icastle

[quote name='daz' post='1045910' date='Dec 3 2010, 01:56 AM']Never heard of BaCH. Who am they ?[/quote] Czech guitar manufacturers. [url="http://www.bachmusik.com/en/"]http://www.bachmusik.com/en/[/url]

+1 to that. I can do a passable impression of a slap bass player if I'm pushed into it, but my own feeling is that if I wanted to batter the hell out of an instrument I'd have become a drummer

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1045735' date='Dec 2 2010, 10:09 PM']This was my fave bit: The head has been redrilled & the keys were changed & moved. They are enclosed with the name "Grover". There are what appears to be two left & right handed enclosures. I'm sure this was probably done to take the weight off the head, making it less top-heavy.[/quote] It wouldn't have been quite so bad if whoever did it could be bothered to smear a bit of filler in the redundant screwholes and wipe a bit of paint over them. I knew there was something funny about those Grovers - didn't click that they were 2x2 instead of 4x1. Christ knows what the electrics are like if it's had a pup change as well!

[quote name='daz' post='1045706' date='Dec 2 2010, 09:45 PM']Someone here speculated that it might be just a cheap imported bass with a name sticker pasted on it, bought in by the container load. When i messaged the guy on ebay asking if he thought his super rare bass with a brand name nobody had ever heard of might just be one of those, i got an email back with him seemingly shocked, He said he had been to 8 or 9 music shops in the US and none had ever heard of this happening ??[/quote] I saw the advert - I have never seen the word *PRICELESS* used so often in a single advert! To add a sense of proportion to the guys statement, if I told you that Fender had never made a green PB, you might go and ask in one shop, you might even ask in two shops - but EIGHT or NINE if the first two had told you I was talking cr*p? No way

[quote name='Johnston' post='1045569' date='Dec 2 2010, 08:05 PM']Would that make them M.I.N.I. basses then [/quote] Get ya coat

[quote name='Johnston' post='1045538' date='Dec 2 2010, 07:45 PM']Does that make sense because it took me a few bites to realise what I was being told at the time [/quote] I had to read it twice, but yes, that makes sense I guess if you were to do that it would be safest to but the stuff in as blanks and assemble in NI - that'd make the biggest "change" to the product and pretty much guarantee that you'd get the appropriate grant. Buy in nice enough bodies and necks, set them up and add some good hardware and Johnston basses might just end up being the only pro basses assembled in NI

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1045536' date='Dec 2 2010, 07:44 PM']Once i get rid of the blisters on the tips of my fingers ill sort the ceiling out ;-)[/quote] Always got a bl**dy excuse you have...

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1045436' date='Dec 2 2010, 06:26 PM']Our Guitard has been looking into Les paul copies and found a website where you tell them what you want made (Anything in the world is possible) and they will give you a quote. He specced a mahogany body and neck and with all the usual Gibson goodies except a case and they came to £60-80 a piece! There was one catch though at the bottom of the page the price difference depended on if you wanted the 20 or 40 foot shipping container full [/quote] A guitarist I work with looked into this a while back - a 40' container of assorted stringed instruments (guitars, mandolins, banjos, violins) was about £3K back then. He was very tempted but didn't have the storage space to store them

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1045332' date='Dec 2 2010, 04:50 PM']I was in the same boat recently and I got a lot of good advice, mostly from icastle (cheers mate).[/quote] No problem - you managed to get the solder splashes off the ceiling yet?

[quote name='Krysbass' post='1045383' date='Dec 2 2010, 05:36 PM']The OP mentions that you don’t want to turn up your treble as you don’t want to invade the guitarists’ tonal space, but in my experience it’s a common problem that the guitarists might already be invading yours – this could be at least part of the reason that they can’t hear you. My view on this is that when guitarists practice alone they usually don’t have a bassist accompanying them. They therefore turn up the bass tone control on their amps and become accustomed to this more aurally pleasing, full-bodied sound. Problem is, they get used to this and forget to turn their bass tone control down sufficiently when they are in a band situation where there’s a bassist on hand to handle all the low end stuff! KB[/quote] Nothing wrong with the guitar here - it's ripe for accompaniment. I was always under the impression that the job of a bassist was to glue the rhythm section to the lead section in the most appropriate way in order to enhance the overall performance - might be 1 note a 1000 notes or none at all! If the bass player has to wait for the guitarist to leave him or her a space to work within then the band doesn't need a bassist!

Stop being a wuss, turn your treble up and be part of the band.

[quote name='gicut58' post='1045136' date='Dec 2 2010, 02:32 PM']yep, 12 months ago, essentally the same 'sound' [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhtn48ngH1c"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhtn48ngH1c[/url] and here: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxIz9j5G1Yo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxIz9j5G1Yo[/url] G[/quote] Ok. Admittedly I'm using the crap speakers built into my monitor but I can barely hear any bass on there at all - I can on other recordings of similar or worse technical quality though.

[quote name='sambassman' post='1044888' date='Dec 2 2010, 12:03 PM']hiya chaps/chapesses iv been looking at the G&L L2000 bass and what a fine peice of equipment too. i realise that they use the same electronics in both basses but is the quallity much different between the pair? eg: tuners, neck, action? what do y'all think? cheers. sam [/quote] Compared to what?

[quote name='gicut58' post='1044883' date='Dec 2 2010, 11:59 AM']Can any of the regulars here tell me whether there have been any threads on tonality and hearing on the site in the past or does anyone have any specific technical knowledge? The sound I like is as follows - amp eq flat other that slight bass and lower mid tweak, turning off speaker tweeters,rolling most of the treble off the bass (active, 3-channel eq) so I have comparatively few higher frequency overtones and not a particularly fast attack to my playing. I want to keep well out of the guitarists range and add to the overall sound spectrum we produce. I love the band I'm in, we've had some fantastic times - so far - . The issue is that I am being asked, much more vociferously of late to add treble. Not just a little, but to the point where eq is flat all round and in my opinion the bass is punching out the higher frequencies and losing the majority of the bottom end and I am invading the guitarists lower register. I am told this increases the definition of the bass's sound within that of the band as a whole and both the drummer and guitarist are finding their reference points in what i'm playing much easier to find. The guitarist has tinnitis and both gtr and drummer wear earplugs. the questions I'm asking are as follows - am I wrong in wanting 'my sound'? I hate....with a passion......the sound the bass produces that other band members want. How much does wearing earplugs affect audio reception? am i being asked to compensate for the hearing issues of others? am I being a bit too much of a prima D? any constructive criticism gratefully received G[/quote] Well, if the other members of the band are having trouble finding their reference points against what you are playing then there's obviously a problem. In my opinion, earplugs are sensible and tinitus isn't something the guitarist has done to make things awkward. You may well be being asked to compensate for the hearing issues of the other band members but you must realise that if they can't work accurately with the sound you are using then it limits their ability to play in time with you and therefore makes you pretty difficult to work with. Has to be your call obviously, but you perhaps need to ask yourself if you prefer your chosen sound more than being a member of the band? If they're becoming increasingly vociferous about it then I imagine things could easily escalate from this point.

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1044392' date='Dec 1 2010, 09:54 PM']"440Hz"[/quote] Four hundred and forty hurts? Not as much as throwin' a f*ckin' telly out the window man...

That is one beautiful looking instrument

[quote name='Jerry_B' post='1044732' date='Dec 2 2010, 09:54 AM']And adding the word 'rare' - are Spectrum's actually rare?[/quote] Only if you want to sell one on ebay...

[quote name='LeftyBiskit' post='1044553' date='Dec 2 2010, 12:56 AM']All suggestions welcome. [/quote] Ok Couple of suggestions based on a hiss problem that I had a while back:- 1) I ran all my power cables to the top of the board and kept all the signal cables towards the bottom. 2) I shortened all my signal cables to fit exactly. 3) The "bypass" on a lot of pedals isn't always a true bypass - I use a little A/B switch box to isolate pedals that aren't in use or don't get used together at any point. 4) I velcro tied the cables together to make a neat "bundle" so they can't move about. That did the trick for me and at the very worst, you'll end up with a very tidy pedal board... You could also try running all of the pedals on battery and removing the PSU from the equation in case the noise is coming from there (although it's usually a hum rather than a hiss).

[quote name='basskit_case' post='1043994' date='Dec 1 2010, 04:19 PM']Thanks for all your input, I was looking at the Antex Soldering Irons in Maplin at the weekend, will go back in this weekend and make a purchase.[/quote] If you decide to go for a 40W+ soldering iron then be aware that you'll need to keep that specifically for soldering onto pot casings, skeleton sockets (but probably not the sealed types) and fairly heavy duty wires. A lower power one should be used if you decide to work on more delicate stuff involving PCBs and components.

[quote name='bumnote' post='1044194' date='Dec 1 2010, 07:22 PM']50w soldering iron maplin adjustable £14.99 [url="http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=35016"]http://www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=35016[/url][/quote] Use that one and you'll need to buy a proper tip for it - the one that comes with it isn't going to work for soldering pots.

Shouldn't "scale" be measured in kg?

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='1043748' date='Dec 1 2010, 01:38 PM']Has anyone mentioned that the most important thing about any bass is not the maker, the style, or the condition? It is, of course, the colour. Also, that you can add at least 10% to the value of any bass by saying "never gigged".[/quote] Ah - the "unique and rare colour" gambit... Probably very true insofar as Fender have never yet produced an instrument that used "Vauxhall Chevette Yellow" Gigging instruments is [b]BAD[/b] - every true professional musician KNOWS that they spontaneously combust if you abuse them in that way - don't you lot know nuffink?

[quote name='basskit_case' post='1043659' date='Dec 1 2010, 12:18 PM']Hello, Title says it all, interested in getting a soldering iron for Christmas as I would like to be a little more self sufficient when it comes to guitar repair. I have read up on a few different forums, but thought I would post up here as the peeps on here have not let me down in the past! To expand on this slightly, what would you consider to be the key items required for guitar repair? Thanks[/quote] [u]Soldering Iron[/u] Don't be tempted into choosing super powerful ones - you'll just melt everything in sight! Go for something no larger than 25W. Antex irons are the easiest to get replacement tips for - I've had one for about 10 years now and it still works just fine They are also bright yellow and you'd need to be blind to miss that on your workbench, therefore saving some burnt fingers! [u]Solder[/u] There are two generally available types - the new "lead free" stuff and the old 60/40 lead/tin stuff. There was a long thread on here recently about the pro's and cons of the two different types and we came down heavily in favour of the older 60/40 lead/tin type. [u]Miscellaneous[/u] These aren't essential, but I find the useful: Stand - sometimes come with the iron but not always - saves burning holes in worktops. Desolder braid - sucks up old solder if you want to resolder a joint. Tip tinner/cleaner - comes in a little tin about the size of a £2 coin. Used to keep your tip clean and makes the last longer. HTH

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1043660' date='Dec 1 2010, 12:19 PM']Give the totally length from the top of the paddle to the end of the body (do we have a better word for body yet?)[/quote] How about the "shovel" end?

[quote name='Mr Fudge' post='1043402' date='Dec 1 2010, 09:52 AM']I am thinking of getting a Rick 4003. Will it make much of a difference sticking it through my SA450, or should Ricks ideally go through Valve amps? I didn't even consider this until I had a conversation with a bass player I know about it and he pulled a face at the thought og Ricks through Markbass heads. Is the difference in tone negligible or drastic? Any thoughts greatly appreciated.[/quote] Unfortunately some valve amp fans are prone to a degree of "snobbery" and treat anything that works without glowing as massively inferior. Only my take on it, but I personally think that the vast majority of them are the music industries version of the pretencious "just a hint of oak with an undertone of raspberry combined with a smooth mellowness of caramel" wine tasting crowd. They've read a pile of gumph about tone and feel the need to spout it to either underpin their self proclaimed expertise or justify to themselves why they've spent a fortune on an amp that doesn't sound hugely different to the MOSFET one that Fred round the corner bought for £xxx less. Others are far more realistic in their attitudes and advice and understand that there is no "one size fits everyone" (the overwhelming majority on BC it seems!). I'd say try out your SA450 - if it sounds "right" to you, then it's right. If it doesn't then get yourself down to your local music shop with your Ric and have a play on different amps.