waldemar

Yep, nothing like a bit of DIY creativity when it comes to your instruments - check this guy out: [url="http://nicksworldofsynthesizers.com/springs.html"]http://nicksworldofsynthesizers.com/springs.html[/url] The best bit being: [quote]"The reverb time (sustain) is so long that the springs need damping and I found that the best material for doing this is a slice of cucumber wedged under the end of each spring, other materials like foam or rubber tend to kill all the treble."[/quote] Sorry, not a bass link, but worth the look! Hehe.

In general I'm very pleased with mine. As stated above, cons are the on/off switch can sometimes stick, it looks/feels pretty clunky and is fussy about formats. 1GB capacity is pretty measly these days, but if you're using it as a training tool and not an mp3 player, then you'd struggle to fill it in all honesty. If you're using headphones with it, then you might find that tucking the unit into a baggy back pocket keeps wires out of the way - and the chunky next/previous buttons become beneficial, as they're more easily found. The pros, such as repeat loops/tempo-pitch change/bass cut and in-built tuner/metronome are all pretty cool and I'd certainly recommend this unit. I tend to eschew my practice amp nowadays in favour of playing via the tascam through the hi-fi. No problems there either - everything sounds pretty sweet.

>If your memory isn't playing tricks on you, and yours was the active model (SLB2A) as opposed to the passive model (SLB2), then you're looking at a date post '90, as that was the year the active model was introduced. Deffo have the SLB2A - it's entirely plausible that there was a bit of a gap between starting to play and actually buying the kit, like you say, memory's a bit hazy... Thanks for the correction!

>and mines active/passive...is that a factory fit or has mine been modded? Factory. Same configuration as mine.

I think I paid around £180 for mine back then. I wouldn't know where to start putting a price on one now, though... It won't be all that much, but they do play well and their sound is reasonably versatile - seen in the context of today's entry level market, that probably won't mean all that much... That nice understated retro-metal look might go a couple of quid in your favour at the right time and in the right place. I'd never let mine go seeing as it's my first, sentimentality aside I'd probably take £80.

>faces in the woodgrain? Hmm. Sounds like a Dio tune... Lovely piece of kit.

Ahh! Lovely bass. I have something that is near identical, but rather than XRB it has (had...) SLB2A Electronics (how and why can I still remember that?!) - switchgear is the same as yours. Mine's more of a slab body and the truss-rod adjustment's under a triangular-ish cover at the headstock end of the neck. Oh, and mine's currently in pieces and the body's down to bare ply. I had it de-fretted years ago (as an experiment, you understand, but it played very nicely) and am just waiting for the opportunity to put it all back together. One day. One day. I bought mine new as a first bass when I was 15, so I guess we're looking at 88/89. Doesn't it fly? Thanks for the pics! Hehe.

>as for price... take the sum total of all the bits you put together to make it, then half it... >I know, cruel isn't it... Hehe - true, true (rueful nod) +1 Burritobass, was about to post along similar lines. If it's the money you're after, then breaking is the way to go (someone, somewhere is going to be hankering after a set of 78 MIA tuners and you'll get more for them on the strength of that alone). Likewise the other bits - mid '80s Japanese necks are well liked as project starters, etc. Bah, I say keep the bugger - you'll miss those lovely warm Lollars...

>...but never too keen on the MIM gear... Me too (being a big fan of Japanese gear - I've recently built myself a P based on a Japanese '83 reissue of a '57 neck and a new Warmoth body - you can see it [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=70330&hl=revival"]here[/url]) While i was noodling around a local store for info etc. I had the chance to get my hands on a MIM roadworn similar to this: [url="http://www.fender.co.uk/products/search.php?partno=0131712303"]http://www.fender.co.uk/products/search.ph...rtno=0131712303[/url] Okay, I haven't played loads of basses, but I know what I like and this MIM is hands down the nicest bass I've ever played. Effortless. If there's one nearby, go and have a play on it. At the very least it'll put a smile on your face for the rest of the afternoon. It's certainly changed my perception of the MIM gear.

Ah. It's finished! Well, it started out as a £100 punt on a pretty looking and reasonably well looked after '83 Japanese copy of a '57 Fender, and several weeks (and several hundred pounds) later 'The Revival' project has finally come to fruition... Here's what I did, and how much it cost... (eek): Saw it, loved it (the neck and decals in particular) and bought it off a guy at work: £100 Decided the DIY finish on the body was too poor to live with, bought a swamp ash Warmoth vintage white instead (+ an eventually unused white pick-guard): £310 (inc P&P+DUTY) Lollar pickups: £120 (inc P&P+DUTY) Nexus strings: £26 Knobs & Pots (genuine Fender): £31 (inc P&P) Assembly & set-up by the very personable [url="http://www.manchesterguitartech.co.uk/"]Steve Robinson[/url]: £60 All hardware (down do the pick-guard screws) remains original. If you count the tram fare it cost me to pick her up earlier today, you may as well call it £650. Worth it? Aesthetically, without a doubt. Playability wise - yep, but only just. It didn't drop my jaw like the road-worn '09 Mexican re-issue of a '57 they've got hanging on the wall over at PMT for an extra £250, but I think some of that is down to me bottling it and opting for the lighter strings, I should've trusted my gut instinct and gone for a heavier gauge, I forgot how 'clattery' the lightweights can sound coming down on frets, but I'll live with that for now - played gently and positively it's not really an issue. Being only the first time I've done this, I don't want to wax lyrical about how great 'building yer own' is, but I've had some fun, learned a couple of new things along the way and come out the other side with a great 'new' bass. If you're thinking about it then I'd say give it a go. Just watch out for P&P+DUTY (it added the best part of £150 to the total cost of my build!) Anyway, here's how it looks now: (Oh, BTW - I have the original Fernandes body sitting around, along with the EMG Selects it came with and an unused plain white pick-guard if anyone wants to make me an offer on any of it...)

Hi skankdelvar, Thanks for your post - and the offer of taking The Revival off my hands, but I reckon I'll hold on to it and try and do something special if I can. There's still a fair bit of info I need to get my head around regarding this era of Fernandes, but the more I think about what I bought, the more chuffed I am. My current 'main' bass is an early '90s Fernandes which I bought for around £450 (a fair chunk back then...) and I've always got on really well with it, so to have an older model to sit next to it is pretty cool... Point taken regarding the machine heads - you're right - they do look lovely, but the G peg resonates with just about any note played - the rivet which holds the leaf in the split shaft isn't as tight as it used to be (pic below), so unless anyone has any ideas on fixing this in a tidy way I'll just have to go for a new set, or some weathered re-issues (if available - any known vendors?). Electronics wise, I'll have a closer look at what's under the scratch-plate sometime soon. The current EMG Selects are VERY badly fitted so I'm not expecting anything pretty under there... Will take some pics and post them in this thread. Can see myself walking around with pockets of paper full of measurements for the next couple of months... S'pose I should learn 'em by heart. Ta.

Hi all. Having umm'ed and ahh'ed about buying a Fender Jazz for some time, I came across this Fernandes early '80's PB bass yesterday and bought it today. Having read a couple of interesting and complementary things about 'The Revival' model (also known as 'The Lawsuit') and at a £100 I thought it was worth a punt. I've attached some hastily taken snaps of my own down below, but there's a bit more info [url="http://hank75.blogspot.com/2009/07/fernandes-revival-pbass.html"]here[/url] if anyone's interested. Apparently it's an RPB which came in '57 and '59 flavours, I don't know which one mine is, so if you can enlighten me I'd be most grateful! (Had a root around, and by the colour of the fretboard I'm guessing it's a '57...) Of course, it's far from perfect - the non-standard body colour's great, but the shifty finish lets it down the most - needs a good set-up, heavier gauge strings and new pups too, but the untouched and good condition neck feels great and I reckon with a bit of time and money put its way it could very easily become my 'main' bass. So here are my questions: I'd like to fit some genuine Fender hardware eventually - you know, machine heads, maybe a better (Badass) bridge etc. and since the Japanese were masters of imitation (subjectively, some might say improvement ) are these parts that will fit into place easily, or will the wood require re-drilling? Pup wise, I'm thinking of the [url="http://www.lollarguitars.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LGP&Product_Code=207&Category_Code=pbass-pickups"]Lollar Split-coils.[/url] Of course, I've heard great things about the Lollar brand and fancy treating myself - any opinions? As far as the order in which I do things goes, I reckon first thing will be heavier strings and a proper set-up just to make sure it plays well enough to justify spending any more beans on it. Next come the new bits of hardware (or a couple of evenings with a toothbrush/cloth and polish) and finally some new pups - does this order seem alright to you guys? It may sound like a pretty dumb question, but this is the first time I'm doing something like this, so any tips greatly appreciated. Finally a new paint job. By now some of you are probably thinking that I should've just bought a J or a P fresh outta the shop, but for an outlay of £100 and putting on the bits I want I guess I'll have a piece of kit which is truly my own. That's the dream, anyways... Thanks for any/all advice.

[quote name='chris_b' post='626705' date='Oct 15 2009, 09:49 AM']+1. You can do so much better with (used?) seperates. Can you add an extension cab to your combo and save up for a better head later? I think you'll find that things have moved on a long way in the last 15 years!! An Aguilar 12" cab or small Neo cab would be a good starting point as an extension cab. In the future, after a seperate amp (Markbass?), you can get a pretty good rig by just adding a second cab.[/quote] Yeah, my combo will take an extra cab, but before we go too crazy - it's something smaller that I'm after! Adding cabs to the DP15010 is the last thing I want to do. Selling it and starting anew with gear half its size is what I'm really after. [quote]I think you'll find that things have moved on a long way in the last 15 years!![/quote] It certainly has - another reason to start afresh. The only thing going against that 180W Ashdown (provided I like the way it sounds when i test one) is the lack of an Aux/CD in - might not sound like too much of a big deal but if what I buy doubles up as a practice amp, then I'm well happy. Looks like it's going to be one of the compact 100's for now... w./

[quote name='phatbass787' post='626565' date='Oct 14 2009, 11:36 PM']If your planning on small gigs you mght be better off getting a bit more than 100 watts, id have a look at the Ashdown Electric Blue range, 180 watts, nice and warm and well inside the £300 mark, if you start playing bigger gigs its got a DI too [url="http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/37171-ashdown-eb-15-180-evo-ii-180w-1-x-15-.html"]http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/product/3717...0w-1-x-15-.html[/url][/quote] Wow, just had a look at the 180W Ashdown and was pretty surprised by just how compact it is... Never expected that! Looks like an excellent alternative. Will trouble my local dealer for a go, I reckon. Cheers for the link phatbass. w./

[quote name='chris_b' post='626547' date='Oct 14 2009, 11:25 PM']What about a Gallien Krueger combo? Then again, what have we got in the For Sale section? You could keep your combo and warm up your tone with an out board pre amp, like a sansamp.[/quote] Hi Chris. Yeah, I like my Laney but I was also hoping to shrink the mass of what I'm having to lug about. If it doesn't sell I'll certainly have a look at the sansamp that you've suggested. Cheers. w./

Hi all. I'm currently looking into getting a new smallish combo for small gigs and/or practice. I had the opportunity of playing through a Fender Rumble 100 the other week and I must say I was very impressed by both the round sound and decent level of attack that it had. I've currently got a 20 year old Laney DP15010 (for sale at £120 in the relevant forum) and as much as I love the way it shakes the back of my trousers, the type of music I'm playing at the moment demands something that little bit warmer. Having played through the Fender and enjoying its sound immensely, it's the obvious choice at the moment. I've also had my eye on the Ashdown range (the Five Fifteen) and the Acoustic B 100, which seems unobtainable in the UK but gets great write-ups. So, my question is this: before I go for the Fender, is there anything else I should look at for around the £300 mark...? Thanks for your help and advice. w./

Hi all. A great find. Have really enjoyed leafing through some of the posts up here. Some great gear and good banter. Lovely. Have been playing for 19-odd (!) years. Yep. I'm still learning... Currently I own: 1. Fernandez 4 string (hmm, around 16 years old) - a great bass, fast and light. 2. Aria Pro 2 SLB2A 4 string. Currently in pieces, had it de-fretted years ago at the Bass Place (a fabulous store that used to be on Birmingham's Queensway - I think they merged with Exchanges down at Snow Hill eventually...) Now in need of a re-build/spray and new pups, but if i remember correctly this was a great bass to play. Can't wait to fix it. 3. Ibanez Soundgear GSR205 5 string - nice, but pretty much unused... That low D confuses the hell outa me! I'm hoping to sell this on, so will probably list it in the 'For Sale' section at some point. + 2 combos: 1. Laney Linebacker 30W practice. 2. Laney DP15010 150W 4x10" gigging combo. Nowadays I want something a bit rounder sounding, so this too will probably end up in the classifieds... After years (well over 10) of not being in a band/playing live I've recently started playing with a drummer I met through work and an amazing guitarist we bumped into in the Crescent. We're slowly getting it together and played our first gig at last Sundays 'Salford Salutes Dylan' - a superb event. There's a vid up [url="http://www.salfordonline.com/musicnews_page/15772-salford_salutes_dylan_live_from_the_kings_arms.html"]here[/url] of us playing our rendition of All Along the Watchtower - go easy on me, we only rehearsed it a couple of times and once 'the fear' set in I thought it prudent to stick to just the three notes...! Hehe. Anyway. Great to be here. Looking forward to seeking out some much needed advice on various bits and pieces. Cheers.