tauzero

I hadn't noticed this on the Sei when I bought it, but today at rehearsal it was rather evident.

The bridge pickup is making some rather odd noises (other than my playing, that is). Not humming, not major crackling, but irregular thudding and crackling. I've either got a social club secretary sat in the bass tapping a microphone, as social club secretaries are wont to do, or some issue.

When the blend control is fully to the bridge pickup, there is no extraneous noise. Moving it even slightly to the neck pickup brings the noise in.

I've made a recording at [url="http://tauzero.co.uk/MP3s/sei_noise.mp3"]http://tauzero.co.uk/MP3s/sei_noise.mp3[/url] - this is initially on bridge pickup only (no noise), then I strum a couple of strings, then move to the neck pickup and strum again. The noise is pretty clearly audible.

Not sure what the pickups are. Preamp is a Bartolini. This happens both in my lounge (where the recording was made) and in the rehearsal studio, and using three different leads, three different amps, a bass trainer, and no effects.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to cause and remedy?

[quote name='paul j h' timestamp='1333133411' post='1598002']
Hi, i am still unable to put the pics up, but if someone can for me i will e-mail them the pics and they can include it in the post somewhers. The ebay seller was a guy called James his ebay shop is Bristol guitars and he really is a top bloke, between him and me we had to do all the leg work. Still the police get a "clear up" after 11 years! Cheers Paul.
[/quote]

Congratulations on getting it back.

Doing the legwork yourself rings a bell, my garage was broken into many years ago and some bike parts, computer parts, and a bass cab were nicked. I happened across the bike parts in a local bike breakers, who were helpful, and rang round a couple of second-hand shops myself, one of which had the bass cab and had taken the name and registration number of the bloke who'd sold it to him. So I passed the info on to the police. Sadly the subsequent prosecution failed, as the magistrates were happy to believe that the perpetrator had bought the stuff in good faith.

World's best guitarist ever...

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v7LzOeTkfM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v7LzOeTkfM[/url]

I have been on the quest for the ultimate 5-string fretless for ages. The Mazeti I got from Wooks is good, but I always knew there would be better.

Anybody who's been monitoring Bass Direct's 5-strings of late would have seen a Sei headless fretless appear a few days back. I went down to Bass Direct to have a look. Action was high enough to need a ladder, so Mark did some judicious tweaking and got the relief and bridge height about right. A complete lack of output which initially seemed to be due to a dodgy battery connector turned out to be a jack socket which had been unused for years (apparently the previous owner hadn't used it for ages, which is a shame for an instrument like this). It proved very comfortable to play, with a shallow asymmetrical neck and 16.5mm (I think) string spacing. The sound is rich and complex - not sure what the pickups are but the preamp is Bartolini. So I bought it, and Mark kindly threw in a Gramma pad.

Both the garden guardians approve of it too.

Very useful device. Allows you to play along to CDs, vary pitch and speed independently, loop bits, jump back a few seconds.

Tascam's own blurb can be found at [url="http://tascam.com/product/cd-bt2/"]http://tascam.com/product/cd-bt2/[/url]

Includes the official mains power supply.

Very good condition. Can upload photos if required but it's just like the pictures on Tascam's web page.

£40 plus shipping or collection from Tamworth, 20 miles north-east of Birmingham.

Well-used, fully functioning iAmp 500. A bit scuffed and one front panel screw is missing (the one above the Hi-Mid pot).

EA say:

Model: iAMP®500
Type: Solid State, Integrated Bass Amplifier with Class D Power Amp
Power: 500 watts RMS@4 ohms, 500 watts RMS@2 ohms, 350 watts RMS@8 ohms, 800 watts peak
Weight: 13 pounds (without optional rack ears)

The manual is available at [url="http://www.eaamps.com/UploadedPDFs/iAMP500Man.pdf"]http://www.eaamps.co.../iAMP500Man.pdf[/url]









Looking for [s]£300[/s] £275 plus shipping. Collection welcome - I'm in Tamworth, 20 miles north-east of Birmingham. No trades, this is an attempt to reduce my bass assets before Mrs Zero reduces any of my other assets.

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1332884733' post='1594554']
I played a gig once where backline was provided and it was one of these.... they get flipping hot don't they?
[/quote]

The Superfly does - the Superduperfly has a fan fitted, which I don't remember ever coming on apart from at initial switch-on, and runs only mildy warm.

[quote name='Dave Vader' timestamp='1332861122' post='1594096'] I always leave a nice long end on my guitar strings hanging out, means i can tie them back together when they break at the bridge end. It's my guitar I can do what I like with it [/quote]

I do the same (an old buskers' trick, taught me by an old busker). I do coil them up neatly though as otherwise Mrs Zero might get an eyeful of guitar string ends and she wouldn't like that.

Went for about the going rate. I had a Jack 5 - slightly chunkier neck than I like but very handy to have something compact as a back-up bass. The 4-string Jack neck seems nicer to me.

Nowhere Man would be worth a shot. A chance for some nice harmony vocals.

"With a little help from my friends", the proper (Joe Cocker) version.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1332851876' post='1593917']
Also, if I carry on playing with Dik Guru, you never know I may end up on the same bill as Tauzero one day. It seems they have played at the same gig before!
[/quote]

I was going to say that I'd like to see you playing with Dik sometime.

Oh dear. Bucket of cold water for discreet please.

There's a few BCers bands I'd like to see but they're mostly rather far away.

[quote name='MSL' timestamp='1332716186' post='1592157']
It was 'Claire' saying to her Uncle Ray that she wanted to marry him, not the other way round on Gilbert O'Sullivan's recording. Nothing untoward there.
[/quote]

Nono, Claire said to Wilf that she wanted to marry him. Oh hurray.

Gary Glitter's song lyrics don't have anything really dodgy - except for "Leader of the Gang" which has the line "I'm the man who put the bang in the gang". Can't see the problem with playing his stuff, there's some significantly dodgier characters issuing records after all.

I rather think that "Sweeties" by the Handsome Beasts would raise a few eyebrows.

Under £200. For some reason they don't command a very high price, though they're excellent basses.

For me, what put me off was the neck profile - it's a bit chubbier than I like. The fanned-fretnessosity wasn't an issue at all.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1332360433' post='1587362']
I am, however, with you on "scon". All the way. And whilst I'm at it, it's Baff not Barth when referring to Bath. And if someone asks if I'm from Newcarsel, I say no, I'm from Newcassle.
[/quote]

Quite. Any fule kno that Newcarsel is just by St Oke, somewhere north of St Afford.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1332359065' post='1587336']
I don't agree with the now very common view that there is no inherent worthiness in music or indeed in other art (or entertainment) forms and, following from this, that there are no standards. I am well aware that this is an unfashionable point of view but, put simply, I don't accept that 'it's all subjective'. The claim that 'it's all subjective' seems to me itself to be a subjective claim and so there's no good reason for me to pay any attention to it. However, if the 'it's all subjective' claim is intended as an objective claim then it is inconsistent and incoherent and there is still no good reason to pay any attention to it.
[/quote]

But if a piece of music can be addressed objectively, surely it's failed as music? After all, music is about the subjective, not the objective. That applies to the composition, the performance, and the listening.

As soon as that Ritter Roya drops to three figures it will be mine...

Iffy description, but OTOH it's difficult to argue that he's concealing what it is when he has a fine photo of the rear of the headstock with the serial number and "Made in China" clearly written on it. Illiterate chancer rather than deeply dishonest scammer.

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1332338945' post='1586881']Basses with a silly shape bought (I may be wholly wrong here...) by bassists who want people to say "look at him, he must be interesting because his bass isn't like all the others."
[/quote]

That'll be me, that will. Fundamentally shallow. Mind you, they've also got to be nice to play.

[quote name='thunderbird13' timestamp='1332341570' post='1586944']
probably belongs to the other pronounciation thread but in the olden days before the internet I rang up directory enquiries to get the number for the bass centre. I asked for bass ( as in lace ) which is the only pronouncation and the operator insisted on calling it bass ( as in grass ) , she even told me that my pronounciation was wrong
[/quote]

She pronounced it to rhyme with arse? That's weird.

This one rhymes with ass:

I quite like both bands - however, when I went to see "Song remains the same", Page's endless self-indulgent (and, let's face it, not exactly brilliant) soloes nearly sent me to sleep. I just feel that they (especially Zep) are rather overrated. The 'Oo were always a better band than Zep... D&RFC

[quote name='thepurpleblob' timestamp='1332241880' post='1585252']
I work in IT and people love to bang on about things being "virtual". It's equally ridiculous. It's not virtual - I can see it; it's there on that screen
[/quote]

Virtual has a very specific meaning within IT, and has had for four decades. Authenticity is a bit different.

In fact, going by what the OP has said is the actual question, I would say that my barn dance band often has an unauthentic audience. Blissfully unaware of us being a traditional English band [1], they will turn up dressed as cowboys (and occasionally, in full-on unauthenticity mode, Indians [2]). This is generally enough to turn our mild-mannered dulcimer player apoplectic.

[1] Other British and European musical traditions are also available. May contain nuts. Contents may settle in Transit.

[2] Also known as Native Americans. Other Indians may be available. Do not bend, fold, spindle or mutilate this post.

[quote name='1SHOT1HIT' timestamp='1332197099' post='1584819']
He says he had it painted pink so that it would stand out
[/quote]

Oh no, a refin - it's worthless...

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1332173411' post='1584274']
I think it is a case of manufactured over organic. If the impetus comes from the creativity of individuals who are in the bands, then there is a level of integrity that is missing when the 'band' are the front for a corporate hit making machine.

The Beatles = authentic. The Monkees = bogus
Genesis = authentic (they met at school). JLS = bogus (they met at X Factor auditions)
Take That = authentic (one of them writes all their stuff). Girls Aloud = bogus (its all written for them) and so on
[/quote]

The Monkees later wrested control of their own destiny from the record company. Does that mean they became authentic?

I don't think Elvis Presley wrote his own stuff. Does that, in and of itself, make him bogus?

Anyway, I have noticed that no-one has actually tried to find out what authentic actually means, rather than simply deciding on your own definition and then spouting off about Led Zeppelin within the self-defined authenticity paradigm. So I checked, and found the relevant definition:

5.
Music .
a.
(of a church mode) having a range extending from the final to the octave above. Compare plagal.
b.
(of a cadence) consisting of a dominant harmony followed by a tonic.

which means that Status Quo are as authentic as they come.