Twincam

Was thinking about band introductions. This from Ian Dury and The Blockheads came into my mind. I thought what a great introduction, especially when Wilko Johnson kicks in lol. Also must of been an in house joke the sax player doing a Michel caine impression as John Turnbull (on guitar) had worked on the get carter soundtrack. Anyone else have good, funny or favourite examples of band introductions? Or does your own band have an interesting intro? http://youtu.be/bncnngTOPqU

Indeed stripping poly is a nightmare! However why strip it totally? Just key it up and paint over it if need be.

Indeed the logic is flawed. As even if you somehow hydrate the wood that much, it could actually push out the frets in various places to a tiny degree even more. Which on another note, is actually also why you should never over oil a fret board and limit oiling to the minimum required. As it can lift frets (over a long period), again to tiny degrees but its not what you want. As others have said in this instance your better off taking it to someone in the know. Basically the fret ends need filling/dressing etc. You can do this yourself although doing a really good job takes a fair bit of practice to get the ends really nice and then polished up also without marking up the fret board.

Cool old school vibe. Would of sounded good on a semi acoustic bass, flat wounds etc. Actually reminded me very slightly of one of maccas lines.

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1494180962' post='3293859'] Bugger the tube in it gives off a faint dim blueish almost purply light is that normal spose I will have to fork out for a new tube to try that then Cheers [/quote] Yes that can be normal.

Not sure if it's the issue but on occasion whistling can be a bad tube. I had a dha and it had very little noise at all if I remember right. Awesome peddle actually.

Did he try plug in a footswitch and cycle it after the cab being connected. Just a thought with the channel lights not coming on. Anyhow sounds like whoever unplugged the cab and switched it on knacked it. Which I would of went ballistic at whomever. I mean there's labels for the jacks people should learn to check what there actually doing. Basically imo its either a power tube if lucky or the output transformer. Or possibly the channel switching somehow messed up because of a cab being plugged in?

Hmmm maybe the nut although you have a string tree on the E. Hold the strings down after the nut and play the open strings. Any better? Also I know you checked the truss rod but does tightening it up further help? Are the strings nicely seated on the bridge? Sometimes rattles can seem to come from the head area when its actually at the bridge (doubtful in this case). Try pushing the strings down slightly just before the saddle. And also check the screws are making good contact with the plate. And that the intonation screws are sitting right. Pickup height? Rarely have I experienced this but are the pickups set too close to the strings (again doubtful) You have checked everything really. As you say maybe some odd resonance going on, which does happen. I've noticed some instruments don't get on with certain gauges or string types/manufactures. I had a fender mustang that had a resonance problem also my old custom Jim fleeting had an odd open E rattle with certain strings that I never tracked down. It was fine with Fender flats but some other flats of the same gauge brought on a odd noise.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1494162993' post='3293702'] He messed with the wires to see if it stopped the sound, which it did not. He offered to resolder all the electrics and stick some new hardware in there just in case, but he reckoned it was a waste of time/money. It must have been shorting somewhere, I just have no idea where The tech did all I asked of him [/quote] Ah I see. Then you should of let him do the resolder maybe? Just for peace of mind. Clearly your wondering about its reliability. Maybe it was just some sort of grounding but if its a working instrument then making sure its not going to happen again is prudent. Making sure any wire ends can't touch etc (I've seen that happen), Tidying the wires with a zip tie. Resolder all connections. Checking grounds etc.

[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1494116949' post='3293433'] I took the bass to my local tech yesterday, without trying it first he took the plate off and pulled at a few wires a little, plugged it in and...sound. I have no idea what he did, he doesn't know what he did (and I'm sure a tiny part of him thinks I just used a dodgy lead!) but it is now working. Took it home, and sure if with the same equipment it's working fine. Almost certainly sounds like something was grounding or shorting somewhere, can't see how it can be anything else. Do I have the confidence to gig it??!! [/quote] Did he not then check all the soldering, or fiddle with the wires more to try recreate the issue and check there isn't an internally defective wire, bad solder etc Then actually fix it. If not I wouldn't gig it. As further movement could disturb whatever it was again. Sounds like a bad solder joint or bad wire to me. From your description and of him pulling at the wires etc then it working again. It could hold in that position and be fine of course, but in transport to a gig, then being moved about playing.... Well sounds risky. Not to sound funny but the tech should of done a bit more. As there is clearly some issue there, pulling at wires isn't/wasn't a repair. Despite the instrument working. One day that's likely going to come back. And sods law at the worst possible moment. Not to sound too dramatic lol.

[quote name='fleabag' timestamp='1494092947' post='3293241'] If it was forklift truck forks, there's not much a cab builder can do to prevent that. [/quote] True but the others that broke in that area can't all of been hit by a forklift. But I'm not knocking the cabs as such but evidence may suggest a little weakness there. Whatever hit it damaged it, the only one at fault is the courier. And they should pay up.

Used Ibanez SR. Light weight, slim neck, very ergonomic and great sounding instrument, very well made too. And nice woods. All the Ibanez sr basses play great, to me there the easiest instruments to play. If you want brand new the ibanez sr300e are what £245 and have the same ergonomics etc as the more expensive models but lesser woods and electrics etc but are still a fantastic bass! Have a look at reviews etc. You also normally find sr500's used at that price too. There a lovely sr700 used on the guitarguitar website. If you can stretch to £365 its a good option. http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/preowned_guitars_detail.asp?stock=PX170415309865006

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1493199047' post='3286361'] That's the port panel on a barefaced cab by the looks of it. I can say from experience that that is a weak spot on the cabs due to the lightweight plywood. I've had to ask the band members to stop lifting my cab by it's side using only the port side handle as it broke the glue and came loose. I had to glue the pannel back. Having said that i think that i wouldn't take much force to do this damage, just an infortunate situation like the carrier stepping on the box to go over it and catching it in the edge and in the middle of two braces could be enough to break it as it's a weak spot. In your case, you have pictures to prove the damage in the box, you have payed for insurance, go all the way up to threatning them with court as you're entitled to a refund for the damage. No package handled properly should show signs of exterior damage like that. It was either a big knock or somebody used your cab as a step. Good Luck [/quote] I was going to say I've seen a couple of bf cabs with damage in that area too. The wood does look rather thin. Not saying it's not strong etc in normal use, but you have to question durability of lighter thinner materials when accidents happen and they do happen. Again not knocking the design, as I would love a bf cab myself. Just i too have also seen them damaged in that area. A slightly thicker ply in that area would of maybe prevented it. Not that it should of been impacted in transport of course. To me its clear there's been an impact which really shouldn't happen, but things do happen and that's why they offer insurance and you certainly should be compensated.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1493926416' post='3291945'] Nice I think your bass sounds great, new strings? [/quote] New(ish) E string. Older one was a bit noisy, had a very pronounced rattle. But I had a E of the same brand and gauge kicking around that sounded a bit better. Cut for a through body fender mustang thankfully it fitted. Back to flats soon, although I've been enjoying rounds.

I heard the difference. I think there was parts of the different pieces that suited both tunings. Overall 440 I preferred. Anyhow probably in the mix no one will notice lol.

Absolutely lovely little bass! Very neat work. Its cool the different woods you had laying about went nicely with each other. Love the shape. Just purely for aesthetics the pu would of maybe looked cool at the same angle as the end of the fretboard, bridge etc.

I had a eg512 the higher end one with better woods and electrics. Forgot the exact model name. Was a nice instrument if a little bulky. The necks are good and the truss rods will support any reasonable string gauge. But you will have to adjust the truss rod. Often even if you fit the same strings. An easy way only using a paper business card and a set of Allen keys. Is to fit the new strings tune to pitch then fret the E at the first fret and hold the last few frets down with your elbow. Then while still holding the string down use a paper business card to check the relief in between the gap between 7th fret and the E string. A standard paper business card is .013 so its a good relief for an acoustic. You want It to just slide between fret and string without to much drag or lifting the string. It can be fiddly but not difficult. If there's too much gap then tighten (clockwise) the truss rod and vice versa. For an acoustic any relief of between .007 and .015 is ok. As said a standard paper business card (not plastic bank card etc) is in the right ballpark. Next check the string height at the 17th fret (with the strings in tune). This can be done with Allen keys slide in between fret and string. What height is a personal thing but in general acoustics are set a bit higher than standard but no more than 3mm - 2.5mm e to g in my opinion. I would go a bit lower. You may have to shave down the bridge saddle which is not hard but maybe best left to someone more in the know. My takamine bridge was spot on and I only needed to adjust the truss rod to get the action as I wanted. I also leveled the frets on mine but as I recall they weren't bad in the first place. If your in the north east I will happily set it up for you for free, as I'm nice (with proper tools haha).

As said chromes are a bit stiff. Great for getting a super low action though. I thought they also dulled a bit too quickly. Some may like that however.

Ok here's mine. Sorry for the bad camera work. My basses action is very very low atm so its a bit noisey the strings clank a bit. Most of that is actually the bass acoustically itself, rather than what's coming out the amp. I sort of like it and sort of don't at the same time lol. http://youtu.be/Df_cfnz067M

I would go with the mim Fender. Only because the hardware is slightly better than on the Squier, even the top end Squier versions have similar quality hardware to the lower end ones. Which is useable and works but not as durable as the Mexican Fender hardware in my opinion. Other than that they will be very similar. Well the mim has a very small incremental step up in electronics too. I've owned a few mim basses and a higher end squier. I think the small step up is worth the extra money. Resale value wise obviously anything with Fender on will hold its value better too. The classic vibes are nice instruments though and it will play just as well as a mim fender.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1492911942' post='3284087'] I could get a very low action on my Geddy Lee Jazz. But I had a problem gigging with the bass, as any change in temperature meant the wood of the neck would expand or contract and the strings would start buzzing and notes would choke. I ended up having to take the action up a bit, just so I could gig with the thing. [/quote] [quote name='ChazzJEUK' timestamp='1493769856' post='3290595'] In my opinion, a bass neck needs to be well reinforced to get a great low action. Wood moves, in my experience composite necks are fantastic for getting the lowest action imaginable. Basses with carbon rods in the necks also stand up to the tension of the strings so much better. So it's easy to get an action LOWER than 2.5mm at the 12th fret.... Nowadays I don't buy a bass, unless it's got a reinforced neck, I feel that non-reinforced necks are just inferior in general and just unstable. [/quote] Indeed at very low action heights. Well neck reliefs especially. Atmosphere changes can affect a neck and the action height. I'm using an Ibanez sr500 atm, had zero issues with its neck. Its a multi laminate of course jatoba/bubinga. And as the above poster said reinforced necks are better than non. And obviously exotic carbon/graphite necks are excellent too. There's many single wood, non reinforced necks that are perfectly fine too of course. But I suppose going for a multi laminate or reinforced etc neck will give a bit more reliability in certain situations with very low action heights. I have been experimention with action heights the last month going back and forth currently my action is approx .005 neck relief, 1.7mm-1.4mm E to G. Very light gauge strings. I've actually found the key to low action and no fret buzz, is as previously stated, A very light touch! Something I've been really working on. There is tonal differences in low, med and high actions too I noticed. I prefer the sound of a low action which sounds great in a mix, if sometimes not so much solo.

[quote name='FlatEric' timestamp='1493724704' post='3290112'] A black chop job with a MM type tuner arrangement and something almost as bad as the OP!! [attachment=244480:peavey (4).JPG] [attachment=244481:peavey (13).JPG] [attachment=244482:Peavey.jpg] [/quote] The black one would of been ok if they had left the horns on.

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1493628488' post='3289456'] A new Month it is, so time for a new noodle... Been messing around with ways of recording better videos, I'm slowly getting there but this was a bit of a test run really. I've had a go at recording the audio direct for better quality. I've also realised I need to come up with a way of starting / ending these better so its not quite so abrupt. I've bought a simple ABY box to split the signal from my bass, taking a line to my amp (so I can hear what I'm doing) and another line to my little Boss BR80 recorder. I then lined them up in iMovie. Anyway on with the noodle... Used a looper for this one which I know is a bit cheeky as it's not strictly naked bass as it were but ah well... just this once Each part is layered as I play it and nothing is pre-recorded so I don't feel too bad about it... also in traditional noodle fashion my timing is a bit ropey on the twiddly section, but being a noodle a second take didn't seem appropriate [media]http://youtu.be/A4DQc19MiyQ[/media] Having kicked things off for another month l'm looking forward to seeing / hearing what you chaps are working on [/quote] Lovely stuff. Nice use of the Looper. I think Looper tracks are fine. Probably should of been allowed in the older style noodle bar lol. One thing I noticed is the end section when you played a little harder and faster at approx 47 seconds, the notes seemed a bit clanky rather than ringing out. Very low action? I will record a noodle in the next few days. Also will re record my last noodle which I deleted (by accident).

I did once arrange to buy a bass, the bloke gave me his address etc. Then an hour before I was due to go, he messaged and said sorry I've sold the bass. I was fumming! I've also bought a lot of crap when I should of known better than to trust what a seller says. But that was my fault. Oh and a few months ago a Brazilian guy tried to buy my amp that was UK only sale twice bidding at the very end, then giving a load of grief and bad feedback when I said I wasn't shipping to there. That really annoyed me I had to block him as he just kept hassling me. Shpock seems crap whenever I've looked at it. But I'm not in a big city or anything.

Decided to raise the string height back up a bit and a bit more neck relief. Funny how 2.4mm - 2.0mm .010 relief now looks pretty high. But it lets me play with a little more feeling and I think the tone is a touch better and string noise is slightly less. I did like the very low action, however I felt restrained.