dave_bass5

IME you could do worse than to get a Behringer BDI21 to start with if your not 100% These cost around £25 and by all accounts sound pretty similar. Ive had one for a few years now but have only just started using it properly. I had a VT bass but felt it was a bit more than i needed and didn't really want an all out Ampeg tone.

Well, i guess i spoke to soon. Ive tried to adjust the trussrod and i cant. Using the tool that came with the bass its slipping in the nut. Im going to try a better allen key when i get home but im a bit worried about this. I would prefer to fix this myself rather than send the bass back. Im sure i can. My main worry is stripping the nut and not being able to do any adjustments. Im going to try and find a new trussrod nut, just in case i mess this one up. Ive seen the sticky about fixing a maxed out truss rod so might give that ago, the only problem is i dont have many tools so cant alter any nuts i already have. Anyone know the dimensions of a nut that will fit?

[quote name='TommyK' post='935972' date='Aug 25 2010, 02:05 PM']Lets get Retarded/Started - Blackeyed peas. I reckon it is near perfect, Bass wise. I absolutely love playing along to it. Just wish i could get my band to be brave enough to have a bash at it!![/quote] Same here. Im always playing this bass line at sound checks and while the drummer joins in the other two dont really want to know. We will never play it live. Real shame.

[quote name='Linus27' post='938020' date='Aug 27 2010, 12:39 PM']I've gone back to a Precision after all these years and loving it. I also play my Stingray lots. In fact the only Jazz I have is being made a fretless [/quote] I will definitely go back to P next year but not sure if i will give up the Jazz. The plan has always been to get a good jazz with a nice neck, and hang on to the neck for any other basses that come along. This is what i did before. Hopefully ill get a Allparts P body after Christmas and take my time to put a P together. A Fralin or thumper will be on the cards, as will a Gotoh 201 i expect. All in it should cost less than £400. I can then use my CV Jazz neck (probably wont get a de fret now) to go on the HW-one jazz. Any news on your neck?

Pics tonight. ill take a couple as it came but hoping my black PG will fit so ill get some of those as well. I might even put a tort on it if ti fits. I had one of these on my old black HW-one P and it looked pretty good. I do think this bass looks more robust than the MIA. The lack of gloss might help but ti looks very road worthy. Jazz basses eh? who'd have thought i would go back to these after the past few years of not liking them. Then again, im already thinking of a P body for this neck, but thats next year sometime. Oh, and another coincidence. I was also using my Behringer BDI21 last NYE. After not using ti for a while and getting a Sadowsky DI recently im now getting rid of that and going back to the BD21 (hopefully a BDDI). so, in effect i had my ideal tone last NYE and its taken me money and 7 months to realise that.

Well it looks like this saga might be coming to a close. The Highway-one just turned up and i must say its seems much better put together. Pups are where they should be, routing if fine, no gaps under any frets and it seems a bit lighter than the MIA (i will weigh it on our postage scales today, just for reference). The neck pocket is also spot no but so were the MIA's. The finish if good although there are one or two very, very light surface scratches. Im not in the slightest bothered about this as after the first gig im sure it will have a few more. I loved the shiny finish on the MIA but i do like this flat back finish as well. It looks very rock and roll. Ive not plugged it in yet, and the action is a bit high due partly to too much relief but thats all easily sorted. So, its been a trying 4 weeks but i think i got there. And considering my original budget was £500 im very happy to have only just gone over that, rather than double it. This all started because i was a bit unhappy with my CVJ and wanted a MIM 70's classic, mainly for the blocked neck, but due to these MIA issues ive been forced to play it more and im back in love with it, although the HW is going to be my main bass from now on (fingers crossed) Cheers for reading and letting me share my experience. Oh, and a big thumbs up to Reidys (especially John and Paul), the shop thats been dealing with all this. These guys have had to put up with me sending 3 MIA's back and not once did they try and get out of it, they have paid all the postage both ways and been very helpful. I will definitely use them again and will be my first port of call for my next bass. Funny thing. I started this year playing my vastly under used HW1, then got rid of it and had my first experience with a MM (Sub, and then Ray34), first time with a maple necked Jazz but i expect ill go out playing a HW-one (i know, there is still time to go through a few more basses before NYE)

Thanks very much for that explanation. It does help but it also makes me realise how much more is involved. I think ill wait a while before doing anything now. I do have an ohm meter so when i open the bass up ill have a check, just so i know whats what. In general i do find that my tone knobs dont do a great deal until almost off, especially on Fender basses but then again, i hardly use the tone knob and when i do its more or less turned all the way off anyway so im sure it wont matter.

[quote name='ikay' post='937381' date='Aug 26 2010, 06:07 PM']Orange drop is fine as is CTS 250k pot but the one in your link is 'audio taper' whereas 'linear taper' is more normal for tone (audo taper for vol). I'm not sure that it makes that much difference but some more info on audio/linear tapers here - [url="http://music-electronics-forum.com/t1049/"]http://music-electronics-forum.com/t1049/[/url][/quote] Thanks for the link. Ill have a proper read of it later but i must admit im confused. I read quite a few threads on Talkbass where everyone agreed a audio taper is standard for a jazz bass tone control. Im in no position to argue with anyone but i think i need to look in to this a bit more first. It does seem like you can use either. This thread sounds quite interesting as well. [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=671456&highlight=pot+shootout"]Tone pot shoot out.[/url]

Cheers guys. I will definitely give the bass a go first. I get it tomorrow and have gigs tomorrow and sat so i have no choice. Ive not actually heard one yet, my old HW1 didnt have this but i did like the way it goes when the tone is all the way off. Saying that, i hardly use the tone knob anyway so maybe it wont be a problem. As i said, ive never had ot do anything like this before so can you check this is the right cap. They also have the ceramic one. [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Sprague_%27Orange_Drop%27_0.047_Capacitor_.047CAP-OD"]Orange Drop[/url] Also, it might be easier if i replaced the tone pot. That way its less messy. Anyone know if this is ok? [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Premium_250k_Solid_Shaft_Pot_10%25_Tolerance_CTS250SS"]CTS pot[/url] Thanks again for any help.

My HW-one is due tomorrow and while i know the tone will work for me i would prefer to have a normal tone where the low end does increase a bit. While i know im more than capable of doing the mod, im not sure what needs to be done, other than the caps need to go and be replaced with a single one. So, if anyone can guide me to exactly what i need to buy (never brought a cap before) and how to re arrange the wiring that would be great. If its worth me just buying a new tone pot please can you point me to the exact one i need. This is all new to me. Ive changed pups before but its always been a like for like swap so never needed thinking about. Cheers.

My HW-one is due here this week and i would like to get a set of pre grooved saddles for the BAII. I like the idea of being able to change the string spacing slightly. I know the HW-one comes with grooved saddles but i believe its just the one groove per saddle, im after ones that have three each. I know they exist but for the life of me cant find anywhere that has them. Befog anyone says it, No, i cant do it myself. I dont feel i have the skill to do it correctly. An alternative is a new bridge. Not sure what would fit though. Its not so much the screw holes but the dimensions. Im sure the BAII would leave a mark in the thin finish so i would need to find a new bridge that would cover this up. EDIT: Ooops, i didnt realise the bass came with multiple grooves so problem solved.

Wow, this is a shocker. I had no idea about this until just now. I never met him but recently my band stepped in to do a wedding for a friend of his in Bristol so we had some good dialogue going on via PM. I said i owed him a drink or two and was hoping to meet him one day so i could thank him personally as we are due to go bakc there at some point. I also just found out my old keyboard player died last week. Bugger.

[quote name='gafbass02' post='935696' date='Aug 25 2010, 10:21 AM']The gaffer is a custom build that last I heard Andy is planing to add to the standard product line. Dunno if he still is but I'm sure if you asked for one one would turn up within a few days as usual![/quote] Cheers, ill fire off a email now.

Another very happy customer. I orders some 84's but was worried they might sound too dark. Andy didnt get the email until after he had posted them so said try them, and if i didn't like them i could send them back and he would have a set of 74's waiting. I did like them so did send them back and he sent out a new set of 74's the day he received my 84's back, all without any extra cost, other than postage. Ive not heard of the "gaffer" though, is that a Gem pup?

Probably made by Behringer lol.

Thanks Michael. To be honest it took me a week to even notice it. Im not sure if tone was effected or not but i expected more for £960. The Black one has just gone back so hopefully the replacement bass (HW-one) will work out. And if it does, it leaves me wondering what i would have gained (other than a shiny finish and a maple neck) by spending £400 more on a MIA.

Just have a look on the studiospares website or google for it. Its call Auralex Platfoam. Its the same stuff they use under the Gramma pads i believe.

Yeah, i used to have two strips of Platfoam under my cab. This worked just as well as the pad IIR, although it was less stable. A long strip costs £12 from studio spares and can be cut down to just the right size for a 1212L. Well worth a try IME. Ive always hated raising my cab off the stage, it seems to loose most of the bottom end but these platforms and foam strips seem to keep the low end but help get rid of the boom.

Cheers guys. Actually i got it wrong and thats not a Blackburst they are advertising at that price so i dont think ill bother, as nice as it is.

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='934372' date='Aug 24 2010, 04:15 AM']Move the cab by a foot or a couple of feet away from nearby walls, or lift it onto a crate or something if you're on a hollow stage, stuff like that tends to solve boomy sound issues better than trying a different cab - ultimately if you're asking a different cab to produce the same sound in the same place you will encounter the same problems.[/quote] A lot of my gigs are on hollow, boomy stages (social clubs) and i got a Gramma pad a while ago.Its made a world of difference and my tone is a lot clearer without loosing the bottom end. Might be a cheaper option than changing the cab. Alex C posted a freq table a few years ago on here and it showed how to position your rig to eliminate various freqs. Ive found that very handy although its not always practical to go by on small stages.

If the shop im sending my MIA back to wants to just give me a refund im going to look in to the PM4. I wish i knew if that neck was jazz sized or not (and i know they do vary so its not that easy to tell).

Just a quick monday update. The MIA is going back and im giving up on them. Ive asked the shop to send me a Highway-one out instead (and a refund for the difference). Ive now had three MIA's from this shop and while its not their fault im now running out of colour options. Im happy to spend a lot less and take whatever i can but im going to want my exact choice for £960 and they dont have any more in stock. Its like ive gone around in a complete circle this year as i started out with my old HW1 as my only bass for a while, now ill be using the new one as my only gigging bass.

OMG, ive been after a Blackburst PM4 for ages. I think my cash is now tied in to a Highway one unfortunately :-(