Ancient Mariner

I've bought a lot of batteries over the years from [url="http://www.component-shop.co.uk/html/body_pp3.html"]http://www.component-shop.co.uk/html/body_pp3.html[/url]. They are doing the new NiMH batteries that don't self-discharge like the old ones @ £3.15. The 'instants' work well, and I suspect are OEM'd Eneloops. The other battery of interest there is the 220mah 9.6V. I use these in radio mics, because they take a long time to drop below the minimum operating voltage for the mic. The 'ordinary' standard 8.4V batteries put out a lower voltage than the equivalent alkaline, and can drop to a point where they no longer drive the kit, even though they still have some charge left. One thing I DON'T recommend is buying their PP3 smart charger - they don't work well. Get one of the charges that will charge all cell types, but that also has a delta V cut off.

Funny reading this thread. I was listening to Wishbone Ash 'Argus' on my drive home from work yesterday, top down (wife's beetle convertible) with the music up. Martin Turner's bass is just so huge and punchy, yet not at all bright. Seems he used a Thunderbird - I had no idea Gibson could make a bass that wasn't all wobbly and flabby sounding. Loved that tone. And yes, I do like many of the bass tones described here. I'm trying to learn how to shape my tones and playing technique to get the sounds I hear in my head (just as I do for guitar).

I wonder if this may have been an early version of the 'Muse mime'? The guitarist taking the solo isn't playing remotely what's coming out of the speaker, and I'm not sure it's anything to do with synchronisation.

You guys are making me want to take a router to my newly acquired Ryder!

I thought the action on my cheap J type had changed a little, and I ended up giving in an shimming the neck (it was on the edge of acceptable). Time for a tweak.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1181391' date='Mar 29 2011, 08:54 PM']I wonder what bass he actually played on the backing track. [/quote] Saucer of milk to Ou7shined's table!

Out of interest are the maple-boarded necks a little fatter than the RW boarded versions? I quite like the D shape, but find it a bit chunky for my poor, weedy guitarists fingers with high tension strings.

[quote name='Pow_22' post='1179924' date='Mar 28 2011, 07:51 PM']Tried a few local amp techs with no replies yet. Out of interest how much should i be expecting to pay for a valve amp service? Assuming nothing needs doing and its just more of a MOT style effort? Also, the ohm selector swith appears to be stuck on 16ohm. As im running thru a 4ohm cab does this switch need to be set to 4ohm?[/quote] [b]YES![/b] You run a serious risk of damaging your amp (and it won't sound quite right) running a 4 ohm load on the 16 ohm tap. Valve amps aren't like SS amps, and it's important that speaker impedance matches the load that the valves have been set up to drive. People can and do get away with it, but this will stress the output valves and is certainly not extending their lifespan. The check by a tech should be to do things like make sure impedance selectors work properly, make sure it's earthed correctly and safe and possibly also replace any caps that have dried out or are failing. Electrolytic capacitors have a very finite lifespan, and after 20+ years often need replacement. You should also try to plug in a valve amp every couple of months to keep the caps formed. Leaving a valve amp sat around unused for several years will cause it to deteriorate more quickly. Congrats on your first valve amp - hope you can really enjoy it.

[url="http://www.guitarfetish.com"]http://www.guitarfetish.com[/url]

[quote name='Muzz' post='1179654' date='Mar 28 2011, 03:53 PM']Well, that's helped me make my mind up for the colour scheme for my Ryder - out goes the white/pearl/whatever scratchplate, and in comes...black! Thanks for that. [/quote] I do like the black/black look, but I also have a white/tort J type, and I want to make a 'pair' like edstraker's

[quote name='theplumber' post='1178589' date='Mar 27 2011, 06:57 PM']Great looking guitars,but still the awful ugly headstock....almost as bad as on the Johnstone bass guitars.....anyone done any mods with the fretsaw/sandpaper yet?[/quote] I rather like that headstock - it's significantly neater than many other fenderesque jobs, especially some of the 'batwing' types.

Thanks for that - the black PG works really well with that chrome bridge cover - looks GREAT.

[quote name='tomb' post='1176107' date='Mar 25 2011, 04:16 PM']interesting... cause ive been home all day and my mobile phone has been on... Last time im doing business with Thomann for sure[/quote] That's the carrier, rather than the sender.

Thanks

Played out with flats on mine last night, and compared to my J-Type (with Geddy lee PUs) it was a bit too dull*. Where's the best place to buy hotwires - I'd like to try something a little brighter (though less so than rounds) but keep the smooth feel of the flats and with a lower tension. I found I was struggling to fret chords with my little finger, even with a low-ish action. *edit - sounded nice with palm muting on the E and A, but lacked bite/cut, even with lots of EQ fiddling.

Fairy snuff about the tension - I was thinking of Thomastiks after I'd shut the PC down and gone to bed.

I've just popped flats on a new bass. First obvious difference was much higher tension (although the other strings were VERY floppy). Next, plugging in - all the clank and clang has gone (forget popping) and instead there's a woody bassy punch. On a soft-toned bass they'd sound flabby, but on a crisp bass they sound punchy and rounded.

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='1173920' date='Mar 23 2011, 09:31 PM']My dark blue one has a black scratchplate, it was either that or dark tort. Bear in mind a dark pg will look odd with the white pup cover though[/quote] Yes, it would. I quite like the idea of this one being a reverse of the Jazz.

Just bought a bass from Pete - great to deal with, good pics and shipped exactly when he said it would be, completely hassle-free. Thanks feller.

Seems the thread isn't over yet - just got this blue and maple one from Casa Pete (thanks feller!) - this is probably the colours I'd have chosen given a choice. Now the questions are: white or black pearl for a scratchplate, and whether to pop flats on? The strings are (surprisingly) not bad for the originals, and the only 'fault' (bearing in mind Pete's set it up) is that the bridge is just a couple of mm off to the bass side, but it's VERY marginal really. At £60 these would be VERY hard to fault.

I own a Dynelectron copy of a danelectro guitarlin which had been covered in emulsion paint. I used the side edge of a flat bladed screw driver to carefully crack and chip the paint off over the course of several days. If the area is small and you're patient, this may be the way of least damage. Halfords do an electrical contact cleaner too, for £3.99.

I'd encourage the use of something a little less robust that superglue - there'll likely be a time you'll want to move that screw again, and superglue can be quite permanent in a completely annoying way.

You hit the nail quite accurately - it's probably a low-mid quality bass made with generic parts as far as practical to keep the cost down, and given an interesting body outline. It's not intended to be any kind of replica, so much as just borrowing very heavily from the outline. The originals didn't sell that well, and I'm sure this won't either, which is probably why a) they've not put much real effort in to the design and why it will still be expensive for a very ordinary instrument. I have a soft spot for unorthodox instruments, but Eastwood seem to do budget-style knock offs which they sell at a relatively premium price.

[quote name='BottomE' post='1168983' date='Mar 19 2011, 10:55 PM']I can only make comparisons to guitarists using effects to cover technique issues and was careful to say that some of them not most weren't as effective or fluid playing without them.[/quote] Worth bearing in mind that in order to play certain pieces effectively on guitar - and possibly bass too - certain effects are required. Take away those effects and the playing isn't as fluid or effective because the technique and sound has been shaped around use of those effects. I can think of a lot of songs that would fail completely is the guitarist had to play clean and straight. Where would Bootsie be without his filters? Also worth bearing in mind that a player who plays be feel will find it harder to 'reset' their feelings when effects are taken away. This is different from having sloppy technique, which will always be poor, not matter how much reverb and distortion is applied. FWIW I like bass without effects, except compression and EQ. I like (and play) guitar in all sorts of flavours, including very heavily effected and completely spanking clean.

Apa - that bass looks incredible - fantastic job, and well done!