Bloodaxe

Now there's a thing of beauty. Just needs one addition though:

Gig bag here too. You can get more stuff in it & it leaves the hands free for carrying the rig to the bus stop Pete.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='1263108' date='Jun 9 2011, 07:21 PM']Because [s]Jaco[/s] Bill Wyman did it that way.[/quote] Fixed. I did it to my SB-1000 because I was totally unaware that there had ever been a factory fretless option. I also felt that a significant portion of the learning curve could be bypassed by defretting an instrument with a neck I was already familiar with. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5094&hl="]The conversion[/url] ended up being a bit of a saga, but I learned a load of stuff doing it & the end result is truly 'mine'. Pete.

Brilliant OP, that man. If it doesn't get you dancing in your chair, call an undertaker It was a favourite of Pete Young's back when Jazz FM was good (especially after 10pm). Killer line-up too, had no idea it was Robben Ford. P.

It does us good to get kicked out of our comfort zone every once in a while. though it won't feel it at the time With the relatively short time available to you (& allowing for Real Life stuff), it might be wise to take a raincheck on the 'fire & passion' side of it at the moment. Tough, I know - maybe even impossible, but I find that stuff comes only when you have the utmost familiarity with the material & can consequently start to stretch out & make it truly yours. I also believe that you [b]cannot[/b] make the magic happen. It won't be forced or cajoled into existence. The occurrence of 2+2=5 is a very rare thing indeed, & very fragile too. When it happens it's fan-bloody-tastic. But it'll happen on its terms, not yours. As to the bigger picture re: where you want to go etc., only you can really answer that, and half past two in the morning is a crap time for navel-gazing, trust me. Yes, there's a degree of vanity/narcissism/shallowness/selfishness to what we do, but so what? I'm happy if any of the following criteria are met: The dance floor is rammed. I get paid, Other players I respect are [i]genuinely[/i] appreciative, I have a 'good' tone, that I can hear, The promoter/landlord wants the band back, I get paid, If it's a sub gig, no-one outside the band realises it's the first time I've got up with them (usually with no rehearsal). Word gets around the I'm usually up for a sub on very short notice, & the 'phone rings a bit more often. Of course, if [b]all[/b] of those criteria occur at one gig, for a couple of days I'll sport a grin so wide that cheshire cats will run a mile Shallow? Vain? Moi? Actually I do this stuff primarily because I love it & can't imagine [i]not[/i] doing it. External praise & reward are great, but they're really the icing not the cake. Being a 'musical child' as you put it is surely the ideal state? We know a bit, but equally we know we're actually at Level 1. The trick is to realise that there aren't any levels beyond 1. Besides, if you know it all, whatcher gonna do about it? When you know everything, there's nothing left to know, so what's the point? Might as well take up knitting instead! See what you've done Nige? You've got me spouting cod Zen wibble at stupid o'clock & I ain't even drunk or stoned Off to the Woodshed with ye! It'll be fine. Pete.

Apart from the above, check with the relevant Council's website to see if they've got any specific powers that could screw it up. Here's Bromley Council's blurb on noisy parties: [url="http://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/412/pollution_control-noise/457/noisy_parties"]http://www.bromley.gov.uk/info/412/polluti...7/noisy_parties[/url] Compare & contrast with Lewisham's: [url="http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/Environment/Pollution/NoisePollution/NoisyNeighbours/"]http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/Environment/Pol...oisyNeighbours/[/url] Broadly the same but Lewisham make a point about seizing equipment. Might be worth getting a written waiver from the party organiser ensuring that they're liable & not you. P.

[quote name='lanark' post='1257939' date='Jun 5 2011, 11:18 PM']Thanks for the files, it's very kind of you. Am I right that the System file goes into the Utility folder? Never having had a hard drive iPod or similar, I'm not sure if formatting the drive will stop it working. Will it still have the software to make it work and boot up if I reformat the FAT disc? I'm definitely waiting until I hear from Tascam before I try anything drastic, but thanks an awful lot for your help.[/quote] That's a fairly impressive response time, even if the outcome appears to be (possibly) expensive. As they've said it's mullered, that pretty much gives you carte blanche to have a go first - nought to lose by it IMO, but YMMV. If you view the drive structure in Windoze Explorer, it looks like this: The only thing I've ever put in the Utility folder was the firmware update. According to the Manual, if the disk is incorrectly formatted you just get the error message I put up in post No. 4 & an option for the Tascam to run its own format, so it must have a Read Only chip in it somewhere that never gets formatted & contains all the operating instructions (kind of like the BIOS & other chips on a motherboard that tell a computer what it is even if there's no operating system or hard drive). Of course if the fault lies in one of those, the thing's pretty much toast. Just seen your last post... As you've only had it a couple of days, I'd hold off all the poking around & see what Tascam say regarding cost. Let the seller know there's a problem & outline what happened - include the e-mail from Tascam (but DON'T link to this thread!). It's quite possible the Royal Fail has knocked it about, equally it could be the seller's pulling a flanker... equally equally, neither are at fault & the BT1 just decided to die. These days Ebay side with the buyer far more than the seller. Please let us know the outcome if it goes back to Tascam. Like Grand Wazoo, I've had no trouble with mine, but it's handy to know what the score is if it all goes titzup. Just one question... What have you used to re-charge the battery? Pete.

[quote name='lanark' post='1257841' date='Jun 5 2011, 09:39 PM']Unfortunately I've not managed to get past the Error screens, for the last day. I'm seeing if running the battery down will do anything different now (don't see why, but you never know). I'm wondering if reformatting from a computer might at least prompt the unit itself to do an internal format. If I DID reformat from the PC would it destroy its functionality if I used the FAT format? I bought this off ebay so I don't even have a warranty.[/quote] Hard to say. The way I read the manual, formatting the disk to FAT via USB means it won't work - it needs a couple of internally generated system files to work. The manual does state that this will cause the following error message: [quote]"FORMAT ERROR Format Memory" This message appears if the FAT format in the Flash Memory is invalid, or is damaged. It also appears if the Flash Memory was formatted with a computer.[/quote] HOWEVER... It might be worth a go anyway, as you should then be able to reformat via the BT1 menu. If you do try a computer format, add two folders to the root called MUSIC and UTILITY You also need two system files... no idea if these will work, but here's mine: [url="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8453031/mp-bt1.sys"]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8453031/mp-bt1.sys[/url] - This is the main System File. [url="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8453031/mp-xt1.lst"]http://dl.dropbox.com/u/8453031/mp-xt1.lst[/url] - This one is the Playlist File, so won't work (as you don't have the tunes on my playlist), but shouldn't affect matters. First off though, I'd hang fire for a couple of days & see if Tascam get back to you & what they say. Pete.

That's a very scary-sounding error message. Have you tried doing an on-board reformat (when it'll let you in)? Menu >> Setup >> Full Format *Might* do it. The manual implies that re-formatting the memory just re-loads the setup file, whereas a Full Format regenerates it as well as checking the memory for errors. It takes ages, so make sure it's fully charged up first. According to the list of error messages in the back of the manual, formatting the Tascam from a computer won't work - it needs to do it internally. [url="http://tascam.com/content/downloads/products/147/OM_MPBT1_eng_v100.pdf"]Link to Manual[/url] if you need it. Pete.

Pretty much all of the above, plus it takes ages to season properly. If it isn't (i.e. it's a bit 'green') oak can, and will, move how & where it wants - not ideal in a musical instrument. High-grade stainless or brass fittings are compulsory as it'll utterly destroy mild steel over time & have the plating off screws just for something to do. Vicious stuff.

[quote name='hellothere' post='1250913' date='May 30 2011, 10:48 PM']Why is that so bad?[/quote] Snotty one-upmanship. When used in the past tense, it falls into the same category as 'I used to have long hair' or 'I used to wear Denim cutoff/Leather jacket/an Afghan/Parka'. The inference is that they've 'grown up' & become 'mature' & are thus vastly superior to you, like being the area rep for Acme Bog Rolls, owning two bri-nylon suits, & having half a million pounds of debt (aka 'A Mortgage') is somehow the pinnacle of human achievement. As far as I'm concerned, such types have actually failed as they've completely missed the fact that growing older is compulsory but growing up is optional.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1246467' date='May 26 2011, 11:44 PM']That TSB 400 looks very nice. I must not look for one on eBay. Mine was a Kay [/quote] Ahhh... the 'other' Kay - not to be confused with the appalling plywood sh1te that also bore their logo & tainted the name forever. Two things to know about the TSB. 1 - 32" scale 2 - Heavy enough to stop the QE2 wandering off in a force 10 gale. The body is something called Nato (which is a type of Indonesian Mahogany) but Alan (ACG) Cringean christened it 'Granitewood' - According to the kitchen scales it's just shy of 11 lbs. P.

[quote name='icastle' post='1245024' date='May 25 2011, 11:48 PM']Aria ProII SB900 - still got it along with it's original hard case. [/quote] You have a PM. Mine: 1981 Aria TSB-400, bought new in 1982 for the princely sum of HK$1,200 (about £120) - a month's wages. P

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1246112' date='May 26 2011, 07:26 PM']I enjoy being in bands and playing live[/quote] So do I. [quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='1246112' date='May 26 2011, 07:26 PM'], I don't even care about not being paid to "work" (Ars Gratia Artis and all that), ...[/quote] Bugger that! I'm damned if I'm contributing to someone else's profits without getting a cut. If it's a not-for profit event, I'll consider it though. Pete.

[quote name='chaypup' post='1243834' date='May 25 2011, 08:18 AM']Ishibashi, or a mysterious second hand shop tucked away in the back streeets of Tokyo filled to the brim with weird Japcrap.... [/quote] [quote name='BigRedX' post='1243878' date='May 25 2011, 09:02 AM']BTW, Unfortunately Ishibashi isn't quite as fantastic in real life, because they are a chain of (6+) shops throughout Japan, so what you see on the web site is the combined stock of all of them and not the contents of a single shop.[/quote] Not a problem... With 20K I'd have a 2-3 week sojourn in TLoTRS & do the lot. Bound to turf up something interesting & have an educational holiday to boot. That or a month in Eastern Europe hunting down a truckload of RussianRubbish

[quote name='weepaul' post='1243113' date='May 24 2011, 04:28 PM']Wow,that looks great. I didn't know Aria made 5's back then. Hows it play and sound ? Hows the B sound ? How much can you pick these up for ?[/quote] It will be a nice player once I've got it set up properly with a decent set of strings (it's got an abysmal set of el-cheapo ultracrap Ebay specials on it at the moment), but the string spacing is quite tight so it takes a bit of getting used to. Neck profile is chunky without being 'clubby'. It's last decent set of strings were some Warwick yellows about 3-4 years ago, so with my tea-bag memory I can't honestly give much of a view of the sound, other than to say it's an Aria with the big 4-wire humbuckers & two of those wide open in series make a lovely racket Don't recall any low B issues other than having to take a bridge spring off to get the intonation sorted. As to current market value, again I can't say. They don't fetch up too often. I got lucky, it surfaced not long after a massive glut of Aria MAB (Magna) series 5'ers cleared on ebay in either 2005 or 2006, so I reckon it was 'last turkey in the shop' syndrome... except it ain't a turkey, turkeys don't have teeth If you stumble across the much more abundant Magna, give it a spin, you may be surprised. They don't usually fetch much more than £150 & they're good value. I sold mine after the RSB turfed up as I couldn't get on with the slab body, sounded great though. Otherwise keep a watch on Ebay & Gumtree. That's probably not a lot of help on reflection, is it? Oh well.

Academic, as I'm GAS-free at the moment, but voted anyway. It'd have been better to allow multiple choice in Sections 2 & 3 IMO. F'rinstance I might be looking at something to see what the asking price is because I've got one as well that I'm thinking of selling as I don't really use it, but would like to flog it at a profit, & might be tempted by something that takes my fancy. P.

[quote name='plumbob' post='1241393' date='May 23 2011, 12:01 PM']That bridge seems quite a lump ! Only have the 4 string version I'm afraid , as you say mine doesn't have the open ended ball retainers , plus your bridge must be bigger in length than mine , as mine sits pretty much at the ass end of the bass.[/quote] A touch over 400g (14.2 oz) of brass all up & the baseplate's 10mm thick A bit of detectoring suggests it's a very early example... 1984 S/No but doesn't appear until the 1985 catalogue, & the 1986 cat shows a version with enclosed keyhole slots. Subsequent issues have a P/J pickup config & a different fixing screw arrangement. I was considering either selling it on or de-fretting it, but if it is a 'rare' example (& virtually stock), it might be a keeper. Pete.

[quote name='dood' post='1241387' date='May 23 2011, 11:56 AM'] My Shuker 7 string!![/quote] Fixed

[quote name='essexbasscat' post='1240050' date='May 22 2011, 09:48 AM']There used to be one around East London run by a friend I havn't seen in a while. Bloodaxe used to go there too. I'll catch up with him and let you know. Cheers[/quote] Still do... [url="http://www.coachandhorsesbluesjam.com/home.shtml"]http://www.coachandhorsesbluesjam.com/home.shtml[/url] Advice for n00bz: [url="http://www.coachandhorsesbluesjam.com/essential_fyi.shtml"]http://www.coachandhorsesbluesjam.com/essential_fyi.shtml[/url] There's also a [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f32/open-jam-etiquette-626425/"]Talkbass Sticky[/url] that my alter ego posted in which covers the essentials. If it's a blues-based jam, make sure you're familiar with the vernacular like 'coming down from the 5', 'slam the gates', 'quick change' etc. Saves loads of time. Pete.

There's some really nice grain under there! If your heart's set on keeping it and refinishing in a solid colour, I'd personally start by keying the existing surface with either a Scotchbrite pad or fine steel wool & then fill the grain with car body Knifing Stopper. Next, cut the stopper back with 240 grit wet 'n' dry, blow over it with 400 grit to smooth it a bit more & then respray. Much as I like a nice caustic solvent, I'd avoid Nitromors in this instance as it'll just take you right back to square one. If the existing finish is sound it doesn't necessarily need stripping, so why create a load more work than you've already got? Alternatively... sand it flat so that the existing black is trapped in the open grain areas & then clear coat it. However this could end up looking like a dog's breakfast if the previous owner has used a light-coloured primer coat... only one way to find out Pete.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' post='1240238' date='May 22 2011, 12:29 PM']There's one in a Guitar Shop I know, I'll take a photo on Weds if you wish. Have you tried the various Aria websites? BTW he has another in for repair as well, a neck through but Ii think both have the same bridge -as we remarked upon it at the time![/quote] Yes please to the photo. I've cross-posted on both the Matsumoku forum and Talkbass so the obvious bases are covered. Ta, Pete.

Does anyone else on BC have one of these? Mine's from 1984 & I'd like to get a comparison shot of the bridge for possible repro purposes. At the moment this is the closest shot I have: It mainly differs from the standard SB bridge in that the saddle slots & ball retainers are open ended - were they all like this? Pete

Tried these?