Al Nico

I'll see your 'strap locks' and raise you a 'pick pocket'.

I put up with it for a long time in the 80's. Then one day, on the counter of a music shop in Leeds city centre, there was a sweet jar with hand written label "strap locks". It was full of these curious looking things. Have been using the same pair ever since. I recently took them apart and cleaned them for the first time as they were getting stiff. They must be 40 years old. How wonderful.

Welcome and embrace the many boisterous allures from audience members struck by your sudden celebrity status. As always, preparation is the key. Put a security lock on your phone, don't take your wallet, just keys, cash and condoms, cigs and lighter if needed.

@lurksalot Intense. I wasn't sure at first, but the sound is good so kept going. I did get drawn in. The intensity starts to lower and then picks us a bit harder. The drums are done well. They have a live energy about them, that must have taken a lot of fiddling. The performance is unique and holds it's own style. It left me feeling like I'd experienced something. Lots of points awarded for that alone.

Review and feedback for the Spector. Morning. Now that I've had a good look around this used Chinese made Spector, I'll share my review. I didn't spend much so it's not bias. First thing is the shape. It has the convex curve on the body and it fits beautifully, and hangs in balance and weighs little. The holes routed for the pickup need to be about 3-4mm deeper so as not to trap the wire and have more adjustment. Nice looking finish. The neck is once piece, thin, twangy, very comfortable and nicely finished, but feels a bit flimsy and delicate. It has taken a lot of fettling with the truss rod and some gentle persuasion across my knee to get it in shape and playable. Now it is, it's not holding me back. The tuners are fine - I reckon tuners often get the blame when the strings are pinched in the nut slots. Nice hefty bridge. The electrics sound clear. At the right pickup height, they have depth and power. I don't think the instrument is good enough to be a serious gigging instrument, but it is a lightweight, easy playing instrument that looks great, especially with the stick-on inlays. I'm planning to start my bass career at a pub jam night. It will be perfect for that. Everyone can have a play, no worries. I think it will be a hit.

Thank you for the explanation. My Epiphone LP is in bits so can't try it. It was used on bridge pickup, full volume & tone. I never got to know the controls. Good job really, I might think it's broken too I'd sussed the circuits are all joined and wasn't entirely convinced of my fix. Since no one else has fixed physics to work properly either, I'm going to call it a learning success. The final process that the electrics got was a fix to the dodgy jack socket, then squeeze and reform the shape of the wires and caps so they sit nice, and put the cover back on. It sounds a lot better now without the jack socket spinning about intermittently shorting. I've heard both tones working but need to update my test method and expected outcomes before I validate their function. I'll do that when I'm tired of playing it.

OK. When the LP switch is in the centre position, both hot signals from the pickups are connected to the output. Do the LP tones still work independently with both pickups connected?

Now I'm confused. My Les Paul is passive and has independent volume and tone per pickup. What am I missing?

I'm now qualified as a passive pickup circuit inspector. From what I learned today by trial and error, I am able to identify that the person who wired the Spector made the same mistake I did in the design room. The Pickups are wired to the volume pots, so the tones effect both pickups. I'm going to start by wiring it up with the pots and listen how it works with the tones independent. I based the tone switch idea on their strangely limited performance, now under review.

Should give a mention to the software developers. DIY Layout Design is donation ware and is really good. Just drag and drop the parts. Start with a pickup, connect it to a jack socket, then test the circuit. Keep adding and testing. Download link Release DIY Layout Creator v5.5.0 · bancika/diy-layout-creator · GitHub https://github.com/bancika/diy-layout-creator/releases/tag/v5.5.0

I may have solved the issue. By putting the tone circuits before the blend pot keeps them operating per pickup, I think. I decided I need a way to mute the instrument. In the end, a master volume pot it the most useful, and graceful way to do that.

Thank you. Seems the design is not right, unsurprisingly. I looked at the circuit analysis. I'm new to this software but perhaps the report for one tone switch on, and one off is maybe showing both pickups being pulled through the cap. Switch configuration: [Bridge Tone SW.ON2:KILL switch.ON1:Neck Tone SW.ON1] ┌───────────────────── C2 ─── R2 ──────────────────────┐ │ │ ├─ Dual blend pot - Vol.1-2 ─── Bridge Pickup.North<- ─┤ │ │ ─├── Dual blend pot - Vol.1-2 ─── Neck Pickup.North<- ──┤─ │ │ ├────────────── Dual blend pot - Vol.2-3 ──────────────┤ │ │ └────────────── Dual blend pot - Vol.2-3 ──────────────┘ 'Dual blend pot - Vol' potentiometer acts as a volume control for 'Bridge Pickup' 'Dual blend pot - Vol' potentiometer acts as a volume control for 'Neck Pickup' 'Neck Pickup' and 'Bridge Pickup' pickups engaged, wired in parallel All pickup coils are wired in-phase This configuration is NOT hum-cancelling. Ok. So I need to work out how to make them work independently. Learning is fun, for a while, then I'll ask for help.

I've been working on a wiring diagram for my latest idea. There is some method behind the madness: In everyday use I run with both pickups, tone and volumes full. To get more middle, turn the neck pickup down a bit, less middle, turn the bridge pickup down a bit. If I use a pick, I may turn the tone down on one of the pickups if I don't need all the click. I haven't got a taping kill switch, and really ought to have one. So here's the circuit I came up with. The two pots represent a logarithmic MN taper pot that is built as one pot to make a centre notched pickup blend control. Easy to turn one pickup down a bit. Then there are two tone switches. Quick selecting pre-set low pass. Then a tapping kill switch (Break signal switch-Normally Closed, Press = mute) That will be fun. The circuit analyser says it's all in phase and won't be hum cancelling. It may be because the pickups are single coil in the model. A bit more research there needed. I intend to replicate the existing low pass filter spec. They have a subtle effect, just enough to take the growl out. No need to experiment, someone has already done that it seems. I'd be interested to hear any comments or suggestions/improvements. Edit: I've already had an idea. Looking for switches, the nice ones are the classic 3 way Les Paul type. I could upgrade the 2 way tone switches to 3 way and have a second pre-set tone with a lower dark shelf. Might be overkill?

@Lord Sausage Huge musical composition. Keeps turning up new and interesting melodies and ideas all the way through. Some stunning playing in there too.

Thank you. Yes, the bridge pickup is so close to the bridge it makes wild mid range sounds, and without a preamp. I like that. No battery. Here's the plan. I've ordered a 'Custom Series - Crafted in America' headstock label from the web to replace the old 'Made in China' sticker. It will validate the inlays, and increase the instruments value to around £9,500.00. Cunning eh?

I tried this fret cleaning kit that came in a pack of 6 D'addario piccolo bass strings. It's a very slightly abrasive cloth sheet and works a treat.

Drink plenty of spirits, tune by ear, and be as loud as possible.

@Leonard Smalls Exciting stuff. Great beat, and that bass riff growls the good one - I'm jumping round the room.

Do you have a Theremin by chance?

Thank you. Please, no apology needed. It's interesting to me.

The Fender Jazz is a good choice. I borrowed an active one a long time ago to record with and liked the sound. I do seem to like the twangy bass guitars, like the Spector. Mine is a passive EMG thing and the HB is active. I'm not after endless tone shaping, just good sounding pickups to select. The EMGs on the Spector sound nice when the string clanks the frets, I end up doing it on purpose, slapping the string with finger tips, but the HB sounds bad like that. The challenge is to play an instrument before buying. I've introduced myself at the local guitar shop and they might be able to help a bit in that respect. They have a billion guitars, and half a dozen basses, two are acoustic, one fretless. Tricky.

Fixed now, cleaned up, and setup. Flattened the neck and socket. While the neck is off it got a wash in antibaterial hand soap and a fret polish using a kit that came with some D'addario strings. It's a very simple solution. Here's the before: Now a quick rub - behave. Nice. So now it is back together. It fitted together in a slightly different place. A few more tweaks of truss rod and saddles brought it into shape a little better than before. That's about as good as it gets, and it's not bad. Ready to go from my bedroom woodwork workshop and polishing area, to my bedroom electronics department for new pots.

@Mykesbass Yes I agree. I have no intention of bashing the instruments or playing hard, apart from the odd bit. I've been conscious of longevity while practicing. I've played in bands doing two 1.5 hour sets with a guitar. That's physically easy, but with the 12kg HB-70 with big strings, I last four songs standing before back cramp sets in. It's partly why I got the Spector, to see if I can stand an play it without back cramp, and I can. @Reggaebass Thank you for that. Assuming your username reflects a style you aim at, you would likely have considered, and tested how much bass you get from any sort of string, so I'm putting that advice directly into my scrap book. @HeadlessBassist Funkmeister sounds familiar. The've got packed away for now, so can't check. What I find is the lighter strings with their increased dynamics or articulation, need a bit more even playing to stay even sounding, where the bigger ones are a bit easier to keep even. I've already started to prefer a particular bass for particular songs I'm practicing. In the end, I want a bass guitar that does it all. Which one shall I get for that, and which strings?

Look what I found. This neck was upgraded from a four bolt to a five bolt, without removing the four bolts. Nice tight fit tho. I'll scrape both sides flat with a tungsten stripper blade, and see how it sets up then.