Matt P

my SWR Headlite lives in a neoprene netbook sleeve (10" i think) and then goes either in my alu-framed case (the cheapish ones that maplins, B&q et al sell) or into my courier bag with the cables) it also fits in a gigbag pocket but i don't have any gigbags. the original gigbag that comes with the headlite was awol when i got it (from a basschatter) and i didn't have the cash to buy a gigskinz or similar. the netbook sleeve cost me one packet of chocolate buttons from a guy at work (a big pack but they were on special offer so £1) Matt

the peavey page linked to doesn't give a huge amount of useful information, (the aforementioned thiele-small parameters for instance). if you're worried about mis-tuning the cabs by getting the dimensions wrong i'd go for one of the designs available from the web, the B&C site has a nice looking 15" sub that you can download the plans of for free, i think eminance offer plans too. if you go for a trusted design and it's recommended speaker you will end up with something that will definately sound good, the peavey speakers are good but there are no promises that the finished sub will sound better than the original one. Matt

i wouldn't bother re-housing the speakers, to get a better sound you'd need the exact specs of the drivers and then WinISD or similar to design the enclosures. if you're wanting to build a box I'd head over to Bill FitzMaurice's website and take a look at the plans he offers, many people rave about them and I'm sure you could make some killer subs within your budget. http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/ Matt

obbm speaks sense, 4mm would be best for that kind of output, i'm using some 1.5 at the moment for quiet practing but come payday i'll be ordering some of obbm's monster 4mm ones. The manual for my amp actually states 1.5 as the absolute minimum and suggests that 4mm would be best. Matt

not as such, but i think you should be able to work it out, if not i can draw you a diagram later. Matt

your best starting point is the manual (available from the roland website if you haven't got the paper copy) from a quick glance it seems you need a double momentary footswitch, i made one of these for a friend a while ago for his EA Doubler, it was quite simple and i took the chance to customise it to his needs. i fitted 2 of these [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/push-to-make-foot-switch-34489"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/push-to-make-foot-switch-34489[/url] into one of these [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/aluminium-boxes-1728"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/aluminium-boxes-1728[/url] (i can't remember which one) i used this cable [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/3-core-3a-mains-cable-2183y-96"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/3-core-3a-mains-cable-2183y-96[/url], with a standard stereo 1/4" jack on one end to go into the amp and a 3 pole set of these [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/audio-locking-connectors-chassis-plug-line-socket-997"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/audio-locking-connectors-chassis-plug-line-socket-997[/url] at the footswitch end. this allowed it to be super compact (to fit neatly into the pedalboard) and i could route the cable to suit, the locking 3 way plug and socket meant that it couldn't unplug itself at the footswitch end and that no-one could 'borrow' the lead for something else. i made the lead length to suit and it would be a simple job to make another shorter or longer lead if required. i think the whole thing came to 30 quid or so. the wiring inside was very simple. Matt

And another vote for the Bass Doc, he's making a plate for me at the moment with just from the holes and dirty marks on a body to go on for the shape.(original plate was awol) but i think he can make them from a traced outline too if you can supply one. you won't be dissapointed with the quality, i've seen his work and it's top notch. Matt

what options are there for 5 string precision pickups? I keep looking at ou7shined's pingray and the only mod i'd make would be to make it 5 string, but there isn't the huge range of pickups available like for a 4 string. I've found the bartolini's and the nordstrand's but the search kind of dries up after that, i'd be after a classic p-bass tone and ideally there would be a good matching MM pup to go with it. If they could be cheaper than the barts and nordys that would be great too (moon on a stick i know but shy bairns get nowt.) I'm thinking of approaching either ou7shined or the bass doc for the build but might give it a go myself if my shed gets built. Matt

Just Met Up with Benebass and bought His Aria csb fretless, A very nice man and a fantastic Bass, Trade with confidence People, this is a man to trust. Matt

the yamaha rbx basses have a 19mm bridge spacing on the 5 strings, and they're very cheap if you go for the older ones, i only paid 100 for my rbx765. I have no idea if they sound like a ken smith though as i'm not sure i've ever heard one. Matt

i think these are Korean, i have the ma20 guitar (my first guitar) there are a couple of these over on TB and some have just 3 knobs while others have 3 knobs and a switch, the jack is in the correct positionn, if it was mine (and i would like one ) i would swap out what's there for something that matches your needs, here's some links to the TB ones [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/aria-aria-pro-ii-club-part-two-568148/index2.html"]http://www.talkbass....148/index2.html[/url] [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/5-string-club-part-2-a-761369/"]http://www.talkbass....art-2-a-761369/[/url] how about this? use a toggle switch for the series/parallel switching. http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=jass_bass_sp Matt

i actually wanted to learn bass first, i walked into the small town music shop thinking "i want a bass" and i looked at the 2 hanging there and they were useless cheapy rubbish, so my eye went to the acoustic guitars, none of those appealed so I continued along till I saw a red superstrat with a floyd rose and that was the one! about 10 years later (and many guitars) i finally got a bass, haven't looked back since. (although i still play guitar and i still have most of my collection I had plenty of fun being a guitarist though, and still play my beloved McIlroy acoustic most days. Matt

I've got the overwater flats on my yamaha rbx 765 and i love them, apparently they're made by Picato and they have a nice bit of tension. the real bonus is they're pretty cheap. i think mine were about 25 with postage and they arrived quick too. http://overwaterbasses.com/shop-2/bass-strings/ Matt

ok, those pot's aren't in my parts stash so i'll go for preamps with pots please. When i said configurations i just meant additions of a blend pot and any mods required to fit it to say a jazz bass. I'm in for 2 sabre pre's with blend pots and 2 stingray pre's if they're in the pipeline too. I'm in no huge hurry though. And i'll just take one sabre with a blend (to go in my jazz) if you're only making a small batch. Do you want a PM to confirm and sort payment? Matt

what spec pots are needed? Can you provide instructions for different configurations? Any chance of a stacked bass\treble setup? Matt

ernie ball flats on my '77 and i'm probably going for picato flats on my bitsa p/j when i finish building it. Matt

if it can be transferred onto a jazz plate i'd take one, and if the stingray one is on the cards i'd take 2 on olp control plates please. Matt

afraid i can't give you any pointers but i can recommend the guy who sorted my trace (very early gp11) Jez at Arkless electronics in Bedlington (i'm guessing that magpie land is local to me!), did a great job. Matt

I learnt this from a guitar tech about 10 years ago, the link was simply an easy way to explain the method, i think it might be as old as the hills! Matt

i've done this a couple of times and have yet to find a bushing that was glued in, they've all been a tight splined push fit. the method i use is i think similar to what the Bass Doc was suggesting, and almost identical to the method outlined in the link below (but i used the original bolt as i didn't have another that fitted.) [url="http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-remove-Tune-o-Matic-bushings-from-Les-Paul-/"]http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-remove-Tune-o-Matic-bushings-from-Les-Paul-/[/url] a bit of something soft under the lower washer is a good idea to protect the finish, and don't forget the earth wire! Matt

[quote name='nick' timestamp='1332105295' post='1583436'] I believe Status flats are also made by Picato. I like them too. [/quote] ok that's enough info for me, ordered! Matt

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' timestamp='1332100709' post='1583341'] All I can add is; Picato make their own [i]and,[/i] I do believe, Overwater strings AFAIK DR make their own, too. [/quote] Ahh this is interesting, i've tried the picato flatwounds and was mighty impressed, are the Overwater flatwounds very similar? i need a 5 string flatwound set and the picato's aren't very available online, and the Overwater ones are more than a fiver cheaper. if someone can give me an answer i'll pull the trigger on the Overwater ones straight away. Matt