Grangur

Referring to my offer of info above - It's more complicated than expected - there's a PCB on the back of the push-pull active-passive switch. So I guess there's more to it than I was expecting.

1. Well, me and the other guy.

In this case it was a message I got after just writing 2 PM messages within 5-10 minutes. Click send and... [size=3][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif]"[color=#323232]You cannot start another PM topic until 10 December 10:50"[/color][/font][/size]

Good day chaps, What's this about? I can understand you need to make sure we don't get spammers, but this can be a pain in the ar$e. Comments?

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1386583663' post='2301646'] I'm biased, I've been playing Lakland basses for 10 years, so I'd recommend them over the others on your list. I'd look at 55-01's and, if you want the up rated pickups and pre amp, the 55-02's. I believe there are some in the FS section. They are great playing and sounding instruments, a lot of bass for the money. [/quote] Like this one? [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/224246-lakland-55-02-deluxe-cherryburstmaple/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/224246-lakland-55-02-deluxe-cherryburstmaple/page__fromsearch__1[/url]

Unless someone beats me to it I'll take a look later at how Warwick have done the passive switch in mine and post a photograph. Meant to be working right now...

As you're in London you NEED to take a look down Denmark Street. There's a parade of music shops there. Also, take a look at the ESP Ltd jazz basses. I've got a 5 string fretless, but they do fretted too.. of course. They're well under your budget and have plenty of punch and deep bass tone. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/esp_ltd_b204sm_fl_natural_satin.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/esp_ltd_b204sm_fl_natural_satin.htm[/url] - one example

There have been a few discussions on here about the value of changing pots. I used to be of the opinion that it was worth doing, now I'm not so sure. I would now say that it really does depend on the condition of the old ones. If there's no crackling when you adjust them, the cables all look good, the solder joints all look neat with no excess bare wire at the joins etc, then I'd say leave them alone if everything works ok. However... on a good number of basses I've had to work on I've found the capacitor in the wrong place. So if you've bought a s/hand bass it's worth looking to see if someone not so skilled has "improved" it.

In fairness to men, I think women have a distinct advantage over men. When a man meets an attractive woman his testosterone rises to his brain and reduces it to scrambled egg. So women, enjoy the moment and cue the stupid banter like, "i bet you're buying a blue one as it's your favourite colour". The poor twit's just trying to make a conversation. He should remember the one "It's better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt".

When it's going well I'm happy. When RL gets in the way and the day-job takes away the time to practice and the bass goes to sh1t I get fed up with it. I've a colleague who's a guitarist, or "was as gutarist" I should say. He gave up due to lack of time. I can understand that.

Let the train take the strain away....Take a trip to Denmark Street in London. There's a good parade of music shops there and they're open to you trying stuff out. The prices aren't stupid and they'll have stuff you may not otherwise think of. Naturally there's Fenders all over the place But they have some good stuff too

Don't forget to get a good coat of lacquer on it when it's finished, then t-cut it back to get a good shine on it. It's looking good though. Well done!

Good tracks with great variation. Have you thought of playing your bass on the off-beat? Take a look at Robbie Shakespeare - one of the reggae bass greats [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jusaci34o1U"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jusaci34o1U[/url] IMHO playing a synchopated beat gives reggae it's bounce. I hope this helps.

Hi All, Many thanks for the advice and info. It's much appreciated. I have 3 basses and I've been playing with the volume and gain. It's been interesting. I've turned it up and had the plates rattling. Strangely it didn't "feel" loud to me, but I'd want to do a sound check in a pub or somewhere to find out how it fares if I was going to gig. Soft furnishings in the lounge can soak up a lot I guess, but then so will people. So maybe I should think about an extension cab for more sound. In any case, if I get a gig I'll go chat with Gary Mac and get more advice. I have a LTD ESP 5 string fretless, active. This it seems is the real deep bass monster of the 3. Next was the Warwick - nice and punchy while giving a good growl. Last was the fully pimped Squire with quarter-pounders. That too has a good punchy sound and the tone control gives it a good level of bass. After this I'm wondering what the hell I was doing wrong. Why didn't I try turning the gain down... duhhhh. Cheers Richard

One point I should add here is when the speaker sounds like it's struggling the EQ is all set to 50%.

Hi there., I've got a 100w Roland Cube that I use for playing at home. Most of the time I have both gain and volume at about 30%. Its good for lounge playing and Mrs G likes it. (Not too loud) Occasionally I get the gaff to myself and I like to let the amp stretch its legs a bit and turn the gain and volume up to 50-60%, but then the speaker (12") starts to show signs of not liking the bass frequencies too much. It doesn't fart, but I can hear distortion. If I back off the bass and boost the treble we're back in business again with a clean tone. Is this normal for a combo speaker to only take half volume? I don't gig yet so I'm not really looking for big volume, but I get the impression that this cube would hold its own in a small gig if the speaker would stand up to it. Would this all be sorted out by getting a cab added, or should I trade it?

Sounds better than i expected tbh. If you can get a 50/50 split on the cost it would be something you can put down to experience easier than £50-60.

Most pots are either "linear" or "Logarithmic" otherwise known as "Taper". If a pot is linear and valued at 100ohms, then if you turn it 10% it will be at 90ohms. A taper pot won't. The value will be changed by a small amount at one end of the pot's value at one end, or a large amount at the other end. You can read more [url="http://www.geofex.com/article_folders/potsecrets/potscret.htm"]here[/url]

[quote name='spongebob' timestamp='1386091459' post='2295626'] I know a Luthier who told me that out of the box, the 'budget' basses are often better set up than the more 'boutique' (ie more expensive) ones. A case of maybe as well detailed above - if it plays well, people are more likely to buy it off the peg. Whereas a more expensive item you maybe have to be in the market for to start with? [/quote]Is it maybe that those buying budget basses don't know about set up. Those buying an expensive bass may insist on tweaking the set up when they try it, so why bother with an exact set up on the top models?

Tap washers don't squeek. Not as "rock n roll" as beer top washers. but they come in packs of 4 and a lot cheaper

IMHO back in the 60s it was "rock n roll" it all went with the teenage angst thing of the era. Doing it today is called "copying". I agree it comes across to me as spoilt-kid arrogance. They may as well get an iphone and smash that. It would be easier to clean up.

Why not go along, play a few familiar riffs and see what the teacher thinks wrt technique. Also tell him what you want to achieve in the medium-long term and ask him to suggest how he can best get you to move on. I'm a learner too. But I had a lesson where the guy tried to teach me to slap. It's no magic wand. It's the same as watching Flea's lesson on slap on Youtube. (and lots of practice) What Flea wont tell you is how you can use Modes to get a good bass line and which Mode to use.

Nitromores. Then wash it well after it's done it's stuff. Or a heat gun would do the job. If mild heat affects the metal finish it would be very poor hardware.

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1386067792' post='2295151'] Exactly. It's not going to go to court you're looking at around £50+ for a new speaker. Talk to him, if that doesn't work get someone to send him a solicitors letter threatening action (someone on here is bound to be able to write you one). If that doesn't work, walk away and chalk it up to experience. [/quote] You might find the solicitors letter will cost £25 and still not get any response.