Martin E

Thanks for posting John I enjoyed watching that. Nik Kershaw wrote some wonderfully catchy and quite unique songs but has slipped a bit off the radar in recent years.

That's great Andy, much appreciate you reposting, I'm sure others may find this useful as well. Thanks a lot. Martin

Thank you both for your replies. To clarify the bass in question is a 4 string Jazz in normal tuning. This is my regular player, I have a very light touch and I enjoy a nice low action. The bass plays very well as it is but I am aware of just a little fret noise at the 11th fret and mainly on the D string. Investigating with a fret rocker it would seem the12th fret is just a tad high in that area. So it is indeed just one high spot I am talking about. I am probably being picky, the bass plays almost perfectly, certainly not a case for a full fret dress and raising the D at the bridge a little would stop it. But as far as I can see just a tiny amount taken off the treble side of the 12th fret would cure it. I did read of a 'quick and dirty' solution on here myself sometime but I'm blowed if I can find it. It may well have been you Andy so really appreciative of any of your usual good advice. Thanks Martin

How do I fix a high spot on a fret ? To clarify I don't mean the whole fret is high, I'm just getting a buzz on the D string. I 'm well used to doing set ups, neck relief etc but hesitate at touching frets. But this would appear to need just a tiny amount taking off the fret under the D string so I'm hoping just a touch or two with an appropriate file or whatever will do the trick. Any advice please on the best way to tackle this?

In that case I've been playing the wrong venues for years. The Dog and Duck won't have a PA system neither will the average church/village hall, hotel function room, wedding marquee, village fête etc. I sympathise with the OP, we're all in this for a bit of fun and it's only natural we want to help out our bandmates.

You're right, my mistake, wrong gnomenclature

OK Greenguitarman, appreciate maybe you are not too familiar with bass combos amps etc, there is a bewildering selection of stuff available out there. Perhaps you could tell us a bit about your situation? How important is weight and portability vs. the volume you need. Just practicing or hoping to compete with a drummer in a band for example. Carrying stuff on public transport or using the car?

I would suggest a Barefaced One10 cabinet and small amp head of your choice. A Trace Elliot Gnome for example will fit in your gig bag pocket. You can tackle anything from a quiet practice to a small gig with this. I use a One10 myself, astonishing loud and capable and smaller and lighter than most small combos. Checkout the second hand gear on here for both items.

Yes I think the problem with basses that come already painted with graphite paint is that they just don't use enough. The Player Jazz I bought last year had the cavity painted complete with an earth lug wired to the output earth. It looked great in theory but the paint was so thin that probing with a meter showed it was only conductive in parts. There was also a gap at the top of the cavity, if it had been taken just over the top to make contact with the control plate the earth wire would have been unnecessary. Does it work as well as copper? I guess only a controlled side by side test would tell but I've proved to myself a decent coating really does give zero resistance wherever you probe it so I don't see why not.

I've shielded a few basses with copper tape but always thought it was rather a crude way of doing things especially if you have to then have to stick insulating tape over the top. I've started using shielding paint, its so quick and easy to apply but only takes a few microns off the space in a crowded control cavity. You need two or three coats but it dries quickly. A meter will confirm it's conductivity and it does work. Just take it over the lip of the cavity to contact the control plate. 👍

I just want to get back what I paid for it

Bodies can vary quite a bit as well. The pickguard should fit snugly around the neck and the cutout for the pickup remember determines it's precise alignment under the strings. Having done that you may find the guard does not properly cover the control cavity or the screw holes have no wood under them. Move it a millimetre to adjust and it throws out the fit elsewhere. I've had this problem with bitsa basses with bodies of unknown origin.

That's a nice bridge, really looks the part. (I guess any half decent bridge with a good solid tracked base and substantial saddles could be described as 'high mass'. I don't think it means much). I see Amazon are currently selling the Fender Hi Mass bridge at £24.99 the lowest price I have seen. I already have one on my Player Jazz. Can I detect any difference in tone? No, not to my cloth ears, but if you want a good quality replacement bridge you could do far worse than buy one of these. Ignoring all the high mass, increased sustain nonsense the saddles are rock solid and and the screws don't move. So it does the job and doesn't look too shabby. And it's a hundred quid cheaper than the one above 😉.

I've never used pedals when playing live, partly because a pedal board its something else to lug around, takes up valuable floor space on stage and is yet another source of something to go wrong. I've seen boards on here with 20 or more pedals, does that mean that even when all are bye passed the signal still goes through 20 patch leads and 40 jack sockets? If so I'm surprised anything at all comes out the end.

These were one of the first roundwood strings weren't they? I remember trying a set donkeys years ago when I started playing bass. I recall they were the roughest feeling most abrasive string I've ever played leaving your finger tips sore after a few minutes of playing. I guess they've improved them over the years.