BassBod

I'm assuming this is a two-half Pbass pup. My guess is one is North the other is South - there is a magnetic/electric difference but you can put either half in either place. They work as a matched pair. The best guide to position is probably the connecting wires between the two - chances are it is sized to sit in the cavity much better in one direction? The core silver wire is hot and the copper sheild is your neg/earth. Depends on your existing wiring setup, but the hot goes onto the vol pot lug, the earth usually goes onto the back of a pot Barts can be fairly low output, so it may be worth setting the new pup a bit closer to the strings to get a strong signal hope it works first time!

There is a box called an "ebtech" hum eliminator (or something very similar) which has a reputation for fixing persistent hums. But, I think its more important for SWR themselves to sort out a very expensive bit of equipment...it just shouldn't be a problem?

I know my old Grand Prix would hum like a big fuzzzzy bee when racked with the Stereo 800 power amp it was designed to work with (!) but it did have an internal mod to allow a fix (the star earthing that Alex mentioned). I could never work out why..particularly as the older Studio 220 is completley silent. Hassle them..and email MM to let him know!

My gig's been cancelled so looks like I could get there this time...

One quick suggestion - put two layers of masking tape down in front of the nut. That lets you cut the slots down virtually to the fingerboard, but gives you a bit of warning before you go too far....

That sounds a bit different....have fun!

Secondhand, from the USA is your best option to get the configuration you want at a "realistic" cost..plus the risks of shipping etc. Mansons are great to deal with, but they are never the cheapest - give them a good haggle and see what they can do for you? American producers (even the small ones) are generally used to discounting heavily through their dealers, so ignore the list prices as a starting point - its always worth asking.

TI jazz rounds are very very bendy - sound great (warm for a round) but the lower strings are very light and odd guages. They are a softer feel than even the jazz flats...but pretty similar. My vote would be DR sunbeams - a more normal nickel round, but in a choice of standard guages and with a flexible feel (round core, apparantly). Love 'em. BB

I thought the screw was supposed to eat thru a bit to make the earth contact, but you don't tighten too much...just enough to "bite"? My complaint is with the cable itself - I put together two leads a while ago, and they keep curling up. Its quite stiff cable (the thicker one) and combined with its desire to curlup...makes for a useless guitar cable!

In Bath, Neil Perry (Raw State) is fantastic with all things audio..and a real valve enthusiast. He isn't the cheapest but I cant recommend him strongly enough - remember those voltages are potentially lethal (he also works for people like P Gabriel and JP Jones...if that impresses anyone!) He's also a bass player. BB

Well spotted on the Mr Tone controls - a fairly recent addition from our very own Walbassist (a man of taste...and a few splendid basses). It seems to be most useful as a high pass filter, to keep the rumbles away on loud gigs. Not that I'm doing many loud ones at the mo... It really is a dream eq - dead quiet but powerful and extremely accurate. It could easily take you a whole soundcheck to disappear up your own rear port...if you let it. BB

Good point on the looks. My few experiences of the "pro" world have all involved comments extolling the virtues of "classic gear" or "vintage vibe" - and a Pbass, Jbass or clone will (it seems) often be taken more seriously than something like a JD/Status/Alembic/Overwater/whateveryouplay . Now I doubt many (bass players or not) could tell a Pbass in a blind test, from most other basses on neck pickup. My Jazz does a very good P impression..on the neck pickup alone. Add flatwound strings and you're 80% there for "old school". I recently moved my very good "old Pbass" on...and put flats on an Alembic Epic. What a great sound! Classic...vintage...vibey...deep...but also better. BB

The mike wrapped in foam and wedged down the tailpiece is the "classic" way to do it..and can sound good, as long as you're not in a loud environment and have a good engineer. You probably won't hear it at all....but the audience might.

I tend to avoid the issue by asking them to take the feed from my sansamp - engineers seem to trust these more than amp outputs and that gives me only two options (eq/sansamp amp emulation) on or off...but I don't mention the off option. I also don't use any drastic settings, just a little bit of low end boost, and a small amount of fake amp or drive. I'm sure that if "my sound" included tons of low end boost and squeeky treble I'd have problems sometimes! The other benefit of using the DI for your out front sound is that you become a lot less attached to your amp - so I can happily use rentals etc when needed.

Thanks for that - great paying. BB

Not a fan of the Warwick bags - good design but the padding is really flimsy and allows knocks through to the bass. I've also had the straps come off when the stitching pulls apart..but that was after a fair bit of use. What bugs me is the padding is made to look thick but if you feel it you realize its pretty useless in protecting your bass. Harvest are the best I've seen - the canvas ones are very, very good (never seen the full leather version). They are fairly big, and expensive (but cheaper from Overwater?). Also the Levys CM19 (?) canvas one is great. After 20 years of playing I decided it was worth buying the best I could find (within reason!) rather than replacing them every 3 years. It all depends on how much you use them?

I don't think there's a player alive who's ever totally happy with their sound - and it really is a complicated issue. First thing - stage sound is never as good as out front...and is often shockingly bad, even with great gear. Sometimes (well, more often than not?) you just have to have faith that the audience is hearing a better tone than you are. Second - do you like the sound of your bass? What does it sound like both direct (no eq) or through an amp? Years ago I thought you could change a bass sound to "fit" different circumstances. Now I "cast" a bass for a gig - and honestly the only basses I've found that always work are Precisions or Alembics...but the Alembics often look wrong. Maybe try a fender style passive bass? Third - a good sound at home/rehearsal often doesn't work at gig level and acoustics. Be flexible, don't put too much low end out on the stage and let the PA carry the house sound. With a trace, don't let your graphic settings stay the same from gig to gig - go back to flat and start again for each room. Its easy to get used to a fairly overblown sound if you don't check back regularly. Hope some of the above helps? BB

The Clifton EUB has a Realist pickup, which I take a direct signal from (no preamp). Usually sounds fine flat, no need for much eq, although I will take some low end off for larger venues if I can. The balance issue is really when I use passive jazz bass together with EUB - I find the Jbass needs a fair bit of help (low end boost and some mid-cut) to sound good next to the EUB. However, being able to accurately set the relative gains for each seems to reduce the need for eq quite a bit.

My ultimate solution for this was the Alembic F2B preamp - not cheap, and a rack mount box! However - one thing I did learn was this. I always assumed that I'd need to make radical eq changes, as the bass guitar always sounds so "weedy" when used next to upright. But, I had a dual channel/switching DI pedal made for a banjo player with a gain adjustment for each (by John at Orchid electronics). When I tried it out with BG/EUB I found that getting the relative gains properly set up virtually removes the need for major eq'ing of either - it really surprised me.

My former 2000 SSI was a great bass...one of the best all-rounders...but I could never get "warmth" from it. Even after changing to EMGs and Aguilar circuit. I've recently acquired a 98 Thumb NT - much heavier, with a slightly displaced feeling (long neck on short body). The sound has more character than the SSI, with more of a bark to it. From what I remember the MEC pickups/circuit are pretty much identical (except for PJ /JJ) so I guess the tonal differences are down to the woods - all maple vs wenge/bubinga.

First suggestion is change the jack socket....then get a tech to check the wiring/circuit board. Its probably a component or solder joint but these can be hard to track down. I had a problem with a SI and decided to change to preamp for an Aguilar rather than mess around. It was an improvement over the MEC unit. The John East stuff would be great, and also the Bartolini preamps (although this seems to be out of fashion these days?).