stoo

I'm not too keen on using pickups as thumb rests - it tends to distract me into just playing in one position, rather than moving my right hand to wherever sounds best. Tend to use the next string down as a rest unless I'm playing the lowest one, in which case I'll just drop the thumb somewhere nearby on the scratchplate and anchor off that.

Why not use a 3 position switch to give series / parallel / single coil for even more variety? [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=ssp"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wirin...p?schematic=ssp[/url] [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=musicman_3way"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wirin...c=musicman_3way[/url]

No mention of Tal Wilkenfeld yet?

I'm no expert by any means but the powered cabs I've seen have just been the PA equivalent of a combo - where the amp (and sometimes the mixer too) is built into the speaker cabinet. Essentially what you'll need is another power amp and a larger speaker cabinet. If you want a one-box solution, then you could do this with either a powered cab, or a larger bass combo (with a power amp in, or effects return in, or similar).... but then with a larger bass combo you would have the ability to run without the 110 - whereas the powered cab would most likely need to run off either the preamp out of your 110, or a separate DI box of some description. As to what would be best for your needs, then I guess that would depend on what sort of volume levels you need, what sort of music you play, and what sort of budget you're looking at.....

[quote name='JoeS' post='203966' date='May 21 2008, 11:01 PM']Yeah, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find a way round it. And talking of the fabled MM QC, I'm sure you wouldn't have any problems if you bought a used bass from a reputable store and had it shipped over here. Plus, you'd end up saving yourself even more money that way.[/quote] Hehe - I saved loads more than that by getting a MM32 instead Although I couldn't get on with the narrow string spacing on the 5er, and traded it for a fretless MIM jazz once I'd got a 4 string MM22 to replace it. StingRay GAS is no more for me.... well, not until I'm next in the states with a few spare dollars in my pocket, anyway

[quote name='JoeS' post='203844' date='May 21 2008, 07:23 PM']With regards to the bit in bold, yes you can get a brand new StingRay for the equivalent of about £700 in the US, but as far as I know you aren't allowed to import them brand new. By that I mean that you can't order one from somewhere like Bass Central and have it delivered to the UK, you actually have to go over there and buy one, then bring it back with you. Not positive, but I'm pretty sure that's the case.[/quote] Yeah - that may well be the case. Plenty of ways around that though - if you've got a friend living or on holiday in the states, you could get them to receive it and send it over. Or you might even be able to find a music store in the states who are willing to invent a name to put on the original sales order, and then send it on to you anyway. Doesn't alter the fact that sending a bass across the Atlantic isn't that expensive - even if you do it the official way and pay all due taxes etc. Dunno whether the official UK importer/distributor manage to add any significant value beyond bringing them into the country...? presumably the occasional warranty claim - but if EBMM's QC is as amazing as it's always suggested to be, I can't imagine that's much of a financial burden....

[quote name='dlloyd' post='203679' date='May 21 2008, 12:56 PM']It might be worth mentioning that the OLPs have been discontinued after EB/MM revoked their licence. I've played some decent OLPs that could be as good as a SUB with the addition of a decent pickup, preamp, tuners and setup... but by the time you've done all that you've spent almost as much as you would have done in buying a SUB without having the resale value that a SUB has (an upgraded OLP will still sell for around £150, tops).[/quote] But have you tried any of the HH OLPs? They come with an active preamp and 3EQ setup and bucketloads of fat sound. Can't see any problems with the tuners on mine either - they're way better than the ones on my MIM Jazz anyway - not that that's saying a great deal. Seems odd that EBMM decide not to renew the license/contract with OLP just as they start getting their act together - maybe they've decided to run their own asian budget range manufacturing plant rather than see a share of the profits from their designs go elsewhere...

[quote name='budget bassist' post='200658' date='May 16 2008, 07:16 PM']There's a sub on ebay now for £350 BIN, and where can you get a ray for £550????!!! And most rays i've seen on ebay haven't gone for under £700, there's the odd one that does but ya know. IMO i wouldn't pay more than £350 for a sub and £700 seems good for a ray... but that's just me. And to keep on topic, i'd go for the SUB personally, best of the bunch, but also more expensive, the VMJ is equally good for the price i reckon, as i'm trying to get my hands on one. I wouldn't bother with OLP personally unless it was the tony levin 5.[/quote] $700 seems good for a stingray.... I wouldn't have said £700 was much of a bargain. That £700 would get you a brand fire new one in the states, and there's no way that VAT, import duty and shipping should be doubling the price. It certainly didn't when I imported my OLP MM32 (which I only did because they weren't available in the UK when I got it). Fair enough if people want to pay £700 for a 2nd hand one, but it seems well over the odds to me.... And personally I would (and do!) have one of the HH OLPs over a SUB. Sure, the setup from the factory on the OLPs may not be as good as the SUBs, but they're cheap enough to budget for a setup in the cost - and you also get the HH, active, 3EQ setup which you don't with the SUB. Depends if you're more concerned about brand name on the headstock and resale value, or the sounds and versatility, I suppose.... but my OLP sounds the nuts. Now if only I could play it well enough to do it justice....

+1 to all the nice words above. Traded my OLP MM32 for his fretless MIM Jazz. Nice fella and ludicrously helpful. Hope ya enjoy yer new low B mate!

Can't fault my OLP MM22 for the money. Active, twin pup, 3EQ, plays nice, looks nice, stays in tune well, sounds fantastic. The only thing that shows it up as a budget bass, to my mind at least, is the cheap nut. Might look into putting a nicer one on there when restring time comes around. Apart from that, I don't think there's a thing on there that I'd want to change.

Surely the obvious solution is to drill the rack ears on the amp in the conventional place, so that the holes line up with the mounting holes on the rack? Drilling the rack and using self tappers strikes me as a bit of a bodge solution. There'd be a fair bit of force against the threads on the screws for a rack mounted amp, and so self tappers into a fairly thin sheet of ally or steel just aren't going to have enough meat to dig into to guarantee a solid, lasting, fixing. IMHO, anyway - and I've been bodging things for years.

If Salisbury's not too far to travel, I can recommend Nick Marchant - [url="http://www.guitarrepairsuk.com/"]http://www.guitarrepairsuk.com/[/url] Years ago I got a couple of 2nd hand guitars which he originally made and they are both lovely bits of kit. He's a sound fella, and has always been very sensible with his prices too.

[quote name='Jobiebass' post='193670' date='May 7 2008, 10:10 AM']mehh, given up on the slayer idea. Anyone know where I can get a black SP from with black screws for cheep????[/quote] I got some bits for my guitars here recently - [url="http://www.axesrus.com/axeplates.htm"]http://www.axesrus.com/axeplates.htm[/url] They do black screws and P-style scratchplates. Irritatingly though, scratchplate shapes and sizes are considerably less standard than you'd think. My "Telecaster" copy is a different enough size to make it completely incompatible with any Fender tele sized guards. Even genuine fender MIA/MIM/MIJ can differ between themselves, and for different years. It's quite possible you'll find the same with your bass.... Might be worth just buying a blank and cutting one yourself using your old one as a template, if you still have it.

Can't help but think it'd look wicked with a bit of chrome on there, but I can't seem to make it look right in photoshop. [attachment=8425:p_chrome.jpg]

[quote name='Jobiebass' post='192168' date='May 5 2008, 12:23 PM']Sorry I just noticed this post. I do really like the pot cover one. Not sure on the pup cover though, seams a bit square in a sea of curves.[/quote] Could always round off the top end though... [attachment=8412:p.jpg]

[quote name='geilerbass' post='190666' date='May 2 2008, 04:09 PM']That's something I've thought of... but I've no clue as to where to get a patch cable with a socket on one end - they only seem to come as plug to plug. Any ideas?[/quote] [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=1267&doy=2m5"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?Module...267&doy=2m5[/url] There's also a few more options on their site and some others on the [url="http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/searchBrowseAction.html?method=retrieveTfg&Ne=4294958147&Nr=AND%28avl%3auk%2csearchDiscon_uk%3aN%29&N=4294965429+4294954259+4294905240+4294895739&binCount=54&selectAttribute=Cable%20Mount#breadCrumb"]RS Electronics site[/url] A couple of minutes and a wee dab of solder and should all work fine....

[quote name='geilerbass' post='190421' date='May 2 2008, 12:31 PM']I've used one of these for several years now and have had no complaints: - [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/airline-bass/70880"]http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/airline-bass/70880[/url] It sounds great and has an amazing reception range - you can literally go out of your house and get half way down the street before it starts to cut out. Make sure you get the right transmitter though - there are two, one designed for side-on jack sockets (like a Warwick, for example) and one for Fender Strat style recessed jacks. I've got the former, which fits my Streamer great, though sadly, won't fit with my new Ibanez, so I'm back wired until I can get a transmitter that fits... [/quote] Could you not just get a small patch cable made up with a plug on one end and a socket on t'other? Then fix the transmitter to yer strap or something...??

[quote name='bigjohn' post='188748' date='Apr 30 2008, 12:19 PM']Yeah - I used to borrow a 100w Hiwatt guitar amp. Was fantastic.[/quote] I had one of them back when I was a guitard only type - found it in the local freeads for not much at all. Sounded awesome but this was in the days before the internet so I had no idea what it was worth. Sold it to our bands bass player for what I paid for it when I decided to get a rack setup instead. Biggest mistake I ever made... never played through anything since that sounded so good, and it'd cost me ten times as much to get another one.

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='170126' date='Apr 5 2008, 09:15 AM']I tried the OLP MM32 (isn't the 5 string the MM33?)[/quote] I think it's MM2 for the single pup 4, and MM3 for the single pup fiver, and MM22 and MM32 for the twin pup versions

[quote name='simon1964' post='153813' date='Mar 9 2008, 10:14 AM']The ATK305 is 17mm at the bridge and the SR505 16.5mm. Full specs are on the Ibanez site here: [url="http://www.ibanez.co.jp/world/country/frame_canada.html"]http://www.ibanez.co.jp/world/country/frame_canada.html[/url] I think the OLP is 16.5mm - my old OLP MM3 was, and I assume the string spacing is the same[/quote] My MM32 measures at just under 16mm at the bridge. Seems really tight, but doesn't seem to take long to get used to - for fingerstyle anyway - it's a bit too narrow for slap type stuff for me. Then again, I'm not really any good at slap on the 4 string (MM22 is 19mm)

I'm a fairly recent convert to bass, so have collected a few guitars over the years... mostly an unremarkable collection of acoustics - 6 string, 12 string, classical, and a really nasty semi-acoustic thing. I've got a Les Paul Studio which I've set about with wood files to round off the top edge a bit so it doesn't dig into my arm as much. Wish I'd made a prettier job of it, but it plays and sounds great... maybe one day I'll get it tidied up and refinished, but I've grown to like it as it is now. Also got a Tele type thing made by a local luthier (not for me tho). It had a beautiful walnut top with gorgeous inlays which I ruined in a fit of youthful drunken idiocy... I thought it'd look a bit more "metal" if I hacked chunks out of it with a khukuri and nailed beer bottle tops to it. Ended up lending it to a mate to learn on as I was so ashamed of what I did to it that I couldn't bear to look at it. It's still got an awesome flame maple neck with a birdseye fingerboard which may get a new lease of life on another body one day.... And I'm just trying to resurrect my old strat too - also made by the same luthier that did the Tele (again not for me originally). The neck on this thing is another cracker - flame front and back, with a darker wood binding around the fretboard and headstock. Going to replace the kahler copy trem with a genuine one, after I broke it while trying to adjust the spring tension. Then all the dodgy home-made pups and active electrics are gonna get replaced, although still haven't decided what to put in there instead yet. Makes a bit of a contrast to me bog stock OLP MM22 & MM32 tho.

I've got a Line6 Studio 110 and would be happy to recommend it to anyone. Huge variety of sounds, sounds good at low or medium volume (haven't tried cranking it up too loud though, admittedly) and has a decent quality speaker emulator XLR out so is easy to record too. Feels really nicely built too - very solid. Has an extra input for MP3 although I've not used it on mine. [url="http://line6.com/lowdown/studio110.html"]http://line6.com/lowdown/studio110.html[/url]