JPJ

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1495140378' post='3301651'] I have a pair of H/H 4x12's in the shed that look just like those. They sound terrible [/quote] Many many moons ago I rehearsed with a 'band' (I don't think we ever played a gig) with two brothers who had one of those each with the matching VS series amp heads. Memories eh?

I've got to admit that I didn't like the original concept. I'm a 'dyed in the wool' Fender shaped bass type of guy, who prefers big slabs of wood. But this is shaping up (no pun intended) to be something really special. I love how the flame in the body wing wood has 'popped' as you've carved away the excess material, and the whole thing is a testament to your woodworking skills. One question though, how is the overall weight now you've done most of the wood removal and how is the balance?

[quote name='v8bass' timestamp='1495231521' post='3302416'] Good grief you've had some woes with that KK ! Love the mods to date ( Inc necessary repairs) The ally tailpiece looks great and my fingers are crossed that nothing else happens As a new KK owner I'm checking back regularly for hints and tips here * Just as a point of interest, have you modded the original pickup using the " washer " mod ? " Think we might need a KK sub forum :-P Your approach is totally Zen too Gary [/quote] Thanks for the kind words Gary, it's certainly been a journey! But the whole thing has been worthwhile when you play her, especially live like tonight. Mine came with the washer mod already done, so I can't really compare to a non-modded version. Welcome to the KK club (we may need to think of a more politically correct club name 😂) I'm sure you are going to enjoy it.

So the latest instalment to my KK Baby Bass tale of woe. I opened the gig bag the other week to be greeted by the bridge falling out on to the floor. "Odd" I thought "I'm sure thats not supposed to happen". Quick investigation showed that the tailpiece had split behind the bolt that secures it. Now its possible this is damage that occurred on the delivery journey, or its possibly been done in the man cave at home as this does appear to be a quite vulnerable area when only protected by the gig bag. I attempted a glue repair which was initially successful, but that lasted precisely one week before it sheared again along the glue line [url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/C4EBC5CE-21AF-4F2E-AD54-A59AF27D0DF6_zpsgygtytjw.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/9F381F6E-D1CF-41DD-A124-B19CF86E7594_zpskpddopdq.jpg.html"][/url] So I did a bit of online shopping and thanks to the guys at The String Zone, I received a new Thomastik Infeld cast aluminium tailpiece with fine tuners in the post this morning. This is designed for a conventional double bass, so I needed to modify it by lopping the end off with a hacksaw and drilling a hole for the bolt which holds it to the bass, but now fitted, I feel that this is a big improvement to the solidity of this vulnerable area. [URL=http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/A809BEA9-97F4-4018-B611-7292EA3F515F_zpso1xjjwai.jpg.html][IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v208/JPJ/A809BEA9-97F4-4018-B611-7292EA3F515F_zpso1xjjwai.jpg[/IMG][/URL] [url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/ADC987CC-C638-46EA-B916-BBEA6074FAC1_zps2bfl6iq6.jpg.html"][/url] I'm hoping that this is the end of my travails with this bass and I can just get on with learning to play her properly

I've just replaced the white dots on my KK Baby Bass with the 2mm Luminaire side dots from Rothko & Frost. I went with the 2mm version but in hindsight the 3mm might have been a better option. They are certainly bright enough on dark stages though [url="http://www.rothkoandfrost.com/glow-in-the-dark-luminescent-inlay-dots-pack-of-12/"]http://www.rothkoandfrost.com/glow-in-the-dark-luminescent-inlay-dots-pack-of-12/[/url]

Hi Marc, No, OBBM is a founder member of Basschat who makes excellent leads etc. The J-Tone guy is local to me and trades mainly through eBay. I'm working on the aluminium tailpiece idea, and I will report back once this is complete.

I've been using a Line 6 G50 for about six years. Never misses a beat, I get about three gigs out of a pair of Duracell's and the signal is solid as a rock. The G50 also has the metal transmitter pack, and mine has been dropped, swung from its cable etc and is still going strong.

[quote name='Marc S' timestamp='1493305194' post='3287334'] They are fine for other genres too. I bought mine from Happy Jack. He tells me that they are popular with Salsa players because at one time, the only bass available to Salsa bands in South America, was the Ampeg original on which the KK was based.... I've used mine for more folky, rootsy, bluesy stuff and it's great I recently added an additional pickup too. I had a Shadow preamp, with 2 piezo pickups (one for each side of the bridge) I replaced one of the Piezo's with a slap pickup (bought fairly cheply on ebay) and I really like the sound I get from that. It picks up more of the clicky / slap sounds when I'm playing that style. It's a great result for me too, as I've got a ready made backup pickup system - I can just revert to the KK fitted pickup if the battery in my Shadow preamp dies... The bridge fitted to the KK is unlike other EUB's, as there's a sort of metal bar around the bridge - I first thought this must be to protect the bridge. It actually does protect it when in the gigbag, but it's also part of the pickup system I'm really pleased with mine [/quote] I'm running the mag pickup and a pair of J-Tone Red wing pickups. OBBM made me up a stereo lead with two mono jacks on one end and I use this with a Headway EDB-1 preamp to blend the mag and the piezo's together. Regarding protection in the gig bag, the metal hoop does indeed protect the bridge to some extent, but be careful of the tailpiece. Mine took a whack and it cracked around the bolt hole. Opening the gig bag and the bridge dropping out is not a pleasant feeling I can tell you. I've managed a glue repair to the tailpiece which is holding fine for now, but as this is quite exposed, I'm thinking of making up an aluminium tailpiece to prevent further accidents.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1493304595' post='3287323'] What's the KK like in a non-salsa situation? All the decent clips I've seen seem to fall into that bracket. [/quote] Nip round any weekend and try mine Michael. I think you'll be surprised how flexible she is

All sorted! Bought a set of four from CH Guitars in sunny South Shields for £22. Butchered one for the part I needed and I now have a fully working EUB again

Sometimes tools need a little tough love, but it's good for them in the long term 😂

No sign of Andyjr1515 for three days, should we be sending out a search party?

That's even better than I imagined it, well done that man. Now go easy with those chisels, one slip could be costly

Definitely a seminal moment in this build. And if ever an image reinforced the old saying 'you can never have enough clamps' then this is it 😎

Would anyone in the wonderful world of Basschat have a wilkinson style no36 tuner in black available to buy? I'll happily take a set, I've just sheared one off on the KK Baby Bass due to my own stupidity I'll also take a chrome set as I can probably bastardise a working tuner from the parts. [url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/36_gold_black_chrome_zpsxko03bsm.jpg.html"][/url]

Or go with a 51 P pickup, which is pretty much just the coil former and slugs, got to be smaller than that mini-humbucker. If noise is the concern add a second dummy coil just aft of the pickup?

Why not add extra laminates to the neck in the body region so that the neck remains continuous even after routing for the magnetic pickup? I'd also be tempted to commission some custom single pole /coil pickups a la Wal and the arrange them diagonally so you don't need to cut a big chunk out of the neck, just a series of smaller staggered pockets.

What Dood said. I can't believe the difference this little pedal has made to my live sound

Second gig tonight with the Micro Thumpinator and I'm hooked. After literally years of trying I've final found something which gives me that studio mastered type bass sound. So even across all five strings and without the subsonic rumble my bass is just sitting much better in the mix.

That tuner assembly is just crying out for a nicely carved piece of neck laminate in behind it 'wedge' fashion

Either a PJB Bass Buddy or the TC BG250. I have both and love them. The Bass Buddy is great for headphones and it can power a cab with its built in 10w amp. The key advantage is size because its tiny and takes up no space at all. But if you want the best of both worlds, then I'd recommend the TC BG250 in the 2x8 combo version. Cracking little amp for the money, and I have even gigged mine on acoustic gigs and full band rehearsals.

Our PA lives in my garage. The key is that it is well ventilated, so no problems with damp. I keep everything off the floor on rubber mats, I don't know whether this helps but it makes me feel better Been doing this for four years now without a problem. The bins have no covers but the amps have been fine, the tops have canvas covers and have been ok too.

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1491399722' post='3272723'] It also does confirm that the machining and carving is going to need to be sub-mm accuracy [/quote] and don't forget the extra millimetre or so for sanding

I had the 1x15 combo version of this amp (I think it was a G120?) I seem to recall that with the shape 2 button depressed and the graphic set right it could do a more than passing resemblance of the de facto Trace Elliott tone that was popular at the time.