velvetkevorkian

[quote name='ped' post='563076' date='Aug 7 2009, 09:12 PM']I have had the same set of Elixirs on for over a year and I love them - they still sound brand new (swapped them for some new ones and then swapped back!) I guess I just don't sweat at all!![/quote] +1 I love them.

That's uncomfortably accurate...

I'm currently in the process of stripping and cleaning my Conklin- the previous owner(s) appears to have played with fairly heavy palm muting on the bridge with two results: 1) The gold finish is quite worn (almost totally away in places). 2) The entire bridge assembly is filthy with hand gunk. Is there any special care that needs to be taken when cleaning gold hardware? I don't want to tarnish it any more than it already is- will the old bath of coke method work here? Thinking about it I'm inclined to believe it will as brass players I know have used it on their instruments. If I was to take the tuners off, could I do the same with them? Or would the moving parts and plastic rings (Gotoh GB7 style) affect it? They're not quite as grubby but are pretty tarnished. Shopping list at the moment- Switch cleaner Lighter fluid (to clean the fretboard) (purpleheart). Some lemon oil or something similar, to use on the fretboard Some coke. Any ideas/comments?

Awesome. Are the Hipshots bass guitar tuners or are they "proper" DB tuners? Very cool none the less.

[quote name='peted' post='559643' date='Aug 3 2009, 08:55 PM']Makes me think of a Status Streamline crossed with a Musicman Bongo. I likey Top job![/quote] Exactly what I thought.

It will work but any gain pedals (OD, distortion, etc) or delay (and possibly others) will increase the chance of feedback with an acoustic instrument- the other night I put my girlfriend's acoustic guitar through distortion/delay to sound like a cranked 5150 amp and it just fed back constantly, through nothing more than my hi-fi speakers.

Worth contacting Peavey directly through their website- they got back to me promptly with a query I had about a 30 odd year old amp.

If I recall correctly its 4 different "classic" fuzz circuits in one box that can be patched together in any order.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='558530' date='Aug 2 2009, 02:54 PM']...WAF...[/quote] Wife acceptance factor?

I'm not quite clear what the problem is to be honest- are you having issues because you're not used to playing a 5 string, or not used to playing a headed bass? Or is it to do with the strap? My personal recommendation would be to stick with the 5 until you're more comfortable as it gives you the most options; seems more economical than buying another bass for drop D (which is what I think you're implying). Any other issues should be fixable with practice IMO.

"Honey, I shrunk my amps!"

FWIW I just compared a D'Addario acoustic guitar string with the bass in question and there was room to spare, so possible cause for optimism there.

Smart thinking Batman. Have sent them an email just now so we'll see what they say.

The bass is 34" and has about an inch between the nut and the machine head, but I tend to find that guitar strings have a bit more excess length than bass strings, plus on a 3+3 guitar headstock, the D string machine is furthest away from the nut so needs to have greater length anyway- just not sure if it will be enough. Other people have talked about using guitar strings (Dean Markley were mentioned) so its possible in theory at least...

I've found that I quite like using Elixirs on my 4 and 5 string basses, and they get me the sound I like. However, I also have a 7 string and they only do 6 string sets. My question is, has anyone ever used Elixir [i]guitar[/i] strings on bass? Specifically at a D or G from the guitar set to use as a high E (I tune the 7 BEADGBE) that I could match with the 6 string bass set. My main concern would be for length, although not breaking would be a bonus too. Anyone got any experience with these? Bit of a long shot but given that the guitar strings are £12 or so a shot I'd rather ask first. Cheers Kyle

How about some of [url="http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Instrument_Composition_Lists"]these?[/url] Plenty of stuff for cello; not so many for DB but still a few solo bits.

I have wondered about this but don't [i]believe[/i] it to be the case- surely if you are correct lighter strings would be louder, since amplitude= volume? I do stand to be corrected however...

+1 I've downtuned the E to D and C# on cheap crappy basses with strings which were probably older than I am on a number of occasions with no problems. Just remember to tune back up for the next song- it sounds rubbish if you don't (voice of experience on that one I'm afraid).

Get some DB method books, I.E. Simandl vols 1 and 2 or the Bottesini method.

Maybe worth having a word with the Violin Shop in Yorkhill- they do valuations etc, and if it is a POS they may be able to offer something more suitable.

There's usually a few Chinese ones on Ebay; also have you spoken to the Violin Shop? Been a while since I was in but I thought they stocked both types.