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[quote name='stevie' post='1312720' date='Jul 22 2011, 01:49 PM']From memory (I weighed them but it's a while back), the Hipshots or equivalents weigh 200 grammes and a standard set of tuners weighs 450 - 500 grammes. So taking one tuning peg off wouldn't be indicative. It completely cured the neck dive on my Yamaha. Not a cheap option, but it also reduces the overall weight of your bass and certainly beats hanging a hammer on your strap. :-)[/quote] It does depend a lot on what your current tuning pegs are. In my case the factory-fitted ones weigh about 57g each. Hipshot say their Ultralites are 52g, making for an immense saving of, ooh, 20g across the 4 pegs. However, some folk who have fitted Ultralites say they weigh less - around 42-44g. Based on that, a set of 4 might save me 60g, i.e., near as dammit, one tuner. I agree that if you could take 250g off your headstock it would make a lot of difference. I wish I could, but until someone shows me some tuning pegs that weigh absolutely nothing, I can't. I'm almost tempted by the helium balloon option.... And I totally agree that adding weights to your strap is undesirable - especially if you've already got a heavy bass. I passed the hammer suggestion on without any implied endorsement intended. [quote name='mybass' post='1312688' date='Jul 22 2011, 01:19 PM']... Have you tried the old acoustic folk strap idea that goes from the bridge end strap button and ties onto the headstock (or even move the strap button to the back of the headstock if this balance works). ...[/quote] I have to ask: Have [i]you[/i] tried that acoustic guitar trick? I have, and can confirm that if you try it with a solid-body instrument, then you'll find the body quickly sinks to the floor and you'll have the tuning pegs embedded in the side of your face if you're not careful! Personally I'd prefer a bit of neck-dive. However, you can modify this by rigging a strap that connects to both the top-horn strap-button [i]and[/i] the headstock. It's not a perfect solution, but I think it can be bearable. I've been told that it puts strain on the neck-body joint, but I'm not convinced since (to my simple mind) it is lifting the weight of the neck up, rather than letting gravity pull the neck weight down. (And since the acoustic-guitar trick must apply the same problem, or worse, to the joint, yet nobody complains about it).

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='1312892' date='Jul 22 2011, 04:00 PM']... Laying the cab flat has no effect on the midbass frequencies, and makes the situation worse by making the mids and highs harder to hear. Lifting it above the stage by two to three feet will help tame the boom, how high depends on the frequencies that are resonating. ....[/quote] So you'd probably still want it vertical, but stood on top of a chair or beer crate or something, right? And, if I've understood this, then adjusting the height will, crudely, change which frequencies you're cutting - so raising or lowering it should help you find the ideal height to counteract the boominess.

[quote name='Mod_Machine' post='1312536' date='Jul 22 2011, 11:35 AM']Mmmm - im thinking ill be giving the 'hole in the neck' approach a miss! ...[/quote] So narrow-minded [quote name='Mod_Machine' post='1312536' date='Jul 22 2011, 11:35 AM']... Already moved the strap pin down to being in the centre at the rear (rather than as previous where it was further up) and surely the bass will 'flip' when not being played if i move it down towards jack plug area?[/quote] I suppose it might flip, but I wouldn't think it's very likely - your right arm will stop it, won't it? And you could put the strap button on the back of the bass. [quote name='lettsguitars' post='1312573' date='Jul 22 2011, 11:59 AM']1.ultralites can only do so much. pm me if you want some though. ...[/quote] That's my impression - based on the Hipshot specs, and the weight of my pegs, fitting ultralites would remove a weight equivalent to one tuning peg on my bass. So I did exactly that - I took a peg off, and saw how the balance changed. And, basically, it didn't much - it was still neck-diving badly. [quote name='lettsguitars' post='1312573' date='Jul 22 2011, 11:59 AM']... I can't believe people are spending hard cash on instruments that fit the image but play like sh*t, and actually end up hanging dumbells off the end just to make em sit up straight. Some image![/quote] Yeah, but 1) image is important and 2) sometimes it's not image - it's the sound of the bass. And some of us are prepared to put with up bad ergonomics for a good sound. Maybe that's not a choice everyone would make, but hey, we're all different!

Yep, it has to be the mandobird in that case. But watch the quality control. Mine came with one of the bridge screws missing!

[quote name='Faithless' post='1312571' date='Jul 22 2011, 11:57 AM']... What pisses me off, is that I could hardly 'tilt-up' (or is that function called 'tilt-back'?.. Genz cab has that) two separate cabs,put one on each other, without upper cab falling off. Is there any solution to that?[/quote] Tricky, but I'd suggest you put both cabs, one on top of the other, on top of a crate or something, so that they are both nearer to head height.

There's a guy on the Warwick forum that recommended tucking a 16oz hammer into your strap near the bottom of the bass. Not only does it sort the neck-dive out, he says it's also really handy when there's a nail sticking out on stage. Alternatively, could you get some light-weight tuning pegs in the same shape as your elephant ears? (If they were made of aluminium then they could look the same but be lighter). Or fits some lightweight pegs but keep the buttons - that wouldn't save as much weight but it might make enough of a difference. Then there's the moving-the-strap-button option. You can move the bottom button so that it's "nearer" the headstock - but "nearer" in a precise sense: you need to make sure that when you hold the bass at your preferred angle, the vertical line through the button is closer to the vertical line through the headstock. That usually means moving the button [i]towards[/i] the jack socket, rather than away from it. Or you can move the top strap button. I don't know the shape of your bass, but with many basses the top horn is not long enough. In that case you can just fix a new button on the back of the neck. If you do it around the fifth fret, then you'll still have access to all the important notes - frets 1-4.

[quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1312364' date='Jul 22 2011, 09:14 AM']I was checking out a Brunswick that was similar to that one,but it was'nt as nice to play as my Stagg.I'll check a Rally out,also got GAS for a Mandobird.[/quote] I recently bought a Mandobird on a silly whim. It is a very silly instrument indeed, but in a grey depressing world, it's fantastic to have an instrument that makes me giggle every time I think about it! Another major advantage is that I can play it sitting down, whereas I could never find a comfortable way of holding a traditional mandolin/a when seated.

Depends how much you want to spend. For my mandola I just bought a piezo buzzer from Maplins, jammed it under the bridge and wired it to a jack socket. Looks awful, but sounds insanely good for the cost (approx £2.50!). A mate did something similar with his mandolin, but I think he glued the buzzer under the soundboard, and fitted a volume control. So his looks a thousand times better, but sounds about the same. The next step up would be to wire in a preamp to match the impedance better, but then you're looking at a massive outlay of, ooh, nearly £20. I wouldn't think that buying an electric is a good bet - you'll get more for your money by spending it just on a pickup rather than on a whole new instrument. On the other hand, if feedback is likely to be a problem, or you want the looks of an electric mando, then electric may be the way to go.

[quote name='Faithless' post='1311885' date='Jul 21 2011, 06:49 PM']Oh, there's a chance to take TC Electronic RS210 [b]or [/b]112 cheaply enough from my local shop,but are they gonna work ok with Shuttle 3? (i'm total noob on those 'ohms' issues) And, are those TC cabs being taken as 'lightweight'? I lifted them in shop, and they were way too heavy for my 'lightweight' understanding..[/quote] I think those TC cabs should be ok - ask the shop if they're 8ohm cabs. (The TC website has tech specs, but doesn't seem to mention the impedance or maybe I'm just not seeing it). As long as they're 8ohm, then you can use one of them, or one in parallel with your 10" GB cab. There's lightweight, and there's lightweight. Those TC cabs are light compared to many, but the Shuttle cabs are featherweight - you won't find many cabs that light.

[quote]Special [i]finger[/i]board inlay design[/quote]

[quote name='silddx' post='1312000' date='Jul 21 2011, 08:10 PM'] I'm not being polite, just stating their terms. I will NEVER deal with them again.[/quote] Fair enough. I wish I could be as decisive as you. At least, I think I do.

[quote name='Faithless' post='1311766' date='Jul 21 2011, 05:03 PM']I thought those 210 and 212 GB cabs are designed to run with Shuttle 6 to get the most out of them?[/quote] Yeah, maybe that's what they are designed for, but you don't have a 6, do you? Turning it around, I'm sure a 2x10 will get more out of your Shuttle 3 than a 1x10 will.

[quote name='Faithless' post='1311734' date='Jul 21 2011, 04:42 PM']... Problem is that Shuttle 3 doesnt 'handle' larger GB cabs,but I think 2x10 should be enough, what do you think? ...[/quote] What do you mean by "handle"? It looks to me as if you could run the 10" cab that comes with your combo in parallel with another, larger cab (e.g. a 15", or a 2x10"). I certainly often run my Shuttle 3 with a 12" and a 15" (neither GB cabs, but both 8ohm). Am I missing something?

[quote name='silddx' post='1310805' date='Jul 20 2011, 08:39 PM']If it's faulty, you can send it back to Thomann for a refund. They pay the shipping. If you don't like it they accept returns within 30 days at your shipping cost. ...[/quote] That's true, so you could just buy blind from Thomann and, if you get one like mine, send it straight back as faulty goods. Mind you, I am surprised to hear silddx being polite about Thomann, given his recent experience!

Fair enough, but using the same photo and the same text for selling two different items will tend to arouse suspicions. Anyway, it's good to hear there's a perfectly innocent explanation.

+1 to all that. And see here for a couple more comments along the same lines: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=144365"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=144365[/url]

[quote name='GBass' post='1310317' date='Jul 20 2011, 02:13 PM']Hello chaps, I've recently been tempted to-wards purchasing a fretless bass but bearing in mind I'm a left handed player and not much is out there for leftys. I've just been looking at the Warwick RB corvette, any good? I must admit that this is my first fretless bass but I just love the sound a fretless gives. Much appreciated for any feed back. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_rb_corvette_basic_4_a_bk_fllh.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_rb_corvet...4_a_bk_fllh.htm[/url][/quote] Hmmm. The picture in that Thomann link is for an "old" (i.e. pre 2010) Rockbass. They have a one-piece bridge and, from my own bitter experience, quite awful quality control. Here is the 2008 RB fretless that I got in a part-ex deal (so didn't think to get photos beforehand): As you will see, tiny details like making the bridge line up with the pickups, or even with the neck so that the strings were spaced correctly on the neck, were not considered important enough. Oh and one of the tags on the last tone pot touched the shielding in such a way as to intermittently cut the output. But at least that was an easy fix. Seemingly, the post-2010 RBs (with the same 2-piece bridge as the German Warwicks) are much better. I don't have any experience of them. But you'll see that Thomann charge nearly twice as much for them. In general I think the RBs are fairly good instruments - and an ebony fretboard at that price is not to be sneezed at. But, because of what I've seen, I wouldn't recommend buying one blind.

[quote name='FourStrung' post='1309913' date='Jul 20 2011, 07:23 AM']This is the model from their bottom end range although selling for over 400€ here in France. There isn't a preamp... in the cavity for the pots are only the 3 pots/wiring, plus the tone control does not seam to do very much. Hence why it really needs any type of pedal to give it a boost. I understand that one of the areas they don't use great components on cheaper stuff are the electronics. I guess maybe I am thinking these are the weak spot and maybe its just better to use an effects pedal to compensate. [attachment=85129:Rockbass1.jpg][/quote] I was trying to choose my words carefully because I couldn't remember if it had a preamp or not. What I was suggesting was: if it has a preamp, buy a different one, and if it doesn't have a preamp, then fit one! On the RB Corvettes the electrics are a mixture - the pickups are exactly the same as in the top-end German Warwicks (so if you ever want to buy new MEC pickups for your Streamer or Thumb, it's probably cheaper to buy a RB and take its pups), but the preamp (when fitted) is cheaper. With the RB Streamers, there is no German Warwick that uses the same pickups (except the old Streamer Standards), so they may be lower quality (that may have been one of the corners that Warwick cut that enabled them to make Streamer Standards in Germany for a similar price to Rockbasses). But as I said, you probably can't replace the pups. It seems to me that fitting a preamp will broadly the same effect as using a pedal offboard, but is rather more convenient. And yes, a good new set of strings will help. Again, lots of people on here will have opinions. (As do I, but since I play fretless almost exclusively, my tastes - TI flats - won't suit everybody!)

[quote name='Bankai' post='1309636' date='Jul 19 2011, 08:54 PM']Polytune would be an option, however it cannot be used for drop-tuning such as C. I'll try it though when I get a chance [/quote] Nice review of the others, so I'd love to hear your opinion of the polytune in comparison.

If it's a Streamer Standard, I think the pickups are known to be low output. I'm also pretty sure that they are a non-standard size, so would be very hard to replace. You could try fitting a new preamp - that would probably change the sound a lot. Lots of folk on here will probably have recommendations for a good pre to try.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='1309240' date='Jul 19 2011, 03:11 PM']Starting bid higher than previous sale price. With him leaving positive feedback for the buyer, I know what I personally believe. Sold to shill bidder.[/quote] If I'm reading the bidding history correctly, then the winning bidder put their bid in one second before the end of the auction. That really doesn't sound like the action of a shiller. Or am I missing something?

[quote name='neepheid' post='1309048' date='Jul 19 2011, 12:48 PM']That was the last time they had visited Aberdeen until this Thursday. ...[/quote] Perhaps it was something I said ...

[quote name='guildbass' post='1308700' date='Jul 19 2011, 01:05 AM']Is it possible for the bridge pup to be faulty in this way? I would imagine a faulty p'up to go open circuit and this one doesn't sound bad per se, just relatively low...Dunno... I'll carry on playing with heights and so on![/quote] The bridge pup [i]could[/i] be faulty, but I'd expect it to be very quiet, or intermittently quiet, if it were. It seems more likely that your neck pup is simply too high at the moment. [quote name='guildbass' post='1308700' date='Jul 19 2011, 01:05 AM']Um...Is the blend pot a double stacker? could the blend pot max out when it's towards the bridge because the bridge pot hits the stop, or because the neck pot hits zero...can the two pots (if it is a double stacked arrangement) get out of alignment so ther bridge pickup never gets to full volume...Hmm...[/quote] I'm not certain about older Wicks, but on the newer ones, the blend pot is certainly a double-track pot. However, the bridge pickup gets full volume all the way from the center detente round to the anti-clockwise extreme. (While the neck pickup gets attenuated as you sweep towards the ACW extreme. On the other half of the sweep the neck is constantly on full volume while the bridge is faded to nothing). So it's not going to be simply that the pot isn't sweeping the full extent. It could be a problem with the pot - some corrosion on the bridge track maybe, or some flaw in the solder connection to the bridge pup - but it's not a problem with the travel of the pot.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1308685' date='Jul 19 2011, 12:32 AM']Hey Guys! I'm seeing Iron Maiden in my home city of Aberdeen on Thursday! ...[/quote] That brings back some memories: Aberdeen was where I last saw Maiden, back around 1990, in the Capitol. Also saw Van Morrison there. Not on the same night though.