I'm moving to Wordpress....

Following consultation with my wife, who knows about these things, I've decided to switch allegiance to Wordpress. Click here to be taken to the new blog.

New Project - Turning a Sow's Ear into a Silk Purse....

This is my step son Dan's old bass. When he moved out, he left it behind and said he didn't want it any more. I've always wanted a Music Man but can't be bothered to save up for a real one, so I thought I'd take this ancient relic and do it up.

It needs:

• A new bridge
• New tuners
• New volume/tone knobs
• New nuts to hold the volume/tone controls on
• New strings

I've sourced replacements from e-Bay and will shortly start rebuilding it. It's a Nevada clone, so probably not worth much more than the cost of the replacement parts, but it's a challenge and if I can make a daily player out of it, it will be money and effort well spent.

Check your intonation - it's simple and makes a huge difference

I recently bought an amber Squier Precision Bass off e-Bay. Whilst I was very pleased with it having purchased it unseen, I did think that the bridge saddle arrangement looked odd. The other day I got hold of a Boss TU-3 tuner to replace the Boss clip on tuner I've used for a few years. The clip on tuner was ok, but not really that simple to use, and not a great amount of use for my headless bass!

Anyway, I thought I'd check the intonation on the Squier. The G string saddle was almost hanging off the bridge, so I hoped that something was wrong. It was. When I checked the tuning at the 12th fret, the fretted note was way too sharp. After screwing the saddle back towards the bridge about 10mm, the note was correct. The other strings were way out too - all too sharp by quite a margin. After fixing them, my Rocksmith scores improved dramatically as with a properly tuned bass, the game believed that I was playing the right notes again.

Don't be put off thinking that checking a guitar's intonation is a job for an expert. With a tuner, a screwdriver and a few spare minutes, you'll have the guitar in perfect tune in no time.

Now this IS an eight string guitar...!

I finally got it on Tuesday. After having to cancel my order for the ESP LTD 8 string with one vendor, I then went to GAK in Brighton who told me that the ESP basses were impossible to get. The Dean was supposed to be on a massive lead time, but GAK managed to get it in a week.

I really like it. The sound is amazing. It's not noticeably heavier than a P bass and certainly doesn't seem to suffer from neck dive. The only snag is that it's a bit loud when playing Rocksmith, and I've managed to wake my wife up....

Over 1,000 downloads for Life on Mars? !

No doubt this was helped by his untimely death, but my custom of Life on Mars? has just passed the 1,000 downloads mark. Ashes to Ashes has gained nearly 200 downloads in the past fortnight too.

List of Rocksmith Customs

I've put these here as direct links to the files on Dropbox in case any go missing on CustomsForge again.

1. 10cc - Dreadlock Holiday
2. 801 - Tomorrow Never Knows
3. A-ha - I Call Your Name
4. Amy Winehouse - Love Is A Losing Game
5. Aretha Franklin - Chain of Fools
6. Arthur Conley - Sweet Soul Music
7. The Babys - Isn't It Time
8. Bad Manners - Can Can
9. Band Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas
10. The Bangles - Walk Like An Egyptian
11. Barry White  - You're the First, the Last, My Everything
12. The Beatles - Rain
13. The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour
14. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
15. The Beatles - The Long And Winding Road
16. The Beatles - When I'm Sixty Four
17. The Beatles - The Ballad of John and Yoko
18. The Beatles - Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
19. The Beatles - Flying
20. The Beatles - Doctor Robert
21. The Beatles - Carry That Weight
22. The Beatles - She Said She Said
23. The Beatles - Getting Better
24. The Beatles - Lovely Rita
25. The Beatles - Hello Goodbye
26. The Beatles - Dizzy Miss Lizzy
27. The Beatles - One After 909
28. The Beatles - Glass Onion
29. Billy Joel  - Uptown Girl
30. Billy Joel - My Life
31. Billy Joel  - Just The Way You Are
32. Billy Joel  - You May Be Right
33. Blondie  - Rapture
34. Blur  - Country House
35. Bobby Hebb  - Sunny
36. Boney M  - Rasputin
37. Boney M  - Daddy Cool
38. Bryan Ferry - Let's Stick Together
39. Captain Sensible  - Wot
40. The Cardigans - For What It's Worth
41. Carole King  - It's Too Late
42. Carole King - You've Got A Friend
43. Carole King - Will You Love Me Tomorrow
44. Chris Cornell  - You Know My Name
45. Chris de Burgh  - The Lady In Red
46. Chris Rea  - Road To Hell
47. Chris Rea  - Driving Home For Christmas
48. Classics IV  - Spooky
49. Curtis Mayfield - Move On Up
50. The Damned - Wait For The Blackout
51. The Damned - Love Song
52. David Bowie  - Life On Mars?
53. David Bowie  - Ashes To Ashes
54. David Bowie  - Boys Keep Swinging
55. David Bowie  - Five Years
56. David Bowie - John, I'm Only Dancing
57. David Bowie - Kooks
58. David Bowie - Rock 'n' Roll Suicide
59. Deep Purple - Anyone's Daughter
60. Deep Purple - No One Came
61. Deep Purple - Might Just Take Your Life
62. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Geno
63. Donald Fagen - Security Joan
64. Duran Duran - Anyone Out There
65. Echo & The Bunnymen - The Cutter
66. Eddie Floyd - Knock On Wood
67. Eels - Susan's House
68. Electric Six - Gay Bar
69. Elton John & Kiki Dee - Don't Go Breaking My Heart
70. Elvis Costello & The Attractions - Oliver's Army
71. Eurythmics - When Tomorrow Comes
72. Faith No More - Midnight Cowboy
73. Fontella Bass - Rescue Me
74. Freda Payne - Band Of Gold
75. George Michael - Kissing A Fool
76. Glass Tiger - Don't Forget Me (When I'm Gone)
77. Grace Jones - I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
78. Grace Jones - Private Life
79. Heart - Who Will You Run To
80. Hoodoo Gurus - I Was A Kamikaze Pilot
81. Hoodoo Gurus - Bittersweet
82. The Jackson 5 - ABC
83. The Jam - Down In The Tube Station At Midnight
84. The Jam - Start
85. The Jam - The Eton Rifles
86. The Jam - Town Called Malice
87. The Jam - Batman Theme
88. The Jam - Absolute Beginners
89. Jane Birkin & Serge Gainsbourg - Je t'Aime, ... Moi Non Plus
90. Janis Ian - From Me To You
91. Janis Ian - At Seventeen
92. Jilted John - Jilted John
93. Joe Cocker - Delta Lady
94. Joe Cocker - With A Little Help From My Friends
95. John Paul Young - Love Is In The Air
96. Kajagoogoo - Too Shy
97. Kaiser Chiefs - Na Na Na Na Na
98. Kasabian - Butcher Blues
99. Kraftwerk - The Model
100. Labelle - Lady Marmalade
101. Larry Adler - Groovin' With Mr Bloe
102. Level 42 - Something About You
103. Level 42 - Lessons In Love
104. Level 42 - The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)
105. Level 42 - Hot Water
106. Level 42 - Follow Me
107. Level 42 - Kansas City Milkman
108. Lulu - The Man With The Golden Gun
109. Lulu - To Sir With Love
110. Madness - Baggy Trousers
111. Madness - Night Boat To Cairo
112. Madonna - Crazy For You
113. Manic Street Preachers - Australia
114. Manic Street Preachers - Kevin Carter
115. Marillion - Market Square Heroes
116. Mark Ronson ft Amy Winehouse - Valerie
117. Martha and The Vandellas - Nowhere To Run
118. Maxine Nightingale - Right Back Where We Started From
119. Midnight Oil - Truganini
120. Mike Oldfield - Tubular Bells Pt 1 Ending
121. Mountain - Nantucket Sleighride
122. Norah Jones - Cold Cold Heart
123. Omar - There's Nothing Like This
124. One Night Only - Just For Tonight
125. Otis Redding - I Can't Turn You Loose
126. Paul McCartney - Maybe I'm Amazed
127. Paul Simon - Graceland
128. Paul Young - Every Time You Go Away
129. Paul Young - Wherever I Lay My Hat (That's My Home)
130. Peggy Lee - Fever
131. The Pogues - Tuesday Morning
132. The Pogues - White City
133. The Pogues and The Dubliners - The Irish Rover
134. The Police - Spirits In The Material World
135. The Police - Fall Out
136. The Police - Invisible Sun
137. The Police - Bring On The Night
138. The Police - On Any Other Day
139. The Police - Born In The Fifties
140. The Police - De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da
141. The Police - Shadows In The Rain
142. The Police - Driven To Tears
143. The Police - Man In A Suitcase
144. The Police - Contact
145. The Police - The Bed's Too Big Without You
146. The Police - Mother
147. The Police - Does Everyone Stare
148. The Police - Landlord
149. The Police - Visions Of The Night
150. The Police - Next To You
151. The Police - Deathwish
152. The Police - Reggatta de Blanc
153. The Police - It's Alright For You
154. The Police - No Time This Time
155. The Police - Voices Inside My Head
156. The Police - When The World Is Running Down, You Make The Best Of What's Still Around
157. The Police - The Other Way Of Stopping
158. The Police - Truth Hits Everybody
159. The Police - Peanuts
160. The Police - Canary In A Coalmine
161. The Police - Dead End Job
162. The Police - Darkness
163. The Police - Demolition Man
164. The Police - Secret Journey
165. The Police - Too Much Information
166. The Police - Walking In Your Footsteps
167. The Police - Oh My God
168. The Police - Low Life
169. The Police - Bombs Away
170. The Police - Hole In My Life
171. The Police - Be My Girl/Sally
172. The Police - Masoko Tanga
173. The Police - Nothing Achieving
174. The Pretenders - Kid
175. The Primitives - Crash
176. Public Image Ltd - Public Image
177. Queen - Sleeping On The Sidewalk
178. Queen - It's Late
179. Queen - Save Me
180. Queen - Spread Your Wings
181. Queen - Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
182. Queen - Need Your Loving Tonight
183. R.E.M. - Radio Song
184. R.E.M. - Near Wild Heaven
185. R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
186. R.E.M. - Gardening At Night
187. R.E.M. - Stand
188. Robert Plant - Big Log
189. Robbie Williams - Life Thru A Lens
190. The Rocky Horror Picture Show - The Time Warp
191. Roxy Music - Virginia Plain
192. Roy Budd - Carter Takes A Train
193. The Ruts - Babylon's Burning
194. Sade - Paradise
195. Shakin' Stevens - Merry Christmas Everyone
196. Shocking Blue - Send Me A Postcard
197. Simple Minds - The American
198. Simple Minds - Waterfront
199. Simple Minds - Love Song
200. Simple Minds - Theme For Great Cities
201. Skunk Anansie - I Can Dream
202. The Specials - Night Klub
203. Split Enz - I Got You
204. Squeeze - Another Nail In My Heart
205. Squeeze - Pulling Mussels (From The Shell)
206. Stanley Clarke - School Days
207. Status Quo - Big Fat Mama
208. Steely Dan - Deacon Blues
209. Steely Dan - Hey Nineteen
210. Steely Dan - Peg
211. Steely Dan - Babylon Sisters
212. Steely Dan - Dirty Work
213. Steely Dan - Kid Charlemagne
214. Stevie Wonder - Living For The City
215. Stevie Wonder - Isn't She Lovely
216. Stevie Wonder - My Cherie Amour
217. Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours
218. Stevie Wonder - Uptight (Everything's Alright)
219. Sting - Moon Over Bourbon Street
220. Sting - All This Time
221. Sting - Seven Days
222. Sting - Fortress Around Your Heart
223. Sting - Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot
224. Sting - Heavy Cloud No Rain
225. The Stranglers - No More Heroes
226. The Teardrop Explodes - Reward
227. Talking Heads - Wild Wild Life
228. Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
229. Tears For Fears - Mad World
230. The The - Kingdom of Rain
231. The The - The Violence Of Truth
232. Tom Jones - It's Not Unusual
233. Triumph - Somebody's Out There
234. U2 - Red Hill Mining Town
235. Ultravox - All Stood Still
236. Van Morrison - Moondance
237. Wham! - Freedom
238. Whitesnake - Long Way From Home
239. Whitesnake - Fool For Your Loving
240. Whitesnake - Help Me Thru' The Day
241. Whitesnake - Trouble
242. Whitesnake - Don't Break My Heart Again
243. Whitesnake - Lie Down
244. XTC - The Mayor Of Simpleton
245. XTC - Senses Working Overtime
246. XTC - Making Plans For Nigel
247. XTC - Generals And Majors
248. Zero 7 - Warm Sound

"This is an eight string guitar...."

Since hearing Sting say those words before launching into Bring On The Night live in at the Newcastle City Hall in 1979 (live on Radio 1 for those old enough to remember), I've been curious about eight string basses. Having played a 12 string acoustic guitar before, I appreciate what they might do, but have never played one. In 6 to 8 weeks (or however long Dean take to deliver an Edge 8), this will change :-)