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amillar

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Everything posted by amillar

  1. I see he uses both, bridge pick up (full circle) and mic!
  2. Hi, I think the title says it all - I'm trying to sort a pickup for a DB player (not me) for live work, he also hand drums on the bass body so would like that picked up as well. Since it's for live use I'm thinking piezo rather than mike perhaps. Any thoughts as which would be a good way to go? Does an underbridge pickup pick up body sound? Thanks, Andy
  3. Yes, the strings are pretty much standard acoustic tension, on this guitar at least I didn't have to touch the truss rod at all!
  4. Well that was fun - one of the quickest (and cheapest) build projects I've done, an acoustic bass VI made by converting a scrap electro-acoustic guitar. Video here https://youtu.be/QyzJbaM_4lg (Thanks to Ross Millar for modelling it! And apologies for saying "play something" and then pointing the camera... 😈 ) I just replaced the bottom four strings with the D'Addario EXPPBB190GS "Taylor GS mini bass" strings, and replaced the top two strings with an A and D from a standard acoustic set. Then all tuned to EADGBE (guitar an octave down). The only mods I had to make to the guitar were obviously recutting the nut, and also on the bottom E string running a 2.5mm drill through the tuner and along the string pin to take the 90thou string. What surprised me was that the intonation's fine. Definitely recommend this for others wanting to have a go, Ross reckons it's if anything easier to play than his Ibanez SRC6. And easy to reverse if you don't like it, the wider hole in the E tuner shouldn't cause a problem, it would just need a new nut and perhaps bridge pin to take it back to a being a vanilla guitar. Happy Christmas! Andy
  5. Good question Jean-Luc! On my acoustic U-bass I'm using the Pyramid wire wound strings, and I do like them. Just looking for a little more "oomph" from the body Hi Russ, thanks for the heads-up, doesn't look like the Orangewoods have made it over to this side of the pond but another one to look at if one does appear...
  6. Hi, I've been vaguely thinking about getting a mini acoustic bass (NOT a U-Bass, got one already!!) since trying the Taylor GS Mini a few years ago, but I'm now playing in sessions where one would actually be useful. I really liked the Taylor, but for the amount I'd play it it's not worth paying that much, but any of the other using those D'Addario strings would be viable: Cordoba EB-E Cordoba MH-E Guild Jumbo Junior Ibanez PNB14E Anything I've missed? Times being what they are, I'd have to buy whichever I go for without trying it first Any thoughts? Any links to comparisons, I've found one or two but not very much, a five way comparison would be brilliant? My current thinking based on the few reviews I've seen is the Cordoba EB-E. Definitely looking for something that's playable unplugged, even if I'm the only one who can hear myself (I played my much loved Ovation in various folk bands for many years, so I'm very used to that.) P.S. A couple of years ago I modded a solid bodied electric guitar to take these strings, with a piezo saddle of course, great fun! I know not everyone gets on with them, but they seem to suit me. Cheers, Andy
  7. Waiting for Wunjo to get some more in...
  8. Bump. Collect from Devon / Cornwall border or can arrange to meet in Central or North London, I'm up there regularly. Cheers, Andy
  9. Anyone know anywhere in central(ish) London that stocks the Guild? I'd really like to try one, the only place I can find that way that has them is DV247 which is a bit of a trek. Or if there's anywhere in Cornwall or Devon that would be even better (but very optimistic 🙂 ). I tried the Taylor in Manson's, which played beautifully but is just a little bit fat for me, from the spec sheets the Guild's a tad slimmer - and cheaper! Cheers, Andy
  10. Hi James, Many thanks Sounds very encouraging! Cheers, Andy
  11. Complicated story - but in short I need to put together a half decent small lightweight short scale bass for myself on zero budget, I'm wondering about picking up a dirt cheap S/H Epi EB0 and replacing the pickup and hardware (I've probably got most of what I need lying around already! I'm very happy to do a bit of routing.) But I haven't managed to find one around me to try for feel, there are lots of negative comments on here re their tone but that might be sortable, but any opinion here on the necks / frets / fingerboard / balance etc? All opinions welcomed! Of course if I find a Mustang for £50 it'll cease to be a problem There's that flying pig again... Cheers, Andy
  12. Glad to be of help If these clamps can survive my son's playing (once he gets infected by the spirit of jazz things tend to get a bit lively) they'll survive anything! And of course really quick to set up/down. Cheers, Andy
  13. Here's the other type of stand with my "fix", and a close up of the clamps in the up and folded position. Also a photo of where I had to drill and fit roll pins to the top bracket to stop it wobbling! Hopefully there's nothing left to fall apart on this now...
  14. Hi, No, that's the better stand! They make two versions (as far as I can tell) depending how much you pay for your bass... Cheers, Andy
  15. Hi, One pain I've found with the NXT is that the clamp screw that set the tripod stand height is weak (I've had to replace it twice), and when tightened enough to hold the stand eventually starts crushing the support tube, so that the upper part of the stand starts not sliding down it. A very cheap solution that seems to be working really well - better than the original clamp - is a pair of "30mm barbell clamps" (designed for weight lifters), one fitted above and one below the sliding part of the tripod legs. These are the ones I bought for £7.99 a pair: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B06XGVXLVX/ref=pe_3187911_185740111_TE_item I just leave the bottom one clamped in place, and release the top one when I want to collapse the stand. Wish I'd done it before the tube got crushed...that was a pain to sort out! Hope others find this helpful, Cheers, Andy
  16. They do if you have strings on the back too... http://www.guitarworld.com/basses-gear-artist-videos-blogs/two-sided-bass-guitar-has-strings-both-sides-its-neck-%E2%80%94%C2%A0video/25461
  17. Hi, Just found this thread...just to show you could sort of do something useful with these Stellah etc headless kits, here's what we finally finished last weekend. Four years ago my son who was then 15 (and as well as being a much better bass player than me is into D&D and LARPing) saw a picture of a custom "sword" bass and asked if he could have one. As usual my answer was that he could, but he'd have to learn to make it himself! It's taken a while, but sort of got there in the end - and he certainly learnt a lot (like the fact that sanding and spraying is BORING). The neck in the kit was awful, and in the end warped itself out of use, so I picked up a 24 fret Tanglewood that needed a bit of work and tweaked that neck. I junked all the electrics from the kit, and very heavily modified the nut clamp so that it would fit on the back of the neck. In fact, the only bit of the kit that I didn't change much was the tuners / bridge, even there I strategically cleaned off bits of paint so it now earths the strings properly. It's the body from the kit (was a J type ), rather heavily modified We inlaid a hefty chunk of brass into the back to stop the body warping, as there's now no wood either side of the pups, and actually the sustain is really pretty good. Found a nice bit of real leather to fit around the middle. Bizarrely it's actually turned out really rather nice to play. Thanks to the brass in the body it balances surprisingly well, and the "hilt" and thin body makes it more comfortable than you'd think to play sitting down. Don't know how long the headstock will last, there's not a lot of wood left where I ran the strings go through it. If I get time before Ross goes back to uni I might fit a shiny metal plate to the front to reinforce it. Anyway, does show you can some fun with these kits, I don't think I'd bother with them just to build "as is" though! And it was worth the cost of the kit...but only because I picked it up cheap on eBay because one of the pots was smashed. Cheers, Andy [attachment=253656:IMG_0916-min.JPG]
  18. Good used condition. Bought second hand by mistake by my son who was told it was a double bass stand - it really isn't! Not worth posting, it's HEAVY, but can be collected from Devon/Cornwall border, also I'll be travelling to Southampton and Leatherhead next week so might be able to deliver along that route. This one: https://www.staggmusic.com/en/products/view/SVEDBECL Thanks, Andy
  19. Hi, We've just bought my son a second-hand Hungarian student double bass, fabulous condition and a very, very good price, but the action is WAY too high. The previous owner, who used to play it when they were at school, must have had super strong fingers - maybe if it had been set up properly he would have kept playing! Does anyone know anyone in Cornwall or Devon (we live on the border) who could set this up for us? Or worst case near the M5 in Somerset? I think it's going to need some fairly serious bridge surgery. I've had a look on the pinned Luthier thread and the only post I can see is someone else asking almost the same question. If all else fails I'll have a go myself - I just have this horrible vision of Ross getting it setup properly later in life and the luthier saying "who did this bodge job then???" Cheers, Andy
  20. So far the through-body options I can find are either Hipshot or cheap "generic". Schaller describe one in an old press release, does anyone know if these actually exist? And any thoughts on roller v. blade bridges? I've never used rollers. Thanks, Andy
  21. While I was on the forum I thought I'd just update this in case anyone else sees the same problem on an Ashdown Perfect 10: lower output transistor was completely short circuit, upper one was "leaky". I must admit the upper one fooled me for a while, but with help from Guy at Ashdown we got there in the end. Really I should know better by now and just change both straight away! To set the bias, turn the pot fully anticlockwise, then adjust for 4mV across the two power resistors. And a pleasure to meet another local bassist and top guy! Cheers, Andy
  22. Hi, I'm about to start constructing a 5 string fretless having just picked up an Overwater neck by chance. So question is, any thoughts on what would be the best bridge to buy for this? I'm looking for maximum sustain here, and I'd prefer a one piece bridge as I won't have much space on the body (again by chance I have what looks to be the ideal body left over from a previous project). Many thanks! Andy
  23. Couple of thoughts on doublefour noise and volume... Noise: Older Double Fours (up to the middle of last year?) are noisy, or rather their power supplies make them noisy, simply because the earth isn't carried through to the amp. I found this very quickly when I plugged the line out to the input of another (earthed) amp and the PJB went eerily quiet! Phil Jones confirmed this was the case, and said that a new power supply would be released (which it has) which would solve this. He also said he would send me one, sadly he never did despite a gentle reminder Anyway, I solved it slightly tackily by running an earth cable alongside the power lead to the negative side of the DC connector. Volume: The Double Four is remarkably loud (for its size) but I've found it lacking in sensitivity on passive pickups, so I built a 10dB booster amp which brings it up ok. But to give an idea: last year my son borrowed it for a school production of High School Musical to use with his (active) bass. Six piece band in a usual school hall size of a fair few hundred people. The night we went, he asked afterwards if we could hear the bass ok. We had - it was clear as a bell. He smiled and said "That's lucky, they forgot to plug the DI in for the first half, so it was all coming from your amp!" I've haven't yet compared the Double Four to the larger PJB amps, but for the sort of folk/acoustic stuff I play I've been absolutely delighted with it (once it was boosted and quietened). I've got an 18V laptop powerpack I run it from for portable work which works pretty well, although the battery does cut out at high volumes. Watching people's faces when you hit the low E on a UBass clone plugged into a Double Four is very satisfying
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