hellothere

Where can I find out more about Rickenfakers? Such as why there are so many and if there is any way to spot a "good" one without playing it.

I think he might have bought it for 200 quid if he had known it was a fake and liked how it played, looked, etc. I think the problem is he was expecting a Ric, really beleived he was getting a good deal and then it turned out not to be true. It is the dissapointment that is the problem, maybe after a few days he will quite enjoy the bass and feel like he got a bargain, despite being dissapointed it wasn't a real Ric. And as for the family friend, he may genuinely be a really nice guy and was trying to do you a favour. He might not have known it was not a Ric!

What are really good basses that can be bought for really cheap? Oddities especially. Also what are good places to find bargains? Car-boot sales?

Well I can see where you are coming from, I really can, and I DO plan on learning to read one day but I feel that it is more than I am willing to take on at the moment, whether that is a just a mental block I don't know lol. But I am moving into a new place soon, with my girlfriend, the first time I've moved in with someon I'm in a relationship, I am starting full-time work soon and I am doing an open universtity History degree. I think learning the basics of theory and so on will ease me into it and make it a bit easier to digest when I do begin to learn music, which I plan to do once I complete my degree. Also I am only playing in "garage" bands with friends so learning to read sheet music isn't my priority but the theory that will further my playing is.

Well Skank I will definitly make sure to check it down to the last detail if I do replace the pick-guard. And Ou7shined a novice tinkerer is exactly what I am so I think I will do that. For the practice if nothing else. Once I have learnt more about fiddling around with basses I might try to right a beginners guide style thing for other people who want to try something for the first time.

My attitude to bass palying has allways been learning songs from tab, when I have played in a band a few times it is all covers and if I ever mess around with my mates the guitarist just tells me what notes I can use and I play around with them, embarassing I know. But I have got to the point where I want to be able to improvise and have a better general knowledge than jstu being able to play thigns from tabs. I have looked at online lessons but most of them seem to be memorize this scale, and then this scale and this chord and this chord and so on. Which I know is important but I want something that explains the real basics; what is a scale techincally, how do you work out a chord from a scale and so on. I know it is good to be able to read sheet music but I'm busy doing a degree at the moment and it sounds like a large undertaking. So can anyone either explain or point me to lessons that explain the real basics behind theory that dosn't involve sheet music. I fuilly intend to learn sheet music one day but i literally dont ahve the time right now. So I want to find things that will teach me what is required to just jam with my friends easier and to understand the theory behind the theory if that makes sense? If I am derailing this thread in any way, please tell me, I will start another thread. If anyone dosn't know what I'm getting at then I'll try to explain better.

Well thats good to hear Wazoo and in that case please don't stop sharing your thoughts. [quote]Prices vary from frankly ludicrous (£xxx for a real 'vintage' piece) to virtually diddly. Check out Allparts UK, WD Music UK, Axes-r-us and Fleabay for prices. Example: Axes r us want £8 for a bridge cover free deliv. [url="http://www.axesrus.com/AxePlatesBass.html"]http://www.axesrus.com/AxePlatesBass.html[/url] But they don't seem to have a pup cover...doh! As for the whole philosophy of whether quality components are better - well, 'hearing' is such a personal thing that you might as well give it a go and decide for yourself. Avoid buying any daftly expensive components and just have some fun tinkering. Get a decent quality soldering iron, though. It makes the difference between success and failure - as I've discovered to my cost in the past. sad.gif[/quote] Thankyou for giving me a few places to look to start pricing parts. As for the soldering iron *looks at the soldering iron that has been around since before I was born* maybe it's time to buy a new one And I'll definitly make sure if I do change the pickguard, oh, and if it is the same size and number of screwholes will all the screholes be in the right place and of the right size? ------------------ And after seeing that it people have such differing views on wiring I think I will do it anyway, as Skank said, it's probably best to decide for myself. It will also give me practice working with the elctronics. So I'll probably do what Wazoo suggest near the start of the thread. Right now I'm heading out but once I get back I'm going to take a look at the wiring.

I would just like to point out this isn't my only bass and that is why I am happy to tamper with it. I'm not new to playing bass either, I am just new to do any type of modification or changing anything beyond strings! lol I can see what you are saying about the bridge and allthough I do want to improve my Squier so I feel happy using it in lieu of my other basses it is first and foremost a way to learn how to do things myself, understand more about the working of a bass and so on. So normally I would only agree with changing something if it needs changing but in this case I just want to try out as many thigns as I can which leaves me with a playable, decent sounding bass still lol. I am definitly going to try to fix whatever is wrong with it (by the sound of it probably just some soldering that has came loose) before starting any modifications. It is where to go from there that I need to decide on. The only thign I am 100% sure on is replacing the pick-ups, when I get to that, the question is what pick-ups? Any other ideas I'm willing to listen to. Whether it is things that will improve sound or playability or just something that will teach me some useful knowledge. Edit: Would it be possible to get a vintage bridge, ash tray, pick-up cover and put them on? What kind of price would I be looking at?

*cowers*

[quote]"Lets review this subject from a practical point, shall we? Question: Why are Squier basses so cheap compared to real Fender? Answer: because they are bodged together by low paid factory workers in the third world (Indonesia to name one) and made to look like the real thing at the least possible cost and without hardly any luthier skills in the making of them. The End. Apart from the very early 1983 JV's series which were the equivalent of what today is CIJ and MIJ Fender's all the other Squier's that came after the JV's were made with cheapness as a priority in other words to stop the loss of revenue Fender was suffering from all the copycat companies of the time, if you can't beat them join them so here is why we have Squier. The Classic Vibe series from China has been the best out of the lot after the JV's but even those are built with very very cheap electronic parts. The pots are bad and the wires used are so weak you can cut them with your nails. How can a proper quality signal be carried through such low quality components is what divides the boys from the men here, The pickups are definately not hifi and if you have ever owned a real Fender you will know why. But hey. Each to his own and if you are happy with a Squier as standard then god bless you. However if you want it to sound good and last you well, then a few pounds spent on it will make a great improvement in the performance side of things. Modding a cheap bass is a great platform to appreciate what makes a good quality instrument. +++ And by the way that was free advice I have given, so you should just appreciate it as that, the words gift horse & mouth comes to mind. I'll be damned if I'll give any more advice if that is the response I get.[/quote] Well that sounds like sound logic to me. I don't really know much about the technology side of this kind of stuff so I am just asking questions and trying to learn a few pointers, so I'm pretty impressionable at the moment lol. I am planning on getting new pick ups though as I do notice the difference in quality compared to others. Of course I'm not happy with a Squier as standard or I would never have bothered trying to do anything like this, nor would I have bought my Iceman and my Stingray! The other reason being because I agree that this will help me understand and appreciate what "makes" a bass better aswell as being good practice for the future. I appreciate the free advice, from you and everyone else. Infact what you said was exactly the kind fo response I was looking for, so thankyou. [quote]"First and foremost you need to junk all wiring and pots including the input jack and buy this kit from ebay which is the best available for a P bass, even a standard Fender would benefit from this kit" From what circle of fifths said this dosn't sound entirely necessary but it is probably good practice right? And circle you are obviously very proud of your bass and I'm only interested in seeing your holiday snaps if you took it with you lol.[/quote] I don't see what offended you in my response as I meant nothing by it. As I said, I know not a great deal about this side of things so am happy to listen to different opinions and can only find out what I beleive once I have put it into practice. I wasn't discarding what you said, I was pointing out that someone else dosn't see the need for that and wanted someone to go into more detail. Maybe I could have worded it better. But I really don't feel such a defensive reply was needed and I don't think I was looking a gift horse in the mouth. I wouldn't bother posting here if I didn't want other peoples opinions and advice. I think there may have been some kind of misunderstanding on either my part or yours? No hard feelings?

Well first off I'm happy to spend money on this, within reason, taking into account this is the first project of this type I've attempted. So I'll listen to any suggestions. Of course sorting out the wiring is my first priority and that is what I'll be attempting to do tommorow. Is it possible to fit a pick up cover and ashtray if the bass didn't allready have one? (might be a stupid question, as i said, im totally new to doing anything like this.) I would like to attempt de-fretting a bass some day but that is not something I will be trying any time soon. And I think it would be a good idea to try and put in a new bridge aswell? "First and foremost you need to junk all wiring and pots including the input jack and buy this kit from ebay which is the best available for a P bass, even a standard Fender would benefit from this kit" From what circle of fifths said this dosn't sound entirely necessary but it is probably good practice right? And circle you are obviously very proud of your bass and I'm only interested in seeing your holiday snaps if you took it with you lol. Thankyou for all the help so far.

Well he obviously comes highly recommended. And homer, this wasn't any refelction on the man himself, I was just checking...

I have an old Squier P-bass lying around gathering dust, it was my first bass but I never use it anymore for various reasons, the main one being there is some kind of electronics problem as it dosn't work with an amp anymore. First thing I would like to ask is how do I go about diagnosing the problem? After seeing some of the home-made builds that people have completed on here it has inspired me to start tinkering myself. I figured that the P-bass is a perfect candidate for my first attempt at something like and was wondering what kind of things I should try out which would give me suitable experience to try other things in the future. First thing that comes to mind is replacing the pick-ups but then where could I go from there. I am doing this more as a learning experience than hoping to get a better bass out of it, allthough of course it would be nice to imrpove it's playability and sound too! So any ideas?

Thanks you two.

Well I am not aware how large a company it is, if he does everything himself then I have no doubt he will exceed my expectations. And it is allways better to check these things.

Is there a guide anywhere to putting a bass together from parts?

Has anyone ever got the to do a set-up, levelling or any other work on their bass? Or dealt with them in any other way? I have heard good things but would just like to check before I let them fiddle around with my basses

I have a trouble with things like this too as my picking is actually slower than using my fingers.

I beleive the best luthier near me would be Shuker? I live in Derbyshire and have heard really good things about them, their basses aswell as their set-ups. I know what levlling is but what is stoning? Thankyou you two for the info about pivoting, I do that pretty much anyway but I'm going to try to pay extra close attention to fretting now as this is the first time playinga nythign has caused a pain that is more than a tired hand from playing for too long.

I know it's unlikely but does anyone have a spare one?

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1150756' date='Mar 5 2011, 05:45 PM']Could be one or a combination of a few things... [list=1] [*]If your action is a tad on the high side, you're having to apply more pressure to fret the notes, this can cause aches & pains but is easily remedied with a good setup. [*]We all know about 'digging in' with the plucking hand (usually causes blisters), but the same can happen with the fretting hand & it can result in severe discomfort (possibly even long-term injury)... check you're not applying a 'death grip' to the neck - point 1 above can help with this, but it's also a concious desicion on your part. [*]Fingering positions... Popular Received Wisdom has it that you [i]must[/i] play 1 finger per fret and keep the thumb centred in the back of the neck - rather like a Classical Guitar technique. However, in reality, this [i][b]doesn't work for everyone[/b][/i]... we're all built differently (different arm lengths, hand spans, finger lengths etc), so 'correct' left hand technique will naturally vary from one player to the next. Get it wrong & you'll get to know all about Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, RSI & all sorts of other bad sh1t very quickly. [*]Bass height... Once again PRW states that your strap should be set such that the bass is at the same height whether you're sitting down or standing up. Once again, it ain't necessarily so - I [i]cannot[/i] practice sat down as it causes me a lot of left hand discomfort; standing up, I can do a two hour gig with no trouble. In my opinion, your strap should be adjusted such that the neck 'plops' into your hand when your hand & wrist are in a relaxed, neutral position. Resist the urge to position your bass exactly as worn by your hero (if you have one), unless your body geometries are identical, this is another potential recipe for disaster. [/list] These videos may help: Two things to finish... Take a break from Anasthesia. Give it a few days off. Seriously. It's quite possible to overpractice something to the extent that stupid errors just start piling up... so you get frustrated, start over, screw up, start over, dig in, screw up etc. etc. Giving it a rest seems to let the brain assimilate things. I'm making a huge assumption here, but... You're NOT Cliff Burton, nor will you ever be him. There was only one. BUT... There's only one of you, be [b]you[/b]. If someone walked into a gig of yours & didn't know you were on, which would you prefer to hear them say... "The bassist's got the whole CB thing nailed"? or... "That sounds like 'hellothere'"? Pete.[/quote] Thanks for that detailed answer Pete, I will chech out those videos later tonight so I can't comment on them yet. As for the points you made- [list=1] [*]I think you might have hit the nail on the head straight away there, I didn't think about that. I am using my Ibanez Iceman and it has a factory set up and the action is pretty high. I will get out one of my other basses and see if I notice a difference, I might not have noticed the problem before on the Iceman as I havn't really played anything so twiddly before on it. Maybe it's time to get it set-up proffesionally? [*]I do do this occasionally but whenever I notice I correct it immeditaly and the more I correct myself the less it happens. [*]I do play 1 finger a fret whenever it is uncomfortable. [*]Yeah I'm pretty good with just wearing my bass and sitting with it however is most comfortable. I learnt my lesson about not to trying to immitate other people's "style" when I first started playing and the first time I played with friends, trying to wear it around my ankles lol. [/list] I completely agree, I know it's best to take a break if you start to get frustrated, once you get pissed things just go downhill. I also see your pointabout getting your own style, I feel it is something that will come as I get better as a bassist, play with a wider variety of people, try out different thigns, etc. I would feel pompous claiming to have my own style at the moment though haha. P.S What is the Pivot technique?

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='1150696' date='Mar 5 2011, 04:36 PM']Which hand? Fretting or plucking?[/quote] Sorry, obviously something I should have included! My fretting hand.

No one?

I have recently started learning Anesthesia by Cliff Burton, something I know alot of people learn quite early on but it has taken me a while to get round to it. At first I picked it up pretty quick but the past few times I have started getting an ache in my hand. The bets way to describe it inbetween my middle finger and index finger but on the back of my hand, in between what I think are the bones from those two fingers. I have played things similiar to this before and used to play 24/7, where as no I just play initermitently through the evening. So I don't think it is RSI as I understand that taking beaks and not over playing makes it unlikely to happen (which are thigns I am doing.) I am worried that if I carry on playing it could damage my hand in some way and then I wont be able to play anything. So is it my technique, like my fingering or something? Any ideas what could be causing it? This is the tab I am using... [url="http://www.bassmasta.net/m/metallica/162264.html"]http://www.bassmasta.net/m/metallica/162264.html[/url] If I stop playing the ache dulls after around half an hour but returns if I stretch my fingers. Thankyou for any pointers. Obviously ask any questions you might have N.B I do stretchs with my fingers regularly and warm up before I play anything remotely complex. Also this isn't the kind of ache just from tiring your fingers out, it is in a specific palce and feels nothign like that.