did this guy do any damage to my bass?

therex · #1 07-24-2008, 08:05 PM

before you read you must know i am not very good at english so sorry

i left my bass to a pro luthier to take care of a stripped nut and a full setup
the guy was very nice but kind of pushy, he did some minor mods to my bass that i cant wait to see next week

so today i go to check the bass and he putted this things on my straplocks because the were all lossey

but the ones he put are made of some kind of green plastic(i dont know what they are called)

the bass is a VM squier p bass

fretlessman71 · #2 07-24-2008, 08:09 PM

Considering your bass isn't MIA or worth a whole lot of money, I'd say he might have done you a favor, considering how well he did the work. These are threaded inserts which won't strip out like the wood did. Now, if it were me dealing with someone who "knew better than me" and wouldn't be upfront about how he was going to fix things, I'd be more than a bit miffed... but if the straplocks hold and function properly, and there's no cosmetic issues, I'd say you're good. However, most repair folk will simply dowel the hole and redrill for a strap button.

therex · #3 07-24-2008, 08:12 PM

i am kinda of annoyed by the fact he did this without telling me anything
but the straplocks are very strong now and the looks the same than before

fretlessman71 · #4 07-24-2008, 08:14 PM

Pushy people are annoying. Pushy people who actually know what they're talking about are somewhat less annoying. Sound about right?

therex · #5 07-24-2008, 08:20 PM

yep
actually the guy is very friendly and know his stuff, he is also very nice, he is going to put some kind of black thing in between the body and the plate that holds the neck
he says that thing helps to make the bass work like its made of one piece and he also teaches stuff while he does his job

fretlessman71 · #6 07-24-2008, 08:22 PM

Okay, NOW I'm curious. I wonder what that might be?

It's weird... I PREFER bolt-on basses for the midrange punch they seem to have, where neck-throughs don't have it for me IME. I wonder why he'd want to do that? Maybe it's an improvement anyway.

You're sure he's not talking about a SHIM, which would actually go between the neck and the body's neck pocket?...

therex · #7 07-24-2008, 08:29 PM

not idea what a shim is
but i dont think is the same thing
the thing the guy is giving me is like the plate that holds the body to the neck but is made out of a soft material and is black
it goes between the plate and the body, my guitarrist's strat copy has one and considering that guitar is the most cheaply made i have played it does have a nice sustain and maybe thats related

EDIT: if i get a camera or the USB cable for my cell i may post a pic in the one my guitarrist's guitar has

fretlessman71 · #8 07-24-2008, 08:42 PM

Now that I think about it, I think I've seen them before. They allow the screws to squeeze the body together without damaging the screw or the wood. Not a bad idea at all... wonder if they're commercially available or what they're called.

manicbassman · #9 07-25-2008, 02:55 AM

you cut them out of sheet rubber using the plate as a template...

Arizona Jones · #10 07-25-2008, 06:44 PM

"Okay, NOW I'm curious. I wonder what that might be?"

Neck plate cushion used by Fender in the '70s.

http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/bass_neckplates.htm

therex · #11 07-26-2008, 08:33 AM

good news guys
that thing does improve the sound and sustain!! without taking away the punch!!!, it added a bit more of bright to my bass, but it could be that he put some kind of oil the in strings, but anyways the sustain has improved and the luthier says that that cushion makes that the body and neck work together and energy is not lost during string vibration so now is more sustain but i still have punch!!!

cheers for plate cushion!!

skiscem · #12 07-26-2008, 08:45 AM

Nice, my ibanez srx bass came stock with the "plate cushion" and i didnt know what it was for.
Dont be bothered by the fact he used threaded inserts, thse things hold very well you wont have problems with our strap coming off again..
you shoud be happy that you found a good luthier, i tried 4 in my area and they all su**

Pilgrim · #13 07-27-2008, 11:10 AM

Sounds to me like your luthier knows exactly what he's doing.

fretlessman71 · #14 07-27-2008, 11:14 AM

Listen to the man... he's from Fort Fun; he's gotta know what he's talkin' about.

therex · #15 07-27-2008, 12:44 PM

yep the guy knows his stuff, but he gived me some wierd advice wich i am going to listen but i never expected that since most people tell me the oposite
he told me to not change bridge for gotoh 201 or any other bridge, he thinks a bass like mine will work better with the stock cheap bridge than with a nice high mass bridge

also the action was a bit higher for my likings but i just pulled down the saddles a bit

Pilgrim · #16 07-27-2008, 02:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

Listen to the man... he's from Fort Fun; he's gotta know what he's talkin' about.

How can one argue with such wisdom??

Quote:

Originally Posted by therex

yep the guy knows his stuff, but he gived me some wierd advice wich i am going to listen but i never expected that since most people tell me the oposite

he told me to not change bridge for gotoh 201 or any other bridge, he thinks a bass like mine will work better with the stock cheap bridge than with a nice high mass bridge

also the action was a bit higher for my likings but i just pulled down the saddles a bit

As for the first point - no personal criticism intended, but I agree with him. Chances are that he knows more than you do about the instrument. There are millions of those Fender bridges in use, and they work just fine. You really don't need to change it. Many people change those bridges, but mostly because they are experimenting or they just want to change it. Granted, some people believe they do hear a difference...but that doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the original bridge.

As for the second point - well done. String height is a very individual thing and although a luthier's adjustment is an excellent place to start, I have no problem with departing from those adjustments to suit your personal needs and playing style.

therex · #17 07-27-2008, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

As for the second point - well done. String height is a very individual thing and although a luthier's adjustment is an excellent place to start, I have no problem with departing from those adjustments to suit your personal needs and playing style.

sadly the reason i take it to this luthier is that i totally destroyed muy truss rod nut, now i am really scared to do my own adjusments in the neck, he replaced the truss rod nut with one he made himself (the reason for doing one and not buying one is beacause find replacement parts for guitar or bass would be really hard here)
the one he did uses a bigger key and i dont even have that key so there is no change i can adjust the neck
i already lowered the action with the saddles but my problem is that there is too much relief

BTW what kind of truss rod nut should my friend bring me from the USA? my bass is a squier VM p bass and i dont really trust the homemade truss rod nut i got now so i am taking it to the luthier the next month to put a proper truss rod nut

and i not going to change the bridge since this guy knows better than me

Pilgrim · #18 07-27-2008, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by therex

sadly the reason i take it to this luthier is that i totally destroyed muy truss rod nut, now i am really scared to do my own adjusments in the neck, he replaced the truss rod nut with one he made himself (the reason for doing one and not buying one is beacause find replacement parts for guitar or bass would be really hard here)
the one he did uses a bigger key and i dont even have that key so there is no change i can adjust the neck
i already lowered the action with the saddles but my problem is that there is too much relief

BTW what kind of truss rod nut should my friend bring me from the USA? my bass is a squier VM p bass and i dont really trust the homemade truss rod nut i got now so i am taking it to the luthier the next month to put a proper truss rod nut

and i not going to change the bridge since this guy knows better than me

You might add more info to your profile - there's no clue where you live. I do understand that parts can be hard to come by in some areas; I suggest you interact with Fender via email to find out what the proper nut is for your specific instrument.

Or - and this would be easier - you could just buy a set of hex keys so that you can adjust the neck. You'll need a set of keys in your tool kit eventually anyway - I have at least a couple sets of metrics and a couple sets of SAE sizes. If you don't have a tool kit, time to strat building one. I suggest that it would be easier to buy a set of hex keys than to change the nut again.

Perhaps once you really get used to the instrument, you'll find that you develop reasons for changing parts such as bridge or pickups. Personally, I haven't found any reasons to do so.

therex · #19 07-27-2008, 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

You might add more info to your profile - there's no clue where you live. I do understand that parts can be hard to come by in some areas; I suggest you interact with Fender via email to find out what the proper nut is for your specific instrument.

Or - and this would be easier - you could just buy a set of hex keys so that you can adjust the neck. You'll need a set of keys in your tool kit eventually anyway - I have at least a couple sets of metrics and a couple sets of SAE sizes. If you don't have a tool kit, time to strat building one. I suggest that it would be easier to buy a set of hex keys than to change the nut again.

Perhaps once you really get used to the instrument, you'll find that you develop reasons for changing parts such as bridge or pickups. Personally, I haven't found any reasons to do so.

i not even in north america
i live in peru, at the south of southamerica so get proper guitar parts here is damn hard also i the reason i want to change the truss rod nut is that the one i got is homemade and it looks really cheap, like it is going to break at any moment

PS how do i contact fender via email?

Pilgrim · #20 07-27-2008, 04:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by therex

the reason i want to change the truss rod nut is that the one i got is homemade and it looks really cheap, like it is going to break at any moment

PS how do i contact fender via email?

That's a good reason.

How about looking up Fender's website, http://www.fender.com? You obviously have Internet access, so you can do it as easily as I can.

Click Support in the top menu line, then Customer Relations. I found this email with about 15 seconds' work: consumerrelations@fender.com