ForbiddenWytch

4 hours ago, Groove Harder said:

Still for sale? 

Sorry, I forgot to edit this, no it's not. 

Edit - traded

48 minutes ago, HazBeen said:

Apart from the full bypass this is it. If you rewire the mute to be a bypass aren’t you there?

https://www.thomann.de/gb/providence_dbs_1_dual_bass_station.htm

It is a great clean 2 channel pre. Clearly you could stick 2 onboard preamps in a box, and wire up etc, but this gets you there without much fuss methinks.

That does look like a great pre amp and piece of kit but that’s nearly 3x the price I could put the one I’m considering together for. Also the size of it wouldn’t fit on the space on my board. The space I have is the same size as an EHX bass big muff so I’m just going to buy an enclosure.

8 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

I think (but could be wrong...) that the OP was thinking of building his box for much less than £215. 

Hahaha yep, spot on mate! I could do the one I want for £80 (and change). 

1 hour ago, Bigwan said:

Did you actually read the original post? 

Thank you for saving me from that reply Bigwan! 

Hey everyone

Recently I've been playing my passive basses a little more but miss the tonal adjustment I can get from my basses that have an Active pre amp in them (not just that but the level of the passive basses is obviously lower than the active ones which makes a difference when hitting my signal chain). As one of them is a Fender Precision bass that has an extremely small control cavity and wouldn't fit a pre amp and battery without additional routing (that's not going to happen either) and the other is a Spector style clone that I added a neck hum bucker to and did the Billy Sheehan style wiring mod to for dual output (the pre amp would only be used on the P/J pick up output) which has left minimal space in the cavity I got to thinking about sticking a pre amp in a box... then realised that I like the sounds of two different pre amps with the two different passive basses I use which got me thinking about sticking TWO pre amps in a pedal enclosure.

My idea is as follows: 

- Enclosure would be either a standard MXR sized or Bass Big Muff sized hammond case (dependent on which would fit all the components)

- 2 internal bass pre amps 

- 2 footswitches: 1 for selecting which pre amp the signal flows through and one for bypassing the pedal altogether (for times that I just want that "passive" sound)

- Both have their own output trim which would be good for matching the level against my "active" basses and not having to worry about it (as the trim pots would both be inside the pedal enclosure)

- 3 status LEDs (One status LED each pre amp and one for pedal status)

- Regular side mounted jacks (likely Switchcraft stereo jacks)

A couple of things I haven't decided on yet are:

- Power supply: Both of them are 9v pre amps so do I run an 18v supply in or would it just be better to run a 9v supply in? (my power bank has both 9v and 18v outputs)

- Layout: Both pre amps have the pots attached to wires so I can mount them in any position but I'm not sure whether to put them Horizontal or Vertical?

This is all a theoretical thing and just another idea I have dreamt up in a moment of boredom so it might not actually happen but thought I'd gauge people's thoughts on it. I know there are pre amp boxes out there but none of them do anything remotely similar to what I'm thinking of and are a hell of a lot more expensive than what I could put this together for.

On 04/01/2019 at 10:32, MoonBassAlpha said:

Servisol switch cleaner works well. This is  probably all it needs. You'll need to get the case open to get at the pot properly. Working the pot back and forth multiple times often works just as well, or at least find more usable positions.

Thanks MBA! I'll try and get some of that and try it. Hopefully that sorts it out. I'll report back when I manage to get some Servisol.

3 minutes ago, walshy said:

Plays really nice too, QP pick ups are mighty. Hopefully someone decides to keep it in one bit and not split it up.

If I hadn't committed to another bass on here, I'd be all over this. But I must admit, I'd stick a chrome pickguard on it ala Steve Harris! haha

Damn that is stunning! 

Hi everyone

I have a Trace Elliot GP12 SMX (Model 4001) amp that I seem to have had the same trouble with since buying it. Basically, the input blend and EQ balance pots are both cutting out the sound quite badly. The Input Blend works okay when set to the FET side 100% but crackles, hisses and cuts out when I try turning it towards the valve side. I've tried changing the 12AX7 (like for like) and still have the same issue so it's not the pre amp valve. Intermittently it would work in places but you have to be really careful where you set it. The EQ Balance pot is much worse though. It feels very wobbly inside the actual pot and it is really un-usable. As much as I like having a treble heavy sound, having the EQ balance turned to nearly full High EQ bias really doesn't do it for me and it's the only spot that it seems to work alright in. 

If anyone on here has experienced the same issue, please let me know! I've got some gigs coming up next month with my new band and need to know if it's a simple solution I can sort at home or whether or not it needs running in to an amp tech somewhere.

As an extra note, the Input Blend knob does seem very scratchy as well when you turn it but I don't have any switch cleaner to spray inside it (would Isopropyl alcohol do the trick or would it destroy the pot?). Surely a "dirty pot" wouldn't be all that's causing the input blend issue? The EQ balance pot issue is totally beyond me though.

Thanks in advance

Hey everyone

I've contacted Seymour Duncan about a query I have regarding one of their pick ups but in case they take a while to get back, I wondered if someone on here might be in the know.

I've been looking at making a double jazz bridge position pick up out of a pair of Seymour Duncan SJB-3 pick ups but noticed that the neck pickup of SJB-3 set is RW/RP (reverse wound/reverse polarity) so this got me wondering whether or not the 2 coils of the SSB-NYC pick ups are RW/RP to each other or if they're the same polarity and it's the neck position soapbar of the SSB-NYC set is RW/RP to the bridge pick up. Thirdly, it could even be that both pick ups of the SSB-NYC have the 2 coils wound RW/RP to each other (if that makes sense?). The reason I'm wondering this is because if I do put together a double Jazz pick up made out of 2 SJB-3s, I need to know if it would be better to go with the neck/bridge set or go for 2 bridge pickups for it. 

Hopefully all of this makes sense! 

Cheers

I had this same issue and it turned out to be the power transformer inside had gone faulty. Emailed Tech 21 and they supplied me with a new one posted to the UK for about £25.

5 hours ago, lemmywinks said:

I think part of the problem is that he has obviously never really played a well made instrument with a proper setup, being brutally honest the instruments in his videos sound woeful IMO (particularly the basses) and definitely aren't set up hence all the choking and buzzing. The sad fact is if he actually ordered a Harley Benton new from Thomann instead of getting knackered ones he would be in for a shock as it would put his creations to shame in terms of playability and sound.

I’ve heard a lot of good things about the HB guitars and basses, I know a few people that have them and they’re perfectly fine instruments. I’m pretty sure they get them from other manufacturers and just put cheap hardware on which im fine with. For example, there’s an ESP LTD Eclipse with the HB logo on it that you can clearly tell has come as B stock from the LTD Factory but again, I’m fine with that! Especially at the price they sell them for. 

The man is deluded to the point where I feel an ounce of sorrow for him (which quickly fades away). He truly believes what he is doing is for the better. As for the point that "Harley Benton's are just as fundamentally good...", I never said anything detrimental about HB guitars, what I did mention was the fact he's repurposing their Deko (although I think I spelt it deco in my message) models. He's laughable. 

2 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

You missed the bit about the raked back tuners, that's the most puzzling part! Anyway if he replies tell him there's a solid £110 offer on that 5 string Peavey sitting here provided he has the original pickup and knobs, been looking for a mistreated one of those to do up.

Bahaha! I shall be sure to pass on the message

I have just sent the following message to him (unfortunately hit the character limit so couldn't go in to more detail) but I will post his reply on here as soon as I get it. 

Hey dude, is there any chance you'll be going through Bedfordshire any time soon?

2 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

There is no mention in the listing that this guitar was originally sold by Thomann for decoration only and not as a playable instrument.

Yes! This is so true!

Hey everyone

I'm looking to add a chrome pick up cover and a treble side (original position?) thumb rest to my Fender P bass but the pick guard doesn't have the holes for either. It's a chrome pick guard so obviously I want to get it right first time. If anyone has a template I can download and lay over the plate or the exact measurements as for where to drill, that would be great!

Thanks

2 hours ago, lloyd said:

Hi

I have a Dimarzio pup that was taken off my Precision, it is the cream coloured one, couldn’t be 100% sure of the model.

I know it worked perfectly before I swapped it over and will gladly do a swap for this, I could do some more digging if need be to find out the type.

 

Lloyd

I've messaged you bud

1 hour ago, BreadBin said:

A wide neck baritone strung with 9s... 

9s make it easier to play those "F Minor Barre Chords" that you will always play (for anyone who that joke passed over, he regularly mentions the F Minor Barre chord as the "go to" chord)

3 minutes ago, Twincam said:

I would actually love it if he started knocking out better thought out modifications. And using decent parts. 

They say a leopard can't change it's spots but I'm sure Phillips would find a way to bodge it and make them a wide neck baritone.

5 minutes ago, Beedster said:

OK, I get all of this, but how many people who've started/responded to the numerous threads on BC over the years have ever contacted eBay, or even the guy himself, and said the same thing? I agree, his work is not as he represents it - far from it - but I take a more generous view of the underlying reason why than perhaps others do (I may be very wrong). If you feel strongly, perhaps you should do something other than rant here, which does nothing tangible to solve the problem as you see it? 

I've actually contacted him asking him how he can honestly call his work an "improvement" and justify the price he's charging for such "improvements" and he acts like a petulant child over it. How can he justify a 100+% mark up on some of these items that he ruins over even the new retail list price? Instead of sending a decent reply, he actually decided a personal insult was more appropriate. I contracted eBay as did my friend who he tried to con and their response was basically "he has 100% feedback so we see no problem". 

I discovered this one after he’s tried to scam a friend of mine who’s selling a guitar on eBay. Tried to tell him it’s a different cheaper model to the one he’s selling and that just because it has a hard case shown in the photos (title and description both say “case not included”), he should apparently include the case as it’s eBay law that what’s pictured is for sale.

as for if he’s a BC member or not, that doesn’t matter to me. Warnings need to be in place to protect people from scammers/badgers like Mr Phillips. I have heard stories of youngsters/beginners unfortunately being messed over by him selling them unplayable guitars even though “the set up is the very best”. This one is a very prime example. He’s messed up a perfectly fine 7 string (that’s about £200 new) and made it totally unplayable then expects to get over double the RRP on it? I’m sorry but if you’re happy to have people like this in your “community” then that’s one I don’t want to be a part of.

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wide-neck-baritone-6-string-electric-guitar-/192659686990?_mwBanner=1&ul_ref=https%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F0%2F0%2F0%3Fmpre%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F192659686990%26rvr_id%3D0%26rvr_ts%3Df3c00b3c1650ad4d8d812a1cfff34e6a&ul_noapp=true

”It is getting a proper set up?  the very best”

What a great competition! 

Currently using D'addario Pro Steels and Chrome Flatwounds. Have never tried the NYXL bass strings but tried the guitar ones and they were great! Heard the NYXL's have a lasting top end to them which is exactly what I like in strings! Plenty of ziiiiing! haha

Really tempted by this but don't know how to go about getting it picked up or shipped as it'll likely be very expensive. Need to look in to it.