BassBod

Yep, that sounds perfectly sensible. My experiences are that PA guys don't like to use amp DI's..want you to use their (often not very good) DI...until they see a Sansamp, and then they stop muttering and just plug into it. Makes my life just a little bit easier. Fairly often.

I use one (or a Sadowsky DI or Aguilar or SFT copy) to get more variety and warmth out of clean sounding amps. And the DI is very useful for travelling light.

Try Mo Clifton, if he's around (look him up, and drop an email?)

At the risk of getting told off...my own experiences are that many necks do not respond evenly to truss rod changes, particularly in the last few tweaks before "almost straight". A few basses I've had will get so close, then start choking at the last five or six frets at the top. I usually view this as the limit of their adjustment, without any further "spot" fret levelling. Its a balancing act between the available adjustments. I'm around Bristol and happy to have a look if it helps, but I'm not set up for fret levelling.

I've used one for years, with all sorts of active basses and never overloaded the input - and there is a level control. Either the Bass Driver or the VT DI will do what you want...but ignore the suggested settings, and go careful with the eq and blend knobs (its easy to overdo it). Borrow one if you can, as they take some getting used to.

All the best for a speedy recovery Howard....

I wouldn't do much - maybe try some DiMarzio Model J pickups, to give it some grunt? Cheap thrills....often the best?

Really???

Now I shouldn't need to mention it, should I? Before you played a note that camera should have been ready...... Ohhh and congratulations!

Look at historical auctions, there's been a few...very overpriced (IMO) or look at the Low End website, he's had a few over the years and seems to get new ones sometimes.

Look at Evilbay...and probably take half off the BIN? I would imagine they are in Wal figures, but there is always someone who will pay more for perceived value.

The Warwick stuff is much thinner than most furniture waxes, be sparing and it won't build into a shiny layer quickly. Its worth keeping the ash clean, as once the dirt gets in and it discolours you'll have to sand it back a bit. Better to keep the dirt out.

My understanding is he built a lot (small scale, lo tech) in the 70's but though the 80's and 90's he's built a team of younger guys to do a lot of the bench work. Pete Hilton seems to be one of the most skilled guys to have come out of the Thompson worshshop. My impression is Carl is a musician at heart, and luthier by circumstance, partly thanks to Dan Armstrong and his NY repair shop in the late 60's.

Would love to try one..but doubt if there are any around Bristol! Keep those photos coming...please....

Tom Waghorns's place springs to mind (Queen Square)...where around the city are you?

The weight was the only reason I sold them - great size and fantastic sound.

I'd try the foam to dampen, but maybe keep the springs too - Warwick use a nice threaded insert and it would be a shame to lose the positive support. My guess is if its that noticeable its going to bug you, so needs sorting out. Make sure the treble isn't boosted - easy to do with a new circuit. It could be a dry joint - these can respond to physical vibrations, but the finger noise does sound like microphonics within the pickup casing to me. Have a coffee, double check the whole circuit again and see if anything else makes noise when it gets waggled. Also turn the preamp gain up to half way - it may be acting strangely at its lowest setting. The only real test is to hot wire a pickup to the jack, and see if it makes microphonic noises?

Sounds like microphonic pickups - but Barts are usually sealed in something like epoxy, so I wouldn't expect them to do that, even after many years. Are they new or a few years old? I've had a few J bass pickups do this, but usually "open" (not potted) single coils...and it usually happens after a few years.

I do up the grub screw just enough to mark the string, then undo it again, take the string out and re-cut as close as I dare to the mark, plus a few mm's. If I can still feel a pointy bit I bend it down with pliers so it isn't quite so spikey.

Use whatever sounds best - the preamp is flavouring to taste, sometimes you want a different taste. I do this a lot with neutral(ish) amps, then add Sansamp/Aguilar/Sadowsky pedals to suit the situation. No one but me notices or cares in the slightest...but it helps me enjoy the gigs.