spinynorman

[quote name='Von Death' post='1316217' date='Jul 25 2011, 08:41 PM']I got a Gibson Blackbird, I bought it cos it looks damn cool. The paintwork was crap, it was matt, but had worn to a horrible oily black. I got it professionally re finished Matt Black. I also added a volume control for each pickup. Whats the point in having two pick ups and not being able to blend them. Its got its original case (though the lock is knackered). The truth is I dont like the sound, I got an 82 US BC Rich Mockingbird and a Precision and I prefer their sound. I play with my fingers and just cant seem to get the clunking attack from the Blackbird. Its got growl but think it is best suited to plec players. Anyway its a beautiful looking bass and some people love the sound. If I were rich I would keep it, but sadly I am skint. I cant find any others up for sale,,,, Any ideas re price? I would upload a pic but the only one I got fails as it says the file is too big[/quote] Most of the appeal of these is the connection to Nikki Sixx, so adding the volume controls probably hasn't enhanced the value. Gibson Thunderbirds generally sell easily, there's just not that big a market for them on Basschat. Unless you're lucky and find someone on here that really wants it, I'd put it on eBay with as low a start as your nerves will stand and offer international shipping. You ought to get £600-£800.

[quote name='cocco' post='1036264' date='Nov 25 2010, 02:01 PM']The entire Gibson bass range. All sound great. I have a grabber that just sounds awesome to me. But. And it's a big but every last one is ridiculously neck heavy.[/quote] I have 2 Rippers. I find them well balanced and the necks are delightful to play. Then there's the electronics. The controls are all attached to the pickguard, as are the pickups in the '78. And there is an earth wire from one of the pots to the bridge. So, to work on the wiring you have remove, or at least loosen, the strings, remove the entire pickguard, unsolder the earth, and on the '75 either unscrew or unsolder the pickups. To test anything you have done, you have to replace the whole lot. And if it's not right, take it all off again. The pickup wires are thin, like telephone wire. During the above operation, one will come adrift almost certainly. If the bridge earth wire breaks, which it will, you have to extract the bushing for the bridge post, which was inserted at the factory with a pile driver and has probably rusted into place. The 4-position selector switch has 15 metal lugs to which wires are attached in apparently random order. If you have a degree in electrical engineering you might be able to figure it out, but don't bet on it. In the 30 years since these basses were made, the probability that one or more wires have come off and been soldered back in the wrong place is a gnats whisker from 1. Good luck with finding out which one it is, or where it should go. The electrics include something that looks like the alternator from a 1970s small car, and at least 2 caps of different sizes. Apparently they're used to roll off mids and treble. Neither of my Rippers have much in the way of mids or treble to roll off. I'd rather like to add some, not take it away. Compared to all this, the 3-point bridge is a miracle of efficient design. Oddly, I still love both my Rippers.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1318193' date='Jul 27 2011, 01:05 PM']You will forever be the Peter Pan of bass. [/quote] The Peter Pan of bass? Isn't that, like, tautology?

[quote name='Blademan_98' post='1314606' date='Jul 24 2011, 11:46 AM']I rather like the Brian May Bass. As Brian is a multi instrumentalist, he probably would play it My names Brian, so I may just get one.... Oh, £795 perhaps not.[/quote] There's a Korean brand (I think) called Phil. I thought of buying one, as it's my name. Then I came to my senses.

I've had the same set of Roto flats on my P to 7 years and I daren't change them in case it changes the tone.

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1313743' date='Jul 23 2011, 12:57 PM']I'm a big fan of the Behringer XM8500 -similar to an SM58, but under £20. we use them for backing vocals. Cheap doesn't mean shoddy with these - they seem to have a higher output than SM58s and a bit more clarity.[/quote] +1 to that. I bought one for a party where we were likely to have "extra" vocalists and it turned out better than my SM58. I think, though, that my SM58 isn't as good as the one our singer uses. No idea why that would be.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1313840' date='Jul 23 2011, 02:26 PM']copper shielding[/quote]

Sounds like a result.

Maybe I need a Dremel. I feel the onset of tool GAS.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1312726' date='Jul 22 2011, 01:53 PM']If it's done wrong you can certainly muck up the overall capacitance of the bass which will do horrid things to the sound. But done correctly and with attention to detail there's no reason not to shield out the entire bass. I'm sure I've posted these before but here are a couple of mine....[/quote] That's a lovely job, but you're an artist.

Could the grounding wire to the bridge be broken?

I want to make the pickup cavity hole in a 3-ply pickguard bigger. What should I use to cut it, so I get a smooth, straight edge?

I don't understand the shill bidding detection algorithm you're all using. Why is bidding up in small increments any better than putting in one bid for the minimum amount you're prepared to accept? Especially as it just draws attention to what you're doing, if you are a shill.

Ironically the Japanese/Elitist ones are close to and maybe better than the US Gibson ones, and fetch a lot of money. Whereas the Indonesian or Chinese ones .... don't.

I think you can over do it. One bass I had came with copper tape everywhere, including the back of the pickups, and earthing wire from all the pots and the tape on the pickups to the tape in the cavity. It was a mess, made doing anything very difficult, and the bass sounded sh*te. I took all the added wires out and much of the tape, and it was better. There were other problems as well, like one of the pickups being wired backwards, but the pickups were humbuckers anyway, so why all that stuff was put in was beyond me.

[quote name='Johnston' post='1311891' date='Jul 21 2011, 06:57 PM']You may have the hat Now go brush up on your Fender history. I expect a thousand word history on the life of a porn star by morning [/quote] Are you authorised to dish out punishments? I thought that was Mods only

Notice he's used it for a while, but doesn't actually say what for.

The white Epis generally go for quite a bit more than the turd brown ones, so 250 isn't unreasonable. I had one and it was a very good bass, but not being the most energetic performer, I just felt silly with it. There's someone on the [url="http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?board=3.0"]Last Outpost[/url] that had a Lull one built and is very happy with it. Search on Lull, a few threads come up.

I used to play with a guitarist who would buy guitars purely on colour. If it was a shade he didn't have, he'd buy it, and if it didn't work he'd try to fix it. Consequently he had a collection of the most awful guitars you can imagine, and usually spend half of a rehearsal with a box of tools fixing whatever had burnt out or fallen off.

[quote name='Roland Rock' post='1311243' date='Jul 21 2011, 10:09 AM']They look really nice, but there's something about basses based closely on guitar designs that sits uncomfortably with me. It's irrational of course, as I like the ASAT and the Jaguar, possibly because they have had time to establish themselves as bass designs in their own right, or possibly because they're a bit different from the guitar they're based on. IMO this one looks a bit [b]too[/b] much like a Telecaster, just as the Les Paul bass doesn't have enough of it's own identity. I think too much about these things - that new [url="http://www.brianmayguitars.co.uk/newsitems/view/83"]Brian May Bass[/url] makes me feel uneasy too. Anyway, ramble over. If you like it, go for it [/quote] I know what you mean, bass stuff branded with the name of a famous guitarist seems odd, like I saw some Ernie Ball bass strings branded "Eric Clapton". So these are the strings Clapton would use if he played bass? I'm impressed I think I like the 2 pickup one better as it is less of a straight Tele copy, and I have a Dimarzio Model One that might fit nicely in place of that humbucker. It's a good strategy, buying a pickup and then searching desperately for a bass to put it in.

Short scale 2 pickup Tele shape with spalted maple top [url="http://www.bachmusik.com/en/bach-btc-bass-mjbs_p1765"]http://www.bachmusik.com/en/bach-btc-bass-mjbs_p1765[/url] or a more traditional look [url="http://www.bachmusik.com/en/bach-btc-bass-crm_p1764"]http://www.bachmusik.com/en/bach-btc-bass-crm_p1764[/url] Not sure about the pickguard, otherwise I'm tempted.

According to his one negative feedback, the item didn't match what was described.