Jerry_B

Well, I bit the bullet again and put on the Chromes last night (they're ECB81s - .045 to .100). Depsite forgetting that when they're new they're very zingy and a bit inflexible, after a few hours playing that settled in. Playing the bass for a few hours solid has convinced me totally that this is just the right bass for me. Compared to my other fretlesses, it's just ticking more boxes. The Maya's very nice, but maybe not as solid all round in terms of tone because of the maple fingerboard. The Jazz is maybe a little slicker as it has such a skinny shallow neck profile, but try as I might I can't really buy into the Jazz tone. It just seems a little reedy compared to the chunkiness of a Pbass.

Anyway, pretty much all good so far then! When the proper scratchplate turns up I'm going to see if I can put a shim down the side of the neck pocket, as the neck is still slightly skewed. This doesn't effect tone or playability but I just like things to be 'just so'

Yep, Peavey seems to be the better bet, in general. They're so solidly built that they should stand up to whatever gets (perhaps literally) thrown at them.

Not 300W (it's 200), but maybe worth a look...

[url="http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Gallien-Krueger-MB115-Combo~ID~13155.asp"]http://www.soundslive.co.uk/product~name~Gallien-Krueger-MB115-Combo~ID~13155.asp[/url]

Cheers chaps! Once it's finally all done and dusted I''ll post some better pics. Having played it for another hour or so, it's definitely growing on me! It just feels like a very solid bass. The only other one I have that feels like that is my T-40 ;-)

Here it is alongside my other fretlesses.

What's it like to play? Seems pretty marvellous so far, even with some old strings. The neck is just perfect! The ebony fingerboard really gives a nice flavour to the tone. Overall, the bass isn't heavy and is easy to play. The neck seems pretty fast. I put in a slight amount of relief and there are no dead spots. All the electrics seem fine, so I don't think I'll need to add any extra shielding bar some on the back of the scratchplate. Once the new scratchplate turns up and goes on, I'll put on the Chromes and give the bass a proper test run I'm going to be gigging with it so I need to make sure is stands up to prolonged playing.

Here's how it all looks once it's together. Tasty, I reckon ;-) That said, the scratchplate is just a stand-in for now until the MIM one turns up. The fit isn't ideal. The strings are some LaBellas, also a stand-in - D'Addario Chromes of a slightly lower guage will be going on in time.

Sooo... well, I decided to bite bullet and work around the current batch of problems (i.e. waiting for the last bits to arrive in the post). I've also decided to put on a hi-mass Gotoh-like bridge (this comes from an ESP P/J I have in bits).

Here's some pics of me setting up the bridge area, a shot of the bridge in place with the KiOgon Industries wiring kit on board (note the PIO cap), and then a shot of the whole lot waiting for other bits to get attached (strings, knobs, etc).

I have a MIJ fretless Jazz, a Maya fretless Precision, and a Squier P/J. I'm also building a FrankenFender fretless Precision at the mo'.

I wouldn't worry about tiny cosmetic quibbles such as that gap between the neck heel and the scratchplate. No-one will be able to tell!

Whereas I tend to visualise...

One other thing - the MIM bridge that came with it has to go. The screw holes are too near to the bend (through which the strings and saddles go), so when the bridge is screwed on it tends to roll up near there and thus doesn't sit flush with the body...

Maybe that's because the heavier rock bands weren't on TOTP all that much...

PJ Harvey was at the same art school as me (she was doing her A Level, I was doing a Foundation Diploma).

A quick spray and a rub down with some furniture polish should do the trick. Lemon oil probably won't go into the wood that much, if at all AFAIK. That said, mineral oil in small amounts may help lift off any crud.

[quote name='BurritoBass' timestamp='1329299074' post='1540111']A lot of rubbish is spoken about music (& long may that remain) but I simply enjoyed the tunes. No real cultural significance for me. During the Silver Jubilee as the Pistols sailed down the Thames I believe I was at a tea party on Marlborough High Street dressed as a cowboy. I sat by my friend Pete and had a great day
[/quote]

I was at some village party. All of us kids were given a Jubilee mug. I asked my dad why were given a mug. He said 'It's because that's what they think we are...'. As you can probably guess, my parents aren't fans of the royal family... Maybe my dad was a bit of a punk (actually he was a mod/folk fan)...

Here's a shot of the fingerboard. With the coat of Tung oil it's a bit more glossy than it was before, without being too glassy or epoxy-like.

Akk I'm waiting for now is the new scratchplate. I'm hoping that'll arrive tomorrow or Saturday. Once I have that, the bass can go together and I can set it up

Schallers go on...

Anyone know if they pushed Jamie into the hole before they filled it in...?

Found with guns and gold? That creates an interesting image...

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1329257665' post='1539831']
Agreed that punk in the USA bred hardcore, and eventually, (and don't laugh) early 'emo' and post hardcore, (well before we had bands making it a commercial success).[/quote]

Yep - Emo, aka 'Emotionalcore' was allegedly kicked off by a band called Rites of Spring (one band member ended up in Fugazi). Members of the band don't share this view. Either way, Rites of Spring were an American punk-inspired band from the Dischord punk record label/distributor. Emo just seems to have grown out of RoS's use of lyrics, rather than musical style.

[quote]As I grow older, I still look back and love the moments of seeing bass player's in punk really playing the bass properly (Matt Freeman - Rancid, Karl Alvarez - The Descendents).[/quote]

Same for me - although in my case it's inspired more by Klaus Fluoride, Dave Riley, Chuck Dukowski, to name a few.

Don't forget also that when punk went to the States (or as some might say, rebounded) it kicked off a great many offshoots. Hardcore punk maybe being one of the most influential. Not just in terms of music, but in terms of bands and band members forging their own paths and encouraging others to do so. That ethos was passed on to various other scenes and kicked off a few others. It definitely informed other genres. It also created some horrible mutants too.

I've alway preferred US punk to UK punk. True, I still really like Discharge, but I never ever liked the Clash, X Ray Spex, etc.. US punk always seemed alot more full-on, and to me it's still very listenable and still inspires how I think about ways of playing the bass and creating music.

I think if there's one problem that's always bugged me is that there is sometimes an assumption about punk, UK or US, that tends just to judge it on surface stuff - fashion, social mores of the times, etc.. I think that really undersells it.

Turns out that the mounting screws I bought aren't chunky enough. Nevermind, I ordered another more suitable batch. Typical that the tiniest bit is what slows up the whole process... ;-)

Yeah, they're good for that. To start with I tend to use very fine (0000) steel wool, just to see if that makes a small difference to start with.

So then I move onto installing the tuners and... bugger. The holes for the mounting screws aren't deep enough! So I have to drill those all out a bit more that they all work. That's my next 'to do'...

Next is the string tree and bushes for the Schallers. The headstock holes needed a tiny amount of sanding out to ensure that the bushes fitted and were still snug.