Obrienp

This was a problem with the Hipshot bridge on the first batch of Nordstrand Acinonyx. The official Nordstrand response on TB was to use Loctite medium (It comes in various strengths of lock). Other thread lock products are available! It could be a problem with how well cut the thread is on either the grub screw, or saddle. Replacements for both are available from various sellers on fleaBay for various types of bridge and outlets like Northwest Guitars.

Great review @Chienmortbb. The Monza, plus neutral amp, makes a great platform for pedals/effects. I guess the clue is in the FRFR label but it took me a while to really notice just how transparent it is.

Hadn’t heard of that one before but it’s probably happened to me without me realising. New set of D’Addarios too. I got to use it at a blues jam last night. People said it sounded pretty good through the provided backline (Ashdown EVO head and a 2 x 10). Lots of compliments on its appearance but amazement at the weight. Heavier than a 70s P bass according to some. A couple of fellow bassists suggested I drill out some of the wood, like Gibson do on the so called weight relieved Les Pauls. If I did this, I guess I would have to do it from the back and cover the holes with a veneer. I also wonder how it might affect tone and balance. Strikes me it might be easier just to look for an alternative body in swamp ash, or similar, without going as light as the Obeche.

True but I think the pickup alignment is pretty accurate under the G string.

OK, so I have finally, pretty well finished. Not entirely straightforward but not too bad as these sort of builds, or I should probably say, assemblies, go. Fortunately, I got the bridge in the right place, judging by the string alignment on the neck. Strings 1 and 4 both have a good amount of clearance all the way down the neck, so they are not going to slip over the edge if my fretting is a bit wild. Pickup alignment is not so good but I am blaming the pickguard I got hold of. I originally lined the pickups up so that the strings were dead in the middle of the pairs of poles. Unfortunately, when I came to fit the scratchplate, the cut outs didn’t line up at all. It would have required too much to be cut off to get the pickups in the ideal place: it would have left huge gaps, so I moved the pickups. I have seen worse alignment and it works fine but it upsets my sense of symmetry. This wasn’t the only issue with the scratchplate and it is a lesson not to buy the cheapest available on FleaBay. It is cut so tight that it barely covers the control cavity route and in its original position the jack socket would have made contact with the side wall of the cavity. I had trimmed a little off the neck cut to make it match the squared off neck heel (thus covering the gap between neck and body) and these few millimetres north gave enough clearance for the jack socket. Then I didn’t have a gap to get at the heel truss rod adjustment, so had to make a notch to get the tool in (not as neat as I would have liked). Final gripe about the scratchplate is that it is meant to be brown tortoiseshell but definitely looks red to me. My fault for going cheap! I have levered open my wallet and bought a Stew Mac Telecaster Truss Rod Adjustment Tool from a UK supplier on FleaBay at a reasonable price. I am really glad I did. It works a treat and only requires the smallest gap to get it located in the truss rod slot. It doesn’t look as professional as the much more expensive Hosco tool but it works. The important bit is that the bass sounds much more like what I expect from a Precision. Nothing like as bright as the SD ‘51 in the Obeche body but still with some growl. The G perhaps sounds a bit muted but I guess that is the Tone Rider pickup. I am happy with the action I have obtained as well. I did pop a bit of credit card in at the heel to shim it a bit, to compensate for the thicker baseplate on the Fender high mass bridge. That seems to have done the trick, so I now have a bit less than 3.5mm at the 12th fret on the bass side and it is rattle free. The only drawback to the overall package is that, if I ever decide to buy a boat, I have the anchor covered right here. A quick weighing session on the bathroom scales puts it at 5 Kg on the nose! That’s 11 whole Imperial pounds! That is at least 1.5 Kg more than my other basses. This is definitely going to be a bass for short jam sessions and back up at gigs. No way I can use this as a primary instrument for gigging, or even rehearsing.

My Mum made me have piano lessons: I wanted to play clarinet (it was the time of Stranger on the Shore). I hated it. Couldn’t get it. The piano teacher was called Mr Bassman: must have been a sign😀! He got so frustrated with me that he used to poke me in the ribs with his long bony fingers (probably be arrested these days). Anyway, my Mum eventually gave up and decided to save her money. I don’t know who begged more for the lessons to stop: me or Mr Bassman. The experience completely put me off playing music until I was about 13, when a confluence of a friends guitar and hearing the Stones, Led Zeppelin, etc, persuaded me that maybe it was worth having a go. I still expect everything that goes wrong to be my fault and I drive my band mates crazy by constantly apologising for my perceived imperfections! 🤣

What is the band called Keith? I’ll look out for you. Are you playing at the Necton Festival? I’m impressed that you have the capacity to notice what the rest of the band are doing and the overall sound. I’m normally too busy trying to keep from making mistakes myself but I do find it disconcerting on the occasions when I do notice other’s mess ups. Normally starts and finishes, which I think can make a band look really amateur. Although, as others have said, the punters rarely notice. Listening back to recordings can be painful though!

@Longwheelbass Can’t see the pics: says access denied.

Normally, if you don’t have the bridge grounded, there will be quite a lot of background noise from the bass, especially noticeable when you are not playing. Assuming that we are talking about a passive instrument: If you haven’t been getting noise (hum, plus picking up other sources of interference like your mobile polling), there is some form of hidden ground that you can’t see, or you are really lucky. If you are getting hum when your bass is connected to the amp and it doesn’t stop when you touch the strings, you don’t have a bridge ground. Although the standard split precision pickup set is meant to be hum cancelling, It is still best practice to have a bridge ground on passive instruments (to get rid of hum) but drilling the hole for the cable, from the control cavity to the bridge position, can be tricky. I did it yesterday and messed up first attempt. You need an extra long drill bit and because it doesn’t need to have a large diameter, it will flex. It’s tricky but well within most DIY skills. I would take the opportunity to shield the cavities (if they are not already) with copper tape, or graphite paint. That way you will end up with a really quiet bass. The pic is one I prepared earlier (including bridge ground cable).

A few suggestions depending on the eventual diagnosis of the cause: 1. If it is the machine heads causing the problem; Wilkinson lightweight tuners (Hipshot copies) are a direct replacement (even the screw holes align), are better than the originals IMO and cost not much. Available from the likes of Northwest Guitars, etc; 2. Bass Direct have quite a few medium scale strings from various suppliers and their pricing is keen for some brands; 3. Available from the above are Maruszczyk short/medium flats for around £30 (give or take). I really like them but it is down to taste. They do fit on a Mezzo: I’ve done it. The silks just clear the nut, so there is no chance of the wrapped part going round the capstan.

That’s the real Rock ‘n Roll lifestyle right there. Driving Rollers into swimming pools and chucking TVs out of hotel windows is very overrated!

Wish I had thought of that! Thanks, I will use that technique, if I have to move the bridge. Fingers crossed that I have got it close enough 🤞. I won’t find out until this afternoon, which is my first chance to work on it. There is going to be a slight delay because I am waiting for new supplies of cloth covered wire to arrive in the post. Sod’s Law in operation: it’s the only component that hasn’t arrived yet. Hoping to get it ready for a blues jam on Monday evening.

No it didn’t have one. I had to drill it with an extra long bit. It took me two goes. Unfortunately it is very flexible and obviously flexed in the wrong direction first attempt, breaking through underneath: rats! Something to fill and cover up. Annoying because I have done this before without making a mess. The second attempt worked fortunately. If you look at the second pic above, the black wire is the ground from the bridge.