Mateybass

[quote name='Jesus' timestamp='1215947586' post='238446'] Thanks Steve, that would be great if you find something. Ive taken a couple of very poor photo's (camera phones arent what they used to be!), excuse the mess. Its reassuring no ones said anything bad about them...yet! edit - that first pic really is bad, sorry. [/quote] Sorry, very late to the party but what you have there (if you still have it) is a 300W into 4 ohm load amp and 2 x 10" Volt speakers. Those speakers are [url="http://www.voltloudspeakers.co.uk/"]high-end PA stuff[/url]. The amp puts out 200W as a stand alone combo because the 2x10s are an 8 ohm load. I believe the speakers were full range speakers so a tweeter was not fitted to the bass amp, the cabinet shape was also used for a drum combo which did have a tweeter fitted in the gap between speakers and head. There is an achilles heel on some of these amps, the large capacitors in the power amp stage may not be the right ones designed for the PCB. If yours have flat spade type solder joints into the PCB, you're ok, but if they are just normal 1mm legs soldered into the board, vibration combined with humping ( or dropping down a flight of stairs like mine did once, the floor was ruined at the bottom) can cause them to break due to the capacitors not being clamped in place, resulting in a crackling sound. I say achilles heel but I've only had it happen twice in 25 years, it's been totally reliable otherwise. Easily fixed though with a clamp mounted onto the pcb. The cab is ported and designed specifically for those speakers, hence the size, same with the 2x8. I have the 2x8 version which is a smaller cab (no gap between speakers and head) but there hasn't been anything to match it for versatility since I bought it new in 1991. For bigger gigs I sit it on top of a Harke vx410 and it's the dogs whatsits then, easily competing with the guitarists 4x12 valve rig.

[quote name='razze06' timestamp='1414076267' post='2585577'] I've just put some new Innovation strings on mine, and the coloured cloth bits at the top come all the way past the nut! The E string is particularly long, the green bits goes all the way to where I would fret for F... I think it still plays ok, but is there anything I should do about it? [/quote] Staggs really need strings for a 4/4 size DB because the distance from string anchor to bridge is much longer than a 3/4 bass. The only thing you could try is have a custom tail anchor made up to reduce this distance so that you can safely buy 3/4 strings in the future. This is really something that Stagg should change on their design so that it makes it easier for owners to swap strings around... they need telling that we like to play around sometimes

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1377899447' post='2193526'] I also noticed that the bridge was a very tight fit in the body. Do you think 'easing' the bridge to reduce the tightness will improve the E string volume? [/quote] Yes, most definitely. It's all about pressure on to those piezo elements. The more the better, but too much and they choke... probably why early bridges had the channel cut into the foot. If the bridge is resting on the body then there is less force directly on the piezo. It shouldn't be wobbly inside the socket, but it shouldn't be so tight it is being partially suspended over the piezo element. Also, check the upper bridge is free to slide up and down on the metal threaded adjuster posts. Any resistance here also means you're not getting the full available pressure being transmitted through the bridge to the piezo. Again, not too slack, but not too sticky either. The bridge should be free to move when you adjust the thumbwheels by a quarter turn. The density of the wood grain of the stock bridge isn't fantastic, so the less of the jelly wood the vibrations have to travel through, the better the sound will be. Applying simple physics principles means that if your metal threaded poles are not screwed all the way down into the lower portion of the bridge, then the vibrations are not reaching the foot of the lower bridge as efficiently as they might. The upper bridge rests on the thumbwheels and this is the start point of travel of those vibrations down to the piezo element. If they then go through the metal threaded posts and into the body of the lower bridge, you are introducing a resistance path for the vibrations. If they are screwed all the way down to the bottom of the foot (but not so tight they poke through) then the path only has a small part of the less-dense wood to go through before reaching the piezo. Similarly, if anyone is experimenting with making their own upper bridge (the bit the strings sit on) I would have thought that a rounded bottom would give a better vibration transmission than a flat one, since the thumbwheels would have to be dead equal for the bridge to be sat flat ontop of the thumbwheels. If you make the flat with a round bottom instead, then there is no problem with the angle of the bridge where it rests on the thumbwheels.. If anyone has the woodworking skils to try this, I'd be interested to know the difference. At the very least, a direct copy of the upper and lower bridge in a harder wood will have benefits on vibration transmission regardless, and differing wood grains or types will transmit different tones from the strings.

[quote name='Clarky' post='1006931' date='Oct 31 2010, 03:18 AM']I even got plaudits from a couple of audience members about my playing .... which was nice [/quote] It's funny how often that happens when you play DB on stage. You could have played just as good on bass guitar and those audience members wouldn't have noticed but play the same stuff on DB and suddenly you are a real musician. It is nice when it happens though

Brings back memories for me that clip. It's from 1978 and the Sight and Sound In Concert series simulcast on BBC2 and Radio1. I remember watching that as a spotty 14 year old who had just taken up playing bass... I sat through the whole show spellbound with my mouth open wondering if I'd ever be good enough to play in a band like that. I've been a fan of GG ever since, one of my favourite ever songs is "Memories of Old Days". As far as prog rock was concerned, if Genesis was for uni students, Gentle Giant was for Astrophysicists Incidentally, I believe this broadcast made history as being the first ever broadcast in quadraphonic sound... "Matrix H" to be precise or as Derek Shulman quipped during the broadcast, in Preparation H

[quote name='Faithless' post='971744' date='Sep 29 2010, 02:22 PM']Cheapies like Stagg or Palatino don't even have a decent wooden fingerboard - it's some kind of plastic, and those cheapies require a lot of money to [i]make [/i]them sound more-like-a DB..[/quote] The Stagg has a maple fingerboard covered in a type of plasticote black paint. The only plastic bits on a Stagg are the nut and the wiring covers on the back of the body. I agree that the fingerboard will make some difference to the overall sound but I disagree that you need to spend a lot of money making the Stagg sound something like a double bass. It's an awful lot to do with technique, action, strings and eq. But in the same way an electric solid bodied guitar will never sound like an acoustic guitar, even something like an NS design will struggle to sound like a DB, and even less so in the wrong hands.

The feedback question might have thrown up an interesting point with regard to solid versus ply construction. I've had this theory that ply basses will generally feed back less because they are stiffer in their resonating parts... wondered if that might be born out by player's experiences... or maybe I just think too much and should go and have a lie down in a darkened room.

Well, as it happens, I've used this strap button quite successfully on stage. Just an ordinary webbing type guitar strap attached at both ends to it. It goes over your left shoulder and under your right armpit. Adjusted so it's reasonably tight to pull the hip brace against you, you can actually lift the whole instrument up with it with no hands.

[quote name='Lozz196' post='936423' date='Aug 25 2010, 09:19 PM']JJ Burnell from The Stranglers doesn`t have a Signature Fender Precision, tho he does have a Signature Shuker Precision-a-like. Surprised really, as he was a Precision man for years, though maybe him using a relatively standard Precision was the reasoning behind it. Black/black/maple - in fact, what I`m currently gassing for. He did used to get a great sound out of that bass![/quote] I remember reading an interview with him in the 70's ( in International Musician I think) that he tried lots of P-basses before he found one with the right sound.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='930214' date='Aug 19 2010, 07:46 PM']Even better, I never know which end of a drill to saw stuff with.[/quote] It's those crinkle-cut nails I can't get the hang of. Why do they have that cross thing on the head anyway? Is it a religious thing to remind you not to swear when you miss with the hammer??

Are you absolutely sure it's a laminate? I've got one of these from around the same period and mine's definitely a solid top and back.

I find my Stagg 4-string EUB spacing no different to my AUB, the arch isn't that different either and it bows fine. My modified Stagg 5-string bows fine too even with the strings a tad closer together on the same arch.

In my opinion these are two of the greatest fretless bass lines ever. I love the way he never gets in the way of the vocal melody. Sometimes he roots it, sometimes he harmonises with it, other times he's wrapping around it in a spiral of melodious loveliness. Oh and the vids aren't bad either

At last, someone else who appreciates John Giblin, I thought I was the only one here. I've always been a big fan of John's playing ever since I came across it with Brand X. Percy Jones was technically brilliant but John always had that touch which seemed to enhance the track. Everything he's ever played on has been from the heart and thoughtful. He plays basslines like an artist paints detail on trees, you don't really notice the craft until you really look deeply into it. I had the privilege of sharing bass duties with Fred T Baker and John Giblin on an album in the 90's. Fred was a pyrotechnician on bass but a million notes where one will do doesn't do anything for a song except impress other bass players. John would be quite happy playing one note well. He is my ultimate bass hero and probably the biggest influence on my playing and approach to fretless bass lines. Nice one Molan

Never mind all this double bass bollocks, where are the pics of the stripped blonde?

[quote name='Beedster' post='910751' date='Jul 30 2010, 10:06 PM']Given how great the bass sounds unplugged and how much of this is lost amplified, I'm guessing the stock PUP and preamp are pretty mediocre. I'm talking to John East re a preamp, but has anyone got any PUP suggestions? Thanks Chris[/quote] Which model Aria do you have?

One word.... valves

[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='886459' date='Jul 5 2010, 05:02 PM']I've owned a Palatino, and the one thing I would say is the stand is a little weak. The body is heavy, and the extending foot system isn't that well designed - the bass slips down over time. Have a search on Talkbass for piccies on mods using drum cymbal stands to help keep the bass more sturdy, or I can email you some of my mods when I get home. The Palatino is a good EUB, but it does need a lot of tweaking to get it better. Which begs the question, if you're going to be spending all that money making an average bass better, why not just get a better bass to begin with?[/quote] In defence of the Stagg, leaving out my 5-string conversion, the mods done to bring it up to giggable standard have probably cost about £20 all in. The conversion to 5-string cost was around £150 in total, of which £45 was the cost of the low B string. Including the price of the original instrument at £285, I have a perfectly good [b]bowable 5-string EUB[/b] for less than [b]£450[/b].

If you want to speed the healing process, get yourself an Aloe Vera plant. Cut an end off the spikey fleshy leaves and squeeze the gunk out onto your wounds. Works a treat, might sting a bit at first if it's really deep but it'll help the wound to heal quicker than any chemicals.

[quote name='Belinda' post='873906' date='Jun 21 2010, 09:30 PM']I do have questions and they are probably silly ones but .... here's the first .... am I right in assuming that my combo amp will be fine with the Aria?? - Told you!!!! Also, people seem to be changing strings - is this necessary or preferential? Being a complete girl (I wish) I don't understand what people mean about a pre amp - this has caused me a fair bit of confusion, hence my first question Anyway - I'm sure I'll have more if I can't find the answers in older posts Your's expectantly Belinda[/quote] Your amp will certainly work with your Aria, it really depends if it's the sound you want. Strings are changed for many reasons, some as mentioned by a previous poster have to do with the way it will be played, arco or pizz. Other reasons have to do with the sound you'll get from an Electric Upright Bass (EUB). Many people are disappointed that their EUB doesn't sound like a proper double bass and try to emulate the sound by changing to non-steel cored strings. I have to say that trying to make a solid-bodied EUB sound like a DB is a bit like trying to make an electric guitar sound like an acoustic guitar. You can get close but it'll never be exact. You could spend an awful lot of money in the search for the right sounding strings, the right amp. Alternatively, just enjoy its differentness and save yourself some money. A pre-amp is an amplifying circuit inserted in the audio signal chain between pick-up and amplifier, hence pre (before amp). When discussed with regard to double bass and most acoustic instruments, it is usually to boost the signal and enhance the sound that is obtained from a piezo pick-up before it gets to your amp. Your Aria has a piezo but it also has a built-in preamp so you have no need to worry. If your amp EQ controls are limited, you could try an inline EQ footpedal to help you get closer to a DB sound. I'm sure you will find a guitarist who would lend you one to try before you buy. Have fun with your stick

I would imagine that the Harley Benton is just a rebadged Palatino and is exactly the same instrument. Harley Benton bass guitars were Shine basses rebadged. The Saein Musical Instrument Co. Ltd have two factories, the better quality Shine and some Ibanez, Epiphone, Peavey etc. instruments tend to be from the Korean factory and the lower priced ones like Harley Benton from China. Whether this applies to the Harley Benton/Palatino EUBs I haven't a clue but I'm guessing they're both from the same Chinese factory, whoever that is. I'm not entirely sure where the Stagg is made but it has a lot in common with the Aria SWB stick things and suggests a factory/manufacturer link too. The Stagg is eminently moddable, mine is now a 5 string and fantastic. My advice to you would be to try out a Palatino and a Stagg before you decide which one to go with since it has to be comfortable to play and the Stagg isn't eveyone's cup of tea, same goes for the Palatino/HB. Either one will need modding to iron out build issues or sound improvement (see the links in my sig for the Stagg). Read the whole of the megathreads for both on the TalkBass forums to help you decide.

[quote name='grumble' post='832251' date='May 9 2010, 03:04 PM']FFS... its still that most heinous of crimes against humanity... its still a BANJO !![/quote] Yeah, leave that on show in the back of a car and you might find two when you come back

[quote name='eubalan' post='823031' date='Apr 29 2010, 02:01 PM']Hi Guys, Check out www.bassbanjos.com - what do you think ?[/quote] Looks interesting but playing with a bow is ruled out since the body will get in the way... that's why double basses are the shape they are. Therefore I can't really see the point. If it is to be louder than a DB you could go down the Stagg EDB route and spend the extra you save on the RRP for this on buying a nice little combo... and you could still bow it.

James Jamerson for his soul, Macca for his melody, the late John Glascock for his precision and, I can't believe no-one's mentioned him yet, John Giblin who plays from the heart.

That top one looks like it might be a 5 string