PlungerModerno

Exquisite!

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1431331381' post='2769943'] Blimey! I'm scared now, like if I screw this up it could put a wrinkle in the space-time continuum! [/quote] I wouldn't be - put some masking tape on the headstock and fretboard - then the worst you can do is spoil the nut! Just do it in small increments, watch a bunch of vids of it being done to get a good idea of what it should look like, and like I said - find something of an appropriate thickness to avoid filing/sanding the slot too deep. Top tip - use strong lighting to ensure excellent visibility. As nuts tend to be made of black or white materials I find a magnifying glass makes seeing the shape of the nut slot easier.

It's definitely a "sit down to play" design, what with the strap button being close to the 24th fret.

I'm with the people saying to work within your circumstances. If the 78 is too heavy for regular use - I'd shift it, unless there's a very good reason not to. I think the tone thing might sway me if it was being used for recording fairly regularly. But otherwise I'd try to have a pickup & electronic wizard copy the exact hardware of the bass - and try to make a much lighter version of the bass. A good custom pickup & wiring loom might get the 2010 P on the same level soundwise as the 78.

[i]"Personally I believe that the only way to create sound samples for comparison is to upload completely dry samples digitised direct from the bass[/i]" +1 It's a pet peeve of mine when people demo instruments with amps & cabs and even with effects - leaving the listener with little clue as to the raw sound of the bass. Using a limiter will give you the clean, un-clipped recording you need without resorting to heavy compression. P.S. I picked up one of these a while back - [url="http://www.thomann.de/ie/carl_martin_classic_opto_compressor.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/ie/carl_martin_classic_opto_compressor.htm[/url] Works just fine - but, [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/reviews/cmclassic.shtml"]as this review tells[/url], it's not as flexible as some other compressors. I'd recommend it.

It looks like there's some sort of slot cut in the headstock of the replacement neck - in the usual truss rod adjustment location. I think that might be the answer to your question tauzero. I could be way off of course. The heel of the replacement neck is fairly odd so I feel all bets are off as far as specific design features.

+1 to the suggestions above - the choice of drivers is all about their efficiency at turning Watts in into sound energy out, and at what frequencies they can do that job. The speaker area is only part of it. Everything from port design, internal cab volume, driver excursion & frequency response are all vitally important at different frequencies. A great full range driver may make a mediocre sub-woofer and a great sub driver will likely do poorly at anything else. To get an increase in output volume from the cab (from the same energy in) requires increasing it's efficiency. This can be done by replacing the driver with a similar driver that's more efficient or another arrangement of drivers that overall is more efficient. Depending on the specific details this may be challenging. A more achievable goal from my understanding of the situation at hand is to seek increased power handling. Increase the efficiency somewhat and increase the power handling by quite a lot (for example, replace a 250W RMS 15" driver with 3 200W RMS 12" drivers) and you should be on the train to loudersville. Only thing is, you need a surprising jump in actual sound energy to get a noticeable increase in volume. I can't explain fully it in simple terms but my understanding is that to get a doubling of perceived volume you need to put 10 times the sound energy out. Here's a link that could be useful: [url="http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-levelchange.htm"]http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-levelchange.htm[/url]

Yay! It's always nice when things line up without much work (making custom spacers, shims and the like). Enjoy the bass!

I think the emery will work just fine. I've used a string wrapped in sandpaper, needle files, and just sandpaper rolled up upon itself - all worked OK. Best for accuracy and speed is a small rat tailed needle file - but it's only suitable down to the A string (75 or 80 thousandths of an inch). I picked up one of these, and while they take a long time to remove material, they are the right shape: [url="http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Gas-Welding-Tip-Nozzle-Cleaner-Set-Mig-Torch-Cutting-Metal-Box-/271735018109?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f44ab527d"]http://www.ebay.ie/itm/Gas-Welding-Tip-Nozzle-Cleaner-Set-Mig-Torch-Cutting-Metal-Box-/271735018109?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3f44ab527d[/url] Go slow and it'll work out. I Use a 0.5 mm pick to estimate the nut action - if there's a significant gap (well over 0.5 mm) between the string and the first fret - you'll probably find fretting difficult, and have intonation problems. Well below 0.5 mm and you'll probably get into buzzing territory. P.S. I just had a search around - turns out there are all sorts of suggested values for nut action - I know I prefer less than half a mm - but your mileage may vary.

Volume fully open on passive instruments, depends on the output of active ones. I know for passive basses rolling off the volume often changes the tone - but this can be offset: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDEaxvl-Joc"]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LDEaxvl-Joc[/url] Haven't used a capacitor for this - I've just used the volume up full and the tone for tone.

Interesting design - pity it doesn't have a matching headstock. Needs to be pointier and colour matched - or at least black like many gibson style headstocks.

After some quick searching it seems this isn't a fair comparison - the Thunderbird Pro is an active bass : [url="http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-Pro-IV.aspx"]http://www.epiphone.com/Products/Bass/Thunderbird-Pro-IV.aspx[/url] while many of the others, including the Gibson, are passive instruments. As has been mentioned however, the devil is in the details - the recordings aren't consistent enough in EQ and compression to make a fair comparison by my understanding anyway.

Agreed - it's no accident it's turned out as neat and consistent as it has. Careful preparation, suitable materials, and proper technique is the only way to stack the odds in the builders favour. If it's thrown together it may work - but most of the time it'll look thrown together.

As has been suggested, you have some options as to how to get a shim in the correct location . . . I used a drop of superglue and a sharp knife to shape shim material (card and wood veneer), with reasonable success. Of course a nail, drill or other tool will make the required hole. Depending on the material the screw will go right through without noticing - obviously not possible with a thicker shim or one made with a super tough material! Depending on the shim thickness and the shape of the neck pocket - the amount of area the shim should cover can be fine tuned to produce a stable fit. I find sanding the shim to a wedge shape makes for the best fit!

Well as long as it's safe (I'm talking electrically) and can be returned to stock (I assume you'll be keeping original components with it) it should be an interesting, and hopefully successful project. I agree a crossover is an expensive idea, probably more suited to deeper cabs with more internal volume (and used with serious excursion sub drivers) for the massive power handling the 2 and 3 way designs are known for allowing. You should still be able to get a pretty noticeable increase in volume by adding more speaker area, provided the drivers are of greater or equal efficiency!

[quote name='DarkHeart' timestamp='1431207692' post='2768875'] Maybe i got a crap one, the blend control was scratchy both ways as was the volume control and there was a noticable drop in overall volume, its not like i cant wield a soldering iron. [/quote] Sounds a little off alright. I'd try checking continuity with a meter to know for certain it's not the joints. Then I'd try to get a replacement unit - or a refund. If postage is a lot (depending on where you got it from) this may not be a sensible option.

[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1431192347' post='2768695'] Thank you for those links, very helpful, is it safe to assume that if shimming the headstock end of the neck pocket, the shim would go under the "top" screws [/quote] Yes, If by the "top" screws you mean the screws nearest the headstock. If you put the shim in the wrong end it will make the alignment even worse, so I doubt it'll be a problem for long!

Looking very nice - when it's carved & shaped it's always inclined to show off and exaggerate any flaws in the wood or gaps in the glue - from those pics it looks very clean and solid.

Have you considered a 3 or 2 way split? It could be cost prohibitive, depending on the crossover and drivers used, but it could provide the huge power handling boost you're looking for. Here are some plans for that kind of thing: [url="http://greenboy.us/fEARful/"]http://greenboy.us/fEARful/[/url] Of course the problem with this is you've already got 5 sides of the cab completed.

Anything is probably better than nothing - but I wouldn't use olive oil! I'd go with anything used to finish gunstocks or kinfe handles - here's a fun vid I watched recently that helped visualize some of the properties of a few oil finishes: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDiN9TCZkHk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDiN9TCZkHk[/url]

I'd suggest a careful dissassembly - followed by checking the seating of the bridge - and how the neck sits in the neck pocket. When screwed tightly onto the body the top of the frets / fingerboard should line up with the top of the saddles at their lowest adjustment - give or take a mm or three! If things still aren't working out - try adding a thin shim at the headstock end of the neck pocket to tilt the neck "forward" or towards the front side of the instrument. This should angle the neck to better line up lower on the bridge with the bridge - allowing plenty of adjustability in the saddles. When I say thin - I mean 1 mm or less, you can add more if needed but you usually won't need to. Here's a thread to read: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/49897-how-to-shim-a-neck/page__hl__shim"]http://basschat.co.u.../page__hl__shim[/url] Hope it helps. P.S. that thread has good pics of the opposite problems (bridge saddles not adjusting low enough). EDIT: Oh! I saw this a long time ago and found it interesting reading, for your consideration, may I present: [url="http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/19686-guitar-shop-101-how-to-shim-a-bolt-on-neck"]http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/19686-guitar-shop-101-how-to-shim-a-bolt-on-neck[/url]

I'd tend to concur that a 2 pickup bass will generally cover the tones of two single pickup basses - e.g. a PJ can sound like a P, or a bridge pickup J, or a mix. It'll all depend on the particular electronics - If the pickups are passive and wired in series or parallel without buffering (like each pickup sent to a DI separately, or sent to a buffered pedal) - I'm sure I read somewhere that they load each other depending on the volume / tone settings. I know I can hear volume and tone changes when I do so - or I think I can. I think the advantages of a single pickup are pretty clear: cheaper, simpler to use, and less to go wrong.

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1431175033' post='2768496'] Dear god I hate unboxing videos. I mean what, literally, is the point? [/quote] +1 - I don't mind people making them, as long as they put unboxing in the title. If you call it a demo - don't talk for 2 minutes, unbox for 3, and play for 1 - 40+ seconds of which is slap! If you make a video you can do what you like. I think youtube is as good as the videos on it - OK at the best of times, as audio quality is usually less than reliable.

[quote name='tom1946' timestamp='1431165915' post='2768389'] Anybody got one of these bad boys? Is it light? [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Fender-Starcaster-Bass-Maple-Neck-Aged-Cherry-Burst/V91"]http://www.gear4musi...herry-Burst/V91[/url] [/quote] Not sure - I don't have one - but it sounds nice: [url="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6qtQCC1w9c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6qtQCC1w9c[/url] For the OP, the CS bass reminds me of one of these: I had one of those - A Modern Player Telecaster Bass - Not bad but a little heavy.

+1 to dropping Nordstrand a line - They may replace or repair the pickup in question (either for free or for parts cost) - or at least give you a decent rate.