danlea

I know what you mean about the on-off nature of passive PJ's, but I'm going to try using linear pots for the individual volumes (in my case just the bridge pickup - the neck is always on) - see [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=28270"]this topic[/url]. My logic follows the notion that the increase in overall pickup load (drop in overall resistance) as you dial in an extra pickup might also contribute to the change in tone, thereby compounding the shift. In any case, using a linear pot will at the very least push the 'on' position further away from the 'full volume' position and hopefully increase the useful window. If I get round to it (that is bother to buy a linear pot) I'll post to comment on the results.

[quote name='flutophilus' post='294590' date='Sep 29 2008, 03:21 PM']Genuine question here. Why wouldn't you get a US Deluxe if you wanted a P bass with a bridge pu? (assuming money not a problem). I'm asking the question because I'm looking at P basses at the moment, and I've tried the US Standard which I like but the shop didn't have a US Deluxe so I couldn't try it. If you set a US Deluxe to neck p/u only and all eq flat would that not sound the same as a US Standard ? Does it lose something just because it has the bridge p/u ? Cheers[/quote] I've had a USA Deluxe. It just didn't do it for me. It was powerful and clear, but it just doesn't sound the same as a passive bass. For pop and funk it would be great I'm sure, but not my kind of music. Also the bridge humbucker is quite different to a jazz pickup.

Musky - You have to bear in mind that when dialling in another pickup you're changing the load characteristics of the circuit and so are liable to alter the tone and output of the original pickup's component (not that you can separate the components) unless both pickups are buffered. bassbloke - The result is not going to be a lowering in output in every case. Just imagine a case wherein the outputs of the individual pups differ greatly, e.g. the neck being much quieter than the bridge - in this case the output is bound to increase when adding more of the bridge. Using a 3-way switch is not going to cure the problem and is not going to be an acceptable proposition to those who want continuous (as opposed to discrete) blending. With regards to Badass bridge, yeah, it's a separate topic, but as it's in here I can't help but comment. The Badass may well increase sustain in certain cases, although I do also suspect the difference is lessened when using very high gauge strings as I do. The main thing is, as others have said, any difference in tone is not always a step in right direction, depending on what you're going for. From what I can tell, the vintage bridge is a major part of the vintage sound. Lastly, this bridge seems fine to me. Any cost-cutting measures on the Japanese models don't seem to manifest themselves on this bass at least. bassman2790 - Putting a Stingray humbucker in a precision is a going towards the American Deluxe model, but staying passive. Would be interesting to try.

Just to chuck in my thoughts (probably far too late), it does sound like some multi-valve gnarl (so yeah, Ampeg SVT...) but that's not to say you can't get a similar tone from your Boss. The main thing is to get the extreme EQ shaping - play about with EQ post distortion and blend the dry signal.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='292188' date='Sep 25 2008, 09:08 PM']Is there any way round that volume drop thing? Made my neck j-pup p mono and been noticing it.[/quote] Well, without thinking it about it too much, I reckon you could potentially use a dual pot for the bridge volume, having the secondary pot in series with a higher value resistor as the load for the neck pickup. This way the neck pickup would be set just below max when the bridge is out, and increased up to max as the bridge pickup is dialled in. This is in reference to my 1 master, 1 volume control configuration, and I'm not really sure of what you have or want. To be honest you'd probably end up with the overall volume fluctuating as you turned the control, and need to experiment to get roughly equal volumes at either end of the dial - I don't expect it would be worth it. If I had a LOT of free time on my hands I might mess around with such an idea, but the values depend on your pickups, distance to the strings, etc. The only way to avoid pickups affecting each other is to mix them actively, something I don't think is even done in most active instruments, the exception being combination piezo setups, correct me if I'm wrong.

Oh, and I'm thinking of putting in a linear pot for the jazz volume as it does currently sound like the the transition between tones is concentrated in a small window not far from the maximum setting. It's the same with the Squier.

[quote name='AndyMartin' post='291949' date='Sep 25 2008, 04:29 PM']Very nice. I'm seriously considering having this mod done to mine.[/quote] Well just so you know, I was charged a total of £50 for the routing and installation (bar electronics) plus 'the shielding', and I seem to remember them quoting £30 or £35 for just the routing - I wouldn't bat an eyelid at spending that. A typical solution for the controls is to side-mount the jack socket and install an extra pot for volume/blend, but I'm not entirely certain of the logistics of that given that the socket hole is larger than a pot mounting hole.

Just thought I'd post a picture of my newly hot-rodded MIJ p-bass. The Bass Gallery did the routing for me - a very neat job, although it did introduce a couple of hairline cracks into the lacquer, which is a shame but not a big deal. They also drilled a hole in the scratchplate so I could put in a three-way switch for the tone control - the wiring's discussed in [topic="25375"]this topic[/topic]. I had asked for the bass to be shielded, for which they simply put a shielding plate in the jazz cavity, even though pickup has some shielding on the back of it already. Anyway, I bought some copper tape and did the whole lot - I've yet to see the results of this as I need to be somewhere with strong capacitive coupling to the mains, i.e. our rehearsal studios, and can compare it to the Squier which came shielded. I should note that the jazz pickup is a stack (and both pickups are the 'hot' models) so there are no single coils to be seen. The Bass Gallery were hot-rodding another precision at the same time, and I can see why it's a popular mod, given that Fender don't sell the hot-rod precision standards anymore (why?). One thing you should be aware of if you fancy following the same path, you do lose some of the deep bottom end from the precision when dialling in the jazz - the volume isn't simply a sum of both pickup outputs (and no, I'm not talking about a blend setup). This can (and does in mine case) lead to a volume drop, even though the pickups are in phase. If you want to get the general idea, try out the now ubiquitous Squier Special at any guitar shop - this has a VVT control setup and demonstrates the tonal variation well enough. As for my bass (master, jazz volume, tone), I think the presence of the jazz pickup in itself adds some gnarl to the tone of the bass when using only the precision pickup (the jazz is a hot pickup and the string-pole distance is between two and three millimetres) and of course this element is emphasised when dialling in the jazz. The combined tone is more clinical, as well as adding that something you only get from bridge pickups, particularly when playing close to the bridge (it always casts my mind to Flea's sound more than anything else, probably just because the Chillies are so familiar). Dan.

[quote name='Trace_n_bass' post='276575' date='Sep 3 2008, 10:17 PM']The AH350SMX, AH400SMX and AH600SMX heads are just basically a rack mounted version in a 3U mounting, fixed by 4 screws in the top 2U, and another 2 longer ones which go through the UV light section. You don't need rack ears as they're already there. There are no side or top screws to worry about either. When I recovered my AH350SMX I rack mounted it whilst it was out of the casing. Give me a shout if you need more info.[/quote] I did suspect the in-built rack ears would be fine for mounting in a standard rack, but I honestly don't know what secures the rear of the amp in a standard rack. If it's the side-facing screws that are on the back of the amp then they'd need to be at the correct depth. It's all a bit academic for me now as I've decided to just get an SKB (very) shallow 2U case (as reviewed somewhere on this board) for my Aphex 109 parametric EQ. Although a whole case for one 1U 19" unit that's less than 6" deep is rather a space-stealer, the Trace head (with the green-carpet case) is bloody heavy and would require a heavy duty case wherever it lives, and would also mean the joint case would be deeper than the SKB.

Anyone know if this is rack-mountable? There's an old [topic="4044"]post[/topic] suggesting it is, but I'm not certain. I'm thinking of getting a 1U parametric equaliser and it would be nice to have them both together in a rack. Dan.

[quote name='bnt' post='261817' date='Aug 13 2008, 06:51 PM']- with the switch centred, what is the effect of the 240KΩ resistor and the capacitor in the circuit?[/quote] The 240kΩ resistor provides the maximum resistance setting, i.e. as if you had a 240kΩ pot there turned all the way up, which is the standard setting. The switch being centred (off) means there is no parallel route to the capacitor. The effect of switching either the 24kΩ resistor or the direct path in is to reduce the overall resistance, just like turning the pot down. As long as no-one notices anything stupid I missed then I'll go ahead with it and I'm sure it'll be fine. The only issue then is the value of the switched resistor - exactly what tone I want from the mid-setting, but that can easily be changed to suit. Dan.

[quote name='Phil Mann' post='261414' date='Aug 13 2008, 10:34 AM'][url="http://www.thomann.de"]http://www.thomann.de[/url] Every thing you ever need with 3 years warrantee! Secure delivery, and very reliable.[/quote] Thomann are a great shop (or uber-warehouse as you might call it) but the prices of major items aren't quite as competitive as they used to be for us, mainly due to the strong Euro I guess.

I posted this in the DHA forum, but I'd like to hear other people's comments too: [topic="25375"]Topic 25375[/topic]

Like the uncaring ursine says, sounds as if you simply need to adjust the bridge. Test the intonation of the 12th fret harmonic against the fretted note (make sure not to pull the string laterally when you fret it) for each of the two string. At least one of them will be out. Slacken that string and move it's bridge contact using the screws in the tailpiece so that the vibrating length of the string is lengthened if the fretted note is sharp, and shortened if it is flat (only a couple of rotations at first). Tune up again and test it out. Repeat as necessary.