warwickhunt

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='838231' date='May 15 2010, 04:23 PM']Precisions are fantastic... when they have a proper place to rest your right thumb! [/quote] ... and to prove what a complete t1t I am, today I go and buy a Squier CV P that doesn't have somewhere proper to rest my thumb; looks like I'll be modding my latest acquisition and selling the USA!

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='838374' date='May 15 2010, 07:46 PM']I'm confused. The adverts for Active Rockbass Corvettes say that they have active MEC J/J pickups. (or at least some of the adverts do in case there are different versions). Are these actually just passive pickups matched to active EQ?[/quote] I have to say you look spot on with this one. I'm not an officianado on Rockbasses as they are off the bottom of my radar (hope that doesn't sound snobbish, just a statement of fact); however, a quick search on-line does seem to show that at least some of the Rockbasses do have active MEC pups and an active EQ/preamp. I'd be frankly stunned if a Rockbass had the full on active MECs that appear in the top of the range NT basses made in Germany, if that were the case then there'd be very little point in EVER buying the electronics from Warwick direct... you may as well buy a Rockbass, rip the guts from it and sell the skeleton! Hmmmm time for some research methinks!

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='837642' date='May 14 2010, 09:23 PM']I've not seen people using MEC electronics as upgrades before. Not that I claim that means much, I haven't looked that hard. I wonder if someone has cannibalised a Rockbass.[/quote] A Rockbass wouldn't have active MECs. As to whether it 'is' an upgrade... Yes! You'll not see MECs on anything other than Warwicks as MEC were bought out many moons ago by Warwick owner Hans Peter Wilfer. Pure conjecture on my part but allegedly (covering my backside ) when Warwick were made to pay full whack for their EMG pups (couldn't possibly comment on if this had anything to do with a certain Warwick / Spector dispute over licensing for the Streamer), Warwick started producing a fine 'representation' of an EMG pup in house - MEC. I've owned basses with MEC and EMG and I'd be hard pushed to tell the difference in a blind test. To buy an MEC pup direct from Warwick will set you back as much, if not more than ANY Seymour Duncan, EMG etc. In fact 129 Euro (per pup), the cheapest 3 way active MEC circuit is 289 euro! HOWEVER, I am assuming it is an active preamp as those pups do look like the genuine MEC active pups and not the passive dynamic correction jobbies. The caveat being that the bridge appears to be off a much cheaper Warwick than I would imagine the electronics appear to have come off.

Precisions are fantastic... when they have a proper place to rest your right thumb!

Well he's gradually coming down... £1100

I've seen that listing before... or at least all of that info and pics etc, possibly on another forum or such! I'll offer him £500 for you.

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='835921' date='May 13 2010, 09:35 AM']Going to have some trouble playing All Right Now as the bass intro to the guitar solo can't work with the 19th fret missing.[/quote] For that reason and that reason only I shall buy this bass!

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='836701' date='May 13 2010, 10:42 PM']This one has been done a few times before...[/quote] Just a few times.

It's the law of diminishing returns! Once you get passed a certain point, what you spend then makes less 'real-life' sense. I gig with my Thunderfunk and a pair of Aggie DB112s (cabs used value £550ish) and rehearse with the TF and a tatty Black Widow equipped Peavey 1x15 PA cab (cab used value £30ish). However, would I swap my Thunderfunk/Aggies for a cheapie amp and the 1x15 PA cab... No!

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='833359' date='May 10 2010, 06:11 PM']You haven't seen me since I grew my Afro and started wearing silver sparkly leggings, have you? [/quote] So that was 'you' at Howie's last gig!

Obviously the Jazz 'neck' pup has been enlarged and if done properly shouldn't require a surround and as the 'bridge' pup has been routed in specifically then that should have been neat enough not to require a surround... what hideous routs are under those pup surrounds then?

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='833259' date='May 10 2010, 05:06 PM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2KBulGPp6Y"]Another look at the fretted Jazz w/flats, different pickup balances and a demonstration of the total lack of buzz or hum...[/url][/quote] Watch it young fella me lad there was a bit of Disco/Funk in that there demo... get back to them thar C&W licks!

[quote name='stevie' post='832990' date='May 10 2010, 12:51 PM']These Duncan actives are a bit different to others because they carry on working when the battery is flat. I suspect that the active circuitry is bypassed when the supply voltage drops below a certain level. The sound you get in passive mode is relatively weak and a bit thin, not unlike what you have described, although useable in an emergency. I wonder if you have nine volts going to each pickup to power their inbuilt amps. I tried to use them in a bass with its own active circuitry and it wasn't very successful. I think they need to be wired up to passive controls, which gives you the benefit of a buffered output to your amp but not the benefit of active tone controls, as the dip switches mounted on the pickups don't do a great deal.[/quote] Ah! Now that does make some sense Stevie. However, you can get PJ pairs that are intended to be used in a bass together and I assume that they are driven by a single 9v battery? Time to send SD a friendly email I think.

That's a very sensible assumption and one that I'd have made. I'd just ensure that any cab you connect is 8ohms and you'd be OK.

[quote name='Stu-khag' post='832074' date='May 9 2010, 12:07 PM']intriguing- Is it just me who when ebay for say, that same bass and didn't really want to go above 400 quid but really wanted it, I'd have bid something like £403.76?[/quote] Exactly! no-one in there right mind who is bidding on eBay and wanted to buy something with say a £400 budget would bid £399; even a novice would bid £400 and those with the slightest savvy would bid a couple of quid (and pence) over that. Strange though that it isn't now showing in the bidding pattern!

When trialled A/B against a standard SSI this bass sounds like it lacks a lot of Oomph but when played in isolation at Howie's today it wasn't 'that' bad! I 'think' Howie and I have established that these pups are not quite matched to the MEC circuit so I'm going down the route of returning the bass back to the original spec with EMGs (maybe even MECs as in my opinion they are virtually identical). Any body got any EMGs or MECs for sale or want to buy some SDs?

Can't blame you at all Ben for the change from Warwick to Dingwall as I've been admiring the various Dingwall basses for some time now but I'm unlikely to 'risk' getting a new one, I'll have to just keep my eyes peeled for a used one... however with converts like Ben I'm unlikely to find one used! Oddly enough my drift away from Warwick has been reversed of late but my oh my some of the basses that are being flashed around are testing me!

[quote name='phil.i.stein' post='831218' date='May 8 2010, 08:59 AM']i have the sterling h piezo (and love it). as mentioned the controls are : volume, blend, treble, middle, bass. the active circuit is very powerful, and the piezo is great for slap, and apparently also for achieving a double bass type sound, if played near the neck. if you haven't seen this demo before, it will give you an idea, even if it is a sterling rather than a stingray.[/quote] Nice demo of what it can do.