richrips

[quote name='umcoo' post='827138' date='May 4 2010, 09:44 AM']What would you consider a good price? I've got a maple/rosewood Warmoth jazz neck with tele headstock and hipshot hb-2 tuners on it.[/quote] i'm looking to spend around £150. Given the cost of materials, i'd have thought someone could make me one for around that. I don't need block inlays, vintage lacquer (i can lacquer it myself if needs), or binding. just the two bits of wood, shaped and fretted with a truss rod. I'd be happy with a paddle headstock and would probably be up to shaping the back of the neck myself (don't have the tools for levelling, radiusing, cutting fret slots, etc so would rather have this done by an experienced builder). Thanks for the offer Umcoo, i'm not 100% keen on a tele headstock or rosewood fretboard, but if you want to PM me a price the worst i can do is say no! And they are tasty tasty tuners.... Cheers Rich

[quote name='chriswilliams666' post='826768' date='May 3 2010, 07:31 PM']Definately agree with Chris there. I wacked a BadAss on an old squier. It definately enhanced the top-end and also i was in a Drop C Tuning, and the old-school Fender saddles moved about. The BadAss doesn't budge![/quote] I think this is actually where the badass fails. The saddles may run in grooves, but the grooves are not a tight fit, so the saddles can still move slightly from side to side. My friend has an original 75 jazz with a badass 2 and if you play the g string hard, it clicks. This wouldn't be a problem if the saddles had absolutely no lateral movement, as is the case with the gotoh and, from the looks of it, the schaller 3D. GOOD example: (note how the grooves for the grub screws are narrow to provide an 'interference' type fit to the end of each grub screw = no lateral movement) [url="http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_mall/m-shower/cabinet/parts/schaller_bass_bridg4.jpg"]http://thumbnail.image.rakuten.co.jp/@0_ma...bass_bridg4.jpg[/url] BAD example: (scroll down for best view. note grooves flat-bottomed and wider than grub screws where slight lateral movement is a definite possibility) [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-STRING-BASS-GUITAR-BRIDGE-THROUGH-BODY-CH-BK-GD-/160288461040?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item2551efd0f0"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5-STRING-BASS-GUITAR...=item2551efd0f0[/url] WORSE example: (nothing to prevent lateral movement) [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHROME-BRIDGE-ELECTRIC-5-STRINGS-BASS-GUITAR-/390190278462?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item5ad927273e"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CHROME-BRIDGE-ELECTR...=item5ad927273e[/url] Hmmmmmm. Rich

Mighty mite are very good. i had a p bass neck maple/maple by them which was solid and very well made. they just don't make an maple/ebony/21fret neck as far as i know. WD, Allparts and Mighty Mite seem quite similar, whereas Warmoth use steel bars inside the neck for extra stability and removal of dead spots. Both WD and Warmoth do very nicely finished necks from what i've seen. Afriends Warmoth Jazz neck is possibly the nicest jazz neck i've seen.... Ebony/maple/21fret anyone??? Rich

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='827001' date='May 3 2010, 11:54 PM']The Mastotron isn't all that expensive, i got mine for £76 new and they're £89 now. Some Zvex pedals are stupidly expensive (£220+ for a Wooly Mammoth? no ta!) but the Mastotron is IMO opinion reasonably priced, especially considering it has features most other fuzz pedals lack suck as impedance, wave shape and the 3 way sub switch[/quote] havn't seen these looks much more reasonably priced! any bass videos/demos anywhere?? rich

There's loads of fuzz pedals out there. Best site to help you: www.bassfuzz.com I got the Malekko assmaster silicon and its a wickid sounding pedal, but each to their own and all pedals are sound sampled on the site. ZVEX = grossly overpriced (insert verbal abuse HERE from zvex owners, with extra abuse for me in particular for owning a mammoth clone which cost very little to build) Hope bassfuzz sorts you out! Rich

Hey team, Warmoth and WD both make the neck i want, but by the time you have paid for their 'brand reputation' and import tax, they cost a bomb. what do i want? Jazz neck to fit standard pocket, ebony fingerboard, 21 frets with overhang. I've looked at chinese stuff and the reviews are mixed. i'm pretty sure there are guys on here who could do a much better job. Any suggestions? Cheers, Rich

[url="http://www.guitarpartsworldwide.com/p/product/0909131310-BASS+NECK+PADDLE+HEAD+EBONY/"]http://www.guitarpartsworldwide.com/p/prod...DLE+HEAD+EBONY/[/url] I'm particularly keen on the paddle headed ebony/maple, but would like to know A: Has anyone tried a neck from this place? B: Anyone know where i can get a maple/ebony neck cheaper? Cheers, Rich

Yeah the Fender HMV looks good, again not because it is high mass, but it seems to have been stiffened in all the correct places: Grooves to stop lateral movement of saddles, Strengthened/thickened at the end where the original fender bridge was just bent, Brass saddles. I still think it's overpriced, but looks like a great bit of kit. Anyone got one of these? Are the grooves for the feet of the saddles a snug fit for the bottom of the grub screws? i've seen a few designs where the saddles or their feet have grooves, but the lack of a tight fit means they may as well not be there.... Pretty good looking too! Rich

[quote name='Musicman20' post='825770' date='May 2 2010, 07:01 PM']Basic Flea lines (ive found a few) are probably a good place to start,[/quote] Yeah get you "Black eyed blonde" on!! best bassline ever???

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='825526' date='May 2 2010, 02:21 PM']The only slight problem you may have with a Gotoh is that the base plate is a lot thicker than the Fender bridges, so sometimes a neck shim (or adjustment on the micro tilt if you have one) is required, otherwise the action will be too high.[/quote] This seems to be a common problem with "hi mass" bridges. Had this with a badass on a 75 jazz reissue. couldn't get my g string down..... Got me thinking. if thinness is required, mass (in my opinion) not particularly relevant, stiffness very important, maybe i should design and high pressure molded carbon fibre bridge assembly? Brass saddles, gotoh-esque grooves for the saddle grub screws, thin, upper surface structure to provide maximum stiffness resulting in a low profile bridge, with very low movement and flex, reducing vibrational losses between the string and body. Hmmmmm...... Rich

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='825521' date='May 2 2010, 02:17 PM']Is someone digging up old threads? Bored today, are we? [/quote] Busted! i Just found out that Orange have been charging me £5 per month extra for internet on my mobile for over a year which i never used and never new i was paying for. This made me rather angry, and the poor engineering of the much over-hyped Badass 2 seemed like the obvious target to vent some rage! Luckily i'm not bored, as i have a 3000 word review paper on the "effecst of climate change on european salmonids" to enthral me.... Rich anyone got a Gotoh 201 kicking around the shed??

I think the Badass is flawed. The deep cast grooves that each saddle is meant to rest in are not a tight fit to the saddle so they are free to move slightly side to side. There bay be an improvement in stiffness, compared to the bent metal fender bridge, but nobody has yet been able to explain in logical scientific terms why a bridges mass imparts something on the tone of an instrument. From an engineering perspective, the stiffness with which the string is held would have much more effect (as long as mass of the bridge does not have a significant effect on the mass of the bass). The gotoh may lose some structural stiffness by being a thinner unit than the badass, butthis is more than compensated for because, unlike the badass, each saddle's grub screws rest in concave grooves with absolutely no side to side movement possible. Humf!! Rich

i recently had a pedal repaired by Martin Owen. [email protected] Really knows his stuff and a great bloke to deal with too. A common fault with the aphex stuff is the solder joints where the jack sockets are attached directly to the circuit board (shame, as this is just about the only gripe with what are great pedals, never had a problem with my punch factory). If you are handy with a soldering iron, maybe have a quick look for some cracked solder joints before you send it off. Otherwise, Martin is the man! Cheers, Rich

In fact this is a bit weird.... Tru Steppaz are from plymouth, so am i The first song on Myspace is Picture on the Wall, which is the name of the first song our band ever recorded back at school at Plymouth Musicians Cooperative! weird...must be something in the water! Nice one! Rich

That would be the day we formed our band at school and i turned up to play Smells Like Teen Spirit and Bombtrack...... with a saxophone.

Totally agree with the Larry and Louis approach. To get a broad palette of styles also check out: Red Hot Chili Peppers- Aeroplane (classic flea style) Graham Central Station- Hair (fairly hard) and Pow (maybe a bit harder) Ben Harper- Brown Eyed Blues (Simple until the genius bass solo!) The good thing about slap is that most often the best slap bass lines are the simpler ones with few notes but cleverly put together. Speed slap seems to have a pretty alienating effect on anyone who isn't a bass player! Good luck and may the Mothership be with you. Rich

BassFlash? I'm feeling the cold dark grip of ignorance again.... Is this: A: A special media player that filters out images/sound of other lesser instruments from digital video (e.g. G££££r)? B: Playing bass in public, naked? C: When several people apparently randomly congregating in public suddenly open their trenchcoats to reveal bass guitars and portable amps before launching in to a synchronised dance in the style of Graham Central Station's POW? [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1IuD6F3R5I"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1IuD6F3R5I[/url] Hmmmm i think the new St Davids centre could do with a funk attack.... Rich Incidentally, that True Steppaz shiz is hot!!! Any chance of a support slot for a half decent Reggae/Hip-Hop/Soul crossover band??

Not such a benefit to me, i'm at least 6 minutes away!