Matt P

defiantely go secondhand! i've built excellent sounding systems well within your budget. this is a good place to get an idea of what's worth buying [url="http://www.hi-fiworld.co.uk/index.php/olde-worlde/295-old-buying-guide.html"]http://www.hi-fiworl...ying-guide.html[/url] these pages have kit for sale a well [url="http://www.usedhifishop.co.uk/"]http://www.usedhifishop.co.uk/[/url] [url="http://www.greenhomeshop.co.uk/shop/"]http://www.greenhomeshop.co.uk/shop/[/url] [url="http://www.2ndhandhifi.co.uk/"]http://www.2ndhandhifi.co.uk/[/url] this site is great for diy tweaks and gear (i'm using one of the flexy table racks and it's great!) [url="http://www.tnt-audio.com/int.html"]http://www.tnt-audio.com/int.html[/url] this also has a 4 part section on how to buy secondhand gear too. i buy most of my kit through ebay (searching within 25 miles usually) or from the local paper and gumtree, latest bargain was some Atacama speaker stands, 3 pairs for 59 quid! i've also snagged the occasional item from cash converters but it pays to carefully check anything over before you buy, i've had speakers that were trashed (they gave me my money back though) for amps/cd players some good names to watch for are: cambridge audio, marantz (especially the cd63/67), denon, arcam, rotel. for speakers: mission, castle, kef, unless the room is realy big then i'd go for standmount/bookshelf speakers (really the same thing and best put on some decent stands like Atacama's) turntables: rega or pro-ject are probably the best options in your price bracket but you might snag a thorens as well (i'm using a thorens td160b mk2 and really like it) if you want a tuner for radio then my top pick is the denon tu260, i've got one and the sound is fantastic for the price! Matt

ok i've just had a quick google (probably should have done that first!) and the combo you have has the speaker connected at the back, so you could unplug it and if it will reach then it could be plugged into another head (provided that the other head has a 1/4" speaker output) the internal speakers are wired at 4ohms so it should be suitable for most heads on the market (but check first to avoid damaging something) Matt

i think your main problem might be connecting the new head to the speaker in your combo, i've seen 2 different connection methods on combo's, one is that the connection is internal with the cable going from the speaker up into the chassis of the amp section and then wired straight into the amp, the other is that the wire exits the speaker section somewhere near the back of the amp and then plugs into the back of the amp with a standard 1/4" jack, if you have the first method then hooking up a different head is a much trickier operation, involving dismantling the combo and connecting a new cable to the back of the speaker (and disconnecting the original one) if you have the second setup then you can simply unplug the lead and plug it into the new head, provided that the plug type is correct (quite a few new amps use the Speakon connector rather than a 1/4" jack) and provided that the lead reaches far enough to connect with the new head (most that i've seen have had very short leads) you would also need to know the impedence of the speaker (in ohms) to ensure that you won't do any damage to the new head (the ad200 is all valve so matching the speaker ohm rating is very important) My personal reccomendation is to get to a store and try out some amps, the terror bass is much cheaper than the ad200 so you should be able to afford a new cab to go with it. (and if you buy from the classified ads on basschat then you would probably have enough change left over to buy your girlfriends a nice meal out somewhere) apologies for the rambling answer, one day i'll write a simple reply to a question! Matt

having peeked behind the grille of my cloth fronted midgets (the grille frame is velcro'd on in the tradional manner) the speaker is set a fair way back so well out of harms way. i have bought roqsolid covers for mine though, with the thicker padding and the pocket for the speaker protection panel, mainlybecause i want these to stay looking perfect and judging by the condition of my old guitar amps a cover was a wise investment. Matt

i've just checked my email and the gap between final payment and delivery was a touch over 2 months! i have no idea if this is normal but it was definately worth the wait as the cabs are outstanding! i've now bought the extra padded Roqsolid covers for mine and am loving every minute i use them! Matt

for me there was a gap between my final payment and the arrival of my cabs (might have been a month or so), have you had a delivery tracking number? i seem to remember that they ship out on thursdays for friday delivery. did you arrange an exact date for delivery or did you just tell them when you were away and ask for delivery after that date? Matt

i found it on ebay for 5.99 with postage (from the works!) not sure if they've got any more copies but there were other sellers starting at 6.99. my copy is due to arrive next week, i bought it for the pictures mainly, (i bought the ultimate guitar book by the same author a few years ago and mainly just look at the pictures as well) Matt

mainly a g****r builder but makes basses as well [url="http://www.prguitars.co.uk/"]http://www.prguitars.co.uk/[/url] i've got one of his early design guitars and it's a stunner. Matt

hmm, 18mm is quite a bit wider than the 16.5 string spacing on the warwick, i think the mismatch would bug me (although i'm sure that they'd sound excellent) i think i'll pass on these for now, i'm leaning towards methods to smarten up the existing pickups, if you wipe them over with a damp cloth they look reasonable so i might give them a light mist of clear spray varnish and see how they look. matt

i'd wait till monday before trying to drop in, they're all on holiday until the 15th, my covers are on order, not cheap but worth it!

I have looked at Nordstrand and they don't make anything standard that would fit, and I don't see anything from Novak either, this bass is an exercise in just returning an abused instrument to useable condition, it's not destined to be my main bass, the incoming custom Letts 5 string will fill that role. This thread was mainly to find out what the options were for a 4 string sized pickup that would work with 5 strings as I was only aware of a few and they seemed a bit thin on the ground. I was hoping not to have to commission a pair of custom pickups in order to restore a budget bass. The Delano pickups would be at the very top of my budget but I have been curious to try them so the money could be found if the string spacing is correct. Matt

Sweet, let me know what they measure, I'm going to get some pictures of my basses sorted tonight so I can post them up for sale, hopefully I'll get a buyer soon as I need some space for incoming gear!. Matt

personally i go for Hiscox cases, they're quite expensive new now but pop up secondhand around the 50 quid mark. i have a couple of the bass sized ones and i just put whichever basses i need for the gig into the hiscox cases and the other basses live in gigbags or on wall hangers while in the house. i also have hiscox for most of my other instruments and they've saved the day on more than a few occasions! i'm going to get one with my new letts and probably for the R*****F***r when Mr Foxon tells me it's ready. Matt

what is the string spacing like on those pickups, the delano website states 17 and 18mm, while the warwick is 16.5mm at the bridge, are yours narrower spacing than standard or did you just rely on the fact that the polepieces are huge so the strings don't have to run over the centres. i tend to get a little obsessive about strings running over the centre of the poles (i think it's psychological thing!) the original pickups are the mec dynamic control ones, the bass didn't have a preamp as it is the cheapest rockbass model which is passive. if i can get one of my bitsa basses sold then i'm interested in the delano's but it might ake me a week or two to raise the money (just had to pay the car insurance and the road tax is due at the end of the month too ) Matt

[quote name='rhythmbug' timestamp='1373455371' post='2137729'] Correct, you can't use the standard J set, needs to be 2 x 95mm ones. Perhaps for your style of music, Barts might be the way to go, as they have darker, more subtle sound. MECs, EMGs and Duncans will be bright and growly. I have EMGs in my Corvette Standard and swear by them, but they don't behave so well with non-EMG preamps; a BQC pre is recommended. I've used a variety of pres and pups in this particular bass and prefer MEC and EMG. I have a set of Delanos that I'll be selling soon but might be out of your price range, as they were about £200 new. Stingray-like tone. [/quote] Barts seem to be a good option provided i can find a suitable pair, which delano's have you got? are they a matched pair that would fit straight in (and line up properly with the strings?) depending how much you're wanting for them and whether i can get my 2 bitsa basses sold i might buy them from you, i've heard great things about delano and would love to try a pair out. i have considered painting the existing piuckups but the pickups have had some of their corners sanded off so i'd need to do some careful shaping work to get them looking right. this is my fall-back option if i can't source some other pickups (or if i cant get the funds together for them)

those prices are amazing! 250 odd quid each and 60 odd extra for a tweeter, that works out about half the price of the midgets! even if you factor in shipping they sound like a bargain! Matt

ooh they sound like a midget rival! i think a [s]head to head[/s] cab to cab shootout might be in order! Matt

hmm, judging by the grill scale and the general look i'm going to guess that they're 1X12" using the scientific method of counting the vertical stripes in the grill and comparing to my barefaced Midgets, they look to be a smidge bigger, no idea who built them though! i think another North East Bass bash is going to be required soon, (but not before my Letts 5 string arrives)

SWR Headlite: £1.65/W new (assuming 660 quid new which is what i think it was) £0.625/W basschat price, if you include the new Barefaced Midget speaker cabs but the secondhand head then it's £3.40/W! or £4.425/W with a new head! the worrying thing is that i've got my eye on one of the new Matamp Hybrid heads, might push the £/W ratio even higher! Matt

hello, i bought a 5 string rockbass corvette from Shockwave a while ago that had been very badly refinished (i don't believe he did the work himself but bouight it as a project and then decided against it) it's this one if anyone is interested [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/188159-sold-warwick-rockbass-corvette-5-string/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/188159-sold-warwick-rockbass-corvette-5-string/page__fromsearch__1[/url] i've managed to strip the body and it's now nearly finished (oil and wax) my problem is that when the body was originally re-finished (before i got it) the pickups got very badly scratched by the sandpaper and now look awful, i've tried tidying them up with very fine abrasive paper and polish but they still look nasty against the newly re-finished wood. the pickups are epoxy sealed so the original covers are glued in and cannot be replaced (unless someone can prove me wrong!) what are my options for replacement pickups? I'm trying to keep this as a budget rebuild and am mainly looking at secondhand quality pickups rather than cheap new ones. which pickups are likely to work best, i'm guessing that the original MEC's had a blade magnet under the cover, do emg and bartolini have blades as well? the pickups are the jazz type with both being the longer bridge type (95mm i think) and the string spacing is 16.5mm at the bridge so most of the 5 string jazz pickups just won't work/fit. i play all kinds of music but mainly pub rock/blues/indie. the plan is to fit one of Tommorichards fine Sabre preamps as well (the bass was originally passive) the pickups are the final piece of this project and i'm really keen to get gigging with it! thanks in advance Matt

[quote name='paulpirie8' timestamp='1373016591' post='2132743'] My Super 12 just got delivered at my work! Initially I was very excited, now I've realised that I have to sit here for another 6 hours knowing that it's in my car and I can't use it yet! Paul [/quote] I had the same issue when my Midgets were delivered but i had them sitting next to my desk taunting me! worth it though!

i've booked out saturday morning for this, i'll brew myself a nice big cup of coffee and make a bacon sandwich and sit and listen to all the tracks on my good speakers (right through i promise!) i did this for the last one and it was a fantastic way to spend a morning. Matty

part of me would love to have MattAmp across the front! but i'd probably go for whatever the simplest and cheapest option is so that i could afford it earlier. i'm guessing that these will porbably be about twice the price of the OTB but from the reviews i've seen it's common opinion that the matamp products stomp all over their orange "equivalents" in terms of tone and build quality so that's fine by me! Matt

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1372155916' post='2122201'] [size=4]The hybrid was for all purposes a finished product. It has very similar dimensions to the Mini-Mat series, compact and easily manageable. What sold it for me was the range from the tone-stack and the usable gain pot. This can do super-clean to super-dirty. I think it knocks the OTB into a cocked hat. They rate the B&O power module at 450w, and it is the same one that other manufactures rate up to 600w. Has plenty of usable features like bass/mid/treble shift buttons, active/passive with pad and an attenuated DI out. I didn't play through the digital, I was engrossed with the hybrid, and ran out of time, but it's dimensions are similar to other 400/500watt digi heads out there. It would be an easy fit into your man-bag [size=4] [/size][size=4]. It had the same power section as the hybrid, just a SS front end. The tone stack had some different features, but I can't remember them at the mo.[/size] [/quote] SOLD! I'll take one of the hybrids! it sounds like it will it perfectly on top of my Barefaced Midgets, i'm guessing that prices haven't been released yet? i know that they're hand built so will be more expensive than the OTB but as long as they're less than the GT200 then i'll save up for one!

That sounds like the kind of service that i like, what was the size of the hybrid and digital heads? if they could build something the size of their mini-mat guitar heads then i'd have one in a shot, especially if it had the gt200 preamp! it would look fanbtastic on my barefaced midget stack and would give me an all UK built Rig! i'd better start saving just in case! Matt