Major surgery cancelled due to budget cuts

[Apeneck Sweeney]

After putting it off for 2 years I finally decided to take my bass to have it's top off and the damn rattle sorted. I'd thought this was going to cost somewhere in the region of £500+ (what I'd had quoted a few years back) . I wish I'd checked before I drove 50 miles but glad I at least asked before leaving the bass. Not even close. At least three times that, possibly four . I hope something can be done from the outside. I was hoping to give my newly bought Ehrlund a proper test once it was done as, initially, I couldn't get past the fact that it really picked up the unwanted noise.

I got home and decided to adjust the bridge positioning and tail wire length on my other bass. All was going well until the threads went on the clamp for the wire after the second, fine adjustment. I was left with a bridgeless bass lying on the bed with nowhere else to put it flat and my two daughters due back from nursery any moment. (Visions of the sad sight of a sound post falling over after some enthusiastic bed jumping.) After some panicky calls trying to find a replacement I managed to sort it out by using a second set of nuts, the originals acting as washers. I got the bass up and running and took it out with the Ehrlund to an improv jam and was pleasantly surprised.

I'm hoping for a call from my repairer on Saturday telling me that they've found out and sorted what was causing the noise.

[ubassman]

Is the rattle inside then?

[Apeneck Sweeney]

It's hard to tell exactly where it comes from but it's a sort of fluttery sound that appears to come from around the top end of the body under where the fingerboard comes out from the neck. I used to have a wine cork in the bass side f hole that stopped the noise but that no longer seems to work as well as it did. My fear is that it's an old internal patch that has come loose.

[ubassman]

...yes could be a loose patch buzzing away. Could also be the bass bar split or coming unstuck . Do you have a telescopic mirror to check this out?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-LED-TELESCOPIC-INSPECTION-MIRROR-LIGHT-42mm-x-65mm-EXTENDS-FROM-29cm-TO-87cm-/221246453395?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item338350f693

[Apeneck Sweeney]

I don't but the repairer does. Nothing was obvious on first inspection unfortunately.

[oggiesnr]

Who've you got doing the work?

Steve

[Apeneck Sweeney]

It's been done by [color=#444444][font=Arial, sans-serif]Helen Pegram at Tim Toft's in Stone. I didn't mention who was doing it in my replies to ubassman as I realised that the initial post might be misinterpreted as a negative comment about their prices and wanted to avoid that. It wasn't meant this way. More of a blog post about a bad day from someone without a blog to call home. I've been very happy with both the quality and cost of the work Helen has done for me in the past and I'm sure she'll do a good job this time if it's at all possible to sort it externally. If not, I'm going to have to save up some money for the operation.[/font][/color]

[ubassman]

Helen is an excellent luthier and as the saying goes "you get what you pay for "!

[Apeneck Sweeney]

Got my bass home today. There was a small crack with patch/plug on the inside just off the sound post side f hole. Easily accessible and now repaired with no sign of irritating flutter. New tail wire and minor bridge and nut adjustment for Olive G, all for about 10% of my original (optimistic) estimate of how much I was going to have to spend.

Result. Thanks Helen.

Also, loving the Olive G.

It was nice to spend a week playing my German swellback again but it's time to bump it back up in the marketplace.

Edited August 13, 2013 by Apeneck Sweeney

[TPJ]

Result