Matt P

i would make a gauge, get a bit of stiff cardboard and a pair of compasses, draw in the 10mm radius on the card and cut it out with a sharp craft knife, then compare it to the radius on the cab, you want the same radius or smaller for the new corners or you'll need to sand the edges to suit the new corners. this is what set of radius gauges looks like, not difficult to make a few in cardboard to see what you've got. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radius_gauge#/media/File:RadiusGauges2.jpg Matt

i had one and the power amp section failed on me, first one output started whistling/whine/hum, then the other one followed suit 3 months later, a real shame as the preamp section was excellent! i seem to recall something about a bad batch of boards but i don't know how many batches of boards they had made, top marks to Ashdown for sorting it though! mine had the casing removed as soon as i found out it was possible, really helped with the cooling. If Ashdown were to re-release this amp with a more standard 500w power section i'd be very tempted to get one, if it was slightly smaller and lighter that would be a bonus too. do we have an Ashdown rep as a member on here? Matt

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1507184323' post='3383719'] I'm gonna chuck Lowden in there. When my dad in law was looking for a new electro acoustic, we went round tonnes of shops & played hundreds of guitars. He took me as he wanted to hear how it sounded from an audience viewpoint & have someone who'll play the same parts every time. We went through a lot of guitars from the big players such as Taylor, Martin & Gibson, many of them are very beautiful instruments. But we kept coming back to Lowden, an O35. The thing with guitars, like any instrument, You have to go & play it. I really liked the Martin D28, but my dad in law didn't get on with it like he did with the Taylor guitars. We both loved the sound, feel & playability of the Lowden. It's down to personal preference. [/quote] i agree with this, i tried loads of very lovely and expensive guitars on my quest to find my perfect acoustic, i ended up with a McIlroy which is very similar to a Lowden (Dermot McIlroy learnt his craft at Lowden and was the production manager for a while) i was very close to buying a Martin OM21 for a long while but the McIlroy AS25 won hands down, it took about 20 seconds of playing to know it was the one. i've played loads of Taylor's from the baby range up to the 800 series and none of them seemed to live up to the price tag. it's a similar story with Takemine, i've played a wide range of them and there was only one that was hard to put back on the stand in the shop (an all mahogany small body, if i hadn't have been skint i'd have taken it home with me) if you do end up having to fit an aftermarket pickup then i must recommend the AER AK15 that i have in my McIlroy, a really natural sounding pickup, i've recorded with it a few times and always got surprised reactions from the engineer on how close the pickup sounded to the acoustic tone. i think that as the budget goes up it actually gets harder to buy an off the shelf electro acoustic as the top builders tend to lean more to making great acoustic guitars (rarely with cutaways as standard) and then let the buyer decide what pickup (if any) they want. if you were looking for a 500 quid electro acoustic ten i could easily suggest a short list of great makers to look at! you seem to have a liking for Gibson so this would probably be a good place to start, they do make some very nice electro's that will fit easily into budget. (i've got a hankering for one of the blues kings but unless my numbers come up in the lottery it's going to stay a dream.) i think that the best advice would be to try every guitar you can and then let your ears decide.

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1505510533' post='3372569'] I bought a Badtz Maru off here. The machines wete awful, while trying to enlarge the holes for new ones, the top of the headstock sheared off. So first up, new neck. It didn't sound so great, so I put in a hotrails style humbucker. It wouldn't intonate. The bridge was awful, so I put a Mustang bridge on it. Oh, and Straploks. [/quote] so that's what you did with it! i'm pretty sure you bought this from me, what scratchplate did you go with in the end? matt

I have a case for pretty much every instrument i own, the vast majority of them are Hiscox Liteflite, the few that don't have hard cases it's usually because a decent hard case isn't available or the instrument is so cheap that the case would be more than the instrument cost. I've got a double height rack/shelving unit in my study that holds everything neatly, and there is usually a couple of instruments on stands for easy access. i'm in the middle of a re-build of the study at the moment, when it's finished i might post a pic. Matt

i kind of do own one, a gp11 ah250, with the blacklight tube across the front, it's currently residing at my church and the understanding is that when they finally get the PA upgraded enough to handle the bass then the head is mine, it was donated to the church many years ago and as i am the man who has kept it running (2 trips to an amp tech in about 10 years, only one of them actually needed) and i've paid all the service bills it is mine to claim as soon as the church no longer needs it. If Trace elliot were to actually make the amp that many here seem to be asking for (one of the classic preamps like an smx or maybe the gp11) with a lighter power section, then i think i'd probably be in the queue for one. Matt

While on my quest for a backup 5 string I tried one of the squier 5 string precisions (the one with 2 jazz pickups) and it's got a very wide neck, I think my comment at the time was that it was like an aircraft carrier, if someone wanted a narrow spaced 6 string then it would be a good candidate for a cheap conversion. You should be able to pick one up fairly cheaply second hand I think the one I tried was only about 120 quid. The string spacing was fairly wide at the nut from what I can remember, and it was 19ish at the bridge, the neck was wide enough that you could go very wide at the nut without the strings falling off the edge of the fretboard.

when i was considering a ricky i was told that the larger Hiscox case would fit, they publish lots of useful dimensions as well so should be easy to work out if it'll fit. https://www.hiscoxcases.com/product/ebp-large-bass-guitar-case/ Matt

50 quid is about the going rate for a used Hiscox Liteflite (thats certainly what i paid for the last one i bought used)

Done

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1498242614' post='3323409'] Yes - I think you're right. I went to the local music shop today and talked through with the owner. Although he didn't have any, we came to much the same conclusion. Stunning, by the way, how many respected case suppliers don't put the internal dimensions of their cases on their web sites! [/quote] I'm not sure if they'll have anything to fit this but Hiscox quote internal dimensions for their cases, they have been known to do custom fits as well, my friend had a couple of cases customised to fit his schecter tempest guitars. http://www.hiscoxcases.com/electric-guitar-cases.htm Matt (edited with Linky)

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1497269825' post='3316894'] template, Do the insides of the pickup rout template need polishing ? Sounds very finicky for just a template, Matt [/quote] not for a template, i was just adding that as additional info in case someone else searches for perspex cutting info, personally i'd go as far as the fine file as i'm never that accurate with cutting so usually get the last little bit with a file to give an accurate neat edge. Matt

another option (that i use for smaller cuts) is a manual coping saw, it takes time but less likely to get melting or splintering, masking tape both sides is always a good idea, leave the protective plastic on as well. for finishing the edges was taught to start with a fine file, then go through the grades of wet+dry paper (used wet) up to about 1500 grit, then brasso for a final polish, you can get it super smooth and transparent this way. we made keyrings using this method at school, then i used the same method for the perspex top of a hifi stand i made as my GCSE project (far too long ago!) Matt

What about our very own AndyJr1515 ? it might be a few months before he has the time to work on it, but judging by the quality of his past work i'd expect this to be a fairly simple job for him and the result should be awesome, he's based in Derby i think. http://basschat.co.uk/user/16482-andyjr1515/ http://www.ajrguitarmods.co.uk/ Matt

if you're happy to go secondhand then the markbass F1/F500 might be worth a look, i'm running an F1 with Barefaced Midget cabs and it's a great pairing that has pretty much cured my amp GAS. the F1/F500 is bigger than the nano 300 but thinner and lighter than the littlemark i think i paid 250 quid for the F1 but it might have been 300. they pop up for sale fairly regularly at sensible prices. Matt

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1496076318' post='3308586'] Confirmation that Andy is either a genius or working to his own exacting standards. [/quote] i'd go a little further than that, Andy is a genius with very exacting standards. Andy, feel free not to say but what is/was your profession? your working methods hint at something technical with complex methodologies. Matt

i thought that my Letts singlecut had a groove on the bass side but I just had a look and it's flat at neck depth all the way to 24th fret low B then curves out to full body depth, it's not bothered me as it's got a really flat squarish profile (that I love) i'm really loving this build, not really to my taste but the little design touches and the engineering that is going into it are exceptional. Matt

it sounds like you've got this all sorted but have you considered swapping the jack socket on the second cab with a speakon? the jack sockets aren't really designed for the high currents of bass amps. Matt

how about a USB recording interface? something like a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 Great for recording that groove you just came up with or for recording ideas as you have them. failing that then a few sets of your favorite strings is a good call. i've seen some of these credit options, and as soon as i've decided exactly what i want i'll be doing the same, PMT offer 0% over 9 months which is really rather good, it works out as 10 payments including the deposit, i might not be able to find say 300 quid right now but 30 a month for 10 months is far easier to come up with. Matt

you might also like the Fender 347 shape ones too, they look very similar to the Gibson ones you posted above http://shop.fender.com/en-GB/accessoriespicks/347-shape-classic-celluloid-picks---12-count/0980347700.html personally I love the Fender 451, it's the same shape as a standard plectrum but slightly smaller, I bought about 40 last time and still have a fair few left in my stash. http://shop.fender.com/en-GB/accessoriespicks/451-shape-classic-celluloid-picks---12-count/0980451700.html#start=1 I linked to the fender page as it has good clear photos, Matt

personally i've gone the other way, i got rid of my rectangular cases and bought Hiscox ones, if it's the price that is the issue then they come up secondhand all the time, i've usually paid about 50 quid for them, (currently have about 8 for various guitars and basses) i have found that the Hiscox ones usually fit better than the rectangular ones unless you add lots of padding to stop the bass from sliding around. Matt

I think it depends which 1x12 or 1x10 cab you are using, the modern high efficiency cabs are nothing like the cabs of 10 years ago, i run barefaced midgets (2nd gen) and a single one really can hold it's own against a very noisy drummer and a guitarist with no concept of turning down, when i was looking at cabs a local BC'er (thanks Jack) invited me to one of his band practices to try out his midget/compact setup, it was a smallish room drums, bass and 2 marshall half stacks, i commented afterwards how well the cab paring cut through the sound and was informed that only the midget was plugged in! i've also has the chance to A/B the barefaced against TKS cabs and they're very similar in volume. Markbass/Vanderkly/berg/.Aguilar all offer astonishing small cabs compared to what was around 10 years ago. matt

i had one of the RBX yamaha basses as my second bass (and my first 5 string) Yamaha have a reputation for build quality and great value, i'd be tempted to see if they'll do a deal on the yamaha (gig bag/strings/lead) i think for the same amount of outlay i'd go for a secondhand bass over any new one, you get so much more for your money. i kept my Yamaha for years, it was only ousted when i bought a custom 5 string, it's still getting regular use by a friend who took it on when i didn't have room to keep it. i know it has been mentioned before but the basschat marketplace is a fantastic place to get bargains on secondhand gear, If you let us know where in the country you are (approximately) then people might also be able to suggest good local shops with decent stock of used basses, someone might even offer to accompany you to some shops to look over any potential purchases (if you're in the north east then i'd be happy to look over any basses you've got your eye on.) Matt

Neutrik make a right angle 3.5mm plug that might work, it's got a cable clamp designed for the figure 8 flat cable and clamps quite tightly, it should be able to clamp a fairly flat cable with no problems, the main issue is going to be soldering the conductors inside, i've repaired a few sets of decent headphones and it's like soldering hair, i've actually stopped offering to fix them for friends as it's such a pain. these are the plugs, they're usually about a fiver each (watch out for fakes on ebay) http://www.neutrik.co.uk/en-uk/plugs-jacks/35-mm-right-angle-stereo-plug/ntp3rc Matt

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1492343400' post='3279513'] You'd probably best not look into aircraft construction next time you fly if you dislike the idea of Cleco style fixings. That 'cup' you prefer is a chocolate fire guard once the nut comes off the strap! [/quote] I've never had a nut come off in 20 years of using them (only 5 years of using threadlock) the rotational movement is the cup around the button, the nut is there to lock the strap against the body of the lock (with a washer as per good design practice), there ate 3 little pins on the body of the lock to stop rotation. i believe that Cleco fasteners are for temporarily holding sheet material in position prior to fastening with rivets (that's certainly the only time i've seen them used.) Matt