itu

I just continued the story that @agedhorse had done years ago. Very good test, some didn't like the results... It was eye opening to understand how much we hear with our eyes. It is the same how we rate different players (endorsees) that how a system (instrument, amp, cab, fx...) sounds. It is anything but easy to rate equipment strictly from our own preferences. Yes, I have done and I have been in blind tests. They were really eye opening (sorry!). After several tests I was ready to trust my own ears. Not an easy task at all: the pressure is hard, because we all want to belong to group/s. Which set is suitable for you if your group prefers certain equipment? I can say if I do, or not like some thing. It may differ from some other opinions. Does not matter. At my age and experience I am able to find what I like, and I am very sceptical to what I see and hear from any paid channels. How about you? When I look at your modified Ibanez, I think you have found something that is not mainstream, isn't it?

You need a new one, it will be Bourns 250k MN. That has tracks for blend, i.e. starting from the centre.

What are you after? Loud they aren't, but bulky, yes. The best sound I got from a Ferrington was with piccolo strings. I am no g-word player, so I sold it.

I had a similar bartolini harness in my MG Quantum 5 custom, and the blend was defective. I actually changed it to the Noll Mixpot after several trials with different pots. Substantial change!

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gps.6061 An interesting study about music, age, and playing.

He has a problem with a... car? "4 springs and a ball joint"? Hilarious.

Yes, please. The heat may be too much to the rivet-track connection.

This is just a guess: the blend is suspect. It has been soldered not from the lugs, but the rivets. Not good. That may disconnect the track from the lugs.

This discussion has to be raised up in a repeating period of ten years.

Pictures, please.

There was a test in the university while I studied acoustics. There was a pair of similar amps, with a black face, and a brushed aluminium face. In tests people noticed that the black one was good, but the brushed aluminium unit had too brittle sound. In another test there was a pair of loudspeakers. They had three colour textiles: white, brown, and black. While the test personnel "changed loudspeakers", they actually changed the textiles. You may guess the results: brown was the last in terms of sound quality, and black the best. People listen with their eyes, you like it or not.

Check D'Addario EXL280. https://www.thomann.de/gb/daddario_exl280.htm

But where are the anniversary strings? (Squier was the string manufacturer 1890-1975, and after Fender acquired the company, they changed the string brand to F.)

Please ask some luthier about a custom 36" or similar bass. It may be not that expensive after all. Just keep all extras to minimum.

Clevinger had a bass that was close to an upright in terms of playability. I found only one picture of it: https://reverb.com/item/34879027-clevenger-eub-prototype-green-jade Ned Steinberger (NS Bass) and Ibanez have made smaller uprights that can be carried on a strap. If I was you, i would try to check Overwater fretless basses with 36" scale. Maybe you would like to use shorter scale, but 36" feels like, can I say spacious?

Output X-former is needed with valves/tubes, because the tube section's output impedance (Z) is high compared to speaker's Z. The transformer changes (transforms) the tubes' output Z to suit speakers' Z. Solid state (transistor) power amp has low Z output, and the transformer is not needed. It is not a bad idea at all to have the load (cab) connected to the amp.

I had one with bartolinis. I sold it because of the 17 mm string spacing. Never got used to it. Now playing an MG Genesis 5 with 19 mm spacing. Truss rod is useless with MG, Status, or Vigier. Carbon is king.

It's a bit complicated to talk about price. I want - because that's what works for me - a five with 19 mm string spacing. Selection is pretty limited. When I found a suitable one, the price was not the first specification. I am slightly amazed that everybody should play a £80 bass. If that's not my thing, I don't care what others think about my instruments. After all, an electric bass is still very cheap compared to a quality double bass. Alembic, maybe they are pricey, but who cares. If you find a good one, it's your choice, not your friend's.

Vol to 0, when turning ON/OFF.

Well, it has certain honk there, because of the Al box' dimensions. I drive it with Glockenklang Soul, and I am happy with the set. Soul was originally a combo (2x10"), but heavy, 38 kg. Now only the amp is 12 kg, and the alusonic cab 18 kg. Very nice to carry around. The cab starts to sing in big venues. Even our rehearsal room is big enough for the whole band - we are 13 - but not big enough for bass. I usually keep the tweeter on, but pretty low. My equipment is capable of highs, but in our band bass' highs are mostly useless. Low end is my area.

Polly made my cab, a 2x12". Neat work.

Mullard and Philips (the yellowish boxes on the right) are somewhst sought after valves/tubes. But the interest depends on the types of the valves/tubes. As an example that 6AU6/EF94 pentode costs anything from £1-2 and up. If there are interesting ones, the price may rise up high: a Telefunken EF806S can cost anything between £50-500.

I have had several fx that need a tad longer plug for a secure connection. If you want to cover the bare part, put some shrink tube over it.

@Linus27 : if you can try it by just rewiring the comp, test it. Trust your ears, there are no right or wrong choices here. So many neat boards, should I rebuild few of mine again...?