Ghost_Bass

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1480428947' post='3184299'] Great tip! Why didn't I think of that? I have a pair of KEF Cresta2 hifi speakers with 'dented' dust caps... I must try this [/quote] just make sure you don't make it a completely sealed setup because the force of the vaccum may be enough to rip the dust cap. I was lucky to have a funnel who looks like this one but in plastic. Its used to fill all kinds of sausaches (why i have one at home i just don't know, i haven't bought it and i never made a sausage in my life). It's almost the same size as the dust cap, just held the vaccum against it (not making it a sealed joint) and controled the sucction force.

Only for UK or EU members can participate? I have some strings comming in this week from Thomann but also have a lot of old packages lying around in my studio, can i register them?

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1480423848' post='3184217'] Those pesky cats get everywhere. A week back, I'd painted the door frame on the girlfriends house and went out. Came back to find the neighbour's cat had fallen asleep against it. Had to cut the poor fella free. But worst of all, had to sand the door back and go again. Not sure if the neighbour knows why their cat has a short back and side or a dark grey stripe across it... [/quote] Please tell me that your neighbours cat is black and female!!!!!! EDIT: yes, i'm that old to remember, many on the forum won't understand the pic. Pepe was one of my favourite WB characters.

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1480421556' post='3184196'] ooh I woulda plugged in, turned up to eleven and blasted out ! [/quote] If the drivers weren't shot by then that would certainly have taken care of that. Just imagine them clawing their way out of there scared... I had better judgment and called mrs GB, we gently picked them up at the same time to avoid them getting up and transfer all their weight through the paws to the cones.

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1480421306' post='3184192'] Umm yes, you ARE stretching your strings, very gently [/quote] I'm streching them from the moment they are strung the first time in that case. Everybody playing the first notes also strech the strings as they vibrate and bend to create sound I believe that the OP is about streching them to remove all the give they might have in the very first moments of aplying them.

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1480009242' post='3181020'] Thought this was a good video that touches on the subject: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGo3k46A39Y[/media] [/quote] After seeing a few seconds of this video i encounter two problems (IMO). He's stringing from G to E wich will make it harder to wrap the strings around the post of D A and E because there's a string very close to it - more noticeable in other types of headstock, 3+2, etc. I allway string my basses in the order of the tuning peg closer to the nut to the furthest. Second thing i've oticed is that he doesn't manually bend the string that goes inside the tuning peg, this can make it slip when tightening. I bend my strings very carefully using pliers before inserting in the post, that way i can hold the string with one hand and tight the peg with the other making sure that it tights neatly and secure in the post without slipping during the process. I don't strech the strings, i just give them a small pull just to make sure they sit in the nut and bridge and play a little and throw in some slaps and pops, retune and is good to go.

[quote name='thodrik' timestamp='1480359475' post='3183710'] Nice! It reminds me of two of my favourite pointless Facebook sites: [url="https://www.facebook.com/CatsOnAmpsOfficial/"]https://www.facebook...OnAmpsOfficial/[/url] [url="https://www.facebook.com/catsonsynthesizersinspace/"]https://www.facebook...esizersinspace/[/url] [/quote] Just payed a visit to the links, Cats on Amps is pretty cool but the Cats on Synths is just full of photoshop montages... it clearly shows that even cats know better to stay away from keyboards...

Can the OP take a amp guts picture of the jack socket? Depending of the type of socket it can be possible to carefully bend the spring back in to place. +1 for not messing around with the amp, just get some quality Neutrik jacks, mine have been going strong for the past 5 years and i've made them myself with Klotz cable and Neutrik connectors. After getting good cables (OBBM is a faster and great quality option too) you should get that input socket reviewed by a tech if you dont know what you're doing, it's easy to pull it out of the PCB and make it a harder and more expensive fix.

[quote name='josie' timestamp='1480382399' post='3183970'] Great photo, thank you! My Faith acoustic guitar has a fur-lined hard case - the original Josie (my avatar) found it half-open one day and so much loved curling up in it that I left it that way for her. Her most favourite place is my lap, so she gets pretty much anything else she wants. [/quote] Mine aren't picky at all. If it's warm and cozy they'll curl up in any place.

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1480365912' post='3183799'] Obviously not afraid of woofers. [/quote] That goes to show that Barefaced cabs don't have barky mids like some say in every BF topic.

Yesterday i took some time to try repairing the tweeter in my cab. Removed the grill to gain access to the cab and mrs G_B calls me to help her out with something. I return to my work and find these two little helpers: Fortunately tragedy avoided, the drivers got out of it unharmed, except for some bashed in dust caps. Out comes the vaccum cleaner and a kitchen funnel and they popped out again, like new. I couldn't bring myself to be mad at them as it was my fault for letting the door open and they looked so cute in there. But it could have been a lot worse... lesson learned, if it fits they really sits!

Probably the amp's socket is already a bit loose. OP should try to see if it's possible to tight the spring a bit, it may not be necessary to replace the input socket.

[s]Does it happen with the Mcomp turned off?[/s] EDITED, sorry

£300 and empty all the time. If i spend time practising and learning the songs, if i spend (lots of) money in gear and if i spend my time to travel the distance then i want to get payed for that. Music isn't my main income fortunetly, it's just a hobby, but it has to pay if i'm going to leave my home and family at the end of the afternoon only to return at dawn. Bands need to be booked at good prices, that way we can separate good bands from bad bands, i'm not going to offer my band for £100 just to compete with a bunch of kids that just started to pic up some H&B instruments, if the landlord want's more quality he has to pay for it. If a venue only books great bands it will get some reputation from that and the punters will eventually start to show up. I love playing and hanging out with my band mates but i also love my family and wouldn't leave my house just for the fun every weekend. I would be perfectly capable of playing a few free gigs, in the right circumstances, though.

Oh, and save the pictures of the transformation to use as proof of origin if you ever want to sell the bass but encounter a picky buyer!

I use pixlr.com for artworks. It's like an online photoshop, free. The only problem is that it doesn't allow you to save a work in progress, only as a picture. There's a way to go around this, just save each layer individualy and then open them by order in another program. There's also a lot of free fonts around the web, with a bit of googling and time to spend you should get close to the real deal. In honesty i don't think that Fender decals are that faithfull from bass to bass, in the same production run. They seem to get them outsourced and the final product will depend of the company contracted. Example: [quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1479231693' post='3174946'] [/quote][quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1479238374' post='3174998'] [/quote] If we look at the word "BASS" between both decals we can see that the MZ6 has less spacing between letters and appears to be bolder. If Fender had a template for the decals and used the same suplier they should all look the same. This is all to say that if the finished logo looks a bit off the initial it won't be a problem, the most important thing is there and that's the correct serial and model.

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1479328044' post='3175741'] There's a bass on this page that caught my eye initially as I was interested in a Fender VM jazz that looked like my Squier VM Jazz: [url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Fender_Stock.html"]http://www.bassdirec...nder_Stock.html[/url] [/quote] I'm also a bit anoyed by people polishing their sales adds with clever titles but that's to be expected. I allways try to think that the person on the other side of the internet might not be very knowledgeable of music instruments and brands and may be fooled by the small Fender logo on the headstock (it could be true, on 2% of the listings...) But this is way more serious IMO, how is it possible that a respectable establishment such as Bass Direct would advertise Squiers as Fenders? They know their stuff and are professionals, this shouldn't happen as it can in deed fool anyone more distracted that is relying on the shop's reputation to sell him the product they advertise. If you open the link for the bass it says "[color=#000000][font=Helvetica-Bold, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][b]Fender Squier Vintage Modified Jazz 70s[size=3][b]"... [/b][/size][/b][/font][/color]I would buy it as being a real Fender if i didn't knew any better. And i read on the posts that you're paying more attention to VW Group cars! Haven't you seen this?

From personal experience i would advice a Genz Benz Shuttle (the 9.0 as it's "900W" are in fact only 500W). They come cheap in the sales thread quite often. It's a very flat'ish sounding amp, has all the mid clarity you need and has a built-in HPF wich removes a lot of sub-bass making your tone more percieveable and the bass cut better in the mix. It's also loud enough with a 2x12" for the biggest pub you'll find. The TH500 is another excelent choice but the Genz 9.0 is prety much the same amp, only cheaper. If you need more bass to feed to the audience there's a nice little bass boost button that'll work well. As others said, the secret for great tone is in the mids, if you're struggling with hearing loss you can't go with the old method of EQ'ing your amp in the classic "V", you'll need those mids back in for clarity. also, as Phill said (if i'm not mistaken) putting too much bass in your tone also makes your bass fade in the mix.

Another thing i've remebered. You should remove almost all sub-bass and bass from the guitar(s) also, both in the PA and especially in the backline. They just need that mid to high region to cut the mix and be heard clearly. There are a lot of guitar players that insist in dialing bass in their tone. It sounds good in their bedroom but very bad in a band mix and will give a huge contribution to a muddy stage sound.

Doesn't Thomann or Musicstore store them? They'll get it to your doorstep and have great costumer support if anything happens. They're german stores so they should stock the brand, i haven't checked it. I must admit that when i read the title i grinned a little as i though to myself "yes, where are the Warwicks? haven't heard of any in this forum for quite some time!"

^ Excelent post! My band also has everything in the PA. The way we do it is to have the 75Hz HPF on in every channel except for the kick drum (yes, even on the bass channel). On top of that the sound i dial in onstage doesn't have sub-lows whatsoever as i get them from the PA's bleed. It works like a treat and everybody can hear everybody on stage allowing us all to play at a moderate stage volume. Follow EBS's advices, pay attention to the sub-bass region in the PA.

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1478885924' post='3172491'] This is pretty much what I believe to be right. Im thinking I was kinda right but the differences are so minimal maybe only the more sensitive players may notice (if at all). So maybe plek won't cause problems like I initially thought. I would still like to test the theory a bit more but it looks like I was probably wrong as the tiny differences are possibly to small on this scale. [b]Now for my thread were I pick fault with the buzz feiten tuning system[/b]...... Only joking [/quote] Whoa there!!! Calm down. I've just learned about plek today, let's leave this new technology thing i've also never heard of for next week.

I've done a fair amount of modding just to get small differences in the end. It's great fun and helps you get to know your way around your basses and learn how to repair them if needed. Two advices: - Don't make permanent mods like cutting/carving/routing/drilling the bass unless you're sure they'll be for ever. If you mod a bass making sure it's all reversible you can bring it to it's original state when it comes to sell it and sell all the extra parts on the side. It will be the most profitable way to sell that bass. - If it ain't broken or malfunctioning don't bother to change it. Pickups do some difference to the tone but there's so much influenced by the instrument (wood/strings) itself that the difference won't be as dramatic as you might think. Getting a new bass with a core tone very close to your taste is allways a better starting point. You'll never make a Fender sound like a Wal, ie. Bridge mass hasn't as influence in sustain as a new saddle/nut cut properly and with a good break angle and well intonated. All in all, i think that the best mod to really make a bass sound much different must be to add/replace a good quality on-board preamp, but then, there's so much preamp/eq pedals out there...

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1478884948' post='3172476'] Because they adjust frets individually to match a certain relief and arc of the string. They are not levelled so to say. So in my mind after you change different string and adjust relief the frets that are cut for another relief and string arc could be out of whack by a tiny amount. This could possibly affect the setup for some players. The difference is probably minimal but still there. Imo frets should be levelled on a straight neck. And should all be of the same height apart from some roll off at the end of the fingerboard. That way also has downsides and isn't as good as plek for 1 setup. But again imo it could be better for people who swap strings type and brand. [/quote] I know what you're saying and completely understand your point and the same exact relief could only be obtained in ideal conditions but you'll never get wonky frets. The difference would be very minimal if the new setup is done properly and even though the new string may have a bigger "vibration arc" you can add a bit more relief in the neck paired with lowering the saddle to readjust for the new strings. In theory and inside my head this should be possible with minimal error on the final result but, as i've said, i'm not used to setup reliefs in my necks so i may be very wrong.

I just can't understand why a plek'd bass can't be setup after a new string set to pretty much match the same neck relief it had with the previous set. Just use the old-proven method of adjusting in bits and look for fret-buzz, re-adjust and repeat... String gauge and tension would be of little significance unless people want to change from a .105 set to a .090 (in wich case, even with a tradicional setup it would allways need to take some attention from a luthier regarding the nut). Plek or not, it doesn't bother me a bit. I setup all my necks straight as a ruller because a have a softer attack and i can get very low actions in my instruments, plek wouldn't make a difference for me.