Delberthot

I recently bought a 1973 Telecaster bass with the big humbucker that had been poorly refinished some time ago. I thought it would be a good idea to refinish it properly.

I also thought that it might be a good idea to post my progress here to show anyone else who is interested how to do it (or not to do it)

The bass as it arrived to me looked like this:





Everything else at first glance seems to be original. There's a split in the wood where the bullet truss rod comes out at the top of the headstock.



its probably been there for years and was a problem on the early ones where the wood at that section wasn't thick enough. I plan on sealing the crack with superglue as it is invisible to minimise any further splitting.

The next step was to carefully take all of the hardware off. I began by removing the strings and then the neck. The first odd thing is that there is no wood between the butt of the neck and the humbucker.



It is amazing how big and heavy this pickup is. Once I had removed the bridge, I was able to pull the earth wire back through and take the scratchplate off. I then unscrewed the nut holding the jack to the cup so that i could lift the whole lot clear.

All the parts are in separate containers so that they do not go missing



the second odd thing was that someone had shielded the control cavity but hadn't done it properly so that will be going.







The next step will be to sand down the body and fill any dings in the wood. I'll probably take a couple of weeks to do this as i will only have time after work to do it.

For anyone interested in what the final finish will be: I am using nitro to paint it to make it more authentic. White primer, Daphne Blue colour and clear laquer top coat

1 bass
1 amp
1 cab
1 tuner
1 compressor
1 spare speaker & 1 spare instrument lead
1 stand
2 straps
gaffa tape
basic tools (allen keys, screwdriver, cutters)
spare old set of strings (already cut to size to save time)
Fan to keep me cool
Baby wipes for my fingers
The funk

I had a coffin case for my one.

Warwick makes them under the rock case name. i think i got mine from thomann

I really like Ernie Ball Slinkies so when I was detuning to D I went for power slinkies which are really good and they have a cool name

I'd like to take this time to let out my secret.

I carry a fan with me to every gig but it has nothing to do with keeping cool. I use it to stop my fingers sticking to the strings.

I like to be able to play fast and my fingers sticking to the strings isn't an option.

Set it up so that it points mainly at your right hand but so that you can also flick the switch to sweep it up and down the neck.

I have been doing this for the last 10 years

I absolutely love Super Slinkies.

I have probably tried all of the main strings by the main manufacturers and these are my favourite. I have used them on my Stingrays and now use them on my '51 reissue P bass. the original strings were way tooo high tension for my liking.

they are not the be all and end all - I use DR Marcus Miller Fatbeams on my 4 string fretless tuned B-E-A-D and DR coated on my Yamaha TRB6 II fretless.

Has anyone noticed that Picato strings seem to have vanished? I used to use them all time

That's interesting - when I contacted Mark, he told me that they were using Fane drivers which I didn't trust not to blow.

i was right, I blew one within a couple of months gigging.

I used to always be able to trust celestions and now feel comfortable trusting the Eminence Delta 500w 4ohm driver in my ABM115 cab after the loud as hell gig I did last Friday without any PA!

Right, not quite an exact comparison but I used a Trace 1153 compact cab for years and when I moved to the full size ABM115 I noticed that there was a hell of a lot more bass coming from it. The bigger cab is able to produce more low end that the smaller one which was more mid-range.

the big Ashdown cab is not much heavier than my old trace cab but I noticed a considerable difference in frequency response.

I have been solely using 15"s for the last 11 years with no horns or anything else.

I would also like to mention Gallien Krueger.

I have the 700RB II and it does everything I want from an amp and it was the one I bought to replace my craptacular Ashdown 500 EVO II space wagon decombibulator or whatever they are called.

The tuner output on the front is ideal for me as I have a Fender rack tuner and its input is on the front so I just need a short patch lead to connect the 2 together

Thanks to our ever reliable Royal Mail and their strikes, I still don't have the cab yet (or the other stuff I ordered from the US). Looking at the tracking information the plane carrying my cab was in the air for 7 days as it left the US on 28th and didn't arrive here until 5th.

After this weekend I am on holiday for a fortnight and won't get the chance to play live until the last Saturday of the month.

It could be worse - my other cabs that I am selling might have sold and I could now be without one at all for this weekend's gigs

On nearly every bass I've ever owned, I sound like me!

The only times that I sound different are with my 51 reissue precision and mudbucker '73 Tele Bass.

I've never been able to work out if it is that my style makes me sound like me on anything I touch or that as soon as I pick up a bass I automatically try to make it sound like my sound.

hell, i couldn't even get a Rick to sound like a Rick - I sounded like me again.

Basses that I have owned that other famous users use:

Modulus Flea Bass - I sound like me

Fender Geddy Lee - me again

Rickenbacker 4003 - you guessed it, I sound like me

I first discovered this years ago with a guitarist friend who used to have a really cheap guitar and then saved up enough for something good (at the time) it was a Charvel or something - he still sounded the same as well.

This may not be a bad thing - at least I'm not trying to sound like anyone else

I always got the best result with a Gallien Krueger head.

You could try the Bass Centre.

I have just taken the plunge and ordered one direct with Jorg Schroeder - what a nice guy.

I have gone with the 1212L in blue rhino finish.

I ordered it monday 18th and he is posting it to me this monday coming (25th) so hopefully I should have it for my gig next Friday.

the have been loads of changes made between the old and new ones. Apparently over 100!

Main Differences are:

1979 model Current Model

Neck Joint : 3 bolt - 6 bolt
Battery compartment : Metal screw-on plate - Quick clip thingy
Bridge : string mutes - no mutes
: through body stringing - top loader
EQ : only 2 band eq - 2 or 3 band EQ
Nut : standard - compensated (better intonation apparently)
Made by : Leo Fender - Sterling Ball
truss rod adjustment : at the top (allen key) - body end (anything small enough to fit the holes in the wheel)

There are others.

My band "Overloaded" does our first gig on Friday 29th June 2007.

We are primarily a rock band performing music by such artists as Paul Rodgers, Paul Weller, ZZ Top, Black Crowes, Red Hot Chili peppers, Kaizr Chiefs and so on.

Powered by Dave and myself as the rythym section with Mick the lick on guitar and Dynamite Jim Dunbar on vocals - this promises to be one powerful gig.

Depending on how I feel I will be playing my Fender '51 Precision reissue and either a Yamaha TRB6 II fretless or my own homegrown fretless Bass Collection 4 string tuned B, E, A, D with EMG pups, gotoh machines and Badass I bridge .

I will also be premiering my Shroeder 1212L cab for this gig having only just got it.

Make no mistake when I say that this will be one energetic gig

Generally smaller stuff goes through unnoticed. You didn't say which brand of bass you have but check out guitarpartsresource.com. I've had a load of stuff from them

i emailed Behringer about the wattage rating to find out if it was RMS or peak or some other method and was told that it was RMS.

I blew mine up with a 500w Hartke HA5500 at about half volume

All of these basses are made in the same factory. they used to do a neck through 6 string that was actually a rebadged Peavey Grind. The current 6 string they do is a rebadged Shine. Shine also make Epiphone's.

there seems to be a factory putting out all different brands.

Interested in a 12 string semi-acoustic? You can go to the Waterstone website where Tom Petersson from Cheap Trick has his signature model made for about £1400 (I think) and then search out US sellers who will ship to the UK and get a rebranded one made in the same factory for about £200

The Bass Centre did do the original ones and they were available in 4, 5, 6 and fretless.

Many different specs - the only ones i can remember were the 300, 320 and 460 series but there were lots. the 300 series was passive, all others were active

My first 5 string was an SB305

The way you can tell what model it is within the range is: if its a fretless it ends in a 1, 5 & 6 strings are either 5 or 6. eg an active fretless would be a 321, a passive 5 string would be a 305.

Then you go onto different finishes - I had an SB465 which was an active 5 string with gold hardware and a Paduak top. They did Zebrano and a few others as well.

I have a speakeasy as well that i'm modifying. I tried every bass in Glasgow for the fastest playing bass I could find, regardless of sound or price and this was the one. the only original parts are the body and neck. Its got Gotoh machines, Badass I bridge, EMG pickups. All parts that i can remove and use again if i were to sell it on.

You could try here:

[url="http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/"]http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/[/url]

It was me who started the thread on the rickresource!

the overall answer i got was that Lemmy got his bass before the copies started getting made from a dodgy geezer and possibly had a new fretboard put on it

I have heard that they are grossly inneficient but never personally tried them out

I am one of those guys unfortunate enough to blow all 4 cones of a BA410.

I initially thought that the speaker grill was rattling - I had taken the badges off as I prefer a clean look to my gear.

I kept stuffing beer mats along the edges of the grill but it wouldn't stop.

By the third gig, all 4 cones had broken and I had to play the last 20 minutes with fart & tweeter.

BUT - - -

I emailed Behringer about it and they sent me out a brand new one within a couple of days! I can't imagine any other company doing this (if there are then let me know) they didn't need proof or anything. Maybe the panic in my email was enough.

So this put me off Behringer gear.