridge (I don't like the Gibson style bridge) but all in it won't cost half your budget and I get to choose exactly what colour I want. It won't help the weight but as said above you can save up for a new one.

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1483222639' post='3205572'] # Not with a £60 budget! Have you tried Thomann, they are probably like the HBs [/quote] I think the budget has been added in the edit, but at £60 it will be tight. 2nd hand perhaps?

[quote name='joeystrange' timestamp='1483213847' post='3205513'] http://www.intunegp.com Been using them for years. Great picks, lots of options and really really great service too. [/quote] They look brilliant, shame about the $25 postage though.

Why not look in the build section on here, there are some very talented people making some beautiful kit.

Might be worth trying a specialist paint supplier, I use jawel and they mix up to your requirements. A 400ml spray is £10-12 depending what you want. Polyester is what I normally use.

Had this two hours now so first impressions. Arrived in ridiculously quick time. The box is compact and very nicely laid out. From the beginning it shouts quality and the presentation has obviously been well thought out. Inside the box are the two main components with the power supply and other little bits hidden under a liner. Both the transmitter and receiver are well made using quality materials. The battery cover on the transmitter is a bit flimsy but that's the only thing and it's a minor one. The instructions are simple and to the point. Within two minutes it was up and running. Sound quality is superb and I can't detect any deterioration or delay whatsoever. The controls are simple and well thought out as is the display. I then started moving around the house in an attempt to find the limit of the range. My house is hardly a mansion but it managed to pick up a signal from the front upstairs to the conservatory which is a decent distance and three walls away. Overall impression is one of money very well spent on a well thought out quality item. Very very pleased indeed.

Arrived at 9.15 this morning, by 9.20 it was set up and running. A great bit of kit and superb customer service.

Just ordered one today after reading on here. Got a message within 30 minutes with tracking info saying it was on its way.

Small update and more pics. The single insert for bridge was a bit tight so I fashioned a puller from two nuts and some washers and it came out a treat. Then another dab of filler and a bit of fettling and it needs to be left to go off overnight. It looks worse than it is as the filler needs to be flatted back and the earlier witness coat is looking rough.

Going well, just needs a tiny bit of finishing (probably a ,arch ends worth of filler) but have decided to ditch the Fender type bridge and buy something different. Partly to make it a bit different but mostly to make setup a bit easier. The first coat of primer filler wet well, should be done and ready for paint in a day or two if I get a chance to get at it.

Thanks, I went through a variety of options but that seemed to be the least intrusive with maximum end strength. A biscuit cutter bit would have been better in some ways but I don't have one. It's been cut back with a flush cut bit, sanded back and then a thin skim of epoxy filler applied today. Tomorrow is a busy day but hoping to get around to sanding it back. It only needed a smidge of filler, probably 0.5mm thick at the worst bit. It's so cold in the garage though that I have to keep bringing it in the house for anything to go off.

Johnny Cash - Hurt, the NiN version is a favourite but Cash's vocals take it to another level.

It's all glued up well and feels very strong. Hopefully I will get a bit of time this afternoon and trim it all up then apply a tiny amount of filler. I went down to my pet paint mixing shop this morning but despite the website saying they were open it was all locked up. Looks like I will have to wait until next week for paint.

Decided it has to be worth a go at a repair so set to today. I used a router to cut a slot bridging the cracks then made a couple of pieces to fit in there. I then forced glue into the cracks and fitted the pieces. That's all for today as the glue needs a day to go off fully. It will need dressing back and then a light skim of filler in places but should look ok when done.

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1482861469' post='3203131'] Really don't like Korn do they? They're still doing alright for themselves. [/quote] But they like Poison, oh the irony.

Some pics:

It's all stripped and apart from the pickup selector switch hole it's not too bad. I am thinking now that I will play about sorting this one as is and look for a donor for a bigger project. I will open up the cracks and repair them using epoxy (I have a big out of date tub at work that is sat there awaiting disposal and has been for several years but will probably just keep getting used for little projects). I will also mess about with the position of the strap at the front and try to get a better balance. And possibly a new bridge, the Gibson design isn't the best after all. Then it will need a lot of work to get the finish up to scratch. If the crack proves terminal it will be back to plan B or was it A?