Skybone

It sounds like I need to make a trip to Glasgow when funds allow!

[b][u]Style[/u][/b] Traditional or custom - Traditional: Rickenbacker 4001/4003/4004 No of strings - 4 [b][u]Woods[/u][/b] Body (inc finish) – flame maple & walnut, natural finish Neck – maple (through neck) Fretboard – rosewood / pau ferro / bubinga with triangle inlays [b][u]Hardware[/u][/b] Machine heads/tuners – Schaller Nut (material and width) – graphite / tusq, 4003 width (approx. 43mm) Frets – 20/21 Pickups – Ric style humbucker or single coils with RWRP wiring Pre-amp - passive Pickguard (if any) - none Bridge – 2 piece Strings – brand, gauge and type – 45-105, Stainless Steel Roundwound Controls - 2 stacked Vol / Tone knobs, pickup selector switch Other - Basically, a 4004, but with 4003 inlays & probably the 4003 bridge pickup mounting ring. Neck pickup to have the 4003 style 1" gap between the neck. Maybe have the "Vintage Tone" switch as well.

Well, that first one ended up to be too small, thanks to some very dodgy sanding and a dreadful pickup hole. So, decided to have a second shot at it, this time using the jigsaw. Cutting out the shape was fine, much quicker than using the Dremel, though I thoroughly managed to make a complete and utter mess of the pickup hole again. Back to the drawing board I think. Maybe invest in the Dremel Router attachment?

There seems to be endless numbers of channels showing the same videos over and over again (bit like most radio stations, but with pictures). BBC Scotland & BBC Alba always seem to have some live music somewhere, the Quay Sessions, bits of Heb Celt, the Trans Atlantic Sessions, Belladrum. I suppose that it's more down to money than logistics, but it would be good to have more live music on the telly. Something like The Tube would be great.

Trace were everywhere in the 80's and 90's, well, until Gibson bought them and moved production from the UK and basically killed the brand. Ashdown came out of the ashes and have filled the space that Trace used to have (which is mildly ironic, seeing as they were the same people). I remember playing guitar in a band where the bassist fried at least 2 Trace rigs. One of them was his own, and it took quite a few years to get the parts to fix it.

Well, for all of their foibles, they're a great bass IMO. Shame they're so flaming expensive. Yes, the saddles are a complete pain to adjust, the mute system is useless, the bridge pickup cover generally gets binned, but they still have plenty of fans. And if you like the look, but not the old style of the 4001/4003, there's always the 4004. They're expensive though... even more so now. Dave does come across as a bit of a grumpy old chap.

Or the cable route from the control cavity to the neck pickup.

He's just a cowboy...

I was working on a project a few years back, and had to ring around to make some enquiries about a particular part of the job, so, I rang one place up, asked for the Estimating Dept. only to hear, "Yes, you need to speak to Roy Rogers". I like think I managed to conduct the enquiry conversation professionally, however, I'm not sure I pulled it off too well for sniggering most of the way through.

[quote name='Nicko' timestamp='1501158127' post='3342915'] I'm on the outskirts of London, and "local" guitar shops are few and far between in my area, but there's loads of choice in town. The item I'm looking at isn't stocked at many places and where it is stocked its expensive compared to ordering on line - only by 30 or 40 quid. Plenty of places I've been will set up the guitar to your liking at no extra when you buy. [/quote] I think a trip into town is in order then. If the bass you're after is only £30-40 more than online, then it's worth the trip as you're not saving that much, and you can actually get your hands on the bass and play it, the shop should do you a setup & fresh strings as part of the deal, rather than buying new strings & setting it up yourself. In comparison, there are 2 music shops about 13 miles away, there's another 1 about 50 miles away, and a few more over 100 miles away. Most of these shops only have a handful of basses in stock, and even then, it's a limited choice. Buying online is basically my only choice. When I lived in Yorkshire, there was a great shop that was only a few miles away from the house & they stocked quite a lot of really good basses, they were always worth a visit because of the service you'd get.

Try out as many as you can, and buy the one you like the most.

<[url="https://youtu.be/Od95KRjPat0"]https://youtu.be/Od95KRjPat0[/url]> Anything Yngwie can do, Richie did it first.

Try before you buy is always the best option, especially if you're spending a lot of money. However, saying that, I have bought some great guitars online. All 3 of my basses were online purchases, as were both electrics. Only 1 acoustic (solid wood) was a shop bought guitar. Local shops should always be supported, but if you're after something different or a little bit special, then why not. Remember to get plenty of pictures, some detail off the vendor, and if anything doesn't feel "right", then walk away, something else will turn up soon.

Right, you wanted pics... The first two are the post cutting, pre-sanding stage. I traced the original scrachplate on the back of the sheet, then used a Dremel 3000 with the cutting disc attachment. I took my time, but it still didn't take too long, but created a lot of smoke, dust, and molten plastic "snots". A set of cheap popular DIY store own brand plastic clamps were very useful at this stage. Quite pleased with the results, but I think next time I'll use the old B&D jigsaw & see how that compares. As you can see from pic #2, it's a black pearl plastic (insert pirate jokes here). Finally had the chance to get back in the garage earlier today, so got the sanding tool out for the Dremel, and took off the excess plastic around the outline (pic #3). For the pickup hole, I used the Dremel as much as I could, but then had to dig out the old hand files. Sanding down didn't take too long at all, so I drilled the holes and countersunk the front screwholes as well. A trial fitting showed that the pickup hole is a tad too small, but too big for the hand files (and lack of a work surface, didn't want to break it at this stage!), so I'll have another shot with the Dremel another time & tidy up with the hand files.

And the above list has also missed the Colorsound Wah & Tychobrahe.

The Rebel Bass is looking like the Empire Struck Back

So my first attempt is only half way through, I cut out the rough shape of the 'plate & TRC using the Dremel cutting disc. Took ages, and the plastic bobbled up around the cuts. In hindsight, I think it would have been quicker & easier to use the jigsaw instead. Going to try that next time anyway & see what happens. Got to finish the first attempt off when I get some time. The Dremel sanding attachment looks like a very good option rather than doing it by hand for the larger bits, hand finish for the trickier parts.

Nice addition to the collection Karl. KevB, thing is, for that sort of money, you can buy a completely unique, hand built instrument from one of the fine luthier's up and down the country, and still have change instead of buying a brand new Rickenbacker. I'm guessing that it won't be too long before the second hand market prices will start to catch up with the current list price. I still think that Rosetti just change the currency symbol on the RRP.

Get well soon Norm

Bare Knuckles are good, but get in touch with Hayden at Bulldog Pickups, great service, great quality, great bloke who'll listen to what you want, and wind some great sounding pickups. He knows his stuff, is a great guitarist and he just so happens to also work for Matamp. He wound a couple of sets of custom humbuckers for me a few years back, the best I've ever tried (that's after being through a good few of the BKP range).

Tommo, are you trying to come up with your bass lines on your own, or do you get together with the guitarist when putting a song together? I find that working with the guitarist helps coming up with ideas for bass lines. He'll have something recorded already, he then goes through the song, showing chords and changes, I'll work through it and come up with something, then it's recorded on top of the guitar. Maybe it's the band situation that's also getting you down, especially the drummer & singer situation. Maybe you should get together with the guitarist & have a discussion about things, see what he thinks of the situation, and whether he wants to look for new members, or carry on with the drummer & singer. Maybe after the discussion, you can make a decision whether to carry on with the band. If it's not working for you, it's not working.

Does the motherbucker have adjustable pole pieces? You could always adjust the pole pieces & raise the jazz pickup.

At this rate, we could set up a HIghlands Bass Bash...

All I can add is "go for it". Yes, it will take longer than you may think, but if you're new to an instrument, just take your time, practice regularly, and have fun. As for the "lefty" / "righty" thing, try a few different instruments out, get what feels "right". You can only find out by trying some out. For your first instrument (and probably the first few after the first), buy from a shop, not online. They should help you choose the right bass for you. Don't spend too much either, you can get some really good basses for not much outlay.