mcnach

I had enough of that. This will do! If you're not too close it looks fine

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1402529734' post='2474580'] If you can find the correct size in zinc plated steel rather than the stainless, those should use a grade of steel with decent magnetic properties. I'm not sure how easily you'll find those in imperial size though... [/quote] ... and just when I'm giving up and at peace with myself, you give me something else to look for. You cruel cruel man. Thank you! I'll see if I find something like that, but it's coming to the point that it's just not worth the time it takes me to find this thing.

Before the previous message I had ordered some M5 screws... (metric). After the message, I ordered the correct imperial measures in two different threads (they're cheap enough to try). All stainless steel A2. The M5 arrived today. I already knew they would not fit... close, not not the right ones. However, the disappointment came when I found that they were barely attracted by the magnets. The original polepieces are attracted very strongly. It doesn't look like I'll be able to get a solution after all... Ah well, I tried!!!

[quote name='Guinness21' timestamp='1402348531' post='2472585'] YES! Seriously, everyone needs a stingray in their life. [/quote] wise man

[quote name='Horizontalste' timestamp='1402324278' post='2472141'] Pffftt, trolley's... I use a twelve year old boy but its OK because I own him. He's not strong enough for vintage gear but does OK with the Benz. [/quote]

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1402265775' post='2471596'] DiMarzio pole pieces have imperial-sized hex sockets (3/32) and I would expect the thread is also imperial. Unfortunately I seriously doubt they're interchangeable with metric Schaller poles. Jon. [/quote] Dang, you're right!!! Pesky imperial vs. metric... ah well, I'll train myself to like the black

Sounds like they want to be sure they get the right guy/girl. I think that's good. And they think you might be it... so well done! What did YOU think? Did you like them? You get another chance to audition THEM, and again, that's good

Sexy! NOt a big fan of matching finish headstocks but... that looks great!

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1402176476' post='2470818'] You will find them in Schaller JBX pickups! Schaller copied the Model J design, but use chrome coloured polepieces, rather than black ones. [url="http://www.touchstonetonewoods.co.uk/products/bass-261/schaller-electric-bass-guitar-pair-of-pick-ups-jbx-series-1228.aspx"]http://www.touchston...eries-1228.aspx[/url] Larry Dimarzio used those hex poles, I guess, because he went to the hardware store near his shop and purchased the first thing he could find. These are not a specialist part, they are 5mm diameter hex bolts. Ebay is full of M5 hex bolts, but the bulk of them are stainless steel. The ones I've used are tensile steel, but they are black! Stainless is non ferrous, so probably would make a good pole piece. If you get really stuck I can give you the ones out of my Schaller pickups... I need to check that the replacement bolts in my collection actually work. [/quote] Yeah, the decreased magnetic properties of various stainless steels is what worries me. I do not understand about tensile steel or the various grades... I found this,, where it states that grade A2 is still magnetic (how much, I don't know)... so at least I can search for A2 grade grub screws. They're cheap enough that if they don't work well, I didn't really lose much, and it's fast and easy to replace a couple of poles and check the output and sound on one string. If you don't need your Schaller-derived poles, I would love to buy them off you... but only if you're sure you would not need them! (I can give you my black ones if you wanted to). At least I know those ones work well on pickups... but like I said, only if you're sure you don't want them

[quote name='M@23' timestamp='1400065011' post='2450320'] Hi, I'm after an always on compression pedal, I've read all the reviews on Ovnilab, amd am leaning toward the MB Compressore, but would appreciate some tried and tested opinions. I really want it to be a clean as possible, no harmonic distortion and as quiet as possible too! Not asking for much, then... I'd mostly use a low ratio as I don't want it to dip and swell and sound squishy, just want it to even things out and sound nice and clean. I have a LM3 and 2x12 and play 4 string Precisions. Cheers! [/quote] From your description, I think the BBE Opto Stomp would fit the bill well. It's VERY transparent, although if you want it to, it can fatten up the sound and be less transparent. DISCLAIMER: I do have one for sale, but this is not why I said the above! I personally like the EBS Multicomp best, and I have the BBE for sale because I ended up buying a second Multicomp (one for the big pedalboard, and one for the tiny one). The Multicomp is not as transparent, but I prefer how it does what it does when I switch between slap and fingerstyle. It's got three modes, a normal one, a "tube-sim" one which is the same but with extra "girth", I would say, and the dual band mode (which is what I use normally). It does colour the sound *slightly*, but it's not a bad colour at all. This compressor does not do the "just fattening and even up" the sound as well as the BBE, but it still does it very well, and I prefer the way it works for changing slap/fingerstyle styles. I also like about those pedals that they are extremely simple to use. EDIT: I saw you already got the MarkBass! I'm very curious about that one too, but too big and too many knobs Still, one day I will test one. How are you getting on with it?

[quote name='Patchbass' timestamp='1401479463' post='2464129'] So guys, I still haven't pulled the trigger on the Darkglass VMT as i'm still trying to be 100% sure and was wondering what it is like compared to the OKKO Basstard or the Roger Mayer TC Voodoo Bass and if anyone uses either of these and has any comments about them! I am after an overdrive that can go from breakup and a little hair to medium overdrive that will cut through the mix and sound vintage and similar to a valve amp, so are these pedals any better at this than the Darkglass VMT and are they capable of this and stand out in the overdrive market or are they ones to skip? Thanks for any help, Patch [/quote] The Darkglass may be suitable, but the OKKO Basstard is an entirely different animal. If you want valvey low gain overdrive, forget about the OKKO. I personally like the VT-Bass a lot for low gain overdrive (how valvey it is, it's up for debate), much nicer than the Darkglass VMT. The Xotic BB Bass preamp is a pretty cool pedal too for very low gain fattening overdrive sounds (although it does more than that, of course). The BB before the Darkglass, absolutely. I didn't like the VMT much myself, and find it overpriced.

[quote name='CMR Bass' timestamp='1402154113' post='2470521'] When I say they come loose, I don't mean they work all the way out, they just loosen up. You could only tell this by taking a screwdriver to the screws during routine maintenance. It's very common due to string vibration which is why I'm not a fan of bolt-on basses. [/quote] Is it very common? I must have been incredibly lucky

[quote name='JapanAxe' timestamp='1402091146' post='2470080'] Something's gone wrong when you start spending more money on trolleys than on instruments. Or beer. [/quote] ha ha sadly true!

Not long ago there was a tasty offer at Maplin offering some foldable trolleys for a measly £20. They looked good and I can't find the thread that was started about them, but several people bought it and seemed happy with it. I have a gig tomorrow in an uncertain location with uncertain access (that deserves a thread on its own... it's supposed to be outdoors in a park, but it may be indoors as there are issues with power and appropriate stage cover... long story)... so although I only have to carry a couple of lightweight cabs (BF Compact and BB2), lightweight amp (GB Shuttle 9.2) and bass plus a couple of pedals, the idea of having to walk for an unknown distance (at the moment) with all my equipment made me run to Maplin and I bought one of those aforementioned trolleys, only now they were £30. They were supposed to carry up to 70Kg, so that would be ok. [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/70kg-folding-trolley-n48jq"]http://www.maplin.co...g-trolley-n48jq[/url] It looked alright... but I have serious doubts about its suitability. The platform looks decidedly flimsy and bends noticeably when trying to lift my small MarkBass CMD121P combo. Hmmm. I stacked the BF cabs on the trolley and attempted to move it... I felt it was going to break. Once tilted it seems it could be ok... but it's not filling me with trust. And it's under 25Kg! Hmmm... not good. I have a number of other uses that this could be good for, so I might keep it, but I don't trust it for my original intended purpose. So, good people of BassChat, do you have any recommendations? I specifically want folding ones that I can throw in the boot of the cab and not take up much space. I met someone a few months back who had a Ruxxak like this one, and that one was definitely good. Sturdy, and reliable (he had used it for several years regularly)... The problem is they're not exactly cheap, but I'd rather buy one of these once than saving a bit and end up having to buy something else later because it was not good. This is the Ruxxac, at ~£128 delivered [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/RuXXac-Business-Folding-Truck-Capacity/dp/B002RB7XIW/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1402087197&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=ruxxac"]http://www.amazon.co...keywords=ruxxac[/url] However, I have seen another possible contender whose reviews look good and seems to be used by a lot of us noise-merchant types... Just under £60, the Wolfcraft Ts600. It looks a lot sturdier (in pictures!) than all the other ones at under £30, and the reviews seem good. Anybody has experience of these? [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wolfcraft-5505-Adjustable-Trolley-Ts600/dp/B0001GRVJQ/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top"]http://www.amazon.co..._pr_product_top[/url] Anybody have any other suggestions, or comments on the ones above? The Maplin one is definitely too flimsy...

[quote name='RockinRelic' timestamp='1402067491' post='2469762'] I live in the USA and bought one from a store in Germany last month -- purely for the surf green color. I couldn't find one anywhere in the states. It arrived within a few weeks, and it was in pretty good shape out of the box. First thing I did was turn the truss rod to correct the neck bow. I did mods on it, including Bartolini pickups and a Gotoh bridge. I also replaced the stock strings. My luthier (who can turn a log into a Stradivarius) worked on it and I did further work filing the fret ends smooth. I also painted the head stock to match the body. It now plays with the best of my other basses. I use it professionally in a surf band. I couldn't happier with the sound and joy of playing it. Amazing. Bottom line, the J&D bass is an amazing value for the money, and with a little work, it can be your main rig. [/quote] I am still amazed by mine! Like you I bought it mostly because of the colour... I wasn't expecting to like it quite so much!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1402055345' post='2469565'] I'd get back in touch with DiMarzio in the US and gently mention that you still haven't heard anything from their UK distributor. That might get things moving. Otherwise, the UK distributer is Headstock and they can be contacted on 0121 508 6666 [/quote] Thanks! I'll give the UK distributor a call, probably best, and phone calls often work better than emails.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1402043924' post='2469416'] And what did they say? [/quote] They said, and I quote: [quote]" "[/quote] Well, that's not exactly true. DiMarzio in the US replied rapidly saying that so and so in the UK will get in touch with me with the info I needed. That did not happen. I tried again, and then I got nothing. I know some people have been able to buy them, something like $10 for a set. But they seem elusive. I am tempted to remove one and find a match from some hardware store, but most seem stainless steel and there are many grades, with many being poorly magnetic, and I would not know what to get.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1402035169' post='2469330'] Have you tried contacting DiMarzio? [/quote] yup... first think I tried.

Still looking... anyone?

Glad things worked out in the end, but all that hassle was unnecessary...