Kiwi

so THATS where the song came from. I haven't heard it in years but I remember it being played often on TV when I was younger...that and Sky's Toccata in Dm.

Thanks for that. I'll keep an eye out for them in the future.

[quote name='misrule' post='473737' date='Apr 27 2009, 09:35 PM']One of my guitarists has similar problems with a Fender Strat when playing under fluorescent lights. Cheers Mark[/quote] I've never heard of lights causing squealing before - not saying it wouldn't happen but typically I've experienced it as 60 cycle hum though. I initially thought the cause might be microphonic pickups and high gain settings.

[quote name='ian' post='473681' date='Apr 27 2009, 08:34 PM']ok another question if anyone can help.what emg jazz pick ups do i need for my jazz bass but its now passive many thankls ian[/quote] Going back to your original post, the EMG pickups I'm aware of are active and don't need a separate preamp. If you get active pickups and add a preamp you'll end up with an additional stage of gain which will make the bass run "hot" unless you can turn the gain down on the additional preamp (so get one with a gain trimpot if you need the extra tonal control). I don't personally know anything about "passive" EMG pickups. I wasn't aware they made any.

[quote name='Hamster' post='473600' date='Apr 27 2009, 07:03 PM']If you're near Hitchen - pop in and have a noodle?[/quote] a pop noodle. AHAHAH HA HAHA HAHAHHA AHAHAHAHAHA hahahhahahhahHAHAhhah

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='473265' date='Apr 27 2009, 12:02 PM']Failing that, just learn blues scales. [/quote] I think I'd consider myself living proof that this approach has flaws.

I like the look of these. The degree of tilt on those would be great for small stages.

[quote name='Beedster' post='473233' date='Apr 27 2009, 11:18 AM']if there's one trait that predicts performance, it's confidence, pure and simple.[/quote] Pretty much a guide to life right there as I'm sure you'll agree Al. If anyone wants to be successful at any almost anything confidence and experience is the key. To do stuff when then don't have the confidence requires bravery and the ability to distinguish between actual and imagined risks. So...smell the fear then do it anyway.

if you can be more specific about what kind of EMG pickups you want to put in the bass, perhaps it might be possible for people to be clearer on how they think they can help you?

sounds like a cause for celebration to me!

[quote name='megazap63' post='472953' date='Apr 26 2009, 09:24 PM']Cheers mate!! And all the Kiwis I've met have been very cool dudes....if somewhat crazy!![/quote] I'm english really, just grew up there...shhh, it'll be our secret.

welcome aboard matey

Well if it was me, I'd go for a chambered mahogany body and a 5 piece laminated maple (3x) and mahogany (2x) with graphite reinforcing and a super thick compound radiussed ebony fingerboard. For pickups I think humbuckers with parallel wired coils with coil switching to allow single coil use, to allow for Wal and Jazz bass sounds, and a preamp with sweepable mid control. But if the bass sounds right then why not keep it passive? The mahogany will give lots of midrange growl with enough maple to keep the neck from being too seasonally temperamental. The ebony fingerboard will provide some brightness to the top end without it sounding too bright. The fingerboard needs to be thick enough again to reduce the flex so that once the fingerboard has been radiussed and flattened under simulated string tension, it will play with super low action given your choice of strings.

[quote name='Boney' post='472811' date='Apr 26 2009, 06:04 PM']Sex or age unimportant. But we would prefer a human.[/quote] *sucks teeth* could be tricky...

Yeah but Kemp would beat him in a fight.

[quote name='OldGit' post='471944' date='Apr 24 2009, 11:41 PM']There certainly were hardly any Alembics in the UK in the 70's but was that the first active basses?[/quote] [quote name='deaver' post='471953' date='Apr 25 2009, 12:17 AM']First 'active from the ground up' according to the book.[/quote] The Burns TR2 bass was made in 1963 which was manufactured with a preamp onboard. Goes without saying that the Alembic was much more sophisticated though.

Have you used a wide variety of passive instruments through the amp? I was wondering whether they might have microphonic pickups if your gain levels are set too high.

[quote name='7string' post='472360' date='Apr 25 2009, 08:06 PM']I'm surprised you're so relaxed about all this. I would have been throwing the toys out of the pram by now. [/quote] I've thought about it but I don't think it would motivate him that much. Jon's not in the game to make money, I think. He's in it to earn a living but to enjoy what he does. If he was in it for the money, he could have become a furniture maker instead and earned loads more. I'm meeting up with Chris Celinder next week when he stops off in London and he's in pretty much that same position (although his operation was larger than Jon's at one point). Being essentially a one person operation, whatever time Jon spends talking on the phone or to people who drop in unannounced, chasing suppliers or doing the accounts, the less time there is to spend on the luthiery. Rob helps but doesn't get involved in any of the tricky custom stuff, so a long wait is inevitable for the custom work. Plus the more I harrass him about my stuff, the less time he has to spend on other people's instruments and there have been some like MacDaddy who have been waiting longer than me. At least I've managed to play my instrument! In project management there's always a trade off between time vs cost vs quality. You can have two at the expense of one, basically. Jon's definitely about quality and value for money so its inevitable that things are going to take longer if he has to figure out new ways of doing stuff without charging by the hour for his time. I think it might be like this for most one person operations that are successful regardless of how much they charge.

Eubassix used to own one. Might be worth dropping him a PM maybe?