LITTLEWING

I just acquired an active Aria Pro 2 IBG four string which laid in a case under a bed for years ( the battery was dated 9/2008 and STILL worked, no corrosion or anything!) Apart from a dodgy crackly socket (new one on it's way as I write) it sounds, looks and plays fantastic after a small relief and action tweak. (oh, and a small shim to tilt the neck to get decent saddle height). However, I couldn't move the truss rod nut at first and after a while would only go about 10% of a turn either way before going dead tight. I've 'smidged' a spit of WD40 down inside the nut to hopefully reach the thread to soak for a few days. In people's experience is WD good for the job or does Duck Oil perform better. Any other tried and tested fixes? I'd just like the relief to be nearly flat and go from there.

[quote name='Jellyfish' timestamp='1387230591' post='2309750'] Out of curiosity, what sort of bass is it? Never had that much luck with 34" scale basses under a certain price in regards to a great feeling and great sounding B-string without having to put a hefty gauge string on it. [/quote]One's a Squier VM Jazz fiver with the BBOT and the other's a Yammy BBN5 II. The only other bass I owned which sounded good on a B for ages was a Yammy 775 with five separate individual saddle/bridge pieces. I always have my relief about .012" and action at 5/64 on the B to 4/64 at the G. I might just change the B more often with a cheap make and keep it clear that way. Humbug.

Why does my bottom B string always begin to sound like a wet dead fart on both my guitars? I make sure they aren't twisted when fitting, do the usual little 'press' thing over the saddle and nut and always make sure they're clean after gigs/rehearsals but they still end up sounding like a boomy dead elastic band type 'flumb' on all frets. One guitar has a high mass bridge and the other has a BBOT. I don't have the pups too high on that side so I can't see magnetic pull doing bad shiz. I even shelled out on Nano's to keep things fresh but even they eventually end up like a flubbery rubber band sound. They're already a 130, maybe a heavier string would sort it??

You've heard her so many times without even knowing. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9idtdWAAEA&list=RDAIApLbP3r-w"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9idtdWAAEA&list=RDAIApLbP3r-w[/url]

Experiment with pup heights to get a great tone by all means, but check out the video from 3.10 to 3.30 to be shocked! [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6dlN93MGgw[/media]

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1386197582' post='2297227'] Said it before, Legacy Strings from Stringsdirect.co.uk - £7.99 a pop and do the job jus' fine! [/quote]Yeah, I saw your post the other day and was looking at them only this evening. £9.95 for a five set of 45-130 can't be bad even if they stay reasonably bright for ten gigs. Hell, I'm gonna order some right now.

I was about to buy a couple of sets of 5 string Elixir Nanowebs to replace my 6 month old sets as an Xmas treat on my two regularly gigged basses (yes, they DO last that long and are only just starting to dull a little) and did the usual gander on Amazon and the 'bay first. Whoah momma, who decided that they should put nearly another ten squids on top since the last purchase? Even Earnest Ballbag have gone up too. Obviously over time they've got us hooked with the great feel, sound and longevity and I guess they think we can't do without the 'drug' now and willingly hand over extra hard-earned just to keep that 'high' going. Admittedly. 40-odd notes just twice versus 25 about six times a year isn't too bad I suppose, but come on chaps, play the game. It's a coat of plastic, not gold. The robbin' b*ggers!! Hope their turkey gives them the squits.

Try this out, it's stupid cheap and incredibly jaw-dropping. Finest wire wool, rub up and down the entire back of the neck including the fretboard edges. (Mask off the pups first, they'll only collect all the bits). Wipe off everything with a cloth and then give it a quick polish with decent guitar stuff. Run your hand up and down and be ready to catch yourself before you fall. Do this to a cheapy first if you don't believe it. You can thank me later.

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1385925159' post='2293726'] Suggestion wasn't that bad was it? [/quote]

[quote name='lojo' timestamp='1385917889' post='2293599'] Wireless ? [/quote]Most low-enders don't stand any more than 2 metres from their rig. Why would anybody want wireless at 200 squids a go?? Jeez!!

[quote name='Les' timestamp='1385910651' post='2293474'] I want one. Can I have a link to the Fender one you bought please. Les [/quote]Hey Les, check out Fender Koilkord on Ebay, there's loads on there as little as £9.00 free p&p.

Wow!!! I haven't used or trusted curly leads for years, but as I kept treading all over my straights I thought I'd try out a new version, so I bought a nice white one by Fender for less than a tenner and used it last night. FREEDOM!!! No more trampling on leads, getting caught round a cymbal stand or having to keep flicking it behind me as I wander around like you do. The new ones are quiet, don't crackle or pick up local radio stations and are nice and secure using modern tech strands and connectors and to my ears didn't compromise the tone to any degree. There are dearer ones on the market but I'll see how this goes. I am a happy bunny!

Yeah, lighter fluid works a treat, no damage to anything. Gets all grime and beer/snot/jizz off dead easy. Personally I then follow up with a decent car polish but only one where you dampen the cloth first. Comes up like a mirror. Where necessary, any scratches or swirls can be taken out beforehand with a mild car paint renovator. (Autoglym is good stuff). NB. ALWAYS,ALWAYS,ALWAYS use a new clean soft cloth. If you ain't got one, then DON'T. You WILL be sorry, guaranteed.

Can't beat a complete cavity shield with copper tape. The pots should be already fitted onto the 'guard on a section of shielding. Yours appears to have none. Remove the pots and jack socket and stick copper tape on that complete area right to the 'guard edge and ensure the cavity shielding has enough of an overlay on the body to contact when screwed down. Make sure that cap's legs aren't touching when refitted. Guaranteed everything will be as quiet as a mouse.

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1383389340' post='2263887'] A cautionary tale ..... In my recent new found confidence at nut-filing , I ended up filing the E slot too low on my main bass. The problem was completely caused by inexperience and not using the right tools. I was using the welding tip cleaners, which are significantly narrower than the E, A and D strings. I ended up filing a "waisted" slot on the E. So the string was sitting on the waist, and I was filing the slot underneath it progressively deeper, but each time I checked the string it was too high because, of course, it was sitting on the waist, not at the bottom of the slot. So once I cut the waist out, the slot was too low ! This would not have happened with the correct size nut files (which I seriously considering buying) which cannot really cut a waisted slot. But also, having done this once, I will not do it again, even using my "incorrect" tools. It's a brass nut, and I have bodged it back up to height with a superglue/kitchen paper mush, which sets amazingly hard. I tried at first with solder (as it is a metal nut) but the solder was too soft. The superglue mush sets much, much harder and seems very firmly attached to the brass. Sonically, I cannot tell the difference but the longevity of the repair is clearly going to be a doubt. I will change the nut at some point. So, the moral of the story is that if you are trying to do the job without the ideal tools, take it very, very slowly, and check that there is no daylight under the string when it is settled in it's slot each time you re-check it. Also, things can be nicely resurrected with superglue and kitchen paper, at least temporarily, if you botch it. [/quote] Ha! Must be something to do with the Fawley Fumes. I just did my first ever brass nut recently on an old Westfield Precision with a set of Draper needle files and thought I'd got it right until a week or so later when it all settled, the E had sunk a tad too low and was buzzing open string on the first fret. A small shim of plastic cut from a drill bit pack and a smidge of No More Nails took it up where I could start again with a bit more patience and new-found knowledge. Happy to say although I've left it a gnat's nob higher than I'd like, it's playing like a Custom Shop. I'll give it till New Year and see how things are looking and then maybe take it (very slowly and carefully) down to about 0.015 and that should be the biz.

Don't know how old mine is, the headstock decal says Westfield Guitar Makers. Nearly every other one I've seen just says Westfield. (see pic) [attachment=148022:Westfield decal.JPG] Anyone have an idea?

Yeah, I was surprised too. They've been going a while up there. Check them out. [url="http://www.westfieldguitar.co.uk/westfield/index.asp"]http://www.westfieldguitar.co.uk/westfield/index.asp[/url] Don't know what they're like now, the headstock shape's changed, could just be new design.

[attachment=148013:Black westie.JPG] I just picked this baby up as a project for a crazy £20 on Gumtree not knowing what to expect. Spent a couple of quid on black hardware, brass nut and new pots/socket and a few hours with a spray can and cutting polish from a car shop, and a mate levelled and dressed the frets. Ooh, mama..... they are so underrated. Plays and sounds better than a whole load of sub £1000 poorly set up basses they try to palm off in shops. Made in a little factory in Scotland apparently. Just going to let it settle down and I'm definitely gigging it New Year.

Absolutely genuine guy. Had a few problems totally out of his hands with the Royal Snail losing and fortunately finding a package. Took nearly two weeks to get to my door but Stevie kept me updated all the time chasing it up. Definitely buy from him again, no problem.

[quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1370368786' post='2099872'] I used an 8x10 for every gig I did for the last 10 years, pubs, clubs, festivals, inside and out. one of the easiest cabs I've ever had to move around, much easier than a 4x10. Takes up the same amount of floor space, or less, than a 4x10. Being taller, you can hear what you're playing and you can also see the controls on your amp a lot better. I do however use a van to get the band's gear about which is an advantage. Easier to wheel it in and out of a van than to coax it into a Golf. Oh, and I never had a Landlord complain either. [/quote] Couldn't agree more, bud. Best sound I've EVER had, does the job everywhere.

This may be a tad long winded, but someone out there may have a solution. I acquired a Fender Strat (I know it's not a bass!) in a cream colour and there is evidence of (I assume) a circular sticker which has left a lighter patch about three inches across. I don't know if the finish has aged darker before this was removed or if it was in the sun for a period of time 'tanning' the colour just as we do in the sun. Or would the sun fade colour?? My way of thinking is to cut a circle out of a piece of card and carefully 'burn' the light patch in gradually on a sunny day to match the rest. (or would I be going in the wrong direction and make the patch even whiter??) Help!!

This may be a tad long winded, but someone out there may have a solution. I acquired a Fender Strat (I know it's not a bass!) in a cream colour and there is evidence of (I assume) a circular sticker which has left a lighter patch about three inches across. I don't know if the finish has aged darker before this was removed or if it was in the sun for a period of time 'tanning' the colour just as we do in the sun. Or would the sun fade colour?? My way of thinking is to cut a circle out of a piece of card and carefully 'burn' the light patch in gradually on a sunny day to match the rest. (or would I be going in the wrong direction and make the patch even whiter??) Help!!

'Scuse my higorance here, but all this pish about good and bad tuners, how can a tuner gear (unless it's really a ten pence far East item) actually let a string go out of tune? A string needs retuning because you've just stretched the tits out of it with a bit of enthusiastic playing for a while, surely. My Squier VM Jazz has had no tuning issues in a year and a half. In fact, each time I take it out of it's case it's exactly the same as I left it, as does my Yammy BBN5. If I'm seriously missing something here, I'll sit and humbly take it all on board and happily digest new found knowledge.

I must admit, I'd love an Ampeg rig if I had the money (the 100w 1 x 15" combo in our rehearsal rooms is awesome). But since acquiring an Ashdown Mag 8 x 10" to partner my Ashdown EVO 2 300w head, I'm more than happy each venue we play at. Very rarely do I have to alter any EQ, the sound is huge, heavy and crystal sharp and certainly not 'wooly'. I find the trick to the sound is both low and high buttons 'in', low bass on 3 o/c, mid bass on 12 o/c, mids on 12 o/c, mid treble on 3 o/c and the high treble on 3 o/c. I have the input meter just clipping the red on the B string and final volume at 2 o/c. We're a three piece rock covers band and simply using the tone on my bass does everything I want. This setting even works on my Ashdown Compact 1 x 15" very nicely at praccy. The bottom line is Ashdown cabs need to be driven, not tickled. BTW, what exactly does anyone get from the 'sub' button??? To my ears it's a totally nasty sounding, unwanted, waste of "technology". Yuk! Sorry!!

Thanks for all the replies chaps. I've wired the speaker up as white for positive anyhoo and everything sounds nice and punchy. Cheers again guys.