Mr. Foxen

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=99435"]Original sale thread with pics.[/url] I was the rapid on the trigger finger one who scored this. I picked it up from the cafe where the courier dropped it off without telling me today. In addition to failing to deliver it, they also managed to crush the scratchplate into the cavity, so another original part bit the dust. First impressions: Lots of work needed, bridge is the ultimate example of tail lift: A couple of missing screws are in a large part responsible for this, the actual bridge saddles are missing, so a whole new one is the plan, torn between the original styled Allparts one, or the more substantial Hipshot one. A nice feature is that it retains it's CMI TRC: It appears to have been stripped, undercoated, painted and clearcoated, but without rubbing down between coats, it was done hung vertical as the drips are all along the bottom edge. So its going to be a full strip and refinish. Usually I finish stuff with danish oil, but I think Ricks are supposed to be shiny, anyone know a home applicable gloss coating? I have time, but not much by way of other resources (there'll be a sale thread to fund the parts). Binding in the pics is actually tape, but there appears to be binding under the finish, and along the neck there is original binding, and tape neck to it as only half the depth of the board was bound. Right now, I've most of the hardware off the body and am contemplating the best way to remove the finish, without trashing the binding. Any tips or advice throughout will be appreciated.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='942184' date='Sep 1 2010, 02:51 PM']Just gig in your bedroom instead. And shout. And pluck extra hard.[/quote] Two of my gigs were clearly audible in my bedroom. Not the ones without a PA though.

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='942007' date='Sep 1 2010, 01:15 PM']Stick a Sansamp through the PA. Amps are so 20th century.[/quote] Having a PA = sellout.

Amusingly, my esteemed partner in crime against eardrums was bigging up an amp on the basis it would fit in his manbag only yesterday, becoming a Barefaced has done terrible things to him. I have no up to date pics of my rig though. It involves a kilowatt of Matamp though.

You know when you 'rest your case' you are supposed to stop saying stuff right?

[quote name='Spacehog' post='941659' date='Sep 1 2010, 05:42 AM']Thanks guys, i guess it's possible but not advisable I recently played through a Peavey Tour 700 in a shop and it was awesome, and i guess not a bad price £400. The rehersal room has a Behringer bx4500 which after about an hour of tinkering sounded ok so could be a cheap option? cheers Spacehog[/quote] I think it is totally advisable. Just get a second hand Peavey power amp, and a reasonable pre. The Raxx pres are pretty damn good, and come up for less than £200, 1000w of peavey are sometimes less than £100, with those 'less's you can get a rack case for them (Shockwave has an ideal one going). Even cheaper way would be a Sansamp/BDI21 into the power amp, will sort you.

[quote name='dave74200' post='941910' date='Sep 1 2010, 12:10 PM']Oh come on. Some of you obviously don't agree with me and I perfectly accept that. I can also see exactly what many of you are saying. Very sensible and worthwhile. But this guy is just talking sh*te man! Nobody on here can tell me that an SVT is sh*t. Some may prefer other tones etc but come on![/quote] I'm gonna tell you right now: An SVT is sh*t. There is a 69/70 SVT sat within 20 feet of me right now and it sound can be described as non existent. It is crude, badly constructed and quite clearly has been beat, to death, by a previous owner. I've had a look inside, and the construction and components are not of noteable quality, and when it is eventually returned to a working state, at a cost of most likely more than most of my rig (minus the cab, expensive toy), it will sound like an Ampeg SVT, not whatever you plug into it, which is not great if you actually want to do things like amplify the sound from the rest of your signal path. Also of note is that as far as I know, this one is an all valve head, unlike the SVT2 which has a whole bunch of solid state components. All valve stuff can sound great, but stuff that is not all valve, such as your 'great sounding' amp can sound great whilst being a hybrid. [quote name='umph' post='941912' date='Sep 1 2010, 12:11 PM']I think all these guys are paid quite a bit to use these amps.[/quote] Paid by people who buy new Ampegs. I'd rather spend the money on a nice amp for me, although I'd cheerfully lend to Geezer or Tim.

SVT2: solid state rectifier, ruins the tone.

The cheapest they have, and then if they are any good, I go and try and find them cheaper elsewhere.

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='940430' date='Aug 30 2010, 09:50 PM']However it's also my observation that guitarists are more sensitive to tone than bass players, and the search for the holy grail of tone is taken much more seriously. Guitarists will also often want a palette of tones, whereas many bass players will seemingly find the sweet spot for the band and stick with it for the gig. The net result is that guitarists expect and get a huge range of tonal variations, and are often willing to pay for it. What makes it worse is that there are a few 'holy grail' instruments out there for the discerning, and that helps companies like PRS to shift boat-loads of carefully made and decorative guitars to those who equate looks, build quality and price with tone.[/quote] I've not found this. I've found guitarists are more sensitive to the tone afforded by having the right names written on things. I also tried out for a band that told me he could tell Joe Garcia had rubbish tone as he'd seen his pedal board, and wouldn't accept that I knew better just because I have actually heard Joe in action on a great many occasions (which he had never done, he'd just come into a practice to collect his combo), even did the old 'Imagine the tone that is sucked by all those pedals that aren't true bypass'. I've also handed guitars to guitarists so they could try them, and they still have to look at the headstock to see if it will sound right before they play it.

If you want the lacquer off, Danish oil will seal it and gives a lovely feel, plus it is easy to put new coats on as it wears.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='940926' date='Aug 31 2010, 01:31 PM']Power wise, over here in the uk you're best with 240 volts.[/quote] Volts is potential difference, power is watts.

I figured 500w was fairly large, but I do have to use all of it. I'd say go for the kilowatt.

I'm running 500w/side power amp and the 500w into an Aguilar GS412 is lighting up the limiter light sometimes in standard tuning at practice room volumes. When I'm back down to A, might have to get a compressor involved.

Is there a basic soldering qualification?

[quote name='joegarcia' post='940463' date='Aug 30 2010, 10:26 PM']Sounds nice but I don't like clear, defined highs and use lots of distortion. I'm over the moon with my Compact though [/quote] Did I just hear JoGarcia big up a small cab for his purposes?

[quote name='Soloshchenko' post='939729' date='Aug 30 2010, 01:29 AM']Absolutely bloody ridiculous price there.[/quote] This is the result of Rick's policy, it has given copies a premium value.

In cabs resonant = bad, non-resonant = good.

They weigh as much as a 400w valve head.

An easy pedal purchase deal. My favourite sort.

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='939303' date='Aug 29 2010, 12:16 PM']Why do they insist on putting manky huge pole piece pickups in these things?[/quote] Probably overstocked due to MM copies being loads less popular than P bass ones, plus big poles means you get away with looser string spacing tolerances.

[quote name='Meenie' post='938193' date='Aug 27 2010, 03:46 PM']Ditto... (its got the proper knobs on now,not the horrible brass ones in this pic)[/quote] Ace, notice how they are different shapes?

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Now-stock-Tuscany-BIRD-Bass-Guitar-Cherry-/290469241409?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV"]Modern Tuscany.[/url]