Nostromo

[quote name='andyjingram' post='919134' date='Aug 8 2010, 10:47 PM']Great little tutorial! I already knew the details, but as mentioned before, it has given me a bit more confidence to get on with it.

Does anyone know whether there is a simple mathematical way to work out the sort of shim thickness required to reduce/increase action by a given amount, or even roughly work it out? I have already tried a full neck pocket shim to effectively 'shallow' the neck pocket, but there is obviously more of a neck angle issue here. As I've already had the neck off a couple of times, I'd like to try to work out how much I need to add (after removing the flat shim) rather than just increasing by trial and error. I gather that it is really just a question of using either one or two thicknesses or card in most situations?

Cheers, Andy[/quote]


Hi Andy,

Im gona sit down and scientifically work out this shim thickness malarkey using some basic trigonometry soon as I get a bit of time to measure the neck pocket up and think it through ?

My calculation will be worked out using Fender Precision neck pocket dimensions and scale length etc . . . I'll post up the results as soon as I've had time to do it . . . .

Unless someone beats me to it that is ! ! !

Like I said earlier though, there's still the issue of compression of the shim you use when the neck screws are bolted back up . . for example, a card shim may appear to be "0.X" of a mm thick when you introduce it into the neck pocket . . but . . if it gets compressed when everything is tightened back up . . . then the actual amount of adjustment it produces will be a little different to that predicted by trigonometry ? . . I think ?

Cheers for now,

Thanks for the tips so far received everyone . . . keep em' coming if you know of anything else I ought to check out to get that vintage precision vibe ?

And as suggested I will look into the cap . . . but I'm gona change the pickup anyway, as the one fitted really has got that thick overwound muddy sound that I dont like that much.

Thanks everyone,

[quote name='BOD2' post='496312' date='May 23 2009, 08:51 PM']A shim place at the back of the neck pocket (as described above) will change the neck to body angle by effectively pushing the headstock backwards. This has the effect of lowering the action.

A shim placed at the front of the neck pocket (furthest away from the body) will effectively push the headstock forward and should slightly raise the action.


Thanks for reading this - I hope someone finds this useful. [/quote]

Great thread . . . thanks . . .

But I could do with a bit more advice ? . . . can anyone advise the thickness of Shim needed to achieve a specific amount of height change in the action ?

This question relates to when you are shimming to change the relative angle of the neck to the body . . . (ie not shimming to achieve change to the parrallel height of the neck in relation to the body . . if you get my drift ?)

ie . . for example if you wanted to raise the strings by say 1mm at the bridge compaired to their existing position, how thick would the shim need to be to achieve thie required change in neck angle ? . . . would you be talking about a shim made of a piece of newspaper ? . . or ordinary A4 office paper . . or thin cardboard . . or thicker cardboard ? . . .

I guess this could be worked out by trigonometry . . . . . but that wouldnt take into account how much the shim material might compress when the neck plate was done up ? . . . so I think only someone with a bit of experiance is going to have a feel for my question ? ?

Im about to put a Badass bridge on one of my fender instruments and will need to raise the string height between 1 and 2mm to acheive the fit. . . . I understand fully, and am confident with the process of Shimming . . . but I dont have the slightest clue how thick the shim material will need to be to achieve the relief of 1 to 2mm that I'm aiming for ?

And am hoping not to have to take the neck/body to bits umpteen times to get it right by trial and error !

any advice much appreciated ?

Thanks again for an excellent pinned thread.

Not sure what type of bass/bridge you are referring to - there is quite a lot of variation in the exact design of saddle arrangements between different bridges ?

Generally though, when the string tension is reduced or off . . . for example when you are changing strings . . . then the bridge saddles can obviously move around a little. Some bridge assemblies dont have much within their engineering to allign the individual saddles, whilst other bridges are engineered to provide a certain degree of allignment.

Obviously at the end of the day the string tension is (usually) sufficient to keep the saddles in position, so, if there is movement when the tension is off, then its a case of carefully positioning each saddle where you want it when you do your re-stringing.

At the end of the day you just need to make sure you've positioned the saddles as you want them.

If you play very agressively, and are getting saddle movement through playing . . and I know someone who had this problem with a Squier Pbass . . . then thats a different issue again. In that case, we solved that problem by removing the bridge from the bass, slightly certre punching the Bridge plate to create some slight depressions for the saddle adjusters to recess into . . . and that solved that problem. . . but as I say that was a slightly different problem.

All in all some guitars use component design thats has been around 50 years or so . . . and some things are really quite primative . . . . but still much loved and preferred by lots of players !

Cheers,

Hi everyone,

Im about to upgrade the pickup on my mongrel precision bass (the one listed below in my gear list) - the pickup currently fitted is of unknown origin but is very very loud/high output and very "low/middle" sounding tone wise and the tone control isnt really doing anything to give it any decent top end ? . . so, whatever its origin, I suspect its a heavily overwound pickup and it certainly lacks the top end and overall clarity that I associate with a more vintage precision pickup ?

So, before I take the plunge and make a purchase I thought I'd check out your thoughts on a good upgrade choice ?

Im looking for a simple strightforward Vintage P Bass sound for a blues / rock context.

I had been thinking of getting the Seymour Duncan Vintage for Precision Bass - SPB-1 . . . . . but thought I'd ask are there any other pickups out there that people would recommend I check out or read up on before I make my purchase ?

Cheers,

[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='827476' date='May 4 2010, 02:21 PM']I have a friend who said he'd make a pedal for me that did the job (and I suspect he'd do as good a job as anyone, given he's had a long career in music synthesis and electronics for sound engineering ... AND he did some research by extensively miking up an upright) but I've not chased him on it ... the last thing I heard was that the prototype he produced was causing a stir with local bassists ... I must find out how far he got with the idea.

Andy[/quote]


Any News from your friend on that Pedal andy ?

Cheers,

Have had the opportunity to do an experiment on this subject. Not claiming it was particularly "controlled" or scientific, but did shine some light on the questions I rased at the start of this thread.

Anyway . . . had two mexican Jazz bass guitars temporarily at my disposal, very similar models, both with rosewood necks one was 2004 and the other 2006. Hardware looked for all intents and purposes the same on both guitars.

Got a couple of sets of DAddario pro steel round wounds. A standard 45 - 100 set on one bass and a made up set from new singles, exactly the same model strings, 60 -120 gauge on the other bass. (yes . . . the nuts only just took this large E string ! . . but it just went in) . . . Listened to the various tones from each guitar, then swapped the strings over to the other bass and did the same listening tests all over again. So both sets of strings were listened to on both basses.

Bass set ups were very much the same, and I set the pickup heights so that they were the same on both guitars.

Listening tests conducted useing SWR SM500 head and Eden 4 x 10 cab.

Outcome . . . . . . . . ?

Well . . . on both guitars, the heavier gauge strings were slightly louder and had very slightly more bass and mid in the sound than the lighter set - this was the same on both bass guitars. So I think I can say that heavier strings deliver a slightly louder sound with a touch more bottom end all other things being about equal ?

However, things were not so black and white as I thought . . . . . first thing to say, the strings did have a noticable effect on the tone, but the guitars themselves had a bigger effect. The guitars, even though they were the same model with what should be more or less the same spec stock pickups fitted, had a more marked effect on the sound than the strings did. One of the two jazz's sounded considerably mellower than the other one (especially in the neck position). but then again, changes in playing style, attack and playing position along the string could be employed to make the brighter guitar sound like the mellow one, or visa-versa in eith pickup combination - so, no big surprise there I guess !

So . . at the end of the day I've decided that slightly heavier strings do "do it" for me . . . . and I've now up'd a couple of my regular players from 100's to 110's and I think Im liking the results of that.

But I guess, more than anything, it really highlghts how important it is to try/play a bass before you buy. If you thought a Mex Jazz bass sounded like a Mex Jazz Bass . . . . well maybe it does . . but there was a lot of difference between these two stock guitars . . more than the difference the strings made ! ! . . I never really expected that !

Hope this might be of interest to those who have followed or contributed to this thread.

Cheers all,

Ive got a couple of Valve amps and one SS amp (well its a highbred SS I think). Must confess I do prefer the sound of both my valve amps over the sound of the SS amp. Having said that I probobly use the SS amp the most. Why ? . . . Its the old weight thing ! . . . Both my valve amps (Fender Rumble Bass & Hiwatt DR405) weigh a ton - so when it comes to loading up the gear before I go out to a gig I always start off with the very best of intentions "yes I will give one of the Valve heads a run out tonight" ! ! . . . . but then, when it comes to actually picking it up and lugging it out to the car . . . . guess what . . . . . yep . . . . I pick up and take my very much lighter SWR SM500 ! ! . . . happens nearly every time !

So my thoughts are simple . . . . Valve amps sound the best . . . . but SS amps are more practicle.

Could do with some advice here,

I've got this really nice early 80's Japanese Jazz Bass Special with a chip out of the headstock front surface at the top edge.

The headstock front at the edge is just a shiny black mirror finish like a black piano finish.

Wondering if anyone knows if this can be repaired ? . . and if so, better still, can anyone recommend a repair luthier in the south west UK who could do a good job at repairing it ?

Here is a photo (not brilliant as its taken on my cheap mobile phone) but it does show the chip damage:-

[attachment=55898:headstock_20chip.jpg]

I'm not at all into relics ! . . and in every other respect this guitar is in almost mint condition, so I'd really like to get it repaired if its possible ?

Any advice gratefuly received.

Have you thought about simply adding a second cab to your set up ?

I think your cab is 8 ohms, add another and you'll be presenting a four ohm load to your amp which should be fine - you'll move more air and should keep a very similar sound ?

I'd try that first - especially if I was happy with my sound.

Its so easy to make an impulse buy after short listening tests and then realise its not what you want when its too late !

Cheers,

Thanks for the info so far guys.

Must say I'd love to play a Wal, I've listened to quite a lot of stuff recorded with them and they do sound amazing.

I'm very much a "Jazz bass" neck profile player. I learnt to play bass on a Jazz, and one with a very shallow and narrow neck even for a Jazz ! . . It felt the right shape to me having migrated from 6 string playing to bass learning/playing, and, though I have a precision, I have never ever felt any where near as comfortable with the precision sized and profile neck as I am with the Jazz one ?

All this being the case, I'd sort of thought I probably wouldn't like a Wal, as I'd assumed they had really chuncky necks the thinckness and profile of which would be similar to a precision or even bigger ? . . . . . . . . ( big and fat does seem to be the in thing these days both with guitar and bass necks ? ) . . . . . however, the discriptions above seem to suggest that maybe they are not so chunky as I'd anticipated ? . . . I guess I need to search one out and play it ! ! . .

Cheers all,

[quote name='Bloodaxe' post='674286' date='Dec 4 2009, 05:21 PM']I'm not a Wal owner, never have & am unlikely ever to be - but I have played a couple (Walman's & Silverfoxnik's) at a Bash acouple of years back.

My opinions?

A bit Marmite tbh - I can see why people love them with a passion & they're exceptional instruments, but they're not for me. I had difficulty with the neck profile, a Wal neck has a profile unlike anything I've ever met, it definitely works, there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it just felt wrong in my hand - kind of the opposite to a Warwick (another excellent, but Marmite, bass in my opinion) with its flat D profile, a Wal has a sort of "hump". Tonal versatility? buckets of it! Ease of playing? Segmentised Urea.

I'm sticking with my old Aria SB's - they just fit me, physically & sonically (more Marmite as well!)

Try a Wal, they are very, very, good & if you fall in love with it then you'll justify the expense - but try one first.

Pete.[/quote]


Can any of you WAL owners out there have a go at describing the WAL neck profile ?

Is there a custom order neck profile choice or are they all more or less the same ?

Ive never even seen a Wal in the flesh, let alone played one, but am really intreagued to know what the neck profile is like ?

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='897554' date='Jul 17 2010, 08:16 PM']Is this the same Nostromo (Clint) I met in a dodgy carpark near Heathrow Airport about 18 months ago to sell my Epifani UL310?

Cheers

Nick[/quote]

Hello Nick . . . yep thats me . . . . hope you're doing well ?

I still have your lovely Epifani 3x10", and I've looked after it and kept it just as clean and tidy as the day you sold it to me . . . . still use it, though its taken second fiddle to the Demeter at the moment as you will see if you've read the above. . . . .

The Epifani wins hands down on lightness and portability and its a great sounding cab . . . but this Demeter has the edge on it, well, on anything I've ever heard, for a real transparent and revealing sound.

Like someone said above the more I google the Demeter the more I find out its really highly thought of in recording circles in the US.

Anyway, do hope you're band is up and running these days and the live music scene is good for you in your parish ? . . . after all . . . thats what all this gear malarkey is supposd to be about isnt it ! ! !

Great to hear from you again mate,

Cheers for now,

[quote name='Merton' post='897454' date='Jul 17 2010, 05:48 PM']Doesn't exist without pics [/quote]


What a doubting Thomas you are Merton . . . . . so just for you ! ! !

Here's the Demeter stood on top of my Eden 1 x 18" . . . . . if you look just to the right of the name tag you can see some very minor damage to the carpet covering which is why I was able to negotiate getting hold of it at a more affordable price. Other than that its brand new.

Also note the Jazz Bass Special stood in front of it . . . thats mine as listed in my signature block . . . . . (just in case Merton might think I pulled this pic off of a google search . . .ha ! . . . . only kidding)

Sorry about the photo quality - had only my mobile phone at hand to take the pic with !

[attachment=54479:Demeter_212.jpg]

Yes . . your amp can put out more power than your single cab can cope with.

IMHO . . I think it pays to have headroom both in bass cabs and bass heads.

But when you havent got much head room, my thoughts are that I'd rather put 250 watts into a 250watt cab from a 500watt head at half power than from a 250watt head running flat out into that same cab . . . I'm thinking that with an amp running flat out you're more likely to get into clipping and unwanted distortion teritory so far as your output signal is concerned which might easily damage a cab, and possibly cause dasmage at below its rated power handling ?

If I was going to run a rig that needed 250 watts output to achieve a particular volume/tone/sound, then I'd like to be using a head that had pleanty of headroom (a 500w head at least probably) and cab wise, I'd like even more headroom again ? . . . then, you'd have no problem with transients etc . . . . My experiance with different bass rigs is that they generally sound sweeter when they are not being pushed to the limit particularly with solid state gear. Valve heads are a bit different and a bit more forgiving and, as an aside, do always seem to me to sound a hell of a lot louder and more powerfull for a given wattage rating ?

In your case, I suspect , like some of the previous posts have said, that if your amp is rated at 500watts, then that is probably 500w at 4ohms ? . . . and being as you are only using one cab, then, so long as that cab is 8ohms ? . . then you would have to be running very loud, around 6/10 or 7/10 or above, on your vol control for long periods to mechanically or thermally overlaod that cab. On thre other hand, if your cab is 4ohms take care, you could quite easily overdrive it with your amp.

The answer here is to use your ears and listen to what's going on . . . . your speaker will tell you when it doesnt like the signal you're putting into it - and hopefully you will hear the warning before things are too late ! ! ! . . . . . .

Must say that all my above experiance is based on the sound I'm trying to achieve which is always clear and distortion free. If you're into heavy distorted bass then thats a differtent ball park altogether and I wouldn't know how to advise you as you probably cant use your ears to warn you of whats going on as you drive a cab close and then beyond its power rating with a highly distorted bass signal ? ? ?

Yea . . . . . good observation . . . . . . not a lightweight . . . . comes in at 30Kg in my scales which is just about ok for me.

As for driver complement . . . I'm not sure ? . . . . . I've googled the cab but havent found any technical info. One things for sure, this cab is ever so well made and very well put together, so it doesn't look like a simple job to take it appart so as to peek inside and have a look ?

I didn't get any sort of hand book or manual with it . . . didn't expect one with a bass cab ! . .

Am playing it lots, have gigged it a couple of times now - and it cuts through and projects really well.

Definitely still scoring 10/10 in all departments.

Hi,

I got it from Station-Music.de . . . . German based retailer. Spotted it on eBay first of all but missed the auction close. So, emailed them on their web site and went from there.

It was an ex demo cab with some minor cosmetic damage to the carpet covering. Not a problem for me.

More I play it the more I like it . . . .

Cheers

Hi All,

Ive just picked up a Demeter BSC 212 cab so thought I'd share my initial impressions of it with you all ! ! !

Its a 2 x 12" cab also housing an 8" dual concentric driver that handles mid and top frequencies, its also ported with two small forward firing ports in the bottom corner of the cab. Power handling is rated at 500w / 8 ohms.

What does it sound like ? . . . Well . . . its one of the most transparent bass cabs I've ever heard, the best way to describe it would be to say it doesn't really have much of a signature sound of its own at all ? . . . not sure if that’s good or bad ? . . . . what it does do really really well, is clearly demonstrate and expose the differences between any amps or guitars you plug into it.

I’ve been using my SWR SM500 and my reissue Hiwatt DR400 valve head . . . . and, with Jazz, Precision and Music Man basses, the range of sounds and tone you can hear from this cab with these two amps and various bass guitars is amazing . . . its like this cab is all about expressing the sounds of the amps and guitars you plug into it, rather than adding much if anything of its own to the sound ?

It’s fairly efficient, so I guess you wouldn't need a massive amp to drive it, and you do get the very fullest range of tone, from harmonic highs to deep deep lows, all being presented exactly as you'd like to hear them. With my amps, the attack it offers is mind blowing for a relatively small cab. It doesn’t seem to have much of a pronounced resonant frequency point either, as many cabs do, and maybe its this fact that makes it sound so neutral and natural. Obviously the cab must have a resonant frequency I’m just saying it doesn't show itself by any obvious increase in output or colouration at any particular frequency . . yes, this is one very very flat and balanced cab in turns of its output . . . .

I bet it would also sound really good reinforcing an acoustic bass ? . . . but I havent got the facility to try that out.

Hope I havent made the cab sound sort of boring because Yep . . . I really really like it - it definitely brings my guitars and amps alive . . . . and really makes me want to switch on and practice . . . . . . so, over and out for now . . . I think I’ll go and do just that !

Cant wait to use it in a recording setting ?

Anyone else here got any Demeter experience ?

[quote name='bubinga5' post='861352' date='Jun 8 2010, 07:07 PM']Just wondering what everyone thought of pink basses...i have the chance to bag a stunning shell pink custom shop jazz with gold hardwear..its a 62, with the most amazing flame maple neck.....Hope Nic doesnt mind me talking about his bass!!!

Any thoughts...

its exactly the same as this but with gold hardwear[/quote]


Great custom colour . . . I'd love it. And custom shop Jazz necks are usually stunningly nice in my experiance . . . and that will make it a great player !

Good luck if you go for it !

[quote name='Stacatto' post='862369' date='Jun 9 2010, 05:15 PM']Hello Everyone!!!

Just arrived after reading about this site on Talkbass. Looking forward to learning lots from you on this site...

-John[/quote]



Welcome to the club John.

This is a great site, you should find it real interesting.

Hi all,

My band are working on some material where the bass parts are originally played/recorded on an upright Acoustic Double Bass. I'm experimenting, sound wise, to try and re-capture something as close as possible to an upright acoustic double bass sound from my electric rig. (Ive been experimenting using mainly my US 75 reissue Jazz Bass my SWR 500 Head and Epifany 3 x 10 Cab).

But, however I set up the tone on the bass, or, the controls on the amp, I'm not finding anything even remotely close to the sound of an Acoustic Upright Double Bass ?

I know that for six string guitar players there are umpteen pedals on the market that will allow an electric guitar to achieve a reasonable emulation of an acoustic guitar sound. And a friend of mine has even got a Telecaster with an acoustic guitar emulator built into it !

Im thinking there must be a pedal for Bass Guitar on the market, like a Boss or something similar, that you can plug an electric bass into to give an output that emulates something close to an acoustic double bass sound ? . . surely someone has had a go at marketing such a product ? . . I cant believe its a new idea ?

Any info greatly appreciated.

Yep - DR High Beams are really good . . . they are my first choice, (I play in a 5 piece blues/Rock Covers band and also in a 10 piece latin/jazz/reggae outfit). DR are my first choice of string, I've also found D'Addario strings are very good too.

I'm tending to use heavier gauge strings than I used too, not sure how the physics works out here ? . . . some people say heavier strings should equal more bottom end . . but on the other hand you have a higher tension for the same note, which, maybe, cancels out that extra bottom ? . . . I really dont know how it works out exactly ? . . . can anyone else offer a scientific view on this interesting subject ?. . . .

Anyway, my experiance is, medium heavy gauge DR's are great for the stuff I play ?

Good luck !

Hi,

Does anyone know if there is more than one model of 400watt valve amp made by Hiwatt these days ?

Looking around for new gear on all the usual music shop websites some are advertising the big Hiwatt bass head as the "HIWATT CUSTOM 400 BASS HEAD AMPLIFIER [u][b]DR405[/b][/u]" whilst others are advertised as "HIWATT CUSTOM 400 VALVE HEAD [u][b]DR401[/b][/u] 400W BASS" ? ? ?

MusicGround has got adverts up for both DR401's and DR405's on the internet - and the photo looks the same ? ? ? . . . and I understand that they may even own Hiwatt these days ? . . . so why the confusion ?

Does anyone know if there is more than one new model Hiwatt 400w Valve amp on the market at the moment ? . . and if only one, is it a model DR401 or DR405 ? ? ?

I'm seeming to remember the older models were called DR405's and I'm wondering if that indicates the current model is a different beast . . and thus maybe there has been a change in the spec causing them to introduce a different designation ?

Yours totally confused !

Any advice appreciated !

Well, I have two 80's japanese Jazz Bass specials (one is the passive version and the other the "power" active version) I got them both second hand, and pound for pound, they've appreciated the most of all the basses i've ever owned - both are currently seen for sale for over double what I paid for mine ! . . . and they are lovely, playable instruments. Highly recommended - especially the passive one which is a joy.

Hi there,

I've been looking at getting one of these. Unfortunately I dont think i've got an acoustic I could trade, but if you decide to sell for cash, then I may be interested if the price is right ?

In the meantime, good luck with your trade.