Jean-Luc Pickguard

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Electro-Acoustic-Bass-Guitar-3-Equalizer-Active-Pickup_W0QQitemZ140177224171QQihZ004QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Electro-Acoustic-Bas...1QQcmdZViewItem[/url]

Quite a nice looking copy of a washburn electro acoustic with a ply top, but its listed as having "3 equalizer controls including; [b]Terrible[/b], Midd, and Bass"

I'm sure I've done a few gigs with the "Terrible" control full on

Don't forget to slacken off the strings a bit before raising the height and check that when you retune it doesn't pull the bridge out of perependicular towards the floor.

[quote name='dr.funk' post='90352' date='Nov 18 2007, 05:05 PM']I'm not sure if it supports multiple devices, if it doesn't it might be worth looking at a utility called ASIO for all (maybe 4 all?) which should do just that![/quote]
You only need that if the devices you're using do not have asio drivers.

Is that the original pickup? I recall the rail having a covered pickup. (but my memory could be faulty)

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='89846' date='Nov 17 2007, 12:34 PM']I'm not so worried about the reflection on the neck that Chris refers to but shouldn't the fingerboard have weathered and aged the same colour as the headstock?
Wonder what his reserve is?[/quote]
Nope - Because the finish goes over the decal, during that period they used Nitro laquer just on the front of the headstock which tends to yellow with age.

[quote name='Sibob' post='89983' date='Nov 17 2007, 07:06 PM']You're playing a lot of Primus covers at gigs to necessitate a trem unit huh?!

With regards to "pitch shift on sustained notes", i find that adding vibrato with my fingers adds enough interest without needing to cut massive holes in my bass! lol

Si[/quote]
Or sliding a note on a fretless

[quote name='NancyJohnson' post='89982' date='Nov 17 2007, 07:03 PM']Have a looksie at this link: [url="http://www.gibson.com/robotguitar/index.html"]Gibson Les Paul 'Robot' Guitar[/url].
Soon to be appearing on a bass or are guitarists just too anal?

P[/quote]
The latter I hope

[quote name='Buzz' post='89974' date='Nov 17 2007, 06:42 PM']Hnmm, if it doesn't go up by too much, could be an excellent buy.

I'm presuming that's a refinish (kinda) rather than just a loose cover, so if you could get it for 4-500 for a Stingray, factor in a professional refinish, and you'll probably be quids in.[/quote]

Nah its definitely "something" sewn on - look at the stitches around the edge and you can see the outline of the neckplate & screw under the cover. I bet its glued on as well.

Cowboys on acid shouldn't be allowed near basses. Oh well at least its only an EBMM.

It should work with more than one interface.

I'd email ashdown to see if thay'd sell you a suitable sleeve mount it in to turn it into a head.

Howeverfor a potentially cheaper solution it should fit into something like this:

[url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=30611&&source=14&doy=17m11"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?Module...4&doy=17m11[/url]

It will need a bit of modification You'd need to drill some holes on the top where the screws are in the top of the combo and maybe block off some space at the sides.

If you decide to try this it might be a good idea to either:

Take the removed amp into the shop to check it'll fit
or
confirm that you can take the case back for a refund if it looks lke it won't work.

[quote name='s_u_y_*' post='89789' date='Nov 17 2007, 10:32 AM']Oh... I can never do that! Frankly, it looks like I've got a phallus sprouting from the top of my head! (Sorry, had to avoid the profanity filters. )[/quote]

I was walking home from a jam night with my bass gigbag on my back and a bunch of lads approached me because they thought I was some kind of nutter wearing an Elvis quiff wig. When they realised I had a heavy lump of wood instead they decided against taking the p155.

Jap 70s RI Jazz - PROS: Looks cool CONS: No idea, not actually got to look at one closely, such is the availability in the UK; possibly price (i'll come onto that)
Highway 1 - PROS: seem to be well made; secondhand price is good; not too many out; nitro looks cool; badass CONS: No S1 (i'll come onto that as well), rosewood boards only (I think); Nitro - could possibly start to look battered quickly.
Amercian Series S1 PROS: S1 switch which actually makes a difference to the tone (compared to a precision) and I WOULD use it if I had it; comes with a hard case; second hand prices actually not bad; should be plenty to choose from; maple boards available. CONS: Can't really think of any right now - new ones are expensive (comparitvely) I suppose

Well,It looks like you're set on geting a new one - If so the Japanese ones are very well made and you can get an upgraded model with usa pickups.

I have a highway 1 jazz (original 2003 version) to which i've added a badass, kent armstrong lipstick pickups etc. The thin finish is cool and the accelerated wear pattern is personal to how you play it, but it doesn't wear overnight - I've used mine as my main gigging bass for four years and apart from a few dents its picked up through carelessness (I do try to be careful though) the only playing wear its picked up is a small patch of finish worn off over the bridge pickup where I sometimes anchor my thumb.

The S1 switch is just a series/parallel switch it is probably a £20/£30 job to get a mini toggle that does exactly the same thing fitted by a luthier/tech or you could fit one yourself if you feel up to it for a few quid and under an hour.

I'm thinking of putting a wizard thumper in one of my Precisions,but I don't have one yet, so I can't comment.
As for the pickguard a genuine fender tort will look best I reckon. Cheaper torts may look a bit, well, cheap.

Journalists make up such a load of s**t sometimes when they're writing about a subject they know nothing about:
[quote]A guitar has been made which tunes itself - but does this mean that roadies, or guitar techs as they're now called, could be out of a job?[/quote]
Yes roadies are all guitar techs and all they do is tune guitars as its too difficult for the guitarist to tune for himself. Perhaps the writer thinks that roadies are like the stereotypical 90 year old blind gentlemen that tune pianos for a living.

This one made me laugh
[quote]Professionals have guitar techs and as many as 80 guitars on stage to combat that, but the average person doesn't have that.[/quote]
Yes a lot of guitarists change guitar at least three times a song.

Self tuning guitar or bass - no point if you use standard tuning. Get an SOS tuner for £15 and tune accurately in seconds.

[quote name='charic' post='88967' date='Nov 15 2007, 02:57 PM']1/4lbs all the way [/quote]

Seeing as an ancient thread has been dug up, I'll add that the Wizard Thumper pickups seem to be very well regarded as well.
[url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass[/url]

I prefer the more mellow sound of a rosewood board with a P, but I have a US P with maple a MIJ P with maple and a "frankenstein" fretless with ebony. My Maple necked P is very bright even with TI flats, but that could just as equally be due to the heavy ash body and original 80s pickup. I'm thinking of putting a Wizard thumper in to warm up the tone a bit.

Because of the finish applied to maple it is a more expensive job to get a refret on a maple board - not that this would worry you on a new bass of course.

[quote name='Exile252' post='88199' date='Nov 14 2007, 12:58 AM']I'm not sure what the differences are between the two. But I use LE in college, and it isn't my fave choice for recording program. LE is very very bland, and has absolutely nothing fancy, it's there to record and thats what it does.[/quote]
There are loads of free vst fx available to make less bland. For example the [url="http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com"]Kjaerhus[/url] classic series free plugins are a worthwhile addition for a very good quality set of basic fx.

[quote name='bremen' post='88463' date='Nov 14 2007, 03:36 PM']Was it this one? [url="http://www.gizmag.com/go/4951/"]http://www.gizmag.com/go/4951/[/url][/quote]
Nope

That looks like an overpriced solution looking for a problem if ever I saw one.

The first line of that article shows that the writer doesn't know what he's going on about:
[quote]"For most people, tuning a guitar takes three to five minutes"[/quote]

I can imagine the ribbing I'd give the guitarists in my band if they took several minutes to get in tune. Tuning a 5 string bass using a planet waves SOS tuner takes about 15 seconds.

[quote name='King Tut' post='88255' date='Nov 14 2007, 09:32 AM']OK peeps - I keep reading on here about how awful the original strings are on NS EUB's.[/quote]
Really? First I've heard about it - is it the strings on the Czech CR series or the Chinese Wav basses that are s'posed to be awful? I'm quite happy with the original D'Addario-made NS strings on my NS CR-5M.

String choice depends whether you have piezo-only or the additional EMG magnetic pickups. If your bass is piezo only it might be fun to try the cheap "weedwacker" strings from this chap:
[url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fantastic-Musical-Instruments"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fantastic-Musical-Instruments[/url]

[quote name='Alien' post='87826' date='Nov 13 2007, 12:36 PM']One of my basses has a switch on it that's not wired to anything (never got round to it), but most people believe they can hear a difference when I flick it to a different position!

Andy[/quote]
Ah yes - A "producer" Switch

I've just finished mixing & premastering the tracks for the new obviously 5 believers album (featuring not only a couple of my fenders and Ned Steinberger CR5M upright, but also my Ashbory). We're going to use mediasourcing for the manufacturing and they will make the glass master using the data on the master CD exactly as supplied.

When I burn audio CDs I get the option to include text info so the track titles etc are shown on the display of the CD player. I don't recall ever seeing a commercial CD that uses CD text - I guess older players might have a problem with text perhaps, so should I burn the master without text?

Any opinions on this or any tips for supplying a master for pressed CDs?

I'm sure someone somewhere will want it - its just they're probably locked up somewhere at the moment.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='86683' date='Nov 10 2007, 10:27 PM']It would be great if a manufacturer wanted to release a ltd. ed. Basschat version of a UK bass though... ...or amplifier for that matter.[/quote]
Many manufacturers would probably be up for that as long as there's a minimum order of 30. Lakland certainly need to place an order of at least 30 with Cort to get them made in Korea. Cort also made Korean G&L tributes, Fenders, ibanez, schecter and others.

For a basschat limited edition something not too costly made in europe might be cool like a Czech made Bach [url="http://www.bachmusik.com"]www.bachmusik.com[/url] who also do low quantity custom runs of instruments.

There's one advertised on gumtree at the mo:
[url="http://www.gumtree.com/london/41/15828541.html"][url="http://www.gumtree.com/london/41/15828541.html"]http://www.gumtree.com/london/41/15828541.html[/url][/url]

+1 for the neoprene strap. My '81 precision feels like it is made of concrete and was pretty much unplayable for anything longer than 30 mins until I got a neoprene strap. I have a couple of comfort straps and a couple of fender branded neotech ones - They really do seem to help with heavy basses. Failing that you can spread the load with a leather strap at least 3" wide, but the noprene will be more comfy.