Beer of the Bass

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.

[quote name='flyfisher' timestamp='1392851971' post='2373634'] Just read on the BBC website that Bowie won best male artist. I have no particular problem with that but it must say something about the state of our young talent at the moment. Guess he's not too popular in Scotland right now though. [/quote] Well, he's not got a great record when it comes to political pronouncements, considering some of the things he said in the 70's...

[quote name='sblueplanet' timestamp='1392715146' post='2371809'] So no one thinks it strange that a fretless model was never available from the beginning for existing upright players to switch to? This was my main point of discussion, not the concept of putting frets on as frets had been around for hundreds of years. The instrument may have evolved differently had fretless been available as an option from the start and I wonder if many people ripped the frets out even in the early days? [/quote] What's interesting is that the first electric upright basses were developed in the 1930s, independently by Regal, Vega and Rickenbacker and weren't much of a commercial success. Surely those would be a more attractive option to double bassists going electric than a fretless Fender would be? I suspect that Leo Fender was aware of these and quite conciously went for a different approach.

Are J&D essentially a DV247 house brand? If so, I'd try whichever generic budget brand strings DV247 stock, on the off-chance that they come from the same distributor. This could be way off the mark, but the odds are better than buying randomly on eBay.

Am I the only one who clicked "seller's other items" to see if that jacket was up for auction?

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1392392483' post='2368149'] If you've ever seen Clapton live he rarely says anything..... and looks proper miserable at the same time [/quote] I guess he's cut back on the stage banter since the infamous "Enoch was right" days! Possibly a wise decision...

[quote name='henry norton' timestamp='1392362715' post='2367737'] It's different enough - you're fairly limited when it comes to 4+1 headstocks anyway. If I can offer some unsolicited advice it would be to draw out your headstock sketches with the tuners drawn on too (not just the string posts) - it'll give you a much clearer picture of what it'll be like when it's all together. Looking forward to some more instalments [/quote] I've tried tracing out the tuner baseplates onto it to check that they fit, but haven't drawn on the actual buttons yet. I should probably do that. I haven't managed to borrow a router yet, but a friend has offered the use of their table saw to cut the channels for the truss rod and CF rods. That seems workable to remove the bulk of the material, but I'd still need to use a drill and chisel for the ends of the channels. Although I'm still somewhat inclined to keep searching for a cheap router... Everything after the truss rod channel I'm happy enough doing with the hand tools I have available.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1392393180' post='2368167'] So it's basically an improved Orange Terror Bass? [/quote] I get the impression from their description that it's geared towards cleaner sounds than the Orange specialises in, and as it doesn't use a Fender type tone stack, it should be a little more versatile in terms of EQ. Transformer based DI is a sought-after thing too. So only really like the Orange in that it's a smallish box with a valve preamp and class-D power amp. I can't afford one, but it looks like a nice bit of kit...

Hmm, it turns out that finding a friend to borrow a router from is a bit of a stumbling block. I may have to buy a cheap one at this rate...

It occurred to me that Thomann list the top sellers in each category on their website, and they shift a lot of instruments. If you look in "electric basses" there are two Squier Jazzes in the top 10, but no Fender or Squier Precisions. That's just one retailer and not a huge amount of information, but perhaps indicative in a back-of-a-fag-packet sort of way.

Are they still using the B&C drivers (Italian made) in the Indonesian cabs, or is that part of their cost-cutting? Moving away from those would lose a lot of the appeal of the Markbass stuff IMO.

The size and weight do seem really handy too. Have you tried it with the Shuttle yet? That could be a very cool mini-rig for rehearsals etc.

Does the tension feel higher than Chromes of the same gauge?

I'd been wondering about Fender flatwounds, as they make about the least expensive set of five string flats out there. I'm on Status Half wounds at the moment, but they're a little too roundwoundish sounding on the top strings, so maybe I'll move those over to my fretless and try some more flats...

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1392027230' post='2363645'] Unless they're being just as ironic. I suppose if you were to take it seriously, at least if your band confirms to all those old tired rock band cliches, be aware that they're tired cliches and revel in the fact. For god sake don't think you're being edgy unless you've taken that cliche to new levels like Mr Venom. [/quote] It's a very confused list though. Some of the "rules" are about avoiding tired old cliches, while others seek to enforce them. I might take some interest in a similar list from a noted performer rather than a journalist (like Captain Beefheart's infamous guitar commandments), though more as an insight into their way of working than as a set of rules.

[quote name='cytania' timestamp='1391541845' post='2358416'] Slade are a joke band. First they tried the 'bovver boys' gag and nobody got the joke. Then they tried whiskers, mirror hats, hemi-fringes and glitter robes and BINGO. Same music but a different joke (and I love Slade). [/quote] That's a bit harsh, don't you think? If you're talking purely about the visual presentation then, yes they were certainly having some fun there, but there's more to them than that. (Apologies for the derail!)

This morning I've been playing around with different headstock shapes on paper. I'm constrained by having large Schaller BM tuners which I want to keep, so they can't be too close together. After a couple of abandoned efforts, I realised that the lines of the Stingray 5 headstock are more elegant than anything else I could come up with to fit these tuners. So I've ended up with more or less a straight rip-off of the MM headstock, but with the little point at the tip rounded off, as I don't feel it compliments this body. I also realised that I can't draw a smooth curve to save myself, and I should have paid more attention to technical drawing in school!