ikay

Thanks for reply police squad - do the La Bella's have an even tone across the strings and is there any 'life' to the thud?! My issue with the Hofner flats is that the E has a different feel to the rest of the strings - it has a sort of lifeless thud with very little note definition. The G, D and A strings have better definition and a more musical/singing quality.

I've just acquired an HCT Club bass which is strung with Hofner flats (I believe made by Pyramid). Fairly new set, about 3 months old so have been played in. Love the sound except for the E which is significantly duller and thuddier than the others. I know this is the 'Hofner sound' and exactly as it should be, but I'd like a set of flats with just a little more life in the lower range. I'm thinking of LaBella 760FHB2 (Hofner set) but have heard that they sound a bit too bright/harsh. Does anyone have any experience of these on a Hofner? I'm also thinking of the Thomastik JF324H (Hofner set). I really like Thomastiks but the description says "They do NOT fit the Asian made Icon & Contemporary series. This is due to the tuning machines used on those models; the holes are too small for the strings.". I've also heard that the Thomastik Hofner set is a bit too long from ball end to start of silk which results in about 1cm or so of the main string being wound round the tuning post on the E and G. Does anyone know if this is true and if they will fit an HCT? Thanks for any input on the above or other suggestions.

My '57 P and '72 J and P get fairy regular outings. Very few people take any notice in my gigging experience! I do keep a close eye on them though.

Aha! Thanks for the link

Does the HCT Violin bass have an unbound or bound fingerboard? I've seen pictures with both (see below). The unbound pic is taken from BassDirect, other websites show the HCT with binding. Are the older HCTs unbound and later ones bound (or vice versa)?

Could it be your Phil Jones combo rather than the bass? Have you tried a different bass with your rig? I found this post which mentions a distorting double 4 - [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/289284-intermittant-distortion-from-my-phil-jones-double-four/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/289284-intermittant-distortion-from-my-phil-jones-double-four/[/url]

Re low output, it depends which piezo you're using. Hipshot/Graphtech piezo bridges have more output than your average humbucker!

To mix the piezo and mag signals together you'll need something like the East MPM-01 buffer circuit. I'd suggest giving John a call and explaining what you need, he'll be able to sort you out.

I take it you've also got a wire from the bridge to the jack earth?

Here's the Delano one - [url="http://www.delano.de/products.html?&cHash=9185ee9f3f&tx_smtdelano_pi1[cat]=2&tx_smtdelano_pi1[series]=11&tx_smtdelano_pi1[system]=123"]http://www.delano.de/products.html?&cHash=9185ee9f3f&tx_smtdelano_pi1[cat]=2&tx_smtdelano_pi1[series]=11&tx_smtdelano_pi1[system]=123[/url]

[quote name='sirmuppet' timestamp='1500282633' post='3336599'] I did hear before of a pickup that had four coils and you could select which were on/off. The front and back coils were split into bass and treble. So that would allow for the split P sound (ish). For the life of me I can't remember who made them but wasn't one of the ones you suggested. [/quote] One of these maybe? - https://www.bartolini.net/product-tag/quad-coil-splittable/

Here are a couple I know of: Bartolini MPB2-918 - [url="https://www.allparts.uk.com/products/bartolini-buffer-and-blend-balance-for-bass"]https://www.allparts.uk.com/products/bartolini-buffer-and-blend-balance-for-bass[/url] John East MPM-01 - [url="http://www.east-uk.com/index.php/all-products/mpm-01.html"]http://www.east-uk.com/index.php/all-products/mpm-01.html[/url]

A suitably coloured marker pen carefully applied? Cheap and cheerful, but then I am!

Looks like toast to me. I'd contact Ibanez and see if they can supply replacement saddle - [url="http://www2.ibanez.com/contact/"]http://www2.ibanez.com/contact/[/url]

If the piezo saddles are anything like those on my Hipshot piezo bridge then I think you'll need a new saddle. Can you post a pic?

I made a cardboard sunshield for my PitchBlack but it didn't make any difference! I also have a Poytune clip-on in which is a bit better in sunlight but still not particularly easy to see. I wish I'd kept my old Boss TU-12 with the Vu type needle meter for sunny outdoor gigs.

With a lined fretless, personally I find having the dots in the 'usual' position feels more natural and makes switching between fretted and fretless easier. Removing frets and adding lines is entirely doable by a good luthier. No need to replace the fingerboard unless you want an unlined neck (in which case you will want the dots on the fret positions as mybass says).