Matt P

@Deedee do you have access to a multimeter? that should allow you to test if the original one is momentary or latching, (and what the connections should be at the plug), this would confirm which switch is the right one for @fleabag. it looks like the original one has LED's to show status as well, it might not bother fleabag but it might be possible to modify one of the tiny options to give him LED's as well (and publishing the definitive answer on here will help the next poor soul that's looking for a smaller option for a footswitch) Matt

this looks like it will be another superb bass, one day i'll get round to enquiring about one for myself! Matt

as this is a budget amp i'd be surprised if the standard speaker was anything other than something fairly generic, and the enclosure is really quite small even for the 6.5" driver, i'd be more tempted to sell the amp and pick up something that was designed for bass. they do actually make a bass version that is the same size though, it would be interesting to know if they have different speakers. Matt

I would carefully check any house insurance policy, we had ours cancelled when I enquired about instruments at gigs, they classed any paid gig as a second job and this was excluded on the policy so they gave us a week and cancelled it, luckily it was through a broker and they found us a good deal so we weren't left uncovered. I have my gigging gear on a separate policy with Allianz, the rest of my kit is covered on the house insurance with a few of the instruments specifically named due to their value, these are covered as long as I'm not being paid which is fine as they are usually only used at church. Matt

can you get any of the pieces of teak measured and weighed? that would give you a density figure, then a bit of sketching and measuring and you could work out an approximate weight for the body, the values only need to be rough in order to give you a good idea of the final weight. Matt

This, he has set up quite a few of my basses, always a great service and very reasonably priced

i have had a search on google and have not managed to find another 5 string bridge of this design, i was wondering if it was made especially for this bass, I found a mention of aria in this interview but no other images other than the ones from this ebay auction, i'm guessing this was a one-off maybe as a prototype? http://www.garycooper.biz/articles/interviews0702.html i've not had any reply from the seller so at the moment i'm not prepared to make a bid on it (no one else has bid yet either) Matt

I didn't know these existed! looks like a nice through neck bass that will be very well made if it's come out of the Overwater factory. I don't need this but the want is strong (even though i don't generally like Active basses and i'm playing short scale a lot of the time now) I have asked about the string spacing and the weight, i'm just hoping they come back and say it's a boat anchor with super narrow spacing so i can pass by. Link to eBay

ooh now that is interesting! any idea on prices? there's nothing on their website. 8.9kg and only 30cm wide! Matt

the narrowest 100w all valve head i have found is the Handbox WB-100 at 460mm, so still a bit wider than i'd like (the cabs are 380mm wide) and i think there are only aboyt 3 or 4 in the country. most valve heads seem to be about 600mm wide and around the 1100 to 1200 quid mark new, this is about what Martin was quoting me for the baby YI-200. a different cab is one option but i really do love my barefaced midgets and space is at a premium so any new cabs would have to oust them which i would rather not do. If ampeg had made a 100w version of the portaflex valve heads i would have bought one like a shot, they fit perfectly onto the cabs and having briefly used a PF-20T i'm fairly sure the sound would have been excellent, unfortunately i don't think the 50w version would have enough to keep up with our guitarist and our PA is pretty much vocal only. At the moment i have no gigs on the horizon and the house needs a whole new roof so it's all just wishful thinking. Matt

my main reason for talking to Martin was that i was looking for something that was about the same width as my Barefaced Midget cabs (15" or so) i have yet to find a valve amp above 50w that narrow, i have an aversion to amp heads that overhang the cabs (although i have an amp incoming that breaks that rule but as i am being given it rather than buying it is a little more complicated) the second reason was that i had heard so many good things about the Stoneham amps that i really fancied one myself but 200w valve amps are very much overkill for the small pubs i tend to play. If anyone can point me at a 100W valve amp at around 15" wide i would be very happy to consider one. Matt

It is possible to find out how much they paid for it, the sticker will have a 4 or 5 letter code on it somewhere, it will be 2 or 3 letters then a dot and 2 more letters, the last two letters will probably be HH, Cash converters use what is usually referred to as the Blacksmith code, to mark the price paid on each item. B=1 L=2 A=3 and so on, so the HH is 0 pence. i find this useful when i find something in the shop that i don't want to pay full price for, knowing how much they paid is a great starting point for haggling. Matt

the website is working fine for me from a computer that has never seen the website before, the order confirmation section of the FAQ states " You will not receive any further communication from [sfx] until your product is ready. if they are busy (and i think it's a one man operation) then it might be a few days before they get your order built and ready. I have one of their pedals on my board (a prototype/custom Red dragon booster) thy are really great products, i would be tempted to wait a few more days if possible. Matt

I believe that all of the various cd-63 versions all used the same laser unit, the original Philips one is not available any more but there is a good alternative, there is a guide to swapping it here. https://www.hifigear.co.uk/blog/marantz-cd63se-laser-transport-mechanism-replacement/ Matt

no problem, please report back when you get a chance to test one, i think at last count i had 11 Hiscox cases of various sizes so I might be in the market for one at some point (provided i ever get back to gigging!) Matt

i have considered this before as I use Hiscox cases for all my instruments. I found this but never got round to buying one as i mainly use my car for transporting and the the trips using public transport where it would have been useful never happened. This thing not sure how the fit would be on a Hiscox but i guess you could send it back if it's not suitable. there are some other options as well from Gewa and ortega. Gewa Ortega Matt

I bought a pair of gen 2 barefaced midgets just before the gen 3 cabs were released, I haven't looked at another cab since they arrived (except I did test out a compact before ordering the midgets and If I had the space I would definitely add one to my collection) Matt

Indeed, the original thread is here (although some of the images have gone) Martin did sign up as a member on here to get some input but i don't think he's been back since then. I did ask about a 100W 15" wide version to go with my Barefaced midget stack and Martin implied that it should be possible and around the £1K mark which I think is reasonable but unfortunately not within my budget right now. Matt

unfortunately it can be quite difficult to identify roundwounds without silks, i'm fairly confident that they aren't D'addario, fender or rotosound as all 3 companies now have coloured ball-ends, your best hope is that the seller can enlighten you, failing that there are a few lists of what colour the silks are for most strings so you could make a list of all the non-silked strings and maybe narrow it down to a short list. in terms of gauge 45-65-85-105 is a very popular set, most manufacturers offer it so this might not be much use in narrowing down the search. if you can describe the feel and tone then that might help narrow it down a bit. Matt

I've not heard this amp in person but I have heard great things about it, Martin is my go to tech for all things amp, I did briefly chat with him about a baby 100w version of this amp but unfortunately i am too broke to actually commission it. Matt

I love a bit of Hifi, had a thread over in off-topic a while back about choosing my new amp after my Cyrus 6 went pop. the TL:DR is that i went for a Musical Fidelity M2si and am very happy with it, swapped out my old Castle Durham 2 standmounts for a pair of Castle Severn 2 floorstanders at the same time. I mainly listen to Vinyl, A thorens TD160 mk2 with an SME 3009 arm that i got free from a mates dad for 33rpm duties and a Nad 533 (rebadged rega) for 45rpm, marantz cd63, Nakamichi cassette deck 2 and then a denon tu260 and a pure DAB for radio, the turntables are linked via a project phonobox s and a cambridge audio 540 (i think) I have a friend that worked at mission many years ago so some of this obsession comes from a big stack of brochures he gave me when i was about 15! the rack was homebuilt using ideas from TNT audio (it's a modified TNT Flexy) it's the second one i have built, had to replace the original one to make more space for vinyl (and so as to make space for the second turntable) Matt Matt

ahh, my old bronco! I can only remember gigging it once myself, at the most disastrous gig I ever played (not the basses fault, it did it's job fine) I often think of it and would probably have done the same mods myself if I hadn't sold it as it was quite a nice instrument, I bought it from @mcnach a few months before i sold it to you. I do find myself looking at Bronco's but i think i would go for a standard black one and then have a pickup made for it this time. Matt

I know it's slightly over your budget but there is a barefaced compact in the classifieds for 325, that would be great with that head (and you could add a midget or another compact at a later date for even more volume.) Matt

Line6 quote less than 2.9ms latency which is fairly impressive, whether that is real or not i don't know but i've never noticed any issues. Matt