brensabre79

[quote name='Rubbersoul' timestamp='1365454685' post='2039951'] Seriously considering doing this to an old damaged Westone Concord. Are there any differences for a varnished maple fretboard? [/quote] Yes.

Thanks uBassman. Your earlier post has convinced me to try and repair with more nitro laquer. I got some clear and some light amber to try and match the colour. Hopefully after all this time the old stuff will melt a little and blend with the new. once I get it flat i'll wack a clear coat over the lot. I'm just waiting for a reasonably warm day so I can do this in my shed wit the door open. PLus a day when I haven't got to use the bass for a gig for a couple of weeks. I don't mind the crazing - i quite like it actually - but when bits of laquer start flaking off under he strings it is concerning, and it's only getting worse. So I need to repair it one way or another... Thanks for the tips

ebay?

If it ain't broke.... Good quality pots will make some difference, mainly because they work smoothly (cheaper ones/wrong type tend to be 'all-at-once'). Personally, while I had it open, I would stick some CTS pots in there and know it'll be good and smooth for 20+ years

Thats pretty much it. Depending on what pickups you get you might need to swap the wires around on one or both of the pickups. It's pretty easy to tell. If when you select both pickups the sound drops in level and goes all thin you need to swap the wires around on one of the pickups.

Its possible, but personally I wouldn't like this setup as it would be very easy to turn the bass off. It's one thing selecting the wrong pickup in a hurry, but turning the bass off completely mid song is liable to cause panic. However, basically you need a two position switch for each pickup, then go to the volume and tone controls in the normal way. in one position you complete the circuit, in the other position you don't. You can use either on-on or on-off for this, but the second 'on' (of an on-on switch) is wired to nothing so effectively becomes 'off' anyway - it just makes picking the right size switch easier. Yes you need the capacitor, otherwise the tone control becomes useless.

I had the Laney ProBass head many many years ago - it was given to me. It is not a warm sounding amp and I could never get on with it myself. But for more warmth, as Oli said above, you can try adding low mid frequencies, rather than Low. Also, if you are getting any distortion, the gain is probably too high, when you boost eq you should turn the gain down a bit. Use the master volume if you want to go louder.

As above, give Andy a call. He is really helpful and obliging. I ended up with a custom wound '74s Jazz set for my bass after i spoke about my needs. He asked me to send the first bridge pickup back when i told him it wasn't bassy enough for my 70s position bridge pickup, it came back a week later, rewound and slightly more bassy. There was nothing wrong with the original in the normal 60s position, but the 70s spacing required something a little different - which he was more than happy to do. For prog (math) rock, I'd say you need a big heavy sound but with plenty of definition in the mid range.

Nothing wrong with a Pearl Export kit mate. For a few years every other kit I saw was a Pearl Export - they are a pretty solid kit.

Hello Ajgor welcome to Basschat It is difficult to help you because we don't know what is bad about the sound. I would start with all the graphic EQ in the middle position (flat) Set the gain to the middle (12 o'clock) Turn the limiter off to start with and turn off parametric also. Then you have the flat sound for the amplifier - you can use the Graphic equaliser to turn down the frequencies you don't like. If the sound has too much treble, turn down the higher frequencies. Too much bass? turn down the lower frequencies.

1) As above, its a finger rest when its below the strings, most people took them off anyway but in the 60s the thumb picking style the tug bar was intended for was popular with people who had migrated from guitar. 2) As above, you should not use unearthed equipment. The ground lift (or earth lift) is generally only employed when there is an 'earth loop' - i.e. the line is earthed separately at both ends which can cause a mains hum to be introduced. Therefore it is generally only acceptable to use an earth lift when there are effectively two earths, so you're lifting one of them - or breaking the loop. 3) Anything that corrodes or oxidises easily is informally regarded as a base metal.

Aw thanks folks I'll give that a read now

[quote name='L_Bass_Dog85' timestamp='1365163352' post='2036131'] I will design at a fair price. As a designer working for a printing company I know that what you plan to do is more expensive and time consuming than using a professional. Trust me! PM inbound anyhoo... [/quote] Yep, getting someone who knows how to do you a one-off is a good way to go Just make sure its something you can use again and again (i.e. blank space for details) You don't wanna be paying a designer every time you have a gig! I used to do flyers back in the day for Manchester club nights. I did find it amazing that some were not prepared to pay even £50 for a poster/flyer design when without it nobody would turn up! (this was in the days before the interweb) Yet they would happily charge 200+ people £10 to get in, pay DJs hundreds of pounds for a 45min set!!

Really? Nobody?

Having said that, here's something you can knock together in Word in about 5 minutes, that will do the job! Big Bold and clear... Edit: Please note this isn't an actual thing that is happening!!

We have a poster design that has a blank area for venue to fill in date/time. Many bands have terrible posters, the thing to remember is basically you need to: 1. grab attention 2. get across the key information as simply as possible (Who? What? Where? When?) - the where and when can be filled in. If your band has a following then the bands name might be enough to grab attention, if not you will have to be more creative. Here's ours, we bought the image of the girl rfom istockphoto.com for a couple of quid. The logo font was free. We grabbed attention with the scantilly clad blonde, and soon built up a following. Now people look out for her on the wall at places we play. We print them A3 and send about 4 or 5 copies to each venue. By printing about 100 each time at a local KallKwik or whatever it works out cheaper and we only need to do it every 6 months.

I've popped one of the Harma Mullard clones in my DHA, it does sound more rounded in the lower frequencies to me, it has a bit of that all-valve amp bounce to it. But the EH valve that was in there is a fine tube, I've stuck that in my VOX Tonelab actually as it has more presence and is better for guitar IMO. I have used a Phillips too and actually prefer it to the Mullard clone for dirty sounds. But each to their own! I think if you can get a couple of valves without spending too much, they are good to have on the shelf, and the DHA circuit definitely seems to allow the characteristics of the valve to shine through. (unlike my Genz amp which would probably sound the same with an energy saving lightbulb in there)

Black one here... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hohner-Headless-Bass-Guitar-/251249961086?_trksid=p2047675.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D11%26meid%3D6564551417675365543%26pid%3D100011%26prg%3D1005%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D221202676750%26

[quote name='pikeman' timestamp='1364286941' post='2024221'] ......but you do get 5000 Nectar points. A bit of a bargain. [/quote] Wow that will almost give me enough for a Cadbury's Mini Egg!

Basically the laquer on my neck has cracked. It started on the headstock, which is OK, Its now started flaking away on the fretboard.it looked cool for a while but the cracks have really opened up of late and bits are coming away, so I want to strip the Nitro off and re-laquer it because it looks a mess. I'm alright with relaquering, but its removing the old stuff I'm not sure about. Here's a pic - (sorry taken with phone)... Is there a good way to do this. I'm scared if I use something chemical like Nitromors that I'm gonna melt the plastic binding. It's gonna be tricky to sand without removing the frets too. Any advice welcome! Cheers

For the cost, I would upgrade to [url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/guitar-bass-parts/electronics/250k-pots-c-277_1_81_83.html"]CTS pots[/url]. <<<Link You don't have to use Mini pots, but it won't make much difference unless the cavity in your bass is really small.. The things you need to know are: shaft size split or solid shafts (so that your knobs will fit!) 250k pots will be fine - (you can use 500k if you want, they are generally a bit brighter sounding so good for humbuckers) You should use "audio Taper" kind for volume and "Linear Taper" for tone - but you can use Audio Taper for tone too. 250k Audio Taper Mini Pot Split shaft: http://www.allparts.uk.com/online-shop/guitar-bass-parts/electronics/250k-pots/250k-cts-mini-pot-audio-taper-split-shaft-p-7013.html If you're not sure thes are right you could post a pic of yours - there are only a couple of sizes...

Thats not butchering in the slightest. I thought you were at least gonna get the beeswax out! I know you don't want to hear this, but if the pickups are too close to the strings they will interfere with the strings magnetically and actually pull them in to the pole pieces. Plus they will not sound their best IMO. BUT if you want to play like that its your choice. I would suggest, as others have, getting some black insulation tape and cutting it neatly to sit over the pole pieces - maybe even 2 or 3 strips. Or if you're feeling all Blue Peter, get some fablon / sticky Back plastic from B&Q.

Thanks folks, Yes Alex also suggested VM WinISD option. I had a look at Wine looks complicated to install to be honest! Anyway, I think the speaker thing is sorted. Thanks everyone for your help with this.

Never had a problem with my HA3500, awesome amp My Genz on the other hand seems dogged with problems... It's gone through 5 preamp valves in a year! I did/do have a Hartke A100 practice amp that's been in the repair shop for over a year due to an oscilating issue which won't go away. The amp tech says they are really poorly designed with long PCB tracks running the width of the amp back and forth. He also said his 8 year old son can do better soldering! Shame because they can make some really good stuff, but I think that particular model was done on the cheap.

Thanks Balcro Yes it was quite limiting with those drivers and a fixed box size. I came into this project halfway through to solve some issues and I was applying my limited knowledge of instrument cabinets to a non-instrument problem - more of a Hi-Fi one. A helpful chat with Alex at Barefaced has set me along the right path now. He was really very helpful! I've gone for a complete redesign now using a sealed box and Peerless drivers.