BigRedX

[quote name='zawinul' timestamp='1441173395' post='2856568'] Ok experts im looking to order a custom bass. Looking for advice please. I want a.fretless that is punchy, trebely, not dull woody and sounding like an upright. What kind of pickups should I get? Single coil or dual coil? I want active so which pickups and pre-amps for aggressive punch? Cheers Z [/quote] ACG, Wal or if you are feeling radical Lightwave.

To coincide with our debut album "SnakeOil For Snakes" we're putting together a cries of dates in October and November. However we're having problems finding a suitable gig on Friday 6th November and Friday 20th November. If any Basschat bands have a gig with a spare slot to fill and would like to share the bill with us, then let me know. Here's a taster of what to expect... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_faIDrqk90

[quote name='Si600' timestamp='1441714934' post='2861091'] Woo! Tour to support it in the offing? [/quote] Yes indeed. We're still looking for a couple of dates to fill on the 6th and 20th of November so if you know of any bands that need a support on those dates let me know. Test pressing sounding pretty damn good BTW!!

Just looked up Chase Bliss Audio. Good to see a company making time-based effects including both tap tempo and MIDI synchronisation. Nice!

Poor output on one string is normally down to a problem with the piezo pickup or the saddle not properly in contact with it all on the whole width. You need to take the saddle out and have a look.

Test pressings are here!!!! [IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n249/BigRedX/Test%20Pressing_zpsejkvpgkj.jpg[/IMG]

[quote name='Hokeypokey' timestamp='1441709556' post='2861020'] Love the Fernandes Pie-Zo - thanks for sharing. [/quote] I've just had a look at the [url=http://www.fernandes.co.jp/products/zo/pie-zo.html]Fernandes Site[/url] and the specifications have changed quite a bit for the current range. The Pie-Zo appears to have been replaced by the Zo-3 Bass which has a magnetic pickup and an increased 30" scale length. You should still be able to find the older Pie-Zo models second hand though. The best place to look is the Ishibashi Ubox.

IME modern printers (unless they are very expensive) are not accurate enough to produce a production template for a guitar or bass. You will need to output from an application that allows you to specify separate scaling values for the X and Y axis (and one that lets you specify the scaling in 0.1% increments or smaller). You will probably need to produce several prints before you arrive at the correct scaling values. It can be done. The most efficient way would be to make sure that the file for the template is at 100% actual size, add a scale/ruler onto the drawing and then get a good copy shop with a large format printer to output the file at actual size. You can check the scale on the print out against a ruler and if they don't match up get it output again FoC as it has been done wrong.

For the x axis it's simple. You know the scale length of the bass, so when the measurement on the print out matches the scale length then that is correct. For the y axis you'll probably have to add a known measurement to your drawing and measure that on the print out and adjust accordingly. Don't assume that because it's correct on one axis it will be correct on the other one. Every printer uses two different mechanisms for the two axis on large format prints discrepancies between the two becomes more obvious.

Which ever method you go for make sure that you print out a ruler with the image so that you can check that it has been printed out at the correct size. IME very few printers are 100% accurate when it comes to outputting images. Also make sure that you check both the X and Y axis as even few printers manage to scale both horizontally and vertically the same. You'll probably need to do a couple of test prints before you find the optimum X and Y scaling to get a decent template.

If you can stretch to 26" then have a look at the Fernandes Pie-Zo (also called the Nomad in the US). Has a built-in amp and speaker and comes in a variety of finishes with a special set of limited edition ones each year. Here's mine with the limited edition Gothic Hello Kitty finish:

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1441446919' post='2858929'] I'd say as long as they do not overlap then more windings on the peg is very good; especially with flat Fender style headstocks. [/quote] Yes you absolutely need more windings on the pegs for non-angled headstocks but only for those strings that don't pass under a string retainer. For the others and angled headstocks somewhere between 2 and 3 turns is plenty.

We have a [url=https://www.facebook.com/DickVenomandtheTerrortones]band Facebook page[/url] as well as one for [url=https://www.facebook.com/mwillwilkinson]Mr Venom's personal musings[/url]. We also have a presence on Bands In Town, Instagram, ReverbNation, Twitter and YouTube, as well as a few forums (including this one), and our own [url=http://www.dickvenom.com]web site[/url]. Overall I think we get pretty good coverage although Facebook is usually the most up to date as it's the one most of our fans use.

Pretty much any of the reputable digital systems should do the job. Line 6, Smooth Hound, Sony, and StageClix all have had good reviews here. In the end it all comes down to how robust you need the transmitter to be and where you are going to put the receiver (in a rack on your pedal board etc.) which one is the most suitable for you. I have the Sony system and apart from a single occurrence of the transmitter mysteriously changing channels it has been rock solid.

Rounds will eventually start to wear away where they come into contact with the frets (unless the frets are very soft in which case they will be the ones wearing away). When this happens they are no longer a constant unit mass along their length and it will be increasingly difficult to keep them in tune at every fret. I ran into exactly the same problem as the OP when I was favouring a one month or older sound from my strings (these days I like bright new string as I can always loose the zing elsewhere in my signal chain). When I removed the problem set that had been on the bass for about a year the underside of the strings where full of grooves at the points where they had come into contact with the frets. The depth of each groove was very much dependent on how often I played that particular note. It was little wonder that the strings were impossible to play in tune. IIRC it affected the thicker (A, E and B) strings most. Edited to remove stupid emoticon. Why can't I turn this option off by default!!

I thought from the title that it was going to be a Warwick. Now that would have been truly hideous. That Hallmark bass is gorgeous and if I was playing 4 string basses I'd be buying it.

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1441350119' post='2858080'] There can be a tactical reason for it. If there's a BIN on an item and you're not sure whether you want to go for it or not but want to keep your options open, putting in a bid removes the BIN (meaning someone else can't buy it while you're prevaricating) and means the auction has to go to the end. Something of a gamble though. [/quote] With an item that has a BIN, that's a smart strategy. But my initial bid will be for the starting price, simply to remove the BIN and declare an interest. My real bid will be made in the closing seconds of the auction.

[quote name='karlfer' timestamp='1441307332' post='2857846'] Glad I'm a fool. Yet another blinding opinionated statement. Some folk bid earlier on. Put in their max bid, they get it or they don't. [/quote] You might still win it if you bid early but the chances are that you will pay more than if you only bid in the closing seconds. If you've ever sold anything on eBay that has attracted a lot of bids, and then looked at the bidding history, you'll find that many of the bids will have a come from only one or two individuals. Either they will put a lot of bids on until they have the highest bid, or they will come back a couple of days later when their original amount has been outbid and put another one on. OK so these people don't know how to work eBay, but they are the fools who will end up making you pay more for an item if you bid early. A last minute bid at your maximum price doesn't give them a chance to get another bid in that will have no effect other than to increase the price you have to pay with your already winning bid.

I have some expensive gear, some cheap gear and some in between. All of it was bought because it does the job required of it which is to make me look sound and feel good. I think very few people buy expensive gear simply because it is expensive. They buy it because there is nothing cheaper that has the same look, sound and playability that they want. And I do think that better gear makes you play better. I certainly noticed when I bought my first really good instruments - a Yamaha super strat and an Overwater Bass. My playing improved no end simply because the only thing holding me back now was my ability (or lack of) rather than limitations of the instrument(s) that I was playing.

Unfortunately customising keyboards is nowhere near as popular as customising guitars. If you look hard enough you can find examples but they are nearly all keytar type instruments and based on my own experiences I wonder just how durable some of the results are. My Yamaha KX5 (with the keys restored back to their original black and white) is still languishing on eBay at a bargain price despite all the technical improvements that have been made to it that mean it now functions in a far more reliable manner to one in original condition simply because it is now sprayed gold rather than being black or silver with a big Yamaha logo on the back. The band who were notable for having very customised keyboards - Freur - had achieve this by covering the casing is masking tape and drawing on this. Even they didn't go as far as colouring the keys.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1441207862' post='2856953'] It could just as easily be about Superstition. That's full of synths and brass and layered vocals. The bass hook is played on a Rhodes. [/quote] Most of the sounds are easily achieved on todays synths and keyboard workstations. IMO a keyboard player in a covers band playing this kind of material should have the ability to programme all the appropriate sounds as well as play the parts. Oh and IIRC the bass hook is played on a Clavinet.

OK if the jack plugs are moulded ones as I suspect they are from what I've seen and read, then the problem will almost certainly be with the actual cable itself. Check all the way along the length to find the area(s) which are causing the problem and make a decision based on their location whether or not the remaining cable part of the lead is worth salvaging. Two things to bear in mind. One, if the lead has been designed as a whole changing the moulded plugs to standard solderable ones may well have an effect on the overall capacitance which will obviously be important to you. Two, according to several reviews of the lead that I have found "we use a high strength alloy conductor rather than plain copper". That might not be quite as straight forward to solder compared with the oxygen-free copper than the more normal high quality leads use. Good luck!

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1441201723' post='2856884'] Having never heard uptown funk, or any real desire to hear it really, I think you just have to try and capture the essence of the song, and rearrange it according to whatever instrumentation is available. [/quote] Maybe you should have a listen to the track and then you can wonder what all the fuss is about! It's a fairly standard funky pop song with a reasonably contemporary production and some cute synth/sample parts. Any keyboard player worth their salt should have the ability and equipment to get close enough for the average audience member to be satisfied.

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1441204846' post='2856917'] Oh, shut up will you? Not all of us have been blessed with the same musical ears and talent as you. I asked a genuine question and, as usual, you denigrate anyone who is struggling with a certain aspect of their technical or musical development with a sarky, patronising and condescending comment. The second part of your post is half-useful. Thank you for the suggestion but we don't have a keys player. [/quote] TBH I would have thought that most of the bass players on here have far more musical talent than me. Also until people started to make a big deal about that part I wouldn't have considered it really important to the song, and so if I was playing it in a band that didn't have a keyboard player I probably wouldn't bother with the part at all. If you really think it needs to be included perhaps get the singer(s) to do it?

I can't believe that any decent musician doesn't have the ears to realise that the Do Do Do part is in no way connected to bass guitar part which is a standard funky finger-style bass with the occasional slap and pop for accents. If I was in a covers band playing this, to Do Do Do would be handed off to the keyboard player straight away.