Musky

Holy sh*te. I'm gutted as well, and for some strange reason a little shocked...

Paul Simonen Paul Gray Glen Matlock I'm showing my age now

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='371501' date='Jan 5 2009, 10:50 PM']I think the Rickenbacker musical empire is safe from my garage-based whittlings! Hell, the name's not even the same.[/quote] The name on the headstock has never been a problem for John Hall - he's trademarked all the Ricks distinctive features. However the clue to his legal rights lie in the name - TRADEmark. And of course you're creating this as a gift, so there's no trade involved One small point if you're looking for authenticity though - the pickguard should approach the edge much closer by the jack socket.

You'd probably be Ok. I'd expect the Mag to knock out about 380W into 8 ohms as the half the impedance/twice the power thing tends to more theoretical than any relation to real life. You're more likely to run into difficulties if you use compression or distortion, but if you use your ears for any worrying noises you should be ok.

[quote name='bumnote' post='371228' date='Jan 5 2009, 06:29 PM']Im sure there will be some experts with some figures along soon, but Im not convinced that you will hear a huge difference in volume between 200w into 8 ohms, or 300 into 4. I think you will find more difference if you have 2 cabinets or more sensitive speakers.[/quote] +1 Wattage is a pretty bad way of working out volume. The 200 or so watts the Ashdown will knock out at 8 ohms will scarcely be any louder than the 300w it will put out at 4 ohms. If you double the amount of drivers you'll get a 3dB increase in volume - the same as you'll get by doubling the the wattage. If you want more volume the cheapest option is probably to look for more efficient speakers or just get more speakers to push more air.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='370688' date='Jan 5 2009, 10:29 AM']Does that mean there is a potential then for overloading both cabs at high vols or is the 200/250W continuous power rating with ability to handle transient peaks much higher?[/quote] The thermal rating of both cabs is 450W (250W + 200W) RMS, though they'll be able to handle more on peaks. Whether the speakers can mechanically handle the output in the low end is a different matter though.

[quote]This looks interesting. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/gibson-bass-guitar-1...A1%7C240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/gibson-bass-guitar-1...A1%7C240%3A1318[/url] Is it me - Seems a bit strange to start a vintage instrument at such a low price? A[/quote] 99p starts aren't that unusual on high value items. It gets a lot of people watching the auction and you can be pretty sure that it'll get bid up to the right ball park figure. Especially if they use another account to shill bid to their minimum! [quote post='370021' date='Jan 4 2009, 04:04 PM']I sold one of these in the early 80's for £120.......![/quote] I could double that if you've got any more.

[quote name='cjbassguy' post='369729' date='Jan 4 2009, 05:05 AM']yes, im not lying at all. maybe something on the bass like the bridge or neck or something is breaking the core, this is just getting rediculous[/quote] If the core was breaking you'd know all about it. The core holds the tension on the string - when it breaks the outer winding unravels around the break and the string goes totally loose and completely unplayable in any way whatsoever. Or am I misunderstanding what's going on and that is the problem?

Tricky one. You've pretty much ruled out all the likely causes so I'd hazard a guess that the problem is one of perception. The piano like zing on new SS strings doesn't last very long before it goes. As Delberthot says nickel strings don't have as much zing when new and the same is true of boiled strings, so your starting point is less bright. If you really like that as new zing to the strings you're just going to get used to splashing out regularly. An alternative might be to try the piano string design Rotosound do, which are incredibly zingy. I used to use them and found they were almost too zingy when new, but they settled down to something more like other new strings with a bit of use. They still die eventually of course, but I found I got more useable life out of them. Not easy to find, but maybe others could suggest other naturally bright strings.

That's a slightly bizarre move by MM. No Subs and no licensed copies - I wonder what the thinking behind that is? It's not like there aren't other copies about.

What a fantastic job! That really does look lovely and for less than the cost of Jap (or even Korean) 'faker. What changes are you considering for a second build?

I've made a few notes of some of the names I've seen stamped on Fenders on Ebay. Hardly exhaustive but the ones I've noted so far: Stamp - J. TORRES (neck) Stamp - G. GARCIA (neck) Inspection sticker - ? HERNANDEZ (Neck) Stamp - HERB_G (Neck) (1976) Stamp - J Amozquito (?) (Neck) (1983) Stamp - T. CHAMBERS (1969) (1971) Stamp - CAMPBELL (1973) Stamp - R. BUSH (1974) Stamp - SAGE (1975)

It's only just occurred to me that all the bargains we were expecting on ebay might not actually materialise if the pound continues to fall - we'll be facing quite stiff competition from Europe.

The Pound has fallen about 25% against the Euro in the last 3 months. That's quite a decent discount if you live in the Eurozone - £375 off a £1500 bass.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='366233' date='Dec 30 2008, 02:07 PM']I shall shortly be launching my new range of Del Var "Road Worn" strings for '2009: * Vintage 50's Saddle Kink at bridge end * String wrap infused with "Golden Age" iron oxide rust and pre-applied dried flesh * Intonation "Stretched-Out" to get that late-period Jamerson sound * Sprayed with choice of 3 "Roadhouse" scents: 'Stale Beer', '100 Smokey Bars' and 'Truck Stop Hooker' * One string in each pack pre-snapped for that genuine 'Dang it, Ah'm such a hot picker, Ah just done broke mah string' look Available in all popular gauges. See us on our stand at NAMM [i](Disclaimer: "Road-Worn" Authenticity applies only inside purchaser's mind. May not function in real world. May generate scornful comment. Your statutory right to be gulled is not infringed) [/i][/quote] Wow, my ideal strings. Are you going to be producing a 60's version using roundwounds and the scent of Jazz cigarettes?

[quote name='project_c' post='365707' date='Dec 29 2008, 07:32 PM']nice one, good suggestions so far, didn't know about scar, it's just down the road from me, although it looks like they're in danger of getting shut down going by what it says on their site (http://www.scarstudios.com/home/). does anyone know much about transmission studios in camden? they have a small room for £8 an hr, although it looks like they're relocating. (http://tranzmissionstudios.co.uk)[/quote] Transmission shut some time ago, but it's been replaced by Junk Food studios.

Islington Arts Factory opposite Holloway prison(!) is decent enough and cheap. The two rooms are small (£9 and £10 p/h respectively with all the gear bar cymbals) but they seem to hire out a larger room upstairs now as well, though I haven't seen that. There's Bona Fide in Curtain Road as well.

[quote name='ritch' post='365520' date='Dec 29 2008, 03:22 PM']Is this a problem? Here's what Ampeg Support said when about my choice of second cabinet: [font="Courier New"][size=1] Hi Rich, The SVT 15E would be an excellent choice to add to this rig. Right now you're only putting out about 375 watts into that 8 ohm 410HE. Adding the 15 will bring your impedance down to 4 ohms and give you the full 450 watts out of the 3 PRO. You'll be getting about 450 watts into a 4 ohm load that is basically 500 + 200 watts. You should be fine! Hope this helps!!!! Feel free to hit me back here anytime! Best Regards, Dino Monoxelos. Global Ampeg Product Specialist. LOUD Technologies Inc. [email protected] [email protected] www.ampeg.com [/size][/font][/quote] It's not a problem if you like the sound - it's just that there have been several threads about the 'unpredictable' results of mixing speakers without a crossover. So it's something of an in joke around these parts. That email from Ampeg is slightly misleading though. Although the total power handling of the stack is 700w, the 450w the SVT3 knocks out will be split equally between the two cabs ie 225w each. So that's 25w above the thermal power handling to the 15". In practice that's unlikely to be a problem though.

[quote name='geoffbyrne' post='365333' date='Dec 29 2008, 10:10 AM']Big, full & gritty = DiMarzio Model J's in series. G.[/quote] +1 on that. I tried a Squier SQ Jazz fitted with DiMarzios and it sounded fantastic.

I couldn't possibly recommend number 1! Get out there and sort yourself another band. A few lessons, or even teaching yourself, never did anyone any harm either.

I've got to admit I've never heard of Avatar so I googled them. It looks like they don't have any UK distribution so you might struggle to find anyone who's used them this side to the pond. Are you based in the States?

[quote name='Zach' post='359944' date='Dec 20 2008, 10:42 PM']Well the good news is that my dads friend has agreed to let me use his workshop to make a cab. The bad news is that this is an awfully long thread, and I'm a lazy teenager. Is there a somewhat more abreviated version? I'm also in need of advice about what wood to use if that makes a difference. Please don't rinse me for being a lazy sod [/quote] Baltic birch ply seems to be the top choice - if you can find any.

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='360790' date='Dec 22 2008, 11:04 AM']I love tales like this-same thing happened to my brother-in-law when he wanted to buy a new Subaru Impreza-went to the dealership and basically got treated like dirt. So he went and bought one somewhere else, and took it back to show the salesman, who saw the error of his ways. From working in sales in the past, you can never tell who's got the money-the scruffiest little gits are frequently rolling in it. Somebody told me car salesmen are taught to look at your watch as a way of sizing up your financial status-so wear your diamond-encrusted gold Rolex when shopping for cars if you want to be taken seriously.[/quote] I wish I'd known that before - I was once introduced to a scruffy looking guy and the conversation somehow turned to the relative costs of servicing Ferrari's and Porsche's. So I asked him if he was a mechanic. Turns out he was a very high profile DJ.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='360391' date='Dec 21 2008, 06:40 PM']Reminds me of the place where I was shopping like a basta*d for a guitar with cash in my pocket but was instantly slagged off for mentioning I'd just bought an amp off e-bay. [snip][/quote] Really good points in that post, but I can't imagine that some of the worst offenders will ever change. I think they're too stuck in their ways. Surprised to hear that about Wunjo's though - I'd found them to be one of the better retailers about...