brensabre79

I have a passive P with active EMGs in - there was room for the battery in the control cavity, and it's a simple job to install. Despite nearly all of my other basses being much nicer to play, this one records the best by a country mile - never needs EQ or a preamp, just plug in the desk/soundcard and go! I hasten to add, its a bitsa, with a Fender Jazz neck, but the body is almost certainly not a Fender - so you may find the control cavity too narrow/shallow for a battery as it is.

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1423690367' post='2688067'] [size=5]I wondered about basing something on the Carvin Legacy 100W guitar head ([color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]17" wide x [/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]9" deep x [/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]8.5" high, [/font][/color][color=#000000][font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Weight: 29 lb) [/font][/color]but that would be way beyond my DIY skills:[/size] [/quote] Funnily enough, I spoke with Carvin about this very amp about a year ago, in particular could they use their wonderful BX series pre-amp with the lightweight valve power stage from this. The problem with using that particualr head in terms of bass is that to do the lower frequencies justice, the transformer needs to be much bigger (and heavier) - I'm no techie so this is the best explanation I can give. Basically it'll break up like a dried out cake long before it gives you any weight - so if you want that big valvey bounce you need a big (powerful) transformer. If you want a dirty trebly/middy sound it would probably cope. Nevertheless they said that they were looking into it, but I haven't heard any more - potentially this would be somehting along similar lines to the Mesa Prodigy I guess. But I think a truly lightweight solution would be as suggested, tiny 5w power stage being fed into a much larger class D power amp. Not sure it'll have the weight of sound though, just the compressy valve break-up.

I used to do live sound many years ago, before digital desks. I also share a hatred of the sort of kick drum sound that many a metal band would enjoy, all click and thud like. The trouble was, for many bands I mixed this was the sound they got... Many drummers use a hard wood/plastic beater, in the practice room it gives them a sharper attack where a soft beater would just be a dull thud. Added to this, in recent years (like the last 20) there has been an increasing trend to use thinner, more resonant heads coupled with a kevlar dot where the beater hits the skin - this helps it last longer than the first set. The result is that acoustically, the kick drum still sounds full with a decent attack to it, meaning it cuts through the noise in a practice room, complementing the bass. Fast forward to gig night, and stick a large diaphragm mic a few inches from the kevlar dot on the inside of the drum and you get the sound you would get if your ear was there. MASSIVE Click attack, accompanied by the BOOM of the natural resonant drum sound - converted to a thud by the charity shop cushions within. Put that through a big PA rig, and the resonance will increase, especially in the low mids, where it may even start to feed-back or boom a little, depending on the venue acoustics and the volume. So a bit of the resonant low mid gets removed to assist and voila - Lars Ulrich circa 1992. I used to roll off all the click I could, but there's no escaping the sound at source. And if you take off too much you end up with just a really low pitched rumble, no definition at all.

Same as above, I used the Pyramid Golds with a badass bridge, wasn't even strung through, first time I've broken a string ever! Shame as they sounded lovely.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1422003221' post='2667531'] I don't remember requesting yet another bog-standard re-issue of the same design. Was it you, then? [/quote] Given current form, if we asked for exactly that they might well make something innovative.

[quote name='d-basser' timestamp='1421754228' post='2664519'] In the past I have sorted this by going over it lightly with 0000 grade wire wool, makes it just a tad less glossy and a lot nicer to play [/quote] +1 I do this all over for that slightly worn in vintage look

I think a lot of these 'vintage tint' necks come with too many coats of tint applied personally. I'm lucky enough to have a couple of genuine vintage basses, so I always refer to these for colour. The 60s one is quite orange on the front of the headstock to be honest, but the back isn't that different from a new bass! The 70s ones are a golden colour. The trick is to use a couple of coats of tint, then switch to clear when you've got the right colour - and bear in mind, if you use Nitro it will tint more over time.

Forgive me if this is in the wrong place, I just wanted to say a big [b]thank you[/b] to [url="http://www.hansonpickups.com/"]Hanson pickups[/url], and particularly Bo Pirruccello for going far beyond what is expected these days. I bought a used Lakland Decade last year, unfortunately not long afterwards the pickups (both) became microphonic - which was a shame because they make a great sound, these are also the less common humbucking type. The bass (made in 2008) is way out of warranty even if I was the original owner - which I'm not. Being sealed in epoxy, I was told there's not much scope for repair with these [url="http://www.hansonpickups.com/chisonics.htm"]Chi-Sonics[/url], so replacing them seemed the only solution. As these pickups are an unusual size/shape (and I love the sound) the only logical replacements would be the same thing. So I approached Hanson Pickups (who made the originals for Lakland) with the intention of buying a replacement set. When I explained the reason for replacing them, I was asked for my shipping address and told that a replacement set of Chi-sonic humbuckers would be shipped out to me as soon as they could fit them into production. No charge. They seemed genuinely surprised to hear of the fault at also extremely keen to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Just 2 weeks on, and I'm delighted to be in possession of a replacement set courtesy of Hanson pickups. This is a level of customer service that is all to rare, so I wanted to share it with you all because not all companies are out for a quick buck, some genuinely do care about and look after people who use their stuff.

Not sure why you're taking the stain + Rustin approach to be honest. I would use a tinted lacquer and do it all in one, you can get poly or nitro (harder to work but ages beautifully and feels better IMHO). If you use a proper lacquer for guitars (e.g. Rothko & Frost) you spray over the frets then do a basic fret dress to get rid of the lacquer on the crowns of the frets (or not if you want that Rckenbacker feel). If you want a satin finish you can a) use satin lacquer, or use gloss but fine sand / wire wool / scouring pad etc. to dull the finish - you'd normally need to polish gloss finish anyway, just don't polish so much on the back. If you want a glossy front I'd go with option B - it will end up being glossy again eventually with wear, but you can always knock it back again.

watfordvalves.com have pretty good descriptions of the characteristics of the various valves they offer. Although if you want 'a lot' hotter, you simply won't get it because of the way the circuit uses the valve. I would recommend you get yourself a valve drive pedal / preamp which will saturate the valve inside quite nicely. e.g. http://www.davehallamps.co.uk/page26.html

Thanks for the kind words. Quick update on this. I've put in some DiMarzio Model J's and it made a huge difference. Fat and smooth like butter sound with a snarling, growly mid when you dig in. Played a gig NYE with it and loved every minute. I still haven't changed the setup out of the box either. Another good thing, the pickups are standard US Jazz Bass sizes (as in bridge slightly larger than neck) so most Jazz Bass compatible sets will go straight in. The Model J's are very deep and they are right down as low as they'll go to be at the right height - so they just fit, but most single coil varieties shouldn't have an issue here. I did have a screening issue with the standard far-east black paint solution it came with, so I copper lined the cavities and soldered on an earth wire which sorted it. I would recommend these to anyone looking for a Jazz Bass with a bit more sustain and liveliness, plus an air of quality you don't see in many basses under £1,200. It definitely feels like a PRS though, not a Fender.

[quote name='timmyo' timestamp='1418924179' post='2634950'] Thanks again. I've found someone who will do the plate for me so that's good. Now I need to think about the whole electrics side of it - how to wire in a P pickup to the (active) Sterling electrics... :-/ ..... ? [/quote] shouldn't be a problem, i dont think the MM pickup is active, there's just a pre-amp after the pickups. So you just need some way to switch (or blend) between the pickups. A simple 3 way switch will do it. Then you'll have master vol and EQ.

[quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1419057146' post='2636083'] @Howie, it is worse at the nut end but it's not choking, it rings out clearly and sustains well but it just sounds err thin when fretted. Open it has a funny phasing type sound, difficult to explain, I always adjust out any rattling as it grates on me. Are some strings better than others for tension? In my head I think a tighter string would resonate better than a 'floppy' one? I can't afford to buy lots and test them out... My head is 68 years old so it makes errors sometimes, my brain thinks I'm 24 which can be a problem. [/quote] I've had this open string phasing thing, but it has usually been remedied by changing the strings - i put it down to a bad set. I do wonder if the nut may be pinching the string a little though, just enough to give it an extra little twang at its furthers excursion? Maybe check the nut is big enough for the strings

I can't say I've noticed a strong difference between the cryo and non-cryo personally, but I haven't really done much tube rolling either. Watford say it makes a difference, HotRox say they certainly do not freeze their valves, so who knows. I did get a Ex military NoS CV4033 (ECC81) type tube for my Compressore, it did sound noticeably different to the stock rubytubes that came with it. But it failed after a year (being chucked in my gig bag 4 nights a week probably didn't help) making a lot of crackle and hiss. So I replaced with a JJ, which also sounded fine. I'm using JJ's in my valve amp these days to. I like the sound, and they seem pretty reliable so I'm happy with that. Power amp valves are too expensive to play around when you have to buy a matched sextet - so I just stick to what I know.

It gets on my nerves too, but as an art director I can also understand the other side of the story. We are often supplied just one image, without much cropping space, usually slightly too small for the space we need to fill too. So fitting this around the magazine's masthead means either he's a leftie for the day, or he has his head covered by the big red logo. Given the ultimate choice I'd move the masthead over to the right, but not always possible if it has an established location. Its the same with musical notes on a stave being upside down, back to front etc. but there's no excuse for that. Don't get me wrong, I feel your pain, this is a man who refuses to eat from takeaway establishments with a poor font choice on their menu.

£40 is a bargain even if you allow another £50 or so for a decent set up. You'll have a nice little workhorse you can upgrade reasonably.

Thanks guys, just trying to be useful to anyone considering one. I just changed the strings to a set of Elixir's and I must say it has made quite a difference to the tone from the pickups, although they still lack a little something for me, lots of treble but no sparkle, and the bottom end is pretty light and airy too. If you're after a clean, crisp, sound though, these do it pretty well, but I'll be putting something fatter in. Plays so sweetly though

I'll start by apologising for the crappy iPhone photo, but theres lots of studio shots of these online. I'll add more when I can stop playing it and get the camera out. So, a while ago I was on the hunt for something that would tick a few boxes for me. I wanted what was essentially a Jazz Bass with a through neck. For some reason theres always been a certain springy-ness to the through-neck basses I've owned and played, but for everything I've tried, its always been the Jazz bass that can get me through any gig situation. Despite the vast knowledge base that is Basschat, there were very few suggestions though. So imagine my delight to find out about the new Kestrel and Kingfisher basses from PRS. The marketing copy seemed to suggest that this would indeed be the answer to my prayers, and potentially save me a fortune going down the custom route. So without hesitation, I saved up for a few months until the other day when I hit the button on this sunburst Kestrel. Well it arrived yesterday, and here's my first thoughts. It's lovely. It came in its own padded gig bag, with the usual case candy in the front pocket. (Why do they always give you a terrible lead? It's absolutely useless except for a keyboard sustain pedal). Finish quality: Opening up, the first thing I encountered was a little note from Ali (with a picture of him too) to say that he had set the bass up in the UK before shipping it out to the store. He'd checked the truss-rod, nut, frets, intonation, etc. and was happy. Nice personal touch. As it turns out, Ali had not done a bad job either. The finish on this bass is absolutely great, almost flawless - the only thing I noticed was that the nut (some kind of brittle plastic) has been cut and roughly shaped, but not smoothed on the corners. A tiny imperfection, one remedied after about 2 minutes with some fine sandpaper. That really is the only thing I can fault though, otherwise it feels... expensive. The set-up by Ali was a good job, nice low action, just the right amount of curve on the neck and one of the first new basses I've had with the nut actually cut right. Pickups set at a good heightand the bridge spot-on. Playing: Before plugging it in I noodled around for 15 minutes, and then another 20 minutes or so before I even thought about plugging it in, its very playable. The neck is not skinny like an Ibanez, it's not what I'd call chunky either, it sort of reminds me of a Les Paul guitar in a way. Substantial, but not slow. I've got small thumbs, so big fat necks are a no,no for me - this is actually thicker than I would normally like, but actually I didn't notice - its really comfortable. Theres a few more frets than a Jazz Bass at 22 - which is nice to have actually - and getting to them is a doddle thanks to the neck-join and the signature PRS scalloped cutaway on the lower horn. Electricity: I eventually set up my little Roland Cube and plugged it in. What a shame, because until this point I was struggling to understand how this bass was so cheap. Honestly, it feels nicer than many basses 2x or 3x the price. The sound is not bad, but its not great either. It sort of sounds, well, ordinary. this may not be a bad thing, and I may be spoilt with the Lakland Chi-sonics on my Decade (amazing sound), but my heart sank a tiny bit from the tone. I can tell its the pickups too, they are ordinary, on an otherwise extraordinary bass. I know tone is a very subjective thing, and its hard to put into words. My chi-sonics sound fat, big and crunchy on the outside - like a perfectly roasted potato. The custom Wizards on my Jazz Bass, warm with a bit of a cut-through, like roasted baby carrots with a honey glaze. The humbuckers on my Sabre, are thick with a hint of sharpness like a reduced red wine gravy. And here, on the PRS we have boiled parsnips, meh, just a bit middy with no real weight or substance. they remind me of the Duncan Designed pickups in the original Squier VM range, but with a bit less character. The passive tone controls are equally ordinary - no problem with it, but it's all a bit clinical. The V-V-T configuration has never floated my boat, with both pickups on full, winding one back a tiny amount behaves like a switch. The controls are also very close together for some reason so in a hurry its easy to knock one control while adjusting another. After a while of fiddling, and adding my Zoom B3 into the equation I was able to get a more killer tone, but this bass looks and feels like it should sound fatter and more commanding without the need for such things. Conclusion: SO is it a keeper? Well yes actually it is. But the first thing I'm going to do is change the pickups and the electronics. I do this on pretty much every bass I've owned (except the Lakland and Music Man) so that's probably just me. I wanted a bit more heft and sparkle from this bass, and unplugged it feels like it has all of that in it and the pickups just aren't doing it justice. Luckily, they are standard Jazz Bass style pickups so I have a huge choice of upgrades. But as I said, the controls are very close together, and the control cavity is tiny - so any electronic modifications will probably mean getting the router out. I'll keep it passive, but put my usual 5 position pickup switch, coil tap or series switch and vintage RIC bridge pickup HPF switch in with a simple volume and tone control. This can be done with the same 3 holes it comes with - although they might be a bit close together. Overall I'm really happy with the instrument. Made with care, and attention to details. Finished beautifully, set-up properly and a bargain price for what it is. I'm not going to gripe over a bit extra ££ for some better pickups because I'll still have saved a fortune over a custom bass, and I don't think I'd change much. Bren

I got a Thunderbird once, I did one gig with it and sold it on, it was not comfortable, despite the skinny neck. The neck feels incredibly long and the band I was in at the time played mostly in F - which was almost out of reach for me. They are not the lightest instruments either, and whilst you can move the strap button to overcome some of the neck dive issues it is still heavy, and has to be played low-slung. With RA I'd be looking for something more ergonomic personally.

Right, having tried in vein to find a store near me with one I can go and try, I've hit the button and ordered a Kestrel (Merry Christmas from me!). If it plays nice I do intend to modify it, if not it'll go back to the shop within 14 days. I was surprised that even one of the larger UK retailers who have them on their site would not bring one in to their shop nearby for me to try without a non-refundable deposit as a commitment to buy (whats the point in having the store?). So I don't expect these will have much resale value, but as it ticks a great many of the boxes I want ticked, I'm going for a punt. look out for a NBD post from me soon...

Does anyone want to buy a Rolex btw?

If the bass you were lusting after has left you cold when you played it it's not 'the one' - find another. Guitars, and basses are like people, no two are alike, some might look similar, but not the same. Some leave you cold, and some you just warm to instantly... I've always found the ones I like playing with are not the ones I like to look at though. Stingray / Jazz Bass either is perfect for Funk, along with a myriad of other basses. Get to a shop and try them all! including the ugly duckling in the corner.

Beautiful bass, and just perfectly highlights the difference between a relic job and the real thing IMO Maple + white blocks and binding is the best.

Back in the day it was all about Pre-CBS Fenders, the general consensus was that CBS introduced considerable cost-saving measures and they got worse and worse until the early 80s where production was all but moved to Japan. There used to be some stock in the opinion that if an instrument has survived 40 years it's probably a good player, but these days it's all about the 70s Fenders (the Pre-CBS ones being completely out of most peoples budget). But these are the same ones with the CBS cost-saving measures, that 20 years ago "were not very good". So by the same logic, they must be pretty rare by now if only the good ones are left... But wait, there's tons and tons of 70s Fenders around all of a sudden, now that people want them. And it'll be the same for the "Golden Era mid 90s ones" soon too. People are wise to the fact that older instruments attract a higher price tag so they are keeping the sh*te ones, as well as making copies of them. I have a '74 Jazz bass, the neck is too chunky for me and the body weighs a ton or more. I got it years ago, before they were 'fashionable', for very little money - mainly because it has a baseball bat neck and weighs 13.5lb. The trouble is, it has not been played much (see above), so it's in nearly immaculate condition. If I attached it to a car towhook and went for a drive in the rain I could probably triple my money.

I wish all of these valve bass amp manufacturers would start making them a bit narrower - as in 19" Rack Units. Options are very limited there.