icastle

[quote name='hellothere' post='1154840' date='Mar 9 2011, 02:55 AM']Two questions, both of which are probably facepalmingly stupid, one is what is the need for the toothpicks? Second is does it matter what type of drill I use when doing work on my bass? I imagine a smaller one would be better as it would be easier to manoveure. Or so long as I use a drill bit that is the right size does it not matter?[/quote] The toothpicks are to fill the unwanted holes - being tapered you just push them in until they stop and snap the remainder off. I usually put a little bit of wood glue down the hole first to make sure it becomes 'part of' the overall wood, but it probably isn't really necessary. You can use any drill really, one of those wee Dremell type things is the best though as you can control them easier. it doesn't need to be a super posh one - someone pointed out recently that ALDI were selling a 'no name' branded one complete with a whole pile of attachments and drill bits for about £17.

[quote name='derrenleepoole' post='1154410' date='Mar 8 2011, 08:15 PM']I'm doing a little side project at the moment of playing upright bass for a folk outfit. Folk music is not an area I'm experienced in, I'm a jazzer above anything else. I am enjoying folk music more and more, but it's never been a genre I ever played before. But, if it's good enough for Danny Thompson to play, it's good enough for me Anyone got any useful tips and resources that may help a fledgling folkie get started? For example, there is the Fake Books for jazzers available, and I have the iPod iReal Book app which is excellent. Is there an equivalent resource for folk songs? I've seen one, but a lot of reviews state it's very US centric, and not ideal for British folk music. Just simple things like charts is all I need as I won't be playing the melodies obviously.[/quote] You're gonna hit a few snags trying to locate a resource like that. Traditional English folk music was written to match the instruments available to musicians at the time - bass was never a part of that. American folk music, being somewhat 'newer' tends to have at least some resource available, albeit with a feel that doesn't really match English folk. Bands like Fairport and Steeleye Span bought traditional tunes up to date from an instrumentation perspective and had to write suitable bass parts, generally around a rock format. It really depends on the sort of material that the band are playing but 'latter day exponents' that may be relevant would be Pentangle, Seth Lakeman, Jim Moray and perhaps Miranda Sykes/Show of Hands - all have a traditional feel and some interesting UB parts. Perhaps take a look/have a listen to their playing styles and see of they match your projects needs and use that as a basis for developing your own style? Sorry it's such a vague answer but 'folk' can cover an enormous area and has very few hard and fast rules - bass parts in this genre either work or they suck! Great fun though!

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1154255' date='Mar 8 2011, 06:44 PM']cheers icastle, Behringer jobby looks like a result i think, no more A/B, DB. BG XYZ [/quote] OK M8

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1154160' date='Mar 8 2011, 05:50 PM']i'm thinking if i have the vol down on the input until i use the BG it will be ok, hang on tho then i've got to kill the vol on the DB when i use the BG ok.... any suggestions for a decent A/B box?[/quote] [url="http://www.roland.co.uk/products/productdetails.aspx?p=478&c=52"]Boss[/url] make a good one. I bought a little [url="http://www.behringer.com/EN/Products/AB200.aspx"]Behringer[/url] one which works just fine.

[quote name='slobluesine' post='1154041' date='Mar 8 2011, 04:46 PM']will i do any harm by putting a double bass into an EQ and then into the return AND also putting a Bass into the single input or should i stop prattin around and get an A/B box [/quote] I use an AB box. I run the DB through a Fishman preamp before it gets to the AB box - that works just fine for me. Doing it that way means that the 'unused' instrument hasn't got a chance of making a noise accidentally and I can essentially 'preset' the tone settings for the two instruments individually.

[quote name='mart' post='1153926' date='Mar 8 2011, 03:11 PM']Ok, that makes sense. So let's see if I've got this right: While the headphones are plugged in, my tiny resistor should be ok. But if I accidentally unplug the headphones, or forget to plug them in, and carry on playing, then that resistor may get too hot. So a bigger resistor (that can shed more heat) will guard me against that possibility.[/quote] Yep, that's pretty much right. This resistor is just a coil of wire with a ceramic shell around the outside of it - if it gets too hot then the coil will burn out and you'll end up with no load (it'll 'blow' like a light bulb) and that's bad news. A higher wattage resistor can cope with a higher load going across it and (in your scenario) has very little chance of overheating and blowing.

[quote name='mart' post='1153493' date='Mar 8 2011, 10:22 AM'] Even though the amp isn't putting any signal through the resistor? (Since I only want this dummy load for when I'm using headphones, and the amp "disconnects the speaker" when the headphone socket is in use). I must admit I'm a bit lost on this, but if I had a speaker connected there would be no sound, so surely with a resistor in place instead of the speaker, the resistor will be getting no current through it. Or am I missing something again?[/quote] If you unplug the headphones then the signal will expect to find a loudspeaker to work with. A resistor works by converting an applied voltage into heat and needs to be of a large enough size to dissipate 1W (as opposed to the 10W I thought it was!). If it helps, think of these resistors as the 'posh' electronics equivalent of the old fashioned bars you used to get on an electric fire. A 1W resistor [b]would[/b] do the job, but if the amp was overdriven then that 1W resistor could get very hot (you could apply more than 1W to it) so using a larger wattage resistor is the easiest way of putting a load on the amp which won't get too hot and has very little chance of failing.

[quote name='Matt P' post='1153510' date='Mar 8 2011, 10:30 AM']I'd have to reccommend them to anyone even if you're not a folk fan, they are an inspiration and a great example of what music should be - FUN![/quote] +1 They take music far more seriously than they do themselves and that's a big part of what sets them apart from just about every band I've ever seen. As people on here often say - 'if you aren't having fun, why do it?'

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1153490' date='Mar 8 2011, 10:21 AM'] Very diplomatically put.[/quote] I thought it was, but obviously some didn't and have taken umbrage. Oh well, that's life...

Back in the 80's I was really excited to finally get my hands on a Gibson Victory - I can even remember getting frustrated trying to open the box without tearing it. It was Gibson's first foray into trying to capture some of Fender's Precision Bass market. It was dull sounding, the neck profile felt awkward and the whole thing just didn't exude any feel of 'quality'. Big let down

[quote name='hellothere' post='1153212' date='Mar 7 2011, 11:40 PM']Is it possible to fit a pick up cover and ashtray if the bass didn't allready have one? (might be a stupid question, as i said, im totally new to doing anything like this.)[/quote] Absolutely Get yourself a little drill bit to make the pilot holes though or you'll have a hell of a job doing it! [quote name='hellothere' post='1153212' date='Mar 7 2011, 11:40 PM']And I think it would be a good idea to try and put in a new bridge aswell?[/quote] You could do, but unless it's something significantly better than what's already on there then you're not going to make a huge difference to the overall performance of the instrument. It comes off exactly the way you'd expect it to - just undo the screws. Make sure the little wire you find under the bridge goes back under the new bridge if you decide to change it or you'll have a whole new set of problems [quote name='hellothere' post='1153212' date='Mar 7 2011, 11:40 PM']"First and foremost you need to junk all wiring and pots including the input jack and buy this kit from ebay which is the best available for a P bass, even a standard Fender would benefit from this kit"[/quote] That's a contencious point. There are those who seem convinced that changing a few scraps of wire, two pots and a capacitor is going to turn any old bass into a hi-tech masterpiece. On the other side of the scale there are those who reckon it's all just a pile of old cack and a bit of stripped down flex off of a discarded toaster will do the exact same job. It's you that has to be happy with the final result, so go with your gut feel on this one!

[quote name='Cygnus x-1' post='1153158' date='Mar 7 2011, 10:54 PM']Any links to one please?[/quote] [url="http://www.gak.co.uk/en/behringer-xenyx-502/1079"]Something like this would do.[/url] Have to say I prefer Count Bassy's solution to mine though.

[quote name='hellothere' post='1152956' date='Mar 7 2011, 08:42 PM']I have an old Squier P-bass lying around gathering dust, it was my first bass but I never use it anymore for various reasons, the main one being there is some kind of electronics problem as it dosn't work with an amp anymore. First thing I would like to ask is how do I go about diagnosing the problem? After seeing some of the home-made builds that people have completed on here it has inspired me to start tinkering myself. I figured that the P-bass is a perfect candidate for my first attempt at something like and was wondering what kind of things I should try out which would give me suitable experience to try other things in the future. First thing that comes to mind is replacing the pick-ups but then where could I go from there. I am doing this more as a learning experience than hoping to get a better bass out of it, allthough of course it would be nice to imrpove it's playability and sound too! So any ideas?[/quote] If you're going to use it as a 'platform' to tinker with then the first thing to do is to get the electrics working again as they should otherwise you'll never be able to tell if your tinkering was any good! If you've lost all sound output then I'd start at the jack socket and work backwards from there. There's a basic PB wiring diagram [url="http://www.seymourduncan.com/support/wiring-diagrams/schematics.php?schematic=std_pbass"]here[/url] - check your Squier wiring and make sure it matches the diagram. HTH

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1152700' date='Mar 7 2011, 05:24 PM']So would I, but the original Bass Cube 100 for £200, or the 120XL for £435 ??? Its a big difference![/quote] Yeah. It seems to have been launched with[ot much of a fanfare - just sort of casually slid in sideways in a box labelled 'Nothing to See Here!' If they stripped out the delay looper, tuner and COSM stuff they wouldn't need to charge that sort of price of course...

Not sure what a 12TA7 is, I can't find any data about it. I think what you've seen is a 12AX7 (those are used in an Orange Rockerverb 50). They're also know as ECC83. EDIT: Another +1 for Watford Valves

[quote name='mart' post='1152536' date='Mar 7 2011, 02:44 PM'][url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meet-Ledge-History-Fairport-Convention/dp/0906008468/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1299508957&sr=1-5"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Meet-Ledge-History...8957&sr=1-5[/url] There's also a newer edition, but that's also out of print. I think I might still have a copy of that somewhere, so if you have trouble finding one, PM me and I'll lend you mine.[/quote] Thats the one!

[quote name='mart' post='1152532' date='Mar 7 2011, 02:40 PM']Well, the amp is only rated at 1W! Seriously though, thanks - that 8.2Ω one looks ideal. I just need to save up a further 37p [/quote] Oh god - I thought it was 10W! In that case what you need is something like [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/3-watt-wirewound-resistor-2173"]this[/url]. It's bigger than what you really need but at least it's available in a reasonably close value without wiring loads of smaller resistors in parallel. W8.2R is the part number.

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1152499' date='Mar 7 2011, 02:07 PM']It's the motivations behind the earlier comings and goings that interests me, whereas the later lineups seem more about who's willing and available. So a good history written in the 1980s would do just fine. Can you recommend one?[/quote] I was loaned one many years ago that was pretty interesting but I don't remember the title (you're asking a man who usually forgets what he had for dinner the night before!) It was a large paperback with a green cover and (I think) an old sepia toned photo of the band on the front.

[quote name='mart' post='1152339' date='Mar 7 2011, 11:20 AM']Having mulled this over, I definitely want to make up a dummy load, i.e., a jack connector wired to a resistor. Would this 10ohm resistor from Maplins do? [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/10-ohm-to-30-ohmmetal-film-0.6w-resistors-341331"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/10-ohm-to-30-ohmme...esistors-341331[/url][/quote] Nope. It'll only handle 0.6W. If you want to do that you should be looking at something like [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/10-watt-wirewound-resistor-2181"]these[/url] - the do an 8.2Ω one - you need to order part number H8.2R.

[quote name='KevB' post='1152464' date='Mar 7 2011, 01:36 PM']Still never got round to seeing them, I really should before they retire.[/quote] Oh man, you've really got to see them. Not only are they superb musicians but they're very entertaining as well. I went to one Fairport gig and Ric Sanders came out on stage on his own and just chatted to the first couple of rows, just everyday stuff like where had they come from and what they had for tea. He explained that the rest of the band were getting on a bit and it was taking them time to get their surgical appliances in order, so he'd come out to make sure we didn't scarper. He pulled a scrap of music paper from his pocket and announced that it was something he'd been working on for a couple of days. He started to play it, huge swirling fiddle with overlayed echo, building layer on layer - oddly familiar but couldn't quite place it.... then he stopped! He bent down, picked up the piece of music, turned it round the right way and said 'oops, my mistake' and played it the right way round as the rest of the band ran on stage to join in. That guy is one mean fiddler and that had to be the wierdest but best stage entrance I've ever seen.

[quote name='cetera' post='1152380' date='Mar 7 2011, 12:07 PM']GREAT band and incredibly tight as a live act! As has been mentioned above - Chris Leslie is a lovely guy, as is my good friend Ric Sanders - a gentler, more sincere person you'd be hard-pressed to find. [/quote] Absolutely. Have met them all a couple of times now and they are just such down to earth guys. Many years ago Dave Pegg was proudly telling me that he was planning on doing his entire tour on one set of strings and was astonished when I told him that I knew what they were (Elixir's had only just arrived in the UK at the time and weren't on general sale). We spent a very nerdy half hour talking bass sh*t in the bar - he's a very clued up guy.

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1152087' date='Mar 7 2011, 12:17 AM']And I think a tuner and some sort of "Setting" memory, but they all seem to be knobs and whistles rather than fundamental improvements.[/quote] I'd really like one, I'm after something small but with a bit of guts that I can bung in the back of the car. Unfortunately my experiences with the Line 6 modelling amps have soured me to anything that thinks it knows better than me what sound I want from it. I have enough aggravation with people, I'm not going to get involved in an argument with a bloomin' amplifier...

[quote name='spinynorman' post='1151919' date='Mar 6 2011, 09:30 PM']I was going to ask if anyone could recommend a history/bio of Fairport. I latched onto them through hearing "Autopsy" on John Peel's show, tracked back to the earlier albums and lost interest after "Liege and Lief". Never really understood all the comings and goings - has anyone written that story? I sat opposite Iain Matthews on a tube train in 1970. I only realised when I saw him onstage with Matthews Southern Comfort a couple of hours later and recognised his jacket. The odd thing is I never thought much of the first album at the time, but now I'm finding them on Youtube, they're the tracks that make the hairs stand up on my neck, not the later ones. The slightly related band I thought was lost forever was Eclection - with Gerry Conway on drums and Trevor Lucas on bass. [/quote] I don't think there's been an 'up to date' bio since about the mid 80's. There's a pretty complete version of the 'comings and goings' of various band members [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairport_Convention"]here[/url].

[quote name='4-string-thing' post='1151715' date='Mar 6 2011, 06:16 PM']Good job your ex wasn't into rabbits then..... [/quote] Pity really, they skin easier than cats...

The last owner of Tapco was Mackie. Mackie's UK representatives are: LOUD Technologies Europe PLC Unit 1 Century Point, Halifax Road. Cressex Business Park High Wycombe, BUCKS, HP12 3SL, UK Phone: + 44 (0) 1494 557 398 Email: [email protected] Might be worth contacting them to see if they can help?