SteveO

Have you thought of DIY? One of [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?moduleno=2417"]these[/url] with break before make contacts. You can get them 6, 4 or 3 way with at least 2 poles - i.e. can be used to make a selector with 6, 4 or 3 inputs. 2 poles means that you won't need to share the ground wire between basses which will avoid any interference problenm. a [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Search.aspx?criteria=knob&source=15"]knob[/url] a [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=6359"]box[/url]. As many [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1133"]sockets[/url] as you need. some wire to join them all up Total cost about a tenner.

[url="http://www.zoom.co.jp/archive/English_Manual/E_607.pdf"]Here you go[/url] bypass by pressing both pedals at the same time, although I've heard it's not totally clear (still a bit of extra hiss from the pedal)

You can get a pack of self adhesive labels and cut them into thin lines for fretmarkers (done this on a cello for a begining student) you can't hear any difference, they dont rub off from the strings and they'll come off easy afterwards. Of course, if this is just a thinly veiled excuse to extend the beedster fold to one more bass then stop messing around and buy it, you don't need to justify it to us, we're not married or anything

Thanks for the headsup Ian, Not that I ever buy strings, but if I were I'd opt for the cheapest in the shop being as tight fisted as I am. strange that someone would actually make strings that don't fit, you'd have thought that they'd at least bothered to have a look at one of the most popular basses on the market to see if they work.

They're called 'grub screws'. Finding them with Allen key heads isn't too easy, but slot screwdriver heads are quite common (B&Q etc). You can change them all to keep them the same type with a packet of 10 for a quid or two. Proper vintage fender grub screws will probably be at least 30 quid each

I have to admit it took a while before I noticed the word parodie in the title and realised it was a windup. Initially I thought he was was just having a really bad day.

I got one for the classical guitar. It doesn't work unless I take it off and hold it near the soundhole, which kinda defeats the object. can't remember the make as it's in the bin ages ago. It was abut a tenner from thomann if that helps

Well, there's [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Vintage-1972-1975-Fender-Stratocaster-Telecaster-Case_W0QQitemZ140353363404QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item20adb65dcc"]this[/url] vintage strat case for a 200 quid BIN. IMO that's getting silly really.

Nah. No joy. I must have chucked it out when I cleared out the rest of the tat.

It's an old kettle lead socket, or at least I had an old kettle that had one of those round sockets on it. I may still have it somewhere in my loft and will post it if I find it (I'll get back to you once i've had a search around), but as Johnzgerman said it looks damaged and it's probably wise to get it changed to a modern kettle lead socket anyway. If you know someone who's handy with a soldering iron then [url="http://maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=1497"]maplin sell them for 2 quid[/url]

How long do they last for? I know you can "recharge" them by drying out in an oven, but I have a feeling that in a case that's constantly opened and closed they're not going to be of much use for long until they've absorbed as much water as they can. I think they're only gonna be useful for long term storage, to stop that mouldy musky smell.

[quote name='JensWest' post='621768' date='Oct 9 2009, 05:18 PM']There's no place like Sweden. [/quote] Well, if you drive 450Km to the west there is Welcome aboard. I wonder how many scandinavians we have now. We could probably set up our own Bass Bash

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='630138' date='Oct 19 2009, 11:23 AM']"Price drop due to quick sale being needed, please feel free to offer - any offer considered." Just offered him £175.[/quote] I was gonna offer him 50 for spares, but there's not much point now.

[quote name='Tait' post='629930' date='Oct 19 2009, 12:02 AM']thing is, when i work out the corrections, i dont bother to tab them, because theres no need, because i've just worked it out and so i can play it without reading them.[/quote] Spot on there tait. I remember early on that I decided to post revisions of the tabs as I was learning them, but I didn't even get as far as correcting the first. About a month later I stopped using them anyway. These days I only go for a tab if it's a mad rush to learn a set in a couple of days and then only for a pointer in the right direction. It's not a bad idea though. Are bad tabs better than good ones though (from a learning perspective)? When you know that it can't be right then you're using your ears to learn the song and correct the mistakes. Moves you away from playing by numbers and down the path of playing by ears... just a thought.

Run, don't walk? didn't we have someone with that in their sig a while back or is my memory playing tricks again. Whatever, welcome aboard mate

OK, I admit i've never watched it in the UK and we don't get it over here, but isn't the point of the X factor to find new talent. I thought that Whitney had already become famous.

That's great. Respect to Mr Ezbass. (Is that a removable headstock?)

[quote name='silddx' post='629170' date='Oct 18 2009, 12:41 AM']S'all good, but this is what you really want to see ..[/quote] still laughing. good clip.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='629298' date='Oct 18 2009, 11:25 AM']Why did it take getting given some free texts before he could get a band together?[/quote] Lack of commitment there. Anyway he's playing a 6 string at the end. Obviously doesn't know what he wants to be. Nah, I reckon it's some drama student (who happens to play bass) who's been selected and the ads been written to make him seem to be a happy go lucky cheery chappie and aren't T-mob good to play Jim'll-fix-it for him and everyones happy in the end, but in reality he's in at least one band and doing well for himself. (and good luck to him:)) It's marketing innit. none of these ads are true.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='629278' date='Oct 18 2009, 10:49 AM']Trust your instincts. Throw away the books and train your fingertips to "sing" the tune that's in your head. Jam along to CDs that you know well but don't know the tab to.[/quote] Gets my vote. If you want structure then start with stuff you've been listening to for years and years then gradually move to newer stuff. It's a bit hit and miss at first, but you'll quickly get to the point of being able to fake a song. From there if you really want to replicate a song note for note then tab's are ok in my book (if you can find an accurate one) although by now you'll be able to hear whats going on and play by ear if you want to. The ability to keep going when you forget everything mid chorus, effectively just jamming with the band for a few bars whilst your brain catches up, is a very useful one to have indeed.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='628951' date='Oct 17 2009, 08:11 PM']Apparently, that's exactly what voltage stabilisers do (among other things) - surprised me. [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage_stabilizer"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltage_stabilizer[/url] Changing the input voltage to an amp can have quite an effect on the sound. Eddie Van Halen used a Variac to run his Marshalls at a different input voltage from spec, in order to produce his "brown sound". Def going to look into this.[/quote] well well there you go, I always thought they were a load of capacitors and other such electrical trickery that stored the charge then pushed it out when the supply dropped, a bit like you have in DC transformers to flatten the waveform. I suppose a little thought tells you it must be possible as you can get an inverter for the car that pushes out 240V from a 12V battery. Right, I'm shutting up now.

Oooh very cynical WH. (true though ) To coin the cliche it's worth what people will pay for it and there are (or at least were) some people out there that will pay 700-800 for a good one, although I haven't seen one sell at this kind of money for 6 months now. If you have more scruples then 300-400 is about right.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='628717' date='Oct 17 2009, 02:50 PM']Tucked away at the bottom of that wisegeek page I can see why someone might want to use one of these. Voltage variations can make a difference to your sound, particularly valve amps. Been thinking about this myself since an amp tech told me he'd measured my amp's output twice - 29w when his home's night storage heating was on, 39w when it was off.[/quote] It's not gonna deal with that though is it, I mean it can't magically produce extra voltage from nowhere. Still ironing out the peaks and troughs in the supply voltage sounds like a good idea, although I wonder if it has the same real world effect on the sound as gold terminals have on the hifi.