Project Vista Sonic (rut row, JIO's at it again!)

[RedVee]

Can't recall on which thread I was tipped off to these super-cool retro RI Maton knobs - but they arrived today from Australia. Also sent a cool black & gold sticker and 4 plectrums along with a nice catalog of their acoustic guitars. Don't know where these knobs will end up - may have to design a bass around them!

View attachment 3854289

This thread I think.

What timing - had the same knob arrive from Maton this morning (Ibis bass incoming...)

wow congrats. I hope you do a NBD.

 

[Dynacord]

This thread I think.



wow congrats. I hope you do a NBD.

Don't worry, I will!

It's this one: Link Removed
I only know about these two in this red (the photo I posted earlier is from Maton's museum collection/showroom). Most are the red-black or "golden" (tobacco) burst. I know of a couple in white and one in black. Only about 200 made 1963-65.

 

[Novarocker]

Can't recall on which thread I was tipped off to these super-cool retro RI Maton knobs - but they arrived today from Australia. Also sent a cool black & gold sticker and 4 plectrums along with a nice catalog of their acoustic guitars. Don't know where these knobs will end up - may have to design a bass around them!

View attachment 3854289

Building more is always better, especially with what you can slap together so quick! Excited to see what it becomes, they kinda remind me of art deco and deusenburg guitars.

 

[JIO]

Oh yeah, quite different. The levers strike me as rather odd with the Jetsons aesthetic, but that's just me.

More like Flash Gordon!

 

[JIO]

The NOS Burns knurled bolts and inserts arrived yesterday and I just installed them. Icing on the cake. Bill Lovegrove sent me sharp-focus macro pics (posted earlier) of them giving me the impression they were larger - they are actually really small, which is cool. It was a delicate surgery to make sure I didn't mess Pat's beautiful finish up - mission accomplished!

Black is where the holes had to be - red is where the screw holes were.

Used the cover for my first drilling - the same size as the bridge holes. (sorry - a bit blurry)

Insets imbedded - as clean as I could. A close-up always looks less so... but trust me, it's pretty clean ATC. Used a red marker pen to help make the exposed wood on the rim blend in.

Used double-stick tape to add a thin layer of foam to protect the finish.

Sorted, for the occasional photo-op

...but most likely this is the way I'll play it. This way the cover isn't in my way palm-muting and I won't lose the bolts.

 

[Dynacord]

Looks fantastic! Congrats!

 

[JIO]

Realized the LaBella RX-N4A-M; medium scale nickel low-tension strings I ordered are rounds... luckily, I had an unused set of D'Addario ECB81M Chromes (medium scale 45/65/80/100 regular light gauge flats) and installed them. Pretty much what I was after as they are on the 'mellow' end of the spectrum and have a nice smooth feel. So finally fully complete. Now if I could only take it to a rehearsal...

 

[JIO]

I have decided to leave the bridge cover on the VS. What made this decision reality was slipping a thin sheet of checkerboard foam in the gap between the strings and cover. It barely mutes the strings, leaving them to resonate but not sustain excessively. Flatwound strings contrary to popular belief do sustain and are not 'dead' sounding, unless of course they are many years old. So the lightly interfaced foam dials in the flavorful 'thump' and still retains some resonance. (allowing harmonics etc) Playing it now that it's completely set up is finally giving me an impression of the basses character. The two best settings are (now) WILD DOG and BASS. TREBLE and CONTRA BASS are potentially useful, but as their names suggest are on polar opposites. (very trebly and very bassy) Could be good in the right circumstances. Being medium scale, it's very easy to play with articulation. My past association with medium scale has been with the Kubicki Ex-Factor. My Factorbird fretless (having an Ex-Factor neck) is 32" scale and my Calabrone is medium scale, otherwise all others are 34" scale with a couple short-scale basses. I haven't determined if I have a scale preference - I enjoy playing all of them. A good bass is a good bass regardless of scale.

 

[JIO]

There's a potential project coming up - will depend on the ebay auction which ends Wednesday. No info as I don't want to jinx getting it. Let's just say it'll be very cool if I'm lucky. In the meantime I'm doing some back-burner projects.

I cleaned the fb and frets on my Japanese Conrad short-scale hollow-body bass from the late '60s-early'70s - a pretty nice piece of rosewood. It's always had flats on it so the frets are in VGC. A really fun bass to play that sounds really good both amplified and acoustically. It was pretty cheap (years ago) and in need of a few cosmetic fixes but was well worth the price once addressed.

It was missing the small G-side pg so I cut this one based on a Soviet era bass I saw on-line. The pu was also replaced before I got it with a generic single-coil that sounds awesome! (probably a guitar pu) Also missing the Conrad hs badge (I found a cool Egyptian-theme pendant at a fabric store) and I replaced the knobs but still have the originals.

I cut a cavity for a rear-mounted battery case on my T2K Mk II (Tele 2000 - second iteration) I was so enamored when I converted it years ago by a 'clean' look that I thought I was ok to have to take the pg off to change a battery. It's the 3rd one I've done like this and have one more of my active basses that I need to do this on. Too bad I wasn't thinking straight at the time, but it wasn't that hard to do after the fact. Just needed the time, and now is the time.

Was an '06 CIJ '51 P RI (bought new) - G&L L-2000 9v pre and MDF pu's with a '70s style Tele bass pg. Kind'of a tone monster. Also recently chambered under the pg to lighten it. I did the sculpting/binding and Marty Bell did the awesome finish. I did the hs finish to match the creme binding. It currently has lollypop tuners on it that were converted from the '70s-style "Geddy Lee" big-plate clovers like the ones in this pic. Now Gotoh makes them. I also de-glossed the neck and fb - was soooo (too) shiny.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I have the guitar that goes with that Conrad bass if you happen to be by the UPS store later. That Tele bass looks good that way to.

 

[Novarocker]

Yeah wow, that tele is great looking! Huge fan of tutone finishes with the stained wood back and the binding looks really pops. Like those gretsch electromatics.

 

[JIO]

I have the guitar that goes with that Conrad bass if you happen to be by the UPS store later. That Tele bass looks good that way to.

The pointy horns were most probably copied from the Gibson Barney Kessel Custom signature guitar from 1961. Pic of your Conrad?

 

[JIO]

Yeah wow, that tele is great looking! Huge fan of tutone finishes with the stained wood back and the binding looks really pops. Like those gretsch electromatics.

Thanks! My first iteration of it was all trans-brown in tribute to the '70s "mocha" P's and J's, but the finish developed issues so I re-stripped it, did the binding and sent it to Marty.


Coincidentally this old pic of the T2K Mk I being stripped shows the Conrad (sans pg) sitting there for some reason!

 

[Matt Liebenau]

The pointy horns were most probably copied from the Gibson Barney Kessel Custom signature guitar from 1961. Pic of your Conrad?

Of course, how silly of me! The frets are definitely in the Gibson fretless wonder category. Not sure if they started that way or they’re worn. I suspect they started small and have some wear. There are poles and “staples” on the pickups, I’ve never pulled them to see if they’re actual humbuckers or not. It’s reasonably quiet though. I cleaned and lubed the tuners when I got it and they work pretty well. I had some replacements ready but the headstock is apparently thicker then the newer Epiphones that the replacements came off of.

 

[JIO]

Of course, how silly of me! The frets are definitely in the Gibson fretless wonder category. Not sure if they started that way or they’re worn. I suspect they started small and have some wear. There are poles and “staples” on the pickups, I’ve never pulled them to see if they’re actual humbuckers or not. It’s reasonably quiet though. I cleaned and lubed the tuners when I got it and they work pretty well. I had some replacements ready but the headstock is apparently thicker then the newer Epiphones that the replacements came off of.

View attachment 3866406

Wow, really nice guitar! Bigsby style whammy-bar an all! I'm pretty sure mine had those same style pu's and pg. My replacement generic single is dead quiet too - so who knows. Also, I think very low profile frets were common then - mine are the same. (thin "banjo" frets and low profile) I bet it sounds good right?

 

[Matt Liebenau]

Oh yeah, sounds pretty good. It’s a full hollow body so I imagine it’d be a howler on a loud stage but since I don’t play on loud stages it’s a moot point.

 

[JIO]

Oh yeah, sounds pretty good. It’s a full hollow body so I imagine it’d be a howler on a loud stage but since I don’t play on loud stages it’s a moot point.

I've used my Custom Kraft "Bone Buzzer" (full) hollow-body on stage and yes, have to keep hands on the strings standing too close to my B15!

 

[Dynacord]

This thread I think.



wow congrats. I hope you do a NBD.

And done NVBD 60's rare MOT Oz weirdness - or if Barbarella played bass...

 

[JIO]

Happy first day of summer 2020... just stay 6' apart, wear a mask and wash your hands often. (Burns guitars/bass content)

 

[farace]

Had to share this one, found on a Facebook page called Modified Danelectros. I have no explanation.