Martin E
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Everything posted by Martin E
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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.
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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.
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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. 👍
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I just want to get back what I paid for it
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P bass pickguards, do they vary much in terms of fit?
Martin E replied to shoulderpet's topic in Bass Guitars
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 😉.
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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.
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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.
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I'm a very happy user of TI flats on all my basses including my jazz. The only strings I'd like to try sometime are black nylon tapewounds. All the sets I've seen however seem to come in such humongously thick guages it's rather put me off.
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Strings for Parlour size Acoustic Bass
Martin E replied to LewisK1975's topic in Accessories and Misc
Absolutely this, I have the same instrument. You should never put steel strings on a nylon string guitar which effectively this bass is. A great little bass but proceed with caution. -
Yes, thanks for the warning. I've been using TI Jazz flats on everything for years now which I understand are nickel alloy so I assume thankfully I'm not allergic.
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I also had this in my fretting hand, third finger bent at right angles with the contraction running down my palm. They straightened my finger and opened up my palm to remove all the nodules. My hand looked like it had been chewed by the dog afterwards. Recovery I'm afraid took months not weeks, it's really quite invasive surgery. I was warned of possible nerve damage and indeed I've been left with only partial feeling in my fingertip. I can play bass again thankfully but I can't manage chords on a guitar. Sorry to sound so depressing but it depends so much on the individual case. It happened to me late in life when I was giving up regular gigging anyway but I wish you all the best if you're still very active.
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One problem which can arise is not being able to adjust the saddles on the new bridge low enough to get a decent action. Replacement bridges are more substantial than the original with thicker base plates which can mean the whole thing sits a little higher. It depends on the make and your individual instrument. Hopefully a replacement will work perfectly but sometimes you may have to shim the neck to get the required adjustment. Just something you should be aware of.
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I'm considering replacing the tuners and bridge on a Player Jazz bass with some more 'vintage' looking items and am having the chrome vs nickel debate with myself. I've never had nickel hardware before and am tempted to go that route. I appreciate it ages differently to chrome which I'm quite happy with. (I have no chrome ashtray or pickup cover to consider though I guess the control plate should also match). All totally unnecessary of course, I just like tinkering. Does anyone have any words of advice before I proceed? I believe Fender themselves used a mixture of finishes over the years even on the same instruments.
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Get a bottle of surgical spirit and dip your fingertips in the top a few times a day. It really does work to toughen the skin.
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Now SOLD thanks everyone for your interest. My SB14 is up for sale - in a nutshell a slightly downsized/more compact Stingray, lighter weight and with a slimmer 'jazz' neck. I've owned this from new and it's in great condition. Candy apple red on a basswood body, maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, 22 frets and 38mm nut, 34 inch scale. Truss rod adjustment with spoked wheel at heel end. Ceramic MM pickup, three way switch giving series, parallel and single coil operation with hum cancelling phantom coil. Active pre amp with volume, treble, middle and bass controls – centre notched with boost and cut. Single 9v battery compartment. All the controls are noiseless and work as they should. The bass weighs 8.6 lbs and is fitted with Marvel straplocks. The bass is in great condition with no dings, dents or scratches. The only mark is a small chip just in the lacquer top coat by the jack socket which I have tried to photograph. The maple neck has matured to a nice honey colour. There is a small amount of fret wear but it's worn flats most of its life so it's fairly minimal. The pickguard has faded a little from white to an off white. It's strung with a very mature set of TI flats, you'll either relish their tone or immediately want to bin them for something new. Comes with it's correct gig bag which is also in great condition. Collection only from Horsham I'm afraid where you are welcome to try out of course. I have no case or packing so please don't ask if I can post. Sorry no trades either as I'm downsizing my collection. Thanks for looking.- 2 replies
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I appreciate your kind words of endorsement Adee, thanks. I thought I'd pitched the price about right though the market does seem a little slow recently. 'Tis a nice little bass. -
Is this really the best place for an jack?
Martin E replied to dclaassen's topic in General Discussion
Right angled jack, feed the cable up over the strap button behind the strap. Works fine for me. -
Are barrel jack sockets inherently problematic?
Martin E replied to Random Guitarist's topic in Repairs and Technical
The other problem with barrel jacks is they have such tiny tags to solder onto. Particularly if you have an active bass, the stereo jacks needed to switch on the circuitry have really minute tags all within a millimetre of each other. They have no holes to hook the wire in to make a mechanical connection and just rely on the tiny blob of solder to keep them in place thus making another weak link for things to go wrong. -
Thanks everyone, I'll get one of those Planet Waves jobbies and enjoy the luxury of a string winder, good price as well. I have several pairs of supposedly half decent cutters and none of them will cleanly cut through a string hence my question.
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Can someone please point me towards a pair of string cutters that actually work properly, something that will happily snip cleanly through a bottom E in one go. I've acquired several pairs of pliers, snips etc over the years which whilst fine for general wiring take several goes at getting through a string. Loads of stuff on Amazon and I don't want to pay a fortune just something that actually works? Thanks Martin
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Along with the Grabber and Ripper can Epiphone also please resurrect the Rivoli bass.
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NOW SOLD Thanks for looking. For sale (no trades thanks), Phil Jones C4 compact cabinet - 400 watts, 8 ohms – black. 4 Piranha 5 inch drivers in a lightweight and compact cabinet. 30Hz-15KHz Dimensions 14.2 x 12.4 x 13.4 inch 360 x 320 x 340 mm (W x D x H) Weight 29lbs / 13 kg I bought this new during lock down for a project which never materialised. It is in perfect condition and has never been gigged/practised or even out of the house. Absolutely mint and unmarked and with supplied cover. I'm asking £299, the new price now is around the £400 mark so save yourself a hundred quid. Collection from Horsham in West Sussex where you are welcome to come and try it out. I haven't used a courier in a while and am rather out of touch but as you can see I have the original box and packing so it can be safely packaged if you want to arrange your own courier/insurance. Thanks for looking.-
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Interesting. Nothing worse for me than strings right on the edge of the fingerboard. I think the gap to the edge should be the same for the E and G strings measured from edge of the string. Having set that the centres of the strings should then be used to space out the strings in relation to each other.
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Sorry no photos, here we go hopefully...
