lemmywinks

Yeah i'm a bit wary of putting higher tension strings on it because someone had a dodgy neck, not that i like power cables on any of my basses! That's why i thought a used set of TIs would be good. What are the Status ones like?

As above, are there any reasonably priced, low tension flats? It's for a bass from a certain charity shop so under £20 would be good, also low as possible tension would be beneficial. So far i've only found the Fender flats and tapewounds which i'm a little dubious of, having found Fender strings a bit lacking. Are the Elites flats any good? I've used their rounds for years and always loved them. There seems to be loads of cheap roundwound alternatives but no flats, i suppose they last ages and i should just but some TIs but thought i'd ask first. Alternatively has anyone got some used ones they'd like to sell me?

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1141204' date='Feb 25 2011, 01:48 PM']It's funny even on my auctions I think 'Why are you bidding so early?'[/quote] Sometimes i just stick a bid down when i see it and get it for less than i expected to pay. If there's a few bids on an item some people hold off biddind - if there's quite a bit of interest you maybe less likely to get it cheap. That isn't always true as some bidders just play the numbers game and low ball every bass as soon as it is listed. Also all it takes is one other serious bidder and your bargain goes out the window. Still, there's quite a few times i have missed an item ending only to see it not get any bids, of course when it gets relisted people go mental over it! I missed a keyboard, case and stand recently which got no bids, the start was £9.99 and it was just down the road!

I wouldn't worry about it too much, it'll probably go for what it's worth in the end. I gave up looking for a bargain "Squire" bass as it turned out lots of people had the same idea as me and were deliberately searching for a mis-spelt bargain that nobody else was bidding on. Similarly i have never got a really cheap "Gallien Kreuger" amp!

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='1140401' date='Feb 24 2011, 08:45 PM']Are you liking the EMG Selects?[/quote] Yeah definitely! It sounds great, i quite liked the sound of the original pup but this is much better - probably my favourite out of my limited experience of Precisions. Loads of thump but never loses focus, i tend to play passive basses with the tone almost rolled off and it's great in that situation, very balanced and not lacking in anything. Seeing as these are around £30 new i think they're a bit of a bargain. I'll have a set of J Selects spare soon so i may stick them in my Jazz bitsa Only had it through my little Hartke combo so far but will definitely be taking it to practice. It's definitely staying where it is now, seeing as i basically got it for free - i bought a job lot for bodies, necks, case and a Badass bridge and this was in it along with some other bits and pieces - it seems fitting that it goes in this bass.

Put the sticky-backed plastic over the pickguard on mine, i think it looks miles better with a black guard and pickup. Ignore the hastily applied and roughly cut markers btw, i wanted to know what it'd look like before either paying for a set or spending ages making my own up!

Who's gonna be the first to ask for the serial number?

[quote name='pikeman' post='1138421' date='Feb 23 2011, 12:08 PM']No I better not, I've got too many projects on the go at the moment. Thanks for the very kind offer though. Steve.[/quote]

[quote name='pikeman' post='1138405' date='Feb 23 2011, 11:57 AM']Tempted.....no I mustn't. If it were navy I'd be in the car by now. [/quote] If you want the Navy/Maple on in the shop near me i could post it to you at cost*....... [size=1]*Last time i used Interparcel it was about £8[/size]

[quote name='jakesbass' post='1138361' date='Feb 23 2011, 11:31 AM']I've rarely played a bass that I [b]really[/b] didn't like... if ever tbh! That suggests to me that Bilbo is close to the right line on this. An instrument is a tool, don't get me wrong I want good tools but what I'm happy with is more about what I can do with them than what they can do for me.[/quote] Very true. I think most of it is retail therapy with a hefty amount of vanity thrown in. Some basses feel clumsier and not as player friendly to certain people but that's just because we have so much choice. I think all the talk of "finding [i]my[/i] bass" a getting away from the whole point of playing in the first place. As long as you have something which is set up properly you already have an advantage over most of the bassists i know! I also think that if you haven't given youself enough time to adapt properly then your opinion is pretty baseless. I bought a Warwick because the sounds it could make obliterated everything else at that price point, a year later i realised i had adapted really well to a neck which at first was totally alien to me and that i could play really well on it.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='1138019' date='Feb 23 2011, 01:13 AM']FWIW, my mate just took delivery of the [b]Telecaster[/b]. The design cues are all lifted straight from a 70's Tele - abbreviated upper front bout, fat neck, two butterfly string retainers, six saddle bridge, protruding string ferrules. Surely this can be no coincidence ? Bad: * Loose neck pocket * Crack in the neck pocket * Small wood knots visible in neck * Neck shimming required * Stiff pots * Rusty marks on frets (came off with some elbow grease) * Utterly useless neck pick-up * Immovable bridge pick-up - the adjustment screws stripped instantaneously * Tone pot does nothing until the last mm Good: * Nice neck shape * Tuners work OK * Gnarly little bridge pick-up * Light, resonant body * Scratchplate to Squier dimensions * OK strap buttons / Pot knobs * Verdict: OK platform for pimping - basically a Friday afternoon Affinity. For £60, a bit of a bargain. But a beginner would need to spend another at least £50 or so to get it up to scratch.[/quote] I thought similar thigs about the two Teles i've played. I think they represent less of a bargain than the basses because they have much more serious construction faults. The first one i tried needed a fret dress, the frets on the basses are quite tidy. Immediately that makes it a £100+ price tag unless you can do the work yourself. Still not a bad price for a nice looking guitar but much less of a bargain. The ones i played had a horrible amount of buzzing around the early frets, that was before a neck shim too so it'll get worse. Neck pockets were good on the ones i tried though and the wood on them was really nice, as was the fit and finish in general. It's also worth considering that your mate may have a returned guitar as they sold out of Teles a while ago. I think they are punting out the returned stock as new (my bass was i think, as is the one currently in my local shop), they have also put a few on eBay that have been returned. I think the difference between the guitars and basses is that the work needed on the basses is easily done by most people whereas the guitars require a more accomplished touch to get them up to scratch. For that reason i don't think i'd advise beginners to buy either as they all need work and if they bought an instrument from a guitar shop there's a good chance it would be properly set up and fit for use. Buying from a charity shop leaves you on your own unless you want to spend money which you hadn't budgeted for.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1137772' date='Feb 22 2011, 09:35 PM']Well they are made by little old ladies working for nothing arent they? [/quote] Hmmmm, i [i]thought[/i] it smelled of cabbage and wee............

Oh btw, the soldering in my bass was truly awful, i'd advise anyone who owns one of these to completely redo it from scratch if it's anything like mine. You know when you first try to solder at school and you end up with 'orrible lumps of it which have gone black at the connection point? Like that! Like i said i think mine was a returned bass so who knows who did it, but it's definitely worth checking. I wouldn't trust a single one of the joins in my bass for a gig.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1137518' date='Feb 22 2011, 07:22 PM']Ah you beat me to it. [/quote] Yeah i trimmed it back as the exposed wire was a big melted mess, looked like someone had tried to solder it and given up. Mine is like the pic you posted but without black shrink tube over the ground wire. Mine was just exposed like an instrument cable, was worried about melting it tbh but it's all sorted now. Mine is an older unit with "Select" in Italics and "Designed by EMG" below it in small lettering. Have to say, great sounding pickup! One of the better Precision sounds i've heard, it adds a lot of wallop to the low end. I thought it sounded pretty good with the stock pup in but it's much fatter now, glad i did the swap. The pole pieces on the old pup were easy to push up or down too it was much nicer with them flush against the pup cover.

Just found the wire is actually 2 core with the ground wrapped around the white cable, like a jack lead. Doesn't look as sturdy as the usual arrangement but i'll solder wires to these as i may be swapping pups in and out a bit, the wire from this pup needs lengthening anyways.

Quick question: The EMG Select i have doesn't have a ground wire, just the white hot wire. There doesn't appear to be anywhere that a ground wire could have come from as these are sealed pups with only one hole that the white wire comes out of. Do i just solder this to the volume pot or what? Also y local SR branch have another Navy Blue with Maple fb in stock if anybody's passing through Cleveleys, or want it sending to them.

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1136576' date='Feb 22 2011, 12:05 AM']But I don't need a pair of Bergs. [/quote] I think she means get three.

[quote name='apa' post='1136787' date='Feb 22 2011, 10:01 AM']I dont actually think they are stuck on. They assemble the things before the finish is fully dry. Mine was like that but a quick tap and it fell off A[/quote] I gave mine a sturdy tap and it wouldn't budge. Didn't try any harder as i didn't want to damage the finish and it's not like i'll ever be likely to change it!

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1136777' date='Feb 22 2011, 09:54 AM']You might not need to resort to such drastic measures there Steve. If you can get the covers off, use some material of your choice (I like heavy duty foamy double sided tap as it keeps the bobbin in place if it's loose) to pack the gap between the bobbin top and the cover thus reducing the amount of pole that sticks out the top. [/quote] Yeah that's probably a better idea! I have quite a bit of foam left over so i'll give that a go tonight. I remember tapping the poles down as a solution for uneven response onStingray pups so it stuck in my head! [quote name='The Bass Doc' post='1136842' date='Feb 22 2011, 10:53 AM']I think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the response you get using the EMG Select - Hillbillydeluxe specially requested one to be fitted to his main gigging P-bass and prefers it to the many others owned over the years.[/quote] [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1136862' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:07 AM']I have used them in all my gigging basses .They are high output,punchy and quiet.My gigging basses are a Jazz 5 and a Precision.[/quote] Ah cool, i had the Jazz ones in my Hohner JJ bitsa and preferred the sound of them without the circuit, didn't know what the P was like though. I haven't played that many Precisions, never mind ones with a different pickup than a Fender/Squier. As i have it lying around (it came in a job lot of parts i bought for peanuts ages ago) i might as well stick it in the SR. Should be quite a cool bass and i've kept the cost right down, think it's something like £66 so far.

Yeah i think the poles protrude too far, i don't want to lower the pup any more as i like something chunky to rest my thumb on. Once i get the pup out and disassemble i'll see if i can gently tap the poles down. Another little idiosyncracy i noticed when i took the neck off is that the neck plate on mine is stuck on, i'm guessing with glue! Also the neck holes aren't precisely drilled but funnily enough all the screws go in easily without warping so not a problem. Neck on mine is true and the pocket is very tight, can get the action down really low - sub 3mm believe it or not, it's actually "playable"! I also improved the string grooves in the nut so they are the correct size, they weren't large enough before. Like i said previously, i think mine is a return so who knows what's been done to it. All fine now though.

He's a BCer i think, same username.

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='1136389' date='Feb 21 2011, 10:05 PM']So when Mrs Tension says don't buy any new basses she actually wants me to buy some new basses?[/quote] That's exactly what she means. When she's asking you to do the hoovering it's really secret woman code for you to buy some Berg cabs, trust me!

Got round to doing a bit of work on mine tonight. Shimmed the neck as it had an upward lean from new and fitted a new set of (cheapy) strings as the ones it came with were beginning to sound truly awful. They weren't so bad at first but i couldn't bare it any longer. Had a quick tweak of the intonation and lowered the saddles a touch and it's playing really nice. Getting sick of the white scratchplate (they look awful on pretty much everything i think) so am going to buy some sticky backed plastic to cover it with, black and maybe dark blue. I don't see the point in spending any more tbh and if i can do a neat job it will do. The only other thing i'm gonna do is maybe swap the pickup. I have an EMG select and a no-name jobby lying around so am leaning towards the Select. Never used either before - i got them for 2 projects i still haven't finished as i need good weather and time, not something i got last year when my girlfriend gave birth during summer just after we moved house! Anybody used the EMG Select P pickup before? I'll need to swap the pup cover at least as it'll look horrible in white! Also has anybody else's pup got raised poles? The ones on mine are really high and i wondered if they can be tapped down.

[quote name='Grand Wazoo' post='1134674' date='Feb 20 2011, 07:09 PM']Can we put this thread to sleep? Why are you all bickering, I don't understand.[/quote] Well not really, it's handy to have it open so people can post pics of their modded basses and mention any issues they may have or reccommend which parts work well with the basses. If someone comes on the thread to troll then that's their perogative, but not really what the thread is about.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1134596' date='Feb 20 2011, 06:12 PM']Do it, and I will buy the Overwater for £60, so I can make judgements from first hand experience [/quote] Why bother, just google a picture of one and read an internet thread, that will tell you all you need to know! Actually having experience of something before having an opinion really isn't required. They're sh1t basses mate, i would steer well clear if i were you. I saw a pic of one once and could tell immediately that it wasn't up to the job. There's no way a bass could be playable if it was made to those prices. By "playable" i mean having an action of 3mm or under as it's impossible to play a bass with it any higher unless you're some sort of clueless thicko. Which as you're contemplating buying one of these i can immediately tell you are. Have to cut this post short as i have some new imaginary opinions to think up about some other instruments i have never played and have absolutely no knowledge of. Toodle pip!