JohnDaBass

OH Nooo NOT Another Lockdown Bitsa Well yes!! Last week I was browsing on Flea Bay and noticed a parted-out Spector body for a very reasonable price. There were three bodies a lovely, figured maple sunburst, a nice but badly marked red burst and the black “Ice” body which I purchased. If I had been a little quicker I could have nabbed the maple sunburst but got the Black “Ice” seen below. I had a Mex Fender Bronco neck (quite old & never ever seen a Mex one before) which I got some years ago from a Parting-out specialist dealer in the USA. I had previously used the neck on short scale Bitsa PJ which wore a Mustang decal. Following my purchase of a Harley Benton MM 84A SB (See Bitsa thread) I had spare a couple of ceramic, high output Roswell MFR4 N/B Pups, having swapped them out for luscious Warman MM Pups in my Stu Hamm Urge Ray. I picked up a great value high mass 3D bridge on Amazon for an amazing £18 and I plan to use a @KiOgon loom to complete the Bitsa. So, I am all set to do some routering, fettling and assembly to, hopefully create a nice sounding short scale Bitsa to add to the herd.

I think this maybe the right solution for my needs. Looking forward to release of the bass version.

Diagram and written instructions on the Warman website.

I wish these were reissued. 30ins or 32ins scale would be lovely.

My XR12 fits neatly into an ABS short (350mm) 19ins rack case. Lots of space for mains leads and repurposed BT Hub router. I really like the simplicity of the RCF M18 but once you have set up each of the channels with the Behringer at rehearsals you only need minor tweaks at each venue. In hindsight I think I would have gone for the XR18, but the XR12 is absolutely fine for our current needs.

That looks really good. Looking forward to seeing the feedback. XR12 works great for one of my bands but always interested in new kit reviews.

Item 3 Just done some homework and it would appear that the Elf, BAM200 & Gnome could well be sourced from the same OEM/ODM vendor. The specs & dimensions are so close to one another there's only a Gnats C**k between them. (sorry for the analogy).

Exactly my thoughts, the ANT would sit nicely on top of my BF One-10 with my Zoom B1-Four sitting on the LHS top of the ANT . A neat little rig methinks.

Does anyone know how the OriginAL-500H fits in? Is the tone stack similar to the RM-500 & 800?

Has anyone acquired one of these? What are the main differences between an Ant & a Newt? Update The Newt is not a Bass amp. ( 4 out of 10 for Homework DaBass, see me after class) Anyone compared with the Elf, BAM200 & Warwick Gnome?

What they called ? Gold, Frankie & Murrrrr.😂😂😂😂

I own a USA EBMM Sterling (late 90s when they first appeared) , single Pup, 3 band EQ, maple neck ash body and the neck is Jazz width and very skinny. The 3 position switch gives, series, single ( with phantom coil ) and parallel. So the basic Stingray sound is easily dialled in but with the addition of a much broader range of pleasing tones. I have Fender Flats on it and is a very versatile, easy to use bass. Best of luck with your project, I'm sure will achieve a bass that's very special.

I would prefer the estate version. Oooops NO!!! it's called a hearse.

This really appeals to me, what scale length were they? It's a far more sensible offering rather than those horrible Bitsa efforts. Did Jackson offer a YTS scheme at anytime?

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gibson-acquires-mesaboogie-amps I am not sure if this is good news. Gibson don't have a good track record of successfully running acquired businesses. They appear to be struggling to run their own business properly how on earth can they develop Mesa.🤐. I really hope this acquisition does not go the same way as some of the other over ambitious purchases. @agedhorse you have my very best wishes for your future. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-01/gibson-files-for-bankruptcy-with-deal-to-renew-guitar-business

Oh come on open the box and show us some photos and sound clips. Chop, chop get on with it 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

I have used Warman PUPs from Warman guitars. They are fantastic value for money and deliver a huge range of tones using AlNico magnets. Couple it to a KiOgon loom and you won't be disappointed. Current price is around £22. https://www.warmanguitars.co.uk/product/mm4-4-string-bass-humbucker-13-09kohm-4-wire-overwound/

Yup, he's had his first Covid 19 vaccination jab. Marvellous stuff this vaccine hope it improves my singing. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

The heel of my Fender MIM Stu Hamm Urge neck is 62.7mm and fits the neck pocket with some slight clearance. The MM 84A SB has a 34ins scale and 24 frets, this means that the bridge is fitted closer to the neck to accommodate the 24 frets of the 34ins scale. You need to compare photos of the MM 84A and the MB-4 side by side, you will see that bridge is mounted in different positions. This was one of the reasons why I chose the MM 84A because the bridge was fitted at a position close enough to accommodate my 32ins scale neck( only had to purchase extra long 70mm bridge piece screws). I believe if you tried to fit a standard Fender 34ins scale 20 fret neck to the MM 84A you may have to move the bridge back towards back end of the body to allow for correct 34ins scale intonation. That shouldn't be be too much of a mod as the existing bridge mounting holes would be hidden under the bridge. Apologies for such a long answer. ( I normally try to avoid taking up too much space on threads with endless drivel)😂😂😂😂😂

I replaced the neck with a Fender MIM Stu Hamm 32ins and added some longer bridge piece screws (70mm) to achieve the correct 32ins scale intonation. Even though the tone controls have centre detent the mid point is not really "flat". I prefer to back treble, mid & bass right off and then just add to achieve the tone needed. The range of tones on offer is very broad indeed. My upgrade plans are to install Warman PUPs and CTS pots.

What strings did you decide to use?

The routing for the Pups is over sized so great for changing to a wide variety of Pups but not possible to remove the pickguard. Maybe tort pickguard sometime in the future.

I am really impressed with the range of tones on offer with the Harley Benton MM 84A body, but the control pots are your typical low cost Chinese variety. So I sent an email to Thomann Service department ( cheekily) asking for a copy of the circuit diagram or parts list for the Bass. Within 24hrs I received a PDF of the circuit with the values of the pots clearly shown. They reminded me that I would invalidate my 3 yrs. warranty if I did proceed to upgrade the pots. I did some Tinterweb searching and discovered that the company supplying the preamp for the MM 84A designs and supplies preamps to C F Martin for their acoustic guitars. Another good endorsement for the quality of the parts used in the some of the Harley Benton basses. I have used Warman Pups of other Bitsa projects and from Jeff @DarkHeart feedback I think I will be replacing the current Pups with Warman.

I am really impressed with the range of tones on offer with the Harley Benton MM 84A body, but the control pots are your typical low cost Chinese variety. So I sent an email to Thomann Service department ( cheekily) asking for a copy of the circuit diagram or parts list for the Bass. Within 24hrs I received a PDF of the circuit with the values of the pots clearly shown. They reminded me that I would invalidate my 3 yrs. warranty if I did proceed to upgrade the pots. I did some Tinterweb searching and discovered that the company supplying the preamp for the MM 84A designs and supplies preamps to C F Martin for their acoustic guitars. Another good endorsement for the quality of the parts used in the some of the Harley Benton basses.