tauzero

[quote name='bremen' post='386099' date='Jan 20 2009, 02:07 PM']The participating shops tend to be specialists in bassoons and cellos rather than electric/electronic instruments though. And there are limitations in what you can buy; I think computer-based instruments don't qualify, nor do amps and speakers. It's been a few years since I looked though, might have changed.[/quote] It's been revised (I think). You can buy amps now as long as it's with an instrument. The perfect opportunity to get a back-up bass, then...

[quote name='chris_b' post='384588' date='Jan 19 2009, 12:51 AM'].... and when they toured the record he couldn't play it, so had to play something else instead![/quote] He played something very similar to it. And evidently Paul Simon recognised how well that little bit went down with the audience, as he got him to play it a second time. At least he did at the NEC, 22 years ago.

1) What do you look for in a music shop? What I look for is something I very rarely see - as others have said, secondhand instruments. 2) What would you ideally like to see in a music shop? A wide range of secondhand instruments, including everything I want for a tenner. Well, I'll settle for a pre-91 5-string fretless Thumb. For a tenner. Strings, plectrums, etc are good things to hold in stock for the casual visitor. Staff who are knowledgeable, not too pushy, and psychic, so they know exactly when I'd like a bit of help. Headphone amps for the Saturday afternoon shredders. Signs saying that people are welcome to play but if someone else wants to try the same gear out, they must be prepared to take turns. 3) How far would you travel? There is actually a little second-hand instrument shop about 25 miles from me, and if I actually felt I had some disposable income (things are still a bit tight at the moment), I'd be wandering over there once a month or so (and telling him to let me know if there's anything really interesting). I used to be a regular visitor to Musical Exchange, before they became Sound Control in Brum. That's about 15 miles. 4) Am I mad to consider this? Does it matter? How much can you afford to lose?

[quote name='jake_tenfloors' post='384385' date='Jan 18 2009, 09:30 PM']I definitely agree about splitting up amps and effects. I don't see these going together. Amps & cabs i don't mind.[/quote] It makes sense as it mirrors the Gear subforums.

It works on the back of the bass, but it's too much visual clutter below the centreline on the front of the bass.

[quote name='Al Heeley' post='376518' date='Jan 10 2009, 11:25 PM']Here's the link to the radius jig I copied: [url="http://home.mindspring.com/imagelib/sitebuilder/misc/show_image.html?linkedwidth=actual&linkpath=http://home.mindspring.com/~adhamilton/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/neck_jig_3.jpg&target=tlx_new"]Radius Jig[/url][/quote] That link just shows the one photo - this is a link to the page with the jig on it. [url="http://home.mindspring.com/~adhamilton/id13.html"]http://home.mindspring.com/~adhamilton/id13.html[/url]

My Behringer AB100 got noisy when mains-powered, so I put together the 2B|!2B box, which is two footswitches, each switching one channel on and off. Allows me to have either instrument switched on, or neither, so I can leave them on stands on a resonant stage with no fear of them feeding back halfway through the bingo. And I put LEDs on too. As I've got one 3-pole 2-way footswitch left over, I'll do a straight A-B box too.

[quote name='Beedster' post='380374' date='Jan 14 2009, 04:13 PM']So, for arguments sake, if a 1970 Fender is built entirely from components bought from 20 different sellers on ebay, and all of those parts are 100% verifiable as authentic and original Fender components from 1970, and given that the combination of neck, body and hardware on any one bass was likely a matter of chance at the Fender factory in 1970 (pauses for breath)......, is there an argument to say that the 1970 bitsa Fender in question is, to all but the most anally retentive purist, original?[/quote] Well, the neck and body won't have had 40 years of snuggling cheek by jowl. It's the neck and body I see as being of fundamental importance, other bits may need replacement because they're damaged (though I would hope that a seller would mention any changes from original if he knew about them) but the basis of the instrument is the neck and body. Of course, if you buy a proper bass with a through neck, you don't get that problem.

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='380144' date='Jan 14 2009, 11:57 AM']Those Variaxes any good - that's to say, how 'realistic' do they sound?[/quote] I think they sound pretty realistic. I mainly use the acoustic models and they do sound like electroacoustics (they don't sound like an acoustic does, er, acoustically). But as I've got cloth ears, I just had a quick look for reviews on That Interweb, and there seems to be a consensus that the models are at least reasonable. Incidentally, all the Variax solid-body six-strings use the same electronics, so it's nice that the one I found suited me best was also the cheapest.

[quote name='ARGH' post='379425' date='Jan 13 2009, 06:00 PM'][quote name='tauzero' post='379062' date='Jan 13 2009, 02:30 PM'] There's no [b]need[/b] for six-string basses. They have a niche. Most bassists can live without reaching into that niche.[/quote] Is that a wheelie bin in the corner of your classroom? [/quote] I do believe you're confused by the fact that I have said that there is no [b]need[/b] for a six-string bass. If you look very carefully at my sig, you will see that I own several five-strings, one six-string, and one seven-string bass. If you think very carefully about the English words that I have used, or perhaps use a dictionary, you may come to a correct conclusion about their meaning.

[quote name='Linus27' post='379208' date='Jan 13 2009, 03:45 PM']HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. I had no idea they made the Elite as a 2 + 2, only the Elan.[/quote] Nonono, 2.2. 2200 steaming ccs of pure throbbing power. The Elite like an Eclat. Not the dinky little thing that can just about get to the end of the driveway without blowing up.

I have a Telecaster Custom, a Telecaster Thinline, a 1959 Strat, a 1958 Les Paul Standard, a Les Paul Junior, a Firebird, a Gretsch, a Rickenbacker 360-6 and a 360-12, Gibson ES-335, ES-175, and Super 400, an Epiphone Casino, a Martin 6-string and 12-string, and a Dobro. That's what the manual for my Variax 300 tells me I've got, anyway.

First bass was : Rosetti 7 semi-acoustic piece of crap From : someone at school It cost : £7 Which today is : £79-45 First real bass was : Hayman 40/40 self-assembled From : Fender Soundhouse (which still smelt of smoke) It cost : £72 Which today is : £416-16

[quote name='bumnote' post='378405' date='Jan 12 2009, 10:51 PM']I used to have an original elan [JAP 4D] Unreliable as hell. but wonderfull, Mixture of bits of cars, mainly ford, hillman imp and others. Service every 3000 miles. twin weber carbs which never seemed to stay tuned, I used to carry a home made 1x15 where the passenger seat should go.[/quote] I had a Lotus Elite 2.2 (the one like the Eclat). One of 173 made, which meant there were another 172 piles of unreliable sh*te taking periodic rests round the English countryside.

[quote name='JJTee' post='378151' date='Jan 12 2009, 07:40 PM']Once I've done this, is there anything (in terms of copyright/legal stuff) to stop me e-mailing the collection to anyone that wants a copy of the file?[/quote] Well, if you emailed them to me, I could do some research to find out whether it was legal or not. I'd obviously have to study the material though.

I think my own views reflect those of Eight, Alex and Ped. When I read AM's initial post, my first thought was that a beginners' sub-forum wouldn't get far if it didn't have experienced people in it. Rebranding Theory and Technique as Learning for All (or something like that so it's not exclusive to beginners) would help. Gear advice is another question, if you ask n BCers for an opinion then you'll get a minimum of n+1 opinions, at least 50% of which will be entirely unsuitable to the requirement or cost at least twice as much as the stated budget, so I don't see that there would be any advantage in having a beginners' bit for that. If the current gear and technical forums aren't ideal for beginners in AM's view, perhaps she could give pointers to what she would actually want from a beginners' section.

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='377620' date='Jan 12 2009, 01:06 PM']I'm certain I have a problem in both ears. They feel like they're blocked - like when water's in them post-shower - all the time. There's no gunk in there , used drops and had them syringed. The result is I can hear my own voice too loudly and I've started speaking so quietly to compensate that folk can't hear me. I had a lot of problems scuba diving a few years ago - think it stems from that.[/quote] Sounds like a problem with the Eustachian tubes. Is it like when you have a really snotty cold and get totally bunged up?

[quote name='EBS_freak' post='377574' date='Jan 12 2009, 12:35 PM']Still reckon white basses are the ultimate stage basses.[/quote] Bloody white supremacists get everywhere.

[quote name='ARGH' post='373679' date='Jan 7 2009, 11:32 PM']People that cant see the need for 6 string bass's,TRY one.......really try,and if you cant play it you are a thickie and deserve to stay in the remedial class and learn how to make tea with the rest of life mental failures...yeah thats you..your Auntie Jean,and a wheelie bin.[/quote] There's no [b]need[/b] for six-string basses. They have a niche. Most bassists can live without reaching into that niche.

And [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200297077817"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=200297077817[/url] - he's regularly selling them. US-based, though. And he hasn't got any 5-string sets. Damn.

Elite Stadium 40-100 or 40-125, single or double ball end. Except for the 7-string, which has a set of Overwater's finest on it.

[quote name='Buzz' post='374002' date='Jan 8 2009, 01:32 PM']Does no one else spot the resemblence of design B to one of the ACG designs?[/quote] A bit of a resemblance but not so much as to be a knock-off. It also has a bit of a resemblance to a Peavey Cirrus walking into a strong wind. There isn't a really vast amount of variation in shape available once you've determined that you're making an asymmetric two-horned forward-leaning bass, given the constraints that actually producing a practical usable instrument place on you (neck dive being a primary consideration, so headed basses have held back the evolution of the instrument enormously).

[quote name='OldGit' post='372392' date='Jan 6 2009, 08:27 PM']The stands came with a thing that could be screwed to a speaker so that it can be mounted on top of the stands if it doesn't have a hole.[/quote] Is there a reason for not simply putting a top-hat into the bottom of the combo?

[quote name='Cernael' post='368940' date='Jan 2 2009, 11:02 PM']As for your second sentence, as I've come to understand the impedance issue (which, admittedly, I don't do very well), the biggest problems comes along when you have a high output impedance (like piezos), feeding into a too low input impedance (in the amp). This, if I understand it, is the opposite situation, which shouldn't be that much of a problem. And anyway, can't you change the impedance and/or voltage to acceptable levels with the right buffer/preamp anyway?[/quote] The resistance of a bass string is tiny. I'm not sure what the impedance implications are - I think you'd need a very high impedance coupled with huge gain and the sort of signal-to-noise levels that you would be very unlikely to find at an economic price. The high impedance means that the input would be susceptible to induced noise, which would be induced whether the strings were coated or not (if they were coated, it would be a capacitive coupling with the coating acting as the dielectric).

B for me too. I'd like to like singlecuts but they just look wrong (and I've owned a couple of Les Paul copy guitars, so it's not an utterly abhorrent concept to me).