Marcel's RCM-4F (PBG build #3)

[wazkelly]

Be careful with Chinese suppliers as lots of the stuff is non genuine and often no better than what you intend to bin.

[Marcel]

What do you think of these Gotoh's Waz? I get the impression they will do the job...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/LEFT-HAND...4AAOSwUV9WobBG

Bit of a buggar that Adam doesn't stock the Grovers...

[Simon Barden]

Wilkinson do some elephant ear bass tuners that are reasonably cheap, part number WJBL-200. Should be in the Aus$50-$60 region as they are around £28 here. They are reversible (take the gear off and move the ear to the other side, then put the gear back on) so a set of 4 fits all types of headstock (4+0, 3+1, 2+2 etc.) I had a quick look to see if I could see any in Australia, but a lot of places only seem to do the Wilkinson guitar tuners. But worth having a search yourself because I'm sure you'll get more hits. Or you may find some from abroad with reasonable P+P.

[Marcel]

Thanks Simon... it certainly helps when you have a part number to use when searching on Ebay...

None in AU, but there is certainly a choice from near overseas neighbours...

[wazkelly]

Hi Marcel, that eBay link was for a lefty set of 4 inlines as far as I could figure out, therefore only half would work unless they are reversible too?

[Marcel]

It's all good Waz..

After giving serious consideration to the Grover 142C set for well over $100 and a set of Gotoh's I found for not much less I've gone and ordered a set of Wilkinson WJBL-200 2+2 out of China for an all up cost of about AU$45. Just have to wait the 20 working days for them to get here.

That seller had a lot of other interesting stuff, some of which I included in my order. A Wilkinson big steel block ST bridge kit for AU$40, and a clear Tele pick guard for AU$15, and some knobs and pots and stuff that I have various needs for. Plenty to keep me busy when it all arrives.

[wazkelly]

Amazing what some of the Asian eBay stores have for sale.

[Marcel]

So right there Waz,

I figured that a week was long enough to let the glue on the neck fully harden so I decided to bring all the strings up to full tension and then give it some time to let things settle before going tooth-n-nail at nut heights and other stuff. The bridge seems fine with minimum heights of 1mm and upper limits of 6mm easily achievable but the nut is seriously high at close to 4mm on the 1st fret. And I was totally surprised on how loud the build is acoustically. Plucking at the strings and connected only to my pocket tuner the audible note from each string is clear and distinct with lots of sustain. Buggar that I have a very slight string buzz on the E A and D strings around the 15th fret. Seems I'll still need to do a fret levelling job on the upper neck after all.

Intonation was a surprise too, I did the 12th fret harmonic thing and at the default build positions of the bridge saddles each string was within the limits defined by my pocket tuner. No bridge adjustments seem needed...I think this build needs to sit for a while, and I need access to a better tuner....

[wazkelly]

Had similar high up the neck buzzing on my EX-5 that required a bit of persuasion on a couple of high riding frets.

[Marcel]

Actually I don't think the frets are that bad Waz.

In my mucking around I set the height at the 12th fret on all strings to 2mm, which is when I noticed the buzz. As it was getting late in the afternoon I didn't do much after that, however I suspect that the buzz may disappear if I go to 2.5mm or even 3mm. It is a very light barely discernible buzz at 2mm on the 13th, 14th and 15th frets so I'm pretty confident that 2.5mm will clear it.

My bigger drama is the nut height. Almost feel as though I need to get the angle grinder out to knock it down a couple of story's. There is easily a 1mm or more gap on the 1st fret when holding down on the 3rd fret. Strings are at least 4mm above the 1st fret when open.... That's lumberjack territory... but I suppose it's better than being too low...

I'll wait until the new tuners arrive and get them fitted before getting the chainsaw out on the nut ....


"Persuasion" is an interesting word Waz..... by all means, be my guest, please elaborate....