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And now for something completely different: moon ebony. It is a black-and-white swirl that is incredible.

I gig regularly with its predecessor, the SRA305. A couple of years ago, to avoid confusion, the SRA series was revamped into the Gio series. Great value for money.

For a P/J, I recommend that the traditional V-V-T control arrangement be used and not a master/balance pot arrangement. V-V-T has the least effect on the P pickup when the J pickup is turned down. Since everything is wired together, there will be the slightest effect on the tone of the P pickup from loading to ground, but it won't be noticable. I would suggest one upgrade: if the J bridge pickup is single coil, please consider upgrading it to a noiseless pickup, whether stack, side-by-side, or end-to-end, in order to maintain the noiseless character of the P pickup when you have both pickups on. I would keep the J bridge pickup wired in. You never know when you will need it.

The body is described as "American ash." This could be what we call northern ash, which is what American baseball bats are made out of. It is extremely heavy, and we found out forty years ago it does not make a good instrument body because it is too heavy to wear for a full gig. I'll pass.

Yes, the small parts were nickel plated. However, just how "authentic" do you want to be? Many of the small parts would corrode prematurely. I use stainless steel pickguard screws and chrome knobs, because they last longer and don't corrode. You can't tell the difference from the edge of the stage. Even though I understand the desireability of the cosmetics to be congruent to the tone, I would recommend as many chrome plated parts or stainless steel small parts as possible to prevent corrosion.

Here is a good overview: http://doublebassblog.org/2008/09/bass-strings-geek-out.html I would only caution that there are two different sets of Spirocore weich's - 3/4 and 4/4; the 3885W 3/4 set have a tad more tension and in my view are the most under-appreciated strings out there, since most people are only familiar with the S42 4/4 weich set, which has so little tension they can actually twang on some basses. Make sure you contact Daf Lewis of this forum for any recommendations on Innovation strings, which sponsor this forum, and are great strings, as many people don't know they make such a wide selection of strings.

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1415354402' post='2599458'] I'll see you, and raise you a contrabass balalaika ...[/quote] I'll call with a Mando-Bass. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MN8eQM6fXHY

T-I does make a Spirocore 1/2 light, or weich set. Part number 3887W. It has a little lighter and more even tension than a lot of other sets. They are expensive, but if you like them, they should last you at least ten years or more.

No. Thirty-five years ago, Guitar Player Magazine, before it split into Bass Player magazine, did a bass bridge comparison between a "vintage" plate-and-bolt-stock-saddles bridge, solid brass, and others. At the end of the day, the vintage bridge had the best tone and sustain, and there was no advantage to any of the other bridges, straightforward or exotic. Some changes in timbre, yes, but not improvement. Unless the player simply wants a bridge for a particular reason, like more ease in mounting strings, or a different string spacing for personal ergonomics, there is very little to be gained by changing bridges, especially on a lesser expensive instrument, unless the stock bridge simply cannot be intonated. For example, I gig with an Ibby SRA305. The stock bridge gives me tone and sustain until next Tuesday, on a concededly lesser expensive instrument. The only thing I did to it was to clip the spring and the intonation screw on the B saddle to give me more rearwards travel for intonation, and enlarge the B string mounting hole in the back of the bridge slightly to facilitate mounting the larger diameter of the silk wrap at the ball of the La Bella tapewounds I use.

Here is an aplet that you plug in the instrument, color at each end, and if it is a conventional string, then it should be recognized and identified: [url="http://www.quinnviolins.com/qv_stringidsearch.shtml"]http://www.quinnviol...gidsearch.shtml[/url] That said, the Reds are probably Spirocore Mittels, and the light blues are probably Superflexibles. I don't know what the others are.

AMEN!!!

They both probably have 250kohm pots and .047 tone capacitors. Since they are both relatively recent Am. Std. instruments, there has not been enough time for the caps to drift. Did you raise the bridge pickup on the new instrument to the point they were on the old? Pickup distance from the strings will affect the presence and articulation of the pickups in a significant way. Moreover, the '60's Custom Shop pickups may have had the magnets de-gaussed slightly in order to get a "vintage" tone, which means different things to different people, and would definitely take the edge off the tone of the pickups.

In the USA, we have a different wiring scheme, but this anecdote is still applicable: We played a gig that the owner had remodeled a stage. I could see that two consecutive mains sockets were wired on the same circuit, and I didn't think about plugging in. Well, when I got close to a microphone, there was a blue spark, a momentary dimming of the lights, and I was shocked by electricity jumping from the mike to me to my guitar. I took out my polarity checker, and the socket had been wired backwards. The hot and neutral had been reversed, so between the microphone and my guitar was a double voltage potential with no ground - earth. As I approached the microphone, I supplied the ground, and ZAP! Now, before I plug in anywhere, I check the socket with my "five-dollar life insurance policy" polarity checker, to make sure everything is of the proper polarity and properly grounded - earthed in UK terminology. Moral of the story: as advised above, and thank you for calling your electrician, to make sure the mains wiring is proper and safe. Your bandmates, friends and family all appreciate you are still around for the next gig.

I would advise a 4-string "traditional" model. The E-A pickup segment is too far "north" (close to the neck) to give adequate definition to the B string on a P-5 unless the pickup is "reversed," meaning the B-E pickup segment is on the bridge side and the A-D-G segment is on the neck side.

Daf, likewise, one of my bands has folded, and another, even though I got some gigs in the last couple of months for military unit reunions and such, has decided to go with their old bass player who was thinking of quitting, then changed his mind. So I don't do enough gigs now to warrant a string trial. So if I am signed up for any string trials, like the new hybrid set, please cancel my requests and send them to the next person in line instead. Thanks for all you do on this forum and otherwise to help other double bass players.

There is a Dean Stylist on ebay.uk right now.

Welcome to the world of single coil pickups. This is the very reason humbucking pickups were invented. I am going to guess you have a Jazz bass, with its single coil pickups, they are antennae for hum and electrostatic noise. This is also why I have changed out all my single coil pickups in almost all my instruments for humbucking versions.

Have you made sure the string is in the correct slot at the bridge to go directly over the polepieces, and have you raised the polepieces in addition to raising the E side of the pickup, and have you tried a new E string other than the entire set?

Yes. To answer the short/long scale question: there are models of each. If you're not sure which it is, take something to measure it with, and whatever it is, frown and fake a little frustration to say you wish it were the other, then make your offer that you can "make do" with it.

I play with a similar band occasionally, playing dance clubs, military unit reunions, private parties, etc. A few years ago, I noticed on one of the pieces the band just didn't swing. I listened carefully. They were in tune, on time, and in style, but it lacked that last bit of "je ne sais quoi" to really swing. It was me. My electric bass, although I was playing in style, in tune, on time, etc., had too much natural compression and push. That's when I took a deep breath, did my research, and purchased and set up a double bass. I practiced at home for a couple of months before taking it to rehearsal. When I did, and we played the same song, the swing was back in the band. It does make a difference. Congratulations on the gig!

I'm surprised you can't just pop into a kiosk at a large train station or somewhere like WHSmith's and find them in a bin in the party supplies, like for New Year's celebrations.

Time for one item of transliteration for those in the USA who read this forum: UK - Pillar Drill USA - Drill Press Another term is Bench Drill, or if floor standing, Pedestal Drill.

A company called Circle K strings makes all gauges, and has sets for such applications. They are listed under "Bass VI" sets, and go to 18's which would have really light tension at a standard 25 1/2 inch scale, and "normal light" tension at baritone 28 1/2 or so scale. http://www.circlekstrings.com

OK, somehow the "quote" function is not working for me. What brensabre79 said, especially when determining where to drill the back for the ferrules.

The bridge may have saddles, or it could be a bar-type bridge similar to a guitar bridge. It looks like it has been replaced once a long time ago. Look at the old screw holes under the current bridge plate. You should be able to find one. The pickups are NOT humbuckers. I've worked on many guitars and basses that have these pickups. They have only one coil under the cover. Look at the back: only one set of screw holes is filled. That's how you tell. The spare wire is a cover ground. It is great that your son wants to know how it works. I still have my first electric guitar my parents purchased for me in 1975. Over the years, I have rewired it in all ways, changed the bridge and tail piece, added a 22nd fret, changed the bar for string trees at the headstock, had the first few frets replaced when they wore out, and next week it gets new pickups. I still play it out occasionally. Here's probably what it looked similar to new: