Recent content by KurtBassist

Hey, I am considering an upgrade to one of my basses. I am not a professional or anything, just a guy who makes noise for fun. I have an early 1990s Yamaha RBX 800a. Great axe, but the stock electronics leave a lot to be desired. I will probably end up bypassing the preamp and installing passive...

I consulted a whole lot of guides before doing it. It was a number of years ago, so it's entirely possible that I used something else. I know that I've had no problems with it and it has sounded fine. Perhaps someone far more expert than I am would be able to hear the difference, but such a...

I did not heat each fret. I very gently tapped each one with a chisel and hammer and pulled with pliers. I only had one where a piece of fingerboard came out and I had to use wood filler to fix it, which I also used to fill the grooves. I then sanded the sucker down with 3 different levels of...

Since you asked for a couple of quick pics, here you go. Nothing fancy, just an Ovation with a different headstock. Rounded plastic back and a neck cutaway. You can see where my E-string (which I normally tune down to a D on the acoustic) is loose because of the broken nut. The high sheen on the...

I have an old Applause (i.e., Ovation) acoustic bass I bought back in the early '90s when I thought being able to do a fully unplugged set would be a good idea. I defretted one summer about 10 years ago. I decided to put Rotosound TruBass 88's on it. The E string is .115 gauge, which cracked the...

I'm too young to have been inspired by Paul McCartney. Honestly, the Beatles never did that much for me (ducking to avoid people throwing their walkers at me). The biggest influence on me is definitely Geddy Lee, but there are plenty of others whose work has inspired (and frustrated because...

It's the same model. No, the pickups aren't bad, but I would like something, particularly on the neck P split-coil that might provide a somewhat meatier and darker sound. I'm not in a huge hurry on this, since I'm not even playing in a band at the moment, but since I teach for a living, summer...

Although I've been playing bass for over 30 years, I have never tried to replace my pickups. I am looking for a new set that isn't too complicated to install. My number 1 is a 2007 Fender Jazz, but I still have a 1992 Yamaha RBX 800A that I bought when I was 18. It's a pretty good little axe...