cameltoe

My Gator is a pile of **** When it first arrived, one of the clasps didnt close tight. It rattled around and would open causing the case to come ajar slightly. The two halves of the clasp had obviously been set too close. I tried to follow up with Gak, who I bought it from, they passed me to Gator USA, who at first seemed disbelieving, then wanted pictorial evidence, receipts, had I damaged it, dropped it, etc. They wanted it sent back to a Uk business address so they could check it- by this time I was so fed up I just bodged the clasp using solder. It's held ok so far. The rest of the clasps aren't perfect either- one needs forcing to close and ones a little slack and doesn't line up right. The whole foam insert from the top half is now falling out, which will need regluing, and the strap that stops the case opening a whole 180degrees broke so now the case collapses back onto the floor when I open it. Plus it's sooo bulky- it could easily have been half the depth. I believe they now make a slim version. Seriously disappointed with it. My band mates hiscock is awesome, btw.

No I'm not a flats guy- I think this will help those of you that have been kind enough to give me advice- but the sound I'm after is definitely less deep smooth bass and more woody thump. Less motown more vintage rock. More attack. I don't like modern sounding pickups- Stingray's and the G&L L2000 I used to own sounded horrible to me. I'm always blown away by the way my P feels, but always a touch disappointed with it plugged in. That the lovely wooden feel and sound you get from my P unplugged is being masked somewhat by a generic pickup. I'd like the tone to be more coloured, in a way, rather than stock MIM sounding. It sounds almost identical (just a touch softer) to my American Series P if I don't string the Am. thru body. And they are vastly different feeling guitars and sound totally different unplugged.

Ok the SPB 1 and Fender Original sit nicely in my budget and both sound as if they are what I am after- has anybody tried both and can describe the differences? A quick google search brought up a couple of talkbass threads and the general opinion was the SPB 1 has a deeper, bassier tone- more Motown, while the FO has a bit more growl for a more rocking 60's tone. I play fingerstyle on rounds, so might edge for the Fender if that's the case.

Can't even find the Antiquity for sale here but the SPD1 seems to be more popular than I was expecting. Bareknuckle do a '58 for £90 which sounds interesting.

Hi guys, would like a bit of advice on a vintage voiced pickup for my Road Worn. I emailed Fender when I first bought the thing, and they told me they use an American Standard pickup in the Road Worn. I have read online though that they actually use MIM standard. Neither would surprise me. I'd ideally like to change it now to something more vintage voiced. The bass sounds amazing unplugged, and the woody feel definitely translates when unplugged, however I feel some of the subtleties of tone are pole-axed by what is, essentially a standard P Bass sledgehammer pickup. It's nicely rounded, has a good thump, and I wouldn't want to lose that, but it doesn't really have the vintage tone it deserves. I was looking at Seymour Duncan Antiquity, which get good reviews, and ideally I'd like the raised pole pieces, because, well, I played a custom shop that had them and I thought they looked pretty cool. I emailed Wizard to find out about custom made scatterwounds (someone mentioned scatterwounds when I searched the threads) but nothing back yet. Any advice, always welcome.

i would agree with the comments on German customer service as well- very good.

[quote name='Balcro' timestamp='1336171158' post='1642210'] Hi cameltoe, So your drivers are the 1508 SPS's, correct? Which enclosure would you like? A medium sized vented box or a large vented box? I can work it out for you from that Peavey data sheet. You'll need to show me how you intend to build the cabinet and what size bracings you're going to use, but I can do the dimensions. Balcro. [/quote] Agreed- what a great offer. PM'ed.

Yes, I totally agree with all of this. Some music shops are dreadful in terms of customer service. It would be nice to not be treated like a complete d1ckhead in some of them. Usually by some snotty nosed kid who genuinely believes he is awesome and you are a clown. I have literally lost count of the amount of stories I've been told by my friends who have been treated like pillocks when they've gone to a music shop with the intention of spending vast amounts of money. Very lucky in Cornwall- Modern Music in Truro is just about the best for customer service I've ever encountered- although the shop is tiny. I will continue to spend as much money in there as physically possible. Craigs in Bodmin- not so good. Every time I've been in there I've wanted to punch Nigel. Have walked out of there before when I only wanted to buy strings, and another time when I only wanted to buy straplocks. Patronising is not a strong enough word.

You're right. I'd even tried trading the US for a three tone sunburst RW (mines FR) just so I had a spare.

Yes, I will essentially be getting rid of the RW in order to get the AV, which is something I'd only ever thought about doing once before with the Custom Shop. Having never played an AV I'm just guessing how good they might be, but my American P doesn't suit me like the RW- it's a very, very good instrument, but I prefer the earthy, woody feel of the RW, the comfort, the light weight, the broken in feel, and it feels softer, whereas the USA feels very solid. With all this in mind, what would those of you that have experience of an AV recommend?

Certainly food for thought! If I could get a nicely worn-in version of the AV '57 I do believe it would be my ultimate bass. No, I'm not going to attempt to relic it myself! I do prefer the feeling of worn in frets though and actually had additional fret work carried out on my RW to replicate the Custom Shop I tried (and loved), I felt the RW frets were a bit unfinished initially.

Hi guys, Hoping someone can help me here. I've been tempted by a trade deal on an AV '57 Precision, a bass I've wanted for a while and considered a bit of a Grail bass. I have never played one of these, and that's partly the problem, but I love the look, and I love the vintage neck profile. The problem I have is it will mean parting with my Road Worn Precision- a bass I never ever thought I'd sell, a bass so comfortable and easy to play it almost plays itself, a bass I was bought by my girlfriend as a birthday present. I have only once fantasised about trading it- for a 2k Custom Shop '57 Precision that felt fantasic, was nicely worn and had a V-neck profile- but I did not have the adjustment in cash to spare. I consider my Road Worn to be a great instrument to play, however just looking at an AV '57 makes me go weak at the knees- plus I tell myself that this is basically the same instrument as the Road Worn, just made to the absolute highest standards, using the best materials, and without the wear. In theory, I should love this bass. However, I will not get a chance to play before I pull the trigger. Risky, I know. This bass will be gigged, as it would have to be my sole bass. Having £800 of already dinged Road Worn on a stand at a rowdy gig doesn't concern me. Having close to 2k's worth of mint AV goodness in a thin Nitro finish does, a bit. It will get dented, guaranteed. I'm also concerned about the finish of the neck- I love the worn-in feel of the Road Worn and have been freaked out by overly glossy necks before, however that was on Poly finishes as opposed to Nitro. Plus the weight- my RW is one of the lightest P basses I have played- so light I had to get ultralite tuners to combat neck dive. How do these compare? I don't want to buy it and be scared to take it out of it's case. It will either just feel 'right', and be dinged and road worn in time, by myself, or it will feel all awkward and sticky and new and I'll regret having let my RW go. As reference, and whether it makes a difference, I have an American Series P bass for sale on here, that I find myself barely using because I favour the RW. Please help

Right, turns out that link I posted has more info than I'd anticipated. The link to the tech specs takes you to the peavey site where they have actually pre-designed DIY boxes to fit their drivers, including the 1508-08SPS which is what ours use. Can anybody give any advice in regards to following these plans? They list only cubic feet size-wise, so does it matter how I go about achieving that in terms of length/width etc? They also state I have to remember to account for vent and bracing in my capacity or I will miss-tune the enclosure. I understand the concept, but I don't really know how to do the maths. What I really want is the dimensions of the box ready to build. I'm not at all teccy so am bound to cock it up if I have to work it out myself! Also, as they list various sizes to work with this driver, what size would you guys recommend to work best with our tops, 2x Mackie SRM450's? Looking for a tight punchy sound over anything too sub-by.

Great advice guys, cheers. We've actually got to replace the speaker in one, so if anybody can work out the tech specs from the replacement speaker we've been told is the correct part, it may help in figuring out whether it's worthwhile; http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/Peavey-Replacement-Spare-Parts-1508-8-SPS-BW-SF-00560190-8573

This is just an idea I've been kicking around, and looking for advice on whether to make it a reality. Basically, my band has two Peavey Impulse 500 subwoofers we were considering selling to be replaced with a single sub, possibly the Mackie SRM1801. That's pretty much our price limit, but after reading some bad reviews online about the Mackie, and seeing a real lack of alternatives in that price range (£500-ish) I'm wondering if we can't get better results from these Peavey subs by rehousing them in a sturdy wooden enclosure. These are the speaker-size subs, all plastic, and shaped like regular Peavey Impulse tops. They are even pole-mountable. I would guess that these are not ideal conditions for a subwoofer to be housed in. I'm not technically minded, but I have the specs of the subwoofers, and I'm capable of building a wooden box, I just need advice on whether this would indeed improve the Peavey's, whether it's a worthwhile exercise, and to what dimensions and specs I would need to make the box. Thanks