Shire

[quote name='ped' post='491626' date='May 18 2009, 05:34 PM']They were recorded at a studio up in... wait for it... Blackpool (so not THAT local) by a guitarist who my brother went to uni with. We always go there because we all have a similar lack of taste in terms of music so we 'tear tha roof off' behind closed doors before forcing our 'elevator muzak' upon the unsuspecting, and largely undeserving masses.

So no you won't know the guitarist, not unless you have thumbed the Yellow Pages for rent boys in the Lancaster area!

pedro[/quote]

Ahh cool, thought you were doing it in Oxford. And as for looking up rent boys, well I'll bite my tongue this time and respect your Admin status

[quote name='ped' post='494437' date='May 21 2009, 04:34 PM']Just moved this to the proper forum! I should know better... Here is a bonus pic of the lads


Cheers
ped[/quote]

Bass needs to be a bit higher tbh and **** me you really look like your brother in this pic

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='494418' date='May 21 2009, 04:22 PM']If you're coming from guitar, you might be more comfortable with the Jazz neck: slimmer all round than the P, with a tighter string spacing down by the nut.[/quote]

I came from playing guitar for 6 years to bass and the first bass I bought was the VMJ Squier. It just felt more natural than the telebass I tried. I also have a 71 Fender Musicmaster (shortscale) which is a joy to play too and the scale is great if you've come from the world of guitar

I have a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass and its an amazing bass for the money. It feels like it should cost double what it does, the quality is amazing imo

[quote name='ped' post='491597' date='May 18 2009, 05:16 PM']Thanks mate

I must admit that I felt a little disconnected from the fretless track and the one with the drum solo because they were written before I got to the studio so I didn't have any input. I wasn't able to get the whole week off work because my 6th form had exams the following few days! We always have great fun though so anything remotely musical that is produced is purely a bonus in my book!!

Cheers
ped[/quote]

Sounds top me old mucka! Who was on guitar? Would I know them?

Where did you record them? I might have to get you to record our band if you'd be up for it? Our Demo's are rubbish

I'll reply to your PM later mate, just leaving work

I'm a fan too. Its just so easy to use. I used to use Logic in a studio where I worked and its just unnecessarily difficult

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='482900' date='May 8 2009, 01:22 PM'][url="http://nightshift.oxfordmusic.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=805"]http://nightshift.oxfordmusic.net/phpbb/vi...p?f=3&t=805[/url]

Altec IIRC was one of the best speakers you could buy back in the day, could be a good cheap buy for someone...[/quote]

Good shout and thanks for the heads up, if only I had the space! I'm sure we've played with that band too....

I play gigs for the buzz and the love of playing music so the money doesn't really bother me. As long as I get a few quid to buy some beers afterwards I'm happy. I have a day job to earn a crust

Little update:

After trying various wiring configurations, it appears that the PDF was correct with regard to the pickup wiring. The black and white wires completely contradict the usual live/earth colour scheme.

I found out what was causing the hum too, the jack input was touching the copper shielding inside the bass so I bent it slightly and taped it up with electrical tape just to make sure

All was well so I screwed the pickguard back on, went to test the bass and nothing! I'll take it apart tomorrow to investigate but at least I know know that the wiring is spot on

[quote name='neepheid' post='463017' date='Apr 15 2009, 02:24 PM']You might as well try your bridge wire on a pot casing. Perhaps your shielding is not as complete as you think.[/quote]

Yeah, I'll try a wire from the tone pot straight to the bridge

[quote name='steve' post='463033' date='Apr 15 2009, 02:43 PM']Matt, some more thoughts, stream-of-conscious styley

have you checked your soldering for dry joints?[/quote]

No, how would I go about doing that? Sorry I'm new to all this electronical business

[quote name='steve' post='463033' date='Apr 15 2009, 02:43 PM']is the bridge earthing wire making proper contact with the bridge itself?[/quote]

I had checked when I originally got the bass but I'll double check it again

[quote name='steve' post='463033' date='Apr 15 2009, 02:43 PM']have you tried the same setup with a different bass to be certain the problem is the bass and not another piece of kit?[/quote]

No, I don't want to take apart my Jazz beacuase if I f**k that up too I'll have nothing to play. Not something I can afford to do with a gig next week!

[quote name='steve' post='463033' date='Apr 15 2009, 02:43 PM']have you tried the MM with a different amp?[/quote]

Other than a guitar amp, the Asdown is my only amp. The Jazz Bass works fine through it though so I'm certain its not the amp

[quote name='steve' post='463033' date='Apr 15 2009, 02:43 PM']you could try wiggling each wire to see if one is loose?[/quote]

I have checked them and they're all pretty solid in terms of soldering and connection

[quote name='steve' post='463033' date='Apr 15 2009, 02:43 PM']scanning your post again, I wonder whether you have created a ground loop (I think that's what its called), and you have two connections running from the bridge to earth, each taking a different path. You could try disconnecting one.[/quote]

Ok Steve, I'll look into that possibility thanks for all your help!

This image suggest running the earth wire from the tone pot. Does it make a difference?

Ok so I'm still not having any joy with this. Is there anywhere else I should be earthing to stop the hum/buzz? Finding pics of the wiring is proving difficult although I did stumble on these from a thread found here:

[url="http://www.shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=410445&sid=ed258bc07e0c0c4ff8ae88142d996d88"]http://www.shortscale.org/forum/viewtopic....8ae88142d996d88[/url]











Pleaser help as I need to clear up the mess I've made, I'm being shouted at! Also got a gig next week!

Is the wire coming from the jack input the best place to earth the bass to? (the bridge) or should I earth from a volume/tone pot instead? Thanks in advance

[quote name='steve' post='461491' date='Apr 13 2009, 08:08 PM'] I'd completely forgotten I'd done that[/quote]

Hahahaha, you're losing you mind mate!

You also owe me £20....... :ph34r: .....was worth a try

[quote name='steve' post='461158' date='Apr 13 2009, 12:47 PM']Hi Matt,

That's a neat shielding job you've done, have you got an earth wire connected to the bridge?[/quote]

Hi Steve, I think it was your good self who did the shielding, it was like that when I got if from you! Very neat job!

The shielding touches the pickguard where it makes a connection there but I added the red wire to make sure it was earthing properly by connecting it to the bridge and it still hums


[quote name='neepheid' post='461339' date='Apr 13 2009, 05:16 PM']From what I can see, where you've gone wrong is that (according to the Kent Armstrong pdf you posted up earlier) the black wire from the pickup is hot and the white is earth. Yes, I know this colour scheme makes no logical sense, but according to that reference, you've got the hot output of the pickup going to the volume pot casing and the earth going to the volume control. Read it again and double check, but that's what I've read - several times now.

I presume that red wire coming from the jack socket is going to the bridge?[/quote]

Thats what threw me, the colour scheme from their PDF is completely different from any other wiring diagram that I have seen. I tried wiring it the opposeite way as you suggested but there is no output from the pickup at all then, very od so I'm pretty sure I got it the right way round...

As above, the red wire was going to the bridge to earth it but I don't think it needs it. There is already a wire coming from the bridge, through the body and is stuck to the shielding. The pickguard then connects to the shielding when it is in place, essentially earthing it - or so I thought! I'll check the connection under the bridge now and maybe sand it back a bit incase its rusty Other than that I don't know what it could be!

Thanks for your help guys

Ok a little update

The parts arrived:



And I took apart the bass to get wiring...





This is how the pickup was originally wired, straight to the jack:



And this is how it is wired now, although it hums like a bitch!



Here's a wiring diagram of how it is wired, if antone could give me some pointers on where I might have gone wrong I'd be extremely grateful

[quote name='neepheid' post='456300' date='Apr 7 2009, 12:10 PM']Yeah, the P-bass diagram should work fine. As for your pickup, the diagram you linked to earlier suggests it has 4 wires + shield. The simplest wiring is to join the two ends of the coils in series then the remaining 2 are hot and earth. According to the diagrams, you'd need to join the green and red ones, leaving black (!) as hot and white and shield as earth. Then follow the rest of the diagram from there.[/quote]

You sir, are a gentleman! Thanks again

I'll get some more interesting pics when the parts arrive and do a little step by step for all the other useless electricians like me!

I'm loving your bronco by the way. I might sell my Squier VM Jazz and get one of those instead if this all goes to plan, I feel quietly confident now!

[quote name='neepheid' post='456222' date='Apr 7 2009, 10:51 AM']Yeah, they're audio taper. Phew.

Remember that you'll need screw fit knobs for these pots (the ones with grub screws for attaching) - press fit knobs won't work.[/quote]

Phew from me too lol

I am going to use the original knobs (which I have) which have grub screws in

Thanks for your help, its much appreciated

Do you think I could use a P=bass wiring diagram and slightly modify it? I can't find any musicmaster diagrams but I assume its the same principle? Actually, considering its a guitar pickup,, I might have problems with its infinite number of wires!

[quote name='neepheid' post='455726' date='Apr 6 2009, 06:39 PM']Oops, it doesn't look like anyone mentioned the different tapers pots can have. I hope you've bought Audio (Log) taper pots, or your volume control will be rather on/off instead of a smooth progression through the available volume range.[/quote]

Thanks for the heads up. I bought these ones:

[url="http://www.guitarthings.co.uk/cts-cts-premium-250k-solid-shaft-pot-938-p.asp"]http://www.guitarthings.co.uk/cts-cts-prem...t-pot-938-p.asp[/url]

Are they ok?

Cheers,
Matt

[quote name='Shire' post='455485' date='Apr 6 2009, 02:25 PM']Thanks for the heads up Any idea on the 'orange drop'? Cheers [/quote]


Ok, I just purchased the following parts. I'll let you know how I get on

Switchcraft SWITCHCRAFT JACK 1/4''

Sprague 'Orange Drop' 0.047 Capacitor

CTS CTS Premium 250k Solid Shaft Pot x 2

Vintage Wire White - 2 Ft.

Here is the wiring diagram that I'm going to use (fig 1b)

[url="http://www.kentarmstrong.com/KA_Wiring_Instructions.pdf"]http://www.kentarmstrong.com/KA_Wiring_Instructions.pdf[/url]



Thanks in advance,
Matt

[quote name='Delberthot' post='454195' date='Apr 4 2009, 04:28 PM']Its normally 250k pots for single coils which yours is and 500k for humbuckers.

I say normally because I use 500k pots and paper-in-oil cap in my single coil P bass[/quote]


Thanks for the heads up Any idea on the 'orange drop'? Cheers

[quote name='steve' post='452891' date='Apr 3 2009, 12:23 AM']The pickup in it atm is a dual rail Kent Armstrong pup.

+1 for CTS pots and a Sprague (sp?) Orange Drop capacitor.[/quote]

Thanks for the recommendations, I'll have a look on the online shops now and update the thread when I've made some purchases

I'm not too worried about it being 'period correct'. I'm going to leave the tuners and bridge for now and concentrate on the electronics. Thanks for the pic, its given me some future ideas though

Would you recommend 250k or 500k pots? Would these be ok?

[url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/500k-audio-split-knurled-shaft-p-1728.html?p=product"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/500k-audio-spli....html?p=product[/url]

Also with regard to the sprague-orange-drop, would I need a 0.22uF or 0.47uF?

[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]

Thanks in advance

Hi all,

I purchased this bass of BC member 'Steve' a few months ago and I absolutely love it (thanks Steve and sorry for not being in touch)

Its a '71 Fender Musicmaster (short scale) and as much as I love it, it needs some tlc, thats where you lovely knowledgeable folk come in!

I have the original pickup and wiring but I want to start from scratch with the electronics. These are the parts I'll need so any recommendations (or if you have any to sell) would be greatly appreciated

1 x Volume pot
1 x Tone Pot
Relevant wiring
Input Jack and possibly a new pickup? (It currently has a guitar pickup installed)

At the moment the pickup is wired straight to the output jack so I'd like to have some volume and tone controls too.....

I PM'd me old chum Ped and he suggested shopping at these places for parts:

For general parts: [url="http://www.allparts.uk.com/"]http://www.allparts.uk.com/[/url]
For the pickup: [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/"]http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/[/url]
You might also try [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/"]http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/[/url] for general parts

So if you have any recommendations on where I should go with this bass, I'm all ears I don't want to route the pickup cavity but I'll listen to any other mad ideas you guys have!

Here is a quick pic of said bass, sorry about the quality, I'll get some better ones tonight





Thanks in advance,
Matt

[quote name='blackhatbass' post='406063' date='Feb 11 2009, 10:18 AM']I'd be up for that as well When are you playing the Folly (in fact what exact venue do you mean, The FollyBridge?). Never played a gig there, and didn't even know they still did. On a related not, I run a night over it Witney once a month - might have some slots for June and July if you guys fancy it? This probably should all be in a PM shouldn't it.

On a topic related note then. I've got a now very broken MAG300 head, and yes the VU meter is a bag of sh*t - not as bad as the strange smoke that emits from mine when you use it now though! I've also got a ABM300 EvoII and have to report that the VU meter on that seems just as bad. Using any of my different basses (EBMM, Warwicks etc) seems to have no discernable effect on how the VU behaves, despite some being active, some not etc. That said, I quite like the sound of the head (played through Ashdown Mini cabs), but it doesn't get used much as i usually use my Eden rig nowadays.[/quote]

I'm shooting a PM to you now

[quote name='ped' post='405605' date='Feb 10 2009, 06:33 PM']These boys down the road in Witney will make you a case pretty cheap. The owner assures me he doesn't wear shorts like that any more, too: [url="http://www.grcases.co.uk/"]http://www.grcases.co.uk/[/url]

I nearly had a couple of custom foam/poly cases made for my basses but realised I was just being stupid as I have two cases for each already!

ped[/quote]

Ahh good man, I forgot you told me about them. Thanks for the link, I'll drop them an email and see what sort of prices they charge

[quote name='blackhatbass' post='405484' date='Feb 10 2009, 04:38 PM']The Black Hats - yours? Played the Jehrico more times than I can remember - in fact twice just last week![/quote]

The Empty Vessels: www.myspace.com/theemptyvesselsband

We've not been together to long but we've done about 8 gigs now? Played The Bullingdon on thursday and we've got one coming up at the folly soon

[quote name='ped' post='405488' date='Feb 10 2009, 04:43 PM']Oxford bass meet anyone? :0)[/quote]

I'm up for that

[quote name='blackhatbass' post='405418' date='Feb 10 2009, 03:07 PM']Apologies for the random thread hijack, but i've just noticed how scarily similar your avatar picture is to mine! Jehrico Tav represent! - Sorry, as you were......[/quote]

lol thats cool, although weird! Yeah its the Jericho Tavern. I thinke we've played there 3 times???? Whats your band name matey? I might have seen you