LowMoFo

Ah... I may have some naphtha buried at the back of a cupboard somewhere.

I thank you.

Head and shoulders? Should I use the kind for sensitive skin, or the one with conditioner?

As for Windolene, I did consider this, but feared it would be too 'grain-lifty'^. Not sure that that's an actual term, but you get my point.

Gentlemen, as always, thank you SO much for your input!

Hi Dan,

Thanks for replying, it's an ash body, and it's just fingerprints that I'm looking to get rid of, prior to lacquering.

Guessing I should invest in some latex gloves, but I'll give the white spirit a go.

Thanks again, sir!

Hi all, quick question, 

What is the best de-greaser for wood which is stained with spirit-based stain?

I've read that white vinegar, diluted 1:4 with water is good, but don't know if it will affect the stain or not...

Gentlemen, thank you for your invaluable input, 'tis very much appreciated!

Hi all,

STILL in the midst of a build, and unsurprisingly, having some more issues...

I have an ash body, which I stained, and was immediately very happy with. I also really like the grain texture so decided not to seal it as I would lose the texture, and risk sanding through the staining. Both no-nos in my head. I want the grain visible in the clear-coat. I've opted for polyurethane as it's harder & less harmful than nitrocellulose.

However. I have a few areas where the grain is so open, it has (somehow) caused a reaction when clear-coating. This has happened twice now. I've stripped the poly away so now I'm back to the spirit stain, and there are, in these open-grain areas, bare spots. Any & (so far) all attempts at re-staining these areas result in the wood slurping the stain away.

The obvious answer is to seal these rogue spots, but I'm at a loss as to what kind of sealer to use with polyurethane clear-coat. I've been all over Google, with no answers.

So, learned low-enders, should I:-

Just keep hitting these bare spots with more & more spirit stain, or apply some poly to the bare spots, key these spots, then go over with stain, prior to clear coating?

I really like the burst on the front, so really don't want to start from scratch. The back is stained a solid overall mahogany so provided the poly 'seal' accepts stain on top, hiding these patches should be ok. Right?

I'm getting super frustrated with this, so am desperate for a solution. Please help!!

I thank you in advance.

You, sir, are a legend! Thanks loads!!

S.

Hi all,

Does anyone know where I can order one of these beasts from in the UK?

The only ones I can find on Ebay for example, are based in the US or Canada. £4 for the part, £15 for postage. Ummm, no.

More excellent advice from those who know WAY more than I do. Eternally grateful, guys, thanks loads!

Thank you guys, a little more insight provided there, into both methods, very much appreciated.

Hi all,

I have a quick question regarding the order of things:

Is it better to pre-drill screw holes BEFORE lacquering, or to lacquer first, then burnish & drill after?

Over to you, lords of the low end.

S.

Hi Mottlefeeder,

Regarding your question at the end of your post, it appears you're missing nothing.

Said question got me a-thinking, so I went on a t'interweb search, and it seems lots of low-enders follow exactly that method, and for exactly the reasons you applied in your post.

Many thanks for your help, all, I'm off to learn how NOT to overthink stuff - hopefully...

That's interesting to note, so it appears that any of the three points (open, 12th fret, 1st harmonic) can be used. I wonder which method gives greates accuracy, or if the previously mentioned 'balancing act' should be applied as a general 'rule'.

Either way, thanks Fleabag.

59 minutes ago, paul_c2 said:

I would say that it doesn't - ie intonation doesn't matter (as much) on a fretless. On a fretted bass, it DOES matter because once you've tuned it, and you play normally, then you have little/no control over the pitch except for what the frets determine for you. Sure, you can bend up a little but it would be a dramatic alteration to technique and difficult to consistently do. On a fretless, the equivalent adjustment would be very easy to do in the moment and not at all unnatural. 

The relative intonation between each of the strings is probably more important than the actual intonation setting. It would need to be quite a bit out, to actually notice when playing.

Kinda getting the idea from you guys that I should basically just chill about the fretless & get on with playing it.

Thank you guys!!

1 hour ago, BassBus said:

I would say that intonation matters just as much on fretless as fretted. Chris McIntyre, renowned luthier, advised me to intonate a fretless with something small like a slim allen key. Pick the open string or harmonic then use the allen key directly over the twelfth position and pres it onto the board. That makes it as accurate as possible. Works really well for me.

Another tip which I just didn't occur to me, definitely worth a try. Thank you too, sir!

2 hours ago, 3below said:

Thanks for reply.  I would not worry about intonation errors of a few cents, different finger pressure, hand position, vibrato and temperature will also come into play in a gig. Just to add to the fun, in one musical genre I played in, tuning slightly sharp improved the overall band mix. I have no idea why this should be.

This is very good to know. I'm as mystified as you regarding the sharp tuning affecting the mix, but very glad that it worked out well. Thanks again!

Sorry, I'm a Richard. The wavering info i gave was incorrect.

It wavers between 438 & 442 Hz, which translates to roughly 10 cents either side of 0.

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply, I only fret as hard as I would if I was actually playing, but it's interesting to learn how such a small variation in pressure can still make a difference. I'll have to try the 3/5/7 balancing act, I think, thanks for the suggestion.

As for the wavering, it's about 1 cent either side of '0'. The initial attack obviously shows 'sharp', but as the note 'settles', this is when the wavering shows, and remains as the note decays. (Almost like using harmonics as a tuner on frets 5 & 7 on adjacent strings, before achieving spot-on tuning.)

Deep breath, & back to it... 😀

In the meantime, sir, thanks very much for your advice, definite food for thought, and very much appreciated!

Greetings, low-enders!

I'm having some issues with intonating a couple of my basses, and I figured I'd find the advice I need here.

i've recently adjusted the neck relief on a fretted 5-string, so now am now needing to re-intonate it.

Fretting at 12, then playing the 1st harmonic, most of the strings are pretty accurate. But in at least one string, as I play the harmonic, the needle wavers, which I wonder is the oscillation of a poorly intonated string. But I've tried, as an experiment, deliberately putting the intonation out on the strings which don't produce that wavering, then re-adjusting so it is intonated correctly.

Tried the same with the rogue strings, and it still wavers. Can anybody tell me why it wavers? Is it a string issue, a tuner issue, or what?

The second issue I have is with an unlined, fretless 4-string. Which begins with the fretting at the 12th.

A movement of just one millimetre when fretting will obviously give a different reading. I've looked on t'interweb, and many people maintain that intonation on a fretless doesn't matter, it's all about the ear. The 'physics' bit of my brain disagrees, but is no expert.

I've also read however, in a book by Leo Lospennato, that intonation can be done using the 1st harmonic and the open string, be it on a fretted or a fretless. This would obviously make intonation easier, as it avoids any fretting inaccuracy, but this book is the only place where Open-string adjustment is mentioned. The guy knows way more than I do, so I just wanted to know what you guys think, as I know less than you fine people...

All the best,

S

Hi Callum,

I've only just stumbled across this post, having been away for too long, but wondered whether my 2p worth was of any value.

I too felt the need to build one, and bought an Ibanez-shaped 5-string fretless from Kitbuiltguitars.co.uk for £115.

Staining etc is obviously extra, using Chestnut Products spirit stains, (airbrushed on in layers) and a polyurethane lacquer.

The body & neck (incl fingerboard) come unfinished, as advertised, so sanding materials are obv also extra.

This also gave me the opportunity to alter the bodystyle slightly.

To maximise sound quality as far as I can, I have switched out the stock pickups for two EMG soapbars, stock bridge for an Ibanez B305 bridge, stock machineheads for GOTOH GB707s, and changed the passive spaghetti bits for an active system. A little Dremel action in the control cavity and it fits perfectly, and provides space for 2x9v batteries. I'm also going to replace the (flat) bakelite cavity cover with a body-curved fibreglass version.

Thereafter, if it sounds bad, it's down to the woods (maple neck, ash body).

But, I bought it in order to learn, which is exactly what I'm doing.

VERY slowly, because I've learned that I am no bleedin' good at spraying lacquer.

Deep breath, more sanding, another ciggie, and here we go again.

But, whatever your chosen route, please do not let my obvious ineptitude put you off, there is a genuine joy in watching one's baby slowly come to life.

Best of luck sir, and enjoy!

Once again, learned bottom-enders, I find myself in need of advice, warnings, etc, by now you know the routine:

Seek advice, cock it up, return for more advice.

Anyway, today's lifeline shall be entitled 'Defeating Witness Lines'.

So the second grain-filling endeavour went south fairly quickly, but only on the front this time. (Progress?)
The back however, looks pretty damn good.
So having stripped the front down to the bare-ish wood to basically start again, but definitely don't want to strip the back.

Kinda hoping I'll be able to blend the new stain & sealer with the old, around the very edge.
Is this doable, and if so, does anyone have any tips etc please?

Cheers all,

S

"...I believe in Andy..."

We ALL believe in Andy!!

Wow, thanks loads Andy!
Quick question re insulation paint for the cavities:
Should I seal the guitar first or does the paint need to go onto bare wood?

Hi Norris,
Yeah, I think that's gonna have to be the way to go, esp since as Andy pointed out, I'll need to put a stereo jack in there.
If I can be tidy & careful about it, it shouldn't be too hard, surely.
Never soldered anything in my life, so I have a feeling I'll find out pretty soon...

Ok, finally got around to the Dropbox thing...

Andy, here's a close-up of the offending corner on the board, from the pot side:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fucmld0sb8hg8q9/IMG_0365%20copy.jpg?dl=0

And the beast so far...
https://www.dropbox.com/s/hqufxc6hu8evjwc/IMG_0388%20copy.jpg?dl=0