mart

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1328890939' post='1534472'] Even if the only two wires in question are the ground from the preamp and the -ve to the battery? I'm happy to be wrong (in fact that might clear up something that's been puzzling me for a while) but the two (ring/sleeve) terminals are not connected when there's no plug inserted and a gap's a gap, isn't it? [/quote] Yes, technically, you're right: if those were the only two ground wires connected to the plug then it wouldn't matter which way round they went. But .... in my experience the case of the socket is usually in contact with the cavity shielding (either by touching, or by some other ground wire). And this is, by far, the most common cause of "the battery on my active bass drains really fast" syndrome.

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1328885200' post='1534360'] What the hell is ohmage? [/quote] It is to impedance what amperage is to current. The word some of us use when our slow little brains can't find the right word in time. Take pity on us, and cut us some slack.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1328809373' post='1533060'] ... It doesn't matter which way round the two earth connections are as long as they are between ring and sleeve. ... [/quote] NO! NO! NO! The battery ground is wired to the jack socket like this to ensure the battery is disconnected when your cable is unplugged, and for this to work, you need the two ground connections round the right way. (Otherwise the earth wires on your bass will complete the circuit, and your battery will be drained before you've finished reading this post). So you need to connect the battery black wire to the barrel tag on the jack socket.

Yes, if you have all four in parallel with each other. But I believe it's also common to wire 4 speakers up in pairs: put 2 in parallel (giving an 8ohm load) and the other 2 in parallel (another 8ohms) and then combine these two pairs in series, giving a total 8+8 = 16ohm load. (Or you can put pairs in series and then combine them in parallel; the calculations work out the same). Head exploding yet?

Those are from the Jean-Luc Godard film, aren't they? If you fast-forward through the "arty" bits that film gives a fascinating view of them in the studio. And if anybody has a clue what the "arty" bits are about, I'd love to know!

There seem to be quite a few Kate Bush tunes with some very tasteful fretless playing: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzlofSthVwc[/media] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KeSQT-cqyk[/media]

TIM?

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1327439502' post='1511332']......the only example I've ever seen a 4-string model had the sharpest fingerboard edges of any bass (or guitar) I've ever played. How that got past QC I'll never know. [/quote] They went for really sharp fingerboard edges for a while - my Thumb (from 2008) is like that. I haven't cut myself on it yet, but I've been expecting it! But their more recent basses have had much gentler edges - I've got one from 2010 that has beautifully rolled edges, as well as a much thinner neck. (Both are fretless, fwiw).

Try starting here: [url="http://www.klangfarbe.com/shop/index.php?u=52372881&sh=G&w=&a=&p=30062"]http://www.klangfarb...G&w=&a=&p=30062[/url] They do look pretty cheap!

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1327140547' post='1506806']... but to destroy such an old instrument is beyond the pale! [/quote] Ahem. I agree with your comment, but when it appears next to your current profile pic, well, I find it pretty ironic.

[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1326736321' post='1501306']... sold it a couple of months later for £200 .... [/quote] Did you advertise it as coming from a "smoke-free home"?

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' timestamp='1326501820' post='1498300'] Oh, quick question, will it matter if I attach the ground wires from the pick ups to the tags on the blend pot that are connected to the casing of the volume pot? [/quote] No, electrically that'd be fine. The only reason not to is that, in my experience of soldering blend pots, it can get quite fiddly. So for that reason I would avoid having more wires coming in there than necessary.

[quote name='SebCarr' timestamp='1326471886' post='1497731'] Who says that??? Valves should last YEARS of regular use, and decades of occasional use! Also, they were built a lot better in the 50s... [/quote] Who? This month's Guitarist, for example, although it seems that I had misremembered the exact frequency they recommended. But here are their exact quotes: [quote]"If it's been some years since they were changed ... definitely have the power valves replaced and the amp rebiassed." [/quote][quote]"Do it every year or two; less if the amps aren't regularly gigged." [/quote]Is it different for guitar amps than bass amps? (That's an honest question, by the way, I'm not trying to be rhetorical).

[quote name='sussexbassman' timestamp='1326468577' post='1497671'] Thanks mart, I might have gone for that, but I see they don't post their guitars (store collection only) and since I live in Sussex, this isn't practical. [/quote] Oh yes, I'd forgotten they were like that. Shame. If I were at all likely to swing by Sussex in the near future, I'd offer to deliver it for you; but unfortunately that's not on the cards.

If you can stretch your budget a little (and maybe haggle), there's a second-hand Traveller at this shop: [url="http://www.cardiffguitars.co.uk/ForSale/sh/sh.aspx"]http://www.cardiffguitars.co.uk/ForSale/sh/sh.aspx[/url]

[quote name='throwoff' timestamp='1326465813' post='1497596'] No he is not, despite Thomann and several other online retailers calling the fingerboards Rosewood ALL Fretless Warwicks be they German made, Korean or Chinese RockBass models have Tigerstripe Ebony Fingerboards. .... [/quote] +1. The board is ebony, and Throwoff is, of course, right.

"Everything is 100% original down to the tubes .... ... Sounds amazing!!" So when people say you need to change your valves every six months or so, it isn't strictly correct?

Ok, for a vol/blend set-up, you just need to sort out the connection from pickups to blend pot, and the earth connections. The hots from the pickups go to the two centre tags on your blend pot (I think you wan to connect the neck hot wire to the tag nearest the shaft, bridge to the other). That leaves you with two tags on the blend pot that still have no wires - one at each corner. You need to link these by another short wire. And on one of these tags you also need to solder another (longer) wire which will join to your ground. The other end of this wire can go to the case on your volume pot. Then also link the earth wires from each pickup to the casing on the volume. And run another wire from this casing to the sleeve of the jack socket. And, finally, the ground wire from the bridge also needs to link to this casing. This is what you want to end up with: (All the black wires ending on the volume pot casing are supposed to be soldered together, and to the casing). Hope this helps.

[quote name='bartelby' timestamp='1326381408' post='1496422'] When I'm not running around after the daughter I'll post a full bass shot. [/quote] Yes please!

Very nice! I wasn't sure the gold hardware would suit it, but having seen your photos, I think you made the right call.

That's a lovely bit of bubinga there - how heavy is it? When you wired it up with "some simple passive controls", were you still powering the pickups? As best as I can tell from the photo, they are active. So if you didn't power them, then that would explain why you didn't get much volume out of them. Oh, and do you know what happened to the jack socket on the rim? If you could move the socket back to the rim then you'd have three pot-holes to work with. By the time you've finished, you should have something that you can sell for at least 2 or 3 times what you paid for it!

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1326325027' post='1495653']...As a piece of useless trivia, Kodachrome was actually invented by two musicians... those damn b*ggers get everywhere... [/quote] Of course, it was Simon and Garfunkel, wasn't it?

[quote name='Prime_BASS' timestamp='1326304676' post='1495232'] I just took the strings completely off, all at once as im installing my favourite pickup. The whole top section (thats adjustable via small grub screws.) has come completly off and the two side sections that I assume hold it on, have come clean off, not even any pressure applied and they were flimsy as wet paper. Anyway, how to fix? My guess is that I need a whole new nut. I'm sending an email to CS at warwick to see what they say, but in the mean time ideas? [/quote] Hopefully Warwick will sort you out, but in the meantime, can't you just put the nut back on and let the strings hold it in place? I didn't think the side clips were essential.

[quote name='Skezza' timestamp='1326223856' post='1494112'].... I have twice used 4 x 8ohm cabs to build a 'rig of doom' [i]more for the visual effect[/i] at outdoor festival where there is plenty of stage...[/quote] You could probably still achieve the same visual effect if you had the cabs on stage but [b]not plugged in.[/b] You'd also be following a grand music-biz tradition ....

[quote name='StevieD_FenderP2009' timestamp='1326242210' post='1494511'] The pre amp is a Dave McKeen 3 band pre amp. ... [/quote] Does it look like this? (Taken from [url="http://www.myspace.com/keenelectronics/photos/721411"]http://www.myspace.com/keenelectronics/photos/721411[/url])