Beer of the Bass

Each wire on the Hiwatt is cut to exactly the right length, bent at right-angles in precise locations and neatly tied together. The wires in the Selmer are left longer than they need to be and left to lay any old way, which makes the assembly much quicker. The Selmer approach still works and works well in most cases. I feel I should add, nice work, Baxter. A lot of these old amps have been subjected to all sorts of abuse over the years, so it's nice to see them being kept running. The Selmer I used to own had suffered at the hands of a mobile disco, and had "DISCO" and "MIKE" scratched into the front panel above the two channels! When I got it, they were generally regarded as nasty old tat, quite unfairly IMO.

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1363807111' post='2018030'] The Selmer looks like it requires more skill than the Hiwatt. [/quote] I've built a couple of valve amps, but I consider myself still a novice in such things. The Selmer looks much closer to the standard of lead dress I can achieve! Getting things as neat as the Hiwatt requires meticulous planning and more time spent in its assembly. The Selmers are still nice solid, serviceable amps though - it's just that Hiwatt and the like were real premium stuff.

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1363760494' post='2017047'] "PASSIVE CIRCUITS ARE ALL ABOUT WHAT IS TAKEN AWAY FOLKS." - but do crappy pots take something away? Think of a hose pipe, think of a leaky or twisted pipe. [/quote] They would have to be crappy to the point of being faulty, which is unusual even in the cheap ones. Since they're just a variable resistance, you can check 'em with a multimeter. Turn the knobs to zero and measure the resistance between the two outside contacts of the pot- this should be reasonably close to the value printed on the pot. Then turn the knob fully clockwise and measure from the centre (wiper) contact to the one at the clockwise end of the track - this should be very close to zero ohms. If this is the case, the pot is working as it should and will not sound different to another pot of the same value IME. As long as they work and they're not an inappropriately low value (<250K), I don't think the pots are the problem. It's possible you have a bad solder joint adding some resistance where there shouldn't be any, or that these pickups are just voiced differently to the ones you used in the prototype.

I do wonder how useful a test the plank bass above was, as it's looking at "cheap versus expensive" rather than any innate property of the wood. The density and stiffness of the bit of scrap and the alder might be fairly close to one another. If I really wanted to test whether the wood used for a solid body contributed to the tone, I would use pieces of wood which had wildly different properties - say one very soft and light wood (like poplar) and one bit of something hard and dense (like something in the rosewood family), swapping the same neck and pickups between the two. If nobody could hear a difference between those, threads like this could be put to bed.

So you haven't heard these particular pickups in this bass before? It might just be that they're different sounding than the Lindo pickups! Vintage style alnico pickups like the 64s are quite likely to be mellower than ceramic magnet jobs, which I'd guess the Lindo pickups are.

Just in case I seemed a bit negative there, there are still plenty of reasons to go for good quality pots over the real cheapies; they last longer, feel better and often have a smoother taper.

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1363717337' post='2016505'] I have to disagree with you on all 3 counts there - many of the kits I supply have made a terrific difference to what comes out of the bass, the pots etc are a vital part of the signal path & if you replace pots which are in any way less than 100% - there can be a huge improvement. The proof of the pudding is in my feedback. The tone is affected by the capacitor - but only if the tone control pot is at less than full, (assuming standard wiring). I use Black nylon GHS strings regularly on 2 of my basses 1 fretted & 1 fretless & there's no way they are 'less bright' than the equivalent flatwounds, just different, more mellow perhaps. Cheerz, John [/quote] There is the whole confirmation bias thing though - when someone makes a change they consider to be an upgrade, they're going to perceive it as sounding better whether there's any quantifiable difference or not. It's a well documented phenomenon. As far as I'm aware the only properties of the pots which could affect the sound are their resistance and perhaps a tiny (negligible?) amount of stray capacitance between the track and casing. How is the "quality" of the pot going to change the sound unless there's a difference in a measurable electronic property between the two? And if that property isn't resistance, what is it? Subjectively, I have noticed a difference when changing pot value, though I will concede this was not measured and there could be a touch of the bias I alluded to earlier. Anyway, this is a bit of a digression from the OP. If a bass sounded worse with new pots, I would first be checking my work and second checking that the values are correct.

If they're a lower value than the ones they replaced (say 250k in place of 500k), the bass will be duller sounding. Has anything else about the wiring changed?

The whole culture around tabs reminds me of this old French & Saunders sketch. "But it hasn't got those little dots, for your fingers".... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FroICbwvJII"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FroICbwvJII[/url]

A very useful review. Thanks for taking the hit so that we don't have to!

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1363442800' post='2012781'] Having a 5-string and playing below the E on the B string [i]for most of a song[/i] is a quick way to make your bass playing anonymous and it will reduce all your efforts to inaudible padding and rumble IMO. That's what I tell my students! [/quote] Yep, I definitely agree with that. Though I enjoy my five string, notes below the E on the B string are a rare occurence with my band. We have songs in the key of B where I don't use the low B at all. Out of our whole set, I think I have a few instances of the low E flat and a couple of D natural, and they tend to be part of a line rather than pedalled on. Although I could use a four string with a Hipshot (or just tweak my lines a bit), I like the reduced shifting and the "full length thumbrest" I get with the B-string. Oddly enough, four strings still feel natural to me on my double bass, but that's an entirely different instrument.

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1363432243' post='2012607'] A 4-sting will often sound a lot bassier and a lot clearer- even in the upper octave. Its.... Strong fundamental, weak harmonic mids (low stung instruments like 5-stings) versus Strong mid harmonic, strong fundamental (a 4-string) An upper octave instrument is usually perceived as bassier because of the accompanying mid harmonics that lower pitched instruments don't possess. In short, it's more audible and more textural. I would encourage any bassist to do themselves a BIG favour and 'downgrade' to a 4-string and return to audibility. [/quote] I'm really not sure about that. I don't hear the top four strings on my five string as sounding any different to a similarly configured four string. My ash bodied, bolt-on necked 5 string with passive Jazz pickups just sounds like a Jazz to my ears. If there is a difference due to the heftier neck, increased tension or differently shaped pickup coils, I think it's smaller than the variation that exists within differently built four string basses. The only difference I have noticed is that the type of right-hand stroke you can use on the E string is different, as you now have a lower string limiting your finger movement. EDIT; I read your post again - I guess you're talking about the sound of a higher octave note versus a lower one, not comparing tone of the same note on a four string vs. a five string. If so, ignore the above! Although by the same logic, perhaps we should all "upgrade" to guitar and ditch those bass notes entirely!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1363363937' post='2011906'] The got EU protection of the headstock a few years ago. [/quote] Ah right, I missed that! I'm surprised there aren't more near copies with alternative headstock shapes out there, as seems to be the norm with Fender copies.

As far as I can gather (and feel free to contradict me if you're clued up on the legal stuff), their trademark protection on the headstock shape, toaster pickup covers etc. applies in the USA only. Ebay and Gumtree will co-operate with their requests as they are American owned companies, so could be taken to court successfully. I don't think they have the same sort of influence where the instruments are made and sold outside the US by non-US companies.

Discontinued, and didn't most of their five strings keep the four string neck width and pickups? Otherwise, one of those in mapleglo would be great! Actually, I may have to build myself something some time in the future. It doesn't even need to be Ric-shaped, just imitating the construction and functional bits so it gets a similar sound and feel...

There isn't anyone doing with Rickenbacker style instruments what Sandberg, Nordstrand, Sadowsky etc. are doing with Fender-esque basses, except perhaps John Birch who isn't around anymore. I can understand the rationale behind buying their instruments, as they provide the functional attributes and much of the appearance of the Fenders, but with far more options available and a degree of personalisation that a larger company would struggle to provide. The currently available Ric copies are all cheap knock-offs, but if a small company was to offer a quality bass built like a Rickenbacker except with a sensible bridge, no uncomfortable pickup surround and the option of five strings, I'd be sort of tempted to save up my gig money for one! It'd be even better if Ric themselves offered such a thing, but I can see they have little incentive to.

If you're doing "acoustic" gigs without a kit drummer, a good 10" is easily enough. I regularly use a 1x10" with drum kit in pubs, though in a bigger room or with louder electric guitarists I'd want more. The GK does look good value though, and if it's lighter than the Ashdown there's no real downside for portability.

I like the D'Addario set I have on at the moment except for the B-string. It produced a wooly thud which was not much like the other four. Though your sig suggests you're playing 4-strings so this is probably not an issue for you.

I play guitar in this band, and our old bassist has had to leave for work reasons. We are a political seven-piece band based in Edinburgh called New Urban Frontier. We need a bassist willing to gig, jam, experiment and have fun. Our style is an ever-changing mix of punk, ska, hip-hop, soul, reggae, dub and afrobeat among many others We have gigged furiously all over Edinburgh. In the last few years we have played at, among others, The Forest Cafe, The Roxy Art House, Summerhall, The Bongo Club, Henry's Cellar Bar, Teviot Underground, The Jazz Bar, Tepooka, The Voodoo Rooms and Eden Festival. There are always exciting gigs on the horizon, so if you're interested get in touch as soon as possible through here and we'll arrange a jam to see if sparks fly. We have some recordings available on [url="http://newurbanfrontier.bandcamp.com/album/climbing-the-walls-of-babylon-ep"]http://newurbanfront...s-of-babylon-ep[/url] I'd point out that these are older recordings and since then, we have added some new material and changed guitarist. I'd say we've got tighter too! We have some more up to date recordings that we are in the process of mixing, coming soon.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1363224998' post='2010227'] Also note that they have not have any issues regarding payment yet. It's all second hand... [/quote] While I'd usually agree with this, I recall there was a chap running a venue in Edinburgh a few years ago who would regularly fail to pay his staff, tradesmen and bands on the basis that Edinburgh had enough of each of them passing through he could stiff 'em all once and it didn't matter if they never came back. A bandmate of mine took him to court over some carpentry work and used to be quite evangelical about warning people not to play or work for him, but they all would anyway. Once.

I've settled on having two sets of Spiro Mittels, rotating them after a year or so and soaking them in alcohol when I rotate them. Hopefully this'll keep me going for a few years without having to buy new ones. Yes, I'm a skinflint...

I read (in Melvyn Hiscocks book) that Wal would refuse to use figured maple in their necks, saving them for the body facings as they felt the risk of warpage was too great in a neck. So there is definitely some support for this way of thinking, even if many figured necks turn out absolutely fine.

[quote name='The Dark Lord' timestamp='1362982781' post='2006943'] I thought the scenario of 81 guitars hanging up on a washing line amongst a team of tokie chugging Rastafarians, all sitting in front of a big log fire in Edinburgh, while blowing the smoke away from the back of the headstocks was a great image. I'm sure that happens all the time up there. [/quote] If it does, then they've never invited me to their parties! More's the pity...

I don't think we could have had any sort of "great discussion" with him. He only seems to have one topic, and his debating technique consists of praising those who agree with him and insulting anyone else. What insight could we gain from that?

I've never tried one, but I have a friend with one of those Shadow pickups. He gets a reasonable sound and plays on some fairly large stages at festivals etc. Because it has the little preamp attached, it should work well with a wide range of amps too. The preamp does look a bit flimsy though...