rmorris

It's not really that complicated: Electronically you want low capacitance cable with a semiconducting layer to reduce noise produced by handling/movement (more important for passive basses). And good screening - braid is probably best but not very flexible although some studio orientated cables use it as flexibility is likely to be less important than in a live situation (depending on the player obvs:-)) Braid over a foil screen is best in general but I've never seen that in a cable with the semiconducting layer. Practically spirally lapped shields are effective and give flexibility and double lapped shield (Reussen shield) with the spirals in opposite directions give better screening albeit with a slight reduction in flexibility. Mechanically you want conductors thick enough that they aren't fragile so won't break. For connectors - the Neutrik style cable collett strain relief is the best (other manufacturers may have equivalent) as it separates the strain relief function from electrical connectivity and basically doesn't rely on bending a bit of metal to grip a cable but not so tight as to break it ! And then an outer jacket good enough to withstand the working environment . Practically something like Klotz Instrument cable and Neutrik Connectors. Also Sommer / Canare / Van Damme come to mind for cable. OBBM seems to be the best source round these parts. I've found him very helpful previously.

Indeed. Whilst no fan of Monster and their business practices - the comparison here is meaningless unless you somehow have a long flexible and electrically screened coathanger...but then it wouldn't be a coathanger would it ?

I've never seen mention of this on here but it's from a UK pro-audio 'Giant' Raindirk DI Option to go in via active circuit (Higher Z) or passive into the transformer. Discussed this with Cyril Jones some years ago and he mentioned that most bass users preferred the passive option.

What do you want to solder - wires to potentiometer solder tabs and bodies / through hole components / SMT components / all of the above ?

Yes. Or just take out the tone control completely and increase the pot value as suggested. Or to be more radical bypass the volume altogether and make sure the input of your amp or DI etc is high ie 1M0 or above.

and a lot more time ??? filing f.ay, 0.105" string I think they are more of a guitar thing tbh.

Good Point 🙂

Doesn't that only apply if tightening the truss rod ? If loosening then string tension would seem to be helping ? Willing to take advice on this.

eg https://cpc.farnell.com/duratool/d03048/multimeter-digital/dp/IN07222

What did you dislike about the original bridge ? Sound / Tone ? Or aesthetics / ergonomics ?

Yes - but isn't the 'slight bend' the key thing here to give better access with a typical headstock end truss rod adjustment ?

Right. I'm going to ask the question that never gets asked? We play (relatively large) bass guitars - often through even larger/heavier amp/speaker/combo rigs - so why the obsession with the size of relatively tiny effects pedals ??? Yeah - I know stage sizes etc but really ...

yeah - the circuits load each other resulting in loss of level (and a likely change in frequency response).The loss will be equal in each output only if the output impedances are identical.

What was the 4 channel line mixer ? Seems something wrong if that didn't work properly. Bear in mind that a ABY pedal will simply join the outputs of the two chains together. Whether that works properly depends on the output impedances of your fx chains and the input circuit you're going into.

I see. I don't think I've ever used Aluminium tape, Probably due to the reasons you outline - adhesive / soldering. But I've used 'loads' of aluminium foil in testing scenarios to good effect. On an anecdotal level from my EMC test lab mate - it's worth getting the 'Turkey Foil' mainly sold around Christmas time that is a bit thicker than normal foil. After that the law of (exponentially) diminishing returns means it's not worth going further 🙂

yeah - I was really just expanding on the point. (You may have guessed that this sort of thing is part of my 'dayjob' so may as well share here). But, as you say, essentially the shield/screen needs to be at a fixed potential (voltage) with respect to the circuitry. This is best achieved through a 'solid' connection to the circuit 'ground' or 0V. Cheers.

Basically - in a hand waving sort of way - a shield reflects most of the rfi and a small amount is absorbed depending on the Surface Transfer Impedance (STI) of the shield material, the frequency of the interference and the thickness of the shield. A small finite amount 'gets through' the shield. Basically the better a material is as an electrical conductor the better it is at screening eg Copper is better than Aluminium. The important thing about implementing a shield is that it is held at a fixed potential with respect to the electronics. This almost always means a good solid connection to 'ground' or 0V. This may, or may not, be connected to the actual 'Earth'. (The 'Earth' connection is essentially for electrical safety - think about a car or aeroplane where there is no galvanic connection to earth but screening considerations still apply) Bear in mind that different considerations apply where the interference has a large magnetic field component (as opposed to electrical field) component. In practice this means mains hum caused by transformers etc.

Might be the relative output levels I guess but also the wax or resin potting on the J might be suspect ? Hopefully some pickup experts might chime in...

All things being equal Copper is a more effective shielding material.

To clarify - Do you definitely wish to go fretless or is it (as I read it) just a 'side thought' ?

The pickups are (Alan) Entwistle. Not Entwhistle. I'm not trying to be pedantic but it reminds me that there was an 'amusing' debate on TalkBass about whether (John) Entwhistle had really in some way 'authorised' these pickups. I think someone put them right in the end but...you know...Americans 🙃

No. Copper is non ferrous ie not ferric. Metals with Ferric properties contain Iron (Fe in periodic table) so basically irons and steels. Aluminium is also non ferrous.

Sounds like that cable may not be proper "High Impedance Instrument Cable". It should have a semiconducting layer between the core and the screen to attenuate noise due to cable movement.

Beyond contamination of the windings a metal string is liable to loss of tension over time.