neepheid

Being an ASAT bass, it can only be MIA, there is no Tribute ASAT bass.

To be honest, I didn't find the pots to be too bad, again, small hands, was able fairly easily and quickly get them in position and push them up from underneath. The jack socket was much more of a hassle, but with some improvised tools and a bit of swearing I got it to go where I needed it to https://schaller.info/en/megaswitches-preamp-pickups/306/megaswitch-rotary

Last night I sorted out my other grumbles with this bass as supplied - the terrible pots and the pointless three way switch. Never rewired a semi-hollow bass before, and with a solid centre block the only access point is the f-hole. No worries! First step - gather supplies - found some pots in my parts bin and ordered a Schaller 3 way rotary Megaswitch - so much easier to wrap one's head around than your typical rotary. Then it's time to take a deep breath and feed the guts out through the f-hole (realising that there's no way back now - even stuffing the innards back in as they are will be a challenge) Desoldered and removed the old pots and the switch, leaving only the bridge wire (taped up so it can't escape inside the bass again!) and the pickup wire. Noting the two hot wires which went to the old switch (white/green) - use multimeter to figure out which grounds go with which hots (white/black, red/green) then wire the Megaswitch using the schematic handily provided by Schaller for this very scenario (single HB, parallel/single/series) Wire up from the switch to the volume and tone pots to the jack socket (remembering to include the bridge earth wire) Test BEFORE beginning to stuff the innards back in the f-hole, then do it in order of (wired) distance from the pickup - jack socket first - easily the worst, fiddliest one - having small hands/fingers I managed to get it in the rough vicinity of the hole then used a large allen key to maneuver it into position and keep it there whilst I got the washer/nut on. Take a breath, then carry on - tone pot, volume pot and finally, three way switch (which went in quite easily - had done some testing beforehand to see what was the easiest way, found an angled approach worked best after first trying other contortions of a more twisting nature which might have stressed the wires) Finally, put the knobs on, and it's done! The chrome knob is temporary - couldn't find a chickenhead in my spares so I've ordered one. Final tests through headphones and amp revealed that it has been a resounding success - real differences between the settings (well, slight difference between single/parallel but the usual big kick going into series). Only wee oopsie (and I'm not fixing it) is that I got my coils mixed up and the single coil is the bridge coil, not the neck one as I had intended. I don't think it makes a lot of difference so I'm going to leave it.

I looked up "bass player" definition and I didn't see "makes logical sense" anywhere, you're all good.

Most supermarkets and chemists. Even Markies have them at the till, at least the one at Union Square, Aberdeen does.

Out of all the main "more affordable" brands, I've been thinking for some time now that SBMM have been taking the mick more than most in these times of inflation and increased prices.

What kind of strap are you using?

My amp for the past 12 years has been a Red Sub BT5110 (G4M's amp brand), the only thing that's gone wrong with it in that time was the headphone socket needed replacing. Make of that what you will, it's just one instance of one product they sold which has worked out fantastically for me. I bought a G4M bass once, unfortunately it had been damaged in transit. I sent it back without issue but didn't get a replacement, I just went off the idea of it in the interim and got a refund. It was pretty cheap feeling, but it was pretty cheap, so can't really complain!

56 basses have entered the building, 48 have left. They left because they weren't being played, less favoured ones were sold to finance new acquisitions, and the occasional fire sale when things got financially grim (like when moving house). In the latter case, I kept the ones which weren't worth that much and sold the ones I'd get the most back from. This unfortunately meant selling some tasty stuff I would rather have kept, but that's less important than keeping a roof over one's head.

Correct

I dunno about long periods of time, but it's always zero music in the car on the way home from playing a gig - I've just spent the best part of 3 hours being part of the music, that's quite enough in one sitting, thanks!

I did go through a wobbly period during COVID lockdowns - I picked up a bass twice in 2 years and did wonder if I would get back into it once the restrictions were eased. Gave some serious thought to quitting both my bands and jacking in playing bass. Glad I didn't though. I'm somewhat worried about motivation though - I haven't written a song in years, and I remain pretty lazy when it comes to learning new stuff. We're having to change our singer in the covers band, so maybe that'll provide some impetus, to not appear incompetent if nothing else.

John East <mic drop>

Ahh, the Auld Alliance isn't what it used to be then?

Ach, you don't need to justify it, it's just not a phrase you hear every day and couldn't help myself commenting on it

You bought a Rickenbacker 4003 "for a laugh"? Nice position to be in

As some of you will know, I recently took ownership of a prototype Harley Benton HB-50, and as outlined in the NBD thread, the bass is ergonomically, structurally and aesthetically sound but the wiring leaves much to be desired. I had this mad idea of getting a 5 or 6 way switch to do all the things one can do to a single humbucking pickup. Then I had a word with myself and thought "what would I actually use some of those settings for?" Am I just doing it for logical completeness, or showing off? In the end, I think I'm just going to fit a 3 way rotary and do simply parallel/single/series and be done with it. I'm on the fence as to whether or not parallel and single sound that much different from each other as well. Fitting the Freeway 10 way switch to my Reverend Triad made more sense with the 3 pickups (not to mention it's a super neat mod that requires no modification to the bass other than the wiring), and I do actually use some of the combinations it offers (like the series options), but what's the point of out-of-phase, even in series? Just making work for myself to no obvious benefit. I dunno why I started this thread really, maybe to spark some discussion about the whole "just because you can, doesn't mean you should" type thing. Over to you...

I could have bought my current car six times over. Perspective.

Oh, the humanity!

Rude, innit?

Just as well none of my menagerie were for sale...

That's fighting talk! Don't make me invade again, I've only just got back!

So, would a £100 note from a Scottish bank be out of line?

If I want a drumstick thrown at me, I'll suggest playing to a click track...