JJ Bass

[quote name='paul_5' post='1300584' date='Jul 12 2011, 07:42 AM']whereabouts on the neck is the deadspot? This is a common problem with fender jazz basses (amongst others) and can be fixed by using a small piece of wood and a clamp. It's caused by the mass of the headstock, turns out it vibrates at the wrong frequency and cancels out key frequencies. Increase the headstock mass by clamping said piece of wood to the headstock and that should sort it. It's not pretty but works for studio stuff and playing at home. Hope this helps mate. Cheers, paul.[/quote] Hi Paul, Thanks for the reply. Its around frets 17-19 mainly on the D string, but I can get the notes on the G but if I bend the G higher up it will not sustain and sound as if I need to raise the action .......... I hope that all makes sence! It does have quite a small headstock, but I've had this trouble before!

Hi all - bit of help please! Is it possible to fix a dead spot on a through neck bass? I think I have a slightly 'u' shaped neck, but barely noticeable. The bass has an unusual tension as its makes the strings fairly stiff, I have to use a string size down to make it feel like my normal 30-90's... The bass has a great tone and some even have commented that it sounded better than my old Status S1, so I'm a bit reluctant to get rid of it! But to get rid of alot of fret buzz I have to raise the action higher than I want to, I like a bit of fret buzz, but not too much! I've fixed the intonation and set up the neck to the best of my abilites, which is fairly ok, but as I have no extra funds to put towards another bass I really don't know what I could get in the 150-200 range that would compete.... Any ideas? Thanks in advance J

[quote name='GBass' post='1300494' date='Jul 11 2011, 11:55 PM']Here's one. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/liberty-bass-guitar-/200628816711?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2eb668cb47"]e-bay[/url][/quote] thats the one I'm looking at, but unsure of its sound etc.... Would it be better than my hohner b pro?

bump anyone?

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1299664' date='Jul 11 2011, 10:11 AM']****ing Liberty Basses Not sure if it was a model or a sub brand, but I think Liberty was a range of budget electric guitars & basses by tanglewood.[/quote] Nice pic ) Thats the only info I've found, nothing else! He said it was about £300 new 8-10 years ago, not sure if its going to be any improvement over my Hohner Pro B?? Thanks for the help

Hi all, Has anyone any info on Liberty basses? I've never heard of them and I've been offered one - any ideas?? Thanks J

[quote name='JTUK' post='1242889' date='May 24 2011, 01:05 PM']Generally, thicker string are more prone to going dead. Variety of reasons and some alluded to here but no easy way around it. I've only had one set of DR's not clean up on me and they weren't great out of the packet anyway so time to bin them for my purposes. Clean meths may help as the gunk that comes out of the winds has to be deposited somewhere and if the meths is old..it may will degrade as well. I give strings a clean over 24hrs and use a clean container as well. Overall DR's clean up the best, IME... as they don't have silk/cotton winds to fray and clog up the cleaning solution..I never try and submerge that part anyway... But if and E-string doesn't come up clean... then you have to decide how useable it is... You then have 2 choices..cheap but new strings more often..or buy seperates..at least that might save a few pennies on a new set..??[/quote] Sometimes its done it with new strings....! I usually use something like fairy or 'flash' with water and boil for about 10 minutes, then again in just hot water to get all the deturgents off. Or hopefully I'll put a new set on. I didn't get on with the DR's I tried, felt very rough compared to even the Olympia strings I get (for free!) As my strings are so thin they generally clean up and sound fresh on any other bass, its only the E, and possibly the D, but I've compensated for that by using a 35 which feels like a 45/50 - bloody odd thing! Don't really want to sell it as I don't think I'll get anything in the same price range that will play or sound as good as finances are nill!

[quote name='silddx' post='1242810' date='May 24 2011, 12:21 PM']Ahh, I thought you meant a headless one. The nut looks ok to me, as does the nut. Pickup height seems ok too. Duff set of strings springs to mind.[/quote] I wish it was that simple! It's done it on a few strings! And the tension can be odd as I use 25-85 which give the feel of 30-90... Never known a bass like this one, when I used the 25-85's on my Status S1 or Schecter you could barely feel the tension, cracking bass for the money though.

[quote name='silddx' post='1242313' date='May 23 2011, 09:45 PM']photos please[/quote] see photo's - any ideas ??!

bump for more info pls!

[quote name='Prime_BASS' post='1241059' date='May 23 2011, 12:37 AM']It's the break angle on the string, between nut and tuning post. The better the break angle the better the clearance from the first couple of frets, this is usually a cause of buzzing strings when played open. More likly so since you haventhe drop D thing, as the post is usually taller than normal tuning posts, which means you need to make sure you have enough wrappings around the post.[/quote] Hi, I tried an old string I had of Doug Wimbish's I had (bought an ex bass of his) and that string worked ok? Yet the string is ancient! Think its a Trace Elliot string???? May sound odd, but when I've tried the full length Warwick strings I've been using the E sounded as dead as a dodo! Trim it down and sometimes it's ok... Baffling one! I can only liken the sound to putting a sh*te covered rusty string on even when its brand new or 're-freshed'!! I'm trying different heights on the tuning post etc... Nothing is ever simple! Wish I still had my Status, never had that problem with that!!!

[quote name='silddx' post='1240717' date='May 22 2011, 07:44 PM']Which model is it? If it has the Steinberger system, then there is no nut on these, there's a zero fret. Look at the wrap on the E string, on many strings the wrap actually sits on the zero fret, One side of the wrap is often higher on one side of the string and fairly normal on the other, especially on the E. Try to get the more normal side sitting on the zero fret. What brand of string are you using? They are very light so the neck profile will be almost back-bowing if you haven't compensated by adjusting the truss rod and the strings will choke out as a result.[/quote] Hi, I use any brand of string I have laying around, I have been using warwick yellow's as they do the 25-85 I use on this bass. There isn't a zero fret on the neck. I think the Steinberger system is the same they used on the 'The Jack', but don't quote me, it has the tuning pegs and the drop D device. The only thing that confuses me is that it doesn't do it everytime! Abeit with new or re-freshed strings! Theres no point in a dead sounding E when I'm doing my Mark King thing ) The neck is adjusted about right, theres a dead spot, but I don't think I'll cure that with my thin strings... Any more ideas [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZRSST4-H0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxZRSST4-H0[/url] It's that bass, but not sure if you can see it properly - but you can hear the E sounds right on this!

Thanks for all the help here. I'll try turning the string into a better position. The bass has the Steinberger bit with the tuning bottom pegs and the drop D device on it. The E sits fairly well on the nut, I recently replaced the original nut as the E was worn and making it sit too low I use incredibly light strings as the tension on this bass is slightly odd, I usually used to use 30-90, but now using 25-85 so I do get a nice bright sound as I'm a bit of slap player So when the sound isn't as it should be it's very obvious.... any more ides??

Hi, Just a quick one... Quite often when I re-string (or boil up my old strings) the E sounds 'dead' like its a few years old, the rest sound crisp and as they should - any ideas? I've tried the height of the string either end of the bass, but this one has me baffled! The bass is a Hohner B pro with the Steinburger bum on it. It doesn't do this every time, and as I hate the sound of old strings I wondering what to do.... 'ELP! Cheers J

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1220980' date='May 5 2011, 01:14 PM']Your problem is not one of [url="http://www.liutaiomottola.com/formulae/tension.htm"]tension[/url] but one of [url="http://www.liutaiomottola.com/myth/perception.htm"]compliance[/url] or "stiffness" of the string. If you string two basses which have the same scale length with the same make and gauge of string and tune them both to the same pitches the tensions in the equivalent strings on each bass will be the same. However the compliance may well be different. If you've read the articles in the links you'll see that compliance is affected by what happens to the string between the witness points (the nut or zero fret and bridge saddle) and the string anchors (the machine heads and the bridge/tailpiece). The overall stiffness of the neck and neck joint if there is one will also have an effect on the compliance. Is this bass very susceptible to changes in string gauges and types - are you having to adjust the truss rod more often than usual? Personally I would take this bass along to a really good bass luthier along with one of your other basses that you are happy with and explain your concerns and get them to have a good look at it. The other thing that comes to mind form your post is that you have a lot of very nice basses that seem to work as you want them. Is there any special reason why you are expending so much effort making this particular bass work for you?[/quote] Hi, and sorry for the late reply. I've only the one bass at the moment, all the others get sold/traded depending on finances etc.. I've wound back the bridges as far as possible and even though he truss had to be slighly tightened it doesn't need playing about with. When I first tried 25-85 on my status they almost felt too thin, and on this hohner it feels like a heavier guage. Maybe another thing, but sometimes when re-stringing (I do this alot due to my slapping!) if I don't get the string right it will play/sound like a dead/old string, but if I re position it on the tuning peg it'll sound right - how odd!!! Any thoughts? It has a cheapo graphite nut, and the steinberger bum on it!

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1220480' date='May 5 2011, 12:20 AM']Some basses are just like that. My old Ibanez BTB had amazing string to string tone and balance, but it always felt as stiff as a board. I think the 35" scale contributed to this but all the same, it made my left hand fingertips like bloody steel. Maybe a pro setup could address the issue?[/quote] I'm not sure how much a pro set up would be???? I seem to be able to set a bass pretty well myself as I'm pretty patient and know how I like a bass - low and fast!!! I'm not totally sure what scale the bass is, as I haven't checked as most basses look small on me as I'm a big bugger!!

[quote name='Ross' post='1220644' date='May 5 2011, 09:22 AM']I didn't even know they made string sets that light, could you maybe use the bottom 4 of a 6 string set (high c and down) then tune them to standard?[/quote] Thats what I'm doing already The 25 does disintergrate quicker than a 30 but for bending its something else, sounded great on my Status S1 - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dRP2kRjiC0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dRP2kRjiC0[/url] 30-90 are available, but not by many makers, I also use 30-85 as my sponsor sometimes throws me some freebies

Hi, Little help please! I've had a Hohner B professional for a few months and I can't seem to quite set it up right. It plays really well and for a budget bass and its bloody good but it seems to have more tension on the strings than other bass I've ever played! I use either 30-50-70-90 or 25-45-65-85 strings and the tension just seems too hard for those strings. I've tried some expensive and cheap strings but nothing seems 'quite right'... The action is as low as possible, the neck is straight (apart from a dead spot on the 17th fret on the A) The only string which seems very light is the 35 I have on the D which I tried as an experiment!! I had the same string set up on my Status S1, Zoot, Status Eclipse, Schecter etc and they all seemed fine, although they were obviously alot more expensive. Don't get me wrong, it still sounds good, but for bending the harmonics and strings bending I can only bend up 2 notes and with those strings I should be able to go higher if I wanted to! The strings don't even sound 'that' thin on the bass.. Any ideas? I've tinkered with most things on the bass, and if I mess with truss rod the dead spot gets worse! Help please!!