Stub Mandrel

Apocalypse in 9/8.

Black Sabbath: Damaged Soul starts off in 12/8 goes to 4/4

I was in a band called Head in a Helix in Leamington from late 89 or early 1990 for a few years... I remember the shop just up from the railway bridge on the left.

Thunderbirds... in principle I love the Explorer/Thunderbird body shape. In practice, when you get up close they look like coffee tables with a neck fitted...

Basswood body, shouldn't be heavy...

And so do eh fender flats I have just fitted, lovely seafoam green silk matching the eyelet on the G.

I always used swiss files and still do if I have to cut a nut from scratch. The best thing for finishing the bottom of thr slot is a scalpel, you can scrape off tiny amounts and change the angle/profile really easily.

.. or 36" scale basses

It's increasingly likely I will be in South Wales when this happens so I will definitely try and get along. Will also do the Midlands bash!

You slappadabass, we slappadabassplayer.

I've never had any other nail issues. Apparently delaminatin of both finger and toenails without external cause can be a sign of iron deficiency, which would quite feasibly have been the issue.

That wee scratch/crack is repairable. http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Technique/Finish/Lacquer/CheckRepair/checkfill.html

There was a whole thread on this a while back. I have a dot at fret one, and find dot between the fret ones really horrible to play, but most people like whatever they learnt on. It must be cheaper to make fretless necks by just leaving the frets off without having to set up for dots in different places.

Also included original 4 string nut and tailpiece and a g-string...

After I left uni I didn't eat very well for several months. My fingernails all fell off, followed a few weeks later by my toenails. No other apprent effects but I decided not to scrimp on food after that.

New baby:

None more Black'n'Decker!

Means you have to download a plug-in to simulate mike-cupping...

It's taken 60 years but I think the Jazz has finally knocked the precision off its perch as the 'default bass'. Lots of sounds to discover with those controls. I like either pickup on full with the other just up a touch.

Crikey... I've just finished a Harley Benton kit and the tools I used were a fretsaw, sanding blocks, wet and dry paper in many grades, two screwdrivers and a ball end 5mm allen key as the one in the kit was no good for adjusting the truss rod with strings on. Oh, and a scalpel for he nut, I find you can scrape off in a more controlled manner than using files and keep the slot profile. A tiny mark on the body showed the neck had been put on with the neck plate in position, so looks like they do some basic QC. The neck is straight as a die and I found a few frets (the highest on the D) that may need a light dressing if I drop the action on that string. You are unlikely to need to do any major work so a straight edge and a cheap set of needle files shoudl cover any remedial work.

Pah. You think valves are woe. I'm one of those poor sods who insists on playing an old Trace Elliot. Transistor sound and valve weight combined...

Hang in there Stew, as someone whose been lucky enough to meet you, I'm sure it will all work out in the end.

I've seen your poster in Pirate Studios.

My 'fendery ones'.

If you search "<song name> bass tab" or "<song name> bass cover" you might find some helpful stuff, but be aware that a lot of tabs are full of errors, and some are very badly laid out. so look at a few and find one you are comfortable with. It's worth watching a Sabbath live video and getting an idea of what Geezer is playing - how busy he is(n't) and where on the neck (about 5/7 fret IIRC). Listen to the song and try to hear what the bass is really doing, not what you thought it was doing. Tab can be great for understanding fills. When learning, start slow and build up. Concentrate on getting the notes of each part right, then getting the right rhythm, then getting up to speed. Don't be ashamed to just play the root notes without any fills to help you learn the changes. Try to hear how your bass blends with the music when you are in time and in tune. If you start making repeated mistakes, take a break so that you don't 'practice the errors'