JPJ

This is a simple but hugely effective song guaranteed to get the most obstinate of audiences tapping their feet.

The secret seems to be to 'really go for it' live, you cant afford to lay back or it'll sound lifeless. Same with Sex on Fire, its got to be driven along imho.

Build number two started with me buying this bass off Thunder Fingers here on basschat.







The spec was just too good to miss, Status Graphite Neck, OLP Tony Levin sig body, Badass V bridge, Seymour Duncan Alnico pickup, Seymour Duncan 3 band Stingray preamp, Hipshot American Classic tuners. As you will note from the shot of the back of the bass, the body isnt in great shape so I intended making a new body out of this;



A rather nice two piece swamp ash body blank and cap it with this;



rather tasty piece of quilted maple cap, all the way from the good'ol US of A

The finish will be transparent black which should look good with the black hardware. Cant decide whether to steam the maple and drop it over a front contour or whether to do a slab body, either way the intention is to do it with PRS style faux binding.

I hope to have a day in the workshop (shed ) next weekend and unlike my previous build, I intend taking progress shots of each stage of the construction to bore you lot with!

Just a little routing, sanding, a little more sanding, some sealing, sanding, staining, sanding, lacquering, sanding, lacquering, sanding, polishing and I should have bass No 5 in the stable.

Sweet looking rig there matey, looking forward to hearing that in action.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='459681' date='Apr 10 2009, 10:58 PM']Thanks for your input, folks!



Ha ha.. that's mint. I'm glad I didn't buy yours. I'd feel like crap now.

RIGHT... one thing I have realised is that - and I knew this already, really - J pups just don't do it for me. My heart lies in solo'd P URB-ysville. I must tattoo this on my hand.

Which of these two does it better? Hmm... the board on the Franklin is smoother and denser, and more defined, but.... Pietro is my pal, and I think he sounds 'woodier'. But then, the Franklin might totally excel in a band environment... thankfully I have a few gigs next week so I have plenty of time to experiment...

I may yet pick up an Ebony or Ebonal neck and swap the '71s neck out instead...[/quote]

You even think of messing with the '71 and me and Big Al will be round your place faster than you can hide under the bed with a pair of knacking sticks to give you a right good knacking! Remember, we know where you live

Horses for courses etc but as you have currently managed to get both into the house, I wouldn't be rushing to kick one out!

I can remember oggling some awesome Acoustic stacks in Kitchens Music in Newcastle as a spotty teenager. I'd be interested in trying some of the new stuff if it ever makes it over here.

[quote name='Mr.T' post='450494' date='Mar 31 2009, 01:35 PM']Just received delivery of my Mighty Mite neck.

It looks a bit pasty and I would prefer a darker, more vintage (yellowy) kind of colour.... although still a satin finish.
What oil could I use to achieve this?

Forgive my lack of knowledge, I have been using Status Graphite basses for the past 20 years (and a can of Mr. Sheen).[/quote]

First question, is it already lacquered or naked wood?

If its naked, you can get lacquers with a vintage tint and can cut them with thinners to make them satin rather than gloss finish. Alternatively, you could oil the neck, but personally I don't like the feel of oiled wood.

If the neck is already lacquered then you are going to have to get all that off before oiling/re-lacquering.

I used to own a Black Beauty and paired it with an 8ohm 2x10 (giving 2.6ohm overall) and gigged it like that with no problems.

Great amps, but as somebody has already mentioned, they are quite heavy and bulky

[quote name='dood' post='448927' date='Mar 29 2009, 08:20 PM']Hey everyone!!!

Ok, got back late last night and had to be out again today, so as yet i haven't had a chance to get the camera out. We went up to Shukerland yesterday and had a fantastic day up at the workshop with Jon. I do indeed have my Baby Doodle in my grubby mits now. It is absolutely flawless. It is, without any shadow of doubt the best bass I have ever played or owned - and boy have I played a lot of amazing instruments. I can not put in to words how pleased I am! The finish, the build, the playability..everything!

When I get a nice bit of weather outside I will take some pictures of both basses together for you all to see.

Jon's surprise was totally worth waiting for and it is perfect!! I love it! - You'll see it soon!

I can also confirm that no chisels slipped in the making of this amazing instrument!

Sorry to keep you waiting a little longer![/quote]

You big tease you

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='447547' date='Mar 27 2009, 05:41 PM']Hi all

I'm playing with [url="http://www.billymitchell.co.uk"]Billy Mitchell & Friends[/url] at Seaton Delaval Arts Centre, Northumberland, on April 18th.

Expect a mix of Billy solo tunes, some Lindisfarne, and some of the best songs you've ever heard (or maybe not heard) by a whole range of songwriters...

If you want to come along, let me know![/quote]

Hey WoT,

If I'm around town on the 18th, me and Mrs JPJ will certainly pop along for a listen. Don't forget to pimp this over on the other place as well.

[quote name='ahpook' post='445566' date='Mar 25 2009, 11:07 PM']i've borrowed many a bass amp at gigs before (always by prior arrangement i must add !), but i still remember a sessionette 4x10 (prolly like the one you've your eye on) i played through in about 1990 as being one of the best-sounding.

good luck !!![/quote]

Ditto in many ways.

My experience was with an old 45w valve Custom Sound Trucker combo I used to loan from the local arts centre. I think it was either a 1x12 or 1x15 but I still remember the lovely warm sound that thing used to make.

Try keeping your hands dry, this will help.

When you do get the beginnings of a blister, I find Germolene new skin to be a much better alternative to super glue without the obvious side effect.

As for turning up, lightening your touch etc. yes to both suggestions, also make sure that your bass is set up properly (i.e. not as low as it can go, but with a proper amount of relief).

Once upon a time not so very long ago, Carlsbro were a top manufacturer of bass kit and way ahead of their time.

Back in the day, I had a 300w Pro Bass head (two channels with independent semi-parametric tone controls, compressor, variable crossover etc) into a 2x15, biamped with a 150w pro bass slave into a 2x10 top cab.

Sounded awesome, weighed a bloody tonne.

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='438143' date='Mar 18 2009, 11:36 AM']And you know what? He used my P (with flats!) for a large chunk of the evening.[/quote]

Any pictures that you could publish on here, the other place, Talkbass, Warwick Owners Forum etc

Nice looking rig WoT, I do like the look of a 2x10 with staggered drivers.

That Berg 410 you had at the bash was quite some cab though and I'd expect that will take some beating. Probably the most sensitive cab I've heard in a long time and it really cut through, even against the Aguilar monster rig right next to it.

Looking forward to hearing these two beauties in action, though for a real test, you'll need a real bassist, so dont rely too much on Warwickhunt (afterall, he does use Warwicks)

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='435067' date='Mar 15 2009, 10:09 AM']Niiice - If only it had frets [/quote]


For that price it would be worth a quick trip up the M6 to Carlisle. I'm sure Chris would happily fret this for you. On the other hand, if I had the money, I'd have saved you the trouble

[quote name='Shockwave' post='430393' date='Mar 10 2009, 12:49 PM']Shame isent it?

I could buy this and trace on one of mine

[url="http://img15.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tokays.jpg"][/url][/quote]

Which ones Gordon then?

[quote name='BigRedX' post='429244' date='Mar 9 2009, 12:10 PM']Just as a side note, I have recently joined a covers band for the first time (up to now I've always done 99% originals) and I've made a point of learning all the songs in such a way that I use no open strings and on a 5-string so that if we need to change the key of a song to suit the singer I can simply move up or down the required number of frets, all my patterns and shapes remain the same.[/quote]

I've always done that, and I think its a positive side effect from playing some the crap basses I started on. I realised very early on that the only way to get an even volume and tone across the strings on some of those Jedson and Satellite catalogue specials I started on was to use fretted notes rather than open strings, and fortunately that was one habit that has stuck with me. Its very useful when you need to transpose because most of the time as BigRedX says, its simply a matter of playing the same shapes in a different neck position.

[quote name='Eight' post='429101' date='Mar 9 2009, 09:50 AM']I bought my second bass a little while ago (Cort Curbow4) and have it tuned to C pretty much all the time. Works for me, and most of the stuff I'm trying to play.

The problem is, I'm currently having lessons and most of this is in standard tuning. Still learning the E fretboard so I havent really tried to learn the notes in C yet. My other bass doesn't really like C, so its only the Cort I can use for that; but it seems a shame not to play the Cort all the time.

I wondered if anyone can recommend a good pitch shift pedal - so that in theory, I can shift the C up a major third to E when I'm in lessons or practicing lesson material? What would the sound quality be like - I'd be looking to using the 100% affected signal.

Cheers guys.[/quote]

I've not come across an octaver that shifts any number of steps, normally they are either an octave up (rare) or an octave down (common). The Akai Unibass does an octave up with either the straight octave sound or the octave with a lower fourth or upper fifth plus distortion if you want it.

I wouldnt have thought that an octaver would have been acurate enough for lessons though as the tracking on some can be a bit dodgy and the output normally sounds a bit 'wobbly' if you know what I mean. If I was you I'd just invest in a good tuner and re-tune for lessons/practice.

[quote name='YouMa' post='429017' date='Mar 9 2009, 07:32 AM']I use a lot of VST and VSTIs as far as i am aware there is no suitable driver for vista,to be honest if you are using a lot of music software i would save yourself the hassle and just switch back to xp.[/quote]


I'd love to switch back, but unfortunately the laptop isnt mine, it belongs to my work who have standardised on Vista.

[quote name='Eight' post='429078' date='Mar 9 2009, 09:18 AM']Do you have another midi interface? I would expect, if you take the midi out from the Carillon into the midi in of a Vista compatible midi interface then most of the important features would work i.e. the keys and assignable pots/faders etc. should still work.

I don't know that controller too well so couldn't guess what you'd be losing; but it might be an option for you.[/quote]

Cheers matey, thats my next port of call. I tried the Oxygen 49 driver which windows refused point blank to recognise, so my next thought was to abandon the USB port on the keyboard, get a midi interface with Vista drivers and try that. A quick trip to sounds live at lunchtime seems to be in order.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='428914' date='Mar 8 2009, 10:24 PM']Ooh, and another thing, did you test the USB installation on your PC with all the other periperals unplugged? MIDI devices and webcams can sometimes be incompatible with each other for some reason.[/quote]

I tried it with only the keyboard hooked up and still no joy. According to a few internet searches, it seams the problem is actually with the Vista USB device driver which doesnt recognise midi keyboards very well. Apparently the Carillon is very similar to the M-Audio Oxygen 49, so I think I'll try the driver for that next.

So much for plug'n'play eh?

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='428804' date='Mar 8 2009, 07:42 PM']Kev, do you need a USB driver?[/quote]

Yes Steve, its the USB driver I'm after. In my frustration, I missed that bit out of my earlier post!

Hi Folks,

Recently bought a Carillon Control 49 midi keyboard second hand which was working perfectly on the sellers Windows XP machine. I cannot get this thing to load on Windows Vista and all I get is a code 10 device cannot start error. I have tried two hotfixes available from Microsoft to no avail. Carillon went bust sometime ago as they were appparently part of the Sound Control setup.

Anybody know where I can get a driver for this keyboard for Vista?

Ta

[quote name='Marcus' post='423849' date='Mar 3 2009, 07:40 AM']Yep it's shaping up to be a belter Bass Doc brought it along in it's lovely natural Tulipwood state, the only decision to be made was colour..... Shorline gold was an option but went for Antique white with torti.... classic !

Spec is :

1992 USA Fender Jazz 22 fret neck (Actually used to be mine over a decade ago)
Tulipwood Body
USA Jazz Pickups
J. Retro Circuit
BadAss Bridge
Custom (Doc) Made 4 ply Torti guard

Coming to a Porn Section Near you soon ! [/quote]

Similar'ish spec to my Overwater J V which also has a tulip wood body & J-retro, but with EMG Ultrajazz pups and a Hipshot C bridge. The antique white will look stunning imho especially with the tort plate.

Great afternoon, some stunning gear on display and to try and more slappers in one place than a hen night in Blackpool

Nice to meet so many NE Basschatters and to talk bass with so many talented people. Roll on the next one eh?

Thanks again to WoT and Warwickhunt for the organisation etc. and thanks to Dave Wilson for the kind donation to the running of the event.