itu

If there's place for a buffer, then the pot value would be negligible. And if there was a buffer, why not a preamp?

The late BP had a good rack preamp shootout. There were Alembic, tce, and many others. You may find it somewhere. SWR Mini MO would be different, but nearly impossible to find.

As your power amp has two channels, have you considered biamping your possible rig? Highs could have fx, and the low end could be pure lows.

I don't have a biamp system, but drive my fx boards with a X-over tuned to 400 Hz.

On 05/08/2024 at 00:03, SamIAm said:

Many of the basses I’ve fiddled with have ground soldered to the pot cases, just need an iron that goes hot enough.

The temp is the same, but if your iron isn't powerful enough, the result will be a chore.

15 W for wires, +50 W and wider tip for pot cases.

2 hours ago, Grahambythesea said:

...was playing a Pensa 5 active Jazz which sounded and looked amazing. 

Sure, and the price is also amazing. It is most likely far from that £2k limit.

Serial will help finding the bass. Six numbers, where the first and the second reveal the year. Like 95xxxx.

4 minutes ago, peteb said:

No one said a word - I think that in the late 70s, playing and drinking was very much an expected thing for pro musos...

So sad and true.

I saw a big change happening in the 90's. Many of my friends stopped smoking, many decided not to drink anymore, but chose to drive their equipment home. Of course some of the players continued to drink and smoke, but most of them are in really bad shape now. Some of them can not even play anymore. Few have died.

I try to find my high time from music, and sports. That requires more work than beer, but I just feel better (no hangovers!). And no, I am not a pro player at all, but when I see people enjoying themselves on the floor, I know why I have played that bass so much.

I did it years ago with few groups. Not much money involved, but lots of playing, and nice people.

If you can mute your instrument easily, learn to do it quickly now. A tab with scores, and a pedal page turner (like Dragonfly or similar) are worth a lot. Extra set of strings, cables, and batteries are a must. DI box may save you if your amp breaks.

I remember that I drank somewhat during two weeks with one group, but found quickly, that it's one really bad habit: I wasn't that sharp anymore, and the amounts rose very quickly. Not to mention the costs. I played just fine, but I wanted to be sharp to support the band and the actors. Then I made a decision that playing and drinking in front of people is not my way to perform.

We know so far:

- 5 string J

- J pickups

- 34"

- tight string spacing

- thin maple neck

There should be lots of such basses. Some brands:

Lull, Sadowsky, Vincent, Sandberg...

@Bill Fitzmaurice please, we see only txt, no pics.

On 31/07/2024 at 23:27, JottoSW1 said:

Next, does tonewood have to be expensive and if its not pretty but IS cheap is it still tonewood. Answers on a postcard via Ped at Basschat HQ.

Tonewood, sorry, I thought it was a ton of wood.

To @ped: your tonewood is too cheap and it will NOT be considered as a tonewood, because it is

a) local (imported is priced higher, because it is imported),

b) cheap (see previous),

c) looks different than mine (yours cannot be as good as mine),

d) wasn't used by Leo, or Les,

e) add any opinion.

Case closed. I did not use any tonepaper, or tonepen, nor even toner to this answer.

I am learning Sweet Love from @ChrisDev 's transcription. This video is a good addition. Thank you both.

CF is usually pretty dull looking. If a company like GR wants to use a woven CF, it is most probably used in the surface only. To make CF somewhat cheaper, it can be combined with GF (glass). CF is always black, and white GF can be tinted (CF can be tinted, too, but the results are quite faint).

Like others have mentioned, stiff, and damping, and light material would be optimal, but usually two out of these three is possible.

Brackets in a plywood cabinet stiffen the system and prevent ringing. With suitable wool/fabric the internal effects can be tamed. Functional bracing requires R&D, and more complex production, which are not cheap.

If a box is too soft, the lowest response will be sacrificed. In practise the box "looks smaller" in volume from the speaker's point of view (try putting a speaker to a cardboard box). Therefore the low end rises. Stiffness is important.

The low end requires power.

1) If you want to raise power a lot, you need elements that can handle that power: the end result is seen in weight and size.

2) If those elements have good efficiency, and can handle lots of power, fewer are needed, and the system weighs less.

3) If the box is small (and therefore light), lowest end eats watts a lot, because the efficiency of the box will drop. You cannot have a very low end, and very good efficiency in a small box.

4) A big box made of light and soft material is relatively light, but does not offer support for low frequencies without special structures (like bracing). This raises costs, and weight.

All in all, a box made out of CF is a good idea but the material itself does not solve problems. A seasoned designer can take the best out of it, but a

- 10 lbs.

- 2 x 12"

- efficient

- 129 dB

speaker would cost a lot. Elements, and the needed air space for low end require some volume, so a cabinet cannot not be super small.

All in all, we still need to carry those big, and cumbersome boxes around. I love neodyme, but I still hope to see some even better solution that could produce earthshaking lows in a size and weight of a one gallon tank.

About the health issues: yes, resin and fibers can be really bad to your health in production, but all companies I have seen have had very modern facilities. I do not see this as a problem. A 3D printer produces nano particles, which possible long term problems we know nothing at all. You may have it installed in your bedroom.

You keep me hanging on

From the 1967 Supremes album The Supremes sing Holland-Dozier-Holland (recorded in 1966).

Bass: James Jamerson

Source: Standing in the shadows of Motown, 1989. The book contains the bass score, which is half a page long (29 measures).

1 hour ago, Vanheusen77 said:

From all accounts he was not a gear nerd at all. He just got out there and bought whatever bass that was the most functional and established electric bass that he could find.

1957-1960 JJ played a German upright. Stiff action.

Horace "Chili" Ruth persuaded JJ to try his refinished '57 (P) Black Beauty. After buying it, it was soon stolen from the trunk of his car.

The same happened to his sunburst P from the early 60's.

The Funk Machine was a stock, sunburst '62 P including the bell, the metal centrepiece, and the foam mute. JJ carved the word "Funk" to the heel of the neck. He filled it with blue ink. Neck had a substantial bow. The strings were heavy flat wounds from LaBella.

The Funk Machine was stolen few weeks prior his death.

JJ tried an 8-string Hagström (stolen in LA), one of the early Fender 5-strings, and a fretless, which he hated. The last one can be heard on Supremes' Someday, we'll be together.

He tried fx pedals but did not like them.

He had two amp setups. A B-15, sometimes with an extension cab. It was - stolen. For big venues he used a blue padded Kustom amp with two 15" speakers.

Family Jamerson still has the Kustom, the upright, and the Fender 5-string.

This is an abbreviation from the book: Standing in the shadows of Motown. Copyright 1989.

I have tried one. It is feasible for double bass, or an AEB, like a monitor. Not so big sound, but portable. Because it is relatively small, the low end is weak. Funny looking, I still think it is aimed for g-word players.

A small portable unit, I use an old GK 200MB combo. Far better.

On 12/07/2024 at 00:20, lidl e said:

I do prefer CTS pots

I don't. Neither Alpha. As long as it is carbon track, it represents low quality.

Check Bourns plastic track, or Vishay cermet, or Alps step attenuators, or something that is specified as quality. A cheapo carbon pot is just rubbish.

I have made few step attenuators, like here with metal film resistors. That 3 pos switch is for the humbucker.

Your current B is too short. Try GHS long scale plus, or D'Addario (super) long scale. Should fit at least to 36" scale.

3 hours ago, Doctor J said:

David Essessex and the Funk Gestapo

David Inxs...

Have you tried adjusting the pickups higher? Have you adjusted the bridge and raised strings?

If the system is working well, there shouldn't be anything wrong with it. If you have hit or demagnetized pickup magnets, the level may have changed. Otherwise some height adjustment is in need.

Once we had a gig in the big corridor just beside the lifts, and one of the singers suggested we should be The Great Elevator Band. We played there some elevator muzak.

From the video I'd say Blue Windows.

In practise all frequecies between DC and 30 Hz are just power eaters. Considering that most of the cabinets start producing something feasible from 60 - 80 Hz area, means that up to DC - 80 Hz could be cut away. @Downunderwonder 's method of setting the f is simply brilliant: use your ears.

I expand his idea to other spaces, too. When you go to a new place, the space (room, pub, venue...) is also a new resonator. If it is different in any dimension than the previous one, it has different standing waves. I have a faint vision that the 100 Hz that was mentioned earlier may have had something to do with the room and its dimensions or construction.

I love multi band parametric eqs just because any boomy noise can be tamed with one. I am pretty amazed that their use is so limited. It's a HPF + eq in one single package.

By the way, is that 16-35 still necessary, @dave_bass5? No, I can't see it with my phone, but my comp tells me it's **SOLD**.

4 hours ago, Teesee said:

...so really happy now with the guitar which didn't start life as a bad instrument to be fair, but it's where I want it now, has no resale value at all but I love it.

...and who cares about the resale value when you love it, and fits you like a glove? Very nice project, super execution.

Kramer, Mosrite, Ritter, and this Ovation... what's going on? You just sell some from your collection?