Dry

13 hours ago, itu said:

If the height adjustment does not work well, probably the foam under the pickups is dead. It is possible to replace the foam with springs or just a new foam.

Yes, thank you. I'm working up the courage to take them out to take look

I'm certainly no expert but I'd have said that although there is definitely a concept of a better bass in terms of overall quality of finish and hardware etc, the most important thing is whether you like the feel and sound of any particular bass. A really good name is no good if you don't like playing it 😉 

So, of the two, which did you prefer?

Thank you very much @Andyjr1515!

Thanks @gary mac. I'll take a look.

Thanks. It was setup professionally, um, about 5 years ago and not really played much since then.

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Have you got the same volume drop on both pickups?

Yes.

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Have you changed the battery?  The Phat EQ is always in circuit so the battery will affect it whether or not it is turned up.

Not for a while That could be significant. I didn't think about it but IIUC there is no 'passive standby' (?) - I don't know how to phrase that properly.

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

What are the distances of the G and E strings from their respective pickup tops?

Fretted at the last one the E is (P/J)  ~3mm and ~2mm and the G is ~2mm and ~2mm.

2 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

Getting the pickups to lift properly is an easy fix if they are too low.  The next thing I would do, again a easy fix if you're OK with a soldering iron, would be to bypass the Phat pot altogether.

I'd certainly be interested in this because I've never used it.

2 hours ago, gary mac said:

So, I'm guessing it's likely to be a set up issue with your one. I would advise in the first instance, getting it set up properly and at the same time get those pick up springs sorted out.

Okay. I see there is a recommended luthiers thread somewhere on here so I'll see if I can find someone in Norfolk/Suffolk/N Essex.

Hi,

I have an Ibanez GIO GSR200 Soundgear from (I think) 2004 (serial I0411 11068). This is now my backup and mostly sits in its bag. I don't want to get rid of it because the neck seems lovely and the action can be really low (which I like) without any fret buzz. However, to my, admittedly untrained, ears the overall sound of it leaves a lot to be desired. The E string is really boomy and particularly so above the 5th fret and the volume decreases significantly on the D and G strings. This is with new strings (rounds), the Phat EQ thingy off and both pickups on. At first I thought this was purely due to incorrect pickup heights so I've tried messing with them but honestly can't really hear any difference. Adjusting the pickup height is not easy because I think the springs have degraded - there is hardly any movement when unscrewing them though they do move up and down if pulled/pushed. So, to my question: is it possible/worthwhile upgrading the pickups on this thing? If so, how easy is it to do? Any good videos or tutorials you can point me to? And where would I buy new pickups and how would I know they would fit ?

Hi, 

Long time lurker turned member. I've owned a bass of some kind for a long time  but only recently decided to try to learn to play one properly. So now I'm mostly annoying my wife while she's trying to watch the telly

Looking forward to learning as much as possible. And I apologise in advance for any buffoonery on my part.