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Obrienp

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Everything posted by Obrienp

  1. Obrienp
    I eventually took a punt and bought a 32” Jazz style neck from China off eBay. It wasn’t as painful as I had imagined. It took over 3 weeks to arrive but when it did, it was in good condition and the import duty had been sorted. It was unfinished but had a nut installed and the frets had been nicely executed. The heel proved to be a little wider than the Fender standard, so I had to ease the neck pocket on a Precision body to fit it. Anyway I’m at risk of straying into build diary territory, so suffice to say I now having a working, lightweight, medium scale P bass with Jazz style neck. It sounds pretty good IMO, if a little bright (full size P body, so pickup is a little close to the bridge). The whole thing, including Tonerider pickup and Schaller machine heads cost me a little more than £200, plus a lot of finishing work. I still think Squier could sell a lot of medium scale P basses if they would only bite the bullet. Here it is in action:
  2. Obrienp
    Hi, I’ve done this with my Two10 and LFSys Monza (10” with compression driver). It does release the extra power from your amp and I thought a bit more bottom end overall but that could be because the Two10 was getting two thirds of the extra grunt, so that is what you hear predominantly. In my case, the Monza’s compression driver fills in the top end that is missing from the Two10. The Monza is pretty good at dispersing sound close up anyway but with it sitting on top of the Two10 in vertical mode, I had absolutely no trouble hearing myself on a comparatively narrow “stage” (a trailer). I leave it to you to decide whether my experience with the Two10 and Monza has any bearing on a Two10 & One10 combo. My guess is, unless you get a One10 T, you are not going to get the top end filled out as much but you would get the impression of extra bottom end by dint of moving more air. You also release the extra wattage from your amp but how much that actually gives you in DB I couldn’t say. In my case, I have a smaller cabinet for gigs where I don’t need the oomph of the Two10S but want the clarity of an FRFR. It just happens to have a higher power rating than my Two10S but I don’t have an amp that can use that at 8 ohms. It seems to be plenty loud enough at up 250 watts for most pub gigs we do. The ability to stack it on top of the Two10 is just a bonus faciltated by my Blackstar U700. If you like the idea of that flexibility, a 10” single might be worth considering. It gives 3 cab permutations out of two cabs.
  3. Obrienp
    It’s the same story as the EDS Reidmar 700 WRT output. There aren’t that many amps that will handle a sub 4 ohm load, so I guess this appeals to those who need it. I like the flexibility of being able to put my 8 and 4 ohm cabinets together when I really need the extra grunt. As an aside, the U700 has a separate balanced out to run a powered cabinet. I think this must be aimed at their powered 15” extension cabinet but presumably would do equally well with any powered speaker: Headrush, active PA cabinet, active sub, etc.
  4. Obrienp
    Got to say it again: amazing rig. I feel myself working up to a second Monza. Just a question of getting the dosh together.
  5. Obrienp
    I have the U700; bought off this very forum with the optional multi button footswitch (with digital display). I think it is a great amp. The emulations seem very good and with 3 different preamp and 3 power amp options you get a lot of permutations. The compressor is one of the best single knob compressors I have come across. It’s not noisy either (unlike Flyrig 2 for instance). The chorus and drive effects are decent as well. There are three variations on drive: overdrive, drive and fuzz. The mids are sweepable too. Everything I will ever need in one amp, with a discreet foot switch (a bit smaller than a Flyrig 2), which even has a tuner (slow). I have used it with an 8 ohm LFSys Monza (brilliant combination), 4 Ohm Barefaced Two10 and the both of them together running at 2.7 Ohm. The latter was loud and full. At 8 ohms and 4 ohms it is as loud as my Mark Bass LMIII with the aforementioned cabinets. Louder than I need for most of the gigs I do. It’s not as aggressive volume wise as some amps maybe but typical of all the class D amps I’ve used from Mark Bass, TCE, Orange, Peavey, etc. The only one that seems louder watt per watt that I have tried, is the Warwick Gnome I-Pro but I think that is more because of the baked in EQ at supposed equality (far from it in reality). I don’t know how robust it will prove over time but it seems to be holding up well at the moment. It feels reassuringly solid to me and the gig bag gives reasonable protection. The little 3 position dip switches don’t seem too flimsy and are the type that appear on quite a few amps but I mostly use the foot pedal for these settings anyway.
  6. Obrienp
    Had the gear borrowing issue several times but in less exalted company. I have no objection if I/we are asked in advance but when an act just turns up and expects to use your gear, that is taking the widdle. The worst I experienced was doing a New Year’s Eve gig with a band (I was depping). It was a shared billing with one of those vocalists who sings along to backing tracks. She just turned up and said where do I plug my phone and mic in. To make matters worse, we finished our second set and then the landlord was expecting her to go on for another hour or so after midnight. Band leader said, well we are packing up, so it’s going to be unaccompanied acoustic. Landlord said he wouldn’t pay us, if we did that. I left it to the BL to sort out but in the meantime an exchange of views ensued between said singer and BL’s Mrs (also a band member) who was a pretty direct Brummie. Midlands game, set and match in that encounter! I think we might have been more amenable, if we hadn’t had to pay for all our drinks and some rubbish food. Karma struck the landlord later when he went bust and the pub was closed for several years. Come to think of it, so did the BL when the band broke up. I’m still waiting for my full share of a wedding gig I did with them about 8 years ago. Pretended there was something wrong with the bank details I gave him. Palmed me off with a few notes.
  7. Obrienp
    Thanks. Yes, I posted in the wrong thread by accident. It was indeed a 33 1/4”. I’ve moved the post. Thank you for the response.
  8. Obrienp
    There was a guy at the Norfolk Blues Society Jam in Norwich yesterday evening with an Ibanez Rickenbacker copy. It’s the first time I have seen one. It appeared to have a mudbucker type humbucker in the neck position but sounded great. He reckons it dates from the 70s and had been well used when he bought it. He had to have all the frets replaced and some repair done to the rosewood board but apparently it plays like a dream now. I immediately got serious GAS but this was extinguished when he handed it to me: a proper boat anchor but I guess through neck and maple is going to give you that. Anybody else come across these before?
  9. Obrienp
    Posted in wrong thread, sorry!
  10. Obrienp
    I have noted that their stock goes very quickly. I dithered about pulling the trigger on a Guild Starfire 1 for a few days. When I pulled the trigger the price went up £14 during the transaction! I looked it up again an hour later to see if they were advertising it for the price I paid and they had none in stock, so I must have got the last they had. I had previously been looking at the Warwick Star Bass semi and that went out of stock while I was reading the spec. I suspect they only order one or two of the more expensive short and medium scale basses at a time. I guess in terms of their overall sales they are pretty niche. They probably churn out masses of Harley-Benton models but I doubt they sell many Lionels.
  11. Obrienp
    Here’s mine with my cure for the binding digging into my forearm: foam edge protector. It looks a bit odd but it works. I got through a 2 1/2 hour gig on Sunday evening without appreciable discomfort.
  12. Obrienp
    That’s a very pretty bass. Love the finish! Unfortunately, the Obeche on mine does not have an interesting enough grain to warrant a proper natural, or transparent finish.
  13. Obrienp
    Thanks; I’m going to use that 🤣 I can just see the advert if I ever decide to sell it: “ this unique multi-role custom bass in satin turdburst “.
  14. Obrienp
    Third year for covers band playing at a village event. Due to funding from a green energy company in compensation for disruption, they have a fund to put on an annual event. It involves a free bar for about 4 hours prior to us playing and a paying bar thereafter (which had record takings yesterday evening). This is a good formula for us getting plenty of dancing but thankfully not too many drunks tripping over cables! One very enthusiastic dancer kept going for both of our sets bless her but was asleep on a table when we were packing up. Concerned organisers had the mop bucket out and were trying to get her home. Her fella was staggering around in the road outside, falling over our kit as we tried to load up. More amusing than annoying but I did feel a bit worried for the dancer (not so tiny as it happens), who looked like a candidate for a stomach pump. The gig went very well for us, except for the rhythm guitarist’s DI dropping out in the second set. We really haven’t got to grips with the Soundcraft digital desk yet. We have issues every time we use it. I was using my LFSys Monza with Blackstar U700 and Guild Starfire 1, plus a custom P/J shorty. I am very happy with this set up DI into the PA but I did find the Starfire was causing the amp to clip a bit when I was digging in and I had to turn down the input gain a bit. The Starfire’s pickup is very responsive to playing dynamics. I must learn to let the amp do the work, as I have blisters on my picking fingers this morning: 2 1/2 hours of playing north of 140 BPM (a lot North of 160).
  15. Obrienp
    Thanks. Top right hand corner is a full scale bitsa I put together on a ‘51 Precision theme. Got bored during lockdown and started to try to create another Swiss Army knife type bass. It’s now got a Jazz bass neck on a ‘51 body (Obeche), DiMarzio Relentless mudbucker (not so muddy really), Seymour Duncan quarter pounder ‘51 Precision and Warman MM humbucker, plus a no-name high mass bridge (with string through option). I enlarged the control cavity and fitted a Tele control plate with a 5 way strat switch, vol and tone controls. Vol is push/pull to switch the Warman MM pickup between series and parallel. The whole thing weighs about 8.5 lbs because the Obeche body is so light. The pic shows it with the original Allparts ‘51 licensed neck I had on it, before changing to the jazz neck. I just sold that neck attached to another Precision bitsa. World’s worst attempt at a sort of sunburst finish using wipe on stains, as can be seen in the pic below. I know I can leave this unattended at a pub gig and nobody is going to pinch it 🤣.
  16. Obrienp
    WRT the new Sterling Stingray SS: I like the look of the blue one 👍. What I don’t understand though, is that a quick Google search suggests the US Sterling website has it priced at 599.99 USD and over here it is retailing for around £730! They must be shipped directly from the Far East to the various regional distributors (USA, UK, Europe), so what justification is there for the UK price? Is it just that we get gouged in the UK for everything, which explains why European retailers can undercut UK dealers’ prices?
  17. Obrienp
    I eventually decided on a Guild Newark Street Starfire 1, having discounted the Epi Rumblekat (because of the nut width). I am sure the Rumblekat is an excellent bass but I am really happy with the Starfire. The Precision type pickup may not seem the obvious choice for a bass of this type but it does give a bit more tonal variation than the more typical mudbucker. I am finding it is a Swiss Army Knife bass for the covers bands I play in. You can get that 60s Brit Invasion style tone, as well as a Precision with depth. I am not sure that the parallel setting adds much but I might find a use for it. I love the neck but then I’m a Jazz bass fan boy. I also think it looks the business and is well made. In common with most large semis, there are a few drawbacks: strap button on the heel of the neck. Not so much neck dive as wanting to hang horizontal to the floor (possibly because of the strap button location). The binding on the top edge starts to dig into the forearm on a long gig. I have cured this with some foam edge protector. It might look a bit strange but it works.
  18. Obrienp
    Love a bit of pedalsteel guitar too. I have memories of seeing BJ Cole playing in Cochise when I was a teenager and Jimmy Page did some interesting stuff with Zeppelin. It doesn’t have to be corny. Finding a pedal steel player for a pub band is not easy though. Hold onto him!
  19. Obrienp
    Thank you very much. I will look out for that.
  20. Obrienp
    Well it does show that you can’t tell the difference between Monaco and Monza in a pic, unless you see them side by side. Good looking cabs IMO and in this case, you can judge the book by its cover.
  21. Obrienp
    Thanks for the offer. That would be useful, if you have a spare moment. Thanks.
  22. Obrienp
    Are those guitar cases, or specifically for the bass variants? I did a search on Rivoli cases and it just comes up with guitar cases.
  23. Obrienp
    You might find a Glockenlang does that and it has the passive option (pull up on the volume) with passive tone control. With the eq at equality, you can’t tell the difference between active and passive. However, I can’t pretend to be a preamp expert. I keep my active basses in passive mode Lol.
  24. Obrienp
    My local luthier just uses bits of credit card. I got the tip from him. His view is that it is more likely that the shim will make an impression in the neck and/or neck pocket over time, which will lead to the need to shim again. I guess if the body is made out of a softer wood like basswood, or obeche this could be an issue. I can’t really see it happening with a maple neck, or an ash body but I guess the neck screws are exerting a lot of pressure.
  25. Obrienp
    Change the preamp to one that has a passive option?
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