bbrich

Here's my 1986 Westone Thunder III Bass. Several modifications. Those Westone pickup covers hide EMG pups. A precision type at the neck and a dual coil at the bridge. Badass II bridge. EMG BTC tone control. Gotoh tuners. I've kept all the original circuitry and hardware so could put it back to 'stock' but I doubt I ever will. I bought it new from the Bass Centre London in 1986 for £386. It has been my main gigging bass for over thirty-five years and has stood the test of time better than I have. Incredibly low action, fast neck and fabulous tight, punchy 80s tone.

Hi Gav. Did you ever get your TE715 sorted out? I never saw your question back in 2019. I was too busy changing jobs - and countries. When I used the word 'transistor' you have to realize that I know virtually nothing about electronics. My electronics guru may have used the term when trying to explain to me what was going wrong with my amp. So it may well have been the 'triac'. All I know is that it was a component between the pre- and power amps. And he fixed it for me. My TE715 is now resting back in the UK since I've retired from my work in the Middle East. Its been sat in a broom cupboard since November 2019. I haven't been in a lineup or even met any other musicians since I came back to the UK. Various lock-downs and some ill-health have prevented me from getting out there. Hopefully that'll change by the end of 2022 and I can give my TE715 a run-out again. I'll update this thread when I do.

And a further update. Its now just over five years since we modded the old TE715 and its still going strong, sounding fantastic. No other components have died and the replacement 'new old stock' jacks and pots haven't got to the scratchy stage yet. However, I've deteriorated significantly during the same period and now have to employ younger, fitter people to lift my kit on and off the stage!!!

Haven't been on BassChat for a while and just stumbled across this thread today. Westone Thunder Basses? I bought a Westone Thunder IIIA from the Bass Centre in 1986. I think I bought it because it didn't look like a P-bass and it was red. I'd been ripped-off by my local music store when buying my first bass - a Squier JV 57 Precision with a twisted neck. So I decided I'd go to the top. I figured the Bass Centre couldn't afford to damage their reputation by selling me a lemon but it took some courage to go in to their shop as a novice bass player. But I did and boy was I glad. They treated me with respect and dignity and gave me the best advice they could based on my playing abilities and my budget - and for 360-quid I wound up with a red Westone Thunder IIIA plus gig-bag. That was thirty-two years ago and its still my main gigging bass today. The gig bag died years ago though. I wouldn't class it as a cheap bass either. 360 quid wasn't cheap in 1986. Mid-priced would be more accurate. I haven't seen too many red Thunder IIIs... well three to be exact. Mine, a red fretless in a second-hand shop that I should have bought and a picture of a red one online somewhere. The rest seem to be walnut brown colour. The red ones are louder! Years ago Guitarist magazine published a list of all the guitars and basses imported into the UK over a certain number of years. I can't remember how many years the list covered, nor can I find any reference to it anywhere but I DID see it. On that list it showed that there were only 20 (I think) red Westone Thunder IIIAs imported into the UK. They were imported by FCN Music of Tunbridge Wells who went out of business a million years ago. I didn't dream it, I definitely had that copy of Guitarist mag but its long-gone. So, in the UK at least, I would rate my red bass as fairly rare. I've had various modifications made to my bass over the years (all done by the Bass Centre). Badass Bridge, EMG pups, EMG Bass Tone Control, Gotoh tuners, Schaller strap-locks, replacement pots, jack sockets, control knobs and switches, fret polishes etc. but I've kept all the original parts safe in case I ever feel the need to put it back to its original spec. Its a fantastic instrument. Incredibly well-made and very stable - thirty-two years remember. And I play it in incredibly unforgiving circumstances at outdoor gigs in the Middle East and in my freezing cold air conditioned apartment. It thrives in both environments with an occasional tweak of the truss-rod. Good piece of kit, shame they went out of business.

Update. Two years since we made the modifications and my amp continues to perform flawlessly, more than can be said for me.

Yes, foam disintegrates over the years. You could try sourcing some suitably sized oblongs of heavy duty upholstery foam. Perhaps a layer to fill the lid and two layers to fill the bottom of the case. Using your bass as a template, carefully trace an outline onto the upper of the two bottom layers with a felt tip pen or similar. Then, using the electric carving knife that's been lying in the kitchen drawer for donkey's years, cut the shape out. OK, it may not look plush and velvety but it will protect your instrument. I did this with an aluminium full flight case that I picked for next to nothing some (twenty) years ago and its still going strong. Certainly lasted longer than the electric carving knife! Incidentally, the electric carving knife tip does work and was given to me by my local foam dealer, Mr Sherlock of ... Sherlock Foams! (True story). Good luck.

Just following up on this thread and I'm amazed how many of us don't know the difference between a "hard case" and a "flight case". Guitar manufacturers, to my knowledge, don't make flight cases for their guitars - so if it says Fender or Gibson or Whatever then you can be reasonably sure that its NOT a flight case. Full flight cases, typically, are made from sheet aluminium and are very "industrial" looking. They can also be quite heavy. Take a look at "http://flightcaseuk.com/content/guitar-cases" and you'll see the sort of thing. They're not cheap but how much did your bass cost? I paid a hundred quid for one in a local music shop years ago - just an empty aluminium case. Then I got two pieces of foam from a local foam dealer, one to fill the base and one to fill inside the lid. I traced the shape of my bass on to the bottom piece of foam and cut and sculpted it to shape using an electric carving knife (foam guy told me that trick). I've been gigging and flying with that case for over 25 years and - don't want to tempt fate by saying any more. Incidentally, I have no idea whether FlightcaseUK are any good or not. I just googled "bass guitar flightcase" to find some pictures. Hope this helps somebody somewhere.

Six months later… In the end Mr Alsop refused to take on the job of modifying my Ovation bridge saddle. He said that he just wasn't set up for working on bass saddles and the cost of gearing up for a "one-off" would be prohibitive. Honest enough I suppose. So, left with no other option I decided to tackle the job myself. After accurately measuring the existing saddle for length, height and thickness I then spent hours, days and weeks scouring the net both sides of the Atlantic trying to find an exact-fit bridge saddle for this particular Ovation. Due to the "castellations" on the underside of the saddle I failed to source one. That meant that the only option would be to replace both the saddle and the piezo pickup. More internet searches to try and find the right kind of pickup. Turns out that they're virtually all made by one company in Korea - Artec. Having sourced and bought the correct length of 4-string piezo pickup it was then relatively easy to find a matching saddle. My investigations had led me to believe that a "bone" saddle was going to sound brighter and possibly louder than a plastic one. So I got one of those as well. Now all I had to do was fit it all together, check the action and then gradually shave the bottom of the saddle until the correct string height was achieved. This has to be done very carefully. The underside of the saddle has to stay perfectly flat and "square" otherwise it won't contact the piezo correctly and both the sound and the sustain will suffer. I also had to modify the battery box inside the body of the guitar (long story, too boring) and with that done and the saddle carefully filed to the required height I checked the intonation on my tuner. Perfect. String height about 2mm at the 12th fret on E and proportionate on A, D & G. Success - but it took a long time, a lot of research, quite a bit of hacking and a "what the heck, its only a practice guitar" approach, but I got there in the end and learned a lot on the way. I now have a practice instrument sat in my lounge that I can pick up and play at any time and it has the same action as my electrics. The only down-side is that as I lowered the action the acoustic volume lowered as well. For me that wasn't a problem. Conclusion? Hmm, I think my patience and diligence paid off but I also think I got lucky! Don't tackle this job unless you're prepared for possible failure.

Jan 2014 update. I finally got my combo sorted out. My electronics friend ripped it to pieces and discovered that the power stage was on the blink as well as the transistor between the pre-amp and power stage. Due to the nature of playing outdoor gigs in a desert climate (40-odd degrees not uncommon in the summer - which is when it finally died) he also thought that a cooling fan would be helpful. So he replaced the transistor and asked me if I wanted to have a new power stage and fan fitted. After he assured me that the Trace Elliot sound comes from the pre-amp not the power amp and that the sound should be the same after the modifications, I agreed and, for about 200 quid, he fitted a new fan-cooled 300W power stage. However, this meant that a new speaker would also be required. The original amp was putting a very conservatively rated 100W into a dedicated 4ohm speaker. With the new 300W rating we decided that a Celestion BN15-400S 4 Ohm Neo Bass Speaker might fit the bill. Obviously you can't really audition a speaker - you just have to take the gamble. So, for another 180 quid and about 40 quid to ship it to Saudi Arabia, we fitted the new speaker. And… It all works perfectly. It sounds fantastic - just like the original but instead of setting the volume at 4 I thought I'd better drop it "a click" to 3.5. Drummer told me it was too loud (!!) Drummer!!! So I'm now only allowed 3 on the loud knob. We played two nights running in December and the amp sounded great and the heat sink remained stone cold. Looks like I've got a result that's probably saved me about a grand and a real load of shipping hassles. So, if you've got an old TE that's fading out on you, get your local electronics guru to measure the temperature of that transistor between the pre and power amps under constant heavy load. If its getting hot, replace it. It could just save you a fortune. I hope this long-winded blurb helps somebody somewhere.

Hmmm… I work for an airline and, strictly speaking, you should always put an item as big as a bass in the hold - in which case you've got to have a "full" flight case. As mentioned throughout the thread you [i]can[/i] buy a seat for it but that could be expensive depending on where you're flying to and who you're flying with. Also, getting a bass guitar through all the security checks these days can be a pain. And customs anywhere will always be interested in you when you are carrying a very noticeable musical instrument. I've been flying for over thirty years and the only times I've ever been pulled over by customs were when carrying one of my basses. You're a musician so you're obviously carrying contraband or doing something illegal, right? Trying to carry your instrument on board [i]can[/i] work, but if its going to fail it will fail at the door of the aircraft. I flew with one of my basses in a gig bag all the way from the Middle East to Manchester via Paris some years ago (pre-911). I carried the guitar on board the first flight without anybody raising any eyebrow. I put it, carefully, in the overhead locker. It was a large wide-bodied aircraft so no problem with the size of the locker. (Not all aircraft overheads will accommodate a bass). When I arrived at Paris I checked in for the Manchester leg, went through security, etc, etc and went to board the aircraft. At the door of the aircraft the flight attendant refused to allow my bass on-board and insisted that it went in the hold. I explained that it was only in a soft bag and could easily get damaged but she wasn't having it. They took the bass off me and disappeared back down the stairs with my pride and joy. My wife told me not to make a scene! When I finally calmed down and we settled into our seats I took a quick headcount. There were five passengers on-board. Me, my wife and three BA crew working their way back home. My bass could have had a whole row to itself. Luckily, when we arrived at Manchester my bass didn't come up the baggage reclaim belt in pieces - they actually brought it to me, unmarked, by hand. I wouldn't bet on that sort of customer service these days. Incidentally, last time I checked, British Airways will carry musical instruments in the hold free of charge and without affecting your regular baggage allowance. But you'll need a full flight case. Not a hard case but a "full" flight case. Check out dealers like The Flightcase Warehouse. They're cheaper than you think. Then buy a couple of rolls of gaffer-tape and wrap tape around the case and over the clasps a few times. Locking the case won't prevent it from being stolen either. They'll nick the guitar [i]and[/i] the case if they really want it. There is also a common belief that baggage is handled by the "last on first off' method. Its isn't. The only baggage that is sorted is First Class. Their bags come off first. For the rest of us its a lottery. How many times have you checked-in two suitcases together only to find that they're half an hour apart when you get to the other end? The other things to do would include dressing respectably, being sober and straight, being pleasant with check-in staff, not behaving like a rock-star or a prat and - stay cool if (when) things go wrong. And check that your travel insurance covers musical instruments. A lot of them probably don't. Sorry to rant but I've done this a lot. Happy travels…

80's basses? Well, Status, JayDee, Steinberger, all wondeful. I've never played a Status and the one time that I tried a JayDee I was so depressed 'cos it weighed a ton. I have a Steinberger Spirit but just can't get used to playing it standing up. It sort of falls away from me and I can't see the frets - and I need to see the frets. For me though you'd have to go a long way to better a Westone Thunder IIIA for the money at that time. I bought mine from the Bass Centre in 1986 and its been my main bass ever since. It just "fits" me. Brilliant neck and tight sound. In the 90's the Bass Centre fitted EMG's for me, along with an EMG BTC split tone control. I asked them to disable the Phase switch since I never used it. The EMGs are actually hidden inside the original Westone p/u covers which also serve as great thumb-rests. The Bass Centre also fitted a Badass III bridge at some point in the 90s. I replaced the machine heads myself more than ten years ago and all the pots, switches and jack socket have been replaced at least once. The jack socket is being replaced again right now. Mine's a red one by the way and, according to a listing published in Guitarist magazine back in the late 80's, there were only a very limited number (60 I seem to recall) of red ones imported into the UK. I remember seeing its "brother", a red Thunder IIIA Fretless, for sale on Denmark Street years ago and even now I'm kicking myself for not buying it. They were really well-made basses.

Take note all of you out there with ageing TE's. Update. It turns out that a transistor that controls the current flow from the power supply to the Pre-Amp is starting to boil its bum after an hour or so of playing. The hotter it gets, the less current it allows through resulting in reduced volume and reduced tone control and eventually cutting out altogether. Could this be my (and your) problem solved? Watch this space.

Currently using Elites 40, 60, 80, 100 but GHS Bass Boomers are really, really good. So if your going to the States on holiday...

I always change my strings before a gig so, currently, that's every six weeks or so. I fit them before the final rehearsal and they'll get me through that, the sound check and the show - after which they're done. I use two basses on stage. A four and a five but I don't change the strings on the five very often. Maybe once a year. My preference is for roundwounds with gauges of 40, 60, 80 100 and I've used Elites Stadium, Rotosound Swing Bass 66, Ernie Ball Slinky, GHS Bass Boomers, Rotosound PSDs, Fender (!), Gibson (!!) and I once had to fit a set of Yamahas in desperation but the rules of this forum prevent me from describing them accurately. The best? Probably GHS Bass Boomers but they're difficult to get hold of in the UK these days. They just stayed brighter longer. Advice to newbies? Always re-check your intonation after changing strings, even if they're the same gauge as the ones you're taking off and even if they're from the same manufacturer. They vary.

Yes, same here MIDI. Been using it for twenty years or more, with live drummers and without. Just get rid of the really cheesy instruments and BVs. Keep it simple but don't forget to put your System Exclusive resets at the start AND the end of every file. Get an effects pedal that supports MIDI and you can wander about the stage as well without having to "dip your toe" at the right point. How many times have you got that wrong…