topo morto

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360068859' post='1964249'] I would hazard a guess that the "stuff" in your folk museum is both pretty common and had a couple of centuries of development and refinement to arrive at the items that are on display. By comparison the bass guitar has only been around for just over 60 years and despite what some people might say, it still has plenty of room for improvement. Musicians are still experimenting with works best for them and the music that they play, and if that means making modifications to instruments that they own and otherwise feel comfortable with, then so be it. [/quote] But progress doesn't necessitate tampering with the artifacts of the past - in fact it's probably easier done by starting afresh. Here's one of the items in the museum... [url="http://www.folkmuseum.org.uk/page.php?id=189"]http://www.folkmuseu...page.php?id=189[/url] It would be possible to stick a motor in there and get the thing performing better by some measure. But most would consider that you have diminished the original item, and still have something that doesn't work as well as a dyson. [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360068859' post='1964249'] Popular music is currently going through a phase where it's spending far too much time looking backwards and trying to preserve the past when the music and musicians from those eras were doing everything they could to throw out traditional notions of what music was and the instruments used to play it. [/quote] I don't see what this has to do with the case in point. If you wanted to make a novel stringed bass instrument I doubt you'd start with a P bass as your foundation, and if you did, putting a bridge J pickup is hardly breaking new ground either. Again, I'm not having a go at the OP here as I daresay these are not his motivations!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360064147' post='1964145'] If you really believe all that nonsense about late 70s Fenders being of historical importance, then surely they should all be tucked away safely in museums and other collections, where they won't suffer any further degradation through being used which as we can all see is gradually wearing them away. [/quote] Historical importance is a sliding scale, and all subjective anyway - although the market can put a value on it, which in the case of 70's P Basses, it does. I personally think the value of things is in how much they are appreciated. Our local folk museum has stuff from the 18th century (not P basses sadly) that you can mess about with, which naturally causes them to wear out a little, but they've decided it's worth it on balance. That 'natural wear' is qualitiatively different to making an alteration to something - I'm not saying I think mods are always wrong, but if everyone took an 'it's mine, I'll do what I want with it' attitude, little would survive more than a few generations. The impact on the resale price to the current owner shouldn't be the only consideration. I'm not targetting the OP here, it sounds like you've considered such things anyway and wish you the best with the hole-hacking...

[quote name='ead' timestamp='1360053113' post='1963956'] Hmm. With no disrespect to the OP or Mr Dead Mouse, I'm not convinced that a '77 P bass would be considered a heritage item, as they are hardly low volume production items and have the stigma associated with the post CBS production values. [/quote] [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1360056824' post='1964008'] We're talking about a late 70s Fender bass here. Something that was churned out of a factory in their 1000s at a time when construction standards and quality control were at an all-time low. Unless the bass in question is in factory-fresh, pristine condition, with not a mark on it and still has its case and all the extras in a similar perfect state, it's hardly of any historical importance. [/quote] It's not a question of how many were made, but the number (probably still high) and condition (perhaps in many cases a bit ropey) of those that remain. As you say it may be that this one is towards the bottom of that pile anyway. If not, by modding it, rather that selling it and buying one of the many other excellent P/J's that I'm sure are available, you're arguably depriving someone of the chance to own an old thing that would be special to them, even if the item is not quite at the level of being of historical importance.

[quote name='Stealth' timestamp='1360021958' post='1963826'] Why the "oh you dont wanna do that" comments [/quote] Some would be of the opinion that heritage items don't only belong to the owner, but to the world. Like if your house is a a listed building or something.

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1359847144' post='1961252'] This'll end up as 'a bloke [i]paid[/i] me to take his bass away, it's the best one I've ever played' etc... [/quote] Entirely possible if it's one of those haunted devil instruments (kind of like the bass equivalent of the red shoes). They don't come up often though.

Already not the lowest bidder I see but my main axe cost me £30, a 'Vintage' P-bass copy. Perfectly good P I think... well I like it anyway.

[quote name='korerok' timestamp='1357424038' post='1922600'] just got an awsome pedal fast postage well packed thanks dude [/quote] Me too! Many thanks.

Sent Mike a bass neck - nice friendly deal, sounds like it may have found a home too which is always rewarding. Many thanks!

Pretty sure Ravi Shankar used one of these when he used to play bass for the Beatles. Here it is:

+ my voice to the chorus of approval for Ancient Mariner - easy sale of a pedal, all nice and friendly.

[quote name='redbandit599' timestamp='1359409033' post='1954438'] Thanks mate, that's interesting. As my main bass is active this would suggest little/no benefit. [/quote] Even on a passive bass, as soon as your signal has gone through a buffer, it's effectively as if your bass were active from the point of whatever comes after that buffer - so unless you have a long cable between a passive bass and your amp / first pedal you don't need to worry even then.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1359408148' post='1954416'] If you have quite a few effects, good quality cables & plugs can greatly reduce (or even get rid of) ground noise. [/quote] True - but 'good quality' there means 'properly shielded, and properly soldered to plugs that make proper contact, and constructed robustly enough that they will stay that way'. AFAICS No reason that quite cheap cables can't tick all those boxes....

Here's one guru on the subject: [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cables.shtml"]http://www.ovnilab.com/articles/cables.shtml[/url]

AFAIK people use those solderless cables so they can get their cables exactly the right length and get their pedalboard all neat without doing a ton of soldering...? Can't see why they'd sound bettter though... and if anything I would think they would be less reliable....

Very pelvic.