brensabre79

I think in general guitar amps don't do so well with bass. Many have a HPF built in. One reason the old all-valve 100 - 200 watt heads ARE good for bass is the size of the transformers they used to put in them. These days manufacturers have realised that the older stuff was over-specified and they can get away with a less gutsy transformer for a guitar amp. Now I have not tried the Orange CR120, but it is a solid state head and may or may not have a HPF. I would imagine it will do dirty crunch amazingly, but don't expect much in the low end.

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1450270692' post='2931195'] Or that a 1973 Aston Martin V8 could outperform a 2015 VW Up! What a silly idea indeed! [/quote] Yeah that's a silly reply though isn't it Stevie? In that it completely misses both my point and the (becoming elusive) OPs

I also modded my VM Jazz. I tried a Badass bridge, but ended up with a Gotoh 201. I'll second what was said above about pickups (I also put Wizards in mine), they made the biggest improvement for me - along with the pots. Second was the machine heads. Third was the bridge - although it didn't make much difference to the sound and playability, in my mind it just felt more solid. Eventually I also replaced the neck and the body too and rebuilt the VM as stock from the leftovers . Still, it's a good way to buy a new bass if you're not into credit cards.

Amps, OK maybe - you can't beat all-valve for that all-valve tone. Speaker cabs? What a load of twaddle. How many 'boutique' cabinets have you tried? They all contain 'traditional' speakers, the principle hasn't changed. The materials have, Neo magnets are lighter, thinner plywood can be used with decent bracing, but at the end of the day, weight aside it's just a box holding a paper cone being propelled back and forth by a magntic motor. It's all in the design. Honestly, it's like saying modern cars with their new fangled gadgets don't handle as well as a 1973 Austin 1100 on the country lanes.

I wouldn't pay any attention to what these speakers may once have been. they have clearly been customised at some point soI'd say everything is an unknown. What you want to know is the impedence of the drivers and how the sockets are wired. [u]Checking impedence:[/u] You'll need a [b]digital multimeter[/b] Around £10 from Maplins, Robert Dyas, Screwfix, Wickes etc. etc. They look like this: Set it to 200 Ohms (or similar low setting) [b] Ω = Ohms[/b] On the back of the driver (speaker) there should be two metal tabs (with wires connected going to the back of the socket). Put a prong from the multimeter on each tab and see what number you get on the meter. As above: 5.5 to 6 ohms equals 8 ohm speaker, if reading 2.5 to 3 ohms equals 4 ohm speaker. Once you know this, it's time to look at how the two sockets are wired. Usually these are parallel (see below), meaning if you have two 8 ohm speakers, you'll end up with 4ohms total from the two cabinets. Most amps can handle 4 ohms. But if you have 4 ohm speakers, using both in parallel will give you 2 ohms to the amp (some amps can handle this, but many can't). If you have two 4 ohm speakers, and your amp only goes down to 4 ohms - you can't use them both together unless you wire them in series. For this you'll probably need a special lead (or conversion box). This could get even more complicated if the speakers are different, so for now, let's see what you have and we can go from there. Lots of people on here can help if we know what you have to work with... • Minimum load for your amp (usually written on the amp near the speaker outputs), • Speaker load (from multimeter) • and a close up of the wiring of the sockets will help. (Edit: Seen the pic above, your speaker sockets are wired for parallel)

If you like the OC-2 why don't you just tame the input with an attenuator, or a compressor maybe? I find most tracking type effects work better with a compressed signal anyway.

You can go pretty low on a fretless, as you don't have frets further up to get in the way. Close to level with the board is good, but I always try to file at a slight angle down away from the board (toward the tuners) so you don't get a 'hump' on the string. It depends how hard you play though, and how the neck is set up, you might want to start with a bit of a step up from the board (.5mm - 1mm).

+1 for a bit of EQ. I use a Zoom these days and I have the Bass Booster which adds a nice bit of drive, but also has an EQ section, boosting the mids fills out the hole left by the lack of chords in the solos. Also, getting the drummer to shift to their ride cymbal for the solos can help too. It's basically what Cream used to do in the solos... Jack would dig in and play slightly more busy lines, through a Marshall amp that was already on the edge, giving that wonderful overdriven sound of his from those days... while Ginger would use a rivited ride in addition to the usual bashing and crashing to fill out the sound.

Looks like a 300Kohm DPDT pot, made by ALPS. I downloaded the clearest image from the link and adjusted the levels in Photoshop. It's clearly a 3 before the 00K, preceding that is an 'A' - so probably Audio Taper (Log) I've seen these have been used on Yamaha Pacifica guitars too so it makes sense. You could probably replace with a CTS 250k DPDT with little difference. OR place a 750k resistor between the two outside lugs of a 500k pot - which will make it a 300k, but not sure how that will affect the taper. if you want exactly the same, you could try contacting Yamaha direct.

Power amp depends on your budget. At the bottome end of the scale you have the Behringher iNuke series - which are fantastic value. There are some people who say they aren't fantastic for bass though because they don't handle the power at lower frequencies too well. I've not experienced this myself, but have only used an iNuke for bass once, in an emergency. The bad mouthing Behringer gets caused me to carry a spare powr amp around for the bands PA for 3 years. But the spare has still not been switched on. The Crest / Crown / QSC stuff are quite highly regarded as non-budget power amps go. All solid workhorses, likely to be found in most in-house PA systems. But i would add, factor in the cost of amp + speaker against Alex's FR800s as they'll no doubt have a top notch amp built in, and it's one less thing to carry.

You could use any lightweight power amp with your Lehle. No need to get a dedicated Bass amp with an additional pre. Then it's just down to the speaker.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1447421860' post='2907549'] Hmm..so you couldn't play without it...herein lies the argument that some might say it is a crutch..?? [/quote] Nope, I never said I couldn't play without it, not that it's relevant whether I can play or not. I do prefer to use it though, for a variety of reasons I've already described badly. A compressor can't do anything at all without some input, so without any attack from your fingers a compressor isn't going to magic some pick attack out of thin air etc. I'll squeeze out the rest of the slightly flippant responses and get to the point. My (admittedly long) post was aimed at those who believe that compression just sucks the life out of their sound. Compression can do an incredible amount of stuff, including squeezing the life out of your sound, but like anything in this world it needs to be used in the right way. Otherwise it's like turning all the amp knobs to eleven and saying that amps are rubbish because they just distort everything and feed back all the time. Hey, if you don't like it, don't use it. But every sound engineer (live or studio) you ever meet will probably disagree with you, or just not tell you you're being compressed (probably with a Behringher) out front.

Thanks folks. I couldn't access Jack's website yesterday so assumed they were no longer around. But today it's all there again. Which is typical, as I've now ordered a blank b-w-b sheet and traced myself a template! So, when that comes out like a dogs dinner, I'll give Jack a call!

Thanks Karl, but he's already said as much on another site unfortunately, it's a completely different process and material. Like I said, on another instrument I'd probably get a Scratch-it plate (yours looks great btw), but I'm after something more original looking for this one. I never thought a simple 3 ply b-w-b would be such a huge ask, especially when i can get one with a unicorn shooting laser beams from its eyes while pooping rainbows, in space! from TimAl, but there it is.. I found that Sims custom do do the more traditional kind, but their website seems to imply that they will only take on certain projects. I thought there might be more people out there doing custom scrathplates to be honest, there's lots in the US.

I think it varies depending on the vendor. AliExpress is a site like eBay for manufacturers and distributors, so it's a bit like asking how good the products on eBay are - there are both good and bad, expensive and cheap. I know that some people have used particular vendors on AliExpress (for copies of models with a particular design that I cannot mention) and have had mixed results. I would ask if anyone on here can recommend a particular vendor that they have dealt with?

Thanks Guys, but the Scratch-it ones at that link appear to be clear plastic with a printed vinyl behind. Whilst these are pretty cool, I'm looking for something more like the original on my 30 year old guitar. I can't see any 3 ply traditional style ones on the site, but if I'm missing something do say.

Hi there good folks of Basschat. I have a 1980s Japanese Fender Telecaster '72 Thinline guitar that needs a new scratchplate (previous owner covered with stickers, then scratched them off with a blunt object). Unfortunately the US, MIM models are a slightly different size and don't fit. It seems the usual suspects (allparts, WD etc.) only cater for the US / MIM models. The pic is one of them, only about 4 of the screws line up, te rest aren't even close. As old as it is, I'd rather not drill new holes in the body. So I'm looking for someone who can make me a new one. I have the original to send (or trace) I don't want one of those Scratch-it type ones though, just a traditional looking black/cream/black 3 ply. Any recommendations please? thanks I know this is technically guitar related, but basses have scratchplates too and I thought I'd post here for best response. Mods please move if you are offended by the thin strings.

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1443684281' post='2876793'] Apparently moving the bridge strap pin partway up the lower bout (as on a Spector - see pic below) helps to counteract neck dive [/quote] I've modded a few neckdivers this way, keeping the existing strap button (usually at the centre) and adding one up here. Make sure the strap has holes for both buttons, I like to leave a little bit of slack between the two buttons on the strap to thread my lead through.

[quote name='NorthSands' timestamp='1447891949' post='2911356'] I'd love someone to do a side by side comparison of an RD with and an RD without the Moog board to see how different they sound! [/quote] Well you'll be in a perfect position to do this if you can find a new board for yours... let us hear before and after. Or should that be after and before..?

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1447946681' post='2911739'] Alrighty - here is my two-pickup one-volume one-tone one-switch (5-way) guitar: [/quote] Is that a short scale? Also, is it the camera or are the fets slightly fanned?

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1447945998' post='2911733'] Have you tried a set of "11's" instead of the "standard" "10's"? [/quote] Thanks iiipopes Not on a Gibson, But have played a beautiful jazz guitar with flat wound 11s on. It was a Fender too (D'Aquisto)! Had an ibanez 335 copy with 10s that was OK, but traded it for my Tele and haven't looked back!

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1447864066' post='2911063'] Was there something up with the Moog stuff that made people take them out? [/quote] They were pretty complex and experimental electronics. Originally I think they had a built in Compressor for the neck pickup, Expander for the bridge pickup (both just turned on/off by the same switch), plus a treble boost switch. the controls were VV plus treble and bass (the opposite way around to a MusicMan). All powered by one 9v battery - which didn't last long. To the OP, as above, looks like you have a very simple pre-amp circuit in there, which is because the original pickups were very low output (so as not to overdrive the Moog circuit). Good luck finding a board to go in there though, I don't think there is any difference between the two versions (3 way switch / 2x toggle switch) it's just the wiring that goes in to them. Also, as mentioned above, when you get a circuit board, don't solder the pickups straight on to it because you'll more than likely overheat the ICs on the board. Lovely Bass btw

[quote name='MOSCOWBASS' timestamp='1447845919' post='2910843'] You could try an Ampwege between the lower and upper stacked One10's, this might be enough to direct the sound up towards you. I use a piece of plastic packaging to lift the front of my BB2 up, it makes a big difference. [url="http://www.ampwedge.com/"]http://www.ampwedge.com/[/url] [url="http://www.talkbass.com/attachments/image-jpg.714838/"]http://www.talkbass....age-jpg.714838/[/url] [/quote] For $40 I'd use a couple of doorstops.

+1 for telecaster, If it has to be humbuckers, then the '72 thinline's are awesome. I have a 1980s Fender one, but they recently brought out a Squier VM model for under £400. As a bass player, there's just something right about Tele's (like a P-Bass) I can't play the shorter scale Gibson's etc. not enough string tension for me

I used to use a pair of hollow plastic 7A sticks for practice pads. I don't know if the'll make much difference, but they have a certain amount of 'give' in them (they bend) so absorb some of the impact. I cannot remeber what they were called though.