Looking for My Tone

Since New Guy is the only bass I can plug in and get a result with, so I decided to hook him up with the amp and play around with my combo's knobs [because that worked out so well the last time]. People on Talk Bass are always tone chasing [trying to copy X bassist's tone in whatever song]. In the same way you always see guys talking about 'that classic Fender tone' that way basses always sounded on records when they were growing up. I grew up in a double bass/prog rock tunnel [if you haven't noticed by my Rush/can my amp knock people over? posts].

So I turned all knobs down and cranked one up to see how it sounds. My one sucky pick up New Guy didn't really react notably to that so I crank two at a time. For me the the sweet spot was Gain all the way up with midway or all the way up Bass. Prefect mug you, punch you in the gut, in your face sound.  

Playing Blind

I took another stab at kicking fret marker dependence by playing at night. Okay it was a school night and I shouldn't of been picking up my bass [again]. I was playing in the almost total dark [save the weak street light] and it was so much fun!

The fret gradually decrease in size and I found it alot of fun to use my knowledge of the neck and the sides of the frets to get the right note. Not much point to this post, just found  [have I said fun?] and interesting way to almost woodshed.

Igor is Back!

To square one, but that's better off then before! After my Step-Dad battled the soldering gun [having electrical issues of its own] we got the wire back to its proper place and I had nothing, until [oh, blessed until] I squeezed the microchip looking pot:

Back we are to nothing back static, but it's better off then where we were before. Plus I noticed when my hand was on the bridge/bottom strap knob the static changed frequency. I'm not sure what that means but it it means something.  

Polish and Other Things.

Going off Micheal's idea I checked the wire connections again, taking out the pick ups out while I was at it. I had to take out the strings while I was at it and man, are the strings thread bare. It wasn't what he said to check but I discovered I put the second broken wire on the wrong spot. [WAH Wah wah...]

While the bass was string-less I decided to give the rosewood fret board some TLC. I dug this:

[see photo] from some recess of the house. The last item on its list was 'musical instruments' so why not. The fret board had been looking abit thirsty anyway.

I also clipped some the exess before restringing, I don't think the 66's will take another stringing which is a shame since I wanted to try washing strings, but I can't wait to see them go. [Even if I don't have the cash for the next set.]

I'm not sure how he'll sound different with the polished fret board, it's been so long since he's been played and I currently have his strings in not tuned but won't warp the neck tension. So we will see.
    

New Idea

I emailed a good friend asking if he knew of a good tech, in reply he gave me another option as to why my bass is making no sound. He suggested I look at where the wires connect to the pick ups. Unlike the New Guy who has the pick up come through the pick guard, and under the pick guard is nothing but a big whole; [whoa, run on sentence much?] Igor has holes for the pick ups on the front and a whole for the electronic on the back.

I did [slightly] tug on wires that went to the pick ups from the electronics' hole but there was no give. I have a new adventure before me. I just wish I didn't hate restringing.  

I Live in a Dead Zone

Good new is if I ever have an extra $1,000 to send I can totally find award winning double bass techs in my area [guitar repair not so much]. You'd think there would be some options living in the northeastern megapolis as I do, but no, this area is utterly void of well known techs, just like the non-existing music scene.

 Eh, close enough. 

 My options are drive into a city I rarely visit to hand over my henchman, or drop him off with some local tech who I can get no reviews on, and probably spend an arm and leg for. I haven't talked to Micheal in awhile.... 

Stalling Myself

Igor is crippled with no tech in sight, so I took the new guy out of the body [gig] bag. As I've touched on before, once I played Igor for nearly a year my fretting had chilled out from the beginner's stressed out crane hand:

Not exactly what I meant but clearly stressed.

Instead of moving forward and learning chords and songs and such, I want to learn the fret board again. [Actually I don't really know the fret board now, I only have half a clue.] I know I'm anal about fret buzz, but the only way to get over that is get comfortable with New Guy's neck, which  take months.

DUH! DUH! oh fuck...

My mom's Luke broke out the soldering gun. [I've burned myself every time I've handled a glue gun, me with a soldering gun is a bad idea.] It was a bit hit and go with the spotty soldering gun while I timidly pointed at where the wire went but it got connected.

I plugged Igor in, and nothing. I have a slight freak out and than remember to put in a battery [this will be my last active bass]. Still no sound, not even hand static [before the disconnected wire I could get static noise when my hand was near the wiring]. I could get some chirp like sound when I plugged in the battery, but otherwise nothing. Inspecting the pots again I found another broken wire off a different pot.

Round two the the soldering gun and all wires are clearly connected and still no sound. Even the members of TB think it's time for the doc [tech]. 

I Hexed It!

This is a hex nut driver, I used one on the pots to get the get the terminals in the right spot. It was easy enough once I took out the cobwebs out. [Yes, there were actual spider webs inside my bass, no insect carcasses though.]  As I checked the last pot I noticed something that wasn't there before:

Bring on the soldering gun. 

Doctor Time

Sadly the title is not a Doctor Who reference. I pulled up some not exact wiring diagrams and looked into Igor innards. With my mild knowledge electronics [everything has to go in an unbroken loop] I checked the wires and all seemed to be secured. I noticed a tape wrapped wire that didn't fit with any diagram so I took pictures and put it on TB.com.    

The consensus was that the pots [round metal thingies] had spun around enough that the terminals [little metal things sticking out from the pots] were touching the side of the cavity and grounding the power. Also I must of just picked up bass, because who waits over a year to figure out what the knobs do? [...] 

Well Twist My Arm!

I'm going to uni, I'm in still a teen, I'm a girl who just wants to buy eyeliner once and awhile! Point being, I've been holding off buying a strap for the new guy because I'm poor. I was looking at a $33 Levy's strap [in the $40 range when shipping was said and done with] 2.5 inches, double snitched, leather ect.

I Liked Bass Strings Online on Facebook, and man am I glad I did. A 2.5 inch leather Levy strap popped up on my news feed for $11! My first thought was that it was a typo, the only leather Levy's strap at that size I remembered on that site had padding, and was $50 before shipping. I get the impression that this company is more competent than most so I figured they would caught this before it shipped and but it in my shopping cart.

 It was no mistake! It was on sale from $26 for the model below what I wanted [no double snitching]. It's in black but for $15 I'm not complaining!!! 

Instead of Cash

I see worth in bass items. A textbook is an entry level bass; a date is a pack of strings [thank god I'm aromantic]. College is proving a challenge since a Ric cost about $2,000 which is the top of whatever I could ever want bass related. [Yes, I could spend insane amounts on stuff like walls of amps, but I'm just a bedroom bassist.] 

It's funny, I used to enjoy watching wedding dress shows, now I sit there yelling that's worth a fricken Music Man!

[What a stupid little post, eh, I've been swamped as finals near.] 

Oh Igor

Funky strap lock or not, I decided to give Igor some plugged in love. Since I discovered my cord reaches to my bed, I made up my mind to find out what his knobs do. I found the volume and all was good until I turned it all the way up, and the knob kept turning but the sound died.

I pulled out the allen wrench [because it does so much less damage than a screwdriver, when it's not messing with the truss rod] and took off the knobs. The half nut on all the knobs were loose so I tightened them by hand; but will I twisted the knobs all the way up they loosened again. I took off the back panel [you don't want to know, only lost one screw] and found the bass' pots twisted when I turned the knobs.

Tightening them by hand, I tried and tried but could not get the sound back. I don't know what I'd do without TB.com.   

Glitter is Not Good

Well it seems like I don't even know how to use a screwdriver. I chalked up to the fact that the reason I couldn't get the screw all the way in was because it was too long [even though it was the same size as the old screw]. So I made up my to take out that screw out and use the screw that came with the bass.

Well the screw wouldn't come. In a cursing my dyslexia state I googled images to make sure I was twisting the right way. What I found made my gut drop: I was right. I was trying to be so careful, going so slowly, why wasn't it working? Looking at my screwdriver tip I found silver dust, and the grooves in the screw head looked bigger. Everything stared out fitting perfectly, now I fucking stripped the screw head.

In my weak defense I couldn't see the screw since it was cast in shadow in the strap knob, and I've been fed the 'girls have weak upper body strength' lie so I was going too hard at it [clearly]. But, just, shit. [This was to my beloved Igor.]    

CUT THE CRAP!

I'm Becoming a Man

Strap locks are in! My mannishness is coming from how I put them together: fiddle first, glance at instructions later. [This is going to be a multiple post subject since it's day two and I have one SL on, and two kinda on.]

First Impression: Alot of metal, and seems pretty dummy proof. Push button [watch all the metal pieces fall apart] slide screw into strap knob, screw onto bass, pop all pieces back together and there you go. There are instructions with illustrations for when your struggling to put it back together, it even included where to put the strap tab [which the new guy doesn't have yet].

The instructions also bring up maintenance, lube once and awhile using WD40 and a Q-tip. The instructions also say to drill a new hole...I'm not really following that one, and it's worked for one so far....

[Behold madness.]  

That was Jazz...

I decided to dust off the piano and try out the metronome while banging away on the keys. I thought it would be easier to keep time since I didn't have to mute anything. My timing sucks. There's no way around it. [Besides work at it, which is so much fun.]

There's a line between getting my body to do what I want, and to calm down enough to hold back. I found myself trying to use the metronome as a pocket, I had a blast playing three notes between 60bpm ticks, but that doesn't help my inner tempo.

So there was alot of jazz, no real musical progress, but playing something else really expanded my horizon. [In an ADD fashion, which I should probably not follow.]  

I Wood Shed-ed!

I've was listening to Muddy Waters and surfing TB.com when I came across a topic about what makes a good bassist; I devoured it. This has been a question I've mulled over in my head several time [I've been thinking of taking off the "Greenhorn" label off this blog].

According to a couple of random internet users being able to nail a walking bass line is a must. Do to my love of Muddy Waters and my ownership of Bass Tab White Pages [I haven't really posted about it yet because I don't use it enough, I really should get on that] I decided to take a shot at it.

I knew my bass book had the sheet music, but I couldn't find the book [a feat considering the book has over 1,000 pages]. So I went on to practice something one person mentioned: kicking fret marker dependence. I played the first fret on each string then the fret below it, back to the first fret then the third fret, so on and so forth until I got fret buzz. [All without looking at the neck, got to the fifth fret on each string before spacing messed me up!] I found that is I started at the seventh fret I could get to the second to last fret without issue. [And who uses those last two...besides maybe Jaco.]

I also think I found a dead spot on Igor, E string, fourth fret.      

Bipolar Weather

I live under the Jet Stream. What does that mean? I live in an area where the "seasons" [in reality days] are ruled by the wind, or whatever happens to gets caught up in the Jet Stream. Within the past week my area has gone from 50 degree [Fahrenheit] to near 90 degrees with 80% humidity.

Basses like consistent weather, they will get piss-y without it. New Guy had his first tantrum the other night. He was acceptably out of tune considering the wonky weather, but simply refuse to get back in line. The change on the metal/wood wasn't little which is understandable, but the E string [biggest] would not get in tune. It was either smacking the fret board or threatening to snap something at D#.

I will admit I was totally punch drunk, and it had be questioning if I had flipped string tuning [again...] but I swear he had an attitude. The next day the weather calmed down and so did the new guy; tuned without an issue.         

I'm Stale [screw bathing suit season]

It's a fact, I've been playing for just over 15 months and I know 0 [Zero] songs. Yeah I have a general idea how the bassline of I Love Rock & Roll goes; but I'm forgetting the top line [first line on a music sheet, I totally made that phrase up] of House of the Raising Sun which is my favorite song to play, and I've discovered I'm forgetting it. This summer I have nothing to do, so why not memorize a song? I've been listening to some stones and I gotta say I love the basslines. [The rest of the songs are abit meh, but good enough for me.]

So there be my summer plans. May they go better then last summer's [not] 10,000 pages, and discovering I'm asexual. Well it looks like I have a goal! [Famous last words...]

Different Necks

The other day I woke up with a sore thumb, it was the day after school so I thought I just held the pencil too hard. The next day I woke with the same pain and realized: that I'd played the new guy both nights [and I'm not left handed].

My CP just doesn't gel with the new guy's thicker neck's radius, which makes him a pain to play too often. Speaking of, I had no clue how well I knew Igor's neck until the new guy came along. May as well say it now: new guy will be my last beginner bass. I love the price, but enough with the jumbo frets! They really are insanely large, I don't understand why, the sweet spot in the fret isn't larger.

So Igor's neck is too thin, new guy's is too thick. [I guess too picky.]   

It has a name

This thing:

It's a "string tree" yeah I would not of thought of calling it that. It helps with tone apparently. I tried figuring out what it was before but google metal on headstock and all you'll get is tuners. Count on TB.com to set me straight.

Picture of Intonation

As I've said before [I think, I can't find the post] I tune by tension, and I noticed without the string tree the A string [The Bloody A string!] doesn't have the right tension. Once it was on properly it all works out.

Okay it is abit of an eye sore, and googling pictures for this post I found alot of cute/demure ones, so yea! Something else I can upgrade.... [My poor wallet.]       

Strap Shopping

I love my mother. The other day I was showing her the Middle School-er's [not official name] new strings when she asked when I was going to buy him a strap. I have my mother's old strap and I must say, I am spoiled with the leather. I told her I found one for $10 and she rolled her eyes, and told me to buy a better strap.

To Levy's I go, one of the best guitar strap makers with straps under $50. For less than $35 I can get a double stitched, two and a half inch wide strap [half an inch wider then the old one, which I want since the new guy is heavier]. The one issue is that of the nine color options, five are a shade of brown. The other colors are red, blue, white and black [bleh]. The white could work but would get dirty quicker. The red could too easily clash with the bass [along with all the browns] The blue isn't too bad.

But then again, straps are seen mainly from the back and who cares if it clashes [I don't]. The strap with probably outlast the bass anyway.       

Time for the Real Thing

Strap locks wise. Getting real install-able ones will prolong the life of all my straps and there's that peace of mind. I installed a bridge, how bad could strap knobs be? [Cue, dun, dun, DUH!]

I suppose I should drop http://www.bassstringsonline.com/ here. I got my last set of strings from here and they arrived faster then the ones I got from up state [and my state is one of the ten smallest states]. The reviews for this place on TB.com are nothing but starring [I also believe the owner is an active member, so that's a bonus]. Prices are on point, if not cheaper with everyone else in the market; you do pay shipping and taxes but there's also a reward system which will get you 5% off an order once you spend $100.

Why am I talking about bass strings online in a post about strap locks? They have them too, cheap. Also the website is straight up about extra charges, unlike most other sites.  For $15 a set I have strap locks that will last me a lifetime. [At lease a risk taking teenage boy's lifetime.]   

Paint Options!

I want a hipster bass. A stand in since I can't afford/house a double bass. A mix of this:

and:

  

These are the paint options:

Which should I do?

I Now [Kinda] Get The Beatles

My mom raised me on rock, prog rock, country rock, alternative rock, plain old rock was known in my head as that kinda lame '60s rock. My mom didn't really help break me of this thinking, she only had one Beatles record back in the day, and it was instrumental. The first version of Come Together I ever heard was the Areosmith cover, and the original still sounds off to my ears.

Sure I respect Paul McCartney [for more reasons then just being a major 1960s rock star and still being alive] but I can only listen to his music for deconstruction's sake, not enjoyment. I'll never forget when I looked up the bassline of Silly Little Love Song and was blown away by how complicated, yet demure it was. [I know that song is actually from the Wings, but you can not separate the bass tone from the bassist.] Maybe it's because I've been raised on in your face basslines, but the second I played my flat wound strings, it clicked.

The brightness of round strings aren't there. The strings are smooth to play, but you have to work to get more then a shush tone out of them, but I get where that tone comes from now. [Holy crap! Just played them with Mary, it's thunderous!] 

Using The Margin of Error.

I love the margin of error! It really is the best part of [hellish] math class. Actually I really like anything where something I learn in class applies to life, but this one helped my bass.

This should not of worked, I used two totally different sources off the internet and neither was TalkBass.com. [And most TB members agree, their advice is well meaning at best and laugh your ass off entertaining at worst.] I found a tool on some bass part retail website that said to drill holes 30.882 inches [from what I'm assuming was the nut] with .030 margin of error for the bridge I bought.That number lined up with the top screws of the old bridge, this bridge has no tops screw holes.

So I lined the bridge with the old holes [which were between the new holes, thus impossible to see] and drilled a hole. It was a little low compared to the original holes, but Mom's Luke was sure it was within the margin of error. So I marked all the new holes, noticed I had the dots on a slant, freaked, had Mom's Luke fix it, and now I have a lovely working bridge!!    

I'm a weakling

Image from the Graphic Fairy

Upon triple checking that I had the right wrist position I found some tips I'm trying to learn. FretlessMainly talked about lining up your palm with your elbow, and Fergie Fulton linked some video about muting with your thumb and using your shoulders muscle.

I tried to use these methods the other night and discovered you really can't do one without using them all. I was playing Igor, who can be uncomfortable to play sitting down; and keeping my plucking hand's wrist straight was absolutely impossible unless I was keeping my arm up with my shoulder.

I've been in physical therapy for most of my childhood, I know the shaking from weak muscles well, but that was the first time in my life I felt it in my upper body. [And it was instantaneous, which is rare.] I've always known I had low muscle tone in my upper body, but this was the first time it slapped me in that face like that. Hell sitting down I couldn't last playing for three minutes.

[I set down with the new guy and he was much more comfortable to play seated.]        

That was convenient

Until it wasn't. My strings and bridge came in on the same day! Than I realized I got a different bridge then I thought I got. Instead of having to drill three holes I'll have to drill five. I should still be able to use the bridge, but The Middle Schooler looks so deformed; naked without the strings and mouth-less without any bridge. [But that may be because I just finished Let Me In.]

Did you know there is a wire under the bridge? I did not. [TalkBass you are so dear to me!]   

Screwdriving Punch Drunk

In one word: DON'T. It may sound fun [and maybe dirty] but it will lead to trouble.

My cautionary fable starts late one night, no actually I was putting off homework one afternoon. [Damn, I wasn't even punch drunk] I was trying to change strings when I wondered what was under the pick guard. Having a screwdriver at hand proved to be dangerous, off went all the screws, including the ones holding the pick up in place.

Did you know there's a spring between the pick guard and the pick up? I did not, and it was a bitch getting it back together. So for nearly two weeks I had a bass I couldn't plug in. [That didn't really matter because of the state of the strings, but still not a smart idea.] Even my mom's Luke [Gilmore Girls reference] thought it would be impossible for one person to put it back together.

[This is a weapon of organized destruction.] 

Oh, Internet Shopping

I'm on my way to modding; I bought a new bridge and strings for the new guy. I'm going with flats because I wanted flats last string change but chickened out, plus they were on sale for the price of rounds. The bridge is more or less the same as Igor's [which I have no complaints about whatsoever!]

At $42 for the bundle it's not bad at all, now to wait....

Burn That Bridge

I hate the bridge on The Bronco. Much to Pilgrim's dismay [Super helpful member of TB with a modded Bronco] I could not imagine keeping it on. Allow me to get a picture of the evil thing:

As you can see it only has two saddles, so you end up adjusting two strings at once. I actually wasn't too bothered by this, its true vice is the back plate [proper name is bridge plate]. See that bill hanging over the saddle screw? It is from hell's deepest circle. 

First it's impossible to access the saddle screws without scratching the paint. I may not be in love with this bass, but that's still not okay, especially when I get it repainted. [For those of you who think getting another screwdriver would fix this problem, hold on to your hat.] Secondly, that bill always cast the screws into shadow. It can not be gotten around. 

This Made Me Tilt My Head

Somethings you just come to learn. When greenhorns are learning to play they always hear about the one finger per fret technique; if they continue playing bass for two or more days they learn that the one fret for finger often goes against the "just relax" attitude of playing.

This is how most seasoned bassist's fretting hand looks. [Pardon the myriad of Seth Bolt pictures, I have a ton of pictures I've taken at shows.] Fingers all clustered together, somehow snaking around the neck to the right notes.

On another noodle session [which happens twenty times for every woodshed] I noticed my hand was automatically doing that super chill bassist hand thing. I never tried to learn this, it just naturally developed.        

With No Emotional Attachment

Comes what should be horror [when it comes to basses]. I'll let this post be about the strings.
They never felt right, one of many things I disliked about the bronco was that the strings were far too light.

I had a moment of giddiness as I recalled the higher gauge stock strings I kept from Igor. But Igor is a full sized bass, and the new guy is a short scale. TB said not to do it, but as still a teen with a bass I don't love [yet] I had to try.

If the tuners were set up backwards [so that the largest string was set at the top of the head stock] I might of had made it work; but there was no way it was going to happen the way the tuners were set. There was no blood this time, just much disappointment. There was a bright spot of hope as I remembered every teenager's partner in shenanigans, Duck Tape.

Sadly, even Duck Tape could not remedy this [fact Duck Tape can only double as a bridge for strings up to .65 gauge]. So my minion has been setting cockeyed and untouched for much too long.

      

Dealing with the Flip

I am a southpaw bassist. [Yes I dare to call myself a bassist, a bad bassist but a bassist nonetheless.] Yet I don't regret buying a right hand[-er?]. I still grab the neck with my right hand, I still question if the strings are in the right order, but there are moments when it feels so right.

It's so hard to explain, those moments when I'm frowning over adding something else to the to-do list, and I realize how much less I have to think right handed. It's like there's less effort to get out what I want to play, when playing right handed.

Playing southpaw isn't harder, it just takes longer in the millisecond frame of time. It's kinda scary yet totally awesome.

Comparison Time

Two entry level basses: 2002 not fender Bronco and 2005-06 Ibanez GSR200l.

Starting with the head stock I prefer Igor's. I like the look of the in a row tuners but let me tell you that top tuner is a pain the the ass to reach. Igor's head stock looks odd, notably where the head stock meets the neck; but The Bronco's is just too big for the bass. And what is that not tuner metal thing in the middle of the head stock? It's messing with my string spacing and I don't like it.
Last thing about the head stock, Igor has a truss rod cover, this new guy doesn't; it seems cheap and immodest without it. Ibanez wins for best head
stock.

The necks really are two totally different beasts. I can't tell if the maple fret board really 'poppy-er' since I still have stock strings on it. I haven't played long enough to properly compare the two, but the bronco has this strip down the back of the neck like the clocking of a stocking which is damn sexy.

The body is really where the bronco sucks, between the over sized head stock and the small and fat  body, I feel like I'm holding an awkward middle school-er. I miss the nice horn of my Ibanez, I feel like I have nothing to grab onto.

Hardware wise it's give and take. I love where the jack plug is on the Bronco, I still fumble around when plugging in Igor. The knobs are also better on the bronco, they're even with no screw needed.  The Bronco's bridge has to go. I couldn't adjust the action without scrapping paint with the screwdriver, good thing I plan to repaint it, but I have to get a new bridge first. Also there's something very stone age about the tuners.

This new bass makes me really love Igor.  

        

It's Here!

It came! It came! The weekend before I have a test, quiz, and paper due [thank you Murphy] my minion arrived. [Minion isn't his official name, that's just what popped into my head as I carried it into my room and Igor was setting in his stand; yes I felt like I had to introduce them.]

  He's kinda adorable. The head stock is much too big for him, and the body really doesn't give you anything to hold on to. The bridge is a bitch, and the tuners are stone aged, but I'm still so giddy.   

Stiff Left Hand

My left hand is going through boot camp this week as I wait for my Bronco to arrive. I made a point to count my change yesterday [so I didn't feel too bad about spending so much for that bass] and made myself put all the coins back into the piggy bank using only my left hand.

I'm also writing this post with just my left hand. [I've had to stop twice thus far for cramping.] My hand is creaking like an old person's but I have to keep working at it.

Trigger Happy?

I was impatient about this bass. I suppose I was spoiled with my first bass; I bought Igor twenty five hours after deciding what model I wanted. It had been over a week and the only broncos where coming up for $139 used [they're $149 new] which would be more then new after shipping and taxes after it would be all said and done.

Monday I clicked on to GC's website and freaked when I saw three new broncos all within my price range. I was too late for the $79 one, but the $99 ones were waiting for me. I jumped, and cringed when the final price checkout was $132. That's almost more than what I payed for Igor, who I got at 60% off him; and it was not even $20 off retail for the Bronco.

I starting regretting buying it right then and there. Posting about it on TB made me feel better since most said I still payed a good price. Most shocking is when my mom heard that I payed more then I wanted for it. [My mother is the legendarily frugal one in the family.]

"Eh, you love playing, no biggie."

It should arrive by Friday if this storm doesn't muck with the shipping. [Just in time for a load of school work.]        

The Bull's Neck

[This post is so behind the times.]

I spent a solid eight minutes with the bronco [in person] and I have to say, it's not as homey as I remember the Fender ABG's to be.  The neck is thick, quite the opposite of my Ibanez, which causes cramping every so often. I have heard of bassists sanding down the back of their necks [of their basses] since I plan on modding this bass I might add this to my to-do list; but it will be far down the list.

The frets were also sticking out on the neck on the sides. This is a normal problem/easy fix for low level basses, but it's still more work than I planned and I'm unsure if I want to go though of it.

What Luck

Whenever I want to go out to a music store it normally takes about six weeks to actually get there. So when I discovered a bass I wanted to check out [not this one, which I'm totally over] was at the local Best Buy I flipped. I managed to get a ride there within a few days, and the outing went without drama

When I entered the store I was greeted by an employee from some section I wasn't interested in. [It may of been the guy who was the Rush fan, or he thought I was a shoplifter since I was wearing a winter coat.] Upon entering the music section I was pleasantly surprised to see an employee behind the counter [that happens about 1/3 of the time] and it was kinda awesome that it was a chick too. But luckily the bronco was on the lowest level of hangers, so I needed no one's help.

Funny thing, at one point I handed the bass to my mom who was shocked how heavy it was. I never even noticed.      

The Sounds of Life

I remember being younger, watching some Disney as a tick of a clock and the tap of a hand lead to half a dozen people breaking out into song. I tried to make this happen in real life but I only got as far as a few people tapping along to the same rhythm.

The other night I was listening to old songs on my MP3 player [like shit I listened to in middle school old] and turned on one of my favorite songs from that era.

Listening to this song made a smile spread across my face, not from memories of the age [may they always rest six feet under] but from the simple yet fun bassline. I don't know if I always loved this song because of the awesome bassline, but it makes me feel alittle bit cooler.

The next day at school I couldn't help but hear beats in every interaction, or really the pocket to put the bassline in. You know when one person sneezes or coughs in a quiet place and two to five people follow suit? That had me laughing with the great basslines going on in my head.

         

First Try Success

48 hours after attending to move the truss rod, I picked up Igor and two less frets are buzzing! I'm so glad I got the Allen wrench turned the right way on the first try. I searched Google and ended up with the Dummy's page [Why? That book really is no help] The clock motion explanation made alot of sense to me but the picture throw me for a loop. Seriously what models have you access the truss rod from the bottom of the neck?

Since I still had two buzzy frets at the top of the neck I loosened the middle strings, popped them out of the nut and gave the wrench a solid twist. Now to see how the action looks tomorrow.       

Death of a Straplock

I never was able to find that missing strap lock, and the other one is officially almost dead.  There is a huge crack in it. They lasted four months, but for the price I'm thinking of getting another set. At a cost of a dollar a month I think [for my situation] they work.

Other strap locks cost upwards of twelve dollars, but need to be insulted on your bass. It's fairly common to drill into your bass to make them work, and that's one step I just don't want to my bass. I've also heard it can be a pain to get the strap on and off [like grab a wrench] when I actually want the strap to come off.  

With these simple strap locks it's no problem, they come on and off easily enough and give audible warning when I'm being too rough.