tauzero

Met up with Mike for a swap - the ex-MB1 ex-slapmonsta Status is now also ex-me, and I have the ex-alembic1989 and now ex-bassgurumonster Warwick Buzzard 5. Everything went swimmingly. Great pleasure doing business with you Mike, enjoy the Status!

It's the perfect excuse to buy a 5-string.

I coil cables using the over and under method and then a velcro tie of the sort that stay attached. One lead lives in the main bass case (for rehearsal I just use the bass and lead), one lead with power extensions attached to it lives in the amp case, then pretty much all the rest live in a small roll-along suitcase. Might seem excessive but this includes the leads for the PA (multiple assorted XLR cables, a few jack-jack leads, several IEC mains leads, 6-way and 8-way boards, 1-way extension reel).

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1428709964' post='2744059'] The power supply arrived in the post today. If I power my Roland Microcube (with headphones) with the power supply and use pedals powered by batteries, then all is well. If I power the pedals and the amp with the power supply, then I get large amounts of background hum and noise. I can use this, but eventually I'll want a better solution. [/quote] Unsmoothed supply? Perhaps try putting a large value electrolytic capacitor at one of the points on the daisy chain so it's in parallel with the PSU?

Just to put Fodera's bass pricing in perspective: I have just acquired a Warwick Buzzard via this very site. I realised when I got it home that I hadn't entirely thought it through, as I didn't have a suitable stand (I do have wall hangers, but I might be looked on askance if I took a wall to a gig) and the Hercules grab stand is marginally too short. So I gwgled, and found a chap who hand-makes a stand for Buzzards and similarly wonky and long instruments (Explorers and Alembic Dragonwings for example). I emailed him to ask the price of his stands (steel tubing tripod, two legs forward and one back, neck holder like a Stagg stand) and was slightly surprised to find that they were $599 plus $100 shipping. That is the correct number of 9s after the 5. So, buy one of his stands for $699 plus whatever HMRC wants to extract from me, or buy a Hercules stand and a lump of wood a couple of inches thick to stand it on. Call me a philistine who doesn't appreciate craftsmanship, but I've just ordered a Hercules stand.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1428606485' post='2743020'] Well the shipping weight is 20lbs, so I'm guessing the actual guitar must be at least 12-14lbs. [/quote] You don't think that the case might account for some of that?

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1428587193' post='2742736'] Oh no - i didn't realise Brown Sugar was a certified cliched cheesy number! I offered to learn it for an upcoming gig as some of the guys I'll be playing with already know it. [/quote] It's another song ideal for the idle bassist, along with All Right Now and Highway to Hell.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1428587493' post='2742740'] Setting up for a gig, I caught the little finger of my fretting hand in the bracing struts of a PA stand, a proper sharp, crushing injury right on the fingernail. Blood and much pain. Shoved it in a glass of ice and took some painkillers straight away. Managed the gig, but the finger was sore for ages and the nail bed was messed up for years - it's only just gone back to normal, 10ish years on. [/quote] Always carry a drill bit... [url="http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Drain-Your-Subungual-Hematoma-blood-pocke/"]http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To-Drain-Your-Subungual-Hematoma-blood-pocke/[/url] And no, I don't.

The sockets on my active monitor are on the side, so to see which orifice I was plugging the mixer feed into, I tilted it up. Then it slipped out of my hand and landed straight on my big toe. I was wearing my customary footwear - moccasins. That happened around a year ago and the huge purple bit on my toenail has only just grown out.

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1428473684' post='2741519'] When making an item of quality you have to think about what it's made from, how much detail has gone in to it, the skill level of the maker and how long it takes to make. $550 might sound like a lot to make 2 pick up covers, but if you think how much you're paying for the time alone (3 days), then that's just over $180 per day for the materials, labour & overheads. [/quote] Don't tell Martin Peterson, he only charges £100 for that. And he doesn't charge extra for fretlessness.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1428581274' post='2742617'] OK, I'm going to go right ahead and say this abomination is a bad idea, and any small advantages to be had from making it a doubleneck are going to be totally offest by its unwieldiness and huge weight. Expensive too, given the amount you'd have to spend on gym subscriptions just to pick the bloody thing up. It's as convenient as hundredweight of sh[size=3]l[/size]tty biscuits and about as easy to carry! [/quote] Why do you think it's a huge weight?

I'm still no Fender expert, but I would have expected to see a big crosshead adjuster at the end of the neck where he's proudly showing the neck date stamp. And they didn't hold those great big chrome ashtrays on with suction cups, either.

[quote name='bumnote' timestamp='1428558350' post='2742346'] 20 lbs ouch [/quote] It is conventional to take the bass out of its case before attempting to play it.

Gives you the option of necks to defret?

Another one that plays like butter. You get grease all over your hands? You can't tell it from Stork? You need to take statins afterwards? You can't play it if you're a vegan?

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1428370885' post='2740686'] This is how an EUB should look. This only has 12 strings, and is done properly. [attachment=188725:10670173_1475734249357082_7388294038487589626_n.jpg] [/quote] I think if I was playing a 12-string fretless, I'd need to look for divine inspiration to work out where to put my fingers too.

I'm not a Fender or Squier expert, but surely that headstock bears only a passing resemblance to them?

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1428407165' post='2740947'] Well that's the problem. It's very hard to describe 'heft'. I only experience it with valve amps. I also call it the 'all-valve bounce'. [/quote] They don't bounce, they make expensive crashing noises...

I have had a neck made shallower (2000 Thumb changed to the dimensions of a 1987 JD Thumb) but that kept the width the same. So that's no help, then. No loss of stability, incidentally.

To quote from the article that I've linked to above, and mentioned the link to above, so no-one has to go to the trouble of clicking on the link above: [i][b]Do valve amplifiers really produce a compressed ‘spongy’ sound?[/b] Yes they can do, but not all valve amplifiers do. So it is incorrect to assume that because an amp has valves in it, that it will automatically exhibit this characteristic. The reason some amps compress is due to the power supply and the rectifiers which convert the incoming AC mains (line) voltages into the DC which the electronics in the amp needs to function. Some valve amplifiers have valve rectifiers, but most have solid state rectifier diodes. The valve amps that incorporate the latter DO NOT compress the signal. So that rules out about 95% of the popular valve amps on the market. If you particularly like the effect that this kind of compression brings, then you should ask your amp dealer if the amp you are trying has valve rectification. Amps that compress in this way seem to be very loud when you initially play a clean loud sustained chord and then it soon sinks down into a mushy semi-distorted tone. Under these conditions, the rectifier valve is unable to deliver sufficient current (known as current limiting) to the power amp, so the voltage across the output valves severely drops to a level where the power is reduced and distortion creeps into the tone. When you stop playing, the power supply returns to its former levels, until you play another loud chord and the same effect repeats. The power supply needs just a fraction of a second to ‘re-charge’, so you don’t really notice anything happening. Usually, it’s only low powered amps that have valve rectification. Larger 50-100 watt amps have solid state diodes. This has been the case since about 1963, when higher powered amps first started to come onto the market and valve rectifiers were unable to be economically used, in what were then, just cheap guitar amps. Everything was down to the cost. But really it was an improvement, because everyone wanted loud un-distorted power back then. Remember, these amps were designed long before distortion was a desirable guitar sound. Classic amps like the Fender Twin Reverb, known for it’s loud ‘n’ clean performance, owe their reputations largely to the fact that they have solid state rectification and two very efficient speakers with large magnets. The classic Marshall 50 and 100 watt ‘Super Lead’ amps also are equipped with solid state rectification. It was really only the low powered amps up to the 30 watt ‘Bluesbreaker’ types that had valve rectifiers. VOX AC30s employ (and still do) valve rectifiers, as did the Selmer ‘Treble ‘n’ Bass 50’, Zodiac 30 Twin and Thunderbird 50 combo amps - using the famous GZ34 on an octal base, but 50 watts is right on the limits of its current capabilities at 250mA. Some say that this is exclusive to valve amps, but again, that’s not strictly true. Tranny amps behave pretty much in the same way as a valve amp with solid state diodes. However, it is possible to build a solid state power supply for an amp which has intentional, and even adjustable, current limiting. So it would be quite possible to surpass the effects caused by a valve rectifier! Just how useful this would be is another question... but it is easily possible. It’s worth saying though, that I have never seen a tranny amp made this way. That’s probably due to the fact that it would make it much more expensive and... tranny amps are expected to be cheap. If player’s prejudices were reversed at some time... then I’m sure a brilliant tranny amp could be designed that would be a top selling product! A classic in time even?[/i]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1428355816' post='2740593'] I believe the reason for the perception of 'heft' in valve power amp transformers is due to 'sag'. As I understand it, 'sag' refers to the reduction of the power supply voltage in response to large transient signals which lends an important dynamic 'feel' to the amp that is not found in solid state amps... I could be wrong of course, as I'm no techie. But I do know the most 'heft' I've ever experienced in 40 years of playing bass has been from all-valve amps. [/quote] That's one of the things mentioned in the Stewart Ward article I linked to above. Basically, the power supplies were crap and that made the amp sound good. Next up, a variable-voltage SMPS which emulates valve-rectified power supplies...

Not a comment on the sound, but they do seem to have sneakily incorporated the Fender "F" into the Harley-Benton "H" (wot, no "B"?):

Have you tried reading [url="http://www.award-session.com/pdfs/GEAR_TALK_1.pdf"]http://www.award-session.com/pdfs/GEAR_TALK_1.pdf[/url] ?

[quote name='mike313' timestamp='1428156849' post='2738598'] Now the amp does not produce any sound at all from the speaker, even if the power light is on. If I put on headphones I can hear the bass playing at a very low volume and the sound is heavily distorted. [/quote] You could have damaged either or both of the ICs. You can check if IC2 is damaged by seeing if something played through the CD input comes out through speaker or headphones. If it doesn't, or if it's heavily distorted, IC2 is dead.

[quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1427958918' post='2736208'] Found the offending article: [url="http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCIQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.recordingmag.com%2Fresources%2FresourceDetail%2F134.html&ei=SOwcVb-mOs7aasyVgeAJ&usg=AFQjCNH8QCeluoHS81jBrbtS3RPE0LLajg&bvm=bv.89744112,d.d2s"]Taming the 5-String Bass : Recording Magazine[/url] [/quote] First he refers to the different timbre of the low B (although there's timbral change across all the strings, regardless of how many you have), then connects this with the notes below bottom E - what about the ones above bottom E? Then he goes on about the structural differences between 4- and 5-strings - yes there are, but any timbral effects this will have will apply to all the strings. And finally this [QUOTE]If the tune you’re recording doesn’t make use of any of those notes on the B string, that lowest string is nothing but a liability. Or a status symbol. Or a thumb rest.[/QUOTE] is unutterable bollocks. Looks like he's a bassist who doesn't understand the 5-string bass.