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hubrad

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Everything posted by hubrad

  1. hubrad
    Hmm.. that suggests +9V, 0V, -9V Hopefully someone more into preamp technicalities will be along soon!
  2. hubrad
    If you're getting the octave harmonic it could be you're moving the bow too quickly or lightly, also perhaps try a softer rosin.. my first good rosin was Pops, one of the stickiest going.
  3. hubrad
    Give it a try.. they're different rather than one being per se better. I prefer German myself, but the teacher I used to go to didn't like German at all. Hey, if it's good enough for Gary Karr.. I noticed you can get more easy finesse from the French, as you have all the flexibility of your fingers at work, but more easy power from the German.
  4. hubrad
    Back on topic, series doubles the voltage, which is what you'd want for increased headroom. This is the purpose of running EMG setups at 18V, which they are buit to handle. Parallel keeps you at 9V, doubling the capacity, i.e. battery life. Your preamp will still just take the current it needs, so no effect on your sound. If the MEC gear you have will definitely handle 18V then go for it, otherwise I'd leave it safe and working.
  5. hubrad
    You mean this one? https://images.app.goo.gl/c18AM6dvbF5LZ1358
  6. hubrad
    Enjoy the fretless ride, Chewie! If you're chasing a more DB tonality, then flatwound strings, or even better black nylon tapewounds, get you that bit closer. If you're *really* after that DB tonality, then get a double bass! My only regret with such things is that I waited probably 15 years longer than I might have done, thus denying myself an extra 15 years of fun. Mind you, that was 15 years of getting better on fretless, so nothing actually lost..
  7. hubrad
    Vastly underpublicised brand, IMHO.. when I worked in a shop we sold various items of the range, all excellent. I still have a few different ones, including their wall hanger which I still consider to be the best I've ever used. I noted at the time that K&M never seemed to get into any of those 'Best stand of 20xx' magazine articles.. maybe they didn't buy enough advertising, or maybe I never quite read the right magazines. GLWTS!
  8. hubrad
    I have to confess I'm a big fan of the good folks at Overwater! 🙂 The thing with going to an actual custom builder is that you can choose to have, or not to have, things like exotic woods and sophisticated EQ systems. They'll put just as much skill and attention into building a passive alder slab PJ as a bells-and-whistles bass. You're the client. Of the companies who import, I've heard several good reports of the Bass Centre models which I'm pretty sure are Korean made. Someone on here just got a Guy Pratt Betsy in the last day or two.
  9. hubrad
    Quite unsettling if you're thinking of either of the originals at the time! Brilliant editing, mind.
  10. hubrad
    I think it's personal taste.. a fresh set of flats actually has its own brightness, which fades as you'd expect. If the sound you're after doesn't include that brightness then wait and they'll be good for ages. If you like bright, spoingy roundwounds you'll be changing far more often than if you prefer them partway down or even fully dulled off. Any of the above may or may not suit a particular bass on a particular day, depending also on your mood at the time. Fun, isn't it?
  11. hubrad
    What a cracking sig bass! I may be getting the power tools out and the thinking cap on..
  12. hubrad
    Nothing looks immediately obvious, but one thing springs to mind.. if a bass has been sat idle for an age, the jack socket and pots can oxidise inside, and as we all know it doesn't take much to interfere with the sound. Try lacing the jack socket with switch cleaner/lubricant such as Servisol Super 10 (other brands are available, and it's great for scratchy pots) and repeatedly insert and remove the jack plug. Something as simple as a bit of a dirty contact might be enough to stop the switching part of the jack socket working, hence no active circuit or LED.
  13. hubrad
    All practice is good. As above, the only difference is muscle memory, and speaking as a player of 3 lengths of unlined fretless plus the DB I reckon you'll get the 3/4 muscle memory back once you have regular access to it again. Onwards and upwards!
  14. hubrad
    These are too small for my DB, but if it helps anyone, when I had my first one (Zeller by Stentor) the vibrating string length was 103.5cm and at least in Savarez (Corelli) book that classed as top end of 1/2 size. IIRC they worked on 105cm for 3/4, and mine these days is 108cm which fell into 4/4, and at the time Savarez didn't do a 4/4 Corelli set. The Savarez strings came with dire warnings about premature failure if the unsilked part of the string went over the post of the tuner, and you obviously don't want the silked part going through the nut slot. Bob Gollihur, who initially made me aware of Corelli strings, has a bit further apart sizings: https://www.gollihurmusic.com/faq/2-SIZES_DOUBLE_BASS_SIZING_FAQ.html Trickier to hunt down the info at D'Addario, but click on the Learn More tab on RHS and there's plenty of good reading in there.. https://www.daddario.com/products/orchestral/bass/helicore-hybrid/helicore-hybrid-bass-string-set-12-scale-medium-tension/item/daddario-helicore-hybrid-bass-string-set-12-scale-medium-tension-3646/ average 1/2 is 97.5cm, 3/4 is 106. They don't even show 4/4.. probably so impressive that it breaks the internet. Of course, DB lengths are nominal, and string length also depends on distances behind the bridge and above the nut. I just looked at one of my spare 3/4 Helicores, and ballend to silk measures 139.5cm. Confusingly enough, 3/4 D'Addario work fine on my 108cm. They sound great for me.. GLWTS, Pete! 🙂
  15. hubrad
    .. Same here, but I quite like the curtains! 😉 That headstock is kinda post-pointy, isn't it? Quite acceptable if the bass is good.
  16. hubrad
    Yes please! PM incoming (not Johnson).
  17. hubrad
    I suppose if the work is done by the makers then it's official work rather than an ordinary mod. A keeper indeed, on so many levels. 🙂
  18. hubrad
    Fantastic! The Overwater team is just so skilled with all the wood and wire stuff.. I have a couple, which are nothing flash in terms of the whole range but are absolutely spot on in looks, sound and playability. Glad yours has a new lease of life, and glad you're still around to enjoy it!
  19. hubrad
    For reference, here are the D'Addario and Rotosound ball colour charts. That D'Addario set is on a bass.. no silks, albeit they are rounds. The Rotosound pack is still sealed, so can't say just now re silks. Iirc Picato often (but not always!) were made silk-free.
  20. hubrad
    Thing is, I love that in DB strings, as it's an identifier. If (when) we experiment, it's gonna be for months at a time so this way we can remember which set is which. As for Pirastro, with the different colours up at the head, that's for when our failing eyes can no longer tell thick from thin.. There used to be a useful chart of DB silk colours somewhere, possibly Gollihur site.
  21. hubrad
    Excellent, mon brave! I don't use hard cases that often, but when I do it's Hiscox; love 'em.
  22. hubrad
    Or the similar screwdriver action and you can probably prise it apart around the brass pivot pin and open it that way. You said the key doesn't operate the lock.. when you turn it, can you hear/feel a little click as it tries to do so? Might be the key worn, so could well be worth picking open anyway.
  23. hubrad
    Ingenious.. plenty of room underneath for snacks and supplies, too! My Corolla has a similar boot, but I take the bass loading as part of my back and upper body exercise.
  24. hubrad
    No probs.
  25. hubrad
    Is this still on the go? If so, I'll take it.
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