ColBry

I have been told that a gotoh double acting truss rod is a bit thinner than a StewMac. About 9.5mm deep as opposed to about 11mm deep. Good. So where the hell can I get my hands on a Gotoh double acting BASS truss rod. Anybody got any ideas. Cheers fellow bassists. ColBry

Firstly I m building a 4 string through neck bass and am stuck on pickup selection. I wish to have a neck and bridge pickup and I want good quality too. As way of info: Woods, Materials Neck: Sycamore 5 way alternate laminations with cherry marker veneer between sycamore leaves. BodyCheeks: Ash faced with 6mm bookmatched walnut both sides. Bridge: Homemade fully adjustable brass with heavy brass backing plate in hope of good sustain. Zero fret in front of homemade brass nut. Fingerboard: Ebony Scale length: 32.5 inches. My normal inclination is to play very near the neck pickup, mainly because it is comfortable and I like the full sound. I want to use EMG active set-up but there is so much info on their site, I am totally confused. I am not a lover of too many controls but what I would like is the follwing: Volume controls on both pickups to be able to blend them Overall volume control Overall tone control Possibly some mid range shaping, lift or cut. The overall basic sound I am seeking is full and smooth. Not interested in slapping or cutting high end. Powerful yes but aggresive no. Smooth and rolling sums it up with good clarity. Can anybody recommend EMG, and if you do recommend, what pickups and control systems would you recommend. I know this is a big request but any help would be greatly appreciated. Cheers to all bassists Colin Bryant

Hi Nog, Yes it would be good to buy Fender pots but when the money is tight you will be OK with cheaper pots. The problem will be that over time, the carbon track will break down a little and release tiny bits of carbon which will make the pot crackle. If this happens, replace the pot concerned which shouldn't be too expensive with cheap pots. A better way and not much more expensive is to use cermet track type plastic pots. This will be a good compromise. The best way is to use wire wound track pots but, if you can find them in the value you require, they will be very pricey. Hope this is of use. Colin Bryant

Cheers man, This truss rod thing has caused me a whole lot of grief for quite a while now. Have checked out the website details and am about to order one. One thing I am not clear on, and maybe you can help. They say for a bass I need a 24 inch rod. As I have short fingers I am going for a 32 1/2 scale length. Can the rod be made to suit the scale length? I.E. can it be cut to suit a shorter than 34 inch scale neck. If you could help once again I would be most grateful. P.S. Thanks for your advice so far Kind regards Colin Bryant

Anybody have any opinions on how deep to rout the truss rod channel on a through neck bass guitar and implicit in this is what is the actual amount of curvature that is felt to be necessary. I have heard 1/4" curvature is OK but this leaves precious little neck wood coverage above and below the truss rod. I do have drawings if anybody would like to see the problem I have. Thanks for any help or info. Col B