mart

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1360489737' post='1971015'] Try, try and try again. [/quote] You watched the rugby did you? It was good to see Scotland finally following Robert the Bruce's advice.

[quote name='kennyrodg' timestamp='1360433287' post='1970413'] Hi Mart, To be honest Bud I've not really used the Bass much in passive mode so I can't be sure. I'll have a twonk later though and report back. Cheers Bud, Pete. [/quote] I suspect you're not alone in that: I'd guess that most people try both modes and then quickly decide which one they prefer, and then stick with it. And I suppose there'll be some who religiously use the bypass mode because they think it'll save battery life. (Which it won't, since the preamp is powered whenever there is a lead plugged in.)

That trim pot is there to balance the active/passive sounds (or, to be precise, the preamp/preamp-bypassed sounds). How do the volume levels compare now when you pull the volume control (to bypass the pre)? Of course, it maybe that a previous owner tweaked the trim pot to get a much louder volume from the preamp than when bypassed.

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1360426743' post='1970198'].... Anybody else just play a fretless for everything ? [/quote] Yep, I use a fretless for everything I play. I just don't get why you'd want to limit the freedom to express yourself by having frets instead. But I guess that's just an indication of how I like/choose to express myself - I avoid anything too plinky or slappy, whereas I suppose for some styles you need frets.

Thanks; I've got my ipod connected up to my main stereo so I can't see using it for that, but I suppose it'll be handy for playing along to stuff. Somehow it always feels better when the backing track and my playing are coming from the same speaker(s).

[quote name='noelk27' timestamp='1360147261' post='1965472'] The settings are "tuned", and the specific "bass" setting is possibly the best for playing bass, but it also sounds pretty good on the "crunch" setting, and maybe a little louder/fuller through the "acoustic" setting. As for volume, it competes quite well with acoustic guitars in a home setting, but it would never compete in a rehearsal space with drums/electric guitars. [/quote] Thanks, that's exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to hear. I'm always playing at the quieter end of things, so it sounds like it would probably just about cope. Cheers.

Well, I was hoping somebody else might have done the testing first! And yes, I mean the larger 10 version, not the 5. My mando does look like a Tbird and, although I've tried keeping it a secret for a while, I am actually a furry rat.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1360112481' post='1965162'] Now there we are in total agreement... [/quote] At last!

Yes, I do "play the twangy things", and it would be mostly used for guitar (plus a spot of mandolin, like I'm playing in my avatar). I just wondered if it could also do bass at all usably.

This is a bit of a long shot, but I'm thinking of getting one of these for playing guitar when jamming with a couple of friends at lowish volumes (no drums, just strummed acoustic guitars). And I see it has a bass setting, so I wondered if anyone had tried putting a bass through it. Obviously it's not going to have much headroom, but I'm wondering if it could compete with an acoustic guitar for a practice? Anybody tried it?

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1360010734' post='1963594'] Yeah but hes not suggesting that the forwards-moved saddles are aligned with a previous intonation setting - he is suggesting that they are aligned with exactly double the nut-12fret distance. He is right, you are merely failing to understand what he said :-) [/quote] Cheers mate! Glad somebody gets what I'm saying. (Fortunately, since I work in education, I'm well used to people not understanding me. ) [quote name='icastle' timestamp='1360011675' post='1963622'] I strongly suspect you're right, I have to admit that I've kinda lost track of what it was that I was disagreeing about. [/quote] Ye bampot! pmsl.

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1359929512' post='1962298'] Yep but only 'cos it's making you sound all Scottish. ... [/quote] Ah, yer a thrawn wee nyaff icastle! I'm takin ma ba awa tae play elsewhere!

Glad you got it sorted! I still disagree with icastle, and really not seeing the argument I'm afraid. I'm really talking about a situation where there are no strings on the bass: the position of the bridge that I'm proposing is based on the nut-12th fret distance. Set the saddles at the same distance from the 12th as the 12th is from the nut, then [i]whatever[/i] strings you put on, you'll need to move back from that position in order to set the intonation. Because whatever strings you have, you will [i]stretch[/i] them when you fret a note, not [i]shrink[/i] them! If you set the saddles in the middle of the range then, then you will lose half your adjustment range because you would never ever need to move the saddles forward of that equidistant position. In other words, take any correctly intonated bass, with any scale length, any strings, whatever, and you will find that the distance from saddle to 12th fret, on every string, is longer than the distance from 12th to nut. It may be only a little longer (if you have small, low tension strings, with very low action), but it will NEVER be shorter. Still disagreeing?

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1359826413' post='1960873'] No need to hesitate mate, nobody else ever does! .... [/quote] Ok, I'll disagree then! I agree that there are a number of factors behind setting the intonation (e.g. action, string diameter, string tension, and how hard you tend to press down on the strings when you play, which is why intonation is always a personal setting). But all of these factors go into determining [i]how much[/i] you stretch the string when you fret a note. Nothing changes the fact that you are stretching it, to some degree, so the saddle needs to be moved backwards to compensate, but never forwards (from that "equidistant" position).

Er, I hesitate to disagree with Mr Castle, but I think this is wrong. If you start with the distance from 12th fret to saddle exactly the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the nut, then there are no circumstances in which you'd need to move the saddle towards the nut. Intonation is all about compensating for the way a string gets stretched when you fret a note, so you need to move the saddle back from the equidistant position to balance this. Even with the thinnest strings and the lowest action imaginable, you will still stretch a string when you fret a note, so you need to move the saddle back to compensate. There is no way you would ever need to move the saddle forward from this equidistant position. Based on that logic, you should put the saddles right at the front of your bridge (towards the nut), and then site the bridge so that the saddle-12th distance is the same as 12th-nut, since that gives you the maximum range of usable intonation adjustment. Anyway, before you get to moving the bridge, have you tried changing the strings? Without knowing anything about your bass, I'd say it's more likely that the previous owner out a dodgy set of strings on, than that the factory put the bridge in the wrong place. (And I say that despite having once had to move the bridge on a bass because the factory had put it in the wrong place! )

[quote name='the_skezz' timestamp='1359670103' post='1958706'] I can see where you're coming from - I do get sceptical when I see a bassist taking a six string onstage, due to memories of all the metalheads I started out gigging with who'd play them either to make themselves look more impressive or so that they could live up to their history as failed guitarists by playing the next closest thing. I know I shouldn't tar other people with the same brush - there are plenty of players out there who do a grand job with them - but it's gut instinct by this point sadly. If they use it sensibly I'll watch them play all night. [/quote] Yep, I try to keep an open-mind myself, and listen to what is being played before forming any judgement about the appropriate-ness of the instrument. But I can understand why a lot of people have closed their minds, and see 6 strings (or even 5) as beyond the pale. I don't agree with them, but I can understand them.

Your "no" option says "what a waste". But a waste of what? If you can (more or less) get the money by selling some other stuff, then there is no waste. It's a no-brainer for me.

I'd agree with Bod2, but brensabre's last sentence is also very true.

I'll probably get shot down for this, but I'll say it anyway: There are more players out there who misuse a high C to draw attention to themselves than there are players who use it sensibly and to serve the song. That's certainly been my experience at least. But I'm a neanderthal. Only 4 strings, and preferably not even any frets.

If it's a Rockbass Streamer, then the pickups are not the same as those used in the "proper" Warwicks (except the Streamer Standards that are identical to the RBs, but produced in Germany for about one year only, as a forerunner to the RB brand). And, as far as I know, there are no replacement pickups with the same footprint. So an offboard solution is really the only way forward, without major woodwork. But a simple boost pedal ought to sort out the volume if that's the only issue.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1359595185' post='1957424'] ...but it's not the same, having something, or having something to dream about. ..... [/quote] Wow! Thanks for posting that story. Very thought-provoking. For the poll I voted "happy with bass" because I love the role I take on that instrument. But I do wish I had a better singing voice to express myself with. Yes, I express myself through my bass playing, but only part of myself, and I think the singing would reveal more of me.

[quote name='RAY AGAINST THE MACHINE' timestamp='1359546633' post='1956310'] Poxy spellcheck! Vegan? I meant interface ,) [/quote] I was thinking that a vegan interface won't help you get a very meaty tone. Ok, I'll get my coat.

That's gonna be kinda tricky on the iPad. Still, all seems ok now. Or has someone been fiddling around under the bonnet? In any case, thanks!

Great that its fixed. Good work chaps. But ... I'm having avatar problems. I uploaded a new profile pic yesterday from my iPad, which all went fine, but now it's displaying rotated. I tried uploading a slightly different pic, and now on my profile I see the new version (the right way up), but everywhere else it's the old version, rotated wrong. Is that just a cache issue? How does it look to everybody else?

Err... [quote name='DiMarco' timestamp='1359403650' post='1954303']....(mine was b0rked so I replaced it with a new one).... [/quote]