brensabre79

Ok so my old rig was a standard 19" Rackmount width and my 1U rack tuner made total sense. Now I have a Genz Benz shuttle and I cannot find a half rack size tuner to sit on top. I hate having pedals on the floor, although I do use them for some gigs. But I'd like a tuner that is the same width as my Shuttle. I'm sure Boss used to make one but I can't find any. Does anyone know of one that is currently available? Actually while I'm on it does anybody make any half rack cases so I can pop the amp and the tuner in? Cheers B

Interesting thread. I've often wondered how much of tone comes from the wood in what is essentially an electro-magnetic signal chain. The one time I guess the body wood will affect the tone is if you have microphonic pickups, in which case the volume and proximity to amplifier will also have an affect. Lets not foget the Dan armstrong plexi-glass bass of the 70s either. Does that sound like a lump of plastic?

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1326239763' post='1494485'] I recently bought a set of LoRiders, SunBeams and HiBeams from the US (for comparison). Including shipping it came to £16.50 for each set, which is almost 20 quid cheaper than some places sell them in this country. So if you like the LoRiders, then that would be worth looking into [/quote] That does sound appealing. Maybe I'll put in a bulk order then and put the rest in the For Sale section on here

[quote name='morsefull' timestamp='1326212692' post='1493892'] But is Shell petrol better than Esso ? that's more the question If you think your car runs better on Shell , fine. Personally, I wish Aldi sold petrol [/quote] Actually, there is a difference in petrol if you're running a performance engine. Supermarket brand petrol does cause a lot of sludge build up in the tank, its not really an issue unless you run low and then all the sludge goes through your engine. The more expensive brands put additives in the fuel to break the sludge down in the tank... I ran a performance car for a few years, thought nothing of filling up at Tesco every week, saved some money but not enough to pay the £4k bill for an engine rebuild. The mechanic (a friend) said don't ever take this car to the supermarket again! I didn't, I wrapped it around a tree a month later

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1326213756' post='1493922'] I claim my £5. You are "Friendly Seller" from the ebay links thread. [/quote] Seriously though this thread has got me wondering... I have sweat like battery acid and even a decent set of strings won't last more than 2 weeks. i have to play Steel because i'm allergic to nickel. I'm using LoRiders at the moment because I like the extra tension and long life but they ain't the cheapest and now I'm doing more gigs I'm starting to wonder if I should get the cheapo ones and just change more often. The LoRiders i put on last week cost me £35 and they are like rubber bands already! Finances alone means every set gets an isopropyl bath and used twice. The best ones I ever had were a set of Thomastik infeld 45-105 they lasted over a month but they aren't easy to get hold of and they are incredibly expensive.

[quote name='mrdreadful' timestamp='1326202018' post='1493669'] Being able to get rid of all the lows will come in handy if I decide to start a trve kvlt misanthropic black metal band. [/quote] Actually yeah! you have a point there, I was just thinking about doing exactly this the other day

My dad had a bass once with a built in graphic eq. the theory was an unlimited amount of tone variation, the reality was one really good sound and 999,999,999 utterly useless ones! Beware of overcomplicating things because in a gig situation you don't want to be in a position where you can accidentally hit the wrong switch and turn the bass off, or make it sound like a deranged tuba! I would experiment with all the switching options at home, before you drill any holes and rule out the ones which are just going to be an extra thing you don't need! Having experimented with electronics for many years on basses my latest stable have the minimum of room for error and to be honest, once the sound is set I just use the volume control for most of the gig!

My Sabre had a reverse phase switch as standard. absolutely useless to me as all the low frequencies disappear! I rewired it into a series switch. Each to their own though, you might like the sound of a one-legged baritone guitar!

+1 essexbasscat, I could not have put it better It is a blessing and a curse at times! I recently sat next to an old guy (70+) at a big band concert (my dad was playing in the band), during the break we got talking. The man was a professor at a top university as it happens, and flys all over the world giving talks and lectures as well as advising governments on his area of specialism, a fascinating man. We talked about music, he plays the accordion in his spare time, in local pubs for beer money. He was clearly a very intelligent man, a little erratic maybe, I would say he's sitting close to that fine line between genius and insanity (see Spike Milligan). I asked him why he still played music in crappy pubs when he's a leading authority in his area, an advisor to world leaders and clearly extremely passionate about what he does. His answer was simple: "I've played music for most of my life and it is that fact alone that has kept me sane all this time"

Sounds interesting.. Does it sound like a Ric? I have the series mod on my Jazz but to be honest I don't use it unless I need a volume boost in a hurry and my Vol is already full - which hardly ever happens! But for a couple of Jam covers getting that Ric sound out of my Jazz would be worthy of a switching position... Do you have a diagram?

The scratchplates on these are totally different from the standard Fender ones in more than one place. The neck joint issue is one, but the control plate (where the knobs are) is a sharper corner where it meets the scratchplate - Fender ones have a more rounded point. You could try getting a standard one - to fit Fender - and then cutting away at the control plate join to square it off more. And shaving off around the neck join to suit. The other option is that there are plenty of people who will make a scratchplate to your spec. so if you have the old one you can send it (or draw around it marking the holes etc. and send the piece of paper). I put a Gotoh 201 Bridge on my VM, and it worked a treat. A couple of extra holes needed but as you're re-drilling anyway it should be fine. I had to shim the neck slightly due to the thicker baseplate, but it made for a much better sustain and punch - also the strings lined up properly!

I only notice the problem when Bridge only is selected so probably not phase issue. Yes the Preamp was both coupled and decoupled for the test with no difference. I also checked all other connections for a short circuit to no avail. Maybe I just need to get a beefier winding on the bridge PU...

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1325950208' post='1490258'] Hmm not a bad idea. I play finger style but sometimes revert back to pick style for more attack or variation for some phrases.... the only thing is I don't use plectrums on bass so I instead use my index finger nail which has subsequently become paper thin because of the unusual wear it gets. I can't see me wearing one of these though. [/quote] Jan Ackerman used to build up his thumbnail for use as a pick with epoxy resin!

Thanks Ou7shined. Preamp was out of the equation when I tested. I think the figures are about right for the pickups (should be between '64s at 8.5k and '84s at 11.5) so they are still on the loud side, just no bass! I'll check with Andy at Wizard to make sure.

OK I've checked contacts, all ok and tested pickup resistance at the pickup wires.. Yes my original figures were way off! All in Kohms: Switch in Bridge position: BPU: 10.71 NPU: 10.46 Switch at Parallel position (i.e. both): BPU: 5.29 NPU: 5.30 Both (B+N-): 5.30 Switch at Neck position: BPU: 11.17 NPU: 10.08 Switch at Series position: BPU: 10.74 NPU: 10.10 Both (B+N-): 19.80 Not sure what to make of the results. Seems strange that the Bridge pickup resistance changes with switch in Neck position (when its not even in use!) Have I got a short somewhere or is this normal..? seems that when I can hear the bridge pickup its giving 10.71k and the neck on its own 10.08k. Both together either halves or doubles depending on circuit... But there is a definite volume drop from the bridge pickup, I appreciate the tone will be different from the two As I have it there is about 6mm difference in height and the bridge still seems quieter. BTW I have an EMG BTC preamp and a CTS 500k volume pot after the switch. Any help greatly appreciated! Thanks

OK Thanks Doc! I'll check the wiring and check the resistance of the actual pickup rather than the output Jack just to be sure... Cheers

Hi Machines. If you're looking for lightweight, the new Class D style amps are the way to go. (incidentally most of these all use the same Bang & Olufsen power stage - so its all down to what you prefer in terms of preamp). It might help to know what sort of sound you're after i.e clean & crisp or dirty & growly. Having said that, I've owned a few rigs over the years and I can pretty much get the sound I want from most of them. I can recommend the Genz Benz, but some say they can be a bit clinical (I've put a Mullard valve in the pre of mine) and I drive the valve pretty hard in the preamp to get a sound that works great for me. I haven't tried the TC. I found the EBS stuff I tried lacking in low end punch and a bit sterile personally. All of these are well built and widely used though. Best thing is to try them out if you can - only you know what sort of sound you want to get.

Hi everyone. I've got a pair of Wizard '74 custom built pickups in my Jazz. After switching to 70s spacing recently with the purchase of a new body I'm noticing that the bridge pickup seems weak in the bass region compared to the neck (which sounds awesome and deep). In fact I've had to screw the neck pickup down so far its level with the scratchplate just so I don't get a massive drop in volume when I switch to bridge P/U. The Bridge has plenty of mid and top, just seems to be lacking in bass frequencies. When I use both together it sounds mostly like the neck P/U but with a little bit of the bridge twang. The problem was also there when I had standard spacing but nowhere near as pronounced. I measured the resistance at the jack socket for each one: Bridge: 201 ohm Neck: 201 ohm I was expecting there to be a difference, to explain the difference in volume, but they are both exactly the same which leads me to think that the pickups are not the problem here. So my question is... Is the difference in bass response normal? My standard american jazz doesn't seem to suffer this problem (although that is standard spacing). And any ideas what I can do about it (other than turn the bass freq. up every time I use the bridge P/U alone?). Thanks P.S. I'm running my amp pretty much flat.

Crikey, musical differences already...?

Nice bass dude. No anticlimax here, I didn't even know these existed! Now I want one! I'm with you about the pickguard - tort, or black!

I've always wanted to do this too. Could never find the people. I think most Duran Duran fans who are musicians must be bass players! Actually it was Duran Duran that lured me off the drums and on to the bass!

Guitar > Keyboard > Trumpet > Drums > Girls > More Drums > More Girls > Bass > Less Girls > Drums again > One Girl + Bass =

I've been lucky enough to play with a couple of such guitarists. One was a complete knobhead and the other completely unreliable (and not just late, he would frequently forget guitar, or amp, or leads, he would even forget to play sometimes in the middle of a gig! - when he turned up). Shame because they both moved me in diffrent ways with their playing, neither was technically very good. Its often the ones who don't have such great technique I guess because they play from the heart rather than the tutorial...

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1325807938' post='1488287'] I spend the money on my misses to keep her happy!!!! [/quote] +1 usually end up breaking even at the end of the month to be honest, after I've treated the missus to make up for not being in all those nights and paid for petrol, strings etc. My 90s Jazz bass still hasn't paid for itself!

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1325850762' post='1488663'] If it doesn't gel, it doesn't even get past first base as far as I am concerned. But glad you have found a band that is going to work. [/quote] Yep, just as you can pick up a bass in a shop and know within a few notes if its going to work for you or not, my mind is made up 15 minutes into an audition usually whether to stay or not (or whether I'll be asked to)... Really glad you've got something groovy going on though, its hard to find the sort of synergy where you instinctively complement each other. Think of the practice time you save for a start - makes more time for having fun!