alistair Sutcliffe

[quote name='keeponehandloose' timestamp='1379010403' post='2207760'] just noticed the adjusters, having recently only come across them myself I can definetly say what a bad idea they are from a design aspect . I will be getting a solid bridge replacement asap. It will certainly be a contributing factor to the original problem. dont care what anybody says about how well theyre fitted makes all the difference, the design of them is fundamentally poor. [/quote] They were good in that they allowed me to play around to find the string height i wanted. Now that i know that, the next bridge will be solid. It just seems like one less thing to go wrong!

Some great stuff been posted today. Thanks for the time you've spent. I've filed and pencilled the slots this morning, i'm hoping that will get me through a half-hour set tonight with no problems. I've had a good look and it's definitely leaning forward despite the feet being flat. It requires virtually no effort at all to make the bridge slip forward. At tuned tension I could push it over with one finger no problem. One thing i've remembered is that the first time it fell was when i raised the adjusters a bit as an experiment. It fell over pretty much straight away so i lowered it again and it was fine for a while. Now it's doing it regularly. Maybe when i did that i set it up badly and i've caused it too bend. I'll see how it goes tonight after that bit of filing but if it falls one more time then it's off to a luthier. I need to get some confidence in it back! Thanks again to everyone

Thanks for the advice everyone, your assistance is priceless Fortunately the sound post is secure. I guess it's fitted too tight as it hasn't moved despite the bridge falling half a dozen times. That's something i'll get checked out as well as the bridge as soon as i can get it to a luthier, hopefully in a couple of weeks. I'll go at it with a pencil and some rosin tomorrow and see how it responds to some hard playing. Thanks for the offer of the hard case Floyd. I've had to rethink that as it probably won't fit in my car. I've had an idea involving a chunk of hollowed-out polystyrene and a bungee cord that might have to suffice. Oh the joys of being a slapper on a shoe-string!

Timmmbbbbeeeerrrrrrrrr! I'm having problems with the bridge collapsing towards the neck. Not all the time but often enough to make me think i'm doing something wrong. I do keep a check on it after tuning to make sure it hasn't angled forward. I play mostly slap with quite a light touch. Certainly i'm not plucking as hard as many people i see on youtube. I don't stand on it or throw it around or anything either. I have my string height set low (around 10mm on all four). It's possible i'm knocking the bridge during transit and i'm looking into getting a hardcase to solve that, but can anyone see anything wrong with how i've got it set up? Any other suggestions would also be greatly appreciated.

...someone says 'that's a big violin' and you finally lose it and rip their face off. Hasn't happened yet, but it's coming...

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1378306678' post='2198415'] Hi again, Is there any import duty / tax on top as well? Only just thought about that I've bought a few bits & pieces from the US and been "stung" Cheers again Marc [/quote] No. If you're buying from a country in the EU there's no tax or import to pay.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1378230103' post='2197437'] I do like the look of some of Gedo's all-laminated models too, anyone got any experience / thoughts on those? [/quote] I've got one of these : http://www.gedo-musik.de/shop/product.php?id_product=245 I play rockabilly slap and late 50s/early 60's pop. I can't offer any advice on arco (i sold the bow that came with it on ebay for about £35). It's solidly built, looks nice and i've had no feedback issues. It's very quiet acoustically but through the pa it sounds like a much more expensive instrument. Putting some Innovation Silver Slaps on it was a revelation, really brought it to life. If i was playing jazz to guaranteed well-behaved audiences i might have gone for something better, but for playing r'n'r in pubs it's perfect. If i lost it, i wouldn't upgrade, i'd buy another one identical. I'm a long way from you but should you find yourself down this way you're more than welcome to try it out

One quick thing to check Pete: I think those preamps have a little screwdriver inside that should be fixed to some velcro on the chassis. If it's come loose it might be touching something it shouldn't.

What happens if you plug the pickups straight into your amp without the preamp?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1376832916' post='2179648'] is it a 4/4 size it looks huge? [/quote] I don't think so, i only ordered the 3/4. It's not impossible though i never thought to check! I have the pin super-high it might be that making it look big.

Nice Pete! I really need to get myself a hat! Only done a few gigs so far but here's a couple of pics...

Now that's a lovely looking bass!

Very neat!

Put it in a bin bag first?

I found that at rehearsal, with my amp behind me, i was always on the edge of feedback at war volume. No problems so far with the pa cabs in front and no low frequencies through the monitor. For intonation, i want to hear more mid range than bass anyway. I might still go for a mag pickup at some point though and just be done with worrying about it.

No i haven't tried any yet. I looked into it because i liked the idea of not having to worry about feedback but i've put it off for a while due to cost. I'd need to buy new strings as well so it was getting a bit pricey. I play through the pa with just a small monitor for the mid range and i've been okay. So far...

Mag pickup maybe?

Certainly my cheap as chips laminate with a bassmax and clicky has had no feedback issues at all so far. I've never had to stuff towels under the strings or block f holes or anything. Having said that, it's not exactly got a classic tone. Horses for courses i guess.

+1 for Gedo. Got mine about 7 or 8 months ago. Superb value for money and a great company to deal with.

A bit more cash but there's an ad for a realist hiding at the bottom of this thread http://basschat.co.uk/topic/210786-realist-double-bass-pick-up-unused-95/

I've got it in the E side. I tried it on the G side but it made the G and D strings too loud compared to the E and A. The G is now a little on the quiet side but it's useable for what i do. Bear in mind that my bass is one of the cheapest available, and the weakest part of my set up is me! How compressed it is in the slot makes a world of difference to the tone so worth experimenting. It clips the input gain on my amp quite easily so no problems with volume. I've got it blended with a home-made clicky through one of those little KK preamps. I can see myself upgrading it in the future but i'm quite happy gigging with it for now.

I paid £50 for a used Bassmax on Ebay Pete. On my laminate it gives a 'good enough' tone for live rock n roll. I've had no feedback issues whatsoever at loud pub-band levels. I also bought a cheap (£17) tie-clip mic from Maplins (i think) after reading this thread on TB: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f4/micing-bass-amp-882780/ This cheapo mic gave an amazing sound, but i couldn't control the feedback at gig volume. Great tone for recording though and some people have no volume issues with it.

+1 It's as easy to take a sub as it is to take a bass cab. Using a pa with subs means you can get a proper thump from the kick drum, you can use much smaller tops, and the whole band just sounds 'fuller'. To my ears anyway.

Thanks for the replies. I'll take your advice and get a pickguard made before i try and sell it.

My Spector NS-X. I picked it up second hand in about '93 and beat the living daylights out of it for a decade or so. A few years ago i had someone who claimed to be a luthier make a new body for it but i kept all the original parts except for the pickguard which had fallen to pieces. All i've been able to find out about it is that it was designed by Ned Steinberger and built by Spector around '85. It doesn't have a serial number which apparently isn't unusual as some were put together from spare parts just before their old factory (i can't remember where) closed. It used to look like this... But now looks like this... So the question is, should i put it back together to sell as an NS-X with no pickguard, or is it just a battered old Frankenbass with little value?