Grangur

Are you saying you have 2 leads and with one all is well, not crackles etc,. Yet when you change the lead for another you get crackles and interference? You need to make sure it IS the lead that's the problem. There's not a lot to go wrong in a lead.

[quote name='peteb' timestamp='1377272630' post='2185704'] To be fair, I think that most pros play Fenders these days (at least in public)! This is (obviously) not because Fender make better basses than Fodera, but because they are in fashion at the moment and will help to get better gigs… [/quote] ... and very much more replaceable without hassling and insurance company

[quote name='miles'tone' timestamp='1377091940' post='2183233'] I've done it to a poly Fender neck so I don't see why a body would be any different. I just gave it a good rub ovet with 600 grit wet and dry to give the new coating a good key (picked up the tip on either here or talkbass, can't remember which) and shot a can of tinted nitro over the top and it worked great. On a body though, I'd give it a once over with a white primer designed for instruments (Rothko and Frost do it - was talking to them about my own project yesterday)- heard some nightmare stories abour car primer not going off properly. [/quote] Why would car primer not go off properly? I've used car primer and it's been ok. Provided you get a good surface that's clean and grease-free and you take your time and let it dry between coats I can't see what problems there could be.

Interesting OP. With my, admittedly limited, experience I would agree. It would seem to me that 4 Strings is also not disagreeing, but pointing out another angle, which is he's happy to pay a premium for a reduction is weight from his HH Stingray and to get good wood selection. The wood selection can make a difference to the stability of the bass and it's resistance to movement in the wood (but this shouldn't be a problem if the wood is properly seasoned) but what he's talking about is largely aesthetics; much of which is irrelevant if, like a lot of instruments, the whole thing gets 3 coats of paint and 3mm of lacquer (I may exaggerate here). This idea in the OP endorses what a lot of players here seem to do: buy a Squire or similar, with it's good solid body, neck and construction, fit a good bridge, pups to taste and a new pick guard and you've an instrument to your preference for a budget price. Why pay a premium for an AS and then STILL rip out the pups and fit something marginally different. That said, my Warwick Streamer beats my Squier and my Fender hands down for light weight, easy of action, playability, tone.... etc Or is it me and my snob value?

Its also good that you don't have to watch it after a gig to stop someone nicking it..

I still say a nail file: 1 - Mel almost certainly has one 2 - it would only have the rough bit on the sides, not the bottom of the slot

It's got 4 strings. I always prefer 4 strings. The neck is dark, that's good too. Not too happy about it being quite so short, but .... err.... ummm. err Now I'm stuck... yep it's [email="cr@p"]cr@p[/email]

Yes, all effects and compression turned off. It's also the same on all output modes too. No worries, I'm probably being too critical and fussy. Thanks all for your input.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1377173493' post='2184272'] Given the timescales involved, why not just hold off on changing strings until you have the time to do it "properly"? [/quote] PHUR! Far to sensible. Where's the risk and excitement in that?

Why not get a Squier from FleaBay and mod it to have what you want.

Nail file maybe as an interim measure. Then get a luthier to work on it asap after?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1377172747' post='2184256'] And an amp for £20! Why are these bargains always so far away..? [/quote] ... because they're so far away from so many of us.

[quote name='BOD2' timestamp='1377166224' post='2184125'] Does the Roland Cube have a compressor or noise gate effect on it ? If so, then try switching those off to see if that makes any difference. [/quote] The Cube does have them. Prety sure they're switched off, but I'll check tonight. Many thanks. Maybe I should go and try some amps out.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1377157592' post='2183981'] If you think it might be related to your new mod double check your solder joints. Visually inspect them to see if any look duller than the rest then reheat if so. If they all look ok then you could feed a tiny bit of fresh solder into each joint to refresh it and increase their flux content. I used to have massive problems with this forum's "new" software conflicting with IE (no return key being just one of them). The admins denied any problem existed. Although after switching to Firefox for here I find most of the issues have gone away.... absolutely sucks balls via mobile still though. [/quote] - This is an IE problem. MS change the software and the guys who write the forum software don't update all the time. In IE, click "Tools", "Compatibility view" this fixes it - I remembered this this morning after posting. I then edited the post

You really need a Streamer.... light, loads of bass and growl. You'll need to save a bit though, but you might be lucky

it's like a quiet hiss in the background. It happens with my Roland cube. It's not loud and in the noise of a band it probably wouldn't notice. It could be just me being unbearably fussy. What happens is you pluck the string and after the sustain subsides this "echo hiss" continues for up to a second, then dies.

[quote name='BobVbass' timestamp='1377153260' post='2183939'] Yes! Nice one! So......more on the way now then? [/quote] Don't encourage her! I'm sure Mel will be just fine with the one. We don't want her nicking all the bargains now do we?

I just had this issue too. It's caused by a compatibility issue. MS keep changing the way things are done in the software and it takes a while for everyone to catch up. Err, well that's how MS phrased it in a presentation I went to a few years back. So solve it: Go to the tool bar, find "Tools", "Compatibility View", then click that.... problem solved.

Hi All, I've got a jazz bass (see avatar) and I've recently noticed that when playing I get a buzz in the background through the combo. It happens each time I pluck a string. If I'm not playing it stays quiet. It also doesn't happen on any other bass I own, just this one. Something I've done recently is add a series/parallel switch. I don't know if it did this before I added the switch, but I have noticed that when switched to series mode the echo is louder. It's possible it could be the addition of the switch that's caused this, but others have this switch and (presumably) don't have this issue? Many thanks for reading Cheers Richard

Just thought I'd share this. I like this guy's videos, they're down to earth and entertaining, and he seems to know what he's doing. Enjoy [url="http://www.youtube.com/user/davey4557?feature=watch"]http://www.youtube.com/user/davey4557?feature=watch[/url]

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1377078397' post='2182965'] Bravo! I think you've just discovered that the Precision sounds better than the Jazz. Next step - sell the lot and buy a decent P! [/quote] My jazz is more bassey than my P or my PJ. Also any 2 pup bass has more flexibility on sound. Ps are too rigid, unless you want one sound alone and that's it. IMHO...

I've used a blow lamp. Job done in 30 mins.

Thanks for the comments on the SDs

Thinking about the OP question; the most successful "mods" I've done have been where I've converted a (mostly Fender) bass back to nearer standard. [b]Changing tuners[/b] - function improvement for stable tuning - no real sound improvement I guess. [b]Hipshot bridge[/b] - aesthetic improvement. Sound improvement/sustain; maybe, but not massive. [b]Pick-ups[/b] - worth changing on a cheap bass to get better sound, but most half descent basses come with good pups. So anything else is subjective. Series/parallel switch. I added one to my MIM jazz. Its given it another more echoey sound.

[quote name='Lowender' timestamp='1377015816' post='2182264'] I never understood getting something like a VM Squier and then changing the tuning pegs, the switches and the pu's. It winds up getting close to the price of a Fender and it's still a VM Squier. [/quote] I resemble this remark!! I've done this as my first "self-build". By using a Squier body and neck you do, at least, start with a good base with a good fitting pocket. The rest is down to personal taste. After all, you're in the same position if you start with a Fender, for example, when you've changed the electrics, bridge and tuners it's not a Fender anymore either. They're all Frankenstein builds. Or are they? How much can you change before you should really sand the logo off? I've bought a few "Fenders" and on all of them I've found capacitors in the wrong place in the circuit, wrong type of pots, non-Fender bodies, etc etc. IMHO, if it's not all original its not a Fender.