neepheid

[quote name='janmaat' post='916129' date='Aug 5 2010, 04:03 PM']Hi I just started playing in this new formation, originally was asked to dep for the bass player. Now she's a newbee on bass, playing a strat style Squire short scale. Now it looks like it's going to become a two-bass project (yes seriously we like odd stuff down here), her playing the short scale and me the long scale (Yamaha with a DiMarzio passive P pickup and Rotos through Markbass). Sounds interesting already as the two instruments really sound words apart. Now I start wondering about short scale basses. My suspicion is that where the A on the long scale is at 110Hz, the short scale centers around 220Hz? does the short scale actually relate to the long scale like a cello to a double bass? I am posting this since I can't find much on short scale basses here (maybe I've been missing a thread)?. What do you play, how do you string them? And then the question for us is of course how to make an interesting sound combination with a long scale and a short scale bass. We'll be trying some odd effect things out, like routing the short scale through an envelope filter while the long scale plays sub. Ideas? Experiences? Cheers![/quote] A short scale bass is only around 4" difference in scale length to a standard scale bass. The pitch is the same, they are tuned the same, the strings are shorter, in my limited experience of them I have found that string tension seems a bit less, but I have got some nice sounds out of them (I have used a Squier Bronco and an Epiphone EB-0) with some changes in pickups/hardware (strat lipstick pickup in the Bronco, DiMarzio Model One in the EB-0) (modified 4 saddle bridge for Bronco, Hipshot Supertone for EB-0).

[quote name='MattB' post='914673' date='Aug 4 2010, 10:33 AM']However, compared to playing the cheap nasty plastic Ibanez (which he loved, none the less) the stingray felt like playing a brick.[/quote] Man up?

I recently sold a bass to someone, not on here but through the classified ad site Preloved. Lots of comms beforehand, buyer paid with bank transfer, I sent it, tracked it, it got signed for. I sent the buyer a message later on in the day it was delivered (last Friday) to check that all was well and have heard precisely nothing since. The question is, does one just assume that everything is hunky dory (as they'd soon be on the blower if the bass hadn't turned up/been unsatisfactory)? It just nags at me that I haven't had word back that they are happy with it. Maybe I should stop worrying about the little things in life, but I do seem to focus on details at the expense of the big picture.

[quote name='Low End Bee' post='914628' date='Aug 4 2010, 09:52 AM']A bass solo in your first ever live number! Fair play Mr Heid.[/quote] If by bass solo you mean "repeat the main riff hoping and praying not to muck it up until the rest of the band kick back in again" then yeah

I've had good results with Seymour Duncan pickups, but I've tended to go for higher output ones - but they do more laid back versions (Vintage < Hot < Quarter Pound). Someone will be along to recommend Wizard pickups shortly. I fitted these for someone before but haven't had much of a play so I can't comment.

That cheeky Specials number "Nite Klub", October 4th 2008, Room 1, The Tunnels, Aberdeen. I would have been 32 at the time. I don't remember much of being on stage first hand, too much adrenaline/nerves. A video was taken though, so there are some memories, even if they are second hand.

Yup, another 3500 user here, great sound and I feel completely at home with it. I got mine second hand for cheap with a dodgy valve preamp section, repaired it with the help of a friend and has been with me ever since.

During a break from sanding (which is almost done) I tackled the truss rod cover. I decided to go down the water slide transfer route. I printed off a sheet of them with a fresh toner cartridge (1 sheet of stuff + paranoia). I applied one and thought it looked pretty good: Then I decided to seal it with some clear nitro. Oops: The transfer reacted quite badly to the nitro, it ate into it a little. Let that be a lesson to you all - the white transfer paper does not like nitro. I had to sand all that off and start again. I got hold of a small can of Plasti-Kote Fast Dry Enamel and hedged my bets by applying another transfer to an old pickguard and test spraying onto that. It seemed to go OK so I pressed on with the Enamel. More problems were that the enamel reacted badly to T-cut, went a bit soft Thankfully, cutting back with 1000 grit paper and reapplying seemed to save the day. A few repeats of that process and I'm left with this: I'm pretty pleased with the results:

So that's what they were trying to do to my Victory Artist!

And for any nosy parkers who are interested, I have the bottom half

Save yourself the bother and buy my complete and fully functional one

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='897907' date='Jul 18 2010, 11:38 AM']Lots of lovely neck diving...![/quote] With a nice fat grippy strap, my Les Paul Standard bass does not neck dive. Yes, I was surprised too.

Well, just to balance things out - I don't rate them. Although I have only tried a Tokai copy, I can safely say that the T-bird is one avenue I do not wish to continue on any further. Nice enough sound, I liked the neck on the Tokai (being a bit chunkier than a Gibson), the famed neck dive was manageable (in that the bass gracefully descended to about horizontal) but the ergonomics are all wrong. Poor high fret access. Doesn't sit right on me when I'm playing. Doesn't stand up on its own. Doesn't fit in a regular gig bag/case. It would have to have been stellar in all other respects for me to keep it but it was simply OK, and I chose not to put up with all the ergonomic annoyances for something that's simply OK.

More sanding, and lesson learned - don't be afraid to give it a good scrub. It's solid maple after all. Hopefully I'll get it completely clean tonight

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='893789' date='Jul 13 2010, 02:59 PM']Looking good. That's a very pretty cavity (insert bishop/actress joke ) It's best to get rid of as much as you can though Matt. You have no way of knowing how it will react with the next batch of paint, undercoat included. Did the previous (ahem) "painter" take it back to the wood or are there gold remnants like I found in the neck pocket?[/quote] It was all the way back, only the strange remnants which were under the bridge and the ones in the neck pocket remained. I'm finding it particularly tough to get that old crappy paint out of the edges. Might have more success with some hand sanding, just use the mouse to take off the bulk of it. Also decided to try making a decal to renew the Artist logo on the truss rod cover. Ordered a sheet of white laser water slide paper, will print it black apart from the logo (leaving it white) then applying it. To avoid visible edges I was thinking of covering the entirety of the top with the transfer so no visible edges then a light coat of lacquer over the top. Sound plausible?

Body sanding has commenced: Some of that old paint is like glue. Some of it seems difficult to shift without removing a lot of wood - might it be ok to leave if it's being refinished in an opaque colour anyway? Won't show through a primer and a colour coat?

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