icastle

[quote name='Evil Undead' post='1168726' date='Mar 19 2011, 08:04 PM']I've recently been also playing my Kramer which has a much thinner neck profile, and I can't decide whether it's more comfortable or not... even after spending hours playing them both and switching between the two. I can't see any noticeable issues with my technique, so is it possible that the neck of the Warwick is simply too large for me?[/quote] I think those two statements contain the answer. If the Kramer with the thinner neck profile isn't noticeably more comfortable than your $$ then the problem probably doesn't live within the realms of neck profiles. As has already been mentioned, strap length and/or LH technique are the most likely culprits. For me, I adjust the strap so that my left forearm is around 45° to my upper arm when I'm around the 5th fret - more than that then you'll be straining your hand. That may not be right for everyone (arm length will make a diffrence), but it's what works for me regardless of which bass I'm playing - could be a skinny little JB or a plank like 6 string . Try finding the ideal position for your arm before you put your bass on - if you can find a comfortable position before you put it on then it's a lot easier to find that position again by adjusting the strap. Technique wise, I keep everything relaxed, I never hook my thumb over the top of the neck and and avoid strangling the neck with too much pressure (it'll tire your arm out and slow you down). I work up and across the neck to keep movement and stretches down to a sensible level wherever possible.

[quote name='chrismuzz' post='1169021' date='Mar 19 2011, 11:45 PM']All I need now is an anti wrong note modulator [/quote]

[quote name='chrismuzz' post='1168979' date='Mar 19 2011, 10:49 PM']I never quite got the hang of making all the notes coming out at the same volume. But if i want them to I adjust my compression [/quote]

Just the smallest little smear of Chorus for me - so little that most people just don't realise it's there until I turn it off. I've never quite got the hang of compression - I don't actually want all the notes to come out the same volume all the while, and if I do then I just adjust my playing style. I've never quite got the hang of distortion either - I've spent a lot of time, effort and money to make sure I haven't got any, why on earth would I want to put it back? Quite honestly, the thought of playing with a MegaHairy MegaMuff in public and feeling proud of myself is just a wee bit offputting... Phasers, Flangers and AutoWahs have their place I'm sure, low budget scifi fims from the 1960's perhaps... but they're not for me. As for Delay pedals - if I make a mistake, I'd rather it wasn't repeated over and over again while I do a manic tapdance trying to switch it off. I also can't quite get my head round why I would want to emulate the sound of someone playing in an enormous bathroom either... I think I've covered all the major food groups there... Please, don't take my scribblings personally - it's not intended to 'have a go' at anyone who uses any of those pedals, more an indication as to why I should never be allowed free range use of pedals.

[quote name='Slipperydick' post='1168853' date='Mar 19 2011, 09:15 PM']Dyou reckon I might have to replace, or maybe put a shim under the nut ? I want to use jumbo frets, which will probably be higher. although there is a fair bit clearence at the first, and as I'm pretty heavy handed I like a high ish action, pound coin easily fits under the E string at the 12th.[/quote] I doubt it. The new frets might be 1mm wider but they shouldn't be much taller than the existing ones.

[quote name='Slipperydick' post='1168645' date='Mar 19 2011, 07:09 PM']On my Precision bitza I have a Mighty Mite Jazz neck with a maple board, its OK but the frets are a bit thin for my liking, around 2mm wide, maybe a bit less. I am thinking of ripping them off and trying to fit wider ones, around 3mm wide, like the ones on my old Bass Collection. But I’m a bit worried partly cos I’ve never attempted it before. Presumably its just a matter of making sure theyre all the way into the slots then lightly stoning and polishing them…or is it ? Is it really really difficult to get them to fit, or to get the old ones out, will wider frets fit into the same size slot ? Any advice would be really appreciated.[/quote] Fret tangs are all around the same width so that won't be a problem. Getting them out can be awkward though. Some people advocate heating them up with a soldering iron and prising them out, some people just seem to go in with a hammer and chisel and manage to remove them without wrecking the fingerboard (god knows how! ). I'm pretty sure I've seen a specific tool somewhere to remove them, although it might not be a cost effective purchase if you're only planning on using it once. Fitting replacements isn't too hard, you just cut the fret wire to the right length and chamfer the ends with a file. You do need to take into account the curvature of the neck and put a slight 'bend' in the fret wire to match it. In all honesty, as much as I like 'fiddling', I'd be inclined to take it to a luthier if it was an instrument that was expensive or I was dependant on.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1168634' date='Mar 19 2011, 07:01 PM']If there's an earth wire, wire it up... always.[/quote] +230 (±10%)

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1168560' date='Mar 19 2011, 06:01 PM']Actually, it is quite nice! Though 2 nights here with my G/F has cost me about as much as a week in Greece! (or a s/h MIM Fender) [/quote] Ah. You need to find a cheap woman.

[quote name='allighatt0r' post='1168492' date='Mar 19 2011, 05:09 PM']I went to my local Focus DIY today in search of a suitable drill bit. Decided that 1.5mm was too small and 2.5mm was too large, and couldn't find a 2mm bit. Grrr... I will have to try again another day.[/quote] Yeah. Unfortunately, they'll only stock items they are going to sell enough of to make it worth while. Try Screwfix, they have a good range in 0.5mm steps - [url="http://www.screwfix.com/cats/A337783/Drill-Bits/HSS-Drill-Bits/Ground-HSS-Drills"]http://www.screwfix.com/cats/A337783/Drill...ound-HSS-Drills[/url]

[quote name='markstuk' post='1168503' date='Mar 19 2011, 05:15 PM'][url="http://www.dingwallguitars.com/faqs/why-fanned-frets/"]http://www.dingwallguitars.com/faqs/why-fanned-frets/[/url][/quote] I like Number 5: [quote]You will no longer be unheard and ignored by your audience due to the combination of the longer scale low strings and the even tonality across all the strings.[/quote] No - you'll just be unheard and ignored by your audience because they're a bunch of b*st*rds who really don't like you very much...

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1168406' date='Mar 19 2011, 04:04 PM']He's obviously a local.... no one could afford to stay here and eat! [/quote] I was surprised actually - £50 a night with breakfast included. I've stayed in far worse looking places than that over the years for not a lot less!

[quote name='apa' post='1168373' date='Mar 19 2011, 03:45 PM']Bernice (Bernie)..................[/quote] That looks absolutely fab! I can hardly believe that's the same bass!!!

[quote name='mick' post='1168354' date='Mar 19 2011, 03:34 PM']Hi , Looking for a bit of info from the Tanglewood/Overwater guys. My son has aquired a Tanglewood Bass for next to nothing It is a Tanglewood TEB 4 string active, 5 knobs, one is a pull boost 2 Bartolino style, EMC pickups Natural finish, looks like rosewood board, 24 frets Both guitar, headstock and fretboard inlays look very similar to a schecter stiletto. Anybody any info on this model which seems rare as rocking horse doo daa. One of the main questions is , can it be gigged with these EMC pick ups. Any info on this model would be gratefully received Thank you in advance Mick[/quote] Absolutely! EMC pickups are fitted as standard to quite a few production basses and they're out there gigging quite happily.

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1167683' date='Mar 18 2011, 09:39 PM']I've just seen Chris Leslie having a bar meal in the Red Lion in Adderbury.....[/quote] Ah. If he can afford to eat then he's definately a pro...

[quote name='MythSte' post='1167685' date='Mar 18 2011, 09:44 PM']Sue Who? [/quote] Not me! I'm skint until tomorrow night...

[quote name='Simon.' post='1167208' date='Mar 18 2011, 02:36 PM']icastle - good luck getting all those moggies rounded up and re-housed! Hopefully a long way off, too, so they don't come wandering back. Did you have a staring role in this: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SmgLtg1Izw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SmgLtg1Izw[/url] [/quote] Yup. Just like that but without the space...

+1 to everything above. Also thoroughly research what it is you are [u]supposed[/u] to be looking at, print off pics if you have to, and compare it to what you are looking at. A lot of people get their fingers burned buying 'genuine' basses that turn out to be fake.

[quote name='Kraken' post='1167114' date='Mar 18 2011, 01:52 PM']it's all about adding something else to the 'live' experience[/quote] You haven't considered using cats at all, have you? Please?

[quote name='Kraken' post='1167117' date='Mar 18 2011, 01:53 PM']you have a point, maybe I could set up and array of them...[/quote] I'm not sure that they work if you pull the string at an angle so an array might be difficult to fire using one line unless you have an old meccano set you can knock a firing 'rig' up with.

You don't actually need a license to buy and use pyro's but I don't think they make anything small enough to be safe at the sort of proximity you are looking to use it at. Why not get a piece of strong fishing line, tie one end to the party popper and tie a large nut to the other end. Leave the line long enough so the nut can drag along the floor. When you are ready to fire it, put your foot on the nut and lift the head of the bass up in a dramatic fashion... EDIT: Lifting the head of the bass and looking the opposite direction would be a good idea

[quote name='kerley' post='1167012' date='Mar 18 2011, 12:55 PM']Yes, just a lead with a 3.5mm male jack on each end. 99p from eBay.[/quote] That's a 3.5mm stereo jack on each end, if you use a mono jack you'll short circuit the iPod and it might not like that!

[quote name='Hot Tub' post='1164375' date='Mar 16 2011, 01:31 PM']I hope no wimmin see this. They're just gonna nark on about all that multitasking nonsense....[/quote] Ah. Multitasking. The ability to screw up more than one thing at a time...

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1164493' date='Mar 16 2011, 03:10 PM']Luckily she takes more after me than her mum. [/quote] Poor kid... (Well you knew someone was gonna say it! )

[quote name='Feelgood' post='1165489' date='Mar 17 2011, 10:18 AM']Thanks for all the comments. Been looking around to see who has some of the recommendations in stock to try out. Not a great success (!) but Digital Village have a Viola and a SR505 (one string too many but should give me a good idea). Cheers [/quote] Don't look at it as one string too many, look at it as a 4 string with a long thumb rest.

[quote name='stevie' post='1164669' date='Mar 16 2011, 05:33 PM']Thermal failure from overload would normally cause the voice coil to expand, which would make itself felt as a scraping noise when you move the cone in and out by hand. You can tell for sure if a speaker has been overdriven by looking at the old coil when you recone it. If there is no scraping, there is a good chance that a wire or soldered joint has failed. It could well be worth having a chat with the distributor and sending the faulty driver back for replacement under warranty.[/quote] +1 Absolutely agree. When the voice coil gets hot it melts the shellac and allows the windings to slip. Instead of being perfectly flat you end up with 'ridges' of slipped windings and resolidified shellac which is where the scraping noise described comes from. A recone kit is all well and good, provided you have the facilities to fit it. There's more involved than people tend to imagine as the cone kit has to be perfectly aligned before fixing into place - not something that most of us have equipment to do. If it isn't scraping then there's a very good chance that the manufacturer will replace under warranty.