brensabre79

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1403016919' post='2478883'] My theory is that the orange isobaric cabs are lacking in the bottom octave, something you wont really notice when standing close to the cab - it may sound "full and deep" up close but not projecting the lows any distance. [/quote] I'll add a +1 to this. But add... Short version: Get your speakers off the floor. Long version: As a sound engineer who plays bass it has taken me many years to get a rig I'm happy to take out. Amps give you the front end tone, but different cabs project the sound differently. Many of them sound full and rounded in close proximity (i.e. on stage), but head out in to the crowd and you'll just hear mostly mid and treble. I have a Barefaced cab these days, and (don't flame me for this) whilst it's a superbly consistent sound wherever you stand for the most part, it still suffers from the same proximity effect in that it can be boomy on stage whilst sounding a bit thin out in the crowd. I recently bought a small stand, and getting the cab off the floor, even just a little bit, really helps with this. possibly not in the way you'd like though... When the cab is not in contact with he floor, it doesn't couple with the floor, so a lot of the lower frequency boom goes away. this is actually a good thing because you can use the amp to dial it back in (if you want) safe in the knowledge that it is much more consistent with what the audience is hearing. The added bonus is that the guitards don't constantly whine about how loud you are, while their Fender Twin is red plating with ear stabbing volume...

I use [url="http://www.noizezz.com/eng/"]these[/url].. the off the shelf ones are pretty good actually. My guitarist has the molded Pro ones now and says they are a step up from the consumer (off the shelf) ones in terms of fit, but about the same in terms of attenuation and sound quality. You choose the size that fits best and the insert that attenuates is the same for both consumer and pro (molded). I use the 17dB (Purple) for most gigs and practices, but for louder ones I have the 25dBs (Green) in my case too. I never went back to ACS ones after I used these. And yes, quite happy having a conversation at talking volume in practices without having to take them out!

Unfortunately it's not a simple case of popping a new pre-cut one in. It'll need to be filed down and set up properly by someone who knows how - sadly a dying art these days! I've had replacement nuts done by highly recommended luthiers only to have to take them down quite a bit further when I get them home. On a fretted bass i think the nut should be set just very slightly higher than the first fret with the string open. I.e. the same difference between the 1st and 2nd frets. So many basses have the nut really high and it makes playing the first fret really hard work. On a fretless bass the nut needs to be surprisingly low, i.e. just a tiny amount above the fingerboard, and whilst it may look worn out compared to a fretted bass it could be that it's right (I don't know) and the buzz is down to neck relief. but nut height is just as personal as action height, it might just be you're a heavier player than the previous owner and need a slightly higher nut. Pictures would be a real help. But to answer your question, a graph tech one will be more than fine. It's just how it's fitted that will make the difference. Personally I would go to a luthier (and I mean a good one, not a guitar shop repairman) who will have the right sort of nut and the knowledge to fit it properly.

[quote name='groovastic' timestamp='1402499077' post='2474164'] Thanks! So it seems the only solution is to take a few basses (necks) I like and measure them in details... [/quote] Pretty much, yes. Or you can cut it a little bit thick with CNC and finish off by hand to taste.

[quote name='alembic63' timestamp='1402416279' post='2473263'] Ive been playing this bass none stop since I got it over the weekend, I cant put it down......it's a fabulous bass, great neck, great weight and funnily enough it looks better on than off. Im getting a quote tomorrow for the repair work and Im going to keep it as original as possible. [/quote] Awesome, really happy you've found a bass you like so much. And glad to hear it's going to stay the way it is I really like it by the way.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1402220183' post='2471011'] Anything over that tort. [/quote] Agreed, but my oh my

Yep thats some old school dirty bass right there And here's what Chris's rig sounded like... [url="http://youtu.be/SwhMw5lwzNg"]youtu.be/SwhMw5lwzNg[/url]

I think you should do your best to keep it Antigua. Maybe with a black or cream scratchplate if you can't find a match. Thing is, marmite though they are, there's not many around. If you refinish it - it's just going to be another refinished 70s Jazz bass. As the owner of such a thing I really wish mine did not look so spanking brand new. It's white, and it should be a nice shade of yellow by now. You could always get a white/cream scratchplate and have it sprayed with nitro to match the colour. There are a few guys around who could do that. It won't be cheap but it'll pretty much restore the bass back to original.

I don't think it's an exact science in terms of the classification. The D, C and U letters are more a way of describing the thickness/shape front to back - there's no rule that says, for example C = 20mm - 30mm, D = 30mm - 40mm. I think It's more to do with shape than thickness anyway (i.e. thickness proportional to width). As far as I'm concerned shallow neck would be described as a C shape (e.g. Geddy Lee Jazz Bass or late 70s Jazz Bass) - many modern basses are like this. A D shape will have a bit more thickness to it, (e.g. late 60s/early 70s Jazz Bass), getting on for a baseball bat... and a U shape will be like a drainpipe My advice would be to either get a bass you like the feel of and measure it. Or if you're thinking more commercially, get a popular model (e.g. Geddy Lee Jazz Bass) and measure that. Some manufacturers also put the thickness measurements on their spec sheets these days as they are indeed CNC machined. In the old days it was quite variable due to hand finishing. EDIT: Heres a pic:

Interesting one last night... Turned up to a usual sort of Friday night pub gig with my covers band. While setting up the power tripped no less than 5 times (before we'd even turned the amps on!). Finally managed to get consistent power from an extension lead behind the bar. I had a feeling it was going to be one of 'those' nights... Next thing, we do soundcheck, who should appear... None other than Mr MDP! Thats right the infamous eBay master bodger extraordinaire himself is standing right in front of me! Turns out he's having a fish supper around the corner with his family... He comes over after the soundcheck and says "sounds good guys" then leaves... SO we get started, to a suspiciously overenthusiastic rabble of a few. Within about 5 songs, a couple of guys who were dancing (to smooth operator!!!) bump into each other, a heated discussion turns in to a bit of pushing and the place quickly descends into a moshpit briefly before a fight breaks out. (oh my days) Police are called, they have a word with the worst of the offenders and leave. Allowing the meatheads back in to the pub!!! Second set. And another punter decides to walk over to the stage area, expertly navigating the leads and mic stands despite his drunken state and makes a bee line for our singer. I step in his way and politely tell him to move away (mid song here so options limited) he doesn't, instead stands touching my shoulders watching my fretboard intently. I start to push gently away, guiding him to the edge of the stage, where he stays for the rest of the song playing air bass! In the end an audience member stepped in (3 times) to have a quiet word with him and eventually he backed off a bit. Believe me, I've never seen a band pack up and leave a gig so fast!

[quote name='Weststarx' timestamp='1402056579' post='2469582'] Well i'll be damned! I guess the playlist thing makes a lot of sense. So if i were to be approached say, I would point them in the direction of the landlord or manager of the venue? [/quote] indeed sir

[quote name='Weststarx' timestamp='1402055191' post='2469559'] PRS sounds like a massive con to me. I just don't understand how they know what song/artist has been played to be able to determine where the money goes. [/quote] They do employ people to go around and take random samples actually. Also many corporate chains (e.g Starbucks) will tend to have their music piped in from a central source, or buy in particular compilations to be played in every branch (or commission them). This makes the tracking of royalties much easier, and it's the larger chains that will tend to be targeted by collection agencies (PRS being just one of many). The little cafe in the village is unlikely to keep tabs on what they play, so as mentioned above it tends to go into the admin pot unless someone claims it. I've had tracked royalties from all over the place, from cafe chains to airlines. I don't make mega bucks, but it all adds up. A good friend of mine [u]does[/u] make a living from this as it's his full time job. He once bought a yacht with his MCPS, PPL and PRS collections from one year!

I'll ditto BigRedX's comment above. Join PRS and MCPS too if you are selling your EP (as funded by PRS or otherwise). Indeed the venue are expected to pay PRS licence fee, there are different levels of licence though, hence some venues will only allow a DJ or a duo but not a full band. Any commercial premises that plays music has to be licenced to do so, whether an entire orchestra or a Roberts radio is the source.

You are a brave soul sir! Glad it's worked out ok

Lefty loosey would be the answer if everything else is fine. Might want to check the frets are level too though if the buzzing has started recently for no reason. Assuming this is your Geddy (as nobody [s]asking this sort of question[/s] should go anywhere near a 4003 truss rod!)

I get the same thing as most people. I do find it hard to go straight to sleep. The wife is usually in bed asleep so I have to watch tv or something for half an hour or so before going to bed. The worst ones are the mid-week gigs where I have to get up at 6.45 for work the next morning. At the weekends I have found that if I stay in bed past 9am the morning after, i'll be sluggish all day, generally set myself up with a boxed set and stay on the sofa - the longer i stay there, the harder it is to get up. BUT... If I get up before 9 and force myself to do something (DIY, Car repairs or Housework etc.) I don't get the all day sluggish feeling, in fact any tiredness generally wears off about 1/2 hour into the task. But come the end of the day I hit the sack and go straight to sleep.

oh boy

Well it's a multi-faceted question really. 1. I kind of do have my own 'signature' version of most of the instruments I play - purely because I personally don't get along with the V-V-T setup that most of my basses came with. So I have a circuit that I put into most of my basses with a rotary switch. Also, i like a thin neck (small hands fat fingers you see), I like blocks and binding partly for cosmetics, partly because I can see the frets and dots along the side on a poorly lit stage with them. 2. If I was in a hugely (or even moderately) successful touring and recording band, I probably would not have time to tinker away at each bass that came my way until i was happy with it. And if I did have enough power and influence with a manufacturer to just make the thing to my spec in the first place I probably would. And it would be quite different from the 'standard' model too. 3. If the manufacturer then turned around to me and said "Hey can we make some copies of the instrument we've just made to your spec and sell them?" I'd probably say "Yeah sure, if someone else appreciates the same modifications I'd be happy for them to make use of it" 4. If the manufacturer said "great, and can we put your name on it too?" I think I'd be pretty happy about it - after all, it's made to my spec. (I'm sure they'd only do this to make sales by association though - i.e. to fans of said successful band) otherwise they could call it the "Custom model" 5. If they said, "well we'll probably make some cheap knock offs in the far east, it will only look like your bass, but it won't be anywhere near as good to play" I'd say "woah, hang on a minute" 6. If they offered me enough money to support my family until the next royalty cheque arrived in exchange for my name, on my own spec instrument, with certain QC and Price points agreed though - Yeah I'd do that in a shot

Aside from the noise cancelling properties of a humbucker, they tend to produce a much thicker (some say muddier) tone. For those who like a lot of treble (pickers, slappers etc.) single coil pickups provide a better attack that can punch through the sound of a full band. Re: pickup position, theres actually a huge variety of tone between the pickups even close together and I think it is more noticable on a bass - due to being an octave down, the harmonics extend way out of hearing range on both so you have another octave of audible harmonic content. Comparing a Jazz bass to a Stratocaster guitar for example you have the bridge and mid pickups. the pickup on the end of the neck is missing because for most people it's quite muddy with little to offer in the top end. The result is that whilst you get a lovely deep rich sound solo'ed, in a band setting it turns into an indiscernable mush - i.e. you can't tell what note is being played very easily. Great for certain types of music, but on the whole, more mid is required. Now, I quite like the tone of a neck pickup with lots of mid and treble EQ'd in (think Rickenbacker), but unless you play with a pick it easily becomes quite undefined and as a result it's usual to blend in a bit of the bridge pickup to get that attack. The same can be said for my current main bass, the Lakland Decade. I find myself EQ'ing in a lot more mid than I would for a Jazz bass which I can pretty much run flat through my amp of choice. Although I can get a sound that my Jazz/Precision cannot come close to. And there it is really. The Jazz bass configuration (bridge and Mid pickup position) is so very popular because it's the simplest set up (I.E plug in and play) and instantly gives a variety of useable tones. the Precision bass configuration is essentially just the mid pickup, and again, just plug it in and away you go. Lots of bass frequencies, with just the right amount of mid and treble to cut through the mix Thats' why the 'Fender Bass' sound is on so very many records (even if it wasn't an actual Fender) - it just works in the mix.

We all have iPhones so it's really easy to use iCal - we have a band calendar and everyone puts busy days in. Also, when a booking is confirmed it goes in there and you get a notification on your phone.

Yep as said above, you need to get Extra long scale strings to avoid running out of string before the taper / ribbon.. I wouldn't pull back the ribbon, the windings are more sparse under there. Most companies do them, personally i like the Elixir variety because they last a long time

Yep, had the same trouble with mine. 2 of them, the first went back for this same problem, the second I fixed myself. Changed about 3 valves before I realised it just worked loose!

Yep I had one in my Jazz, the 2 band concentric pot type. It was pretty good, especially for the money - i think I paid around £25! There's a modicom of noise with them, especially when you boost HF, but not as bad as the early Musicman preamps. I swapped it for an EMG BTC in the jazz though and I have to say, that it was worth the extra money. The EMG just sounds better, more transparent you might say. but The Artec is still getting plenty of use in my spare bitsa P bass. It's a perfectly capable pre-amp.

Stuart bought my Ibanez Artcore. Really simple transaction. No dramas. A pleasure to deal with. I would recommend to anyone Thanks!