UGH!!! CLEAN the damned thing before you hand it to me!

[pacman]

No, but he's in studio recording... And has gigs of his own. I already bought the template (non-carved) but I'm very shy to try it myself especially now when I don't have too much extra money to buy a new one in case something went wrong.

I'm starting to get impatient though. Yesterday I sent a message asking about my instrument and he's not yet replied... I want my red beauty back!

[Angry_Hippie]

Gross! Guitars get so gunky Do you think you can convince your buddy to use a polish cloth once in a blue moon. I like to use a damp one with a tiny touch of window cleaner on it (I refuse to use wax or guitar polish because I play acoustic instruments and am convinced that stuff builds up and can deaden sound over time, almond oil on the fretboard once a year or so is lovely, but I think most people use too much).

Nut making is definitely doable for anyone but it is fiddly and can be time consuming. A trick I've found is that the "tip cleaners" for welding sold cheaply at places like home depot make perfect instrument files (the sizes happen to be very close to common string gauges, I go on the smaller side and wiggle to make bigger slots). I love to use the old nut as a template to get the string spacing right (if your not changing spacing) make the slots slightly higher than before glue the nut back on put the strings through tune to make tight-ish (but lose enough to be able to pop the strings off the nut) and file and test till I like it (if your aiming for a measured height I like to stack guitar picks to uses as feeler gauges). I like my acoustics a whole step down with really heavy strings and I find I'm better doing it myself than taking it to a store (no-one seems understand just because I play heavy strings I still want a low action), and I play ukulele (music stores seem to set those up half-assed because they look at it as a toy and not an instrument).

[pacman]

Hey, my repair guy just called me and said it's ready! He also said that the frets had got a bit loose so he put them back and filed the ends a bit. It seems to be very common in climates like this (summer +15-25 Celsius, winter -5-25 Celsius and very humid), he said he had had multiple ESP:s and every other models there too to get the frets nailed back down. (I don't know the right expression to that job )

[Wade]

Great - glad you got your guitar back!

Just out of curiosity, have you ever considered getting a book or looking up the info online for adjusting and minor repairs? I understand it can seem intimidating, but once you dive right in and start learning from your mistakes, it's actually pretty cool info to have. Plus, for me, it's almost like a therapeutic Zen thing.

[pacman]

Yeah, I've thought of starting to do those things myself. I'm just afraid that I break the bass and don't have the money to buy a new one right now so I'd rather leave the job to professionals now. Of course I know how to adjust the bridge and truss rod - just need to be VERY careful with the truss rod...

The bass is a 5-string one, played in full-D, with a string set of 50-135. The model is Yamaha RBX-765A, an active microphone, active EQ bass, 12 years old - actually it had its birthday yesterday I'm very happy I've got this bass but since I'm only 5'2 - 5'3 (160cm) the 34" scale is a bit too long for me. The Birdsong Cortobasses would be better but they are priced from $2000 upwards...

Wow, it's great to meet a fellow musician here! Sorry to threadjack this...

[Wade]

Meh, no worries. I could talk guitars all day.

To everyone else: please feel free to continue sharing your opinions on the situation. Apologies for the excessive guitar-geekiness.

Unfortunately, I have absolutely no idea what kind of music store chains you have in your area (Sam Ash, GC, etc.). I'm pretty certain you could find a good mid-sized bass for under $500, but again the key is patience. You may have to search far and wide for them.

Your guitar sounds very similar in schematic to the Billy Sheehan Attitude models.

[pacman]

Heh, I'm in Finland so the only bigger "chain" store we have here is Thomann and it's German... Every other music store we have is independent - sorry, no, we have DLX Music - it's got a whopping 4 stores in Finland! :P

And I've never in my life seen a 31" scale 5-string in real... I'd love to have one but but but... There are no such basses over here. So I try to cope... Though the strings are practically as low as they can be - need to be gentle with the pick in order not to get them slapping to the frets It's pretty easy and light to play now. And the sound... *drool*

Oh how I love to talk guitars. Can you tell? :P

[RootedPhoenix]

You'll never need to apologize to me about guitar geekiness. I'm a piano player, mostly, but I'm always up for absorbing new information, especially since you guys are talking about basses, and I want one. (I've actually been trying to study them for a while now. An interesting prospect when I don't own one....)

I just have to sort out how to play the ever-growing pile of musical instruments I already own. If guitars and pianos were less expensive, I wouldn't be able to sleep in my own bedroom because there'd be too much music stuff in it.

I'll have to remember the thing about the almond oil. Does it matter what sort of wood the fretboard is made of?

[pacman]

Nah... I think the most common fretboards are either rosewood or ebony. But wood is wood, and wood likes oil (not excess amounts of course). Some fretboards are dyed to look more like ebony and the colour might not like oil - check the board. If it's painted or lacquered it might not like the oil treatment.

I play other instruments as well I started with trumpet and classical guitar and then added flute, recorder (soprano, alto, and tenor), piano and bass to the selection. Nowadays I'm mostly a bass player. At home I have all those instruments although the piano is an electric one (not synth, electric piano).

[Angry_Hippie]

Rondomusic carries a brand of bass call SX that is one of the cheapest available but quite good (and they have several short scale ones). I have an SX lake placid blue J-bass and it is head and shoulders above a squire and just as good as a good fender J-bass. They don't have a short scale 5 string at the moment but I've seen one in the past. They make great project basses (the bass is cheaper than you could buy parts, and makes a great platform for aftermarket parts). www.rondomusic.com if you want to check them out.

I'd like to get a short scale P-bass clone from them, string it with heavy thomastic flat wounds, and replaced the pickup with a quarter pounder p-up. Plan to play that creation with a pick and think it would be a rock monster. As far as a short scale 5 goes I would use the extra string for a high C instead of a low B.

This thread has pleasantly devolved into guitar geekdom

[dalesys]

Never have been a serious player, but I regret giving a friend (35 years ago) the bass I once had just cause it was fun to noodle with.
A Hagstrom 8-string. It was octaved like a 12-string guitar and you could play either or both strings. Paid $175 for it new in 1971. They've just reissued it... $800

[pacman]

But... But... I use the low B (in my case, low A) very much! I can't let it go - heavy rock / melodic metal needs the low frequencies The bass is tuned to ADGCF now.

add: I just ordered a 30" scale Harley Benton basic bass (4-string) from thomann.de for €88 including shipping... If nothing else, it provides me with the measurements for everything to build my own 5-string short bass.

Has the thread devolved or evolved?

ETA: Wow... If you have an extra bass like that just sitting in the corner, please pm me first (Yes, I know, that's evil...) Sorry. I believe it was beautiful. I'd love to have something special...

[Angry_Hippie]

Congrats on the new bass that you ordered. It should be very fun. Depending on the music you play you may want to consider stringing it as a 4 string 5 string like Tool (B e a d, but a whole step down in your case) it would be less effort than building a 5 or rebuilding the 4 as a 5. I worry about not enough tension on the B on a short-scale, I've heard the birdsong does it well but I don't know how (maybe an extra string tree?). Your right this thread has evolved. Can we get in trouble for getting FAR off topic?

[Broomjockey]

Well, since the thread creator's joined in the off-topicness, I'd not say trouble, but sounds like there's enough to maybe start a thread in the actual off-topic section?

[RootedPhoenix]

I made a thread in the off topic forum if anyone would like to join me. I might have derailed things a bit from basses, but as I said, I'll never complain about hearing about them .

http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=44131