Osiris

It looks like the problem has been diagnosed and all but cured - all that was required was 2 grown men, a selection of hand held tools, some Vaseline and a length of bicycle inner tube. After some assistance from the very helpful Thunderbird, it appears that the hole through the headstock that the machine head shaft (not sure if there's a technical name for it?) passes through was fractionally too large - we're talking a faction of next to nothing here. The upshot of it was that when the string was plucked, the machine head shaft was effectively rattling about in the hole and causing the annoying clicking sound. After some experiments that involved wrapping the shaft in PTFE tape there was a noticeable improvement, not an outright cure but enough of a difference to warrant further investigation. A small section of inner tube was used to replace the PTFE tape to effectively pack out the greased-up hole and act as a shock absorber. The result is a massive improvement - the click is still there slightly when you really dig in but it's nowhere near as pronounced as it was. When plucking the string with my usual degree of attack there's no more annoying click! Thanks again to everyone for your suggestions and special thanks to Paul for diagnosing the issue and suggesting the way to resolve it. .

Having taken another look at the bass, here's the latest update; I've eliminated the possibility of it being the A string that makes the noise when my plucking finger touches it after striking the D. I even went as far as removing the A string but the annoying sound persisted! Thanks for the suggestion ikay, it wasn't something I'd have thought of. Like you Johnny frog, I tend to [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]pluck down through the string slightly striking it towards the body. OK, so this is probably poor technique on my part, but until now it has never been a problem![/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Howie, thanks for the suggestion chap, but I've already checked and changed the bridge saddles so I'm as sure as I can be that they are not the cause. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Paul, you're more than welcome to take a look at the bass, I'll drop you a line and arrange something. [/font][/color] [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Thanks for the offer OldG, I'm not a million miles from Rushden so if Paul (Thunderbird) has no luck with the bass I'll likely take you up on the offer, cheers![/font][/color]

Cheers Johnny, but I've Already tried raising the bridge saddle, even to the point where is was unplayable because the string was so high, but alas, it didn't stop the click! Paul, by all means you are welcome to have a look and see if you can figure out what's wrong. Pilot error perhaps??? Grangur - http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/government-issues-guidelines-for-encounters-with-white-bmws-2014020483225 I rest my case

Thanks for the additional thoughts on this, people. ikay - your suggestion of the string below being the culprit is worth investigating, I'll take a look. iconic - there's no string retainer, so unfortunately that can't be the problem (the headstock angles back from the neck and body slightly to pull the strings down tight over the nut) hamfist - yes my fingers do strike the pup when playing but I still get the noise even if I change my right hand position i.e. near the bridge or at the end of the neck. chris b - my string attack is probably somewhere in the middle, I neither hammer nor tickle the strings! Obviously the harder I play the more pronounced the click, but it's still apparent even with a fairly soft pluck. Grangur - Thanks for the recommendation of Si600, It could well be worth arranging something for him to take a look. I don't know the guy, do you think he'd mind if I message him? Paul - the string clicks even when the bass isn't plugged into anything so I suspect that the string being too close to the pup isn't the issue. So thanks again everyone for the suggestions, I'll take another look at it but I might just have to bite the bullet and get someone else to probe its darkest recesses .... It may not be the end of the world, but it's bloody annoying

Thanks for the advice folks, I've been through and tightened everything up on the machine heads and the bridge (plus pretty much everything else) but still the annoying sound persists. I even swapped the D & G machine heads over but that hasn't made any difference either Paul - I've tried other strings and replaced the bridge saddles, but that hasn't helped! hamfist - The string has good clearance over the pup (Yes, it's a P style!) and is definitely not hitting it when the string is plucked. As the bass was only cheap I'm loathed to take it to a 'pro' to be fixed as it could potentially end up costing more than the bass is worth! And whatever the fault is could hopefully be something that I could easily rectify - if only I knew what the problem is!!! Anyone else have any suggestions?

Hi all, Having just completed reassembling a cheap project bass (an old Ibanez Soundgear) I've found that there is what I can only describe as a weird clicking type sound along the whole of the D string. It happens when playing the string open and across every one of the 24 frets. The sound appears to be coming from the head end of the neck as far as I can tell. And just to confuse things, it only seems to happen when playing finger style, using a pick or playing down strokes with my thumb sound fine. This weird sound doesn't appear to be being transmitted through the amp but is quite loud and very noticeable when playing acoustically or at in-house volumes. It's a bass that I'm hoping to use to teach my young son so would like to get it sorted so that it doesn't serve as a distraction to him as he's learning. I've tried a number of things already to diagnose the problem, none of which have resolved the issue;[list] [*]The truss rod has been adjusted to the required relief, [*]The fret levels checked (none need to be reseated), [*]The bridge saddle has been raised to it's maximum height, [*]I packed the nut slot out with a length of matchstick to raise the string from the fingerboard, [*]I've tried different strings [/list] The fact that this problem only affects the D string leads me to suspect that it's a problem with either the bridge, or more likely the nut as the clicking seems to be coming from that end of the neck. Can anyone shed any light on this, please? Sid.

Kevin offered up a Wizard Trad Precision pickup in response to a wanted ad that I had posted - and at a very reasonable price too. Very friendly chap to deal with and very knowledgeable about all things bass too.

Thanks for the word for wisdom people. I've just finished wiring the bass up - direct from the volume pot to the output with no [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]resistor/capacitor[/font][/color] - and all sounds great through my little 30 watt practice amp. Not tried it through my gig rig yet but if things do sound a bit too bright for my tastes then I'll try wiring a [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]resistor [/font][/color]into the circuit. Cheers, Sid.

Cheers for the clarification, John. I'll get my welding torch out at the weekend and see what happens ......

Thanks for the help, guys. John, a couple of further questions if I may;[list] [*]The hot wire from the pickup is presumably the white one??? [*]Shouldn't there also be an earth wire somewhere (the one that connects to the underside of the bridge?) If so, where does the other end of it go? [/list] Cheers, Sid.

Hi folks, I’m after some advice, please. I’m currently renovating an old Ibanez bass and have removed the original P/J pickups and pre-amp and plan to replace them with just a passive P pickup to keep things simple. What I would like to do, if possible, is wire the pup to a volume pot and then straight to the output. (I don’t tend to use passive tone controls as I prefer to make tonal changes via the amp or by adjusting my technique). [indent=1]o Is it even possible to do this?[/indent] [indent=1]o Do I need to have a tone control in the circuit?[/indent] [indent=1]o Presumably this will give the full range signal from the pickup? i.e. as if the tone pot was wide open?[/indent] [indent=1]o Would I need a capacitor or resistor in the circuit or can that be omitted too?[/indent] [indent=1]o Would doing so have any adverse effect on the tone?[/indent] Assuming that the above is feasible does anyone have (or can they point me in the direction of) an appropriate wiring diagram, please? Any advice, guidance, words of wisdom much appreciated, Cheers, Sid.

Just bought an old ibanez bass from Mark as a work-in-progress project. He was honest, quick and courteous in response to my queries and posted the bass off very quickly too. All in all he was a great guy to deal with.

Sorry for not responding to this sooner , all magazines have now found their way to new homes, many thanks to everyone for their interest.

Paul (aka Thunderbird) is a friendly and genuine guy to deal with - what more can I say???

Hi all, Having a clear-out as we're moving house soon, and need to re-home loads of old Loads of Bassist & Bass guitar magazines. Haven't been through them all methodically but there's loads, maybe or 100 or so in total, going back at least as far as 1997 right up to about 3 or 4 years ago. Free to a good home (or a donation to the basschat site if you're feeling charitable ) - otherwise they'll end up in the recycling bin . Collection from Wellingborough, Northants preferred, however I'm willing to arrange postage at the 'collectors' expense, but please be aware that this is unlikely to be cheap due to the weight and number of them! Ta, Sid.

Purchased a DB Opera sub from Owen. Great guy to deal with, fast and friendly communication throughout the transaction. The sub was well packaged and arrived without a mark despite the best efforts of the courier to destroy it en-route. I can't recommend him enough! Thanks again, Sid.

Just received a mint condition TC Electronic RH450 amp from Alan. I cannot stress enough what a great guy he is to deal with - the description of the amp was totally accurate, prompt and courteous replies to communications, he was also very quick to dispatch the item too. A prefect and pain free transaction! Can't recommend him enough.

Hi folks, I'm thinking of possibly getting a 2nd amplifier to use when gigging in larger venues and want to know the easiest/best/most efficient way of doing so. My current rig consists of a TC Electronic Classic 450 into a 4 ohm Tecamp M212. I also have a Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout 8 ohm 1 x 12 that is used for rehearsing and smaller gigs. Obviously with the Tecamp being 4 ohm, I can't run a second cab with the TC. What I would like to do, if viable, is to effectively run 2 rigs at a time - with one amp powering the Tec and another powering the Boogie. So my question is, how best to do so? According to the TC manual, I can run a second TC amp by plugging the effects loop out of one into the effects loop return of another. However, what is not clear (to me, at least) is if this will effectively treat the second amp as a slave power amp, meaning that I can only control the volume? i.e. I will have no control over the eq or compressor? Having full control over the second amp is desirable, but probably not essential - I just want to know what the facts are before deciding whether to pursue this idea or not. If I were to run a signal from the effects loop out of one amp into the instrument input of a second, would that work? i.e. would the signal be strong enough or of the correct impedance? (Does the signal impedance even matter???). After years of trying all variety of amps and cabs, the gear I currently have gives me the sound that I want so I really don't want to have to change any of it. What I have in mind would be to get a second Classic 450, or maybe an RH450, and use that to drive the little Boogie cab while the first amp powers the Tecamp. Your thoughts, advice, input, derision etc. on this much appreciated. Sid.

Sam has just purchased a Line 6 LD150 combo from me. He is a genuine chap to deal with, he's honest, and he paid when he said he would. What more do you want from a buyer? I'd happily deal with him again Sid.

I bought an Electro Harmonix bass big muff pi from Andrew. There was no problem with the transaction at all, he was quick to respond to my message and just as quick to post the pedal off as a recorded delivery. It was well packaged too. I'd happily deal with him again, Sid.

Thanks for the replies folks, Charic - the Classic doesn't have a channel volume control, only gain and master as it's a single channel amp. Low End - I use a Tecamp M212 cab for most gigs (2 x 12, 4 ohm, 600 watts) and a Mesa Boogie radiator scout (1 x 12, 8 ohm, 300 watts) for rehearsals and small gigs. I've had the same volume issue with both cabs. Gareth - that's exactly how mine is, [color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]home practice volume until you hit 9 o'clock and then too loud to gig most venues.[/font][/color] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Mark - No, haven't contacted TC, though I'm tempted to. However, this does seem to be an issue with at least some of the TC amps. Might be worth a call to their technical support though. [/color][/font] [font="helvetica, arial, sans-serif"][color="#282828"]Sid.[/color][/font]