mart

[quote name='silddx' post='1010938' date='Nov 3 2010, 03:47 PM']Totally with Mart here.

I think your decisions re the ramp and PG are spot on.[/quote]

Actually that's quite ironic cos I realized I was possibly using the wrong terminology, and misunderstanding your proposals, and probably ensuring that nobody understood what I meant.

On a Jazz bass you've got a pickguard (around the pickups), and a separate control plate (which the knobs sit on). And Jaco removed the pickguard but left the control plate.

What I meant to say was that it looked odd just having the control plate, and that it'd be better to have no control plate at all, with the knobs fitted through the wood of the bass (like on Warwicks, for example). I'm guessing that might be way too expensive to machine, though.

A metal control plate and a clear pickguard wouldn't look bad, but I personally think your bass looks better without any pickguard, and then the Jazz-style control plate looks out of place.

Sorry for any confusion etc!

That prototype looks fantastic. I'm really not a Fender fan, but the flamed maple really sets that thing off beautifully.

I personally don't like the pickguard - it looks like a bit of Jaco left over from another project! So I'd go for no pickguard.

And definitely no ramp - I know it's contentious, but hey, I'm just stating my preference.

At this rate I can see I might be parting with some hard-earned and adding a J-style to my stable. I'm really impressed!

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='1008828' date='Nov 1 2010, 06:25 PM']Again, think the guys wanted to get a working one to me. I agree totally with your point of view.

Much like the gloss headstock/satin neck issue, and the transparent pickguard - these issues will be fed back, and i'll see what they say.

With the price in mind, would everyone want a ramp, especially if it added another £25/35?

Also, if we decided to go with the clear pickguard it would be hard to do it, if you had the option to remove it, there would have to be some forem of recess to accomodate it.

I think the answer to that could be no pickguard, and optional ramp?

The Ramps seem to divide opinion enough as it is, and it kind of fell by the wayside while we concentrated on the guts of the project.

Bear in mind that this is a prototype, and before any shop sees it, there will be a fair few e-mails back and forth once i've played it, and a few of the local basschatters, and a few local pro's give it a good going over.

Stevie Williams (one of the Bass Day UK organisers, as well as one of the artists) will play it, and give feedback, as he's using one of Faridas acoustic basses at the minute.

Appreciate all the thoughts of the BassChat community though, as to be fair, we're the target audience.[/quote]

[quote name='thebrig' post='1006958' date='Oct 31 2010, 07:25 AM']Thanks for the reply.
That's exactly what I was hoping, I have contacted Warwick custom shop (still awaiting their reply).
I shall also be seeking out a decent luthier, if anyone could suggest one in the Herts/North London area, I would be most grateful.[/quote]

Warwick won't help you, I'm afraid. They have a standard policy that they don't sell necks unless it's a straight like-for-like replacement of a neck that's broken.

[quote name='thebrig' post='1005545' date='Oct 29 2010, 06:04 PM']Does anyone know whether I could get a short scale neck made for my Warwick Corvette.
Would anything on the body need modifying, or can it just slot in?
I have neck and shoulder problems, so need to go down the short scale route,
but love my Corvette so much, that I don't want to change it.[/quote]

If you take your Corvette to a decent luthier, they will be able to make a short scale neck to fit, and nothing will need changing on the body. The sound will be a tiny bit different, because the pickups will be in a slightly different place along the strings, as well as because of the shorter neck. But there shouldn't be any issues.

[quote name='Phil-osopher10' post='1004657' date='Oct 29 2010, 01:48 AM']I just bought a second hand warwick thumb 94' (best looking one I've seen so far) and it is lovely. The case that is supplied with it is shocking it is just a rectangular box pretty much, in comparison with the music man case it is a shambles! Have I been supplied a dud or are they all like this? it says rockcase on it which to me makes me feel as if this case was meant for a rockbass? anyone know if there are any better out there?

I have included a google picture of both of them, but this is a pretty accurate representation. I'm not sure if it is clear in the photo but the stingray sits snug to the sides whereas my thumb bounces alll over the show[/quote]

From those photos, that's a very different case from the one my Thumb came in. But hey, the bass must be pretty good, so who cares about the case!

[quote name='guyl' post='1006248' date='Oct 30 2010, 01:13 PM']I bought a new Streamer around that time and it didn't come with a gig bag or case.

On a slightly unrelated - I also have owned 2 Warwick Rockbags. Straps have come off on both after a while. They were nice and cheap and seemed good value, but the sound of your bass hitting the pavement as it "breaks" away from your shoulder is pretty sickening. I won't be buying another![/quote]

Yep, I can see the straps failing on mine, but I've also heard at least one shop say they've stopped stocking any other gigbags because none of them last as long as the Warwick ones.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='1003980' date='Oct 28 2010, 04:15 PM'] For a second there you had me wondering how the heck someone from Wales had seen one of my band's posters advertising a gig in the North east of England (didn't think that it could be via friends in Talgarth, Wales)... then I remembered I'd used it on a thread on BC!

However that does leave me with a dilemma; if I trade the bass will people viewing the poster expect me to be playing a PRS? [/quote]

Haha! Yep, I bet you had loads of people turning up to the gig just wanting to hear/see your PRS bass

[quote name='Phil-osopher10' post='1004657' date='Oct 29 2010, 01:48 AM']I just bought a second hand warwick thumb 94' (best looking one I've seen so far) and it is lovely. The case that is supplied with it is shocking it is just a rectangular box pretty much, in comparison with the music man case it is a shambles! Have I been supplied a dud or are they all like this? it says rockcase on it which to me makes me feel as if this case was meant for a rockbass? anyone know if there are any better out there?[/quote]

If you can post a photo or two then I can tell you whether it's the standard case. The case my Thumb came in has velvety padding and various foam supports inside which pretty much keep the bass in position. It also says Rockcase on it, so no, that doesn't mean it was meant for a Rockbass. And the other distinguishing feature of the case is that it weighs an absolute ton.

Ah, that explains it: I was wondering what bass you were holding in the Stateside Preachers poster - I could tell it wasn't a W or a Zon!

Okay, on my Streamer and Rockbass (both active), the white is the hot lead, and goes to the shorter pin on the socket.

You could always plug a cable in, lick the other end of the cable, and attach a 9v battery to the outer pin and one of the others. If you get a buzz, then the one touching the battery is the tip! It'll certainly make you realize why you should buy a multimeter

What about a 2nd hand Levy's bag?
[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=106765"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=106765[/url]

[quote name='silddx' post='1002552' date='Oct 27 2010, 02:57 PM']Thanks mate, but I don't have a multi meter. I thought someone would know because I assume they are all the same. No worries, I will probably be able to work it out looking at my otherWarwicks, but their colours are not to be trusted

BTW, I love your Foamy Stingray Jazz, good build thread that! Very clean work on the innards!! [/quote]

I have the answer to this written down at home, from when I changed my sockets a few weeks back. But in the meantime: You're right that the outer one is the shielding/ground, and I think you're right that the shortest one is the tip. Although the Warwick colours are dodgy, the black from the battery should connect to one of the inner ones, and whichever one that is, the tip is the other one!

[quote name='genendeddie' post='982827' date='Oct 9 2010, 06:59 PM'].... lost an argument with a tin of quality street ....[/quote]

That must have been quite a tin . Go on, tell us the story!!

[quote name='bubinga5' post='981127' date='Oct 8 2010, 01:10 AM']i wasnt aware Rockbass did a Vamp...surely not??[/quote]

Surely they do!
[url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/vampyre-4/10750"]http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/vampyre-4/10750[/url]

Of course it's a slab unlike the delicate carving on the Warwick models.

[quote name='Vibrating G String' post='980368' date='Oct 7 2010, 11:35 AM']I had a few minutes of interaction with him back in '83 or '84. Nothing about music. As he walked away I said "hey, I love Brand X". He rolled his eyes and sneered and crushed my little heart!!![/quote]

I've heard quite a few comments about how [i]nice[/i] Phil Collins is! I wonder if, when you spoke to him in '83 or '84, he was promoting his own work, so took your comments on Brand X as a criticism of his solo stuff. I know from plenty of interviews that he loved Brand X.

[quote name='toneknob' post='979201' date='Oct 6 2010, 10:53 AM']Absolutely - brilliant, world class drummer. Very good singer late 70s/early-mid 80s Genesis, but his songwriting mostly schmaltzy. His current Motown project - embarassing.[/quote]

Totally agree with this.

[quote name='lonestar' post='978253' date='Oct 5 2010, 12:56 PM']Thanks for sharing this.
What a great rhythm section. For me Steve Hackett leaving was the final nail in Genesis' coffin and [s]then there were 3[/s] then they became the Phil Collins band.


Aah Wings; the Band the Beatles could of been[/quote]

The problem with blaming Phil Collins for all the bad Genesis songs from '78 onwards is that many of the worst Genesis songs were written by Tony Banks or Mike Rutherford!

I agree that the capo is exherting too much pressure, but there's another more fundamental problem with capos: you're always fretting more frets than your fingers are.

Imagine playing the 10th fret on a string. You're pushing the string down to the fingerboard, creating a shallow V shape between nut and saddle. (Technically it's a V shape with a tiny flat bit on the bottom, but it's so tiny we'll overlook that). Now imagine fretting the 2nd fret AT THE SAME TIME. Now your V shape has a big wide flat bottom: you've got a shape more like this:
\_______/
The left-hand edge of the original V has been stretched into two sides of a triangle, adding more pressure to the strings. Of course they're going to go out of tune!

The same thing happens when you play barre chords, but to a smaller extent, since the barre is always close to the other fretting fingers.

Conclusion: avoid guitarists who use capos.

Yet another happy customer here. Very quick service, and an excellent product. Thoroughly recommended.

[quote name='skej21' post='964917' date='Sep 22 2010, 08:42 PM'].....
You also have to take into account that some keys are easier to think about in flats/sharps. For example, Db major (only 5 flats) has exactly the same notes as C#, except C# major has 7 sharps, so in written music it is difficult to read and difficult to think about.
...[/quote]

I've got this songbook for a band who are known for changing key signatures a lot in their songs. And in one of the songs, part way through, the book changes key from Db major to C# major. Yes, from Db to C#, which most of us mere mortals would tend to think of as the same key. So what's going on there: was that just the transcriber losing the plot, or is their some subtle point I'm missing?

Ha ha, lighten up guys! You sound like a bunch of middle aged grumpies in the 1950s complaining about that Elvis stuff being nothing but noise!
Ok, I don't often want to listen to Nick Cave, but all that noise and dissonance creates a sound and feel that communicates a certain sort of emotion in a way that sweet clean arpeggios could never do.
Live and let live!

[quote name='EvilSmile' post='960741' date='Sep 18 2010, 08:23 PM']Very nice bass, its looks identical to a Streamer stage 1 i use to have. As for price its as warwick hunt says, although i think around £600 would be reasonable to ask.[/quote]

It wouldn't look the same if you flipped it over, seeing as how the Stage 1 is a neck-through whereas the LX is a bolt-on. ;-)

[quote name='J.R.Bass' post='950166' date='Sep 9 2010, 03:53 AM']Pretty sure it's to do with headroom, as Vin can't exceed Vout. So with a 18v preamp, Vin is bigger thus Vout can be larger.[/quote]

That's the most obvious reason for using an 18v supply. But a preamp designed for 18v probably produces a hotter signal than a 9v preamp, because by doubling the supply voltage there's ample room for both increasing the headroom and giving a larger signal, and a larger signal will give a better signal-to-noise ratio. The downside, of course, is that you may overload the preamp stage of your amp. That's why you have a volume control on your bass.

[quote name='Jigster' post='946453' date='Sep 5 2010, 06:02 PM']thanks Mart very useful

ok, so what about other models? Do Streamers dive?[/quote]

From my experience no, Streamers are very well balanced. The Thumbs really are far and away the worst culprits, because they were designed to be horizontal. I've heard a few people complain about Corvettes a little, but not had any problems myself. Maybe 5 or 6 string Corvettes are the problem - I don't touch anything with more than 4.

[quote name='wrinkleygit' post='945466' date='Sep 4 2010, 03:55 PM']The position of the lower strap button on any bass will determine how it hangs on a strap,to try & make this a bit clearer, imagine your bass lying on a clock face with the head @ 12.00 & the bridge @ 6.00 a button placed somewhere between 7.00 & 8.00 will make a big difference, to experiment strap your bass on, get someone to support the body, unhook the the strap from the lower button & hold it in different positions to find the best position, make sure you have someone in place to catch it if you let it slip,[/quote]

There's been some long discussions of this on the Warwick forum. I'd recommend looking at [url="http://forum.warwick.de/10-warwick-basses/12300-moving-strap-buttons.html"]this thread[/url] to start with. The broad conclusion I drew was that moving the lower strap button is never going to make much difference, but moving the top strap button (i.e. by extending the horn somehow) would be a lot more effective.

Two-colour LEDs anyone?


Only problem is they're in the wrong place! Some muppet ordered a custom shop fretless with the dots and lights in the places they'd be on a fretted. Which is probably why they sold it and I was able to pick it up fairly cheaply.


[quote name='dood' post='944951' date='Sep 3 2010, 09:10 PM']....Here's my beloved with my signature doodle:

[/quote]

Those lights look fantastic! All the other basses I've seen with LEDs have either been very utilitarian, or very tacky. This manages to be neither.