Dad3353 Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 (edited) Who said 'Half-pint'..? Come on, own up... You're not leaving until the culprit is found. I don't mind; I've got all the time in the world... ... ... Edited June 22, 2018 by Dad3353 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alyctes Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 (edited) Deepest congratulations on the arrival of your new baby. I think we should convene an extraordinary double bass bash purely so we can all have a closer look. What a THING! Still not sure the conductor of my local (amateur) symphony orchestra would be impressed if I turned up with one tho. 🙂 Edited June 22, 2018 by NickA multiple spelling mistakes 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete.young Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 It's Metal Mickey !! Boogie Boogie . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 It's proper epic isn't it, it's worth another bass bash all of its own! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6feet7 Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 Oh, to have that and an electric bass made from the same material. Perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 54 minutes ago, 6feet7 said: Oh, to have that and an electric bass made from the same material. Perfect. Alusonic? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 24, 2018 Author Share Posted June 24, 2018 Dave Gartland already makes some very striking guitars (check out his AliKat website). I imagine he'd be prepared to make an electric bass if you asked him nicely ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 (edited) 38 minutes ago, Happy Jack said: Dave Gartland already makes some very striking guitars (check out his AliKat website). I imagine he'd be prepared to make an electric bass if you asked him nicely ... Good call. Check the one on the left. Ali Kat Guitars Edited June 24, 2018 by SpondonBassed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Sam Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 On 22/06/2018 at 13:13, Happy Jack said: I can do shiny and new. You want old school? I can do old school. You want etched & engraved? I can do etched & engraved. You want figured maple? I can do figured maple. You want 3D finish? I can do 3D finish. You want customised rarity? I can do customised rarity. You want barking mad silliness? I can do barking mad silliness. You want more photos? http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/library/Basses CURRENT/AliKat Double Bass 2018 Looks even better in the flesh. The DB didn't look too bad too. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 That's it, you win! Shut the site down, close the accounts, nothing more to see here, it can't be beaten. I'm taking up crochet instead. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 26, 2018 Author Share Posted June 26, 2018 I'll trade you a minim for two crochets ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 Lovely and barking, Jack; as is the DB. It sort of reminds me of one of those cans of ham you used to see in the supermarket around Christmas time (or in subsequent Harvest Festival collections at school). Im half hoping there’s a giant key on the side of it.... Well done indeed 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 29, 2018 Share Posted June 29, 2018 By the way, I've just remembered where the Aluminium DB GAS started - the London Bass Guitar Show 2016. The ones below were not for sale - just there as exhibits. I think they belong to the previous publisher of Bass Guitar Magazine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 7 hours ago, Silvia Bluejay said: By the way, I've just remembered where the Aluminium DB GAS started - the London Bass Guitar Show 2016. The ones below were not for sale - just there as exhibits. I think they belong to the previous publisher of Bass Guitar Magazine. It reminds me of the scene from Day of The Triffids when they look out to see the house is surrounded... Just imagine if you could animate the legs on those stands. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 30, 2018 Author Share Posted June 30, 2018 Hah! I wasn't at that show, and my GAS for an ali bass goes all the way back to https://www.bassplayer.com/artists/retro-rama-1930s-pfretzschner-aluminum-upright-bass I only read the article in the first place because I knew Dave back when we shared a flat in London in the 70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted June 30, 2018 Share Posted June 30, 2018 We know who to blame/credit next time we meet him! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blartfactor10 Posted July 2, 2018 Share Posted July 2, 2018 Fantastic! Aluminium Upright Basses are warm, punchy and easy to amplify, so apart from the killer looks its going to be a tone monster as well. A good investment I'd say, no matter how many brownie points its going cost you. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 I got the bass back from Laurence Dixon (The Bass Place, Herne Hill) today. He installed a Realist pickup (at my request, and in addition to the existing one), replaced the bridge with an adjustable (again at my request), shaved & profiled the fingerboard to match the new bridge, sorted out the twin soundposts so that they are correctly positioned and work properly, and did some corrective work on the end-pin structure. His work was every bit as good as Clarky told me it would be, and the bass is instantly far more playable and more comfortable to play. It also sounds noticeably better. I wanted the Realist since the existing pickup arrangement did a great job of picking up the sounds of the strings and of the slapping, but disguised (almost completely) the sound of the oil-drum. The Realist picks up far more of its sound from the resonating body and that means that you can actually hear the aluminium. All I need now is to run the two outputs through a blender and I will be able to control how much oil-drum the audience hears. The adjustable bridge allows me to switch between a rockabilly setup and a blues/jazz setup at will. The rest of the work was, frankly, remedial. As I mentioned before, Dave Gartland is not a professional DB luthier and he doesn't claim to be one. The bass as delivered had a few flaws which were easily fixed (well, "easily" by someone like Laurence), plus one which it is stuck with. As far as I'm concerned, it is now fully giggable and I'm looking forward to doing exactly that. I'm also expecting a fair bit of trepidation from any sound engineers who have to deal with it ... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Needless to say, photos will follow asap... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dad3353 Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 14 minutes ago, Silvia Bluejay said: Needless to say, photos will follow asap... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 7 hours ago, Happy Jack said: The rest of the work was, frankly, remedial. As I mentioned before, Dave Gartland is not a professional DB luthier and he doesn't claim to be one. The bass as delivered had a few flaws which were easily fixed (well, "easily" by someone like Laurence), plus one which it is stuck with. May we know what that is? I'm keen to hear how you get on. Great post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 28, 2018 Author Share Posted July 28, 2018 The end-pin housing should have been better reinforced than is the case. That aluminium plate at the bottom of the bass is all there is - there's no wooden support block inside the bass to keep it rigid. When the end-pin is fully retracted, as it so often is in rockabilly music, there is no issue. But the more the end-pin is extended, the greater the leverage effect, and it would be possible to buckle the aluminium plate. My solution, as usual, is to compromise. I don't want to play with the bass resting on the floor, and I can't have it at the height I'd normally use, so I now have the pin about 50% out. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 3 hours ago, Happy Jack said: The end-pin housing should have been better reinforced than is the case. That aluminium plate at the bottom of the bass is all there is - there's no wooden support block inside the bass to keep it rigid. When the end-pin is fully retracted, as it so often is in rockabilly music, there is no issue. But the more the end-pin is extended, the greater the leverage effect, and it would be possible to buckle the aluminium plate. My solution, as usual, is to compromise. I don't want to play with the bass resting on the floor, and I can't have it at the height I'd normally use, so I now have the pin about 50% out. Thanks. Apart from buckling, a problem that may occur over time is work hardening of the aluminium where it flexes around the extended end pin. It leads to fatigue cracking. I don't think it's impossible to rework the instrument with bonded stiffeners behind the pin mount though. The branding plate would conceal the modification. Any half-decent aircraft fitter would be able to do the job. It's worth keeping in mind if your instrument shows signs of cracking later on. With the branding plate in the way you'd only know there were cracks forming by increased movement of the end pin but it is not a fatal flaw in the design. It sounds as if you have the instrument tweaked to perfection for your needs however. If the half extension works, why fix it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 On 22/06/2018 at 16:16, TheGreek said: So how many pairs of shoes and handbags does this equate to for Silvia? On 22/06/2018 at 16:23, Silvia Bluejay said: Hmm, what are these shoes and handbags whereof you speak? Surely you mean how many new Warwick Corvettes or nice electric uprights? 😉 I had no idea I was talking the truth in my reply! See here. 😮 😎 😍 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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