mcnach

[quote name='StephenFerguson' timestamp='1352900817' post='1869056'] Sorry, I am a prick/snob/music facist, and the song just sounds like the furious dying ticks of the desperate 49 year old single womans bilogical clock as she drops her handbag at the front of the stage and dance/grinds out a silent plee that someone in the pub/function will consider her worthy of sneaking out on at 7am. Sorry. [/quote] Definitely, some bands' versions sounds just like that. [b]However[/b], done well, it's not a bad tune at all and gets people dancing. So what else do you want?

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1353082409' post='1871473'] Strat is sig pic, the link is a P bass: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/fender-precision-usa-genuine-1978-bass-guitar-/181019270838"]http://www.ebay.co.u...r-/181019270838[/url] [/quote] no wonder I was confused!!!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1353031343' post='1870846'] Pickguard looks kinda wrong style, but could had been replaced with the along with the EMGs, not sure how good a fit they are to standard guard. Fairly sure 78 predates the through body stringing on US ones. [/quote] and isn't the truss rod adjustment at the headstock on that one anyway? at any rate, I'm not sure how anyobne can conclude much from such picture. It bareley says anything other than... it's a reddish stratocaster. Can't even see the logo.

[quote name='davehux' timestamp='1352821542' post='1867875'] so long as I have line of sight to the receiver through a window!!! [/quote] I don't think line of sight is necessary... I tested it at home, with the amp in one room, and myself in another... with several doorways in the way. I just wanted to see how loud it sounded from that side of the house. It was still louder than I was hoping

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1352653970' post='1865642'] He hasn't. Read his sig fer cryin' out loud! best, bert [/quote] Bontempi Jazz?

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1352649587' post='1865562'] would love to, but my recording technique can't really handle something like that right now, maybe in a few weeks. [/quote] what problem do you have with your recording technique? It sounded fine to me.

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1352646452' post='1865521'] Life's too short to put up with it. If I couldn't find the right band, I'd rather play alone until something else comes along.....which it always does. [/quote] Indeed. I think the reason I am now finding myself with people I respect in every way and get along with and have fun etc... is that I learnt to walk. To this day, there is only one band I'm sad I walked out from... and that's only because the music was great... but the band leader was too obsessive for me and I had to walk out. Interestingly, that band lasted another year and a bit going through many member changes, and finally imploded. "This bass was made for walking..."

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1352643777' post='1865471'] Actually it depends on the thickness of the body. The Squire VMJ I used to own required me to make the control cavity another 2mm deeper to accommodate a J-Retro and its battery. [/quote] That is true. Same on a Westfield Jazz I used to have. But a Fender should be fine... of course I have no clue whether the OP has a Fender.

RATM's Killing in the name of. Easy, but lots of fun!

Never tried that... but the John East J-Retro01 preamp is very very good, and it [b]does not require routing[/b] as the battery fits in the control cavity under the preamp. They are more expensive than that, but well worth it... and you find them second hand relatively often on the FS forum for around £100. Really painless installation, you'll be playing with it in under 10 minutes. I see how it can be attractive to have a preamp you can use with any bass... but having an external box, cables... to me it defeats the object. I want something unobtrusive I can control from the bass... and the J-Retro is *the* preamp for a Jazz bass, for me. That parametric mid control is extremely useful.

[quote name='Japhet' timestamp='1352626652' post='1865200'] Unfortunately it seems to be that we bassists are generally undervalued and often our opinions are ignored. [/quote] I think whether your opinions are heard or not depends on your personality and how you carry yourself, more than what instrument you play in the band. I certainly don't have problems being heard, in three current bands, or in previous bands. I cannot be that lucky...

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1352564591' post='1864685'] It would be very easy for an unscrupulous dealer to arrange fake Fenders to be built to his specification in a factory in China. Then import them and fit Fender decals etc when they get to the UK. The quality would probably be very good, as they already make Fender branded basses and guitars in chinese factories (not just Squiers anymore). [/quote] he could probably get the decals installed at the factory, actually... See TradeTang and similar websites for examples...

As one of the most prominent resident OLP fanbois, I thought I'd report on my latest OLP-related adventure. I am down to only one OLP. As much as I like them and think they *can be* great basses, I prefer my SUB and my Stingray (especially that SUB!) and the OLPs just were not used as much. So they were sold, eventually. Except one. I decided to keep this last one, because it's black and has a maple fingerboard and I really like that combo... so I sold the fretless with a real Stingray preamp and a Nordstrand pickup, I sold also what was my #1 bass for some time, with a Basslines pickup and preamp... and kept one that had seen just a pickup replacement (Basslines SMB4A). It makes no sense, but there you go. Then, a few months ago I acquired one of the Stingray clone preamps Tommorichards was assembling... and nothing happened for a long time. Until now. And let this be a lesson to all of you who, like me, decide to act impulsively without good planning. Well, I've been ill, mostly in bed, for about a week, and now that I'm functional again and go to work... when I get back home I decided to do one of those "5 minute" jobs that I keep postponing. Ok, it will be 30min, but... how hard is it going to be to install the preamp, eh? Ok, so I want to put a battery compartment too... I bought the battery box ages ago too. Easy, just route a hole and put it in. Just pay attention where you put it. So I put some masking tape to protect the finish on the back and leave a rectangle to route (I'm not using a template, the box has overhangs that will cover a less-than-perfect routing outline). Then remove the strings and electronics (leaving the pickup, taping the cable away from the action), plce the bass face down on my "work blanket", and start to drill. Then I realise the cable will be in the way... ok, I remove the pickup too. It did not take very long... and then I put the battery box in, good fit... and I realise my mistake: I had placed it overlapping the control cavity, so the battery box is partly in the control cavity and... the pots and preamp will not fit!!! A few colurful spanish words later, I decide it's time to do some chiselling. The truth is, these OLP cavities are narrower than those on a Stingray, so they often require to remove a little bit of wood. A sharp chisel and a bit of care, and that's all you need. Of course, if you are dumb enough to route and install a battery box overlapping the control cavity... the work can be a bit more challenging than necessary. Fortunately, I was able to remove enough wood to fit the preamp and the pots and all is good. Battery box removed, pickup reinstalled, battery box back in place, solder preamp terminals, solder battery box and bridge ground wire... plug in and tap pickup... it's alive!!! So clean it up, screw it all in place, put new strings on and... BRILLIANT RESULTS! Thanks Tommorichards for making this possible (I don't think I'd have bothered to install a preamp on this bass if I hadn't been able to get one of the ones you made). Cheap modification (more or less) to a cheap bass resulting in something very tasty indeed. Just make sure you measure things before you start and you'll get it all done in 25% of the time it took me! Next: install a set of mutes. And I did measure these, they will fit

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1352468622' post='1863469'] Replacing all of the stuff on a Squier with US stuff and all the other work and time would make it cost more than buying a Fender for a dealer. And probably make an as good or better instrument. [/quote] indeed, it all sounds a bit "strange", many dimensions are also not identical between Squiers and Fenders making replacements hard to fit nicely, which will leave obvious marks... If I wanted to make good fakes, so good that they can pass for US Fenders... I'd probably be better off sourcing parts elsewhere, not buying Squiers to transform etc, I don't know. Colour me sceptical.

[quote name='mickthebass' timestamp='1352316671' post='1861608'] How sad it is to end your comments with pretentious quotations. How did it go? “Just another turd floating in the toilet bowl of life” [/quote] gem of a guy you are, eh? welcome to basschat

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1352319410' post='1861676'] as the title says i have a rehearsal in 2 weeks for said band.. they are doing originals and some covers.. they have asked me to play the bass line to amy winehouse's valerie.. no probs there.. but they have also asked me to play a song of my choice.. .... i immediately thought of 'i wish' by Stevie Wonder... kick ass bass line that most people know and i can play with confidence... just wondered if you guys had any other suggestions, that might be suitable.. needs to be fairly recognisable, up tempo, nothing too simple, and funky... any thoughts.. [/quote] "I wish" is a great tune, I'd go with that, or maybe Michael Jackson's "Get on the floor".

[quote name='apa' timestamp='1352317945' post='1861644'] An LED A [/quote] no kidding, I thought about it for a minute!

[quote name='steve-soar' timestamp='1352314540' post='1861562'] Just watched both bands. One was a band and the other was a bland. [/quote] funny, that's just what I said... I was going to watch something with my gf when we noticed Soundgarden on JH's. We watched that. Ok. I was not in love but I quite enjoyed it. Then the other guy/band/bland came in... and she looked at me like "can we watch something else now?". "Bland" was the adjective we used to describe them too. It sounded like... another hundred similar "bands", same voice, same sound, same lyrics... totally uninspiring.

Aha! It lives!!!!!!!!!!!! I wrongly wired the - wires of the coils at the - terminal of the preamp, when they should be grounded directly and instead take a wire from the parallel/series switch to the - of the preamp (which I had grounded by mistake). It now works... and it's mighty The only question left is... what to fill the hole left by the preamp off/on/boost switch with. I'll probably just put a dummy switch there.

[quote name='vegas j' timestamp='1352287147' post='1861027'] I've just spent 68 pounds on a peavey 300 combo off of Ebay! Sounds good, and for that money id say its a bargain! [/quote] I think the zombies agree with you

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1352168216' post='1859693'] I cannot test it right now but... I have an idea: the cable I took to ground from the parallel/series switch... should probably go to the negative terminal in the preamp, not to the common ground. I suspect I have a "simulation of a broken pickup" with my present wiring. I hope this is it, as it'd be easy to fix! Tomorrow... [/quote] No, it wasn't that I must have made a silly mistake somewhere... but I can't see it. So, time to remove the whole thing and start again, carefully.

[quote name='JohnFitzgerald' timestamp='1352204905' post='1859979'] Spoke too soon. Went to pick it up at lunchtime. The only thing missing was a pair of green tights and a quiver of arrows to wear whilst playing it. Yes, the neck had a bit of a shape to it. Who knows, it might well have adjusted iut, but then again it might not at which point I'm stuck with it. Walking away is sometimes the best approach. Next !! [/quote] it did seem a little cheap... pity. hey, want a great one with all those mods already in place? I believe 'wildman' is still selling my old one.