Osiris

It certainly is, the wood grain is stunning.

I'm a bit late to the party after having played 34" scales for the past 30 years or so. I've got a dodgy nerve in my left wrist that makes playing 34's in the lower register uncomfortable after a while so I've picked up a couple of shorties and find them so much more comfortable to play. The top one is an Ibanez Talman. They're cheap and cheerful but are a massive amount of bass for the money. I bought this one from @Thunderbird who had swapped out the pups for Kent Armstrong Vintage Hots, put some decent pots in it, replaced the jack and shielded it and with these extra tweaks it is a seriously giggable bass. I replaced the bridge myself as the stock one was a bent bit of tin foil jobbie - seriously it was really flimsy. It's been wired with a pickup blend pot instead of the stock vol/vol/tone arrangement as I much prefer the convenience of a blend. The inlays are stickers off eBay, not that you can tell from any distance, and just help to make it look more classy than it really is The Mustang P/J is my new toy. Classic Fender styling and tone in a short scale package. I found the 3 way pickup selector switch to be too tonally limiting so I've had it re-wired to include a volume and pickup blend by the jack socket and a tone pot where the pickup switch was on the bottom horn, I only ever leave the tone wide open so I was quite happy to have it out of the way! I've stuck a cream coloured pot on it to help camouflage it as it looked a bit odd at first, but I'm really starting to dig the look now. There is a touch of lateral moment on the E string bridge saddle, entirely down to my ham-fisted playing style, so the bridge may be upgraded to something like a Fender Hi-mass or Gotoh 201 at some point, but I can live with it for now.

Here's a couple of mine, The TT was an impulse buy purely on the aesthetics, I just love the red and black combination and I think the ebony fingerboard just adds to the looks. It's all passive with Hausell (can't find the umlaut key) pickups and it sounds utterly immense. The neck pup has a more P like mid range punch that you usually get with a J style single coil. The VM is a swamp ash body with 'Berg own brand pups and a Glockenklang pre-amp. The poor thing is currently looking for a new home

Thanks for the clarification

Should that read "Dynamic speakers tend to develop a lot more bass than armatures"? Or is it the other way round? Not trying to be a smart-derrière, just trying to get to grips with it all

There's a really helpful article on scale length here; http://www.studybass.com/gear/bass-guitar-buying-guide/bass-scale-length/ For your Ibanez with its 35.2" scale, according to this article you will need extra long scale strings - which matches up with what Rotosound are saying in the link you posted in your message. Some string manufacturers state the scale length that that particular set of strings is suitable on the back of the packaging that the strings come in, so take a quick look before buying some new strings to make sure they fit if you can. And if you are buying online, a Google images search may find the packaging of the strings you want so you can read what it says that way. I recently did something similar when buying some short scale strings!

Not a tribute band as such but I've always thought my mates band name was superb, but you have to say it with a Yorkshire accent;

I have Bartolini humbuckers in my Ibanez SR1000, although off the top of my head I cannot remember exactly which model they are. The stock pre-amp died years ago and was replaced by a 2 band Glockenklang. Everything works fine and there was no issue connecting everything up. One thing to consider before doing anything is that the Bartolini pickups sound very different to Jazz single coils. I'm somewhat ambivalent to the sound of the Barts, they slice through the mix brilliantly and are tonally consistent from the low E to the high G on my 4 sting, 2 octave neck. But when it's just the bass in isolation, I personally find the tone to be somewhat bland and unexciting - they don't have the classic passive single coil punch. But they may well be exactly what you are looking for.

I think you're right to be cautious. Nail varnish will contain some sort of solvent in which the acrylic is dissolved, so when the solvent evaporates it leaves behind the acrylic layer. There is a possibility that whatever solvent is used in the nail polish could interact with the acrylic used on the IEM - it is a solvent that can dissolve at least some acrylic materials after all. It may not affect it at all, of course, but there is still a risk no matter how small.

Thanks @KiOgon. What would the best thing to do with the wires that are all soldered to the back of the tone pot in that diagram? Can they be soldered to the back of the volume? Does that make sense to you @Thunderbird seeing as you'll be wiring it up for me

I've just acquired a Fender Mustang P/J. The control layout is master volume and tone knobs with a 3 way pickup selector switch. As I only ever leave passive tone controls fully open, I want to know if it is possible to rewire the bass so that it can have a pickup blend pot instead of the tone? For me, a blend pot would be far more useful than the tone control. The little metal control plate only has holes for 2 knobs and I don't want to go at it with a drill to make room for a third pot. Ideally I can just swap the tone for a blend and not have a tone control at all. If it is possible to do, would there still need to be a capacitor wired into the circuit somewhere? I seem to recall having a passive bass rewired years ago to bypass the tone control and there was excessive top end in the signal, and I seem to think at the time that I was told that it was because there was no capacitor (possibly the tone pot too) in the signal and that these naturally remove these ultra-high frequencies from the signal. The pickup selector switch can be left in place but not wired in. Can it be done? Does anyone have a suitable wiring diagram? Are there any reasons why it would be a bad idea?

OK, go for it 👍

No, don't think I have seen the Cort before. Try backing the tone off or maybe putting some flats on it if you have any laying around before buying anything. Unless you're just looking for an excuse to buy a new toy that is

There's a similar thread here that has some useful suggestions. Some of them possibly over budget though, but worth a look all the same

@Thunderbird which bass is too bright for you? I seem to remember that your rig is quite dark sounding (in a good way) so I'm surprised that you have a bass that's too bright for it. Sounds obvious, but have you tried this before getting the credit card out?

Cheers for that, all opinions are welcome

Waffle away, I'm keen to know you thoughts! I know exactly what you mean, I tend to know within a few minutes or so if I'm going to bond with a bass or not too. My Talman is the all black one. I have put some mother of pearl effect block marker stickers on it (because I'm shallow like that ) and I think it looks quite classy now, certainly more expensive than it is. Likewise I'm not sure about the headstock design but for the sheer fun of it and the ease of playing then I'm willing to overlook such a cosmetic detail. I'm somewhat ambivalent towards the cream one, some of the pictures online show it with a darker fretboard which I think suits the bass but there are others which show it with a more pale fretboard, (presumably an inherent property of the jatoba wood they are now using instead of rosewood?) but I'm not so keen on that, personally. How do you find the pickups on the Jag? Are you considering changing them at some point or do they deliver the goods as they are? From what you guys are saying I think I'm going to have to give the Jag SS a whirl.

What is it about the Jaguar short scale that you preferred over the Talman SS? The reason I ask is that I picked up a used Talman SS a few weeks ago from a mate of mine and I think it's a fantastic bass considering how cheap and cheerful they are. Admittedly he'd changed the pickups, put some better quality pots in it and checked the frets over but it sounds and plays as well as some of my more expensive basses. I like the look of the Jaguar SS so am interested to hear how you feel they compare.

I've just bought a bass from Alan and he is without doubt an absolute gentleman to deal with. I'd been on the look out for an ash body Scott Whitley short scale and he listed exactly what I was looking for, the trouble was that the ad was posted only a couple of days before I was heading off on holiday. I dropped him a message to enquire about the bass and offered to pay a deposit to secure the bass until my return. I was half expecting him to tell me to sod off for being so cheeky but he graciously accommodated me. The deposit was paid, several messages were exchanged in the meantime and we arranged to meet at his home on my return from holiday. Not only that but I was selling one of my basses to another basschatter who didn't live too far from Alan and he suggested that the 3 of us meet at his house. Which we did and everyone was happy. Tea, cakes and biscuits were provided although I now sorely regret declining the offer of one of the huge cup cakes! The bass itself was in great condition as he'd described it. It came with a hard case that I thought was actually in better condition than the ad suggested, not that that is a problem! He also threw in a couple of sets of barely used short scale strings and knocked off a few pounds from the asking price (not that I asked him to) to help cover my petrol costs. Alan is a genuine, patient, friendly and funny guy to deal with. Cheers Alan, it's been an absolute pleasure.

Chris has just bought a bass from me. I messaged him after he'd posted a comment singing the praises of the Peavey Zodiac and I had one that I was no longer using. I sent him a message to ask if he'd possibly interesting in buying it and it went from there. Great guy to deal with, friendly, funny and a frighteningly good player to boot. Highly recommended, deal in confidence.

Dan recently bought a pedal from me and he paid in super quick time. No problems at all and I'm more than happy to deal with him again.

I've been gigging with a Tecamp M212 for several years now. 600 Watts, 4 ohm, and only around 19 Kg, so an easy one man lift. I just use the one cab and have never been left wanting for volume, heft or projection - and I'm playing similar gigs to you i.e pubs, clubs rooms for about 500 people etc. Although I have some PA support the majority of the bass in the mix is still coming from my cab. It easily fills the room. It's more than just a rehearsal room cab They're not made anymore but if you see one going used I can definitely recommend it.