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[quote name='JPAC' post='1229298' date='May 12 2011, 08:50 PM']Is there anything to do to a little used bass?[/quote] If you mean you're not planning on using it for a while, then slacken off the strings before putting it away in it's case. If you mean you're wanting to use it and it's not been played for a while then, if it's a rosewood neck, consider giving it an oil. A new set of strings might not go amiss as well.

[quote name='lojo' post='1229591' date='May 13 2011, 07:21 AM']If you intend to use ply dont waste your money on marine ply, it has no advantages over a construction grade WBP in your situation[/quote] ...unless you want the rehearsal space to act as an emergency escape pod in case of flooding...

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='1229017' date='May 12 2011, 04:51 PM']But how/why/where/how much? Is there a Peavey dealer in Leicester or Nottingham?[/quote] Not sure if there's a dealer round here but the service centre is just over the border in Northamptonshire: Service Dpt - Peavey Electronics Great Folds Road Oakley Hay Corby Northamptonshire NN18 9ET Phone: 01536 461234 Fax: 01536 747222 e-mail: [email protected] I've had dealings with them before and they are very helpfull.

[quote name='ironside1966' post='1228891' date='May 12 2011, 02:55 PM']The first thing I thought of was new strings so I have a set of D’addario nickel wound bright but the bass still sounds dull, even when played acoustically the bass is dull compared to my other instruments?[/quote] If your bass sounds dull acoustically then the problem is bigger than just adding new pickups. There are a number of things it could be, poor setup, poorly strung, indifferent quality neck, ineffective nut, ineffective bridge...

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='1228894' date='May 12 2011, 02:59 PM']We have a pair of Peavey Eurosys 500 XT cabs. (Each driver is 250W @ 4 Ohm) One of the drivers is blown - it sounds like a fuzz - it looks like a Black Widow I've seen in pics on Ebay, but I'm not sure. There's a sticker saying it's already a replacement basket. I have no experience with these. Question: Is it only the basket that ever goes wrong with these & how much are the replacements? Does the coil element ever go wrong? If so, how could you tell which component is dud? Would I be better just replacing it with a 15" 4 Ohm 250(ish)W if I can find one? Any advice would be welcome. Thanks. G.[/quote] If by 'basket' you mean the metal chassis that the cone sits in, there's nothing there to go wrong (unless the magnet falls off the back or the chassis gets twisted). 99% of the time it's going to be the coil that fails. With the speaker on it's back, gently lay a light dinner plate on the cone. Very gently push the plate down - if you feel a 'grating' then the voicecoil has melted. A recone is always going to be cheaper on a BW than trying to find a new replacement.

Take a look at the Boschma cases. I don't own one but I know someone who does and it's a very sturdy bit of kit. [url="http://flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typeproducts.asp?groupID=4677"]http://flightcasewarehouse.co.uk/music/typ...sp?groupID=4677[/url]

[quote name='Stag' post='1227915' date='May 11 2011, 07:29 PM']I also found the same thing! Discussed the matter with Dood and a general consensus was reached that msot people dont bother with the loop...[/quote] Well, they're handy if you have a rack mounted effects unit in the same rack as the amp...

[quote name='Mykesbass' post='1227770' date='May 11 2011, 05:01 PM']Had my Hartke HA2500 from new since last August. Every now and again I switch on, plug in and get no sound. I've checked to make sure I wait for the protection circuit to click before turning volume up. This has now happened thre or four times, previous times a quick switch off and on seemed to sort it but last night it was dead for ages, before deciding to finally come to life. Anyone with any similar experience/knowledge? Cheers, Mike[/quote] Have you tried changing speaker leads? An intermittantly short circuit speaker lead will prevent the protection relay from clicking on (at least it does on my old HA3000).

No problem at all. I actually use both methods at the same time!

I think I'd be more inclined to put battens on the walls and put the foam between the battens before plasterboarding over the top of that lot. Raising the floor is a good idea. I'd use a plastic sheet over the whole floor (helps keep the damp out) and then battens on top of that. It would probably be worth filling the spaces with rockwool - that'll give you an extra bit of sound damping and keep your feet warmer in the winter. Insulating the roof space would be a good idea as well. I did a project like this where I used to live and got the neighbours on either side involved - I played loud music in the room and kept turning it up until they said 'that would be annoying'. Once I had that level I backed it off by 10% and never ever had a complaint in the 5 years I was there.

[quote name='megallica' post='1227400' date='May 11 2011, 12:30 PM']One of my friends joined a new band and one time we went to see them play and we could hear a bass being played but no bass player on stage. At the end of the set we realised that the bass player was hiding behind a pillar on stage left as he was a bit shy.[/quote] Oh that rings an embarassing bell. I did exactly the same thing when I did my first gig as a teenager. All the audience could see was a bit of bass guitar neck and a hand...

[quote name='farmer61' post='1227368' date='May 11 2011, 12:04 PM']Aged 49, move as much as I bloody well can, while I can!!![/quote]

[quote name='risingson' post='1226949' date='May 10 2011, 11:45 PM']There seem to be an overwhelming amount of anecdotes that just involve bands playing music to dogs and their owners![/quote] The RSPCA have been called...

[quote name='Eight' post='1226866' date='May 10 2011, 10:39 PM']Cheers Daz. All help appreciated here - it's a learn as I go type deal.[/quote] ...and if the worst comes to the worst, you know how sandpaper works...

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1226681' date='May 10 2011, 08:21 PM']Hey, she was at my last gig She wasn't so nice about my playing [/quote]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1226666' date='May 10 2011, 08:07 PM']After the gig a woman came up and congratulated us on a great performance. [/quote]

Not really. A Warwick sounds like a Warwick and a Spector sounds like a Spector - there's a lot more to it than swapping pickups.

[quote name='Eight' post='1226542' date='May 10 2011, 06:21 PM']Work commencing on the Peavey restoration project I started last year (and didn't do much of due to British weather); and I'm at the stage of priming and painting the body. I was just going to use spray cans (saw some "special" Fender color ones online) but came across this in my local PoundSaver and wondered if it'd be a better option. What do you think? Also, a dumb question for you: I've sanded the body but if you touch it then there's plenty of dust/paint particles etc. still on there. What's a good way of cleaning all this stuff off? Didn't want to take a wet rag to the thing with it being untreated wood. Cheeeers.[/quote] A bit of clean rag with white spirit on it to clean the dust off. The only real drawbacks with electric sprayers is that you'll 1) have to track down suitable primer and paint in liquid (instead of aerosol) form and 2) the electric sprayer will need cleaning every time you finish using it or change paint types.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1226332' date='May 10 2011, 03:43 PM']Before we'd plugged it in my mate was messing with it and managed to use it to squirt green slime all over the back of a drummer from another band while he was setting up. Thankfully he hadn't noticed so me and my mate just slunk away quietly... [/quote] ...that drummer was Dan Ackroyd and he used that as the basis for Ghostbusters... ... you have a lot to answer for mate...

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='1226005' date='May 10 2011, 11:40 AM']One of my first gigs when I was 16 or 17 someone organising the gig had hired some fancy lights and a little pedal-operate smoke machine and stuff, and I was put in charge of operating the smoke machine during our set. I had it plugged into the same socket as my bass amp, and the first time I trod on it a ****LOAD of smoke came out and I must've hooked the power cable with my foot, so when I moved away from the smoke machine I unplugged it - and my bass amp! I quickly ducked behind the amp to plug it back in but in all the smoke I couldn't see a f***ing thing. =D Took me ages to find the wall socket.[/quote] Not gig related, but in one of my previous lives, I used to repair Le Maitre smoke machines. They used a pressurised canister of water\glycerin that went through a push button valve before hitting the thermal chamber. I switched the unit on and waited for it to heat up then pressed the button... I quickly realised that the fault was that the valve kept sticking 'open' and the canister seal (an O ring) had folded, jamming the canister into position. As the service centre was now full of smoke, I quickly unplugged the machine and took it out into the back yard where the smoke was spotted by a passer by... who called the fire brigade. The situation quickly escalated. The main police station was only two streets away and the police closed the road off. 'Just in case' an ambulance appeared. Luckily, we were nowhere near the coast or I'd have had lifeboats as well...

At a recent plug n play night we sat through a bass solo. Five minutes of slapping, tapping, finger flying nonsense with no tune or set rhythm. Delusion is a terrible thing when you're subjected to someone elses...

Old Charvel basses seem to go for around £200 - £300 on eBay.

Crank the gain control up high and keep the master control backed off?

Probably useful if you're a persistant tinkerer or like experimenting with different strings. Personally, I just set an instrument up so it plays nicely for me with my usual strings and just leave it alone after that.

[quote name='ahpook' post='1225572' date='May 9 2011, 09:11 PM']what ? you just nailed my favourite genre [/quote] I wouldn't call it nailed... just lightly screwed perhaps...