Ed_S

Our ex-ex-drummer told us that he was leaving the band because he was moving out of the city to live with his lass, which was fair enough so we wished him all the best and waved him off. And then got an email a couple of weeks later... "I had a dream last night, and think it might just work... if you guys pay for my petrol I could drive back and still come to rehearsals. I probably couldn't do gigs, though. Let me know what you think!" Needless to say we messaged back to say we had dreams of our own, and they included the ability to do more than rehearse.

The basses I like the look and sound of as 5s tend to be too heavy or ergonomically awkward for my dodgy shoulder, and the basses that I find ergonomically suitable tend to either look or sound wrong as 5s. So I vote for 4s on 'other' grounds.

[quote name='pantherairsoft' timestamp='1329936151' post='1550079'] A splitter 'might' work, though I have no idea how it would cope with large amounts of power and would not image that each side would receive exactly half power so they may be imbalanced. You really need to be running in Stereo. [/quote] The splitter box in the OP's link is rated to 30A continuous (same as a basic NL2FC speakon) so I wouldn't have thought there'd be any need to worry about the power issue. What makes you doubt that a passive Y-splitter hooked up with suitable cables would deliver the same juice to each one of a pair of identical cabs?

Yeah, be comfortable first and foremost. I have neck and shoulder issues so sympathise completely, but for me it's less about weight (though it is still a factor) than it is ergonomics; the Warlock 5 that I used to play looked great and forced me into some very 'metal' poses, but it hurt like hell so it had to go! Was a sad day, but better than living on Diclofenac.

I bought a Crown XLS1500 Drivecore a few weeks ago and am using it bridged into a Barefaced Super 12 - so far it's all looking very positive, not to mention sounding quite ridiculously loud. I bought the 1500 rather than the 1000 because there's a chance I might want to use it for PA duties at some point so wanted the extra power more than the few quid left over, but as long as you use your ears and be careful not to push your cabs too hard, who cares if it's 1500W or 15kW?! As for the speakon Y-splitter box, it looks like it'd do the job just fine. Alternatively you could use two leads with speakons at the cab end and bare wire at the amp... binding posts maybe aren't that fashionable, but they still work

Well, you learn something new every day - I didn't even know those flush versions existed! Sorry for the unintentional half-a-story

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1329824903' post='1547860'] My old man once said to me that when Gibson launched the Explorer and Flying V nobody bought into them because they were aesthetically unpleasing and too radical. My dad actually bought a Flying V and was laughed at for a while. But, they did eventually evolve into appeal and fashion and still selling after all these years. [/quote] Shame the Moderne didn't survive, though...

Nah, it shouldn't cause you any problem - it's just a flat-backed strap button (about the same size and shape as a normal non-locking one) held in with a normal screw. In fact the screws tend to be so much-of-a-muchness that I've used the original screws that come with the bass to secure the locking buttons in the past to save packing the hole. Glad to be of service

Simple as unscrewing one style of strap button, maybe packing the hole with a matchstick if it's started to feel loose at all or the new screw is smaller, then screwing in the other style. 5 mins work if you take your time.

[quote name='TRBboy' timestamp='1329696626' post='1546204'] I can highly recommend the Glockenklang systems. You could have a vol, blend, treb, bass setup. The vol ppt is push/pull true passive bypass, and in passive mode the treble pot acts as a passive tone control. Don't know what you would do with the mini toggle hole....... wire in an LED? Install a dummy switch? [/quote] Cheers for the suggestion! I'd sortof glossed over those on the Thomann website because their description had lost clarity going from German to English and suggested they were all stacked pots. But yeah, on closer inspection that 2-band looks a reasonable system for £120ish. Next bit of research will have to be the depth of the controls Vs the depth of the control cavity. And, of course, what I'd do with that mini toggle...

I'm fast approaching the conclusion that what I should probably do is replace the pickups with EMGs and the preamp with a BTS System, but it seems such a shame given that there's nothing wrong with the pickups... I notice that the BTS control is supposed to work with passive pickups - anybody got any experience of that kind of setup?

Hey all, I'm looking at options to replace the defective stock preamp in my 2010 USA Deluxe Precision, and wondered if anybody could suggest a good system to install which will work well with the stock pickups and utilise all the holes in the stock pickguard? And yes, I could legitimately have it repaired under warranty, but I trust Fender's UK repairs and service department as far as I could throw their corporate headquarters! The pickups are a passive P/J set, the pickguard has 4 holes for pots and one for a small toggle switch, the output jack is on the bottom edge so doesn't figure, and the battery route is a double so 18V systems are fine. I don't want anything with stacked / dual concentric pots (I really don't like them) and don't want any holes or DFA controls left over; I also don't want to drill any more holes in the pickguard as it's already got too many for its own good! Oh, and nothing that only comes with a rechargeable power pack and can't use real PP3 batts. Nice easy request, eh?! I'm open to suggestions on control compliment - something like volume and blend (or two volumes) and a 2-band EQ with passive active switch would be ideal, but fully active with volume, blend (or two volumes) 2 band EQ and a mid-shift or similar switch, or even master volume, 3 band EQ and a three way mini-toggle to act as pickup selector would be acceptable. Thanks in advance for any ideas you might be able to put my way!

[quote name='molan' timestamp='1329615936' post='1544980'] I was listening to the bass parts (as I'm sure we all do at gigs!) [/quote] For me, that's where your argument goes astray. I honestly don't spend my time at gigs listening especially intently to the bassist (or any other single band member) because I know it would 'disconnect' me from the performance as a whole. [quote name='molan' timestamp='1329615936' post='1544980'] It really irritated me and I wanted to grab him by the lapels and give him a good shake, lol. [/quote] Just think, if you'd got all the other people together in that venue who were similarly affronted by his playing, you could have shaken a lapel each! And for the record, I think covers are fair game until you call yourselves a tribute band!

Heh, yeah, there are things I might consider cashing in my self-respect against, but an Ashdown 2x10 combo certainly aint one of 'em!

[quote name='Looper' timestamp='1329499657' post='1543503'] Thanks, will have a look. How do you think a mex Fender would compare to my Hohner? Have read such mixed reviews and not had a chance to play one. [/quote] I'd say a lot of it depends on your level of experience with setting up a bass to play just how you like it (or alternatively your level of access to somebody with said experience) because I'm not entirely convinced that all the bad reviews of MIM Fenders are down to production quality. Sure, on any production line a few items will roll off the end with build issues and not be caught by QC, but I've had three MIMs, all of which were bough sight-unseen, none of which had any issues beyond a pretty tragic 'by-the-numbers' factory setup, further compounded by mediocre strings. In every case, an hour initially spent on a full and thorough setup to personal taste with decent strings, and then a few rehearsal breaks spent fine-tuning things like pickup height is all it took to realise the potential of the instrument. If you're buying second hand there's a good chance that somebody will have done all that work for you, but likewise there's a fair chance that their idea of a perfect setup won't be yours, so the ability to tweak or have tweaked is still, I think, quite important. Given the valuation you've put on your Hohner and my (admittedly limited) experience of the brand, I'd expect a well set-up MIM to be a pleasant step up from where you're at.

I went down the 'throw some money at it' route and put together a little rack to augment the gear at the rehearsal studios. All of it is Behringer's finest - as cheap as possible whilst still doing the job - and consists of a 'tube' preamp, compressor, feedback destroyer and EQ. First ring out the room and set the EQ, then set your preamp, compression and limiting to match your vocalist. The feedback destroyer is automatic; it 'listens' and reacts accordingly to prevent the usual howl. With the same singer in the same position in the same room week on week, you literally never have to touch it - just plug the mic into the preamp, and the line-out into the desk and bang, you're done! Total cost.. maybe £500 including the rack case and power conditioner, but worth every penny.

*sharp intake of breath* ...maybe I'll stick to my Sansamp RBI / Crown 1550W power amp setup until the price comes down a bit!

Exciting is one word for it! Where do I sign up?!

[quote name='DavidCertain' timestamp='1329365105' post='1541338'] Actually it's a Jazz neck that feels more like an acoustic, but, judging from your use of the word "probably" maybe it's been since you played an acoustic? Just wondering because the nut width on an acoustic bass is 1.5 inches as is a Jazz. The classic P bass is 1.75 inches, then there a bunch that are an inch and 5/8's. [/quote] I guess it's all about personal experience - mine is of acoustics like the Takamine TB240 (1.67") and Tanglewood TW155 (1.69"), so when I picked up the Kingman, I found it to feel not only thin compared to my Precisions, but also thin compared to other acoustics that I'd played in the past. Given that even little old me who doesn't actually like acoustic basses, never tries them for fun in shops and only owns one out of necessity, can offer up two examples from memory where the nut width isn't 1.5", maybe your unequivocal assertion that it is needs a little work?

The Hydrive 410 is an 8ohm cab, so the LH1000 running in bridge mode will put out 750W, where the HA5500 will be running 350W, but wattage isn't the be-all and end-all; I run my HA5500 into an 8ohm 4x10 and can attest to it being incredibly loud.

The HA5500 is my personal preference. I had an LH1000 for a while, but whilst it was undeniably powerful, I just didn't get the same 'snappy' attack from it as the HA5500; it felt a bit 'flabby' for fast, metal lines. I haven't tried a Kilo yet, so can't comment on it other than to say that whilst I'm sure it sounds great, it looks a bit 'involved' for my tastes so doesn't appeal all that much.

I'm headed to London in a few weeks.. might give this Gallery place a bash. Gotta be better than Denmark Street in general - I went for a look in a few places along there last time I was down and couldn't even get the time of day. I think they must have a silent alarm behind the counter that signals the presence of obvious northerners!

[quote name='RichF' timestamp='1328984758' post='1535740'] wooooomph!!!! That must be something special when cranked. [/quote] It has a certain presence, I must admit!

Shame you weren't looking on fleabay before xmas, as there was a very nice looking KBX in trans red that went quite cheap. Was a fairly rare example, too, in that it still had the majority of its paint attached! Just a thought, but if you don't find one, then you could perhaps buy a cheap, new JS2 for its neck and have a Kelly body made for it? Probably make a few quid back by selling the JS2 body on here! Oh.. and if you do find one, make sure you also pick up enough lead shot to fill the control cavity and combat the hideous neck-dive

[quote name='bigjohn' timestamp='1328890202' post='1534455'] They look much better in the flesh... And they do sound amazing. [/quote] ...and when you shove 1.5KW up them, they go like the clappers! [attachment=99655:BigRig800.jpg]