mcnach

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' timestamp='1471291327' post='3111941'] Wasn't the Banchory beer festival was it? [/quote] It was!!! Don't tell me you were there!!

Yes... invest in a new amp. A meh bass through a good amp can still sound pretty decent, but the best bass in the world will sound uninspiring through a bad amp. I had the 5 string version and although I wasn't crazy about the preamp in particular, it sounded quite alright. It certainly did not lack bass/body... I suspect you'll change your mind when you play through a decent amplifier.

[quote name='casapete' timestamp='1471262494' post='3111604'] The Brewdog non (or maybe very low?) alcohol beer is called 'Nanny State', and it's ok. Am guessing most active basses are unable to run without their battery, as I found out years ago with a Precision Lyte that died just as we were finishing the first dance at a big wedding. Made me change batteries every string change, usually around 8 weeks. For the price you can get Duracells on ebay, it really isn't worth risking not doing it. I usually buy them in boxes of 10 for around £8 delivered, and unlike a lot of places the company I use guarantees them to be originals. ( Apparently Duracells are widely counterfeited? ) [/quote] Good call on the name of the beer, I forgot what it was. It was the tastiest non-alcohol beer I've ever had. Usually they are pretty bland. It's not a bad idea to replace batteries with the strings... I may just do that. Batteries are not THAT expensive. I tend to avoid any 'deals' on batteries unless I am entirely sure they are legit. I've been burnt before, the real thing lasts a lot longer... not worth the risk. I often get them in Costco... but if not any shop works

[quote name='Mattpt85' timestamp='1471256967' post='3111554'] Another reason I've gone back to passive, one less thing to check [/quote] Offtopic: I keep looking at your avatar... that must be one of the most beautiful basses I've ever seen

[quote name='Mattpt85' timestamp='1471256967' post='3111554'] Another reason I've gone back to passive, one less thing to check [/quote] it's certainly fool-proof I'd just try to be less foolish . It is SO EASY to avoid trouble... but yeah, it happened. I was happy to have that bypass switch installed!

Big bag'o'wind I've had a love/hate relationship with the Streamliner. At times I want to throw it away and kick it until it's dead, then kick it again, but other times it sounds fantastic. So, it's not a great amplifier in that it's not hugely versatile, for certain bass/cab/room combinations makes it really hard to get a good sound of, but then there are other components involved too. Like Muff said, I think it complements better cabs with tighter lows. By comparison, I find I can always get the LM3 to sound at the very least acceptable with any combination. It may not be the absolutely best sounding amp, but it works well in any situation (so far!) and it can sound very very good in the right circumstances. The Streamliner is relegated to home use / backup. One day I'll find something else I like substantially better and I'll exchange it, I suppose.

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1471236991' post='3111401'] Happened to me with my G&L ASAT bass at a gig. Had to stop playing. Me and our sound tech opened the casing for the 9 volt battery for the pre-amp and replaced it. Too bad we didn't check the batteries in my Line 6 G30 wireless relay transmitter first as that was the culprit. My advice, don't be a cheapster. Don't by batteries at The Dollar Store.😁 Blue [/quote] Yeah, cheap batteries are not worth it. Too unreliable/short lived. G30? But that has a status LED indicator, doesn't it? Of course, you need to look at it otherwise it's pointless... and that's the thing with being human: you miss stuff like that sometimes Like the day I was struggling with my bass when we came back for the second set... and I was just about to bypass my pedalboard entirely when I noticed I just wasn't plugged in yet

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1471221445' post='3111387'] Chunky neck? Hmmm that is slightly offputting. I don't cope well with chunky neckage [/quote] Yeah that CV50 Precision (Butterscotch) had one of the chunkiest necks I've seen recently. But mine was one of the first ones. I noticed there were slimmer necks out there so either newer versions and/or other colours may be ok for you then. Worth checking before buying 'though. The Mike Dirnt's neck was very slim by comparison, and the neck I bought for it (which was from a CV50s, in USA, but did not specify which one) was only marginally thicker.

Well, you said you liked the Squier Mike Dirnt? Guess what? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-squier-precision-Bass-Guitar-P-Bass-Mike-Dirnt-Edition-/282129225669?hash=item41b03657c5:g:IkEAAOSwaB5XpzO4"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-squier-precision-Bass-Guitar-P-Bass-Mike-Dirnt-Edition-/282129225669?hash=item41b03657c5:g:IkEAAOSwaB5XpzO4[/url] not mine, by the way!

I had that problem in a bass once. My quick fix was a couple of coats of quick-dry transparent nail varnish over the polepieces. Then if you touch them they don't make a noise. The long term fix was simply putting a strip of copper shielding under the pickup, ensuring it touched all the polepieces (easier on a Stingray type pickup than in a Jazz, but doable)... then ground that strip.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1471216017' post='3111370'] No mention of the Squier Classic Vibe 50s Precision? I would try and find a used example of the now discontinued butterscotch version: These are no longer on the Squier site but there are some white blonde ones knocking about still: [url="https://www.hwaudio.co.uk/Product/Fender-Squier-Classic-Vibe-50s-Precision-Bass-White-Blonde-Pine-p428316"]https://www.hwaudio....de-Pine-p428316[/url] [/quote] I sold mine a few months ago... it was lovely. The neck is big, but I like chunky necks. I think other colours came with slightly different necks, made in different factories, as I bought a maple neck off another and it was a lot thinner (I bought it for my Mike Dirnt, as I wanted a maple neck)... The butterscotch one was a great bass. The first time I used it was with the RHCP tribute band I was playing with at the time. It actually sounded great for that! "Can't stop" was really nice on that bass, I remember. And Aeroplane!

[quote name='Woodinblack' timestamp='1471213330' post='3111353'] Maybe you need the same circuit in the stingray! [/quote] You know what? I'd love to do that, or maybe a led that starts flashing (like the P-Retro preamp)... and then go into the EBMM forum to show them all how you can *improve* the Stingray... then retire to a safe distance with popcorn and enjoy the show

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1471208458' post='3111308'] And check your smoke alarms too!!!!! [/quote] Those beep so loudly when the battery goes off that I'd have to be dead not to hear that

The TKS S112 speakers continue to impress... and they made my BB2 stack redundant. No, the BB2 can get a lot louder and with a lot more low end... but the S112s work for me pretty well and they have a great tone with my amp/bass combinations, it just suits me best. I played in a large stage last night with the two S112, MarkBass LM3 and Stingray, and it was glorious. The Genz Benz Streamliner 900 and BB2 stack, however, is not a great combination. It gets too big too boomy too easily and it's hard to control. But the Streamliner also works well with the S112s. MarkBass and BB2 was pretty good 'though.

Affordable? I got my Mike Dirnt for £115 including a small practice amp... they tend to sell for around £100 or so, but there aren't lots of them, I admit. It's a nice bass. Very light. I did replace the pickup 'though as it was a bit naff. The most un-precision-like neck of all the Precisions I've tried: very shallow and slim, without being a Jazz.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1471206479' post='3111286'] Rubbish basses them Stingrays! [/quote] Indeed. I never had a problem with any of my OLPs!

Yup. Look at me all smug... I don't remember how many threads I've participated on about the subject of batteries on preamps, always saying it's not an issue, you just replace the batteries from time to time and not risk failure, and you get a warning anyway in the form of distortion etc etc... Well, I guess I'm human after all. Last night we were booked to play at a beer festival near Aberdeen. Beautiful, and fantastic beers. I only had one early on, as I was driving, but they had a non-alcohol one that actually tasted really really good (from Brewdog brewery)... one to keep an eye on! Anyway... there we go, my trusty Stingray, the two TKS S112 speakers and the MarkBass LM3, all ready to go. Only... what's that? Is the sound fading out at times or is it my imagination? Is everything plugged in correctly? Yup. Well, my amp volume is not very high at all, so I guess there was bass coming out of various monitors and they were being faded out or something... it sounds just fine. Nothing to worry about. We start. It sounds great. I love these speakers. The stage is a reall good size and we are a 5 piece as opposed to our usual 7-piece so there's a lot of room and I enjoy the sound on stage wherever I go. Then, as I start a song... I have trouble hearing my bass... "idiot" I think... "I generally turn down between songs and I guess I didn't turn up all the way"... the first long note I get, I slowly turn up my bass volume hoping the sound guys won't hate me too much if they had corrected for my sudden low output. But... it can't be, I am turned up! So, I pull my volume knob, which bypasses the preamp (I have a John East preamp on my Stingray)... and my bass came back loud. "Doh!" I avoid making eye contact with the sound guys and carry on with the Stingray passive (which is not all the different from my usual sound anyway, mostly just a bit less full). That was only two songs before a little break. So during the break I take my bass backstage and I pull out the battery. I write the date on the batteries, you see. I change them once a year, as a rule, or before 'important' gigs if it's been longer than 6 months, just in case... I don't want to mess up for the sake of £5. What does the battery say? APRIL 2014. REALLY???????????????? More than two years? And this is the bass I play the most! How did this happen? How could I miss it??? Well, I took out a new 9V battery from my case, wrote 'August 2016' on it, replaced it... and glorious Stingray came back to life. User error, nothing to do with the technology User is an idiot. So now I have a spreadsheet with details for every bass, taking the opportunity to add a bit about what strings I use, dates, batteries etc... I'll still get caught one day because there's no cure against being absent minded... but I'll do what I can. Now, this is the first time I have a battery failure on the Stingray. I had other active basses and everytime I could tell the battery was on the way out because there were noises, or distortion, and the bass was still operational for quite some time that way, so I wasn't too worried. But with the Stingray? Nothing. I do think it sounds better with the new battery, but the degradation must have been too subtle and too gradual for me to pick on it. Kids... dont forget to check and replace your batteries!

[quote name='Burg' timestamp='1471167330' post='3110893'] Not passive option. I do mute the amp, wonder if that removes the signal to the pickups? [/quote] No.

The best tracking Octave pedal I've tried is the MarkBass one. It's pretty clean, natural and glitchless where others break down... but it's not very 'synthy' if that's what you're after.

[quote name='bigsmokebass' timestamp='1470944374' post='3109575'] Looks a while differently new bass. I quite like it but I'd have P/J confit for me BSB [/quote] That would have been the simplest option, but I already have the Jake P/JJ and the point was having a Jazz in a more comfy package than... a Jazz

[quote name='Bass_Guardian' timestamp='1470841234' post='3108866'] IVe had my battery in my bass for a good 3/4 years. Still not died, I just [b]switch it to Passive when not using it Active[/b]. I'm not playing it every day mind you... [/quote] switching it to passive does not prevent it from using up the battery, 'though. The circuit is powered up as long as you have a jack in the socket.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1470745203' post='3108070'] weird! I don't know where it says that but this is from the same manual: [/quote] It says on the manual, in the link I posted. Here's the relevant bit: The 600mA refers only to the specs of the AC adaptor they sell, not what the pedal requires. Weird would be a tuner requiring 600mA! If you want to use the 'out' of the tuner to power other pedals, then the supply would have to be larger, in order to power the pedal and whatever is linked to it. I suspect that's why you see a 600mA supply, because they illustrate you can add other pedals etc. Always go directly to the specs page, as diagrams are often misleading/incorrect.

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1470746419' post='3108088'] Glad it worked out. Looks really good. [/quote] It does I'm also remembering why I removed those pickups from the Jazz bass it was originally on so there will be a pickup change in the future, but it's not bad, it's not bad.