Grand Wazoo

I have no idea and can't be arsed to google, what's a varitone, an add-on preamp circuit?

[quote name='Shrigg' post='715414' date='Jan 17 2010, 05:40 AM']The Classic Sterling 5 *is* contoured, correct?[/quote] Nope these new issues are slab bodied.

murder is definately the only way out, sting said... murder by numbers 1, 2, 3 it's as easy to learn as your a, b, c.

[quote name='bumnote' post='713707' date='Jan 15 2010, 01:13 PM']If its only a few weeks old why dont you take it back to the place you bought it from, that should be repair replacement under warantee[/quote] Yes, that's what I need to find out about it, you see I have bought it mail order from Nevada Music, [url="http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Bass-Guitars/Bass-Guitars/Bass-Guitars/sc1114/p7144.aspx"]http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/Bass-Guitars/...1114/p7144.aspx[/url] I need to see if they have a repair centre local to me. But since it's only a broken wire which can be easily fixed it might probably be easy for me and a friend to sort out.

[quote name='bumnote' post='713498' date='Jan 15 2010, 10:45 AM']I have one of these as well and I dont have any more noise problems at home than I have with any of my other basses I did sheild it with copper foil but it didnt make that much of a difference as Fender china obviously paint on some sort of sheilding paint, and mines not really any more noisy than my lakland jo when using a single pickup Great bass for the money[/quote] Yeah but you were lucky to get one in good shape as you see I've found a damaged pickup wire on mine which was the reason for the extreme noise, hopefully I'll get it sorted and all will be ok.

At close inspection the reason for the crackling emerged... Closely following BOD2's suggestion I set about checking the hearth wire under the bridge and control cavity, and yes also turkey foiled the back of the pickguard (bloody hell that pickuar it's so big you can use it as a dinner tray) Anyway after everything was correctly earthed and shielded (see pics below), I still had noise and decided to completely lift the pickup out of its cavity to inspect loose wires and there it was a great big gash in one of the 2 wires, the wite one to be precise which shows that the chinese muppet that assembled the bass didn't realize he caught the wire under the pickup plate and whne screwed down it was cutting into it. Tomorrow I am going to take it to a mate who has a solder and new wire and will rewire the pickup with a new fresh length of cable. Bridge carefully removed for inspection Earth wire unpleated and making decent contact with the under plate of the bridge home made work bench / desk Control cavity is sound and also shielded with graphite paint And here is where the wire showed signs of damage, its basically cut and barely holding together Back of pickguard now shielded with Sainsbury's turkey foil

[quote name='BOD2' post='713137' date='Jan 14 2010, 10:05 PM']The only two things I can think of are a possible problem with the earth wire to the bridge, and static electricity building up on the pickguard. To check the bridge you'd have to unscrew it and remove it from the body. Sounds drastic but it's only the 5 screws at the rear of the bridge. Underneath, there should be a wire coming through from the control cavity that is bared and should touch and make good contact with the metal underside of the bridge base plate. Occasionally you have to roughen the underside of the base plate with sandpaper to ensure a good contact. Splay out the bare ends of the earth wire to ensure a good contact - a touch of vaseline can also help here. If it's static on the pickguard, then glueing aluminum foil to the underside of the guard might help. You need Spraymount photo-mount adhesive and some Bacofoil. Remove the guard and cut a square of Bacofoil larger then the guard. Spray the reverse side of the guard with Spraymount then place it firmly onto the foil. Trim round the edge of the foil. You now have a foil-backed guard. If you can arrange it so that part of the foil touches the metal control plate when it is all reassembled then the foil will be earthed and should reduce static build up on the guard. Seems a lot of trouble to go to on a new bass, though ?[/quote] THANK YOU very much, that was a most helpful reply, I will remove the bridge and check if the earth wire is presently connected and then I will bacofoil the scratchplate. Thanks again

[quote name='mrcrow' post='712935' date='Jan 14 2010, 07:35 PM']radio frequencies? or multiple earth hum...but you say static check all earths and especially the bridge...sort of inch by thick blitz on anything soldered to earth then make sure the strings are earthing on the saddles...meter required[/quote] Thanks, fact is none of the other basses in the pic make any noise whatsoever even the 25th Anniversary when played passive and on it's single coils, it is definately something to do with this bass. The blue precision is also brand new, I've only had it 2 weeks, and made this noise from day one. There is no control panel on the back of the body, the only cavity is the one under the volume and tone pots. the pickup cavity just about holds the pickup and when I lifted it to check for lose wires a black and a white wires are firmly soldered on. the jack socket is also sound and all wires are connected to it firmly

any before and after pictures?

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='710832' date='Jan 13 2010, 01:49 AM']AFAIK, the only Plek machines in the UK are at Chandlers (Kew) and Charlie Chandler's Guitar Experience (Kingston). I'd imagine they'd have little impact on your business in Salford. I can't imagine anyone travelling all the way to London to pay a couple of hundred quid and be sniffily patronised by the ghastly (and warring?) Chandler brothers.[/quote] As of present date, only Charlie Chandler Experience store still uses the pleck if a customer asks for it, while Chandler Guitars in Kew ([b]who's brother Doug is no longer a part of[/b]), are refraining it from using it as they believe a good luthier does a much better job. In fact they would only use the plek to correct a badly warped neck as a last resort. I go there 3 or 4 times a month and I can't remember the last time I have seen that thing being used, it is gathering dust under a transparent tarpaulin. I have been a long time friend of the Chandler family and I do not think it is polite to mention either of them as ghastly or warring for that matter, Doug Chandler left Chandler Guitars in Kew some 15 years ago, Charlie branched out on his own soon after his brother's departure for his own personal reasons, and they have both been operating independently ever since. The present repairmen in Chandler Kew specially this chap called Leon, are very skilled and let's not forget Brinsley Shwartz also works there 2 or 3 days a week and he knows more than a thing or two about repairs.

Hi guys, I have a few quality basses, mostly active ones Ernie Ball Music Man, PRS etc however I am having problem with an otherwise lovely yet cheap Squier Precision 50's Classic Vibe which snap, crackles and pop every time I take my hands away from anything metallic on the bass, be it the bridge, the strings, the control pots it just goes off like a frying pan If I am playing finger style or pick style it stays quiet, as somehow I am always touching the metal bits, however the minute I start slapping or playing fast by touching the bass on and off, it starts to crackle like a b*tch again. Bearing in mind this is a single coil small pickup (you know the telecaster type bass, see pics below) and not the standard P-bass humbucker, does anyone kwnow what can I do to get rid of the static? I actually love the way it plays and its sound and for the money I paid for it, it'll be a shame to resell it because of the static issue. Thanks

check out the official distributor' website for a listing of stockists in your area on the link below: They are Strings and Things LTD but recently they have become MUSICMAN.CO.UK [url="http://www.musicmanuk.co.uk/"]http://www.musicmanuk.co.uk/[/url] and the stockist list is on this link: [url="http://www.musicmanuk.co.uk/MMstockhome.htm"]http://www.musicmanuk.co.uk/MMstockhome.htm[/url]

You could get one of the Sterling by MusicMan which is a company that makes licensed copies of Stingray and Sterling and they have a very good review by the great Ed Friedland in the attached link [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Fo7AKwfA0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67Fo7AKwfA0[/url]

[quote name='redstriper' post='700128' date='Jan 3 2010, 11:30 PM']That bass is way too big for you - can I have it please ? [/quote] Hehe, that is my son at age 2, that pic was taken in 1995, now he is 17, and I've had that bass since 1988 which makes that bass 22years old, I will never sell it.

Yep it is a very sought after PRS 4, I was lucky to get a 4 and a 5, they are really deep sounding basses hence why Robbie loved them for his reggae sound, I saw one going on ebay recently for over 5 grand

oops I thought we was talking about EBONY, but now I understand ebanol is a synthetic material, is it? Oh well you live and learn.

Birchwood Casey Tru-Oil and Birchwood Gun Stock wax are the stuff you need [url="http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&source=hp&q=Birchwood+Tru+Oil&cr=countryUK%7CcountryGB&rlz=1R2ADFA_enGB345&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=gr86S8C2MqD-0gTKm4mSBQ&sa=X&oi=product_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CCMQrQQwAw"]http://www.google.co.uk/products?hl=en&amp...ved=0CCMQrQQwAw[/url]

Hamster Sir, I don't know if you have heard of them but Chandler Guitars Ltd in Richmond, Surrey have been in business for yonks, they do some excellent repairs and maintenance, the repairman is Leon, and also Brinsley Shwartz (famous person he is, I am told - google him, his hey day must have been well b4 my time anyways) works there - 020 89405874, Chandler Gtrs is one of the few UK workshops with a PLEK machine. [url="http://www.chandlerguitars.co.uk/workshop.php"]http://www.chandlerguitars.co.uk/workshop.php[/url]

You should try a Sterling By MusicMan Ray 34 [url="http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/main.html?dir=bass_ray34"]http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/main.html?dir=bass_ray34[/url] or SB14 one which is a still active and very light in weight with a J-bass neck [url="http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/main.html?dir=bass_sb14"]http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/main.html?dir=bass_sb14[/url] They are pretty close to the real thing and half the price you could find them at any of these dealers: [url="http://www.stringsandthings.co.uk/MMstockhome.htm"]http://www.stringsandthings.co.uk/MMstockhome.htm[/url]

[quote name='basshead56' post='695036' date='Dec 28 2009, 06:41 PM']Which ones are offering 50% off?[/quote] I got a newsletter from the Bass Centre last October saying they were offering them for a limited period at 50% off, but I see now that they brought the prices back up, however they are still selling them £90 cheaper than retail price [url="http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-guitars/fleabass-the-wild-one.html"]http://www.basscentre.com/4-string-bass-gu...e-wild-one.html[/url]

A lot of shops are offering 50% off by the way, sorry to say I have tried them and I thought..... well best not say what I thought of them.

First of all play it, try to accertain in your views what's what if there is anything wrong and what it is, action too low / too high, fret buzz? saddle distance intonation? saddle heigth, there's a lot that can be wrong with it and most of it can be tweaked easily by yourself once you read how to do it first. If you can afford £35-£40 average for a luthier to fix it for you then do so but I strongly advise at some point to learn how to maintain your own basses, because when you get to have 6 or 8 of them it can become very expensive to have them all setup by a workshop. What bass is it anyway?

[quote name='elom' post='693443' date='Dec 25 2009, 06:01 PM']It's a lot of dosh but a fine looking instrument. I recall it got a good write-up in BGM. What are all those controls though?[/quote] Well you have 3 pickups, One Humbucker and 2 Single coils with an active / passive switch and the following 7 combinations are possible in active and passive as follows: Active Mode: 1) H - S - S all on 2) H - S - S all off (gives the bridge humbucker in series) 3) H - _ - _ only bridge humbucker is on in parallel 4) H - _ - S Humbucker and neck pickup 5) _ - S - S middle and neck 6) _ - _ - S neck pickup only 7) H - S - _ Bridge Humbucker and middle together and again in passive Passive Mode: 8) H - S - S all on 9) H - S - S all off (gives the bridge humbucker in series) 10) H - _ - _ only bridge humbucker is on in parallel 11) H - _ - S Humbucker and neck pickup 12) _ - S - S middle and neck 13) _ - _ - S neck pickup only 14) H - S - _ Bridge Humbucker and middle together [i][u][b][url="http://www.captnmoto.co.uk/videos/hss.pdf"]Control Diagram[/url][/b][/u][/i]

It finally got here! After 62 days from ordering date to deilvery, I present to you my new Ernie Ball Music Man 25th Anniversary 5 strings HSS model (Humbucker / Single / Single) [b][url="http://www.captnmoto.co.uk/videos/25th.wmv"]Click here[/url][/b]

[quote name='Alfie' post='692171' date='Dec 23 2009, 10:48 AM']I bought my wife a Squier Classic Vibe 50s Telecaster for Christmas and I am in love with it, so much so that I want to get a bass to compliment it. I have very strong GAS for a Fender 51 Reissue, but the only stumbling point is that it is says Fender on the headstock and I wish it said Squier. This is the first time I have experienced this emotion. Don't get me wrong, I much prefer the look of the Fender 51 to the Squier 50s P, but I prefer the Squier brand. Is this weird or has does anyone else feel like this?[/quote] I've got myself this one and I love it