Susan's Place Transgender Resources

not sure if this is quite fassion... but my question seems too frivilous for gender studies...
does my bass look feminine or masculine?

(the photo is a bit lousy, but the edging is scarlet in real life, looks a bit pink in this shot)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi352.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr358%2FGabrielHyde%2F18-04-09_1858.jpg&hash=356408fe9e2e511f4a2123869d988305229c848e)
(https://www.susans.org/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi352.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr358%2FGabrielHyde%2F18-04-09_1857.jpg&hash=65932dbcc1edb317b71fa86624434ced926f6252)

and do you think it makes me look same gender as the bass does... or do i look more the opposeite gender by contrast?

Guitarists tend to move about in a very phalicly suggestive way with their instruments, but they often give them womens names... which i find an odd contrast.

Bass players more often have a "genly stroking a lovely lady" look on stage... something about the hand action. I've only ever seen one bass player do the phallic suggestion thing.

There tend to be more women on bass than guitar though... so many gender metaphores i could milk out of this...

feminine

what about the girl bass for girls vs girl bass for a staright guy theory?

my friend reached out for her and said "can i play with your girlfriend?"...
"hrmmm... only if i can watch"

oh, well i wouldn't know about that. i'm musically illiterate. it looks feminine cause of the pink and little flowers on it. not that there's anything wrong with that.

yeah i think it looks a bit girly for me... i bought it for the feel, she feels great, but i wasn't 100% happy with the look, i wanted all black, it's kinda growing on me though. Bloody distinctive too, which is good for security if nothing else, if anything i'm just a little worried about people sus'ing me on this site by her looks.

In my defence the binding is scarlet, it just looks pink in the harsh light of my kitchen.

Do you reckon i could butch her up with a diffeerent pick-gurard ("flowery bit" to the "musically illiterate")? When i bought it i had alwayse intended to, but when i looked into it i found it would cost WAY more than i had expected so i decided i'd try to convince the flowers were a geometric design of plectrums (guitar picks).

or i could leave it girly to deter my friend (who's in a metal band) from borrowing her for gigs? i know instruments are supposed to be played, but i'm too protective of her to let her on the stage at a metal bar...

It looks awesome! Who cares about gender when its cool?  :laugh:

LOVE IT!!!!! That is BA!!!!

Where did you get the pick guard etched? OK, read the rest.. Is it acrylic or blued metal? If you really don't like it, trace the guard on a piece of acrylic or sheet aluminum and cut your own. Be careful on the acrylic because it might split, but a little patience and you have your own down and dirty.. Beat the aluminum lightly with a hammer for a better effect..

How long is that neck? I can't tell the proportions from the photo, and what brand?
Are the tuning keys & hardware brass or "gold"?  Very feminine (But I'm biased).. I've heard a girl in the hand is worth.. well, never mind..           May try for a more matching strap though.. I can't tell the color from the photo.. Maybe match the patina of the fret board.. That would also blacken up the looks.

I play acoustic and electric standard 6 string.. None of mine have that much fineness.

Nice Bass  :)

I had a pair of Ricky 4001's when I started playing in bands. But then someone noticed that I could play guitar and sing. No more hiding in the back ground for me  :laugh:

The pick guard is acrylic. I considerred trying to cut a new pickguard myself, but what would you cut acrylic with? no one i asked seemed to know how.

As for the other questions: she's an Ibanez SRX limmitted edition. But not THAT pricey... probably was a bit much for a first-bass though. Purchased from some tiny - but very full - shop near a train station. Standard 34" scale (standard for a bass but bigger than a guitar), but looks longer from the camera angle. That strap was whatever the guy in the shop would throw in free, but it hurt my shoulder, so it now has a great big black leather strap. Don't know about the hardware, i called it gold (as a colour name not the metal) in the insurance, but it's kinda trumpet-colourred, so maybe brass? not sure? the colour is identical to the hardware on my much cheaper epiphone guitar though, so i doubt it's gold.

With the faux "Gold" hardware.. it is beautiful..

Here is the best demonstration I have found:

How To Cut Plastic Sheet (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/920876/)

My advice would be get more acrylic than you need. More than likely you will go through a few attempts before it comes out right and use a bit for practice before trying the first pattern piece. Once you get the hang of it, you can do as many as often as you like, even for friends and band-mates.

The great thing about clear acrylic is you can paint the under side and it won't chip or scratch with hard use. And you can change out to fit your mood.

If anyone has a better way, please post it, I would love to hear too.

Much luck and happy gigs..

Hi Metal Angel

I would say that your bass looks androgynous. I see both femininity and masculinity in your bass. I'm a guitar player. My guitar's name is Priscilla (Fender Stratocaster).

Brenda

I think the bass looks fine as is

From further back, it looks masculine, but the guard makes it look a bit feminine up close. However there is so much androgyny and men in music embracing flowers and such these days, it doesn't matter one bit.  It looks good as it is, male or female.

You can get acrylic at hardware stores like Lowes and Home Depot for cheap. You can cut it with wood tools, Dremel (engraving, and cutting), jigsaw, scroll saw, or a table saw even. It's quite soft.  Just try not to melt it as you cut, which tends to happen easy. Lexan is easier to work with and more durable, and won't yellow as easy over time, but is sticky as it melts, I had a chuck go flying across the garage when i cut it with my table saw (only once, and part of it was my fault. I cut lots without problems).

As for drilling it, they make bits for plastic but all they are is normal bits with a flatter tip. I have drilled it with Dremel grinding stones, normal drill bits with a piece of wood clamped under the acrylic so it doesn't chip as it exits (go SLOOOOW) and sometimes I went lazy and just used a soldering iron and pushed it through, this is the best hole and safest way for the acrylic but not the healthiest method for you if you breathe the smoke. You have to clean off the flashing when you are done though or you get a raised edge around the hole.

hrmmm... this could require some borrowing... the closest thing to hardware stuff we have in this appartment are tools for assembling 1"-high toy soldiers and a sewing machine... ooh and the bare minimum required to asemble flat-pack furniture...

I think i need a workshop, not just for this project but generally, i need a shed for inventing...

Hrmmm... maybe she can be butch in drag, her flowers can be like marilyn manson's eye-shaddow?

If you have limited room and just want to mess around, I would suggest buying a Dremel tool, some fiberglass cutting wheels and a grinding bit or two. While not the fastest method, it would allow you work on a kitchen counter or table, with plastic such as Lexan and acrylic for relatively cheap, and with limited space. Total investment would be under $50 if you got it on sale. It's one of the most versatile tools every created.

hrmmm... actually i don't have a kitchen table either... we kinda prioritised our furniture, we decided we'd only ever eat on the couch anyway... but we do have a few desks and painting benches etc. will look into this dremmel tool idea... i'm sure i can find many uses for such a gadget...

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Post Merge: August 21, 2009, 04:56:49 AM

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oooooooooooh... this looks like it has toy soldier applications, i could maybe talk my partner (who lives for toy soldiers) into a spilt...

Im sure this doesnt help claer things up but i think it looks androgynous to be honest.
Anyhow what does it play like i've been looking 4 a gig quality bass 4 a while and was wondering if you would recommend that one or one like it, Ibanez tend to be expensive (at least where i live) compared to epiphone or the like and testing in store only tells you so much. Any feedback would be great. Oh and I dont remember pick guards being that expensive compared to sheets of acryllic and power tools that may never be used again :P

Claire xoxo

You cut acrylic with a high speed saw, this has most of the information you would need, even if the format is silly:
http://www.sdplastics.com/acrylic.html (http://www.sdplastics.com/acrylic.html)

A dremel might work - but you should have a very fine and steady hand for that kind of work, a high speed saw would work the best, its a faster cut, less time for things to go wrong.

The pegs might be gold, but a lacquered brass would be cheaper, so more likely. If they tarnish over time, they are the second.

I know people who have ordered stuff from http://www.pickguards.com/ (http://www.pickguards.com/) that made custom guards to their original specs and drawings.

Hi Claire,

Problem was that it's a limmited edition model, form a series that normally doesn't get a pick-guard, so i would need to get a pick-guard custom made which was real expensive. Might be able to borrow powertools.

Being a 2008 limmitted edition i don't think you'd be able to get it, it's from the SRX range though. I feally LOVE how it feels, particularly the neck, which would be the same as the other SRX models. I'm not as sure about the pick-ups/electronics. They're powerful and the EQ can do a lot (i have an EQ knob on my 6-string guitar that does bugger all) but they are kind of "muddy", they are Ibanez branded pick-ups, i don't know what the rest of the SRX range have.

I didn't look at Epiphone, Epiphone/Gibson seemed to have more of a reputation for standard guitars. I would recommend at least having a go on the Ibanez, they feel really nice (particularly for small hands) and tend to be better value (better quality for a given spend) at the middle range than Fender or other other big brand names. I would also look at Cort, they make some very nice basses for not too nasty prices, and Yamaha are also really good value. I looked at Schecter as well, which i heard good things about, but they were expensive and not real impressive. I have heard people play Warwicks live and they sound fantastic, they were way out of my proce range though, so i didnt even try them. I'm pretty new to the whole concept, this is my first and only bass. Try talkbass.com for some info on other basses. As for testing in store, try it on a few different amps, because the amp can make a fair bit of difference.

because the amp can make a fair bit of difference.

Really, you think so?  After all, its the amp that we mike, not the bass, unless you're going DI, which a lot of bass players do, for just that reason.  But how many choices do you have Kustom, Ampeg, SRW?  Then what?  Some other speaker system with an Ampeg head unit? I love the sound of the Gallien-Krueger amps, but if you're not playing pro, why bother?

I know the amp makes a difference but I already have my gig amp Im looking for a new bass so im interested in the quality of the guitar not the amp. Doesnt matter now anyhow ive decided on an Epiphone Thunderbird with active pickups, now to save up 4 it.

i was just meaning that since you can't drag your own amp into the store very easily try potential new bass on a couple of different amps... but seems it's all sorted now

1. I do know people who drag their amp into stores when they go to buy an instrument if the store does not have the same models of heads and cabs,  I once took my speakers to a stereo store to hook up to the different amps to choose which one sounded better.  At any rate, any store that sold pro gear would be used to such sillyness, or would have an amp that matches yours, like I said, the range of bass amps is much smaller than for guitars, which itself is pretty limited (Fender, Marshall, Mesa, Orange)

2. i would need to get a pick-guard custom made which was real expensive.
I don't think so, you could either send a tracing of the size, or, just send them the original, because I would bet they have close to that size, or that exact size in stock.  I'd write to them, unless you are real hot with the tools (and if you were, you'd own them,) having to do it a few times to get it right might well cost the same.  They do nice work.  It's the design/artwork on the guard that will tend to cost, a simple black or blood red guard cut would be pretty simple.

http://www.pickguards.com/ (http://www.pickguards.com/)