~tl

His prices are on his site: [url="http://www.bassic.co.uk/"]http://www.bassic.co.uk/[/url]

I set my strap height to match my sitting position, as most others seem to.

It's not particularly lightweight – but you can't get much simpler than the new Hartke LH500/LH1000: [url="http://www.samsontech.com/products/productpage.cfm?prodID=1942&brandID=3"]http://www.samsontech.com/products/product...2&brandID=3[/url]

I've never had a bad experience with them and I order stuff fairly often.

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='344742' date='Dec 3 2008, 08:49 PM']So is the new "vintage style" bridge going to be the high mass one that even the Squiers get now, or the same old cheap piece of tin?[/quote] They seem to specifically denote the new high mass bridge as such – so I guess it's the same as the old one... unfortunately.

Just ordered one today – can't wait

I've never had a problem with them – they've always been reasonably fast at shipping out my orders. I'd give them a day or two to get back via e-mail or give them a phone. They list 020 8783 9090 on their website.

On a £300 amp the saving would be about £7. I guess that could cover postage if you live near the shop

The Am Dlx Fenders do have a longer neck than standard to accommodate the extra frets. The scale length is the same on both (34") but the neck joins the body further down and the body is subtly reshaped due to this. This picture should hopefully illustrate the difference: [attachment=16672:fendercompare.jpg] As you can see, the nut, 12th fret and bridge are all in the same place. However, the neck on the Dlx is, unsurprisingly, 2 frets longer. So if you fit a standard, 20-fret, neck to a Dlx body you will have to move the bridge back to compensate – by my calculations it'll be about 30mm off.

[quote name='tauzero' post='340538' date='Nov 29 2008, 03:45 PM']Are you sure that it's Elite that your friend swears by? Slightly more expensive than Roto cheapies, in between Warwick Red and Yellow, going by Stringbusters prices, definitely not 2-3x the price of most others. I mainly use Elite Stadium stainless 40-100 or 40-125.[/quote] Oops, I meant Elixirs. It's me that swears by Elites

I've always been happy with Elites Players (the nickel ones). They last really well and I've never had a dead string in a pack – which was a frequent occurrence with Rotos. I've got a mate who swears by Elixirs, and while they're nice strings, I don't see the justification for them to be 2-3x the price of most other strings.

Run away while you still can... I only joined a few months ago but have already bought a bass from a fellow 'chatter and am seriously GASsing about another... must hold out... [i]Basschat – good for the soul, bad for the wallet.[/i] Or to put it another way... welcome

In basses, 250kΩ logarithmic pots and .47µF capacitors are pretty much the standard – at least for Fenderish set ups. I'd personally get a couple of CTS pots and some Orange Drops: [url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/250k-audio-split-knurled-shaft-p-1542.html?p=product"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/250k-audio-spli....html?p=product[/url] [url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/capacitor-sprague-orange-drop-200v-p-2270.html?p=product"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/capacitor-sprag....html?p=product[/url] I've always been impressed with the service from Allparts... but it's probably worth checking WD and the other online places to see if they're cheaper: [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/"]http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/[/url] As for a wiring diagram, I'd use the standard Gibson 2V/2T set up, but simply omit the switch and connect the centre pins of the two volume controls directly to the output jack socket. That's just what happens when the switch is in the centre position anyway. Seymour Duncan's diagrams are nice: [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=2h_2v_2t_3w"]http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wirin...tic=2h_2v_2t_3w[/url]

+1 for red-tort or gold.

I've heard good things about the JJ ECC83s, but have never heard them in action. Of course, if you can find a British made Mullard then I would jump on it... but they're getting pretty rare and expensive these days. The Harma valves look interesting. I might give then a shot next time I re-valve...

I might pop down. Cheers for the heads up.

I agree on the Spirit XZ-25. Great little bass. Don't get a chance to play mine much, but always enjoy it when I do. I just wish I could find some nickel double ball end strings for it... stainless strings don't agree with my fingers.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='333380' date='Nov 20 2008, 08:06 PM']Look up there ^ he got the Aggie head. [/quote] GAH. Must remember to read all the posts before replying to a thread... I still think a Shuttle would look pretty good with the cab though

How about a G.B. Shuttle 3.0? They're around the £350 mark, light and should look the part on top of that cab... [url="http://genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=2262&sid=610&cid=95"]http://genzbenz.com/?fa=detail&mid=226...=610&cid=95[/url]

It really depends on the pre-amp system – some have that functionality while others don't. For example, John East's pre-amps bypass the blend control in passive mode and just have an equal mix of the two pickups. What ones are you considering?

This is a good trainer for getting used to the notes on the stave: [url="http://www.musictheory.net/trainers/html/id82_en.html"]http://www.musictheory.net/trainers/html/id82_en.html[/url] Actually, the whole site's pretty good. There are trainers for intervals and things like that too... [url="http://www.musictheory.net/"]http://www.musictheory.net/[/url]

The Japanese Fenders are pretty good, if you can try one of them before you make a decision, you should.

It really depends, since there are two CIJ '57 reissue models. The first has Japanese pickups and a basswood body and the second (more expensive) model has US pickups and an alder body. The easiest way to tell the difference is the bridge saddles. The cheaper model has a bridge that looks like this: [attachment=15939:0040798000_xl.jpg] While the more expensive one has one that's like this: [attachment=15940:0990804100_xl.jpg] Hope that helps!

[quote name='benwhiteuk' post='328139' date='Nov 13 2008, 09:12 AM']a bit OT, but what does bookmatched mean?[/quote] It's where the wood is split down the middle and opened out (like a book) so that the grain pattern on each side is like a mirror image. Here's a nice example: [attachment=15938:10910Pim...dybackLG.jpg]