neepheid

I can't say I've heard that explicitly said, but as someone who has a foot in both originals and covers camps I've had the feeling that there's some bias towards covers bands. Nothing overt, just whenever things like fees are brought up or we're being entertained with tales of gigs there seems to be a default to things which pertain only to covers bands. It's a bit like the location thing that happens (and I'm sure this isn't the only "UK" site where it happens) - when people say "North" without qualification they often really mean "North England". As a resident of NE Scotland, I find that a little irritating but I can't do anything about it so I let it slide and content myself with a little chuckle at what most people consider "North". Now no-one's saying that anyone's anti-Scotland here, it's just a little disheartening for its existence to be forgotten about on a fairly routine basis...

I thought it was genius too, but during the heyday of amusing decals the preferred one seemed to be "Pretender Bass", which I always found to be a bit route one. Still, it's better than the one most frequently seen on Jazz basses...

Hey, I did that already. Although it was on a fretted Precision so it was more a self deprecating comment on the player rather than the bass...

I gig in 2 types of band - because I only get to choose one option are you asking people to choose which band they consider to be their primary one?

I'm pretty sure it was the headstock people complained most about - can't say I've heard any outright ire thrown at the Saddle Lock bridge... Trying to out-Fender Fender never works.

I play regularly with keys and I have no bother hearing myself. Nickel rounds on either a G&L L-1000, G&L Tribute LB-100, Epiphone Jack Casady or Epiphone Les Paul Standard with EMG-HB and BQC. If anything, I find the (now) active Les Paul bass to be the one I have the most bother with, vis a vis cutting through. Mids. More mids. Sad face EQ. Sounds crap on its own, sounds great in a live ensemble. I find steels too zingy, flats too dull, half rounds too weird, nickel rounds give me a good balance between thump and zing.

I'm happy - passive bass, nickel rounds, neck (or single central) pickup, volume 100%, tone 100%, get going My one active bass is set and forget for all its 3 band sweepable EQism. I occasionally put the mids up full and use the sweep to make a quacking sound for my own personal amusement.

I would say that operationally I don't have a #1 - I give all my basses a fair rotation, what's the point in having them if they don't get played? Over all time since I started playing though, evidence points towards my #1 being the Epiphone Jack Casady Sig. The evidence? I'm on my third one, and I regret selling the first two. I had your typical gold top first - sold it because I was fickle. Then I had a super sparkly Blue Royale one - sold it because of financial pressure. The happy end to this saga is that I now have a 20th Anniversary model. The red one with the flamed maple top. I think I may have snagged one of the last ones available from new in the UK because I had to go a bit off the beaten track to a smaller vendor to get it. If I won the lottery, I'd collect this bass in every finish it has ever been available in, just because I can. So yeah, I guess I'm a JC Sig fanboi then

In a single pickup situation, I doubt changing which coil is used in single coil mode would yield tonal differences worth the hassle. Changing inner/outer coils makes more sense in a 2 pickup scenario where it can alter the effective physical distance between the two coils remaining in service when both pickups are used together. Even then, it smacks of "because I can" rather than creating any earth shattering sonic revelations. When I did a single coil mod on a G&L Tribute L-2000, I simply decided that I'd use inner coils - that way I had a very rough approximation of an L-1000 in parallel and I dislike Jazz basses so I didn't see the point in doing outers. Turns out I don't even care about bridge pickups, but it took me a few years to figure that out In a single pickup scenario, just decide if you want it slightly more bassy (use north coil) or slightly less bassy (use south coil). I like my basses to sound bassy, so if it was me, I'd favour north in this scenario - but I doubt it makes much of a difference either way.

Wiring up rotary switches can be a mind-f. You sound like you're looking at 2P3T rotary switches. That gives you 8 connections total (2 for the poles and 2x3 for the positions). The 3 position Schaller switch probably only has 8 connections also, they were just too lazy to change the picture of the 2P5T (12 connections - 2+2x5) I prefer to label the poles with letters and the connections with numbers. In the case of the 2P3T, you'll have A and B, then 1-6. In general, it'll work as follows: Position 1: Pole A is connected to position 1, Pole B is connected to 4 Position 2: Pole A is connected to position 2, Pole B is connected to 5 Position 3: Pole A is connected to position 3, Pole B is connected to 6 In reality, you need to know how the switch you have works. Hopefully there's documentation, otherwise there's a multimeter and a bunch of head scratching. Now you need to know what the original 3PDT on-on-on switch is doing. All it appears to be doing is selectively connecting some of the pins to ground. This is borne out in the instructions. Should be a pretty simple wiring, coupled with the fact that you're only using one pickup. There are 2 connections on the pickup for voice selection, they are labelled Voice 2 (pin 1) and V2 MC Off (pin 3). Coil tap is a separate concern - use the push/pull provided to do that as per the instructions. For voice 1, neither of these connections should be connected to ground (ie. left open/high) For voice 2 (mid cut), ONLY pin 3 should be connected to ground For voice 3 (mid flat), at least pin 1 should be connected to ground. In the standard wiring, it connects both to ground and pin 1 trumps pin 3 which is handled by the pickup. I don't know if this is necessary, if I'm reading the wording of the instructions correctly. I'd connect both poles of the rotary to ground. Then I'd take pin 1 and connect that to output 2. I'd take pin 3 and connect it to output 6. To mimic them both being connected to ground in position 3 (if that's necessary), I'd make a link between output 2 and output 3. So in position 1 (red), neither of the pins are connected to anything (voice 1) (because the rotary is connecting A -> 1 and B -> 4) In position 2 (green), pin 1 is connected to ground, pin 3 is connected to nothing (because the rotary is connecting A -> 2 and B -> 5) In position 3 (blue), pin 3 is connected to ground (because the rotary is connecting A -> 3 and B -> 6). If you use the link from 2 -> 3 then pin 1 is also connected to ground in this position, mimicking what the DPDT on-on-on is doing. I hope that helped, and please someone tell me if I've got this horribly wrong. I've only done this once before, albeit a more complicated 4 way scenario with 2 pickups.

Shhh! Keep your voice down

My dealbreakers: Nut width under 40mm and shallow profiles (I like a chonky neck) Jazz basses (aesthetically yuck, sonically ditto (assuming passive 2x single coil), also see above re: necks) No neck pickup (so no single pickup Stingrays, G&L 1500/Kiloton for instance) - I'd prefer neck pickup only if I'm honest but the presence of a bridge pickup I'll never use isn't a dealbreaker No front markers (looks unfinished to me, dots at a minimum please, blocks yes please, crowns - yum!) Short scale (sorry, feels like a toy to me - I have tried several) Caveats in a caveat sauce with a side of caveats

I missed its 10th anniversary on 1st March! 10 years I've had this amp and I have not been kind to it - cranking it hard nearly twice weekly in rehearsals, been left in car boots, brought freezing into roasting venues and still wiping the condensation off of it 5 mins before we're due to play (oops!). Still keeps on trucking. Rehearsal tonight, gig on Saturday, this thing just keeps on keeping on. Far and away the best bass related purchase I ever made.

"Heavy is good, heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work, you can always hit him with it." - Boris the Blade

For a minute there I thought that word has got to Gibson that I was participating in the Gear Abstenance thread this year. Great April Fool, loved it.

Surely it's living proof of evolution that I adapted as a child to enjoy the coffee creams.

So, another month begins. Another scheme to make do and mend instead of buying stuff. I don't care much for dome top knobs, I think they look a bit cheap. Had some spare flat tops in the shed. Even though they're meant for solid shaft pots they gripped the split shafts on my Tribute LB-100 fine and I think they look a lot better. I located the grub screws so they act as a visual cue at 100%. I think that looks much better. Subtle change for sure but the crucial thing is that I didn't buy anything to effect this change

Never say never. The only reason I'm GAS free at the moment is the Gear Abstinence thread which I am determined to win. Stubbornness and an aversion to the walk of shame trumps GAS, it would seem. But next year, I'll probably buy something, having learned nothing

Vaccines make you and your gear waterproof?

Hey, how did you know my entire approach to clothes shopping? Bit generous to call it "shopping" really, it's more a grudging cross between "purchasing" and "procurement"

And you're entitled to it, just as you're entitled to have a negative opinion of how I went about countering your argument, in exactly the same way as I'm entitled to disagree with you and use an obviously ridiculously amped up example to reinforce both my point and how much I disagree with yours - so ridiculously amped up it was I didn't think I needed to suffix it with a winky smiley. I still disagree with your opinion of this matter. If you can get over the fact that you don't like how I went about disagreeing with you want to discuss the matter at hand instead of attempting to shut it down, I'm all ears.

I disagree. In my opinion, both aspects are important. Of course it needs to be functional. But if it doesn't look good, you won't be inspired to pick it up, you won't want to be seen performing with it. Maybe we should buy our clothes blindfolded too? As long as it feels good and fits you well, who cares if your shirt has got the C word printed in massive letters on it?

I see what you did there.

That's why I scratched that itch with a G&L Tribute LB-100... When they came out with that metallic blue/green with tort and blocks combo, yum! Also it's (just) different enough from a Fender/Squier P to be interesting.

So close to 3 months, ahh well. I'm still in. Been laid low with COVID but got back to band rehearsals this week and took my JC (thinking I might get tired so take the lightest bass I own). And I fell in love with it all over again. I'm confident I can make it a little longer, even with the cooncil's "gift" of £150 off the council tax next month...