Big_Stu

[quote name[size=3][b]The Top Guitars Company[/b][/size]] [size=3][b]With its eye on the 21st century, The Top Guitars Company will uphold the principle of "Honesty In Dealing Customers First". [/b][/size][/quote]

[quote name='Machines' timestamp='1350397200' post='1838247'] [b]Failure to comply[/b] will result in a very nasty out come for the perp.[/quote] ....... as in "you now have 5 seconds to comply"? [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMihmYf4WJI&feature=related[/media] ......... it's a new style of moderation!

If you do a search on the luthiers thread at the top he gets a good review from one; but it's 4 years old. I heard good things about the in-house guy at Johnny Roadhouse but I've no personal knowledge of his work.

Thanks - I've got or read and moved on quite a few musical biographies, I think I'll pass on that one though. Johnny Cash's is excellent, the one written with Patrick Carr (???), Lemmy's I thought while interesting was very light, using the cop-outs of large type, wide spacing (leading) and wide margins to pad it out. Chuck Berry's own auto-biog is light on his dark side but the unofficial one "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" is more in-depth and does explain his contempt for white music world wheelers & dealers. Noddy Holder's is fairly superficial and enforces his image of "a bit of a lad". Bo Diddley? - they should make a film of his life, always overlooked in the history of rock n roll while in real life he should be up there alongside Chuck Berry. Ex violinist (though I would guess more a fiddler?) drummer and street-fighter, which explained why he tuned to open E because his battered hands were too big to make chord shapes, though how that fits with violin I don't know!

They stash their fluff (in Scotland it's called "ooze") in awkward places you can't get at on your bridge too.

It is different - bugger - ignore everything I just said I've only seen two different versions of those. The more budget ones the tuner's shaft is a separate part to the geared part; when you took it off there was nothing holding them together, in which case you could easily pack the space between with some nylon plastic, maybe something like the tube that protects a new artist's paint-brush? Nothing thicker or you won't get it back down flush to the headstock. You'll have to do the top & the bottom so that it stays at the same angle to the gear otherwise you'll get uneven wear in the long term which will knacker it. On a Gibson replacement elephant ear I had (possibly Schaller?) it was sealed unit; which shouldn't ever fail but kinda screws you when it does, in which case a blob of thick grease might do the trick, but be careful where it goes or the friction of the tuner may be lost so it won't hold. Unless it's been swapped out I'd doubt it's one of those though.

If it's how I picture it; and why your thread caught my eye, I had a neighbour who got into the habit of bringing me basses with various niggles on them*. One of them was as you describe. To test it was what he thought I jammed the "ear" with a couple of matches to see if the rattle stopped - it did! He wasn't too bothered about how perfect looking it was, so I blagged a syringe from the local health centre (without a needle they were happy to oblige and didn't think (AFAIK) that I was a user swapping his gear). Filled syringe with a small amount of Araldite type glue called "Liquid Metal" (x Maplins) & squeezed it into the tube holding the ear. The tube in this case was hollow so it was easy done. Wipe off any excess & keep it clear of the gears obviously, wait for it to dry & paint it silver if it bothers you. If your pics don't match that case we'll have to think again. *Turned out he was into line dancing where he really fancied a woman bassist in a band, so to get into her "good books" [i]he[/i] offered to fix any problems she had. Cheeky b*gger!

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1350296843' post='1836843'] Just spent the past half an hour peeling the protective plastic film from the scratchplate of my new P bass. I have managed to peel most of it off, but there is still some under the controls and jack socket....[/quote] Women will tell you that tweezers were invented for eyebrows and such like; I think it's far more likely for this scenario.

Is it the elephant ear type with open gears on the back? Any chance of pics, or can you tell where it's coming from?

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1350239867' post='1836226'] It a shame that you didn't add something constructive to the OP instead.[/quote] If you and the OP check back I did; I wrote that for the unknowing, which could be any casual reader of this thread, going at a truss rod without being totally sure of what they're doing can lead to irrepairable damage. I know, to different degrees, or have known, 4 top flight luthiers. All of them would agree with that - it's common sense. At least some of them would also warn against adding washers to a truss rod apart from IF it was to repair previous damage to the area which has meant that the truss rod nut isn't performing as it should. On a good condition neck adding washers to a rod is obviously bypassing a problem elsewhere, it may be a common practise but it doesn't make it right. The other thing to bear in mind is that adjusting a truss rod isn't an instantaneous thing, each tweak should be left a few hours for it's effect to be seen, sometimes next day. Again, others views may vary, but as I say, I've seen the damage caused by twisting rods without taking your time. The OP is asking for advice, therefore is not comfortable with their attempts so far, I wouldn't be giving advice which is push your luck a bit further, unless the offers of such advice are offering compensation for their advice should it go wrong. I store my guitars how they should be because I take the advice of John Birch (RIP) and John Diggins who told me what they thought. IF I ever tweak my necks I follow the advice given by guys who make their entire living from fixing guitars and doing set-ups not "some bloke off You-tube". Anything electrical I know how far I can go happily, any further & there's numbers in my phone of guys I trust. There is no shame is asking a pro to have a look, & while you're at it ask them if you can be there to learn while they do it.

[quote name='BottomE' timestamp='1350234709' post='1836095']Truss rods are a bugger. I only fiddle with them if i really have to and always feel really scared when doing it.[/quote] I've seen at least three guitars/basses which I can remember distinctly, with a split in the middle back of the neck where someone thought they knew what they were doing with the truss rod. Which is in NO way any kind of comment on any posters so far in this thread.

Posted only because I just "re-found" the pic. File under "seemed like a good idea at the time"; I've since reswapped the pickups back to the ones it came with.

[quote name='tonyclaret' timestamp='1350092720' post='1834585'] What I did question was the fee, come on eight piece band £400? 14-16 hours work plus petrol for £50.[/quote] Of course that's making the assumption the dep gets an equal share - but it could easily not be the case, & if it's a one-off they'll probably never know.

Make a list of the reasons you off-loaded all of your previous basses; a) it'll tell you more about what options are still open to you & if you picture all those things together it'll be a pig of bass ............ to you!

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1350034038' post='1833705'] Fair enough, sorry i missed your post earlier. [/quote] No prob; they're maybe chuffed that they're being discussed so much on a music site!

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1350032491' post='1833669'] It seems that no one has bothered even checking the band out. If anyone bothers to check the link out.........[/quote] If that was the case how do you imagine that anyone knew that they had a 4 piece horn section - or were an eight-piece band, it's not in the OP.

Looks like they're an 8 piece; doing covers I doubt they'd get much more than £50 each up here. I'd doubt they'd be snowed under with venues with a big enough stage/playing area either.

Tell her it was a bargain ........... and then start quoting Shakespeare; works every time! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZOdVqlvys0[/media]

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1349945056' post='1832452'] I did change the white scratch plate for a grey tort one, the tone , response, intonation, sustain, output, coolness were all much improved. [/quote] ....... yeah, you conveniently omitted to mention the neckdive it caused though!

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1349952129' post='1832567'] Have BC members posed for a naked calendar before? [/quote] Well at least one of us has, it was for charidee - which is a cop-out that validates any indiscretion ................. hopefully. [quote name='fumps' timestamp='1349964629' post='1832820'] Stu.......you told !! I was young i needed the money [/quote] I had to .......... I was holding the black letterbox thing to hide your .............................. blushes.

If I had a bass I was so chuffed with I'd play it to death for quite a few weeks before I decided what - if anything - needed changing on it.

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1349877782' post='1831656'] We should get a nice fake tan and pose for a calendar, with our bass guitars and uprights and very little else on. [/quote] What.............. again?

Two pages in and no mention of "Rhythmsync"! Group hugs all round!

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1349890677' post='1831904']Maybe the term "warm up gig" would be more acceptable. [/quote] "Some" bands release their warm-up gigs.......... One of my fave albums of theirs of all time, especially "Not Fade Away".

Surplus stock SG bass neck, heel end off a Mosrite, front body off a Fender, pickups off a Musicman, scratchplate off a 70's Japanese copy. All they needed was to get a Rick reference in there & it'd be the ultimate Frankenbass.