Leaderboard

Today's job is to turn these parts into a working bass. Got to cut and polish the finish first without going through it!! Quite a bit to do but should get it done in time for the bash tomorrow. Apparently, when this is done I need to return the dining room table back to it's proper use (whatever that is), tidy up then 'put all my sh*t in the garage where it belongs'...…….Mrs_the_gut is very tolerant of my hobby so don't want to push it too far. Don't think too many others would put up with this in the corner of the dining room for the past 6 months.....!!

Wow, that's what my darling wife said to me when we first met !

Gotta applaud his honesty... 😆😆 https://www.facebook.com/groups/guitarexchange/permalink/2221801644566124/?sale_post_id=2221801644566124

Egg, chips, beans and a finished shortie. Who says the dining table can't be used for both? Had a few issues getting this done - just went through the finish slightly in one place so will redo that after the bash. Apart from that it works, needs a little more setting up but I'll do that at the bash tomorrow. See you t there!

I understand, but when we are playing in a band we have 3 things to do: play our instrument well, play in the band well and play the songs that an audience wants to hear. There is only one of those that is important for an audience. There are songs I play that I like and songs I definitely don't like, but whichever one is liked by the audience will have my vote to get into the set. If you are good enough you can make an audience like what you are playing but most semi-pro bands aren't that good or interesting enough, so covers it is. The era of self-indulgent bands has long gone. Ignore your audience and you'd be better restricting your playing to rehearsal rooms or taking up golf. If we're not putting bums on seats, or selling beer (however you want to describe it) were are failing as entertainers, because and at the semi-pro level that is what our job is. . . entertainment and sales.

Had a first session with the drummer and one guitarist today 🙂 We managed to make a basic showing of most of the songs we had lined up and a couple were within reach of decent. Main thing is we all seem to have a very similar attitude - we all brought 'ordinary' comfy instruments rather than the flashest kit, all happy to play at ridiculously low volume, same taste in music, and all prepared. I did need to here a few things played back to get the groove right, but more practice will sort that. We even managed stay with me which sounded half decent once we realised we were playing it far too fast. Found it very easy to jam along together - my ear is much better than it was, I never used to be able to drop into the right key so easily - that's what practising to the radio does for you! Now, where's the spandex?

For those who have followed any of my other builds you expect me to change something mid way through!! So this build is no different........... I kept on seeing White thunderbirds and I much prefer them in White than Black so I'm changing the color to White! I'm probably keep the mirrored pickguard and the Chrome hardware............ 😀

Right. That’s me packed and heading West, see you tomorrow.

DHL have booked a pickup and re-delivery. We are moving closer. Hopefully.

Not a pic of me alongside him, but this is a pic of Pino when we were out grabbing some breakfast together.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08gk664/the-secret-science-of-pop If you haven't already seen this, then make a 60-minute hole in your busy schedule for it. An excellent piece of work, highly entertaining, really quite thought-provoking, and with a great ending.

Hmmm... for me Agi as a company is not what it was, and its more recent products don’t appear to have the reliability of earlier gear. I use a db750 and love it but I’m not sure I’d buy a more recent amp. An OBP3 just failed on me - out of warranty and impoosible to repair because of the epoxy seal. £200 to replace with fitting - Agi didn’t appear to give a toss. To the OP, I hope that you get this issue resolved at reasonable cost - £200 is a lot of dosh

Definitely a Black Eagle neck, probably the Antoria version as it's UK. IIRC these had a black headstock face with a decal logo, so it's just been sanded back. It's pretty uncommon to see these headstocks in an unbroken state - considering original Black Eagles are quite scarce, the neck alone on this is probably worth a few quid. Looks like this has been some sort of custom build done around the Antoria/Ibanez neck - the body looks well-crafted & professionally finished but I don't think it's from a donor bass. Hardware looks decent, if unusual - don't know if the Shadow humbucker is by the same company that does piezos & preamps today though. Sort of hope some geek picks this up for a Black Eagle resto project.

The Funk Lite is my favorite at the moment. But it's really hard to compare with the Fwonkbeta, because the Mr Black is insane, it has a terrific resonance and it is pure funky. The Funk Lite has a really tight sweet spot, and almost a single useful sound: but that sound is amazing. I'll try to describe the differences between the 3 pedals, but I apologize for my english (it's not my first language), and I'll try to comunicate only my impression in a band situation, because at home the Fwonkbeta still unbeatable. I personally use the Funk Lite for all the syncopated 16th notes stuff, I set the knobs at 9 o'clock (and eventually put the "freq" nob at 11) and I literally "play the filter" with a syncopated short note right hand pattern: in this setting it's the best filter you could try, present, effective, and really good sounding. It plays really good with octavers, but I definitely don't like it with slap technique. The Fwonkbeta is my go to envelope when I need a super juicy, insanely resonant and rich autowah sound, I like the responsiveness but it's really hard to control due it's tendency to generate big volume spikes. The Wonderlove it's a really great pedal, very versatile and I use it with all my slap stuff and with the Doom in parallel mode for the synth-style stuff. So I use them for 3 distinct purposes, and with them I have my MXR BEF definitely out of the board Cheers!

Shuker Custom Warwick Thumb Maruszyck Jazzus Fret King Perception Lodestone Primal Artist Ibanez SR400 BC Rich Mockingbird 3 Ibanez Acoustic Ortega D- Walker Today i played every single one of them !!!!! The results : The Shuker looks the nicest The Warwick plays the nicest The Lodestone sounds the nicest !

I never realised how much Billy Fury looked like Paul Gambacini.

9 basses.... 1 Westfield P (my first bass) 1 Fender MIM P - customised 4 Yamaha BBs 3 Yamaha Attitude basses

Here's my super-funky & super-juicy mini-board

Sex appeal and a rock n' roll type dangerousness😉. Not usually relevant for a folk trio but you can't help being what you're blessed with

Good question, I'm not aware of one but given the interest and research out there (various fan forums etc) you'd think such info will exist. Here's what I know and best recall - in the early 70s I was a kid who absolutely yearned for a Precision. Closest I got was the big stores anywhere near, the secondhand basses of 60s vintage hanging on the walls out of reach (they were only say 8 years old then, no big deal) and the brochures. Back in those days the 60s Ps weren't modded or messed with, nobody bothered. Some got beat up a bit, but they were straight. What I very clearly remember was the basses of this period (around 64s) were either burst with tort, or one of the few colours offered, with white plate. I have no recollection of black plates in that period (doesn't mean they didn't do them, just never remember one). I remember seeing the first paisleys in Leeds - there was a shop window with an imprint of my face on it. I do remember the list price in (I think) 67 - cos I got an old brochure from a dealer in Leeds some years later as a gift - guy on front holding a red Jazz, standing by a Bassman (100?) and a tall cab, maybe a 215 but don't recall. The Precision list in around '67 was £168.19.10 (yep, 19 shilling and 10 pence). Around '71 I paid 125 for my first (a 68), then 95 for my beat-up second (a 60) then 105 for the lifer, my '64 in blue with WHITE plate. Personally I don't know where all these plain colour 60s Fenders with tort plates came from. Certainly in the period I was obsessed with, tort was unique to sunburst.

Appreciate that Ricky but i just love looking at basses. If they play well even better. That Ric is really interesting tho and such a rare find. Def a keeper there i would think. Not tried the Vintage basses but they get some seriously good reviews. The blue bass also looks interesting too Bet you haven't shown her this comment or you'd be wearing a frying pan on your ear Dave

You’ve still not even plugged the FI into your PC yet? Get on it, man! Even if you don’t create any patches, at least browse some of those that others have created. The beauty is twofold: browsing patches is done from files on your PC, the one you’re auditioning gets loaded into a buffer on the FI (and doesn’t overwrite anything on your pedal). You can instantly see all the settings of the patch you’re currently hearing.

One of my bands does; Britney Spears - Toxic, Beyoncé - Crazy in Love, Girls Aloud - Love Machine, Katy Perry - I Kissed a Girl, and I'm on doublebass. No that's correct, I have no shame 😁

And done. One down and ready for Sunday...... Not the best picture - I'll get some better ones done tomorrow. On with the shortie bass now!!

This covers master vs channel volume for the general Helix ecosystem: https://helixhelp.com/2017/04/28/tip-master-vs-channel-volume/

Hi all! Just bumping an old thread to say that Tommy's been ill and had to down tools for quite a while, but happy to say he's back in the saddle...

Here are some more pics of my lovely Limelight No. 00230 😊

Took some snaps this morning. You can see it's a real 'players' bass! I've got it set up just right now and have been really enjoying playing it. I'll record something soon! The neck is a really nice golden colour and it feels excellent. In terms of the grounding issue, tbh I'm not sure it's not just shielding that could be added; my lamp adds some noise and with that off it's OK - also the patch I was using on my VB99 was basically the one I use with my Smith (which is pretty much clean) so this morning I made a dedicated patch for the SB1 and after tweaking the limiter and amp settings for this bass it's fine. I may still get some shielding added at some point but with a bit of noise limiter on that patch you can only now hear it on long sustained notes and definitely not in a mix. Really pleased with it

Disclaimer: yes i could have sold this bass and got something more suitable, yes it could turn out to be a terrible decision! But i like to tinker, this bass doesn't owe me anything and its (mostly) reversible. So after my previous thread of refinishing a Harley Benton PB-50. It got me in the mood to do a bit more modifying. I bought an Ibanez ATK300 a few years ago for very cheap. At the time i was playing a Musicman Stingray in a Stoner band and wanted something that could mimic it well, as a back up. This fitted the criteria perfectly and the same model was used by Scott Reeder (Kyuss) which was also a big plus in my book. I changed up my set up last year to using Rickenbacker and sold the Stingray. The ATK has fallen to the wayside as i find it doesn't suit the sound I'm going for. So Active preamp out, MM pickups out. Passive and single coil in! Browsing through Facebook i came across somebody selling a pair of single coil Zombie Dust pickups housed in MM size cases. The idea struck me to turn the ATK into a passive, double single coil pickup monster. After Some thought I wanted to try and make this easily reversible. The first thing to do once the pickups arrived was to make sure i could fit the neck pickup where the pickguard is so if i don't like it i can cover the rout with the original pickguard.

Nice one mate, good luck, and just be yourself (because everyone else is taken)! 😃

I owned two Spector Rebop 4mm’s and loved them but didn’t find them as versatile as the Euro4lx so I moved them on. Build quality is brilliant. The neck bias is minimal and easily tuned out by a good strap. Czech Spectors really are amazing value and quality. I finally got a US NS4 last year and that’s a bit more versatile in that it does the Spector sound and others too.

Edith Piaf makes me want to strangle myself with my own intestines... give me Planet Rock any day 🙂

With amp modelling, it’s easy to recreate the valve pre. So this makes a valve pre is just a bit of bling (& there’s nothing wrong with a bit of bling). Amp modelling does struggle to create the sound of an output valve. They sound different to S/S amps (there’s nothing wrong with how S/S amps sound either). My choice would be a good amp modelling preamp pedal & a power amp. Not overly fussed if valve or S/S, as long as it sounded good. If I were going for hybrid, I’d probably choose one with a valve power section rather than valve pre. But, like is said above, get the amp you like the sound of & if that’s one with a valve pre, get it. I have an all valve amp just now & my previous amp was class D & no valves. Both have gotten compliments from other musicians.

Was just browsing the other forum earlier and came across this: The Future Compact is taking over the world!

It's cool, looking like a good move to be fair. 🙂

I picked the Stella up 😁. I've spent most of this afternoon acquainting myself with it's many features! I like them all. The build quality is excellent, the pedal has a really solid feel and is a fair bit smaller than a Boss pedal, for instance. I had a message from Becos saying that mine was arriving with premium aluminium knobs "as a way to say thank you for placing a back-order for a new BECOS product". The basic compressor functions work as described and I really like the sounds available and the control they give over the waveform. The tilt Eq is really nice, and not overpowering. Clockwise from centre gives a more aggressive tone I feel, but I will probably use the added fatness to the left of 12 o'clock. I love the tone of both the hard and soft knee settings and will probably use the side chain filter switch in the L position although all the positions sound great and my opinion may change as I become more familiar with the pedal. The timing switch sounds good in both automatic positions but I will probably use it in Manual and use the attack and release knobs. The threshold knob has to be set fairly low to light up more than a couple of the Led's with my passive basses plugged directly into the Stella at around 4:1 on the ratio knob. This will allow plenty of adjustment for any extra gain when used in a chain of pedals though. The tape saturation circuit will probably be of more use to me when recording as it sounds good with flatwound strings to get that slightly distorted Jamerson tone that sits nice in a mix. I decided not to remove the LoCut jumper as recommended as that affects the whole of the dry signal not just the saturation and takes away a bit from the Parallel compression feature when not using the saturation. To summarise then, a fantastic full featured transparent compressor with added bells and whistles. Sounds punchy with regular compression settings, great for slap and fingerstyle. Sounds really good as a limiter too with the Ratio set higher. When set at unity gain it adds a discernible improvement to the same basic tone. I'm really pleased.

But not when I'm playing it!!

Not possible to test one in your local PMT? Appreciate it won’t be at gig levels etc but it should give you the flavour... Also if you’re anywhere near our HQ in Essex and fancy a trip out you can blast one as loud as you want for as long as you like.

Yep..... can't beat a great Spector :)

If you want it a lot smaller, that can be sorted. There's a very clever chap by the name of @GisserD, who's got a bit of a following both over here and in the US for his little creation (I'm claiming credit for the blue and white edition). Be warned, he's tall...

There is, it's called 'money'. To realize a given output at a given frequency it requires a given cone displacement. Cone displacement is area multiplied by excursion. You can get the same displacement with one average fifteen or with eight average fives. The fifteen will cost a lot less. The disadvantage to the fifteen lies in the narrow midrange dispersion. The cure for that is to use a fifteen only as high as its dispersion allows, typically to where the 30 degrees off-axis response is no more than 6dB down from the axial response, crossing over to a midrange driver to handle the frequencies above that. This isn't news to the hi-fi and PA industry, they've been doing this since the 1950s.

Being slightly obsessive about these things, I've been working on a new technique for getting the neck pocket and neck to fit together perfectly, which if anyone is interested I'll describe here. (I'm not suggesting anything here is new, it's all been well and truly stolen from elsewhere!) First I get some 18mm mdf and 3 straight edges. I clamp the neck down (which isn't shown here) and make sure it's immovable. I then use double sided tape to stick down the straight edges so that they are up against the side of the neck.... I then remove the clamp and the neck, and take the straight edges/mdf to the router table where I use a guided bit to rout out the template... The next stage is to use a 1/4" radius roundover bit to round the ends of the neck so that they fit (almost) exactly into the template. The key here is to make sure that the bearing you used to cut out the template was also a 1/4" radius bit. The neck is put on its side and I rout just the ends of the neck so they are rounded. Probably if you've never used a router table before, this isn't the first thing you want to do, it is a bit nerve-wracking. However, I've done this a few times now and never had any issues and I'm very cautious about routing. Obviously make sure you aren't holding the neck down with you fingers near the cutter (I always use plastic handle push stick type things). I take it very slow and take many passes. It's then just a matter of clearing up the corner a bit with sandpaper and you should find the neck fits perfectly into the template. One thing that takes a bit of playing around with is making sure that the template is cut slightly oversize, so that the neck falls in, but doesn't have any visual gaps. I use 3 layers of (pink TESA) sensitive masking tape around the sides of the neck. That's for a neck that will have a tru-oil (so very thin) finish. If I was going to spray polyurethane you'd probably want to have at least 2 more layers. Or one layer of thicker tape. The key though is that once the neck pocket is cut, the neck should fall into the hole with no resistance. Forums seem to be full of people bragging about how tight their neck pocket is, without realising that once finish is applied, the neck will be impossible to insert. Hopefully someone found that useful😀