Dr M

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1351177140' post='1848286'] Hmmmm... I didn't realise that. Hardboard?!?! You make a fair point about their price too. [/quote] Yup. Don't get me wrong, I think they're quite fun in terms of quirky looks and novelty value. They're also apparently pretty well made. I just don't think 'quirkiness' is enough to justify that price tag when you look at what else is available. There's some more info here: [url="http://www.jhs.co.uk/danelectroguitars.html"]http://www.jhs.co.uk/danelectroguitars.html[/url]

Wow, the price of Danos is starting to seem a little mad. Am I still correct in thinking they're essentially made out of plywood and hardboard? The skinny headstocks, feeble tuners and low quality woods seem a joke when they're more expensive that the Squier VM & CV ranges...

[quote name='paul torch' timestamp='1351072713' post='1846855'] A couple of companies that work for have been using 3D printers for a while. They are mainly used for prototypes for client presentation and require a certain amount of touching up after they have come out of the "printer". It's worth mentioning that it looks as though only the bodies of the guitars are made on a 3D printer. Not much different a concept to just using different materials. [/quote] Yeah, the manufacturers describe them as having a solid wood block down the centre of the body and a Warmoth neck, so really it is only the wings that are 3D printed. Still a nice idea, I think.

[url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20047744"]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20047744[/url] [url="http://www.odd.org.nz/guitars.html"]http://www.odd.org.nz/guitars.html[/url] Love the concept, not too keen on the execution. Or the price tag, for that matter!

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1351008445' post='1846155'] You'll need a medicine called Placebo. Get some help in the Off Topic forum. Got my coat. [/quote] Nah, a healthy dose of Man Up is a lot more effective. But you have my every sympathy. My left thumb lost an argument with a kitchen knife on Sunday night. Made practice last night quite interesting!

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1350909724' post='1844884'] I've been saying this for years. I bet they would just throw on a standard P pickup though. [/quote] The Squire CV 50s P has the classic non-split single coil, single-ply scratchplate, chrome control plate and tele headstock. I think it might have a contoured body though. Still, a lot closer than many without the custom-shop pricetag!

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1350897858' post='1844679'] This is the thing, if a musician finds an instrument that clicks with them like no other has, it doesn`t matter what the brand is. To be honest, I`ve not yet played a Squier that I`ve not considered to be very good indeed. The CV Precision Ihad was great, but as both of my bands favour white instruments only, it had to go. [b]if they made one in white though, I`d get another like a shot.[/b] [/quote] How about this? [url="http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/vintage-modified-precision-bass"]http://www.fender.com/en-GB/products/vintage-modified-precision-bass[/url] Ok, it's VM, not CV, but by all accounts a very good bass!

Thanks for all the advice. Looks like this might be a bit of a no-go - all the soapbars I've found / you've suggested seem to be either a couple of mm too wide, or a couple of mm too long, and I'm not really looking to re-route that space. Would have been an interesting experiment, though.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1350594603' post='1841150'] Just that soapbars in Jazzes is a bad idea... [/quote] Ok, I wasn't necessarily thinking specifically a soapbar, that was just the first thing that came to mind. I'm not sure if there is a term for the 'like a MM humbucker but narrower' pickups - Squier VM jaguar humbucker, for example. Although, out of interest, is there any particular reason soapbars on a Jazz are a bad idea?

I've got a Squier Jazz bass (the old Standard Series) and I just had a peek under the scratchplate (as you do). The route for the middle pickup is about 35mm by 98mm. This seems like a bit of a cut corner for the pickup that's sitting in that route, but it did get me wondering if there might be a soapbar that could be squeezed in there instead. Anyone know of anything that sort of size? Or is this just an idiotic idea?

It's also worth noting that for earlier Iron Maiden stuff, the guitarists tended to be pictured toting Les Pauls and Explorers / Ibby Destroyers / whatever Jackson call that shape in fairly eye-scalding colours (along with matching spandex!)

I bought a second-hand Ibby a few months back - from the serial number, I think it was made in '06. It [i]still[/i] has the protective film on the cover for the control route! Of course, that might have something to do with the Ibby QC sticker being on top of the film, but still...

Just as the design of brass and woodwind instruments have been unchanged for some time, I think there's always going to be a place for the fundamental technologies in electric guitars and basses. Magnetic pickups are a beautifully simple and cheap solution. Of course, manufacturing methods, materials, etc. might move on, (just as they have done for 'classical' instruments) but I don't think there's any reason to expect magnetic pickups to be superseded any time in the near future. On the other hand, with wood stocks going the way they are, I wonder if we are going to see more unusual construction methods and synthetic materials involved. A guitar or bass built around organic composites would certainly be interesting. [quote name='BassPimp66' timestamp='1350128240' post='1834855'] I was thinking along the lines off dropping the good 1/4 inch jack for instruments with usb/HDMI or whatever, that can connect/send HD sounds on whatever platform. How many thousand of years do we need to use 1/4 inch jack? [/quote] Actually, from a technology point of view, the 1/4" jack is superior to HDMI and USB if all you want to do is transmit audio. 1/4" jack (and associated cables) carry an analogue signal - they pass (more or less) exactly the signal the pickups receive to whatever's next in the signal chain. HDMI and USB are both digital technologies. You'll need an analogue to digital converter between the pickups and the cable. A to D [i]always[/i] loses some information (but it is possible to make those losses so small that they can't be noticed by our senses.) Essentially, unless there's something else you want to do with the system (such as in the Variax or the Firebird X) moving away from 1/4" jack would be more difficult and expensive for inferior results.

"[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Now Gibson USA blends its knack for innovation..."[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]I have to be honest, that had me chuckling.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]Not entirely sure what to make of this. The body kinda reminds me of an Ibby ATK with the backwards sloping rear end (but that might just be this angle), the tort plate is very unlike Gibson, and to my eyes, the square headstock clashes with the smooth contours of the body.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]At least it hasn't got the 3-pin bridge![/size][/font][/color]

27 and 25. Actually pretty pleased with that - I've always thought my 'ear' was a little bit on the dodgy side!

I just picked up a Pathfinder 10B second-hand for £30 for the same reason you're looking at one - I wanted a cheap, light combo to use for acoustic jams. They're not bad little amps. I wouldn't say the tone is anything to write home about, but you do get a surprisingly good bass response from the 2x 5" speakers. Even an open E has a decent amount of volume. To be honest, the overdrive sounds pretty poor when cranked, although you can get just a little bit of bite out of it, and to my ears the bright switch is horrible. But the basic tone is certainly usable with more than enough volume to keep up with acoustic practices. It's also light as a feather.

[quote name='Schnozzalee' timestamp='1349618884' post='1828326'] '88 Seems like a terrible year too [/quote] Another '88 here. This is what a quick search brings up for an '88 Jazz: [url="http://www.normansrareguitars.com/fender-1988-power-jazz-bass.html"]http://www.normansrareguitars.com/fender-1988-power-jazz-bass.html[/url] So, yes - terrible year pretty much covers it. Although, there might be a few nice options from Ibanez (if you can get past the day-glo colours that seemed to be all the rage at the time) or Warwick.

[color=#333333][font=Arial, Helmet, Freesans, sans-serif][b]"Venues with a capacity of under 200 people will no longer need a licence for live amplified music."[/b][/font][/color] [url="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19783855"]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19783855[/url] Good news, I hope!

If you're set on a t-bird, but you're not too keen on those 3-point bridges (I don't blame you, I'm not) another option to consider is the Epiphone Thunderbird Pro-IV (or Pro-V, if you like.) Classic t-bird design, but with updated features. Of course, they have Epiphone on the headstock, but I know quite a few people seem to swear by them.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1348764911' post='1817922'] A lot of people get this the wrong way round. The noise stops when you touch the strings because the bass is grounding you, not because you are grounding the bass. The human body is like a big antenna, so by being in close proximity to the electronics of your bass you induce a lot of noise. When you touch the strings you ground yourself and the noise disappears. Humans aren't normally grounded- that's why you occasionally get static shocks and have to wear those ESD bracelets when working on delicate electronics. [/quote] Really? I thought the majority of static shocks were due to you coming into contact with a charged surface, and that surface discharging through you to ground. I understand you can become charged (the anti-static wrist-band thing, but it's also perfectly possible for the human body to act as a very large current sink - essentially, that's all that an electrical earth is.

I believe this is related to the way electric guitars and basses are earthed - essentially, you [i]are[/i] the earth. If you look at wiring diagrams, you'll see an earth wire going from p-ups to pots, usually to the bridge. This means that the earth is only actually having an effect (ie. cutting out that 50Hz hum) when you're touching the strings.

[quote name='risingson' timestamp='1348575067' post='1815355'] It was Stuart Zender originally until his parts got scrapped and replaced with synth bass. [/quote] Ah, so the sound on the record is actually a synth? Been a while since I've listened to it, but in that case I'm impressed by whoever played that synth. Not easy to imitate hammer-ons and slides on a keyboard.

Two I've always loved: The bass riff in Deeper Underground by Jamiroquai. (Unfortunately, I've no idea who the bassist is!) Marco Hietala's (of Nightwish) tone.

[url="http://www.voxamps.com/uk/pedals/stomplab/?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=2012NewProducts"]http://www.voxamps.com/uk/pedals/stomplab/?utm_source=homepage&utm_medium=banner&utm_campaign=2012NewProducts[/url] Vox Stomplab IB / IIB - £50 / £70 respectively from DV247. Looks like a fairly neat little unit. Possible competitor to the smaller Zoom pedals, but it's difficult to say whether that's a plastic or a metal chassis. The manual is available on Vox's website, though true to form, it's not exactly rich with detail. It's a nice touch that pretty much any parameter can be assigned to the expression pedal, however.

I've always thought it's much the same as all the Precision, Jazz, etc. copies out there - both cheap and really, really, not. You're talking about something that is designed to look, feel and sound the same as a very famous piece of kit, but it caters for a different market. I think most manufacturer treat it with a bit of a 'sincerest form of flattery' attitude - provided you're not trying to pass it off as one of their actual products. (of course, there are some exceptions - Ricken[size=4][font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]@#£$er in particular.)[/color][/font][/size] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]To be honest, with amp models particularly, I can't be the only one who finds one I really like, and thinks 'some day, when money rains from the sky into my pockets, I'm gonna buy a [i]real[/i] one of these'.[/font][/color]