TRBboy

Yeah that's a good shout, and you've just reminded me that I've got a Radial Bassbone which isn't doing much at the moment! Maybe I should get some Dimarzio's and use the bassbone - even if the pedal dies at least I should still have a decent sound. I'm still open to other suggestions though guys, I am notoriously useless at making decisions!

My main bass for the last 14 years or so has been my trusty MIA Fender Jazz. Many other basses have come and gone, but it has stayed. I did upgrade the pups to SD Quarter Pounders a few years ago, which are ok, but the trouble is, since I got my Sandberg a few weeks back it just seems a bit feeble. So I'm now trying to decide what to do to give it a bit more balls. I like plenty of output, guts, growl and punch, but still defined and articulate. I don't want to chop any wood out (e.g. battery box, side mount jack) so that's another consideration. I did try an Aguilar OBP2SK before but it was just too much to fit in the cavity. I realise that the obvious answer is to drop in a j-retro, but I need to do this cheaper if possible, unless of course anyone knows of a cheap one for sale somewhere. If I went the active route, I would ideally like to have a passive bypass just in case. So the options I've thought of so far are: - Dimarzio Model J or Ultra Jazz set - hotter output and more modern sounding than my SD's. No need to worry about batteries. BUT will they satisfy me. Anyone have any thoughts about either model? - Glockenklang 2-band preamp w/stacked pot (keep the SD's) - Impressed with the Glock in my Sandberg and it has the passive bypass. BUT will it (and battery) fit in the control cavity? - East BTB-01 (keep SD's) - Really not sure if I'll fit this and a battery in, the circuit board looks fairly big. - EMG J Set - Quite like the idea of this BUT no passive option. I'm guessing that the battery would fit in the control cavity as there's not much else to get in the way. HELP!!! Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!

[quote name='sykilz' post='1178266' date='Mar 27 2011, 12:47 PM']Just looked at the Dimarzio, would look fantastic on an all black bass.....good shout!!!![/quote] My thinking exactly. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?act=attach&type=post&id=71320"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?act=attach...st&id=71320[/url]

I've got quarter pounders in my jazz, and they're ok, but if you want a bit more punch, growl and clarity, I would have a look at Dimarzio model p. I stuck a model p and j in my yamaha recently and they blew me away! Well worth a look. I think I got them from Axiomatic Music who seemed to have the best price at the time. You can get them in cream if you like that sort of thing.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1177361' date='Mar 26 2011, 04:04 PM']re: log vs linear... isn't it the other way around? Meaning that our ear perceives these changes in a log fashion, so for us to hear a smooth (linear) change we need a log pot.[/quote] Yeah, I believe that's the reason log pots are more commonly used, because they're better matched to the way our ears percieve the change. A linear pot is more directly proportional and accurate but might not sound as we expect it to. I know what I mean, it's just hard to explain it!

It's ok but not really my cup of tea, plus I bet I could probably buy about 6 decent basses for the cost of it. Does anyone know how much these are? I found a thread on an american forum from 3 years ago which said they're about $9k!

Awesome playing man! FWIW I preferred Bass 2 for both Pups and slap, but Bass 1 for bridge pup. Bass 2 sounded a bit thin on the bridge pup for me.

Axesrus have got quite a handy little guide to pots and caps down the right hand side of this page. [url="http://www.axesrus.com/axeknobs.htm"]http://www.axesrus.com/axeknobs.htm[/url] Can't get link to work properly so copy and paste.

I used to have one of these, and it was ok for the money, but I later had a Yamaha BB614 fretless which was a much much better bass for not much more money IMO.

As well as changing the cap, you could always try swapping the existing tone pot out for a linear pot. Most passive basses have audio taper (logarithmic) pots which don't really do much from about 1 - 5, so effectively they go straight from 0% to 60 or 70%. This results in all the control being at one end. Linear pots are proportional so 3 on the dial will give you 30% and 8 would give you 80%. These pots are fine for volume or tone and are more commonly used on audio equipment, although logarithmic are more common on passive basses. I'm not big on electronics, but I'm sure if I'm talking complete nonsense someone will correct me pretty quickly.

I agree that couriers are generally crap, but I would still kick up a fuss with Thomann about it, especially considering how long this has dragged on and what a series of cock-ups there has been. Tell them that you had to take a day off work to wait in for it and no courier came, and now you're gonna have to take another day off to wait for it again! Lay it on thick and make them feel as bad as possible. At the end of the day, you've chosen to buy from them because they're a reputable supplier that you expect a certain level of service from. At the moment they're failing to deliver the level of service that you're paying them for, and failing to live up to their reputation. It might be worth asking them to verify the delivery address and ask them to check which address the courier attempted to deliver to, because they might have tried to deliver it today, but to the wrong house!

I always take two basses, and all of my basses are different, but I like the way that all of them play and sound so it's fine. I guess they've all got fairly slim necks.

It is all down to personal preference really, one man's chicken in a basket is another man's coq au vin........... I think the Yamaha is a good choice if you want more of a traditional sound, and still pretty versatile, but the Ibanez's are really comfortable and probably lighter and more versatile (they do a great 'growl' if that's what floats your boat!).

[quote name='LawrenceH' post='1175143' date='Mar 24 2011, 07:49 PM']You don't take a spare car though [/quote] Or do I............ [attachment=75643:carcarcar.jpg]

I've found that the best way to bring them back to life is to mask off the fretboard with masking tape and use metal polish (I use Autosol) to polish them up. Works a treat! You only really need a re-fret if they are badly worn and have dirty great grooves in them. Before [attachment=75638:IMG_0610.JPG] During [attachment=75640:IMG_0616.JPG] After [attachment=75642:IMG_0621.JPG] It's important to mask off very tight to the frets so that you don't get any of the polish in the grain of your fretboard. Hope this helps.

I'm sure you all know this already, but there's GHS Fast Fret and Dunlop 65 String Cleaner and Conditioner which work well and are designed for the job. You can clean your strings in about 30 seconds or less.

It sounds to me like the pickup balance is more biased toward the bridge pickup, and he hs the low mids boosted a little.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1174555' date='Mar 24 2011, 01:13 PM']It's a simple matter of necessity, convenience against the ability to cope with the situation differently. Tuners go on the fritz too (arguable more frequently than you snap strings at gigs) yet I doubt anyone on here would look down their nose at you for not taking 2 tuners to a gig. The concept of a backup bass is good and if it works for you then fine but the implication that you are not doing all you can by not taking a backup is IMO not so good.[/quote] I don't think it's fair to make the assumption that just because I take a backup bass, I don't know how to look after my gear! I've always really looked after my instruments and I make sure that they're well serviced, set-up and gig ready but I like to take a spare just for that added peace of mind. I always take strings and tools anyway, and touch wood, I've never had a catastrophic failure during a gig but I figure it doesn't take up much more space in the car to take a spare bass. I always want to appear professional, even if it's just a local pub gig, and make sure that we'll get asked back again, and having a disastrous breakdown mid-set could leave a bad impression. I'm more worried about unpredictable, freak gear failures instead of broken strings etc. If something does go catastrophically wrong and you've only got one bass, you're up s@#t creek. Just because you look after your car and service it, does that mean you shouldn't bother carrying a spare tyre?

BCer Nugget is from Worcester, and I asked him the other day about Luthiers in our area. It turns out that he builds basses and does setups and stuff, so I'm gonna let him have a go at my jazz, which needs some work doing. I'll let you know how it goes.

I always take a backup just in case of unforeseen occurrences or string breakage. Sure, it's fairly quick to change a string, but it's much quicker just to pick up another bass! The main question I'm asking myself reading this thread is; If you own more than one bass anyway, why wouldn't you take a backup?

I LOVE my Sandberg Basic 4, and now I'm kinda eyeing up the Ken Taylor....... I like the idea of two Humbuckers and the fact that you can spilt them to single coil, so in theory you should have a massive choice of sounds. Just wondered really if anyone's got any opinions on them?

[quote name='TRBboy' post='1155187' date='Mar 9 2011, 12:40 PM']I would never sell my Jazz bass unless I absolutely had to. Other basses have come and gone, but it has been my mainstay for the last 14 years or so and has never let me down.[/quote] I know I made the above statement a couple of weeks ago, but since then I have been glued to my Sandberg and it has ruined all of my other basses for me! Right now, I feel like selling everything else just to buy another Sandberg.........

[quote]date type description remarks 21.03.2011 Invoice Receipt # 10928212 issued for 554.24 EUR. 21.03.2011 15:31 Shipping Parcel shipped (23.08kg by Post/DHL International) contents: 1x 147145 SWR LA15 parcel number: 166616761741 21.03.2011 15:34 Shipping Parcel shipped (2.14kg by Post/DHL International) contents: 1x 128550 THE SSSNAKE IPP1060 1x 104761 GHS FAST FRET 1x 255947 HERCULES STANDS GS302B E-Guitar/Bass parcel number: 166616761987[/quote] Is this what the delivery note says? If you haven't signed for it then it's not your problem. I would keep on at them until they either promise you that it will arrive soon (and fix a date), or give you a refund for it.

I know there's Kim Seabourne in Worcester on the recommended Luthier list, but it looks as though the Bassurgery website has been gone for years so I don't know if he's still going. Any suggestions?

Ah, I see...... Personally, I would kick up a fuss about it. You have confirmation email, etc. from when you ordered right? Ask whether they do have stock or not. If yes, ask why your bass has not been delivered and demand it to be shipped tomorrow on the fastest delivery service. If they don't have stock, ask why was their website incorrect. Tell them that you ordered from them because the website said they had it in stock, and you needed it in a hurry. Tell them that if they can't tell you when it will be with you, you would like a full refund immediately and will buy from elsewhere. If they say it's going to be weeks, it's up to you to make a decision on what you want to do. I think if their website was wrong, you'd be quite within your rights to ask for a refund.