Dom in Dorset

No , regular strings, the holes in the string retainer were a little small I drilled them out.

I've been playing this for a few months now and it's become my main bass, the sound and feel are just right. The balance on the strap is so good it just stays where you put it. Because of the reduced body it's easy for me to reach around to grab my flute (I have to do this mid song at times) nothing gets in the way. The sustain goes on forever. My thoughts on the headless bridge etc : The string spacing was wider than I wanted so I had to grind bits off the nut and use the bass' original plastic nut to set the spacing, the string retainer seems to work well. The bridge is good, I had a Hohner headless years ago and it's not quite as good as that but ok. When new the bridge saddles needs a bit of sanding down to stop them jamming against each other (I had to drill out the holes in the string retainer too) When tuning some of the knobs are a bit stiff, I have strong fingers but it can be tricky. I need to investigate oiling or greasing the appropriate parts. I'd give them 7/10 as they came out of the box , 8/10 now.

I've been doing it for five years now and the cast have mostly been great. The only problem I can remember was last year , the ugly sister had to sing "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me" . They kept complaining that we were playing it too fast (we were playing it at the same tempo used in rehearsal) so we slowed it down by 5 bpm. It was still too fast , we slowed it again , and again until it crawled along . They then complained it was too slow!

"I'm leaving my body to medical science fiction"

We work from a score, band call and dress rehearsal with the cast today is the only rehearsal we have. You are expected to turn up knowing your part, sit down and play it!

9.30 band call , then dress rehearsal at 2 , first show is at 2 tomorrow....

I have a regular paid gig in the pit band for a pantomime. The set usually comprises a mix of current pop, classic pop, songs from shows and Disney films. This year's high point : [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDZ9I3p7xBE"]https://www.youtube....h?v=kDZ9I3p7xBE[/url] This year's low point: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DNQRtmIMxk"]https://www.youtube....h?v=8DNQRtmIMxk[/url]

I've actually done some recording with it now. It may be a while before the results are ready but I'll post something when it is.

A 33" scale neck sounds a bit unusual are you sure?

Nice , love the yellow. "you ask yourself how much more yellow could this be and the answer's none, none more yellow"

Just a "posted image" box.

Gigged with it last night, it felt great not to have 8lb of wood and metal strapped to me! This may well become the go to bass, I have to sing and play flute , I have to pick up and put down the flute quickly during songs, It's so much easier with this bass. More thoughts on the hardware to follow....

Done!

I think if I did it again I wouldn't cut the headstock off too close to the nut to allow a bit more room to maneuver. I made it slightly more complex because I wanted a narrower string spacing at the nut. To do this I ground and filed bits off the string retainer and left the original nut in place. You can still access the truss rod through a hole in the retainer. The hardware seems good, I'll play if for a while and post a report later. I've now recessed the bridge , the action is much better , I also intend to tweak the neck angle.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/311363305520?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

I put some old strings on to see if I've got everything aligned only to discover that the action is high enough to park a double decker buss under it and still have room for Evel Knievel to jump over it. The bridge is ultra chunky so I'm going to cut out a section of the wooden top under it thus lowering it by 7mm. On the plus side it stands up by it'self!

I've glued the top on and given it a first coat of danish oil. It will darken a bit more over the next few months.

The top is taking shape, I'll glue it on tomorrow (I don't have enough clamps at home, I'll take it yo work)

Finalizing the layout: The slightly odd neck pickup position came about because of the earlier attempt at a compact bass. I accidentally bought a 24 fret neck with a very long heel. This prevented fitting the neck pickup in the usual place, I moved it down a little and it's closer to a P pickup position. It seemed to give more bass than a conventional jazz and I've stuck with it for this bass (I'm re-using the pickups too) .It also helps fit in with the lower cutaway. The knobs are off a defunct effects pedal and are only 16mm in diameter.

I can't help thinking that it could do with some green fur somewhere !

More contouring and control chamber routing. The wood will turn red/brown when oiled. Trial fitting of the top Eric- The twin was my main bass for a couple of years , in the end I decided that I was better off with one higher quality bass (I'm playing a Jazz these days) the parts were used to make a fretless that I still use from time to time and the fretted neck will end up on this. I've stacked all the parts + strings on the scales and the bass should weigh less than 4 1/2 lb.

So far it clocks in at 5lb , I'm aiming for 6lb finished.

Sorry but I'm just not going to fit this in today. Things have stacked up this weekend , it's turned out to be busier than expected.

Wow! What exactly did you do to it to get that? Mine has moved on a bit...

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1443022872' post='2871573'] I'm quite obsessed by weight. My band plays 2 to 2 1/2 hour sets and does 4 hour rehearsals. That's a long time to be stood with a 10/11 lb bass hanging off your shoulder. My current favourite bass is a mere 7lb 3oz.. [/quote] That's about it for me, if it's a short gig I take my weighty Fender Jazz, longer gigs and lengthy rehearsals I take a lighter option. I even found the weight of the Fender on my leg during a sit down pit band gig too much by the end of the week. Another thing to consider is carrying it around. I do a lot of festival gigs where you have to park your car a mile from the stage and when the promised land rover doesn't turn up you carry your kit in hot sun/pouring rain.