Annoying Twit

Great find! I dream of finding something rare and fascinating somewhere.

I've just heard Eberhard Weber for the first time after having this video recommended to me. I see he's been mentioned a few times on this forum over the years, but I didn't find a dedicated thread. Really enjoying this piece. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaHQ-x431uA[/media]

Oh my word...... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Thunder-2a-4-String-Bass-/291325178027?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item43d45570ab

At some point we're going to have to go through and count up how many people have purchased these. I didn't receive a battery, nor allen keys with mine. Not that I'm concerned. @DaveD - I'm not surprised you like the strings. Even though I switched mine, I think the originals are fine. @Planer - looking forward to your New Bass Day post.

Decorative flugelhorn anyone? http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_trf_23_flugelhorn_deko.htm

I wonder if the current crop of deco only basses are a one-off, or if there are likely to be more in the future.

I've had a followup concerning my voucher not being applied to the order. They've removed the voucher's expiry date. (The voucher expiring this month was one thing that tipped me over into making the purchase). It's not the best possible resolution, but I think it's an acceptable one as I will make another purchase from Thomann at some time. Glad to hear you like yours Maude. It sounds like yours is perfect, apart from the decoration D stamp. Maybe they stamped the bass by mistake. Photos?

[quote name='NickD' timestamp='1418420493' post='2630195'] I'm just starting to wish it was lined. [/quote] Marker pen? Seriously though, it should be possible to add fret markers by cutting grooves and gluing in some light coloured veneer. Says me being a complete hypocrite because I'd never do that myself [quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1418420716' post='2630198'] Is it the smear where your thumb might rest and the light spot on the upper curve near the binding AT? [/quote] Yep, those are the imperfections.

What look to be strange marks on the back aren't there, they're reflections from the flash or something. Can anyone spot the two finish flaws on the front? [quote name='rodma' timestamp='1418417867' post='2630157'] I'd expect It's the same for the non decor basses. I had to tighten my truss rod up by a full turn to get it to how I like it. [/quote] Mine was pretty much unplayable out of the box, with the horrible buzz. I don't think that would be acceptable in a non-factory second bass. Who was it that said "Early Christmas presents all round" early on in the thread? (Sorry for being lazy and not looking up the correct post).

The buzz is all gone. It was only the truss rod that needed adjusting, which I found surprising, as it was near unplayable. Imagine a beginner receiving a bass in the condition mine was in. The action is a bit higher now, but OK. If this was a solid body bass with an easily adjustable bridge, I wouldn't probably try lowering the bridge a bit. However, I'm going to leave it as it's OK and I don't want to be playing around with an acoustic bridge. This bass really is a bargain now. Particularly since the stock strings were entirely usable, even though I'm not using them.

Thanks. I knew the term 'double stop' but didn't know its derivation. Thanks for that. EDIT: Now that the neck has settled down after the second truss rod adjustment, the buzz is gone. The action is not as low as it was, but I'm not going to muck around with an acoustic bass bridge. Sorry about the poorly thought out thread.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1418385688' post='2629754'] [/quote] Yep, this thread is far from my finest hour. I did mention 'fretless' in the OP, but then should have said "there is a buzz on the first three fret positions". No, maybe "when I fret the first three notes". No. What terminology is used here?

Thanks muchly, both of you. I suspect that the most recent truss rod adjustment will have fixed the problem. BTW: I can't follow your method to check the heights of the strings, as the bass is fretless.

Thanks. BTW: Major D'oh moment. The nut height can't cause buzzing when a note is fretted. See username for explanation.

[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1418377823' post='2629640'] Nothing to do with your nut. Once you 'fret' a note, the nut depth has zero bearing. If the open string was buzzing that would point to a low nut slot. [/quote] Yes, that's a D'oh moment. Failure to stop and think about things properly. This morning I found that the buzz was less. I took off another 1/4 turn from the truss rod, and the buzz seems to have gone. I'll find out this evening when the neck has had time to settle and I check again.

EDIT WARNING: Murphy's law strikes again. I just checked the bass, and the buzz on the bottom three frets was markedly reduced. Only the G was buzzing. I took another quarter turn out of the truss rod, and the G stopped buzzing. I'll check to see how it's playing tonight after giving the neck time to settle. However, while it's less urgent than before, I must admit that I would still like to know the answer to my question below, if only for reasons of curiosity and potential future use. [Original post starts here] Is there a recommended way to temporarily shim up a nut solely to check if setup problems are due to the nut being cut too low. I have a Harley Benton fretless acoustic bass. It is one of the 'Decoration Only' basses. There is buzz on the first three frets. Visually, I can't see anything wrong with the neck that would be causing it, but the action is very low down there. I'm trying loosening the truss rod to see if it's due to the neck being too straight, but currently believe that the nut is cut too low. The bass is strung with Fender flats. Clearly I could cut some cardboard shims and put them under the strings, to see if this cures the buzz and find out if I like the action set up that way. I'm sure that will do horrible things to sustain and tuning stability, but would expect it to give me an indication as to how a higher nut would change things. Are there any better methods of doing this experiment? If I need to raise the nut slots, I must admit that I'm starting to feel a bit hesitant to go the superglue and baking soda route. I'm tempted to change the nut. If I bought a fretted nut, wouldn't that be cut too high? I could then file it down bit by bit. I don't have official fret files, but have some files that I've used for nuts in the past. The alternative would be to shim the nut with a piece of plastic (e.g. cut up credit card). What glue would I use to reattach the nut and shim?

Thanks. I usually like oil finishes, but it doesn't look right to me on that bass. The glossy red CSB looks fantastic, IMHO. EDIT: Fretless Westone Thunder. So many of these turning up on ebay at low starting prices just when I'd finally given in and bought a non-Japanese fretless bass. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westone-Thunder-1-A-fretless-bass-guitar-/321612782237?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4ae19d9a9d

In hindsight, I think that the phosphor bronze strings that came stock on it sound fine. The Fender flatwounds are a bit more mellow, but lack a bit of the presence (may be misusing the word) that the phosphors have. The phosphors don't have that horrible twangy sound that many acoustic basses have, it's a nice warm sound. But, I really dislike string noise, so the flatwounds are definitely staying on. The buzz is worse with the flatwounds on. It's now showing up particularly on the A on the 'second fret' of the top G string, and the B of the A string. This indicates a neck that is too straight, I believe. I've taken a quarter turn out of the truss rod as of a couple of hours ago. Still buzzing. I'll check again tomorrow. I must admit that I still think that the nut is cut too deep, but will try adjusting the truss rod further first. I can see some relief in the neck, I believe. I suspect that adding enough relief to cure the buzz will give me too high an action further up the neck, but I'll see. I still haven't tried the plugged in sound. i put a battery in it, and the tuner works fine and has an easy to read display. It's better than I expected a built-in tuner to be. I've no idea what the 'phase' button is supposed to do. EDIT: Ah, phase buttons are common on electro-acoustics. My Ovation six string doesn't have one. They invert the phase of the electric output. If the bass was being both DI'd and mic'd up at the same time, the distance of the mic from the body might mean that the two signals are out of phase, and hitting the phase button might give a better sound with less objectionable comb filtering.

Is this CSB a refinish? I've never seen one this colour. Most of them are red or blue aren't they? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/aria-pro-bass-guitar-/131375779085?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1e969b4d0d"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item1e969b4d0d[/url] Like this one: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Rare-Vintage-Aria-Pro-II-Cardinal-Series-Bass-Guitar-CSB-380-/221629919827?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item339a2c3253"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item339a2c3253[/url] Is this an SB-900? I spent some time learning the different SB models some time ago, but unfortunately have forgotten it all now http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Aria-pro-II-original-custom-body-bass-guitar-/171573079513?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item27f28d6dd9

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1418312890' post='2629078'] They both say 44 euros AT. I'm registered with Thomann so just paid through their site IIRC. Just checked the PayPal email for that sale,it only lists the 44 euro to Thomann. Nothing about what the money was for but VAT,postage and packaging are all zero. The next order to Thomann is the same just the amount paid and it tallies up exactly with the Thomann order email. [/quote] Thank you. Given that, the fact that I have an email from paypal stating the correct amount, but they took a different amount from the account, shows that Thomann, not me, made a mistake. They then tried to BS me this morning. Not pleased about that. It's one thing to make a mistake, all firms do that. What differentiates good firms from bad ones is how they handle mistakes. While I have had excellent service from Thomann in the past, in this case their representative tried to BS a customer who had been overcharged. BTW: I'm also registered with Thomann, and paid through their site, clicking on the 'paypal' option for payment.

[quote name='kodiakblair' timestamp='1418308223' post='2629008'] AT I just checked my orders from Thomann by PayPal. No overcharging so I checked the Thomann order I used the voucher with. It shows item price then shipping then it shows the voucher refund and the voucher number. Check your order if it was entered it'll show there. [/quote] My Thomann order shows no voucher. But, it did when I checked out through paypal. The crucial experiment is if you would be so kind as to check the amount that paypal said that Thomann would take in the initial email you received when you checked out, and compare that to the amount that they actually took. Is it more or less the same, or is it different? [quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1418308289' post='2629010'] If you intend a restring, I'd try that before nut filling/filing. How do you check relief on a fretless, a straight edge I presume? [/quote] I not only intend a restring, I intend to put some Fender flats on it. As they are going to be higher tension than the original strings (I think), that might bow the neck a bit more. My intended method of checking the relief was going to be to see if the strings were buzzing only in one part of the neck. I've found some imperfections in the finish. There are some patches where the top wood isn't stained under the gloss finish. I think someone else noticed the same on their bass.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1418295635' post='2628839'] I suspect the exact amount may vary a bit, as exchange rates fluctuate (they operate in Euros), but it's not going to be a great change for the most part. [/quote] It was ten euros different. It was clearly the case that the paypal confirmation to me included the voucher (or Thomann claim didn't include shipping), and the actual amount charged didn't include the voucher/did include shipping. If I can find someone else who has purchased from Thomann by paypal, then it will be possible to work out what happened. If their paypal confirmation and actual debited amount differ by the postage, then Thomann are right. (And I'd think their system is stupid.) If not, then I'm right. Given how I was talked down to on the phone, I would like to know.

Mine has arrived. Cosmetically it looks utterly perfect, but the low E string rattles a bit when played down near the nut. As it's only the E string, I wonder if the nut is cut too low, rather than there being not enough relief, or even a back-bow, in the neck. Otherwise it appears that the action is comfortable and low (I haven't played fretless much), and it sounds reasonable for an acoustic. Even though I haven't put the flat wound strings on it, it doesn't sound too twangy. It looks very nice. When I have time after work, I'm going to google filling in a nut with superglue and filing it back again. I have talked to Thomann on the phone about the overcharging. They didn't believe me when I said that I had applied the voucher, but said that I can have it applied retrospectively. Has anyone ever bought products from Thomann, using paypal to pay for them? If so, I would like to ask questions about the total order amount (including postage), what paypal said that you would pay, and the amount that was actually deducted.

There are a lot of Japanese basses on t'bay at the moment. Here's a Westbury Track 4 bass. [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Westbury-Track-4-Bass-1980s-vintage-classic-/331411914221?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4d29b07ded"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=item4d29b07ded[/url] Early Greco. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Greco-Bass-70s-in-good-condition-very-very-unusual-and-very-collectable-/141503193163?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item20f23f604b

Yep, that was it. I didn't scroll down far enough.