All Ready Eight

[rickyfricky]

Congrats Ashley!

Great bass, awesome finish, great price!!!

[Ashgray]

Thanks guys - I'll post a few shots when I receive it.

Mark - as you're "local", you get a hands-on viewing!

[chromium]

Congrats to you- looks like a nice one!!

Joe, I suspect it was my solution to the 8-string neck pickup route issue you were referring to. I've overseen several 8-string conversions on Rick basses, and the neck pickup route is always the first thing I address. When you look at that route and see how it goes right up to the fretboard, ya gotta wonder what RIC was/is thinking. Even with the new two-piece necks, this is still an issue as everything I have with this route has developed at least a slightly negative neck angle as a result. One very important thing about your maple block is that it needs to be a loose fit on the sides, but a tight fit lengthwise. Looks like you did a good job though.

Yes- your solution and photo depicting the maple swimming-pool insert was a tremendous help! That's the approach I took with my bass. My biggest struggle there was identifying a way to re-attach the wings without removing them - which would have been the correct way to do it... but at the expense of a beautiful finish. I ended up injecting thin CA into the wing seams there. Seems stable so far, but time will tell.

I shaped that insert so that it could be removed if the need ever arises. It was as you describe - reasonably loose on the sides, and snug lengthwise (with the grain running lengthwise as well). I bent the neck back just slightly, glued the insert in using titebond, and then released the tension on the neck so that it settled and snugged up on the block for an interference fit.

I had also plugged that narrow pole-piece route for good measure. Seemed like that in itself had a marked impact on the rigidity of the structure there. Couldn't help but wonder if this problem could have been averted had these basses come with hi-gains and a shallow 4001-type pickup route...

At any rate, this just gave me an excuse to buy more tools - and so all is good in the end

[Ashgray]

My newly acquired 4003/8 arrived today, and boy is she a real beauty! The neck is straight as a die, and considering its a 1986 model, I tend to think that if the neck was going to cause problems due to the high combined string tensions involved, it would have happened by now. Although described as silver, the finish has aged over the years to a consistent and really pleasing gold colour - I'll take some shots tomorrow once I've polished it up and post them here.

I'm usually a finger-style player, even with Ricks, but on playing the 8 string I'm actually finding that a pick is more precise, and sounds best. Unfortunately this means I'll need to re-string it to place the fundamental first and octave string second, which will mean I'll need to get a new nut cut, but that's fine. As a player new to the 8 string concept, the other thing I'm finding is that fretting is not as easy as on a normal fretted instrument - my left hand is having to work harder and more precisely to achieve a consistent sound, and it's clear that with this bass, I'll need to brush up on my technique - no bad thing! maybe I've just got lazy over the years...

I'm really enjoying the new challenge of getting the best from this beast and adapting my existing technique to its particular needs, and I'd certainly be interested in hearing other people's views and experiences in playing an 8 string - I'm sure I'd find that invaluable.

[ram]

Congrats Ashley... pictures? I use a pick and I have the octaves on top of the fundamentals. I love it that way... maybe try for a while. If you switch you may need to cut a new nut.

[aceonbass]

Playing with a pick usually sounds best with the octave string first. Having the fundamental string first (if the bass is set up properly) means your pick on a downward stroke with hardly make contact with the octave string. That your strings require so much fretting pressure means your bass is not set up properly to begin with, and also is one of the main reasons these basses had intonation issues from the factory with each pair of strings sharing a saddle. The goal is to have the bottom of each of the strings the same distance from the fretboard, not the top. Having the tops the same distance means the octave strings will be further away, and therefor require more pressure to fret. It also means they have to stretch more, which makes it more difficult to intonate with a shared saddle. If you do reverse the pairing order, you'll also need new saddles since the greatly varying gauges mean they can't be reversed. If you have a competent guitar tech who can understand these concepts, then a proper setup will alleviate the string pressure issue, and make it sound better when picking downward. It will also come much closer to intonating better, although not perfect. Perfect intonation isn't necessary on 8-string basses or 12-string guitars for that matter as the slight difference between the strings in each pair intonation-wise is part of what gives these kind of instruments that 'chorusy' sound.

[godber]

Thanks guys - I'll post a few shots when I receive it.

Mark - as you're "local", you get a hands-on viewing!

[Ashgray]

Some shots of the new 4003/8 as promised:

Still can't get these shots to show right-way-up when clicked on - anyone know what I'm doing wrong?

[rickyfricky]

Looks GREAT, Ashley!

I drooled over this bass (alot) while it was listed on the 'Bay.

Sometimes recovery from RAS can be a real harpy!

ENJOY it, and please keep us informed of your adventures with it!

[johnallg]

Very nice Ashley! Tell me, what did you use for a light source in those pictures? I don't recognize it.

[bassduke49]

Very nice Ashley! Tell me, what did you use for a light source in those pictures? I don't recognize it.

Oh, I'll bet that was the "sun." Remember John? That great big ball of fire in the sky? I seem to recall something like that. It must have been in my youth or something.

[jps]

Very nice Ashley! Tell me, what did you use for a light source in those pictures? I don't recognize it.

Oh, I'll bet that was the "sun." Remember John? That great big ball of fire in the sky? I seem to recall something like that. It must have been in my youth or something.

That's what you guys get for living so far north! Oh, wait a second..............

[Ashgray]

Very nice Ashley! Tell me, what did you use for a light source in those pictures? I don't recognize it.

Such is the weather in the UK at the moment, I had little option but to employ a thermo-nuclear device to light the shots!

[cjj]

Great pics! Glad to see it made it to you OK!

[johnallg]

Very nice Ashley! Tell me, what did you use for a light source in those pictures? I don't recognize it.

Oh, I'll bet that was the "sun." Remember John? That great big ball of fire in the sky? I seem to recall something like that. It must have been in my youth or something.

Vaguely remember..... Must recall......