Beer of the Bass

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1394369646' post='2390701'] You want Rick "clank"? [/quote] Wow, that one takes the clank pretty far! Did he always sound like that, or is he using the Ric-o-Sound outputs and they forgot to mic the bass side of the rig?

I think that a lot of cheaper amps are capable of sounding very good now (thinking of things like the GK MB series or the Hartke LH500 for instance), so there are diminishing returns as you go upmarket from there. Speakers are a very different story, of course.

It's an unusual design, in that most buyers of massive valve amps probably aren't looking for that style of preamp. I suspect they'd sell more of them if they had just a handful of knobs.

My camera seems to be behaving right now and I've made a bit of progress with the neck. The CF rods are epoxied in, one was a just a hair proud of the surface so I had to scrape it level. I've cut out the rough outline and planed the sides of the neck, while the headstock outline still needs a little tidying. I did this with an ordinary rip saw for the straight lines and a coping saw for the headstock. This was a bit of a workout, and I remembered why they call it rock maple!

If it was an SGV rather than an SBV, I'd be on it!

I play about a third of the tunes in our set with a plectrum, I had a set of D'Addario tapewounds on for a year and I'd say it's a non-issue. They'll get flat spots over the frets before they get any pick wear.

I think I might have a hunch who this is...

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1393935644' post='2385947'] It just goes to show you how tastes can differer, because I think that AJ Presentation model is absolutely beautiful, and have done right from the first moment I saw it. I like the way that essentially it is styled like an acoustic guitar, albeit a very big one. The new hollow body Fodera is even more exquisite. [/quote] Yes, this is what I thought about it. If you consider it from an acoustic instrument aesthetic and forget what electric basses are "supposed" to look like, it's an attractive instrument. I would expect it to be a joy to play with that level of attention to detail as well.

I'm most impressed with the Alembic that he chopped half the headstock off, hacked some ill-fitting pickups into and painted rattlecan green! That would get the folk on some bass forums properly frothing.

No pictures today (as my cheapie digital camera is playing up), but I've picked up a basic router from Screwfix and routed out the channels in the neck. The router is very much a case of "you get what you pay for" as out of the box, the plastic pads on the parallel fence were wonkily moulded and caused the router to rock, which would have led to a couple of millimetres play - too big a tolerance for a truss rod route. I had to take a file to the plastic and true it up before I could use it. Once I'd done that it did the job OK though. Next up will be gluing in the CF rods, cutting the neck to a rough outline and gluing on the fingerboard.

Playing on an OLP neck with the same width and spacing as the Stingray 5, the only time I've had an issue with pulling the g-string off the edge was with tapewound strings which are both flexible and slippery. Though between an Ibanez Ric copy and an Aria TSB, I learned on narrow necks and string spacing so it may depend on what instrument you're coming from.

Indeed, useful stuff here. I built a bass in my parents shed when I was 18 and had no idea about sharpening tools. A few years later, I got hold of a Japanese water stone and a honing guide and learned how to do it properly. The first time I did anything using properly sharp tools, I was startled at just how much easier woodworking became. I've never tried finishing them with a strop, but I have a scrap of thick saddlery strap somewhere, so I might give it a go.

I think Circle K strings in the States specialise in strings for low tunings, though I don't know what they're like for international orders.

The body looks like some kind of mahogany relative. The grain looks wrong for alder in these pictures. So that leaves the neckplate and perhaps the pickup...

Could I be added to the list for these please? I've been fairly settled on Spiro Mittels for a while now, but arco is always a bit of a challenge and I'm now playing arco about half of the time in one of my projects. It's possible that I may find the tension too low, but it might be interesting to find out.

When I defretted a bass, I also found that standard veneer fitted perfectly. Fret slots are usually around 0.6mm wide and this just happens to be the thickness most veneer comes in.

[quote name='theyellowcar' timestamp='1393161636' post='2376795'] Is that a Highway One I spy? [/quote] Yes, it was. I only had it for around a year, but it was a nice bass.

[quote name='SPHDS' timestamp='1393122563' post='2376481'] Looking at the pics, (and dredging up some school physics lessons.....!) I believe that this amp is rated, power wise (as most of us would know it) at about 141.4 Watts.... Now for the physics bit.....as far as I remember...and I could be yapping up the wrong sapling.....! To calculate an amp's 'power' (as most of us judge it...) you need the 'Root Mean Square' of the 'Peak Power' of the amp (which works out as 'Peak Power/square root of 2' (or 'Peak x 0.70711). Peak Power for the amp (I think...) is the 'Power Consumption' (as stated on the back as 200 VA) as 'Power (in Watts) = Voltage x Current' so 200 Voltage Amps = 200 W, and 200 x 0.70711 = 141.42 [/quote] That's working on the assumption that the amp is 100% efficient, which no amp is. Power consumption will always be higher than power output - that's why it needs a heatsink.

Here's a WD plate, bought in 2010 and the brown tortoiseshell rather than the red. Why on earth did I sell that bass?

I believe the later series Highway Ones (the ones with the Badass bridge) had carbon fibre rods in the neck like the Am Stds do, so they ought to have decent stability. I had one and it was a very nice bass - the only obviously cheap things about it were the machineheads (which worked fine) and the matt finish.

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1392921973' post='2374294'] Does Mr Chili have the oldest most vintage instrument on BC. Wow 1870. [/quote] I have a wooden flute from a maker who operated from 1800-1830, but that's getting a bit far from a bass...

I had a WD music tort scratchplate, and it was pretty nice. It had some decent depth and swirl to it, though less than your original example. It smelled like the old-fashioned celluloid plastic, (smells like Vicks Vaporub!) but I suspect that's just the top layer.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1392891361' post='2373801'] Oh look! Look! It's NOT a Fender!!! [url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Hofner%20vintage%20instruments/Hofner%20500%207%201964%20CURRENT/DSCF3395.jpg.html"][/url] It's a 1964 Hofner 500/7 Verithin. I played it last week with an early 60's British rock'n'roll band (Johnny Kidd & The Pirates, Rory Storm & The Hurricanes, The Big Three, etc.). It sounded sublime, thuddy and with dodgy intonation, it sounded as if it was the original bass played on those recordings. Because ... erm ... it probably [i][b]was [/b][/i]the original bass played on those recordings. I've played the current Hofner CT re-issued Verithins. They're very new and shiny, and they look real purdy. But vintage basses sound better. [/quote] The basses on those records were new and shiny. If the good thing about the old bass is that it sounds exactly like the old records and the new basses don't, then it has to be a case of "they don't make 'em like they used to". How do the new German Hofners stack up against the old ones, as that might be a better comparison than the CT series?

The Stingray 5 rip-offs look quite appealing, but then again an OLP is probably as good.