Grangur

Hi Phin, welcome to the world of Basschat! All the others will be along in a moment with loads of brand names for you. I can't advise on slap-bass. Try as I might, I can't do it much, but for buying a bass generally: 1 - Anything in The Bass Gallery will be good. I doubt Martin would give anything house-room if it were embarrassingly poor, he's a good guy. 2 - Real shame you didn't post 24 hours ago. I've just sold a nice P-bass copy in red, brand new condition for a song. 3 - Almost any contemporary bass you buy these days will be good. Some are better than others, but with modern factory-made basses, most are really good. 4 - Buy used - I've (almost) never bought a new bass. It saves you loads of money and if it's not the right bass for you you can sell again without losing money. Edit: 5 - Go to all the stores around and try some basses. Denmark Street is a good place to get some good experience. Take a look in the market place here there might be some for you. Edit No.2 ; Take a look at Thomann's hot deals: http://www.thomann.de/gb/hotdeals_GF_4_string_j_basses_HD_deals.html There's a lot of love on here for Harley Benton instruments.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1462394893' post='3042770'] Wait, you've got one of these, haven't you? Have you gigged it yet? [/quote] LOL, I've not gigged yet! I've got it as my lounge set up, with a LM3. It's good there. It handles most situations (I'm not helping much here, am I?) I still dream of the day that unpredictable working commitments will stop and I'll have time to rehearse and gig. All I can say is at low volume, as you say - loads of bottom end and sounds great. It was getting the One10 that made me comfortable about losing the BigOne I had from you, Mark. It's not as omni-directional as the BigOne, but the sound is comparable. Happy Jack did make one comment, when we were talking about this and his BF Baby at a Bass Bash; for some gigs they're embarrassingly small. Sometimes HJ uses the small cab and simply stands it on a large (unplugged) cab, just for it to look "right".

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1462393400' post='3042740'] ... it might be totally crap at an actual gig... [/quote] Not according to the conversation I had with Alex when I collected mine. Alex said: "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Two of these cabs with a loud amp would definitely see you right in 99% percent of live situations. A really big venue or a festival would have sound reinforcement, thus you would use the rig for stage monitoring, but two cabs and a decent amp would be more than enough for any size pub or club gig - in my humble opinion!", said Alex.[/font][/color]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1462372089' post='3042467'] I was looking at those too. Quite apart from any other consideration I think the white chicken-head knobs would go very well with the cloth grille! [/quote] Why not get Alex to make you a "custom special" cab with a chicken-wire front to match the knobs?

Jabba, this is truly stunning. I'm sorely tempted to try to get the the Midds Bass Bash, JUST to hear this bass! I'm sure many folk here would love to hear a recording and/or a vid of it being played. Congrats on an amazing result. Well, I'm amazed. You probably aren't cos you always knew your talent before you started I guess. Nice one.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1462106596' post='3040282'] Yet another bassist proving Ashdowns aren`t woolly. [/quote] Baahh, that Norman guy? What does he know? He needs to read more Basschat stuff.

This happens because when playing a B on the E string the note is in the centre of the string, so the fretted string being plucked is short I'm length. When playing a B on the A string the string is longer by comparison, so the note has more movement in the the string to let the note develop... or so I heard.

[quote name='markdavid' timestamp='1462112347' post='3040339'] Thanks, both volumes seem to be working so i think it must be the lug, i have checked the solder joints and they all look ok albeit a bit messy soldering wise [/quote] If the soldering is messy make sure there are no stray wire threads or spikes of solder shorting anything. Also if there is a foil backing to the pickguard, make sure nothing is shorting to the foil that shouldn't be doing so.

As Fender and Squier are all made by computer with no hand-crafting involved, it would make sense to the production to have all Fender/Squier necks with the same pocket. It makes production far easier if everything is totally interchangeable.

[quote name='darkandrew' timestamp='1462087923' post='3040079'] It might be worth swapping out the MEC pickups for a set of original spec (ie. Not "X" series) EMG PJs. I did this to my SS1 and it's added so much more "thump" and "woomf" (if you know what I mean). [/quote] I'm thinking something similar. Right now I'm enjoying some Jess Loureiro hand wound pickups in another bass. They sound great and I'm thinking of getting a PJ set to go in the SS1.

[quote name='mike 110' timestamp='1461943460' post='3039010'] Thanks guys , I'm only going to change one as it's started to rattle , the others are fine . [/quote] I have some Squier tuning heads here. I'll measure one in the morning and PM you.

Here's the first step to your new stack http://basschat.co.uk/topic/283945-markbass-little-rocker/page__pid__3038952#entry3038952

The keys player telling the durmer to strike the beat at the right time to the singers lyrics. I just couldn't see that the guy had a grasp of the fundamentals of music. That and being told to only play roots of chords, the keys player would play the bass line.

http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-Marlin-Slammer-Bass-Electric-Guitar-early-80s-/401112132758 And this could be his next!

If you're really wanting a passive tone control, the best option would be to take out the pre-amp and fit a new pot it one of the pre-amp control holes. You then solder the hot output from the blend to the left leg of the tone pot and from that same leg on to the jack. Then connect the capacitor between the centre leg of the tone pot and earth. I you Google "bass tone pot wiring diagram" you'll find a diagram. If you're still unsure about it, John KioGon does a good harness so I believe. If it were me, I think I'd take out the entire original harness and fit a new one. That way you can always refit the bass to original configuration to sell it. A passive harness is cheaper enough.

Marlin basses didn't originally have a thumb rest. The original bass didn't have a Thumb rest. Marlin were a cheap, entry-level brand based in Wales, and sold their stuff mostly in the UK during the 80s. They were quite popular at the time, despite notoriously bad construction and plywood bodies on many models. They were sold through music shops, but also through catalogues (such as Kays and Littlewoods). The brand was bought out later by Honer. They were cheap but good value for money. A number have nice flame maple necks. It was the neck thst had me reluctant to sell mine, but I wasn't too sold on the tone. Nothing really wrong with them. Better than some Squiers IMHO. The bridge is undeniably better than those on a Fender. I won't be buying the bass on ebay though!

[quote name='HowieBass' timestamp='1461788610' post='3037722'] I'm no expert but I'm not convinced you can add a capacitor to an active preamp circuit and modify the tone shaping in the way that you hope. Someone else on here is sure to know better than me regarding a modification but I just wonder why you can't cut enough treble using the circuit as it is? [/quote] This. Even if you were to add a passive style tone pot on the output of the pre-anp, you can't ignore the electronic reaction between the tone pot and the circuit of the preamp. I wouldn't do it. But I too am no expert.

[quote name='Kex' timestamp='1461771753' post='3037517'] DIP wrap - Ghost_Bass I honestly think wallpaper would be preferable (and that was a joke) - but thanks for taking the time to reply, it is appreciated [/quote] Wall paper seems by far the best choice to me. How DARE you paint that bass!! I've just seen it on t'bay and t'would be a crime! Actually, masking the heel of the neck and getting a good smooth blended line from paint to lacquer could be a challenge. I've sprayed enough to fool myself that I know what I'm doing, but I wouldn't try a rattle can job on that. What could be effective if you must, is strip it and stain the body, then finish it with lacquer. Andy of this parish is really good at that. He uses ink for the colour. Try contacting him.

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1461741359' post='3037186'] Careful Granger, you are close to straying into "Tonewood Debate" territory. I will pile in full force though. It is the density of the wood, not the species that affects the tone. However with magnetic pickups it is only a small part of the tone. [/quote] But if you have 2 basses made by the same CNC machine, finished with the same pups, pots bridge and other fittings, but they sound different, what do you have left that's making the difference? Setup does account for a lot of course. But if there are no intangible differences other than a tweek of the bridge, why do folk bother owning more than 1 precision bass with the same strings? But back on the subject. I've worked in the wood industry. Different planks of the same timber don't all weigh the same.

I've come to the thinking that if Warwick made a passive P-bass style, that would be my ideal bass. So, I'm thinking of taking the pre out of my Streamer Stage 1 and fitting different pups. I'll be keeping the original parts though, so I can put them back when the time comes to sell..

Bought some strings from Gareth. All well packed and arrived as promised. Smooth transaction. Many thanks Gareth!