umpdv5000

Truss rods just shouldn't snap and if they do, they've been poorly made. You should be able to over adjust a neck curve long before a truss rod comes under the stress needed to break. However, as a luthier I can tell you that not all snapping is necessarily due to a break in the truss rod. Depending on the type of truss rod and how it is fitted, I have come across a few that manage to pull themselves through the wood where they are anchored. This can give the impression that the truss rod has broken but in actual fact its the wood at the anchor point. The cure is still the same... fretboard off and fix the problem.

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]IN (at the moment):- A 70's Antoria EB-3 type bass, which is in a renovation state at present. Being a luther I buy in knackered instruments and renovate / improve on them. This is such a project. It's an everything type job, ie: total strip and repaint, new pickups, new bridge, new machine heads, new wiring and pots (new everything) and a refret. As you may be aware, early Antoria was built in the Ibanez factory and I wouldn't normally go to such expense on incoming instruments unless they were of high value, but this one I find a bit quirky and may find a place in my collection (I do normally sell them). What do you reckon to metal flake yellow as a colour? Quirky or too much?[/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Out:- Not really applicable this bit, as the ones I sell are not personal.[/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Learned: Having been in the muso business for over 40 years I've learned a hell of a lot, but this forum has taught me that most of you guys (including me) have a great respect for the Precision Bass.[/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Knowledge / Advice I would pass on:- We each develop a particular tone in our heads that we have as an ideal. Every time we use a new or different bass, we tweek and alter controls to get as close as we can to that ideal. It can save you a hell of a lot of money if you learn that Scale Length, String Type (round or flat), The Density of Body & Neck Wood (crucial) and Pickup Sensitivity are all the important factors and not the Name on the Headstock. When set up well, there are so many makes out there that will give you your ideal sound and you probably already own one.[/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Considering that you mention in your original post that you can make the mic peak into the red on 9 - 10 then you are maxing out on the amount of gain that you can use on the mic anyway. Have you also taken into account the Proximity Effect and the volume at which you speak? Dynamic microphones reject intensity of sound the further away the sound source becomes. This means that the louder and closer your voice is to the mic, the louder the output. If you are recording to your hard drive using this system, what is the volume / sound like after its been recoded? [/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Adding a "small" mixer can be useful for certain appliations, but you would need to add the word "good" small mixer to have any advantage and they're not so common. You may also find that you will need to turn the mic gain up on a mixer just the same and the result will be one of you just spending money. My home recording mixer is a Roland VS1680, which is a stand alone 16 track digital recorder and desk. I have to turn the input gain well up on this too for some mics, but as long as it's peaking when you do that, it's as good as you'll ever get (you can go overboard).[/size][/font]

The Chinese turn out some excellent products as well as poor stuff. There are good and bad tradesmen all over the world. However, irrespective of how good or bad the tradesmen are of China, when it comes to the quality of wood used at Fender China, it is markedly different to that used in Fender US and Japan. Choice wood makes a big difference when it comes to natural body sustain and the reduction of muddy overtones. Fender would never allow a subsiduary / cheaper manufacturing outlet to use high end wood, as this would devalue the US models (same applies with Epiphone by Gibson). It stands to reason that a company would be foolhardy to manufacture and sell cheaper the same standard of product, it would be cutting their own throat. My experience as a luther is that if you are happy to live with the wood quality, you can get a good basic guitar from these far eastern lands, but they usually need a few finishing refinements.

Hi MoJo, you will need a DPDT ON-ON-ON Mini Toggle Switch. Don't go for the micro toggle as they are a little less robust and are apt to break sooner. You can get one of these switches from www.warmanguitars.co.uk or go on ebay for them (Warman Guitars are the only ones that sell them on there anyway). As for the wiring... Looking at the back of the switch as the terminals are running in a verticle line. The two centre terminals would be wired together and a wire from these leading to your volume control (assuming that you are using only one volume control). Take note of how the center pins connect indevidually to the outer pins when the switch is in the centre position and connect your neck pickup to one end pin and the bridge pickup to the other end pin on the opposing side. The pins to connect to should be apparent to you from the diagram. Good luck. Martin. [URL=http://s26.photobucket.com/user/umpdv5000/media/3PositionDPDTON-ON-ONMinToggleSwitch_zpsd51080d0.jpg.html][IMG]http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c135/umpdv5000/3PositionDPDTON-ON-ONMinToggleSwitch_zpsd51080d0.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Although I have never used a Rode Procaster mic, I do have a Rode NT1 (along with many others) and have a lot of experience with various microphone types and preamps used in film and recording. The Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 will contain a preamp and while I might say that it does look like it is designed for condenser mic use, it should still suffice as use with a Dynamic mic such as the Procaster. Yes, you may have to turn the gain up high to get the desired sparkle from the mic, but as long as this does not introduce any electrical background noise, it will do the same job as any other preamp. Try not to think in numbers on the dial, just use your ears. Oh, and make sure you don't have the phantom power swiched in unless you start using a condenser mic.[/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]As a luthier I can confirm that most guitar builders will use a slightly highter fret for the Zero fret, although this is as much a technical matter as it is a preference. In a perfect engineering world, it should be exactly the same height as the rest. However, there are two things to take into account....[/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]1. Player enthusiasm. Any string will rattle a bit if you hit it hard enough and so many players have been used to giving the open strings an extra whack whilst expecting them to be rattle free. A slightly higher fret will better allow this.[/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]2. Getting an angle over the Zero fret so that it connects firmly. When a regular nut slot is cut, the bottom of the slot is not parallel to the fretboard. It is cut sloping toward the head so as to pivot on the fretboard edge of the nut. A Zero fret still needs a sufficient angle in order that the string frets properly. As long as the wood between the deep cut nut string guides does not inhibit this, then a Zero fret of the same height will work perfectly well and depending on the player, be more preferable. [/size][/font]

[b][size=8][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Then turn up the volume.[/font][/size][/b]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]@wishface ...[/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Out of interest, what is the make and model of your bass?[/size][/font]

[size=5][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]Yes, I email Hohner direct a few days ago, but they're closed until the 7th Jan for the holidays.[/font][/size]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]They'll have to shout louder, I've gone really deaf over the years.[/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]@mickster .... If you have the need to do that on the saddles of your bass because the string angle isn't quite enough to do it naturally, the cure is to put a shim in the neck socket to give a slight backwards tilt. This will give need for the saddles to be raised to accommodate the tilt and Voila! problem solved. [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5] [/size][/font] [/size][/font]

[quote name='mickster' timestamp='1419732146' post='2642339'] And, you never know, it might just work... [/quote] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Do you have to say any words when you do that, like... abracadabra? [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5] [/size][/font][/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]I'm not having a go at you mickster, I just find the idea a bit of a joke. Lets face it, if you've tuned a string to the correct pitch, then it's going to be at the right tension to make any connections over saddles and nuts. Giving it a hard push can only serve to crush a bit of winding on the string and I can't see that as being helpful. Can you?[/size][/font][/size][/font] [font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]Truth is, that there are many articles of advice and tips on the net, but you must always bear in mind that they are someones personal ideas and sometimes missguiding. Once again... no offence meant. [/size][/font][/size][/font]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=5]I would have to disagree and say that method would have little or no effect on the intonation. Occasionally you can get a piano string like sound when a string is plucked open on some instruments. This is caused either by the nut slot being cut incorrectly (too parallel to the fretboard) or the string angle over the nut or bridge saddle is not sufficiently angled. In either of these cases, it is time to have your instrument looked at by a competant repair luthier, having to press your finger hard down to crease the string is frankly nothing short of a joey fix.[/size][/font]