BigBadBassman

[quote name='bassace' post='548677' date='Jul 23 2009, 11:03 AM']I've no experience of the Shadow so I'm hardly qualified to offer advice - however; Rather than rough up a part of the bass or pickup you could try sticking a pice of masking tape to one or both faces of the pickup. From other pickups I've done this to it shouldn't have any effect on the sound. Failing that, thin rubber (cycle inner tube?) should guarantee a slip free result. Incidentally, I'd be interested in contact details of your guy in Cheltenham. If you don't want to put him on the forum perhaps you could PM me.[/quote] Bassace no problem with passing the details on. The guy in question is John Vickers at Vintage Strings, 88 London Road, Cheltenham GL52 6EH. 01242 515949/572129. email:[email protected] John does a good job but has a waiting list of 6 to 8 weeks and occasionally needs to be "prompted" Cheers, Tim

[quote name='TPJ' post='548595' date='Jul 23 2009, 09:20 AM']Their [url="http://www.shadow-electronics.com/doc/pro_pdf1/en-GB/SH_965_Manual_englisch.pdf"]instruction manual online[/url] is certainly lacking a bit. They don't mention having to alter the surface of either the bass or pickup prior to mounting and make it sound and look so easy. Will you be able to reset your sound post ok? It may be a case of a luthier job to install the pup and reset your sound post.[/quote] Hi TPJ, Not a problem re-setting the sound post - I invested in the correct tool sometime OK. I've pretty much rebuilt the bass over the last 5 years and I'm a great believer in having the right tool for the job. After having mucked around improvising with sharpened bits of coat hanger and the like I bought a sound post setting tool from Touchstone - £50 but worth it. I've just spent £200 on getting the neck re-set, so don't really won't to spend anymore with a luthier. Besides which the guy I use is in Cheltenham and I'm on the South coast so it's not a question of popping round the corner to see him. There's also the issue of pride - It shouldn't be that difficult to fit this blessed thing! From what I can see it is a similar design to the Realist (both based on piezo electric film) and I'm not aware of any issues fitting those beasties. Thanks for the response, Tim

Hi Peeps, Need some advice please. Has anybody fitted a Shadow nano-flex pick-up to their double bass and if so did you have any problems? The reason I ask is that whilst trying to fit the transducers under the feet of the bridge due to the outer plastic sheath being nice and shiny, the bridge skidded all over the place. This in turn led to the sound post collapsing, so what started off as a simple 5 minute job has become more complicated. As I see it there are a number of options, which include: a) rubbing the finish off the bass in the area of the bridge feet - the bass is only a plywood cheapy so this not a problem as such, but I could see this being an issue on a bass costing several thousand pounds abrading the plastic sheath of the pick-up to help grip the bass and bridge feet c) fixing a thin sheet of rubber i.e. inner tube around the transducers - but rather not do this if I can help it as I don't want to attenuate the vibrations from the bass to the P/U d) all of the above This is not an insurmountable problem but I find it annoying that a P/U system costing around £200 seems to be poorly designed for the intended application and has limited fitting instructions to boot. So greatful for any any help or advice anybody can offer, Keep Boppin' Tim

Go for it! Just bought mine today and it plays superbly straight out of the box. I've been thinking about getting a 4 string fretless for some time to put flats for a more retro sound, but didn't want to spend a fortune. This bass fits the bill perfectly - the only problem is my habit of spending more than the bass is worth on parts to "up-grade" it. Tim

As suggested elsewhere in this thread, get along to any jam nights in the area you are staying - check local press or ask at the local music shop. It may not be the sort of music you want to play but at least you are still playing You also will get to play with other musicians you've not played with before - some good, some not so good but playing with new people in styles you're not used to can only help you improve as a more versatile musician. The other option is to get a travel bass and a Tascam bass trainer that you can take with you and pick tunes that you wouldn't necessarily choose to stretch yourself. Even if you only get to pick it up for 10 to 15 minutes a night it will help. I share your frustration as life has a habit of getting in the way of the things we would actually prefer to be doing. It's also a problem if your significant other dosen't share your view that practice is a productive use of your time or that rehearsals are not social occasions So good luck and don't give up - there's always a solution somewhere, Tim

WD40 is a light oil based water dispersent with a solvent carrier - hence "WD" It does not clean pots properly as it coats everything with a coating of oil which causes dust etc. to collect on the surface you're trying to clean Servisol is the stuff to use and is isopropyl as Bremen suggests Tim

Hi Pete, Just so happens I have California about my person with exactly the same circuit as yours Looking at your photo there are are 8 solder pads on the left hand side - the top 3 are the PUP inputs The top one (#1) is the positive from the neck (jazz) PUP #2 is the screen and negative from each PUP joined together #3 is the positive from the bridge and is white Still on the circuit board, the red or positive from the battery is soldered to the leg of the diode between the treble and bass pots - on mine the diode is soldered into the track on the top edge of the board and the leg is exposed below the body With me so far? The white wire on the volume pot circuit board is the output and should be soldered onto the tip terminal of the jack socket (the jack socket should be stereo and have 3 tags on it) The black wire is the earth which is soldered to a tag on the inside of the control cavity to earth the conductive paint to provide screening. A second black wire which is connected to the earth of the jack socket runs from this tag as does an earth for the bridge The switch on the bridge PUP should be OK as it is - all you need to do is make sure that the lead from the centre tags of the switch is soldered to an earth And finally you have to connect the black or negative wire from the battery is wired to the ring tag of the jack socket - this acts as a switch when you plug in a jack plug and turns the power on to the pre-amp Hope this makes sense. If you run into any problems give me shout and I'll PM you with my phone number Good Luck, Tim

[quote name='OldGit' post='307883' date='Oct 16 2008, 02:05 PM']Picture?[/quote] [attachment=14883:Stagg_Stand1.jpg][attachment=14884:Stagg_Stand2.jpg][attachment=14886:Stagg_Stand_ 3.jpg][attachment=14887:Stagg_Stand_4.jpg] As requested. Tim

[quote name='Pkomor' post='307412' date='Oct 15 2008, 09:47 PM']iff you do end up selling the stagg, i would be interested![/quote] I haven't quite decided if I'm going to part with it yet but I'll bear you in mind. I'm doing a bit of life laundry at the moment and getting rid of gear I haven't used in ages so you never know. I'll ping you when I've made up my mind. Tim

[quote name='mcarlucci' post='279448' date='Sep 8 2008, 02:34 AM'][b]Thanks for all the input. I was able to adjust the action nicely with very little effort. I have a new question concerning stands... Is there a stand out there similar to the NS design, which may be used for the Stagg? Something (like the NS stand) that would not just be a device for resting the bass, but would function as an actual brace/holder, allowing for complete accessibility? I want, on stage during performances, to be able to switch back and forth from my bass guitar to the DB "on the fly," as it were. Or, could there be a conversion apparatus idea out there somewhere?[/b][/quote] I've made one using the bottom of cymbal stand and the top of a guitar stand. The waist of the Stagg is about the same width as the neck support of the guitar stand. The combination of the weight of the cymbal stand and the neck support gripping the bass works really well. Tim

Ernie Ball Slinkies - nickel and no coloured wrap. Tim

Glad you are OK Wolleydick and here to tell the tale, but sorry you had to go through such an experience. But it does raise a number of questions: How many times have you turned up to gig or rehearsal room to find mains sockets cracked or hanging off the wall and you've still plugged in and played? Are you sure that the socket where the PA is plugged into is on the same phase as your amp? How many times have you removed the earth on your amps mains lead to get rid of an annoying mains hum? When was the last time you checked the condition of you plugs, that they have the correct fuse rating and that all connections are secure? Looking after mains leads and extension cables is something a lot of people seem to over look. I used to run a PA and the number of times I had to re-wire backline mains plugs to make them safe was frightening - even for pro bands! Don't skrimp on cheap extension cables or mains leads - I've known cases of guys using a v. expensive signal lead yet plug their amp into the mains with the lead nicked from the kettle! Another thing to consider is that if you are using an extension lead on on reel, unless you unroll all the cable they do heat up when being used. This can cause the insulation to melt leading to a short circuit - it smells awful as well. As OTPJ suggests get your gear PAT tested once a year for your own peace of mind - that includes all mains leads. Also carry an RCD to all gigs and use it. Sorry to go on but this is a pet subject of mine - a little bit of forethought and regular care and maintenance of cables could save your life. Tim

I've bought a couple recently from Allparts - a lined fretless with ebony fingerboard, and Touchstone - fretted with r/wood f/b. Both very nicely finished in a high gloss which I prefer to a satin finish. One thing to be aware of is at the same time I ordered the fretless neck I also bought a swamp ash jazz body - also from Allparts. Both were stamped as being licensed by Fender but they didn't fit together as the neck was made in Japan - so metric and the body was from the USA - so imperial. As a consequence the neck pocket on the body was a couple of mm too small -very annoying when you've just spent £500! I've since enlarged the neck pocket and everything now fits together but it wasn't an easy job. Something you should be aware of - I'm buying from Warmouth next time! Tim

Hi Wooks, Spookily enough I think I spoke to you when you rang Barry at Street Level in Southsea asking if he could get a Stagg EUB for you. So how are you? Yes you can play the Stagg sitting down, I use a stool as this stops the bass from swiveling while playing as mentioned earlier. To overcome this I've made a stand using a base from a cymbal stand with the top from a guitar stand fitted into it. The "u" shaped neck support is the right width to hold the waist of the Stagg and so hold it up. It makes playing easier and means you can walk away from it when finished/taking a break without having to worry about finding a safe place to put the instrument. There is also no problem with bowing the Stagg either, the neck and fingerboard are the same dimensions and shape as a conventional upright. It sounds good bowed as well Due to problems with my wrist (see RSI thread) I'm considering selling my Stagg, so if you want to PM me we can discuss the nitty gritty or even getting together to see if the Stagg is indeed the instrument for you. BTW I have heard there have been problems with the NS stands breaking, although this may just be the WAV version. Tim

Hi Guys, I quite fancy the look of the Tanglewood Canyon Basses - like the Curbow but more organic and they've had encouraging reviews . Has anybody got 1 or tried 1? I'd be interested in your views as I'm sort of considering getting the fretless version. Not that I need another bass, but then when has need ever had anything to do with GAS? Tim