Thatbassguy's financially irresponsible build and record of where all of my money went

I haven't been in a band since HS/college (probably one of the best experiences of my life). He was our first bass player (I played guitar and my little brother was the drummer), and far beyond our skill level. But he helped us get started. Good times!

He's one of those guys that can hear a tune once, and figure it out immediately.

 

This is one of my favorite bass players. The music is probably too extreme for 98% of the people here. But if you know what it takes to pull it off you’d be hard pressed not to be impressed by his talent.

 

Definitely heavier than my usual selections!

That guy definitely has way more chops than I ever did! I see people like that and just wonder how many hours a day it takes to get that good?!

This made me decide to watch some old stuff.. Here's a clip of one of my last band's shows. Big flaming bass solo @ 2:27

Disclaimer: NOT a professional recording! My ex recorded with a phone.

https://youtu.be/9pmVJY9IM88

 

Nice!

Yeah, I don't listen to too much Technical Death Metal, but Archspire is probably the best in the business. Their speed and accuracy is off the charts.

Even though I do prefer the more extreme styles of metal, I can't stand the way the vocals have gone the past 15+ years. I find it so obnoxious I've actually migrated to Japanese metal bands. A lot of those bands have female singers who can actually sing, even if I don't have a clue as to what they're singing about.

 

Sometimes you don't have to understand the lyrics to enjoy something. One of my guilty pleasures is K-pop music. I'm not super into it, but I like Girls' Generation for some weird reason.

 

I guess it's not a complete mystery why I like them.

 

The way I see it I haven’t been able to understand metal singers for years. So why not switch it up with cute Japanese girls?

Much better than fat dudes who take themselves far too seriously.

 

Lol! Agreed!

 

I am making some progress on sleeping platform V4.0. The rear section is basically done, except for drawers. I made a removable piece for the driver's side so I can have more space when the spare isn't in there.




The biggest thing I'm doing differently is that I removed the rear seats entirely. This opens up a ton of extra space. I'll have 76" of length for sleeping, and I can store the Hi-Lift and other things on the floor, which is way more ideal than the roof, IMO.

 

Good call on the rear seats. I put an Ironman 50 liter water tank where the back seats were and built my platform over it. Hehe

 

@Thatbassguy - you're gonna gain a bunch of storage with those drawers and rear seat gone. Seems like you can never have enough spots to rat hole stuff. I agree with you on the high lift, mount and dismount, but also out of the weather. Any supply chain bs in getting your drawer slides?

 

The water tank is a great idea!

Yes! With the amount of tools and gear I always carry, my last setup left me with a bunch of stuff in a tote. Now, I'm hoping that my cooler, clothes, and bedding are the only things that will be on top of the platform.

I haven't looked at slides, yet. With the last setup, the drawers just slid on the plywood. I might just see how that works for now.

 

Put some 1/8th inch thick X 1 inch wide slippery UHMW Polyethylene strips down for the drawers to slide on McMaster-Carr carries it for a 5 foot strip cost 11.05 each (PN: 7701T91) what I did was place it on the lower surface that the drawers slide on then on the drawers I did the same thing however that was over kill because smooth plywood glides on it pretty darn good as it is and it won't wear out.

 

Awesome! I was wondering if there was something I could put down to make it slippery. I'll check those out!

 

No denying the coolness of extra hardware, but I really like this keep it simple approach. Nothing to break or get out of whack, and simpler to get done!

 

I made some more progress on the platform yesterday after work.

Here is the full platform. I just threw the cooler in there to see how close to the roof it will be.



Here I removed the filler piece and set the "summer" spare in place.



The framing underneath is crude, for now. I think I'll try to build some sort of actual shelving down there eventually. I mostly just wanted to get the platform level and see what I have left to work with underneath. There's a lot of space!

 

That looks awesome. Nice work!

 

Thank you!

 

My project de jour, as it's too damn cold out to mess with the platform. This old girl has been getting ignored. I decided to give it a wax job and change to a different pickup arrangement.



It doesn't get a glossy shine, because it's an oil finish. But, it still looks damn good!



Sometimes, I think the back is prettier than the front.



Now to check the action and intonation.

 

I got this back together and took it for a test drive. Tomorrow I can focus on the 4Runner. It's supposed to be cold again, but I'll just bundle up.

 

This weather has me less than ambitious to work on my platform. Hopefully tomorrow is a little nicer.

 

It’s been like freakin groundhog day this last week over here Snowing and 34 degrees…every single day.

 

I rebuilt the front half of the platform. I made a shoebox sized box for the two lower areas, and kept them separate so the remaining section could be removed without disassembling it.

The platform is 75" long and 43-48" wide. I'll lose a little space when I put the Summer tires back on due to the spare, but It should still be decent.

Now I just need to figure out how to arrange everything underneath.





It turned out pretty good. This might be the one I actually finish!

 

Here I was mocking up the front/top part to see if it could be removed in one piece.

 

I'd give this a like but, the 9uckin' weather sucks.

 

I ordered a folding mattress for the platform. 4" thick with 2.5" high density foam, and 1.5" memory foam. Reviews are pretty positive, and it wasn't very expensive. I might have a chance to try it out in a few weeks.

 

I'm also planning on putting outdoor carpet on top of the platform. The rest I might paint to make it look nicer.

I still haven't decided whether to make drawers for the rear section, or just use some totes or bags like I did in the first version.

 

The directions said to allow 48 hours for it to reach full size. It looks pretty good already. Hopefully this ends up being the perfect topper for my platform.

 

Interested in what you think about it!

 

I'm resisting the temptation to sleep on it for the first 48 hours while it decompresses.

Maybe I'll sleep on it tomorrow night in the living room.

I'm going up north to hang out with my Mom in a few weeks and I'll try it out for sure.

I laid down on it just momentarily, and it seems pretty comfortable. I can feel the floor if I put all of my weight on a single point, but it seems to support me when I lay down.

Updates to come!