sirmuppet

I might give these a try before popping for custom ACS.

Thanks Muzz. Pretty much what I'm after. Think I'll go for a set. I have had my hearing tested and I do need them to prevent any further damage. Chrismuzz, exactly why I'm asking. I have the same issue as you. They're great up to a point in time of wearing them. The Pro17's from ACS sat they have a flat response, or at least the flatest you'll get. So worth a look I'd say. Check them out here: http://www.acscustom.com/uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=105&Itemid=52 I'll need to check funds but think I'll take the plunge. One other question, has anyone compared the pro17 and pro20?

Hi guys. I've read through posts on here and the sticky but I'd like some insight into the difference in feel. So here goes... I use standard off the shelf ACS ER20 earplugs like these: http://www.djtechdirect.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/1000x1000/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/a/c/acs-er20-ear-plugs.png These are a medium silicon & pastic mix and feel good for the most part. They've done me well and I have a couple of packs. After a time I feel they are uncomfortable. For a gig they're fine but in rehearsal, say 2 hours they start to hurt after about an hour. I tried these ones: http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0132/4702/products/EP-134_r_1024x1024.jpg?v=1369789234 but they make everything muffled. Sorta like when a walk I can hear booming in my head. It's more like everything I do is boomy and muffled to me, but the rest of the sounds around me are fine. They don't feel right too me. They're a soft silicon rubber type. So I've been in contact with ACS and they recomend the Pro17 moulds and filters for bass playing in a band. What I'd like to know is has anyone tried either the ACS ER20 or EarPeace and then got a set of custom moulded Pro17's? If so how was the feel inside your ear? Did it get boomy inside you head with your own voice etc...? Any help would be great. Thanks, G.

I have exactly the same bass, even the colour combo. Great basses. It looks to have an after market bridge on it though. Even earlier than mine, looks to be 98-99? Much prefer it to the later active ones, but again they're not too bad either.

BigRedX is right about having them at the same volume. That's another reason I also use a noise suppressor. Can't say I noticed any difference in sound after doing the mod. If there is a difference then it's subtle.

Hi. I just played a couple of gigs with my new 4003 and it was really noisy. The issue persisted even when both pickups were on. Upon reading into it more I discovered that the pickups on the Ric 4003's aren't wired to cancel hum when both are selected together, totally unlike a Jazz Bass or similar. I don't know why Ric do this but they do. If you use each pickup on it's own then the above posts are right, you can't eliminate it. A noise suppressor pedal will help a great deal. However if you use both pickups together you can fix this. As I said I looked into ways of reducing the buzz/hum and found a tutorial on how to reverse the polarity of the bridge pickup. I did this (as scary as it was) and it worked. Here's the thread: http://www.talkbass.com/threads/rickenbacker-4003-rwrp-bridge-pickup-mod-tutorial.761909/ Apart from being a bit scary, just take your time and do it right. It's actually really easy once you get into it, just don't cut the wires short like I did (Took me forever to fix it). That said the bass plays great, sounds no different and fixed the problem. If you wanna ask any questions about then feel free to PM me. Grant.

Hi all. I have a Fender Precision Bass Special made in Mexico. One of the machine heads is damaged and needs replacing. I've spoken to a Fender dealer and Fender UK are currently out of stock for this specific part. It's only £17.99 for a full set when they are in stock. I've looked over the net in the UK and can't find any one who has them in stock. So I was thinking about rather than replacing them how about I upgrade them? So really I wondered if any of you guys have replaced your P-basses with different tuners and could recommend which ones would be good for my bass and which ones would fit? Ones that fit are a must obviously and I'm having a hard time finding out which ones will fit. Hipshots site is good for telling me which ones I need but any other brands etc... Thanks in advance, Here's a stock pic of the headstock and tuners I currently have [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][url="http://s444.photobucket.com/user/ferengo/media/EbayInstruments/EbayInstruments001/IMG_4313_zps2e2298a1.jpg.html"][/url][/font][/color]

Tom is a great bloke. I posted an ad about needing an Ashdown head and he sold me an ABM900 at a great price. He was a pleasure to deal with and we even had a few nice phone calls. I really hope to deal with him again as I can't stress this enough, he is such a nice guy. Thanks Tom. Cheers, Grant.

It depends on the circumstances. If I were in a shop looks would make me pick it up. Sound would be the next factor and then playability. The balance and feel are probably last for me. I have 2 thunderbirds, when I first started playing them they were really hard to play due to the shape, now when I pick them up it's like coming home. All that said there have been times where I was handed a bass to play which I would never have picked up and thought wow. The Lakland DJ4 I had for a couple of years is one. I sold that to buy my Ric 4003 which again I was handed to play. That bass was difficult to play as I was so used to thin profiles but after a weekend I was used to it and it feels great. So really I couldn't say one over another as I can over come certain aspects providing I'm getting what I want from the instrument as a whole.

Got an NS2 pedal from Woody. He was great, The pedal was better than described, arrived fast, packed excellently and he messaged me at each point, even sending the tracking info. The pedal works a treat and it was so easy to deal with him. Cheers Woody and hope to deal with you again soon. Thanks

Have to agree with pretty much all of the above. A friend owns a music shop and I've tried all sorts of makes. Squier I think is the best bang for buck. I had an Affinity one as my first bass. Thought it was fantastic. Good build quality and sounds good to. You do notice a change in the parts when you go up to the Mexican models. There are as many have said above various different price brackets for the Squiers. Affinity, Standard, Classic Vibe, Vintage modified, signature etc... There are some older types like the Vista series, JV, SQ, silver series. To confuse things more different areas of manufacture like Japan, China, Korea, Indonesia. All of these factors have things going for them. Now Squier are making the Jaguar, Mustang and other designs too. So it really all depends on what you want to spend and what you want to get out of a bass, then you look at which models you can get and decide from there.

Can't wait to see the final finished item. Looks great and good use for what I think is a cat litter tray?

This is amazing. I love builds like this. Well thought out and the attention to detail in the parts and construction is top notch. Well done!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bass-guitar-Double-bass-Bass-player-Fruit-of-the-loom-t-shirt-Fender-/331171626374?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4d1b5dfd86

Oh and it's weird as it's blue with maple. I think as far as I can see that Fender only did that combo in 2006 as blue only comes with rosewood now.

Kept it quiet but I got it. I also have the passive version in red gold. The guy didn't describe the condition as best he could but it seems to be what he was selling. Here's a quick pick as it arrived at work and I'm still here. [URL=http://s444.photobucket.com/user/ferengo/media/BassChat/2014-04-08132044_zpse808296f.jpg.html][IMG]http://i444.photobucket.com/albums/qq170/ferengo/BassChat/2014-04-08132044_zpse808296f.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Also the truss rod adjustment is at the headstock end with a vintage style logo. Those 2 don't normally go together like that.

They're awesome. Tried it with my OBC115, still can't get enough top end. Ah well, looks like I may change my rig and keep the Orange as a backup, but hell the VT rocks!!!

Well I got the VT Bass yesterday which worked out nicely as I had rehearsal last night. Didn't get to use my cab at it though I did use my head, but there's a huge difference with the VT. I got the tone I was after, well pretty much and I'm just so happy with it. I did a little test with my cab at home and it sounds good too. Hopefully get more into it when we record this weekend. Thanks again for all the help and advice.