Matt P

Hiscox fan here, I've got 8 of them in total I think, 3 identical bass ones and various guitar ones, I've had to start marking them so I know which one is which. My first acoustic would be firewood if it hadn't been in a hiscox (nasty caravan accident) Matt

the pedal in the OP (OC-1) isn't actually a re-housing, it's a clone of an oc-2 built from the original schematic with the second octave omitted. i've looked at re-housing a pedal and didn't get much past the initial thought stage, so many pedals are built with the controls and input/output all soldered directly to a pcb, this means that either they need modifying to put them on remote wires or the holes in the new enclosure need to be incredibly accurately drilled to get it to all fit without putting stress on the soldered connections. i think the suggestion of building some pedals from kits or from scratch is the best one, there are plenty of kits available for clones of so many of the popular pedals.

This is what I have used in the past, in fact my les paul is wired up with this and I've managed to squeeze 8 segments in as it's got 2 seymour duncan with 4 wire connections and coil splits for both pickups. I've not had any issues with it coming loose either.

It's a shame they're not made in the UK anymore, the quality was really good and the lack of import costs made them an absolute bargain. i'm pretty sure that D'addario ,make shortscale flats, @D'Addario UK might be able to confirm or deny. Matt Edit - hooky_lowdown can type faster than me!

i have fitted them to a couple of basses in the past, they're really nice flats, they made strings for Overwater for a while as well. i'm not sure that they are in current production as i had heard that Picato had gone under, the website is still there though and they're available form a few suppliers still. i use d'addario Chromes now mainly as i can get them for a really good price through a local shop that has connections to D'addario (who happen to be based 2 miles from my house) and i never change my flats so they'll be staying a while.

How tied are you to getting a combo? there are real bargains to be had in the classifieds for heads and cabs, something like a 2x10 cab with any number of different heads could be had for less than the TC 2x10 combo, you might even score one of the more modern and lighter heads within budget, Markbass Little marks can go for 250quid (i paid that for my Markbass F1) add in 100 or so for an older cab and you're away, if you go for a smaller cab then you can add another cab if bigger gigs start coming along. this also can be a bonus when you are sharing kit at gigs or using the in-house gear at rehearsal rooms, i tend to just take my head along and plug into the provided cab (i'm lucky as the rooms we use have just bought Ampeg 4x10, 6x10 and 8x10 cabs) some of the smaller heads will fit into a gigbag pocket which can allow for the use of public transport for gigs (allowing for a post gig beer if that is your thing) the other bonus of a separate head and cab is that upgrades are easy when the budget allows or a change is needed, i tried a couple of heads before settling for the F1, luckily i haven't looked at another cab since i bought my Barefaced cabs. Matt

i've seen someone use copper tube to make sleeves to do this on a guitar. As you want to keep weight down you could try thin plastic, maybe a strip of fizzy drink bottle wrapped into a cylinder? it will depend how much space you have to make up. a bit of coke can might work as well if you want something a bit thinner, i've found that when using electrical tape for this kind of thing it always ends up getting bunched up and not fitting properly. ymmv Matt

i'm not sure if it was the case for the nickel roundwounds but the overwater flats were made by Picato as far as i can remember, i bought sets from both brands a few years back and they were identical in feel and tone. (in fact i only bought the Overwater ones as the 5 string Picato sets were more expensive than the overwaters and someone on here told me they were the same)

I keep one bass out and ready to play at all times (a different one depending on my mood) I'd suggest using a decent stand (if you aren't already) mainly as whenever i lean my bass against something i find that it knocks the tuners and puts it out on one string which annoys me. Matt

i've been playing 5 strings for more than 10 years (possibly 15?) I play a lot in church and a large amount of the music is composed on keyboard instruments (piano and organ) so Eb is quite common, and different singers have their favoured keys so i need to be able to transpose on the fly (often the music will be a lyric sheet with scribbled on chords for the guitarist to use a capo) I find that my 5 strings are so much easier to use in this situation, i occasionally use my 4 strings (especially the 77 p-bass) but it's usually a little more work. with my covers band i find that if i take a 4 string i'm always missing the low b string. the main problem that I had with 5 strings when i started was bad technique, i finally had some proper tuition (rather than busking it and using my old guitarist technique) learning floating thumb technique and how to play multi-octave scales really helped to tighten up my playing. i find that i move across the strings rather than up and down the neck and as a result i can play faster and for longer before i tire. my only issue now is that i recently discovered 30" scale basses so now i have GAS for a 30" 5 string (which isn't a common instrument!) Matt

if there is a rubber gasket between the grille and the cab then i'd expect the grille to have very little effect on the overall stiffness of the cab, especially as the cab itself is designed to be incredibly stiff (as far as i can make out the cab is optimised to the absolute limit of what can be achieved with the materials used) The rubber gasket is most likely there to damp out any vibrations that may be induced in the grille during high volume use. Matt P.s My day job is Mechanical design engineer, designing machines that vibrate (but ideally wouldn't)

i went for the silver cloth when i ordered my Gen 2 Midgets, i've had the grille off and there is actually quite a bit of space behind them before you get to the speaker cone so i'm happy, mine live in Roqsolid covers with the optional speaker protection panel (it's an optional pocket that i've put some stiff foamboard in) and mine look and perform exactly as they did when they were first delivered. i wanted the classic look and am very happy with all aspects of them (i haven't looked at another cab since) EDIT - i have swapped the head for a Markbass F1 but was never really happy with the SWR Headlite) Matt

if this were my problem then top of my list would be the Ampeg PF20t, i had a chance to record a single track through one at my tutors studio (@dodge_bass) just to allow for critical listening and to see how close i was to the original bass, it was fed straight into a scarlett interface and then into reaper with no plug-ins or tweaking (that i can remember) and it sounded fantastic. the PF20t will run happily without a speaker load and has separate Preamp out and speaker simulated XLR outputs on the back, if you wanted to get a mic-ed up speaker sound then it will drive a small cab as well. Matt

@karlfer @Number6 I know this is an old post but i've just stumbled on the Dirtybird via a bit of eBay'ing for short scales, i was wondering what the weight and balance was like for the 30"version, i don't expect it to be perfect due to the body style but was hoping that the short scale would help with the balance a little, also are they 19mm spacing at the bridge? I've got some birthday money burning a hole in my pocket and have a real love for short scale basses at the moment and there is something about the Dirtybird that really appeals! Matt

Thank you for the info, i had a nasty suspicion that they would be difficult to get and expensive but i'll make a note of them and keep my eye out when i'm in secondhand book shops etc, i seem to spend a fair amount of time browsing old books and you never know what will turn up!. Matt

would you be able to let me know what book that is please? it looks like just the kind of thing i enjoy reading (presuming that copies are available for less than a kings ransom! thanks Matt

I suggested newtone as there is a much smaller range of strings available for short scale basses, especially for less common tunings. I'm not sure I've seen single strings for short scale. It might be worth a look at the daddario string gauge calculator, you can play with gauges and tensions and see approximately what gauges might suit. http://stringtensionpro.com Matt

If it is roundwounds you are looking for then you the best option would be to contact newtone strings, they will be able to make you a set to suit, not the cheapest but very high quality

they are a bit more than Rotosound (26-28 quid depending on spec compared to about 20 for roto's) but DR start at about 30 quid minimum and Newtone will wind to your own spec. the postage is stated at £1.20 which i think is pretty good. (for the record i haven't yet tried the bass strings but i've been using the Newtone heritage acoustic guitar strings for about 10 years and won't buy anything else) matt

i wouldn't expect there to be a difference in performance or sound but the choice of series or parallel speakers in a 2 speaker cab is sometimes down to what happens if one of the speakers fails, it they are parallel then the amp is suddenly seeing a 16 ohm load, if they are in series then the amp is suddenly seeing no load at all (which is usually very serious for amps with valve power sections0 the amp manufacturer will decide which outcome is the least disastrous and go for that (if they're engineering it properly) Matt

I missed this originally, the thread started 2 years ago so there is a chance that the replacement program has finished, I used isopropyl alcohol to clean both of mine up, I wish I'd seen this 2 years ago as it looks like I would have got a couple of extra stands!

yeah i know that if i ask the right people then i could get a P-Retro, unfortunately until i get my overdraft cleared and then a decent way back into the black it just isn't a sensible option right now, i'm doing my best to only buy the absolute necessities every month and maybe this time next year i'll have enough spare cash to make the phone call. i've had a pretty expensive time over the last 2 years, (redundancy 2 months before my son was born, a total of 4 months with no income and now a job that pays less than the old one but with about 50% less stress) i've just read that last paragraph to check it for spelling errors and it reads liker a sob story! i'm actually about 200% happier than i was 3 years ago! and not buying new gear has meant i've spent more time playing and my technique and musical knowledge is also significantly better than it was! Matt

ok now i'm really jealous! i think that's pretty much the exact spec i'd go for (especially if it's 18mm string spacing) the website says the single pickup versions are currently discontinued. I've been thinking of a P-retro for my Letts 5 string for a while but they're not listed for sale anywhere and i'm totally broke ( and probably will be until my son moves from nursery to school and we stop paying a small fortune in childcare every month) Matt

i was just looking at the two 5 strings listed on Alan's website and was thinking maybe you were going for the RetroB J5 which is very pretty but that bass you've gone for is gorgeous! which preamp has it got? i played a couple of ACG's at a bass bash a few years ago, i wish i'd bought one when i had the money. Matt