Norris

Excellent job. It looks great. I rather like the subtlety of the white on maple fret markers

As others have mentioned, it is now your responsibility to keep track of where you are in the song. The drummer keeps the beat (probably with a bit of dragging/driving on your part) and you keep the phrasing. Tbh I'd forgotten about that. I've done it so long it's second nature. That moment when the other two look at you for the raised eyebrows indicating the key change, and your ability to count 6 bars of a held chord (that's a nod towards the end of the last bar), etc.

I've played in a trio for years. I've never really found it a problem at all, in fact it's quite liberating. I mostly play standard bass lines, but every now and then we might have to rearrange slightly to get some key riffs in e.g. on Witch Queen of New Orleans by Redbone I play the rhythm guitar riff as the guitarist sings that one making it difficult for him to get the timing rock steady. As regards sonic space, I have no constraints and can play with pretty much any eq I like. The key thing is the standard bass role of locking in with the drummer, even if he goes off on one as well. You are the main anchor.

I use 45-105 on mine, which isn't far off

Get your drummer to buy a cheap electronic kit for rehearsals and then turn him down

That's a lovely looking bass. Very nice

I've not sorted the electrics yet - it's not gigable yet, but I think I'm on the right track. Glad you like the resto - it was done by one of the instructors at my Monday night guitar building club, who has been a mate of mine for years

I've been pondering this a little more. It's been a long time since I played with analogue electronics, but in a passive circuit the pickup induces the current. It can therefore be considered a kind of AC battery for the sake of the circuit. The resistors are acting as shunts. The fact that they are in an active circuit shouldn't change anything as the pickup is still providing the impetus. There again, I've had a couple of glasses of wine

Gorgeous. Way too many knobs for my taste, and I'm not a fan of single cuts either, but that is something special

It might also be worth checking your strap height. If it's too low, that can put a lot of stress in your fretting hand as well

It sounds a lot better although too quiet. I'll try some smaller ones

That was my theory - to attenuate the signal a bit. Fingers crossed it seems to have worked Edit: I'll check it for volume against my passive P tonight. I guessed at the resistor values, so may have overdone it. Sounded ok though my practice amp (old tatty powered monitor wedge)

That looks great

Update: I've finally got around to slapping a pair of 10K resistors in line with the pickup wires and it seems to have cured the distortion. I'll take it along tonight and give it a blast during sound check

Thermal cutoff? Edit: I'm not familiar with the amp, but if there's a fan is it working?

Wild top horn! I'm liking it so far

[quote name='Wonky2' timestamp='1448496124' post='2915990'] I am teetering on the brink of ordering a posh padded strap.... Criteria - min 3" pref 4" , leather, black, most important, PADDED. the Levys ones look good but I can't decide if I'd just be paying over the odds for the brand, they do look well made though. I've seen lots of hand made by players types but they often look a bit like a dress prop from some battle re enactment group thingy ?? I did order a sandberg one off thomann but it was crap, cheap plastic looking and thin....sent it back and thomann were fab , even provided free postage return label ! Any suggestions on a strap welcomed? [/quote] Comfort Strapp - it's not leather but it is black and very, very comfortable

My 1980 SB-1000 is about 12mm at the nut, 15mm at the bridge. It's a very comfortable bass to play. Check out the link in my sig for the refinish thread

That looks very nice!

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1448295358' post='2914216'] On my bass i used a terminal with a screw on a ground wire and carefully screwed it on the wood inside the cavity. It made perfect contact with the conductive paint and no solder required. [/quote] Great - that's what I was thinking of doing. Glad it works

The only thing holding the grub screws in position normally is friction on the threads. If the friction is reduced by some form of lubricant or a slightly looser fit than is optimal, the grub screw can rotate as your bass vibrates. The only force then acting are the strings that naturally want to straighten the break angle across the bridge. So basically you need something to stop the grub screws turning i.e. increase the thread friction

It sounds to me (after a few reads of the OP) like the grub screws are working loose and lowering the action on the E string. If so, a dab of nail varnish or Loctite should sort it. I'd be very surprised if the saddle was moving laterally as the break angle on the string down to the anchor point should prevent that

Good progress. I'm a great believer in subconscious thinking. I'm a computer programmer by day, and with tough problems I just load up my brain with the facts and an answer pops up a day or two later

Fantastic!

I ended up getting some "Conductive Shielding Paint" from catmusic99.co.uk I got 3x 30ml bottles which should hopefully be enough Edit: And it was reasonably priced.