Ancient Mariner

The shiny black looks better than the tatty one, and in a year that maple neck will have gone a nice honey colour if it's left out in sunlight. the vintage white looks better than both, but that's because I prefer that colour scheme to black'n'white regardless of dings or shine.

I have a poly finished strat that I've been playing for 20 years, and from the front it looks almost new (apart from creamy pickup covers and knobs). They just don't relic like nitro. But it's a real pleasure to find an old instrument in great condition, and I'd much rather have something shiny than a dinged and chipped old dog.

I'd suggest that if you can wing it in front of accomplished musicians and it fits then you don't *need* lessons and are certainly a musician yourself. However that's not to say you couldn't learn a lot of useful stuff. Having hacked around on guitar more than 30 years I could certainly use lessons now because I've developed my own technique and style, and I'd just add to it. But if I'd had lessons in my first 5 years as a player then I'm sure I'd be more accomplished (or just as likely, I'd have given up - that would make life easier!) but I certainly wouldn't have developed in the ways I have.

I'm having to control it.



Fortunately this place isn't as busy as Harmony Central, so it's easier to stay away for longer periods.

[quote name='BarnacleBob' post='790876' date='Mar 30 2010, 06:04 PM']I really have to take issue with the OP on this one!

Listen very carefully to what I am about to say...........40 IS NOT OLD!!!!!!!

Cheeky young pup!


BB[/quote]

+1 to that!

Thanks OG - what don't you (and apparently a number of others here) like about Ashdown and trace gear? Are they a bit soft on definition?

I can see a couple of guitars just quaking with fear at the thought of transfer right now.

Realistically, I'll probably try to grab a used combo or head/cab from here, then either upgrade the PUs in the J type or chop it in for a Squier/MIM Fender. However I did like the P-Type's tone through my little open backed combo, so maybe I'll find I prefer that style instead. We'll see.

Thanks for the tips everyone.

Thanks for the warning - the credit card will remain locked up safely at home!

Thanks OG. The desire to upgrade NOW is strong, but I should try some stuff first. Hopefully I'll be able to make it to the wood & tronics bash, and that will give me a better idea of how different kit sounds (and hopefully pick up some technique/style tips too).

It's always good to pick up stuff from others perspective. As a guitar player, I think I'm learning stuff from bass playing that will be useful with my guitar too. But I'm probably also not typical of the breed, since I'm looking for more than someone to just provide a platform for me to solo over.

Thanks guys - acoustically the basses sound OK, although new strings never hurt (except the pocket).

Ampwise I need something to play out with, but it needn't be huge. What's the benefits of 2X10 vs 1X15 (with or w/o tweeter)? There's some nice stuff in the for sale section, but I may have to shed some gear first to pay for something suitable.

I'm a guitarist, but playing bass a bit right now (and trying to play like a bass player ). Back at Christmas I acquired a couple of cheap basses: a Johnny Brooke J type from Gafbass here and an Encore P type. The (roundwound) strings seem reasonably crisp when played unplugged, and appear bright and reasonably clean. I'm playing through an old Carlsbro 45 watt bass amp (new 12" celestion speaker) that is adequate volume wise, though certainly having to work fairly hard.

It sounds tolerable, but not great. Some of that is certainly down to the player, and I'm trying to fix it, but some of it is down to the kit. Plugging in direct w/o effects, the bottom end sounds flabby and gets farty if pushed hard, and no amount of tone-control tweaking will fix it. Volume going across the strings is even except for the bottom E string, particularly between the open and 3rd frets, after which it gets louder. I've done some PU adjustment, but that's not the answer, and I'm thinking this is because the speaker/cab/amp can't cope with the lowest frequencies.

My questions then: how to deal with the weak and flabby bottom end and what to change to improve tone generally. Is this likely an issue with the basses (new pickups reqd?) or amp, and which should I 'fix' first? The sorts of music I'll play run through rock to funk, ballads to blues, and I play with fingers, pick and am learning to slap. I'd like defined tones, but not sharp and spiky. I'd also prefer more lower mids than a thump that you feel but can't hear in the music. Funds for kit are very limited (I seem to spend more time in the used section of this forum than anywhere else right now) but I may try trading/sell of some guitar stuff to fund upgrades.

Your suggestions are welcome - thanks everyone.

Are you right in Nuneaton? I'm kinda interested, but it's a moderate drive.

There is a harmony central review for the APJ jazz and precision set combined:

[url="http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews/Electric+Bass+Pickup/product/Seymour+Duncan/APJ-1/10/1"]http://reviews.harmony-central.com/reviews...ncan/APJ-1/10/1[/url]

Indeed. Speed comes with practice and relaxing. The harder you try, the more difficult it will be, but as you get familiar and comfortable so your speed should build.

A couple of years back I bought a 'First Act' guitar at greatly reduced price. It sounded tolerable - a bit nasal and muddy - and the tone pot did the all and nothing trick as described above. I replaced all 3 pots with some old full sized jobs I had left over from rewiring a Les Paul, plus a new 0.022uF cap, and it transformed the tone into something open and crisp. I suspect the old (mini) pots were a bit low in resistance and, with a 0.047uF cap, a lot of highs and upper mids were being drained off to earth. I'd always recommend full size pots over minis, but as long as they are a good make I'd expect there to be little difference.

[quote name='Kohpnyn' post='784205' date='Mar 23 2010, 11:57 PM']It's worth keeping the limiter/compressor off when you're practicing alone.
Just one of many things that can hide technique issues.
What limiter did you buy? Glad to hear you're happy with it.[/quote]

Cheers - I'll keep that in mind.

It was a GLX (Boss copy) from a forumite, like [url="http://www.dangleberrymusic.co.uk/p-440-glx-bass-guitar-effects-pedal-bosshog-series-bass-limiter-pedal.aspx"]this[/url]

CTS and Alpha seem to work well. I like Alpha best because they turn smoothly and have lasted well for me. AFAIK there's no 'best' pot, but anything that's made well will be good (as long as you don't need 'mojo').

Well the limiter I picked up was just the ticket. Not only has it stopped the spikiness but it's also fattened things up and helped introduce a bit of growl. The bass (a budget Jazz type) sounded somewhat thin before, but now it's much fuller. It's also reduced the flabbiness of the bottom E quite a bit. Took it to a band practice tonight, and it's really sweetened things up. Very worthwhile.

If your guitarists are that difficult then find new ones - there's plenty of us out there. I do hope these are all relatively isolated incidents, as the issues raised are both obvious and easy to deal with.

You may have 32 bit drivers and be running W7 in 64 bit. That may be enough to cause the lag you're seeing. I'd check for updated drivers.

Tuning stability and string weight have nothing to do with each other, and some very well known guitarists use 8 gauge strings. Light gauge strings only cause tuning issues for heavy handed guitarists playing guitars with jumbo frets. Heavier strings are only useful if you need more 'fight' from the instrument and a darker (not even fatter - just darker) tone. A part of the SRV sound is him actually fighting against the strings, which worked for him but would be inappropriate for most players.

As for transposing to another part of the board, it won't sound the same (unless you've got synth-levels of distortion) and may not even be practically possible for ordinary mortals to play. A lot of guitar tone is dependent upon where on the neck it's played and sometimes use combinations of open and fretted strings, which is completely non-transposable.

I'd agree completely that everyone should have spare strings handy, and preferably a spare guitar too 'just in case'.

You may or may not find this amusing: I have the DVD Santana plays blues at Montreaux 2004 featuring Gatemouth Brown and Bobby Parker. Brown plays fingerstyle using combinations of fretted and open strings, and actually plays about 2 verses of a song in the wrong key before the bass player leans over and tells him what they're playing in. A little later Bobby Parker comes on and his guitar is disastrously out of tune on the high E string, and doesn't settle down until the end of the second song. Credit where it's due, he does retune mid-song and he appears to have spare strings actually taped to the guitar's body.

That really made me laugh out loud.

OK, guitarist here.

There's a lot that can be done to fix regular tuning issues, and from discussions on other forums, there's a common manufacturer fault too.

Aside from environmental changes (that the player can't fix) the key areas are the nut, strings and (if fitted) trem system, plus basic setup.

The most common thing that makes guitars go out of tune is a badly cut nut. Gibson have never learned that this is an issue: all their guitars come with a nut that's barely wide enough for 9s and WILL stick with 10s if not modified. They're not the only ones (my Godin xtSA was atrocious until I took some files to it). Fender and many of the budget makers don't seem to have much of an issue cutting the slots wide enough for 10s and even 11s often. In 9+ cases out of 10, a guitar that shifts in tuning during use will have narrow nut slots.

Strings can also cause problems: if they're new (replaced before the gig) and not stretched in or wound around the tuning posts sufficiently (3 wraps E, B and G, 2 wraps D, A and E) then they can move during the gig. Strings should be stretched in by tuning to pitch, then holding the string around the 12th fret and pulling away from the fingerboard until it is felt to run out of elasticity, then lowered back. Repeat 3-4 times, retune, repeat again until tuning becomes reasonably stable. Some strings need more stretching than others (DR need less than D'Addario). It's worth noting that even the cheapest machine heads, such as those found on £25 chinese guitars do not slip, and replacing them with locking tuners is never going to stabilise tuning.

Finally, trems. Locking trems are a hassle to set up properly but once they're good, tuning should be stable. However: If the trem is a 2 point type and won't return to pitch accurately then it's likely the knife edges are worn. Chap stick can be used as a lubricant and will help, but either grinding (by a tech) or replacement is the only answer. Vintage trems are unstable, and the fender versions are not good due to the pivot point being in the wrong place! But if you can tolerate a little imprecision they can be made acceptable, and replacement items from Wilkinson (not just the expensive ones) work much better. The trick is to set the trem flush with the body (it can be made floating later) and screw in the 6 screws until they touch the plate. Back the outer 2 half a turn and the middle 4 one and a half turns. A little light oil where the screws and term base plate meet is not a bad thing.


All this assumes an otherwise correctly set up guitar. Many techs apparently have no idea what is required for a set up, other than action at the 12th fret, and can really sod up an otherwise decent instrument. For a guitar to play in tune all over the fretboard it's really important that the nut is cut deep enough as well as intonation being set (I have only ever owned new 1 guitar - a JJ - that came to me intonated correctly and giggable from the box). Just occasionally a guitar will go out of tune at the start of a gig because of temperature changes (always get the guitar on a stand as soon as you arrive, to acclimate) or being bashed around a bit in transit. However after the first couple of retunes it should settle down and be well behaved for the rest of the gig.

If any of your guitarists want to talk to me about how to fix tuning issues then I'm very happy to help them. I'm not a professional tech, but I've been setting up my guitars for more than 30 years, ever since I owned a guitar with a movable bridge.

Construction looks very Westone/El maya/general Matsomoku style.

Neck is a maple/Mahogany sandwich with what looks like pine (just possibly ash) wings.

Westones seem to typically go for £150ish, but that has no hardware or electronics, so I'd have though quite a bit less.

I'd love to own it, but don't have any money really, right now.

*edit*
I'm obviously a million miles away.

G12H anniversary 16 Ohm, less than 10 hours use & boxed. £45 + shipping

Eminence Red Fang, 8 Ohm, used but in decent nick. £75 + shipping (I only picked this up a couple of weeks back & haven't even had time to try it, but I think I need a decent bass amp).