Vasquez Rich

I have a '93 Fortress, one of the first they brought into the UK (see my pic left), with a few extra little body scallops on etc.. it's been my favourite bass since the day I bought it. I do like the Streamers though and my back up is a (Korean) Spector NS2A from 1988... the Spectors and the Steamers are almost identical in body shape I have found. The neck on mine is fat and made of un varnished Wenge, as is the fingerboard. To be honest I find it a little disconcerting now to play a bass without that open grained feel to the neck. In short, yes, if I was in the market for another bass then Id be looking at a Steamer, I've always wanted a red high gloss finish one, neck through they are lovely basses. Richard

That's a +3 for the HA3500. Traded my HA2000 up for a HA3500 and coupled it with the awesomly brilliant 410XL cabinet (although the cab weighs a serious 42kg!!) try lugging that up the back steps of The Grapes (Sheffield)... best amp/cab set up I ever had though, beefy as hell, I don't recall playing anywhere where I had to have it turned up much beyond 3 or 4. Richard

Saw a man last night with a bass clef tattoo'd on his neck, underneath his right ear! Is that going a bit too far? Richard

[quote name='Buzz' post='300757' date='Oct 6 2008, 07:42 PM']Isn't 4.7kohm a bit low for a p-pup on a fender? I thought it was around 8ish.[/quote] Err... might have been 7.4... will go test them again. Richard

I'm not going to take the neck off, it's not so bad as I can't lift the bridge saddles a bit to stop any buzz. If it was mine then maybe, as I like the action better, but not somebody elses. I think maybe the issue for me personally is that I want to set it up like my Warwick is. I will put it all back together and set it up, new strings, set intonation etc etc and see how the owner thinks it is. Thanks, Richard

Err.. yes. I took them off, undid all the wiring as it ddn't look right compared to a diagram I got from the Fender forum site (I think)... anyway, I redid it the way on that diagram. Put it all back together for a test and the pickups work fine, vol & tone work fine, jack works fine... I can't really see what the problem was unless it was an issue of the wiring not being correct. Richard

Thanks for all the above guys. I think I will try to move it without detaching the neck, I have the bass striped down anyway. It has a full scratchplate so I did wonder about cutting a small notch in the body where the neck starts so that I could get a decent screwdriver to it, the scratchplate would hide it nicely. If it was my bass I'd probably do this, as it's not then I will have to go carefully. Thanks again, Richard

I had an amp once that developed a loud hum that came on about 5mins after switch on. I took it to rehearsal and it didn't do it. Took it back home and it did it again. Took it to the shop for repair and couldn't get it to do it at all. Got it back home and guess what, did it again. I phoned the shop and let them listen down the phone. They took the amp and couldn't find anything wrong with it. Never bottomed it but always thought it must have something to do with the mains as it was suspiciously 50Hz ish. Richard

Help, I need suggestions or experience from other people for this one. Got a P Bass to clean & set up for a friend. The neck is showing a slight convex bend with the 5th fret a bit higher than I think it should be. I would like to get it set a bit more straight but the truss rod screw/nut thing is at the body end of the neck and half of it is not visible as it is lower than the top part of the body (if that makes sense). How do I get at it to turn it? I've tried to give it a bit of a turn on the bit I can see but can't get it to budge. Surely it can be done without unbolting the neck? Any help greatly appreciated, Richard PS: every bass I've ever owned has had the truss rod nut at the other (head) end.

Tested them and they show 4.7kohm so I guess they are OK. Thanks, Richard

Hi Guys, I have a nice Jap Fender P Bass to repair/clean/set up for a friend. He suggests that the pickups might not be working right. Apart from the obvious (playing it) is there a test that I can do to see if they are OK. Resistance? Anything would help as I don't want to replace them if it's just a height/set up issue. Richard

I thought they looked dead cool when I saw Hawkwind in the late 70s with a whole bank of them glowing green in the dark. Bought my first bassamp head, an HH VS 100W Bassamp shortly afterwards. Still got it, it lives in my rehearsal room now and I haven't used it for a gig in years, not since I bought my first Hartke head. The HH has always been a great amp though and I still love it. Richard

If it's out of warranty, open the top, with the power lead DISCONNECTED and unclip and remake all the wire connectors that join the circuit boards together. Also undo the valve in the preamp (if it has one) and make sure it's all OK (no loose bits on the inside) then put it back. The connector wires sometimes work loose (they did once on my HA2000) after being run around in the boot of my car for a few months. Unless there's something obvious like that.. it's into the service guys. Richard

Thanks for the info guys. I think it's meant to be played so will get that treatment first, I won't be doing any restoring or refinishing, just sorting the tuners, electronics, wiring, set up, action etc etc so that it plays better and actually works correctly. Pictures.. no not yet, will post some when I have it in hand. I will probably get to see it tomorrow night. It belongs to a mate, although he's a drummer really, it was left in his studio and he now uses it as a "stock" bass and I expect it has not been treated all that well over the years. Richard

Anyone know anything about these, I'm told it's "vintage" so I may not want to be replacing bits... but I think all the tuners are buggered at least. Richard

I'm always on the lookout for a nice T'Bird.. have been looking for 20 years (haha)... found one or two on Denmark Street last summer, only £249 more expensive than I can get Oop North... how they ever get anyone to buy anything is beyond me. Richard

They can be prone to the interconnectors coming loose between the circuit boards, expecially if it's been left in the boot of the car for a while and been bumped around. If it's out of warranty (yes 7 years, doh!), take the top off ([b]with the power disconnected of course[/b]) and disconnect and reconnect all the little wire plugs to make sure they are OK. Also the same with the pre-amp valve. Take it out carefully, check it's all looking OK, no loose bits on the inside, and replace it. Put it all back together and fasten the lid on. If it's still doing the same after this, then it's back to a pro repairer I think. Richard