mart

[quote name='icastle' post='1088001' date='Jan 13 2011, 02:01 PM']Nope. Poncey stereo stuff generally uses 3A fuses... in fact I can't think of anything in the normal household 'AV' setup that actually would need a 13A fuse...[/quote] Wouldn't a 13A fuse give more headroom ?

Changing the strap button on a new bass I managed to get the strap button screw one or two turns round and then it stuck fast. And after a few more attempts I'd pretty much stripped the head (it's a cross head screw). So now the screw is 2-3mm out, and the button is loose, but still surrounds the head so I can't get pliers to the head of the screw. What do you recommend for getting the screw out? Should I: 1) Use a soldering iron to heat the screw up, and then try again when it's cooled? I've never succeeded with this - could some expert give more specific guidance about how to do it (e.g. how long does it take - seconds? or days?) 2) Make a new slot into the head using a hammer and a sharp flat-head screwdriver. Sounds a bit scary - is this wise on a musical instrument? Or are there better ways of solving this? Any tips gratefully received! Ta.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1087023' date='Jan 12 2011, 06:43 PM']Will Warwick not make a custom one if you offer them thousands of pounds? I was sure I read somewhere that they were planning on reintroducing the 'Nobby'.[/quote] Warwick re-introduced the Nobby in 2007 and have been making them ever since, with much "fancier" woods than the originals. [url="http://www.warwick.de/modules/produkte/produkt.php?submenuID=14667&katID=22131&cl=EN"]http://www.warwick.de/modules/produkte/pro...22131&cl=EN[/url] Eye-watering price though. OTOH, there's a Romanian guy on the Warwick forum who is desperate to get rid of his Nobby: [url="http://forum.warwick.de/24-basses/12861-nobby-meidel-sale-trade.html"]http://forum.warwick.de/24-basses/12861-no...sale-trade.html[/url] And if you PM me a nice offer, I might even part with mine!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1086331' date='Jan 12 2011, 02:13 AM']What is 'crest factor'? It is probably maths, that they tried to teach me in school, but did it without context.[/quote] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crest_factor"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crest_factor[/url]

Thanks! I was looking for some Mick Karn transcriptions a while back, so these are great! Now for looooots of practising.

All good sensible points from Musicman20. Buuuuut .... [quote name='Musicman20' post='1080913' date='Jan 7 2011, 12:01 PM'][url="http://www.ashdownmusic.com/tech/manuals/valve_series_manual.pdf"]http://www.ashdownmusic.com/tech/manuals/v...ries_manual.pdf[/url] - Close enough![/quote] I don't know if that is close enough. I had a look for the Ashdown manual, but of course this is a new prototype, so may well have all sorts of differences to their current range. It may be the same, or it may not!! [quote name='Musicman20' post='1080913' date='Jan 7 2011, 12:01 PM']..... Check the Asdown 8 ohms into the Promethean cabinet. If this works, its a problem with the Markbass combo cab eg possibly the connector needs replacing or just cleaning perhaps. ....[/quote] Not necessarily. GW has already pointed out that the Markbass cab works with the Prom head: [quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1079614' date='Jan 6 2011, 11:00 AM'].... 1) if I plug the promethean head through the mark bass 2 x 10" cab it works. ....[/quote] So if the Ashdown head works with the Prom cab (and I suspect it [i]won't[/i]), then it'd be puzzling, and a result of some curious mismatch between Ashdown and Markbass. [quote name='Musicman20' post='1080913' date='Jan 7 2011, 12:01 PM']..... If the Ashdown doesnt work into the Promethean cabinet, then, and if you Ashdown cabinet is 4 ohms, there is a problem with the 8 ohms output on the Ashdown amp. Lastly, it COULD possible be a speaker lead problem....maybe it has a slight kink in it and at certain angles the wire inside isnt connecting. Phew! Firstly, Id email Ashdown. Seems odd that there would be an 8 ohms problem as it has the outputs on the back![/quote] +1 to all those points. I'm beginning to think that in this new prototype Ashdown are trying out some clever technology to prevent people running the head with no load, and that the technology is maybe too clever, so doesn't work with the Markbass cab. That's just a wild guess, but it fits the observations.

[quote name='ras52' post='1080803' date='Jan 7 2011, 10:29 AM'].....Although I can't see anything on the Hercules site about it, Thomann say "not recommended for guitars with nitro lacquer finish". Are Thomann just covering themselves, or it this a real issue. I have a '78-ish Precision and a Yamaha BB350F, and I think the Precision might be nitro (although already has staining on the back from being left alone in a Fender hard case for too long).[/quote] It's a real issue. I don't have direct experience, but google will find you a few horror stories about nitro finishes and foam padding on guitar stands. What I do have direct experience of is the effect foam padding can have on an oil finish: the two marks in the centre of this photo are from the back of a stand very similar to the Hercules one. And there are matching marks on the bottom of the bass where it was resting on the arms of the stand. Since then I've taken to wrapping cloth around the stand to slow down the damage.

[quote name='Truckstop' post='1080195' date='Jan 6 2011, 05:51 PM']In which position would you add the push-pull pot? The master tone, neck vol or bridge vol? Truckstop[/quote] Personally I'd put it in the tone control. It's making a change to the tone rather than to the volume, so it seems logical to put it in the tone control. And it's not going to be a change you'll want to make mid-song so you don't need it in the nearest control. Just my opinion.

[quote name='Doddy' post='1080052' date='Jan 6 2011, 04:20 PM']I've just picked up my main Fender Jazz today after having a set of Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pickups and a series/parallel push/pull knob fitted. It sounds great. In parallel it's just like a Jazz Bass,whereas in series it seems to give it more balls. It increases the output slightly and gives a real fat tone that is almost Precision like but with more power and clarity (I think). Here's a wiring diagram for adding a push/pull knob. [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=jass_bass_sp"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wirin...ic=jass_bass_sp[/url][/quote] That wiring diagram means that when you're in Series mode only the neck volume control works, and acts as a master volume, right? It's always seemed to me that you should be able to wire things so that both volumes work all the time, even in series mode, so that you can still get a balance between the two pickups. Is there some reason why that can't be done, or is undesirable? And that diagram also puzzles me because it seems to have the volume controls wired wrongly: surely the feed and ground should go to tags 1 and 3, and the output come from the middle tag. But this diagram has the input and ground going to tags 2 and 3 and the output coming from tag 1. If anyone can tell me what I'm missing here, I'd be grateful!

Since the Markbass cab worked fine with your Prom head, it must be something to do with the Ashdown head. I can only think that the head has some kind of protection built in to avoid you turning the amp on without a (sufficient) load connected, and that, for some reason, the Markbass cab isn't "looking" like a proper load to the Ashdown head. How does the Ashdown cab connect to the head - just by a mono 1/4" jack? Or a stereo jack? Is there any other wiring linking the head and the cab? Sorry, I'm just brainstorming here ... don't mind me ....

What happens if you plug the Ashdown head into the Promethean cab?

[quote name='thack' post='1079385' date='Jan 6 2011, 12:27 AM']Shes fixed!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Did it myself. [/quote] Congratulations! That's great news!

[quote name='tom1946' post='1079516' date='Jan 6 2011, 09:33 AM']I wouldn't tour with just a Squier bass, especially abroad. I have a 51 reissue P which is an awesome bass but....... Trouble is they're all over £100 so it's a non starter anyway [/quote] But if you go on tour with a Squier, and anything happens to it, then you can almost certainly pop into a local shop and buy a replacement off the shelf.

[quote name='ahpook' post='1079539' date='Jan 6 2011, 09:56 AM']when i had the problem with my musicman, it seemed more pronounced up at the dusty end, but you do have a point.[/quote] Isn't this effect related to the frequency of the note? I've had something similar on a bass and the frequency of the wobble was directly related to the frequency of the note - higher up it got faster and lower down it was slower. So it was only really noticeable above the 12th fret.

[quote name='Sean' post='1079083' date='Jan 5 2011, 07:58 PM'].....Thanks for the graphs, Alex and an article that is practically useful for most gigging bassists.[/quote] +1. Alex's articles have been one of the best reasons for buying BGM lately. Of course, if Alex had the time to post those columns on [url="http://barefacedbass.com/bgm-columns.htm"]his website[/url] as promised then I wouldn't have to buy the mag

[quote name='phil.mcglassup' post='1077331' date='Jan 4 2011, 02:09 PM']Cheers. Though I am wanting to 'play along' with the songs on our setlist, at volume, in order to learn them, I am planning on using an old bass amp. It maybe won't sound good but should do it!! Also, in future, I might want to download drum-machine software and play that through a bass amp. That's why I think I need a 1/4" jack plug at one end of the cable and an adaptor to convert the 1/4" jack plug at the other end into a 3.5mm stereo to fit into the headphone socket. I've never done this before so didn't want to damage anything by using stereo or mono sockets and jacks etc where I shouldn't!![/quote] Whatever you're playing on the laptop - itunes or drum tracks or whatever - the same arrangement will work. Technically if you use a mono plug in a stereo socket you might be shorting out one channel, but the voltages are so small that it won't be a problem.

[quote name='phil.mcglassup' post='1077273' date='Jan 4 2011, 01:29 PM']If I want to put any songs from my iTunes library on my laptop through an amplifier, which lead or adaptor do I need? I thought about using a standard 1/4" to 1/4" mono jack lead and getting a "3.5mm stereo jack to 6.35mm mono socket adaptor" to plug into the headphone socket on the laptop. Is that correct? Regarding the adaptor - does the 3.5mm jack have to be stereo to match the laptop? And does the 6.35mm socket have to be mono - to match the lead? TIA[/quote] That would probably work. Depending on what your adaptor does it might only give you the left channel. To avoid that I took an old bit of headphone cable (with an 1/8" stereo jack) and connected a mono jack plug where the headphones used to be, making sure to connect both left and right wires to the tip of the mono jack plug. Yorick's suggestion is better if your amp has a phono aux in. (A couple of my amps don't which is why I made up my special cable).

[quote name='cameltoe' post='1076182' date='Jan 3 2011, 12:07 PM'].... Just to get this straight though, I believe the truss rod now has excessive relief, so I'd need to tighten truss rod by turning to the right, no more than a quarter turn yes? ...[/quote] Yep, that's right: if your action is now too high then you need to turn the truss rod to the right (i.e. clockwise, just as you would if you were tightening any other sort of screw) and just a quarter-turn to start with.

[quote name='Stag' post='1072840' date='Dec 30 2010, 04:05 PM']Jack Bruce = Win. One of my biggest influences... the main reason I wanted an EB3 for so long (and then ended up buying an Les Paul as it sounded more like an EB3 than the EB3's I tried! lol)[/quote] +1 for Jack Bruce. But for me it had to be the fretless Thumb rather than the EB. The EB would probably have been cheaper though

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='1072200' date='Dec 29 2010, 10:10 PM']Aye, a Hofner one, whereas the guy in the Crowes played the Epiphone one as above. Yarrrr Jez[/quote] Ok, 1-0 to you!

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='1072040' date='Dec 29 2010, 07:27 PM']I`ve got a Black Crowes dvd called Cabin Fever and although I haven`t played it in a while, I`m sure that the bass player plays a similar bass on a few of the tracks. Looks good, sounds good, £200, all adds up to a happy bass player. Jez[/quote] And wasn't there some band in the '60s where the bassist played one of these? Can't remember the name of the band ... but maybe they were from Liverpool?

[quote name='4000' post='1071515' date='Dec 29 2010, 10:14 AM']No offence intended BTW! Ricks are an absolute minefield when it comes to the details and people with only a passing interest consistently get things wrong. There have been so many variations over the years but even within the "obvious" features people consistently make errors, like saying (and I've actually seen this) that 4001 basses have single truss rods and 4003 basses have twin rods; this is also completely wrong as they both have twin rods. I know a lot about Rick 4000 series basses, but there are some on Rick Resource who know 100 times what I do; it's always worth partaking of that knowledge if you have a serious interest in the subject, particularly if you're looking at buying a Rick. I've learnt so much from there. They are, however, not keen to talk about fakes. [/quote] 'sokay - no offence taken Tbh, I'm more into Rick guitars than their basses. And I should know about exceptions: my 12-string seems to have a fairly unusual combination of features.

[quote name='4000' post='1071460' date='Dec 29 2010, 08:22 AM']Sorry but you're wrong there. As a member of Rick Resource, I can tell you that from around '72 onwards the "s" basses were set necks, as were the 4000 models. I know, I've had some! Prior to that they were thru-necks. The non-s models (ie the deluxe 4001/4003 with the binding etc) were all thru-necks. V63, C-Series, CS were all thru-necks. The s-models came mono as standard (Chris Squire's was modified), deluxe as stereo, but there were special orders and others may have been modded. Despite the so-called "intolerance" of Rick Resource (actually no less tolerant than any other exclusive Forum) if you want to learn about Ricks you need to go there as there is a lot to learn that will take you ages to learn anywhere else.[/quote] Thanks. We'd already established that Smith's book is wrong on this point and that set-neck basses do exist. But thanks for the extra info.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1068504' date='Dec 24 2010, 08:50 AM']... Failing that Warwick do a 4 string bass that is (iirc) built BEAD... is it the Darklord/Vampyre or something![/quote] Warwick do both a BEAD bass and an F#BEA bass. The "Taranis" model (a variant of their Corvette) is tuned BEAD, and the "Dark Lord" (a Vampyre) is F#EAD. Both are, I think, discontinued and neither are common on the 2nd hand market.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1071111' date='Dec 28 2010, 05:10 PM']Just reread and watched the clip now I see it does it acousticaly so ignore my rubbish above although its still the right way for sorting a Rays weak G! Them massive strings cant be doing it any good IMO how did you get into using 55's?![/quote] If it was an issue with the magnets from the pickups then it [i]would[/i] happen acoustically as well as when amplified. But I should have read the OP more closely: [quote name='AsterL' post='1070402' date='Dec 27 2010, 07:25 PM']..... It also only happens when playing the open string ....[/quote] That's quite different to my problem and seems clearly to be caused by the nut not suiting the strings.