Author Topic: Bought a Bass (Read 547 times)

gtrguy · « **Reply #15 on:** March 08, 2006, 09:29:13 AM »

I love Yamaha TRB basses! (and Alembics) I have a TRB-6P converted to fretless, a TRB-4P, a MIJ TRB-4II, and a made in Korea TRB-1005. The 'P' series neck thrus are the best. Some TRB's eat batteries and some don't. They sound very good with higher end SWR amps.
Dave

lbpesq · « **Reply #16 on:** March 09, 2006, 08:00:53 AM »

Joey:

WIth your post in mind, I asked my wife last night if she had any VO5. She looked at me like I was crazy and asked why. When I told her to help brass retain it's shine, she looked at me like I was even crazier. I told her about your post and she wondered how you ever came up with this idea. I told her I'd ask you. So consider this asking. And, as long as I'm on the subject, how about some directions about it's use. I assume it really works or you wouldn't be using it.

Bill, tgo

tbrannon · « **Reply #17 on:** March 09, 2006, 10:40:06 AM »

All I have is a coffee cup, but I am currently banging it on the table~

Pictures! Pictures! Pictures!

BTW: Thanks for going through your setup run procedure. It's something we all do, but explaining the rationale behind your setup procedure helped me to find several flaws in my own.

bigredbass · « **Reply #18 on:** March 09, 2006, 10:55:44 PM »

LBP

I'll only admit to being smart enough to read 'Hints from Heloise' (REALLY) in the paper, where she recommended it for AFTER you polish your silver goods you only drag out for the holidays. And she advised it worked for gold-plate or brass as well.

I ALWAYS get my smartest ideas from women . . . all of us married guys KNOW that!

Of course the Meguiar's was a no-brainer because virtually every guitar made in Cali is painted in automotive paint, basically. So when you read the Fender catalog that this or that model has a 'genuine lacquer finish' it's a dead giveaway that it's from Mexico or Fender Japan.
Fender's recent run of care products are ALL Meguiar's, but they were hardly the first to think of it. Or for you other cats, Mother's is just fine as well.

The BreakFree CLP is one of these space-age wonder lubes I've used on my guns for years. It's mil-spec, standard issue with Uncle Sam. A light coat of these and all of those little screws on your axes will stay usable and clean for a long time. And it's inert to finishes and electronics, a VERY important consideration. THIS is the stuff that will never let your Floyd Rose rust even if you sweat like a pig and empty a Foster's can over it.

I've always harped on setup, but it needs to be said, the BEST setup is what works for you. No two basses adjust identically, nor would two players rarely use identical setups. My whole idea is to quantify how you do it, to take the process and make it work for you, so you're NEVER at the mercy of anyone else to get your axe EXACTLY like YOU want it. Change to differnt strings and the feel changes? No problem. Different weather/time of the year/AC/heat/humidity? A tweak here and there, BOOM!, you're right back. All because the Wickershams made these things so ridiculously, ingeniously easy to adjust. I really think people DON'T do more of this as it's such a pain to unbolt a neck several times, file or replace a nut, etc. On an ALEMBIC, with the adjustable nut, the twin truss rods, the whole bridge on two screws, the laminate neck with a big ebony board, I mean it's just shooting fish in a barrel. If I can learn this, geez, ANYBODY can.

It's like when you finally perfect your pasta sauce: The best Italian joint in town may be great, but it's just not the same as what you made yourself!

J o e y

bigredbass · « **Reply #19 on:** March 09, 2006, 11:09:52 PM »

LBP

I'm TOO long-winded . . . as regards using the VO5: Put just enough between two fingers to feel greasy (about the size of an English Pea cut in half) and just wipe it on the part in question. Wipe off any greasiness, but to where it still feels slick (about the way you'd leave a good blue-finished firearm after wiping a little oil over the exterior after cleaning). That's all there is to it. It's all organic, so nothing there to hurt anything on your axe.

I've no digital pictures nor a scanner, so I've yet to post any pictures I like of the BRB or its Japanese nephews.

J o e y

lbpesq · « **Reply #20 on:** March 09, 2006, 11:22:08 PM »

Joey:

All right, you got me. How do you know about LBP? You been talkin' to somebody at Alembic, maybe?

Bill, tgo

lbpesq · « **Reply #21 on:** March 09, 2006, 11:23:46 PM »

Forget the last post. I just realized ... my user name ... duhhh!!! It's late. I should go home.

Bill, tgo

trekster · « **Reply #22 on:** March 10, 2006, 04:53:51 AM »

my little add-in on Yamaha Basses -- I am the proud owner of a Yamaha BX-1 headless bass, right out of the 80's. I love it! It's my main bass for going to practice, due to the compactness. All maple, and I don't have to buy double-ball end strings.

--T

the_mule · « **Reply #23 on:** March 11, 2006, 05:18:12 AM »

I bought an ivory white BB3000A (4-string) last month, and just an hour ago I 'won' an eBay-auction for its 5-string twin brother, an ivory white BB5000A. Quite a coincidence, isn't it?

Wilfred

bigredbass · « **Reply #24 on:** March 11, 2006, 11:06:24 AM »

Congrats, Wilfred. I wish I was smart enough to go back and forth from four to five, but you just do the best you can, you know? But of course, great minds do think in similar circles ! !

J o e y

bigredbass · « **Reply #25 on:** March 11, 2006, 11:15:34 AM »

Incidentally, I'm down to the '1/2 a turn here, just a pinch there' in finalizing the setup. Since I pitched the Will Lees and put on the Boomers, this bass REALLY wants about the most dead-straight neck I've seen. It goes to dead straight, then I back it off just the tiniest bit and it's fine. But still REALLY close to laser straight. And I'm still playing with the bass side of the P-pickup, it wants to be real rumbly or not loud enough with less bass presence, still looking for that right pickup height.

J o e y

the_mule · « **Reply #26 on:** March 15, 2006, 07:50:07 AM »

Here's the two of them together, getting to know each other in the soft comfortable environment of my sofa...

Wilfred

palembic · « **Reply #27 on:** March 15, 2006, 08:01:14 AM »

Bou-hou-hou ...whei-ei-eih ...sbif sbif sobsob -weih ...wei-eih!!!

tom_z · « **Reply #28 on:** March 15, 2006, 09:20:21 AM »

Sweet Wilfred - very creamy! =)

Tom

bigredbass · « **Reply #29 on:** March 15, 2006, 11:46:15 AM »

Yes, that's one of mine with his four-string kid brother. The five in the foregound is the BB5000A. I just love that look with the off-white, gold parts, and the brass pickup rings. Yamaha also did not dye the ebony, so you can see the chocolate stripes running through the black, a neat little touch.

Wilf, did you get the little wrench for adjusting the tuning key tension? It's also real easy to pull the pickup rings and polish the brass, usually the only issue I get with these. They seem to tarnish fairly easily beneath their clear coat.

J o e y