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Single cut bass guitars are the Devil's spawn


thepurpleblob
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[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='508399' date='Jun 8 2009, 06:08 PM']that's a good example of how not to wind strings onto the machine heads...
there's not enough turns on the posts for a start and it just ruins the look of an expensive bass having bits of wire going off in all directions...

rather like guitarists who don't cut their strings properly and have little coils up there getting in the way...

meh...[/quote]

Perhaps the bass was so ugly they just wanted to get the strings on as fast as possible so they didn't have to look at the fiendish carbuncle any more.

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[quote name='BottomEndian' post='508850' date='Jun 9 2009, 10:16 AM']Maybe so, but they're not single-cuts, are they? There's a definite concavity where the top 'horn' joins the neck joint. Double-cut!

[/controversy] :)[/quote]

Definitely singlecuts - no concavity there!

As much as I love the look of telecaster shaped basses, I've never played one that balanced right on the strap - the top "horn" is so short that you get really bad neck dive.

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[quote name='simon1964' post='508860' date='Jun 9 2009, 10:27 AM']Definitely singlecuts - no concavity there![/quote]
Arrow points to concavity:
[attachment=26775:ASAT_arrow.jpg]

And I've roughly marked in red what they've had to [u]cut[/u] out to make it that shape:
[attachment=26776:ASAT_cutaway.jpg]

That's a cutaway if ever I saw one. A bit of a pointless one, granted, but a cutaway nonetheless.

I've never played a Tele bass, but I've noodled on my mate's hollow-bodied Tele-copy guitar. You have to put noticeable physical effort into holding the neck up, to the extent that it affects your fretting-hand technique. :)

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[quote name='Paul Cooke' post='508399' date='Jun 8 2009, 06:08 PM']there's not enough turns on the posts for a start and [b]it just ruins the look of an expensive bass[/b] having bits of wire going off in all directions...[/quote]

Hey Mert, did you hear that? :)

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[quote name='BottomEndian' post='508868' date='Jun 9 2009, 10:43 AM']Arrow points to concavity:
[attachment=26775:ASAT_arrow.jpg]

And I've roughly marked in red what they've had to [u]cut[/u] out to make it that shape:
[attachment=26776:ASAT_cutaway.jpg]

That's a cutaway if ever I saw one. A bit of a pointless one, granted, but a cutaway nonetheless.

I've never played a Tele bass, but I've noodled on my mate's hollow-bodied Tele-copy guitar. You have to put noticeable physical effort into holding the neck up, to the extent that it affects your fretting-hand technique. :rolleyes:[/quote]


Splitting hairs a little, aren't we? :)

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[quote name='BottomEndian' post='509125' date='Jun 9 2009, 03:19 PM']That's what I do best. :rolleyes:[/quote]

Heh, :lol: Interesting point about the neck dive though. I was considering buying a squire telecaster, hadn't thought about the balance issue. :)

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[quote name='Aaren J' post='509171' date='Jun 9 2009, 03:55 PM']Heh, :rolleyes: Interesting point about the neck dive though. I was considering buying a squire telecaster, hadn't thought about the balance issue. :)[/quote]
You could probably mitigate the neck dive a touch by installing really light tuners. And replacing the body with a solid brass one. And tying some helium balloons to the headstock.

Nah, my mate's Tele was particularly bad because it was a hollow-body. Hollow body + heavy neck + cheap, heavy tuners = trouble.

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[quote name='Aaren J' post='509171' date='Jun 9 2009, 03:55 PM']Heh, :rolleyes: Interesting point about the neck dive though. I was considering buying a squire telecaster, hadn't thought about the balance issue. :)[/quote]

I've got a telecaster (guitar) which is great. No neck dive, and a joy to play. But the extra length of a bass neck makes all the difference, and tele shaped basses all seem to have serious neck dive. Someone once told me that to balance well on a strap, the top horn on a bass needs to stretch up towards the twelth fret. Tele shape doesn't get close, hence the neck dive. Which is presumably why Mr Fender shaped the Precision body the way he did.

Tele shaped basses still look cool, though!

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[quote name='BottomEndian' post='508868' date='Jun 9 2009, 10:43 AM']Arrow points to concavity:
[attachment=26775:ASAT_arrow.jpg]

And I've roughly marked in red what they've had to [u]cut[/u] out to make it that shape:
[attachment=26776:ASAT_cutaway.jpg]

That's a cutaway if ever I saw one. A bit of a pointless one, granted, but a cutaway nonetheless.[/quote]

So do this mean mine's not a singlecut and I've been misled all along????? :)

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[quote name='simon1964' post='509652' date='Jun 9 2009, 10:21 PM']I've got a telecaster (guitar) which is great. No neck dive, and a joy to play. But the extra length of a bass neck makes all the difference, and tele shaped basses all seem to have serious neck dive. Someone once told me that to balance well on a strap, the top horn on a bass needs to stretch up towards the twelth fret. Tele shape doesn't get close, hence the neck dive. Which is presumably why Mr Fender shaped the Precision body the way he did.

Tele shaped basses still look cool, though![/quote]

The Bolin has a very sw***y retractable/swivel strap extension which means that the 'strap button' on this particular SC is way up by the 12th fret! Marvelous, but you'd expect nothing less when Mr (NS) Steinberger is involved. :)

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[quote name='4000' post='509677' date='Jun 9 2009, 10:41 PM']So do this mean mine's not a singlecut and I've been misled all along????? :rolleyes:

[/quote]


It would appear that my 7 string isn't a singlecut either!! Ooooh! I don't believe it!!! I defintely see a concavity there! it's tiny, but it's defintely there! - I'm going back to Jon! I want a refund! I don't believe it!!!! PAH!!!



maybe after I have arranged my stamp collection in to alphabetical order. :)

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Am I the only one *OUTRAGED* by the laziness of these so called "Luthiers"? Jeez guys if you CAN'T EVEN BE BOTHERED to cut out the top bit you shouldn't even be making basses. I dunno if the idea is to save wear on the teeth of the band-saw, but to be honest the saving on that must be negated by the extra cost of the wood which remains in area which should *CLEARLY* be a gap. I mean maybe you could glue the bit cut out of a single-cut onto another, shorter bit of wood as a top horn, saving on money there? Lazy, just plain lazy.

EDIT: Oh before you start, "YES" I *have* tried a single-cut, but I hated it. It was a lefty which (since I'm a dexter) I spun around and changed the strings on. It played really badly.

Edited by GremlinAndy
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[quote name='4000' post='509677' date='Jun 9 2009, 10:41 PM']So do this mean mine's not a singlecut and I've been misled all along????? :rolleyes:

[/quote]

Woah dude... that's awful.... they didn't finish the woodwork, it's only half painted AND it's got some old Fender pickups they found on the floor that don't even match. I'd *definitely* complain...


:)

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[quote name='BottomEndian' post='509924' date='Jun 10 2009, 09:44 AM']BTW, that is a really lovely looking instrument. I love the two-tone finish, and the way it extends onto the fretboard. It just kinda looks like the upper horn had an allergic reaction to shellfish or something... :rolleyes:[/quote]

It did. I love prawns, and tried to convince my bass to like them too. Unfortunately they disagreed with it (No they didn't! Yes they did! :) )

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[quote name='GremlinAndy' post='510762' date='Jun 10 2009, 11:40 PM']while you were at work I nipped round to your gaff and had a Luthier look at your unfinished bass...

TADA! No, don't thank me... It's *my* pleasure.

[/quote]

:) It took me a second or three to figure out what you were on about! :rolleyes:

Nice one.

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