D.I. Joe

Until a few years ago Fender Nickel strings had black silks. You can still get the new old-stock on ebay. Unlikely, but a possibility nonetheless...

Sorry, I should have mentioned that the amp is rated 300W at 8 ohms and it is an 8 ohm speaker.

From an old thread in the Amps & Cabs forum: [quote name='chrisasp' timestamp='1347227725' post='1798354'] Hi. Anyone's advice would be much appreciated. I run a markbass little mark 3 and mark 102 2 x 10 8 ohm cab. after last nights gig I smelled a strange hot plastic smell from my cab. I presume something's getting hot in there. I do not have the head cranked , was using a quality speaker cable so bit confused. Only thing I can think of was that I used my microsynth a bit more at that particular gig and the speakers were definatly sucking air and I had the sub octave high. Could this be it. Has Anyone had this happen to them ? Cheers [/quote] Essentially the same thing happened to me tonight. I use an Ashdown ABM 500 into an ABM 115 Compact cab which has a Fane Sovereign 400W driver installed - no tweeter. At the end of the set I used synth settings on my Zoom B3 which were loud and low, so I'm thinking this could be what was overheating the speaker - although nothing sounded amiss in the mix to me, I was actually quite pleased with my synth tones! My real question is this: The guitar/keys player in the band said that if the smell was caused by a melting coil, then the resistance/impedance of the speaker would decrease and it would be dealt more power from the amp and eventually blow, with the amp quickly following suit. Is the above true? Is this smell the scent of disaster or is it just a sign that I should reign in the bottom end at high volume? I should also point out that this was in one of our bigger venues and my master volume was at 3/4 when it is usually below halfway. Thanks in advance Joe

Could you show me one that makes 5 string jazz pickups?

[quote name='davehux' timestamp='1375775124' post='2165304'] It's taken me 3 Rics to get one that I think has the classic Chris Squire growl that for me is THE Ric sound (a mapleglo 1976 4001 don't you know), but for my normal gigs, I use a Fender Aerodyne Jazz, as it just sits better in the overall blend of sound. The Ricky is my Sunday best, occasional Open Mic night, bass, where it can bark and snap through a few choice songs. Just a shame no-one has ever called out - 'Does anyone know Roundabout? BTW - I did own a beautiful US Jazz for a couple of months, but traded it for the Ric, as I thought it was the blandest thing I'd ever heard and played [/quote] Which Open Mic nights do you go to?

I'm on the hunt for some plastic pickup covers for a 5 string Jazz. Can't seem to find any UK sellers online; does anybody know where I could source a pair? Just to clarify - I'm after THIS kind of pickup cover NOT this

What is this 'wadding' of which you speak? Does it consist of insulating/otherwise modifying the enclosure?

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1375560058' post='2162968'] Without wanting to sound like attacking your playing style, it could be your technique, and I`ll try to explain what I mean. My fave bassist is Bruce Foxton, and playing a Precision, with the eq on my amp as I usually have it, by changing the way I play I [u]can[/u] sound like him, trebly and full of attack, but playing [u]my[/u] natural style, I sound deep & thumpy. This with the same bass, amp & eq. So don`t lose heart with the Rick, try some different playing styles and should you find the one that gives the tone/attack wanted, practice it, and be happy that you can gel with your dream bass. [/quote] This +1 I auditioned a while ago for a Rush 'tribute' band (the guitarist played all the keys/synths and sang, I just played bass) and with just my jazz bass and Zoom B3 going into a headphone setup, I really dug in to make the strings growl and to the drummer's* ears it sounded just like Geddy. [size=1]*Not the most reliable source in a musical context[/size]

I never had any issues with my old MB450 Head. It was a bit of a pain to carry with all the weight of the transformer down at one end though!

Okay here's mine so far: 1) I started playing bass in Nov 2006, and in June 2009 I passed Grade 8. (I know grades don't really mean a lot but to make that progress in that time felt pretty good) 2) Recording an album session for Mehal with [url="http://www.viplounge.org.uk/about-2/dare/"]Dare Mason[/url], and receiving compliments from Dare about my playing. (N.B. - I'm back in the studio with Mehal next month and will post links to the material as it appears online). Also, a couple of years ago we did a gig supporting Deborah Bonham in a "private" show at a pub in rural mid-Cornwall. 3) Last summer I had a brief stint with the band Empire of Fools, the highlight of which was this gig supporting Reef at Frome Festival. We were the first band on and were not expecting the audience to be as big or as receptive as they were! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBcLY2KdDFg"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBcLY2KdDFg[/url] And finally for now... 4) My new band - [url="http://bareknucklebluesband.co.uk/"]The Bare Knuckle Blues Band[/url] Haven't gigged with them yet (first one is this Thursday) but the guitarist is a chap called Tim Mills. He is the founder of [url="https://bareknucklepickups.co.uk/main/"]Bare Knuckle Pickups[/url] and has also toured and recorded with Elkie Brookes and Iced Earth, among others, and has been raving about my playing and tone in rehearsals and says that I have "really kicked the band up a gear". I'm proud to get that kind of compliment from a guy like him.

[quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1375546271' post='2162782'] In my brass playing days I managed to blag a recording session with the Black Dyke Band. Although I didn't get asked back, only getting glared at once in 8 hours of sight reading was ok in my book. [/quote] As a fellow brasser, this is the one that impresses me the most!

[quote name='John Schoen' timestamp='1375527095' post='2162493'] You would either need another bridge or use this thingy: a mod-bar: [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/GIBSON-EPIPHONE-BASS-BRIDGE-3-POINT-MOD-BAR-/300941787065"]http://www.ebay.com/...R-/300941787065[/url] [/quote] That certainly looks useful! Though this really is something that Gibson need to address. You shouldn't need to spend all that money (for the name?) on bass and THEN have to spend out to fix the bridge yourself. Upgrading is one thing, but in order to fix a design flaw? C'mon!!

Wear a thick jacket onstage and wrap the sleeve in fine wet & dry. Get a' sweatin' and a' sandin' at the same time!

[quote name='stevie' timestamp='1375434617' post='2161126'] Interesting that they are using side handles on the top, which looks weird. Plus point is that they are using proper birch ply. [/quote] I always stand my ABM cab on it's side so it stands a bit taller. One of these should stack well on top of that. I'm inclined to go for a 2 x 15 setup and going by the specs the Neo has a little more top end output (9KHz) than my ABM Compact (4KHz). I'm not into the sharp top-heavy thing but I do like to be rewarded with a little bite when I dig in. Just wondering in this thread if anybody uses an ABM Neo already, and how they compare to other similarly sized cabs. They need to stack neatly after all!

Damn I've missed it again! Does anyone know if this will be a regular thing? It's something I'm very interested in.

I'm on the lookout for another compact cab to go with my ABM 500 Evo II and ABM 115 compact. I was thinking about another Compact series cab, either another 115 or a 210 but then I stumbled across the new Neo range [url="http://ashdownmusic.com/products/1/Bass-Amplification/13/ABM-NEO/"]http://ashdownmusic.com/products/1/Bass-Amplification/13/ABM-NEO/[/url] Does anybody know much about these? Looks pretty good. But then again, I might even go Bare...

If I were you I'd be looking on the secondhand market. You can get some fantastic basses new for this kind of money or even less (Squire VM and MM SUBs for example) but with basses like G&Ls, Yamahas, Overwater/Tanglewood going for that kind of money, I'd check them out. The other thing is to make sure that your mate tries before he buys and don't be hung up on the name on the headstock. Ibanez and Tokai for example make some great copies. Once you try a bass, you'll know if it's worth your £350 or not

[quote name='bluejay' timestamp='1373842301' post='2142261'] Relax, guys, it's summer, people are on holiday or planning to go[/quote] If anyone is planning on coming to Cornwall, you could bring down the Baton for me

In a word - Trainwreck.

I've tried a few Ricks. Some were beautiful to play, others were complete dogs. Same story as anything else really...

Fender Stainless Steel Flatwounds are very bright for flats.

This [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG4cV3iQcag"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oG4cV3iQcag[/url]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1370109287' post='2096581'] Well thats how it works for me with my PC. As soon as its hooked up to my Windows 8 PC it becomes the default in and output device. [/quote] +1 I'm not sure whether you need to download the ASIO driver first though. I did, but I didn't try using the B3 without first installing it.

[quote name='solo4652' timestamp='1369599641' post='2090783'] The only other rig I have is my Eden E10 practice amp and it's the same story there - the P bass has gone from rich "n" full tone to barky/middy with a distict lack of bottom end. I did lower the saddles a little last week, but I haven't touched the neck relief because that's too much of a faff (you have to remove the pickguard to get to the truss-rod adjuster). [/quote] I just whip the neck off to get to mine