colleya

I can only agree with everyone else. Only bought 2 straps for a modest amount of cash, but Gareth's communication and speed of delivery were excellent. Plus the many.

[quote name='Oggy' post='912922' date='Aug 2 2010, 04:07 PM']Any one else noticed this lack of GAS in the six string community, or is it my imagination?[/quote] Not a chance mate. The guitarists in my band are forever getting new kit. Mind you one of them runs a high end valve amp business and the other is his biggest customer! It's a symbiotic relationship. One of them is currently whittling down his guitar collection from 23 to a mere 8! And he only gets seriously top end gear, I think he's got bat ears. Sounds b****y good though. They stay behind after practice to talk about valves and such. I didn't have GAS until I joined this site. Same bass and one amp at a time for the last 16 years. Now I've just commissioned a 1x15 from our amp builder guitarist. First piece of brand new kit I'll ever buy. It's a slippery slope. EDIT for order - posted the original form my phone and it got jumbled.

Purple Haze, aged about 14/15 at a school show. It was all orchestras and choirs til we rocked up! I'd been converted from the cello on the 'they've both got the same number of strings, and we need a bassist' logic (there's an idea for another thread, how did you get into bass. Probably been done though). No idea what the school bass I played was, think it was Jazz shaped with a natural finish, but they had to buy a new set of strings once I'd expressed an interest in playing it. Prior to that, it only had 2, and I think they were both A. There wasn't a bass amp, so I plugged through a spare 15w Marshall guitar practice amp and cranked it til I could compete with the drums. Must've sounded awful. I've also got one of those horrible cringeworthy memories of wearing sunglasses indoors for the whole thing to look cool! Still makes me shiver to think about it!

+1 for Steve Robinson (Manchester guitar tech). He's just done a first class setup and bridge fit on my Jazz for £25. Absolute bargain.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='891557' date='Jul 10 2010, 08:03 PM']Are you a presenter on T4 in your spare time by any chance? [/quote] Nope. I can't b***dy stand Hollyoaks. And why would I want a name like Miquita.............

A couple from the 'School of Rock' battle of the bands I organised a couple of years ago at my old work: [attachment=53888:SOR_08_03.jpg] [attachment=53889:SOR_08_04.jpg]

I joined up for some advice on a pup problem with my beloved Jazz having got back on the horse a year ago after about 9 years off. Since then, I've bought a new amp from the for sale section, some new pups after reading the glowing recommendations of Wizard and I've signed up for lessons with Nick Carey following similar basschatter reviews. I've also commissioned a new custom built cab from one of our guitarists who [url="http://www.martamp.com/"]makes his own amps[/url] (shameless plug, but they are very nice). All my gear was due for an upgrade anyway. Honest! Oh, and I'm skint! You b******s! I've happily owned two basses. Ever. One at a time. For the past 17 years. Now I find myself thinking 'Hmmm, I wonder what a CIJ Precision in Oly white feels like........' BTW, I got some great advice from some very nice people on the original pup problem. The Wizards transformed my tone and let me find my place in the mix (right underneath, driving it along). So I'm definitely in the 'isn't it lovely here, you're my best mates, you are' camp. AC

[quote name='bassicinstinct' post='863335' date='Jun 10 2010, 02:58 PM'][b]There is also the one where you are starting a set and you hit the first note and nothing. You haven't plugged your bass in. [/b] Oh yes, that's an old favourite of mine. Character building though, isn't it? [/quote] Mine's similar, but I managed to stand on my tuner pedal whilst dancing around onstage. Instant silence! My other classic is getting a bit tangled up in my lead resulting in that embarrassing stumble/stagger sideways whilst trying to maintain some semblance of cool. Never good

This sort of stuff really interests me. Soft skills are just starting to make it into my line of work. It's interesting to note that lots of successful people - gigging musicians and otherwise have these skills as part of their makeup. I don't, so I have to work really hard at it (I'm not a pro musician by any stretch, just an enthusiastic amateur). Stephen MR Covey wrote a great book called 'The Speed of Trust' about how to develop trusting relationships with others and its effect on working relationships. Think about it, if the guy paying your wages trusts you to develop a bassline that fits and grooves, everybody's happy and the whole process is speeded up. It basically boils down to 'trust yourself', 'know your motives' and 'do what you say you will'. Pretty much what you've all been saying. Don't take my word for it though - read the book. [quote name='TimR' post='870506' date='Jun 18 2010, 09:20 AM']The ability to coax a decision out of the rest of the band without appearing pushy and stepping on the leader's toes.[/quote] This sounds an awful lot like 'coaching', which is simply the process of listening ([i][/i]really [i][/i]listening though, not just waiting for your turn to speak - this is where I fall down a lot) and asking questions designed to move the whole process forward. It's about leaving your ego at the door and helping others to develop their own ideas and solutions - pretty much the bassist's lot in a band! Admittedly, I have no experience as a pro player, and I'm a forum newbie - but the situations described sound familiar to the ones I've encountered at work and discussed with others. Amazing how people can make serious money by watching what successful people do and then putting it between 2 covers! Might have to give it a try.

They did, and how! Never sounded better, sat below the mix driving it along all night, tone, definition and sustain was brilliant. Only problem is, I'm gonna have to improve my technique. All the little variations in attack or slight misfrets show up in startling clarity now!

[quote name='redstriper' post='858149' date='Jun 5 2010, 01:43 PM']I think you'll be surprised how much the pup volume affects the tone and I would definately try it before changing pups.[/quote] Went to try it and my neck pup had died completely, luckily, the postman knocked on within 30 mins of it happening. New Wizard 84s sat happily in place (even with my noob soldering skills) and sounding amazing at low volume. Can't wait to get out tonight and give em a damn good thrashing! Big recommendation to Wizard for service and delivery too - only ordered them on Thursday.

[quote name='redstriper' post='857862' date='Jun 5 2010, 12:14 AM']Have you tried turning the bridge pup off completely and reducing volume of neck pup to about 60% ? Turn up gain on amp to compensate and you should hear no honk.[/quote] Cheers, I haven't tried that one yet. Gotta be worth a whirl if I can't get my hands on the pickups in time. Just chased the postie down the street cos I'd nipped out at the precise moment he turned up to deliver my parcel! He's coming back with it at the end of his shift so I've gotta sit tight and wait - fingers crossed.

Brief update. Rewired with standard pot but no real difference. Hopefully, the Wizards will arrive tomorrow in time to be fitted before the evening's gig. White Hart, Whaley Bridge, Peak District by the way if anyone's about!

Cheers guys. I've experimented with as many tome options as I can dial in (bass and amp). Gonna rewire with a standard 250k pot and probably swap the pickups for a set of Wizard 84s that I've been coveting for a while!

Just bought Steve's LMII. Very nice kit from a very nice bloke and really flexible about pickup. Amp is in great nick and he knows his stuff. He didn't even laugh too much at my fledgling moustache (it's for charity!).

Cool, cheers for that. Not sure I'm up for changing the circuit yet. Gonna try a rewire (and possibly a new pot) to see how it goes. Failing that, new pickups are next on the shopping list. I'll let you know how it goes. Andy

[quote name='dan670844' post='854464' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:01 AM']Incidently have you tried moving both the pot controls, does it make any difference?[/quote] Erm, pass! Just getting into this problem, so haven't had time to do anything much yet, plus, this is the first time I've attempted to understand the guts, so I'm on a steep learning curve. [quote name='dan670844' post='854464' date='Jun 2 2010, 09:01 AM']Show many wires go to the tone pot? 4 or 2?.[/quote] 2, but here are a couple of pics to show the wiring and the double pot. EDIT: Playing around with the top off (oo-er), the black wire from the neck pot to the jack socket was very loose and came away. Time to borrow a soldering iron and see if that solves the problem. Thanks for the suggestions, Andy

Hi My beloved 1993/4 US Jazz is currently sounding really really honky/barky to the point where I'm having trouble getting any oomph without it becoming uncomfortable to listen to. I play in a rock covers band, so being able to get an almost P bass sound is pretty important. At the moment, my tone is more suitable to a jazz/funk trio. I'm definitely not a 'take it apart just to see how it works' sort of bassist (but I'm having to learn quickly), so please excuse any silly questions. I've tried rolling off the bridge pup and scooping the mids to limited effect, but it doesn't seem like the neck pup is pulling its weight. For the first time since I've owned her, I've had a look under the bonnet, and there seems to be a double tone pot, which I didn't think was normal for a Jazz. The wiring doesn't look standard either compared to the diagrams. I'm getting the pups and caps checked to see if they're doing what they should too. Right, time to ask some questions..... Has anyone else come across this problem, if so, how did you cure it? Is the double pot normal for an early 90s jazz? (i bought it second hand, so I suppose it could've been modded) Would a rewire help cure the problem, or am I in new pup territory? Cheers.

First of all, hello! Just found my way here and I'm in need of a bit of advice. Having got back on the horse about a year ago, I picked up an Ashdown Electric Blue 180 head and 2x10 compact cab just to shift some air and compete with the rest of the band (one of our guitarists makes amps, very nice ones too, and very loud). The head only delivers about 90w into the 8ohm cab (as I understand it, I'm mostly of the plug and play persuasion), but it's been just about fine for pub gigs. I'm now getting to the stage where I want to upgrade a bit. Space & portability is an issue, I play about a gig a month for fun (classic rock and a bit of blues), and I don't want to be lugging acres of gear about, or using up all my brownie points filling the front room with an 8x10 (or having to explain how much it cost). I'm after a punchy rock tone, so I've been looking around and come up with a few scenarios: 1. Get a little mark 250 (or a II, there's only about £20 difference on GAK) and keep the Ashdown cab. I'm happy with it up to now, but am wondering if it'll do the head justice. 2. Get the Ampeg Micro VR and keep the cab. Looks the business IMO, cheaper and even more portable. 3. Keep the head and upgrade the cab - the barefaced gear looks amazing, but I'd need to save up, and do I need such high end gear for what I do? I was wondering if anyone has an opinion, or some advice. Cheers Andy