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Ta for that. I've ordered one of the effect power supply models. Here's hoping it's quiet enough! I am well impressed with the catalinbread SFT so far. I used it with the drive as low as it would go for a bit of amp simulation when recording today and it really sits in the mix well. Much better than any digital simulation. Thats what I wanted.

Hi There Can anyone recommend a properly isolated quiet UK 18v dc power supply to power a catalinbread FST pedal? It is quiet with a battery but my digidave powersupply is too noisy!

I don't think it is a good idea stripping a handmade bass like that if you are going to sell it. You just need to find a better way to advertise it.

I borrowed an eden ex112. to play a gig in the basement in Sydney a while ago. It was great for such a small cab. Any amount of end. It was sitting in the corner and the walls are made of concrete in that venue which helps with bottom end, but even so, I was impressed.

A very good luthier told me of a way to re-set a neck that is bowed. First of all make sure that the truss rod is not threaded or damaged as that could be the cause. Take the neck off, slacken off the truss rod completely, then clamp the neck over a jig with a very slight curve the (exact opposite of the bow in the neck) then use halogen lights to heat the fingerboard while protecting the edges with foil. You've got to be very careful not to over heat it or bend it back too far. Let it cool while still clamped, then re-tension the truss rod, put it on the bass, string it up and check it. Repeat if necessary. I think it is something for someone that has experience in this method, but it is possible to fix a bowed neck. In the meantime, try a bit more tension in the truss rod and hang the bass from an instrument hanger. it may improve slightly over time. You shouldn't hang it anywhere too damp or too dry like near a radiator.

If I play the E string on a five string bass, then remove the B string and play E string again. I prefer the tone with the B string attached. Of course, someone else might prefer the opposite. If you want to try this on a four string, you can do the same comparing the A and removing the E. The difference is even more pronounced.

I played through an old Eminar valve amp at one gig while on tour in Australia recently. The best sound I got out of any amp on the tour!

Ta for the replies. I'll check those out for a good price. Just one other question how is the effect for noise? There's bound to be a bit on a high drive setting but on a low gain setting is there much increase in background hiss?

I've seen a lot of good write ups on the catalinbread sft. Where can you get these in the UK? I've tried a lot of digital and analog OD and amp simulators and they all have a bit of a nasty fizz to them which a real overdriven tube amp doesn't, so I hoping that this might do the business.

The B string can be very useful musically. If a singer wants to drop a song a tone or a semitone it's possible to keep the weight of the lower notes in the arrangement. You can play some double stops that would be very tricky on a 4 string. Before I bought a 5 string I did a lot of detuning on my 4th and discovered that altering it's tension, altered the tone of the other strings. You can hear this by slackening the 4th string while playing the others.

I tried a Sadowsky 5string NYC jazz (maple board) and a Metro (rosewood board), I liked the NYC a lot more. I do think that the graphite rods in the neck with the chambered body of the NYC made the difference. The NYC had a wonderful even tone on every part the neck with a bit of body resonance. The Metro was good but lacked those specific qualities.

Replacing the neck could be an expensive way of getting a stingray 5 together. And it's a big risk if you don't know exactly what it will sound like. I have a SR5 with a rosewood fingerboard and I like the dark tone, but I have been impressed by the sound of basses I,ve tried with maple boards with carbon rods in them (sadowskys / lakland) they have both brightness and woodiness with a more even tone which seems like the best of both worlds to me. Worth checking out.

Just out of curiosity does anyone know if sadowsky strings are actually made by another manufacturer and repacaged?

Wow thats a lot opinions flying around since I was away at the weekend playing gigs! I guess from Sadowskys point of view it's good to be talked about, no such thing as bad publicity and all that.. They obviously make very good basses that are still selling well even at higher prices. Aside from the nice neck and light weight one of the things that impressed me most was the active circuit, a really nice choice of boost frequencies.

Well it's good to hear a few opinions on the Sadowskys, I must say I was impressed by the one I tried. I'll have see if I can borrow one for a gig sometime.

I did something I haven't done in years today. I went into a shop and tried out a bass. It was a five string jazz style Sadowsky with a maple neck. I just wondered if they really were that good. It was! ahh well better start saving. The guy in the shop said he reckoned that Sandberg basses were just as good (I don't think that's the way to sell a bass, he didn't have any Sandbergs in the shop) So now I need to find out about Sandbergs. Maybe I was wise to stay out of shops all those years.

Before you go pulling the bass apart, try one of the "piano" style sets of strings, perhaps a lighter gauge and use the single coil setting on your selector switch (the brightest tone) and experiment with the eq. Buy some duracell procell bartteries. They keep a good voltage for a long time.