The Bassist and Guitarist thread

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Question for the bass players (@Drago @DCBassman @Cycleops)

new nut and string tree arrived today... but the slots don't line up

View attachment 577246

I could file out the D & E slots in the tree to give a straight run to the machine head (cutting it fine on the D)... or just cut myself a nut that matches the string tree's spacing of 9mm (same as the old nut) ???
If it's a flat Fender-style headstock, why not put in a Fender style disc tree?
 

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
If it's a flat Fender-style headstock, why not put in a Fender style disc tree?
It's a RH neck and I'm a lefty, and I figured it'd look funky with one tuner on the top and three on the bottom, so I chopped the end off it 30 years ago redrilled the hole for the E tuner in completely the wrong place and basically made a pig's ear of it... so I'm left with an ugly headstock (photos to come) that needs all its holes plugging, reshaping and drilling out and not being an expert, I think the new positions of the tuners (which is still one top, three bottom on an inverted tele-esque head) needs a three string string tree, instead of the two string button... if that makes sense :smile:

the other option is a bar across all four... but i quite liked the look of the three string tree, and it's all about aesthetics, mostly ;)
 
It's a RH neck and I'm a lefty, and I figured it'd look funky with one tuner on the top and three on the bottom, so I chopped the end off it 30 years ago redrilled the hole for the E tuner in completely the wrong place and basically made a pig's ear of it... so I'm left with an ugly headstock (photos to come) that needs all its holes plugging, reshaping and drilling out and not being an expert, I think the new positions of the tuners (which is still one top, three bottom on an inverted tele-esque head) needs a three string string tree, instead of the two string button... if that makes sense :smile:

the other option is a bar across all four... but i quite liked the look of the three string tree, and it's all about aesthetics, mostly ;)
Ok, that works too!
 

Xipe Totec

Frrrg rrrrf yrrrr crrrnds
Question for the bass players (@Drago @DCBassman @Cycleops)

new nut and string tree arrived today... but the slots don't line up

View attachment 577246

I could file out the D & E slots in the tree to give a straight run to the machine head (cutting it fine on the D)... or just cut myself a nut that matches the string tree's spacing of 9mm (same as the old nut) ???
I'd be inclined to put the strings on, get some tension on them & see if there's a place on the headstock where the strings will pass under the tree without fouling it too much. Looking at a selection of basses I have lying around, most of them don't have dead parallel strings after they pass over the nut & the 4-a-side Fender types all tend to narrow a bit.

I've got the same sort of string tree on a Sire V7 Jazz and it does squeeze the A & D together very slightly, but you really have to look to notice it.
 

delb0y

Legendary Member
Location
Quedgeley, Glos
Improvisation... Discovering that my mind is slower than my fingers. I'll get there, but it's so frustrating! Played a lot of rock'n'roll and country and blues over the years, but have been that typical guitar player - couple of blues boxes and Bob Sherunkle. But trying to do it properly is another matter altogether.
 

MontyVeda

a short-tempered ill-controlled small-minded troll
I'd be inclined to put the strings on, get some tension on them & see if there's a place on the headstock where the strings will pass under the tree without fouling it too much. Looking at a selection of basses I have lying around, most of them don't have dead parallel strings after they pass over the nut & the 4-a-side Fender types all tend to narrow a bit.

I've got the same sort of string tree on a Sire V7 Jazz and it does squeeze the A & D together very slightly, but you really have to look to notice it.
I decided to cut a new nut as fitting the black graphite one would have meant butchering the neck a tad (it currently has a slot about 3mm, which would need changing to a shoulder type fitting). I used a RH brass nut as a guide and considering it's my 1st one, it's looking good. Of course I need to put the some strings on and fettle it some more... but I need to make the body first, so it might be some time :rolleyes:
 

ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
I needed a new string for my classical guitar but it isn't worth trying to buy just one so I went online to order a full set.

I thought I'd have a look on ebay and see what I could find. I found a company doing a set for £2.99, and free p&p [HERE]. At that price it is worth a punt. They may turn out to be rubbish, but if they are any good at all, that is an absolute bargain. Then I spotted the 'make an offer' button... I offered £5 for two sets of strings and the offer was accepted.

Once I have put the new strings on, I promise that I will get back into practising! :laugh:
My guitar-learning bubble pal was coming over so I decided to show her how to put the new string on. She wasn't actually that interested so I fitted it for her but tried getting her to tune it. She didn't have a clue about that either. It turns out that she has never really attempted to tune a guitar.

I tune the classical guitar down here in the living room so that is normally left in tune or pretty close.

My steel-strung acoustic is up in the attic bedroom which she sleeps in. I can hear her when she is practising up there but not really make out what notes she is playing. It dawned on me that this second guitar was probably not in tune so I went up to check it and it was terrible! The guitar strings were on average over a semitone flat but individual strings varied by a quarter tone or more sharp or flat of that. It sounded awful. There is an electronic guitar tuner in the room next to where the guitar is kept so I had assumed that she would have been keeping the instrument tuned.

That surprised me, but I was actually shocked when I discovered that she couldn't really tell whether the guitar was properly tuned or not - very strange!

My hearing isn't brilliant and I don't have perfect pitch, but I can easily hear gross tuning errors. I don't understand how anyone cannot tell the difference between 2 E strings being 2 octaves apart, and them being 2 octaves plus a quarter tone apart... :wacko:
 
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Drago

Drago

Legendary Member
Laying down a bass track on Bandlab this morning. The new band havent played together yet and may not do so for a while, sho we are each donating a track to the Foo Fighter's Learn To Fly to get a feel for how each other plays, and przctice collaborating on Bandlab. Big sigh of relief for me because thats mainly very easy root note stuff about 3 notes in all - I could quite literally read a book while playing it (and i mean actually literally, not figuratively).

The new computer set up very easily and being quad something or other and having solid state valves in its brain means its lightning fast, so it should be an all round pleasurable experience.
 

Cycleops

Legendary Member
Location
Accra, Ghana
Buying a bass here is not easy, or should I say buying one that's not a fake or a heap of rubbish. Also five strings are more popular so you hardly see four, so I grabbed this Rockjam when it came up on the equivalent of Gumtree.
577946

They are less than $100 on Amazon. Body is real wood and is nicely finished. Fret edges not the best but usable. These days it seems budget instruments are good quality. The neck was like a banana and filthy dirty but all that was fixed. I got a new set of D'Addario strings and managed to get a nice low action.
Being a bit of a fiddler I thought I'd change out the pickup. I wanted a EMG Geezer Butler but was out of stock for some while so I ordered another model. When it came it was active, not noted on the Gear4Music site. It's a solder less job with everything plugging in. Good quality pots and Jack socket supplied. Battery sits under the pots secured with a bit of silicone.
Sound is now much more powerful and has transformed the instrument. Recommended if you want to mod your P.
 
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Drago

Drago

Legendary Member
Spent this evening using Bandlab to lay down my bass tracks to the mix of Learn to fly and The Importance of Being Idle for the new band I've joined. The guitarist has some chops and is good with the mixing, laid down multiple guitar partsmin very short order. Our vocalist (remember when they were just called singers?) Is laying down the vocals at the weekend.

The lockdown and the like has been a real ballache, but the ability to collaborate remotely and so effectively has been a real boon.
 
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