Kiwi

[quote name='Ant' post='439000' date='Mar 19 2009, 10:27 AM']acrylic paint! it's dried nice and hard. i love this amp.[/quote] lol ok, flake off then. Apart from that I like it but I wouldn't buy it off you.

Basically piezo transducers are a type of rare earth ceramic that generates an electric current when pressure is applied. Pretty amazing stuff! Phil Mann and I were comparing notes on the piezos in our basses on Facebook this morning because we've both had issues. Mine have been described elsewhere but basically its important to get good contact between the string and the saddle. They can otherwise be a little temperamental if not set up properly. Taperwound or exposed core strings are usually needed to get the best out of them too. Phil uses La Bella Super Steps on his and recommended them to me. I may go with a handmade custom set from Newtone as well though because they can do a thick, exposed core. I'm not aware that treating the piezo in any way has an effect but I could be wrong. As far as I'm aware, it all comes down to good string contact and making sure there's a buffer preamp in place to take care of any impedance issues. Buffer preamps don't have to be complicated and are even sometimes included already in some circuits. For example, you could have a chat to John East about creating a customised U-retro with an additional buffer preamp to handle the piezo output. I think it might be relatively simple for him given his units are modular in design.

that paint will probably rub off on anything it touches...car boot interiors, carpets, hands...

You're looking at not only establishing a different regime of muscle memory but also facing the prospect of rewiring your brain. I'm a lefty-plays-righty and I've tried to play left handed and it feels worse than starting from scratch. Its like you have to get comfortable with your muscles before even beginning to learn, inspite of my left handed dominance. Playing bass is the only thing I do right handed. HOWEVER. The best session drummers can play ambidextrously, so there's no reason why not if you immerse yourself completely in the task for maybe 6 months to a year perhaps? In an ideal world I'd play fretless right handed and slap left handed so my left hand is doing the most important things in both cases.

In a normal circuit, you just solder the pickup signal wire to the appropriate tang on the volume pot and make sure the earth is soldered to the casing or another earth lead (depending on the pickups). Not sure how the EMG battery wiring might make things more complicated though. It depends on how the tone pump has been removed and even then its going to be tricky to talk someone through that on a forum without the instrument in plain view.

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='438053' date='Mar 18 2009, 09:34 AM']£17? No wonder it takes Jon so long to build stuff.. he's always on the phone to kiwi...[/quote] LOL, oh yes, Jon was telling me about the different flavours of noodles he and Rob have been trying out. He said he quite likes the kimchi flavoured one.

only if its being used to remonstrate a deceased mammal of the equine persuasion.

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='437695' date='Mar 17 2009, 07:19 PM']a hundred years ago it was all about the brass instuments in big bands and stuff[/quote] Are you sure about that?

Well its a little late but thanks to Hamster, we've recovered the thread discussing string anchoring. (FWIW) [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=21840&st=0&p=221592&#entry221592"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...mp;#entry221592[/url]

count me in, its very minimalist. I like that, there's thought gone in to what's absolutely necessary rather than carving an sexy looking shape that might fit the human contours so long as it doesn't look ugly...

bring things back on track for a moment... ...irony. Would Jeff recognise an ironic musical statement?

its nice but would be more impressive if you were playing the whole tune by yourself I like your plucking technique, how did you develop that?

[quote name='alexclaber' post='437433' date='Mar 17 2009, 03:54 PM']I'd rather trust my ears than all this newfangled algebra.[/quote] Yes yes but you missed the point completely.

[quote name='Hamster' post='437564' date='Mar 17 2009, 05:14 PM']and a [i]moderate [/i]amount of ladies clothing [/quote] Do you have Robert Webbs legs?

but what about the equation? [url="http://web.njit.edu/~gary/430/assets/physics430_lecture13.ppt"]http://web.njit.edu/~gary/430/assets/physi...0_lecture13.ppt[/url] I refer the honourable member to slide 7 in the presentation? (Before I run screaming out of the room with my skin on fire).

Tsk, tooooo late now. To quote Scottie from Star Trek, [i]"ye cannae change th' laws o' physics..."[/i]

[quote name='ARGH' post='437359' date='Mar 17 2009, 02:59 PM']I was being a git I wonder what the equation of a Bass note being created is...[/quote] I'm sure it's out there but equations bring me out in hives. Claber will probably know. I'll go and get a bottle of camomile lotion just in case.

[quote name='ARGH' post='437351' date='Mar 17 2009, 02:54 PM']Its all in the hands man[/quote] No its not It's physics.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='437277' date='Mar 17 2009, 01:57 PM']It means accurate reproduction of the source.[/quote] Only if you can prove it empirically and persuade other people to accept your assertion. Otherwise its an opinion just like anyone elses. [quote name='ARGH' post='437016' date='Mar 17 2009, 11:01 AM']"I A/B'd two stingrays with different anchoring and they sounded the same to me. I've also made one post where I described at length my experiences of the two systems but someone's deleted the thread from what I can see and not put it on wiki. I really can't be arsed typing it all out again apart from saying the string vibrates between two points - the nut and the saddle. What happens either side of that is largely irrelevant. All IMO of course." Pretty much correct,although a small amount of vibration will go into the string anchor and beyond the nut,maybe bring wood into the picture a little more,but what matters is metal vibrating over magnet.[/quote] Oh good, so for the sake of enjoying this rare moment of consensus, how about we completely forget that the metal is attached to wood which in itself has a resonant frequency that differs to metal and might otherwise influence the way in which the metal vibrates thereby making the whole argument inconveniently messy and complicated?

Its an early Spalt bass? Nice! I like these, but I'd prefer one that has the adjustable body bits.

[quote name='Eight' post='437263' date='Mar 17 2009, 01:48 PM']My pov, is against the people who claim to take it all seriously and believe they are part of an elite magical creative force capable of revolution without any of the knowledge that has been built up over centuries by a huge number of talented musicians.[/quote] They were so last week though.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='436964' date='Mar 17 2009, 10:17 AM']For me what is interesting is not what is already considered classic but what will achieve that status in the next 20-30 years. I think the they will be like the Wal basses - a recognisable shape and a couple of high-profile users with individual sounds.[/quote] OK, so taking nostalgia as a starting point and projecting 20 years into the future where the teenagers who are currently making do with schecters, warwick rock basses and yamahas can actually afford something a little more high end, what noughties basses are they going to look back on and wish they'd really owned? Warwick Katana? Status Graphite S2? Spector NS-5XL? In the current music scene I can't see a lot of movement away from the vintage Fender market myself. I'm not aware of anything contemporary and distinctive which is drawing most teenage bass players away from that. Warwick was about as close as it got, in my view. But I'm sure there are some teen bassists on the forum who could describe what they think they'd like to own 20 years from now?