Ou7shined

Guitar pickup! Why?

[quote name='stevie' post='1195654' date='Apr 11 2011, 01:07 PM']Do you realize that the vast majority of forum members don't have a clue what you're talking about and are now googling madly? [/quote] Par for the course really.

Who is this masked luthier going around professionally relicing basses for these eBay fools?

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='1195704' date='Apr 11 2011, 01:43 PM']Hmmmm. I have been considering this. But given my relatively meagre bass ability already, I'm not sure that having infinitely variable pitch without any kind of fixed intervals is really a good idea. If you know what I mean....[/quote] Yep. But when I do it, filling the gaps with maple veneer, it leaves nice markers (which can be blended in lightness to suit your taste) as a handy guide.

[quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='1195585' date='Apr 11 2011, 12:21 PM']Loaned mine to a friend last week, who took it to compare with another friends (bought a while back at full price). He thought mine sounded very dark and a little muffled, despite the maple fingerboard. Compared to my J type, when the Ryder is on full treble it's as dark as the neck of the jazz with the tone rolled off to about half. Anyone else find theirs dark, and those of you with several, did they sound different to each other?[/quote] Mmmmm darker. Ideal for a fretless conversion.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1195346' date='Apr 11 2011, 07:33 AM']I think its only the pikey versions that have the pups wired in series [/quote] Why I oughta! [quote name='witterth' post='1195228' date='Apr 10 2011, 11:38 PM']Ooh dont know about wires, all sealed in, so how do I check? and...... stupidly (and obviously) I need to check battries will that make a huge difference though? ( soz to be numb)[/quote] Take your strings off then unscrew the 3 screws holding in your pup. Be careful when lifting the pickup out as some pups can drop out when you lift it out (I mean the the inner bit - the black bit you see is just a cover). It's no biggy, just a pain, don't be scared. I doubt it is a battery issue as the volume doesn't tend to drop in the MM circuit, the tone quality suffers instead. [quote name='stevie' post='1195420' date='Apr 11 2011, 09:21 AM']I may live in god's little acre now, but I've been around.... I've read the Sunday Post. [/quote] Oor Wullie is still my fav. [quote name='witterth' post='1195434' date='Apr 11 2011, 09:32 AM']No Ste this is the sort of thing I need to know so thanks! btw the other thing I wanted to ask is the pick up cover keeps "creeping up " (fretted basss) so I have to screw it back down now and again all seems fine and straight with the neck, so any ideas on that too?[/quote] This is a little worrying, it sounds like the holes for your screws are stripped - again, whip out the pup and investigate and report back.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='1195510' date='Apr 11 2011, 10:57 AM']The "weak G string" issue is nothing to do with polepiece alignment. It's all in the design of the preamp: [url="http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/11343-weak-g-string-output.html"]http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-...ing-output.html[/url] It was something that used to drive me nuts at band rehearsals in a particular studio room and I traced the problem to a mismatch between my Stingray, the eq settings on the bass as I had them set and the Ashdown amps in that room. On Ampeg and Trace amps, I never had the problem to the same degree, particularly when I learned that "turning all the knobs to 10" on an active preamp isn't an intelligent way of using eq. If you're experiencing problems of this sort, change the eq settings on the bass and amp flat (centre detente on 3 band preamps) and see if it makes the issue go away.[/quote] +100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000.4 I'd never experienced it (in fact I used to poo-poo the supposed phenomenon) until I played my 'ray though a headphones amp one time an my G went all shhhhh. It didn't take Heinz Wolf to figure out that if it was always ok through the amp, pc etc. but went quiet through one particular device that it was nothing to do with the bass but how the signal was processed post bass. I now have a special 'ray setting on my PX4D.

I love the styling of the metal one - although I dare say you'd have to adjust your left hand technique a bit to play it. I've actually played the paint splat one string.

[quote name='stevie' post='1195081' date='Apr 10 2011, 09:23 PM']Wired series is a louder than wired parallel. Whether that applies here, I dinna ken.[/quote] That's what my money's on. Which of these looks like you basses pups? btw stevie : that's an awfae strange accent fur a Dorset boy.

[quote name='martthebass' post='1194964' date='Apr 10 2011, 07:42 PM']Loved early 2000AD, especially Slaine and Strontium Dog (I know, that was a bit of an import). Think my 200 issues or so went to a charity shop.....[/quote] Yep. Strontium Dog was ace (Middenface McNulty ), Rogue Trooper and I had a wee crush on Halo Jones... then Tank Girl Got rid of all mine too but I still have some hardbacks/annuals.

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1194938' date='Apr 10 2011, 07:14 PM']Well, if you happened to have the one edition of 2000AD that someone out there might need to complete their collection, it might well be worth the bass of your choice to them . . . .[/quote] Touché But they're all priceless.... as far as I'm concerned.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1194846' date='Apr 10 2011, 06:04 PM']That pre amp aint an MM one is it? Are all 3 EQ's on a green crescent PCB?[/quote] Yep it's not MM. Their non crescent ones are like... or later on.... I see the control cavity has had some .... ahem... "work" done too to accommodate the new pre.

[quote name='martthebass' post='1194853' date='Apr 10 2011, 06:05 PM']Put a '1' in front of it and it'd go some way towards my 'year of birth' bass.......[/quote] I have very fond memories as a kid of curly-wurlys and a copies of 2000AD therefore to me they are next to priceless, I'll give you one of each [b]plus[/b] I'll bung in a roll of caps to sweeten the deal. You win out big time - a bunch of priceless item vs a mere bass. That's way better than Pete's cheeky offer.

Have we got a pic of the pre? I agree with the top luthier (same goes for Sabres)

[quote name='andy67' post='1194640' date='Apr 10 2011, 02:37 PM']Not quite sure of your argument or what your point is but the bit I've highlighted in bold/italics is more or less what I've said throughout! [b]Some are trying to establish price on sentimentality and individual worth however, I do not see these as a 'formula' to establish a price. The used market place is more of a reference but again the buyer will only pay hard cash if they feel it is a fair price. And, this can be based on many of the market place scenarios. Again, I'll state that most on here know the used market place and know how and why used items are priced the way they are.[/b] andy[/quote] Here here.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1194497' date='Apr 10 2011, 12:30 PM']I agree his prices are very fair but does he have a high street shop to pay business rates on etc?[/quote] +1 overheads = necessary markup.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194400' date='Apr 10 2011, 11:03 AM']...Ok, so what your saying is that a bass isn't worth what someone's willing to pay for it, it's worth a pre-defined price.[/quote] Nope. I'm saying that that is a tired old adage... usually applied to a situation when someone is seen to be over charging. It would be foolish to say that the market value is "a pre-defined price" accurate down to a cent. The market value on a bass fluctuates and is in a range. A cheap bass could be valued in a range of £50 while an expensive bass' market value range could be over a few thousand. Come in under that range and it's a bargain, go over it and it wasn't a good deal. Simple as. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194400' date='Apr 10 2011, 11:03 AM']I'm not saying it's worth the price of last time it was sold, I'm saying it's worth up to the money that someone (anyone) would be willing to part with it for. Regardless of model, if person A has a bass that they won't sell for less than £500, then it's worth £500. If person B wants to buy it for £600, then it's worth £600. If someone wouldn't sell it to Tim for £1000000, then it's worth over that.[/quote] That's just bonkers man. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194400' date='Apr 10 2011, 11:03 AM']I think we're just arguing over the difference between market value and [b]one person's opinion of it's value[/b], but I have said that I'm not talking about market value as that is an average price that doesn't take into account sentimentality.[/quote] fixed... although if you're not talking about it, I can't see how we can be arguing about it. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194400' date='Apr 10 2011, 11:03 AM']Remember, how someone values a bass is totally individual to the person, whether buying or selling. What they base that value on, whether it's because it was their first steady bass or they're prepared to pay a bit more for one with a maple freboard is totally individual.[/quote] It doesn't necessarily make it relevant to what everyone else is willing to pay for it though does it, therefore the standard use of the the phrase "it's value" does not apply.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194332' date='Apr 10 2011, 10:00 AM']The bass isn't rare, it's history is, there's probably hundreds/thousands of surviving identical instruments. That's my point, it's not specifically the bass that adds to it's value, it's it's history, the same as other peoples' instruments to them. If no one cared about macca (which is purely subjective to the individual based on sentiment) then it'd be worth the same as every other bass of the same model and similar age. So obviously in that case, sentiment does count towards the value of an instrument.[/quote] I'll let someone else bash their head against your wall on this silly point. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194332' date='Apr 10 2011, 10:00 AM']I stand by my statement that an individual instrument's value is the maximum amount of money that someone (doesn't matter if it's one person or everyone apart from that one person) would rather take the bass than the money. Things like market values are just averages, you can't apply them to individual instruments. [/quote] Your argument is fundamentally flawed as you are confusing the instruments value with the price paid for it the last time it was sold. Say you sell your Ibby to Tim Nice-But-Dim for £1000000 (You would wouldn't you? ) your argument states that that bass is now "valued" at one million pounds (I hope Tim doesn't try taking it to an appraisers and see what they say ) then Tim goes bankrupt and the bass is sold at auction for 50 quid, your argument now states that bass is now worth £50. If that lucky person who bought it for 50 quid then came on here to say "look what I got for £50" they would be inundated with replies of "bloody hell what a bargain That bass is worth £250" Get the picture?

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194321' date='Apr 10 2011, 09:28 AM']There is no second hand price for food or petrol generally, that's why it has a firmer value. The average price of second hand stuff might be [b]A[/b] market value, but it doesn't mean that every item should be sold for that price.[/quote]Now you're starting to get it. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194321' date='Apr 10 2011, 09:28 AM']There is nothing rare or desirable about macca's bass (apart from it's age, at least as far as I can remember). It's worth so much simply because of people's emotions (read: sentiments ) attached to his music and him. If someone looked at it and didn't know it was his, it would be just another bass and worth a fraction of it's actual value.[/quote]I don't know how to continue this discusssion if you think that a bass owned by one of the most famous bass players in the entire history of bass isn't rare.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194302' date='Apr 10 2011, 08:55 AM']When I say over the odds, I mean more than the average value for that model of bass. If you think of market value as the average, then sure. That doesn't make it a guideline figure for how much a bass should sell for though. I usually think of market value as more relevant for stuff that does have a more black and white figure though, like food by weight, petrol, that kind of thing.[/quote] How would you gauge the second hand value of food or petrol then? I'm sorry mate but your analogies stink. The average price paid for 2nd hand items is the very definition of current market value. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194302' date='Apr 10 2011, 08:55 AM']It doesn't matter if one person or 50% of people in the world value a bass as more than it's worth, as long as someone's prepared to take the bass rather than the money, that's it's value. If someone wanted to pay £500 for my Ibanez and I decided to sell, even though that's what it cost new, if someone was prepared to pay that, [b]that's it's value, right? [/b].[/quote] So no. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194302' date='Apr 10 2011, 08:55 AM']If one person's sentiments won't affect the market value or a bass, why would it matter if someone famous has owned it? Surely that'd be the sentiments of the people involved that would drive up it's value, it's not anything that affects the quality of the instrument. Also why do you see such wide price ranges on some basses? 'Ray 5s for example seem to have asking prices from £600-900, why aren't they all priced similarly if they're all the same bass. [/quote] It's nothing to do with sentiment, it's to do with rarity and desirability driving up the value. The only sentimental value in this scenario is what the famous person themselves puts on it, which may or may not be over and above the market value - you touched on this yourself earlier. The current market value of a 2nd hand SR5 (to use your example) is £600-900 [b]depending on condition, desirability, urgency of sale etc. etc. etc.[/b].

[quote name='munkonthehill' post='1194172' date='Apr 9 2011, 11:44 PM']No your right I guess. If someone is daft enough to pay over the odds just because some plum has upped the price because its the bass they bought after their first touch of a booby, then hell mend them.[/quote] You paint a pretty picture Steve.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194151' date='Apr 9 2011, 11:21 PM']Disagreed.[/quote] You say you disagree but.... [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194151' date='Apr 9 2011, 11:21 PM']If someone sold their cherished bass in a moment of madness or need of money then saw an opportunity to buy it back at an inflated price, then they might be prepared to spend [b]over the odds[/b] for it. Same situation but reversed, does that mean it's value is over what it would usually sell for? What about if it was McCartney's original violin bass, would you expect that to be valued the same as any other of the same model, however similar? I know I wouldn't pay more for it than I would any other (and I don't like them anyway, so I wouldn't pay much for one in the first place) so because me (and many others I expect) feel that way, does that mean it's not valued at more than another of the same type?[/quote] When you say over the odds, do you mean over the market value? McCartney's bass is worth more than other identical basses because it was owned by a famous person - whether [b]he[/b] thinks it or not - no sentimentality there. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194151' date='Apr 9 2011, 11:21 PM']When you buy or sell an instrument, you make a choice. What would you rather have, X bass or Y amount of money? The price a bass sells for is when the price is a compromise between the buyer and seller's individual Y. I'd rather have my Ibanez BTB than the amount of money it would sell for, that's because to me it's more valuable than the £250 or so I might get for it. That's how I value it, so it's it's value is over £250 however you look at it because someone (me) would rather have that bass than £250.[/quote] You value your bass way over £250 because you want to, while the rest of the world values it at £250 because that's it's current market value, yes? Therefore, I refer you to the post you apparently disagree with. [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194151' date='Apr 9 2011, 11:21 PM']When you're buying or selling, you don't just look at the model, there's all kinds of things that factor into the bass.[/quote] Like it was owned by someone famous? [quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1194151' date='Apr 9 2011, 11:21 PM']It's never as simple as looking at the last one similar that sold. You can look at average values of instruments that have sold and use that as a guideline but it's only an average of figures, not a black and white figure of how much they should sell for. Since market value is a rough estimation of the average, it doesn't take into account the individual values of each instrument, which are affected by sentimental feelings.[/quote] No one said it was black and white... but one person's sentiments will not affect the market value.

[quote name='phatkat' post='1193961' date='Apr 9 2011, 06:34 PM']Steady...!![/quote] Fit like min.