HowieBass

Strange that you find you can pluck faster over the neck than over the pickup as I've found the opposite, in that I can play faster (fingerstyle though) nearer the bridge where the string moves less under my fingers when struck; for me the lower compliance works better (because the string's 'flapping' about less).

Might be worth a shout out to other BCers in your area and see if anyone can have a look at the bass and pass comment and/or assist with the set-up?

The article has a few comments after it from owners and they talk about replacing faulty chips and the like. You could join the Forum and ask for help on there http://www.vintagesynth.com/forum/

Whereabouts do you strike the strings? The further you move away from the bridge the more all of the strings and especially the E will deflect and possibly create unacceptable fret buzz. Try playing closer to the bridge; it'll sound different but you'll find the string has less compliance there so it won't 'flap about' so much when you play hard.

I'm surprised you've had to go that high to eliminate fret buzz, it ought to become acceptable around 2.5mm. The general rule of thumb is that fret buzz only up near the nut means too little relief; fret buzz at the higher frets means too much relief; fret buzz all along the neck means the action is too low. I tend to set my neck relief by eye these days by holding the E down at the 1st and 12th frets and checking for a slight gap between string and fret from the 4th through to the 8th frets and by holding the G down at the 1st and 8th frets and checking for the slightest gap between string and fret at the 4th. Is the nut cut correctly? You can check by holding a string at the 3rd fret and checking for a slight gap between string and fret at the 1st fret, no gap means the slot's too low, wider gaps means you'll have slight intonation problems in the lower registers and it'll be a bit harder to fret there. If you can't get the instrument playable with no buzz and an acceptable low action then you might have a problem with uneven frets.

You might get some help from this website where others have had problems and serviced the Arp Quartet and the Siel Orchestra (the same bit of kit) http://www.vintagesynth.com/arp/quartet.php http://www.vintagesynth.com/misc/siel_orchestra.php

Possibly a bit of both; that doesn't help I know but it's likely true. I'm sure I've seen somewhere that a super-low action makes for better slapping but that hasn't been my experience and though I try to get the action the same on my basses I find some more amenable for slapping than others. I think sometimes the action might be a little too low so the notes choke; in your case I'd try raising the action a little on all the strings by the same amount (say one turn of the height adjustment screws) and see if it improves. It's like any other technique in that you'll improve with practice but for some they never get along with the technique and are better sticking with a pick or fingerstyle (eg. Peter Hook). A part of the technique is also about damping the strings after you've struck them; there are plenty of online videos around that illustrate the main points... here's a master at work http://youtu.be/U-N54p2YlQg

If that B sounds hollow or a bit 'woolly' in the lower register then try striking the string (dunno if you're a pick or fingerstyle player) closer to the bridge; you'll probably notice it sounds a lot tighter.

If you're happy to spend about £450 I'd be looking long and hard at this Fender Rumble 500 [url="http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Fender-Rumble-500-2x10-Bass-Combo-Amp/X0R?origin=product-ads&gclid=CIyrx8jvtb8CFQQFwwodqnMA9g"]http://www.gear4musi...CFQQFwwodqnMA9g[/url] It's Fender's new line of bass amps/combos and has inherited Genz Benz tech. I've got a Genz Benz combo and couldn't be happier so I expect the Rumbles to be every bit as good AND they're getting good reviews from owners on here.

Blimey, that was quick work, "voom! Like a rat out of an aquaduct!" as Brian's mother once said

The serial to me looks like E856566 or E856666, either way it's a six digit number after the E which Fender says means 1984-1987 http://www.fender.com/support/articles/japanese-instruments-product-dating/

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1404807717' post='2495798'] dont worry about those expensive west country tutors you'll be able to afford them once you're rich and famous but in the meantime ... [url="https://www.youtube.com/user/devinebass"]https://www.youtube....user/devinebass[/url] [url="http://www.scottsbasslessons.com/"]http://www.scottsbasslessons.com/[/url] [/quote] +1 There are loads of online resources these days (Basschat being the best obviously LOL) and Scott Devine offers many hours of short, focussed lessons via his website and YouTube channel.

Ah, I'd wondered about it being part of some device requiring a vacuum, with it being so chunky

I want to know what that metal part's for now!

I know they look nice but is there much/any advantage having a brass nut over other materials since you'll only hear a difference (if at all) with open strings? I'm not questioning your choice but I've never played a bass with a brass nut, nor one featuring a zero fret either, so I genuinely don't know how they change the sound and/or playability.

Definitely something to consider. I haven't yet been tempted to modify any of my basses (swapping out pickups, tuners, bridges) though I have had to shim necks and realign bridges and I really enjoy setting my basses up... not sure whether I'm in a minority here when it comes to keeping instruments essentially stock, maybe I've been lucky with my purchases, but if you can afford to experiment then I'm sure it's great fun!

I'm going to add my personal thanks to fellow BC member jude b who has very kindly given me a set of strings that were surplus to his requirements. The strings arrived in the post today and are now fitted to my trusty old Westone Spectrum LX and it's never sounded better - I'm new to these strings, which are La Bella SN45 (nickel plated roundwounds) and they're just immense, huge amounts of deep bass on tap, a measured amount of zing without sounding trebly brash or metallic. Happy times!

The clearance is a business card thickness NOT a credit card which is much too thick. A standard thickness business card is about 0.012" (12 point paper weight) which is much thinner than a plastic credit card. Fret buzz up at the higher frets indicates too much relief which is what you've induced by loosening the truss rod too much. I tend to set the action at the 17th fret and I go for about 5/64" on the E and 4/64" on the G.

If you know what you're doing in putting an instrument together (what parts to buy, aligning and assembling components, electrical shielding, soldering pickups to control pots) and how to set-up the instrument so that it plays well then building a 'bitsa' bass can be great fun and you'll possibly have an instrument that really suits you... or, you could buy a decent secondhand P bass from someone off here and know it's already well put together and plays well. The recent blind Precision test conducted by Basschat members highlighted the fact that you don't need an expensive vintage Fender to get a great sounding bass, the made in Mexico Fenders seem to do well (known as MIM Fenders) and these are less expensive than made in America Fenders (MIA Fenders) and in fact the 'budget' Squier series are well worth owning, particularly the Vintage Modified, the Classic Vibe and the signature artist models. Early built in Japan (Silver Series) Squiers are now sought after. Hope this helps and welcome to Basschat!

I hope he hasn't cleaned it since Jaco touched it - if so he's literally wiped thousands off the value... hang on, if you squint at the woodgrain on the back of the body you can see Jaco's face! Oh hang on, no you can't... bugger!

The wait's almost unbearable

Good to hear (in more ways than one LOL)

[quote name='vlazouras' timestamp='1404659395' post='2494471'] is it possible that by plugging my bass in a room with bad electricity, i can damage my pick ups? [/quote] What do you mean by 'bad electricity'? But before we get to examining the room's electrical supply, no it can't; the bass sends a low level signal (very low voltage and low current) to your bass amp, so it's an output device; there's nothing coming back from the mains electrical supply to your bass, assuming of course that your amp has no problems. If the room's electrical supply is of poor quality (lots of noise on it) then that might affect what you hear when playing through your amp and generally, electrically noisy environments (which might be due to other pieces of equipment sharing and inducing noise on the supply) can make your instrument buzz where an poorly shielded bass pickup, or a poorly shielded instrument cable is picking up that noise; but even then your pickup isn't being damaged in any way.

[quote name='WarPig' timestamp='1404638480' post='2494270'] +1 Really bad photoshop, looks like he used paint. [/quote] Doesn't look in the least like it's been altered and I do a LOT of digital image post-processing. You can analyse the image using this site http://fotoforensics.com/ and it doesn't show me anything suspicious. Having said that the photo of Adele (or whoever the woman is) serves no purpose whatsoever in terms of proof that the instrument offered for sale is one used by her; the image quality just isn't good enough; the bass she's holding could be any of hundreds sold with that spec.

If I had to guess I'd also go for a Fender Jazz.