tauzero

[quote name='Mr Shiny Cadillackness' post='342836' date='Dec 2 2008, 11:29 AM']As for using corporate products, well, the's just a sad by-product of a capitalist society. To survive, one must conform at least to some extent. But there are basic survival necessities, luxuries and that grey area inbetween. For instance, I see using an ISP a necessary evil, to remain informed.[/quote] What bass and amp are you using?

[quote name='Dr.Dave' post='341744' date='Dec 1 2008, 11:33 AM']Dr D's fave mantra - buy the bass that feels right in your hands - anything else can be sorted with a screwdriver , a soldering iron and a spray gun.[/quote] Definitely. Try basses out without them plugged in initially. If they don't feel right, stop there. [quote name='Dr.Dave' post='341744' date='Dec 1 2008, 11:33 AM']I'd also advocate leaning towards classic , simple designs as a new bass owner. So I'm talking Jazz , Precision or Stingray styles. Of course you may want something different and whacky as your experience develops - but you can only break a rule if you know it first. If you took everyone who posts here off the forum if they didn't own one of these 3 design types there'd be about a dozen members left I should think. That says a lot to me.[/quote] My idea of hell would be a room containing just bassists who owned Jazzes, Precisions, or Stingrays... Don't be afraid to try out anything, regardless of what it looks like. The best 4-string I've ever played was not from the "three classic styles".

Not that taken with the body shape, but for some reason I don't like singlecuts anyway (I don't know why not, I can admire how well they've been made but I have some deep-rooted aversion to them). Great detail in the capping over the rear of the neck with that diagonally striped inlay.

[quote name='marcus bell' post='342230' date='Dec 1 2008, 06:53 PM']i love the idea of a food operated preamp[/quote] What do you feed a food operated preamp? Fish? A nice bit of sole would probably work, or maybe eel.

[quote name='squire5' post='342367' date='Dec 1 2008, 09:03 PM']Again Marcus,Ebay came to the rescue.Look under 'Dual concentric' in 'knobs'(oo-er missus).They come in 'short' and 'tall' versions.I used the tall one.[/quote] They're cheaper from [url="http://www.axesrus.com/axenob.htm"]AxesRUs (knobs, tips, strap locks, not knobs pots)[/url]. Look for the one that says "FITS ALPHA, ARTEC POTS".

I've used a Thumb for all of 1-7 plus 10, Hayman for 8 and Fender for 9.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='341536' date='Nov 30 2008, 11:21 PM']I have no disagreement with the seller or the final price, it is worth what it is worth. However it ALWAYS sets alarm bells off when you have a bidder (i.e. bidder 11) putting in a bid of £389.99... £389.99... who 'genuinely' puts in a bid of £389.99 if they truly want to win something? Nobody, "not ever" puts a bid in of £XX9.99 if they want to win; that is a bid set to ensure that your shill bid is just below what you genuinely want. I've seen it soooooo many times you wouldn't believe it and if you don't trump that bid it is equally amazing how many 2nd chance offers you get. [/quote] But they didn't put in a bid of 399-99, they put in a bid of 401. However, 399-99 of the bid was used to cover the previous maximum of 389-99 plus the increment of 10. As soon as someone bid more than 409-99 (399-99 plus increment), the bid went to its maximum of 401, hence the next bidder had to bid at least 411.

[quote name='SteveO' post='341722' date='Dec 1 2008, 11:16 AM']It cost me a tenner 5 years ago, havent played it for 2 years coz in my opinion it's a bag of sh*te. so either I [i]am [/i]a victim of hype and I didn't like it coz I'm thinking it's a cheap jap copy, or fender p's really are overhyped overpriced planks...[/quote] In fairness, a tenner probably isn't overpriced for it. You should be able to get fifteen for it from the [s]deluded[/s] Fender lovers on here.

I've just started putting a bit of slap in to my fretless bass solo for the end of the evening dance with the ceilidh band, and for an earlier bit where we take it in turns duetting. Am I going to burn in hell?

[quote name='Adam.M' post='340776' date='Nov 29 2008, 09:18 PM']Cool tat's too.[/quote] And I bet you're glad that you didn't have ex-hubbie's name done...

[quote name='BassMunkee' post='340769' date='Nov 29 2008, 09:11 PM']Please can I have whatever software you use that converts this forum to sound...? [/quote] Contact the RNIB and ask what they would recommend?

[quote name='Adam.M' post='340819' date='Nov 29 2008, 09:55 PM']It's really got my curiosity, why are these so expensive? and bass valve amps in general... I'm going to do some research when i get some time and really try to figure it out. If it's made completely by hand, point-to-point AND sounds absolutely amazing then it might be worth what they're asking.[/quote] Bassists are idiots with more money than sense. Manufacturers set the price at what they think the market can stand. The price has nothing to do with components and everything to do with the market. When Hinckley Triumph started building bikes in the early 90s, they had three models, which each had different engine size options. The difference between different engine size options was the crankshaft and conrods, and the odd little tweak like adjustable levers. The price differential was considerably higher than any difference in manufacturing costs - bigger capacity bike, more money.

The blend control is actually a pair of stacked pots, effectively working as volume controls in opposite directions (ie. as the bridge pickup gets louder, the neck pickup gets quieter).

[quote name='BOD2' post='340092' date='Nov 28 2008, 09:56 PM']I think it should work ok. Note the the contact on the output socket that is changed is the one that connects to the "tip" of the jack plug. Could someone else have a look at this and check if it's ok....[/quote] In the diagram as it stands, the connection to the socket that's changed is the sleeve connection. Was just having a look at the SE3P in one of mine. Thinking about it, I think that if you ran the pickups to the blend control as normal, split the red and black leads to the blend control, and ran the red from the blend to one pole of the switch and the black to the other, then wire the contacts so if it's in active, the red and black are connected to the red and black running into the main board, and if it's in passive, the red and black are connected to the tip (red) and sleeve (black) of the socket, you will have both pickups blended, just no volume control. In fact, I think I might just do that myself... [attachment=16617:SE2_A_wi...h_switch.JPG]

[quote name='bassman2790' post='340533' date='Nov 29 2008, 03:40 PM']I have purchased the plans for BFM's Omni 10 and when I can get round to clearing enough space in my shed, I'm going to have a bash at building one. Does anyone else have experience or information on this budget 4 x 10?[/quote] The first, and possibly most important, piece of information is that it's a 2x10. Or it can be basically cut in half and built as a 1x10. Other than that, I'm about as far along in the build process as you are... The BFM forums are worth looking at, and there's quite a few posters on finnbass who have made them.

[quote name='Adam.M' post='340240' date='Nov 29 2008, 01:49 AM']£1600 for that... what rubbish. I'm currently working with a friend on R&D on starting a small Guitar amplifier company (though we may just make them for friends and ourselves) and i could make something better for £300 parts costs (not counting valves, kt-88's are extremely expencive) with more versatility.[/quote] Well, I could make something better for £0 parts costs (not including the parts, as they would be too expensive). So if you were doing an 8 KT-88 head, the parts cost would be £450+. Would you want paying a bit to make them, by any chance? While I think it's an eye-watering amount and I wouldn't be in the slightest bit tempted, to compare the costs of 2/3 (by value) of the components with the complete product after it's had all its manufacturing costs added on plus the importer's markup, distributor's markup, retailer's markup, customs duty, VAT, transport costs etc is rather disingenuous. And it's £750 cheaper than the RRP on the Ampeg Classic Series SVT-VR which is a mere 300W.

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='340555' date='Nov 29 2008, 03:57 PM']Are we referring to these: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Warwick-Rockstand-RS20880-3-guitar-stand-NEW_W0QQitemZ250305284654QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item250305284654&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Warwick-Rockstand-RS...A1%7C240%3A1318[/url] Or these: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Electric-guitar-Warwick-Rockstand_W0QQitemZ320137770524QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item320137770524&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1298%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Electric-guitar-Warw...A1%7C240%3A1318[/url] ? You'd think a stand made by Warwick would hold a Warwick or a very common bass like a Fender (I'm assuming you only mean a Jazz, right?)... oh well, I don't think either of the basses I want to put on there will have such a problem, anyway.[/quote] The first of them. I've responded in another thread about the problems with them.

[quote name='WarPig' post='340249' date='Nov 29 2008, 02:11 AM']Could you elaborate? Itll be holding 3 standard shaped jazz basses.[/quote] Not ideal for them. Offset bodies are a bit of a problem for them, as are chamfered edges. Ironically, Warwick Thumbs don't go on them very well. If you don't mind spending ten or twenty seconds carefully shifting the bass around to get it perfectly placed, you'll be OK, except that if the bass gets nudged, it can twist and slip through the bottom rails. This is how it copes with an acoustic -perfectly happy. [attachment=16610:S6001229cut.jpg] And this is a nicely placed Thumb: [attachment=16612:S6001231cut.jpg] But this shows how a slim-bodied offset Thumb can twist (I actually took this first, it was when I put the Thumb in first and it didn't sit properly): [attachment=16611:S6001230cut.jpg] and twisting a bit more drops it through the rails. It's perhaps not as obvious in the photo as it should be, compare the second and third pictures though. If you have the chance, try one out. Not too bad for home use, not good for stage use with solid-bodies.

[quote name='ped' post='338618' date='Nov 27 2008, 04:35 PM']You need to replace the Schaller 'lugs' with the ones supplied with the locks. They are very similar and take the same sized screws etc so not a problem to switch over at all (unless one of your strap buttons points at the neck, like mine!) Still very impressed with them, certainly a step up from the schallers.[/quote] The thing I like about the Schallers and their clones (most of mine have the Boston ones on, the Warwicks have the Schallers) is that the strap peg sits in a cradle on the locking bit, so all the locking pin is doing is keeping it from popping out of the cradle - there's no actual load on the locking mechanism. The Marvel looks as if the strap peg just goes into the middle of the flying saucer bit, so the locking mechanism is load bearing (something I didn't like about the recessed straplocks that some Warwicks had). Is that right, and what are your thoughts on the likelihood of the locking mechanism failing if it is load-bearing?

[quote name='~tl' post='338897' date='Nov 27 2008, 08:35 PM']I've always been happy with Elites Players (the nickel ones). They last really well and I've never had a dead string in a pack – which was a frequent occurrence with Rotos. I've got a mate who swears by Elite, and while they're nice strings, I don't see the justification for them to be 2-3x the price of most other strings.[/quote] Are you sure that it's Elite that your friend swears by? Slightly more expensive than Roto cheapies, in between Warwick Red and Yellow, going by Stringbusters prices, definitely not 2-3x the price of most others. I mainly use Elite Stadium stainless 40-100 or 40-125.

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='338881' date='Nov 27 2008, 08:09 PM']They still call them PP9s in my local newsagent but then the bloke in there is even older than me.[/quote] A PP9 is a completely different kettle of red herrings to a PP3, it's a big battery with similar terminals to a PP3 but much further apart. ISTR my mum's old transistor radio used one. One of these, in fact:

One of these: [url="http://www.themusicking.co.uk/goose-neck-guitar-stand"]Stagg gooseneck stand[/url] £4-50, has a flipover bar to hold the neck.

[quote name='WarPig' post='339805' date='Nov 28 2008, 04:21 PM']Does anyone own one of these: [url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warwick-Rockstand-RS20880-Guitar-Stand/dp/B0002II994"]http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warwick-Rockstand-...d/dp/B0002II994[/url][/quote] Yes. They're not very good - not the construction, they're built OK, it's the concept in general. Depends on what you'll be putting on it though.

[quote name='yorick' post='336174' date='Nov 25 2008, 12:42 PM']How about one of the Warwick Rockstands. Mine holds three basses. Unless you're using a Thunderbirdor or a vee shaped bass, it should be ok. Plus it folds down!!! Hope it helps [/quote] I've got a couple of those, one Rockstand and one equivalent (IIRC). They don't actually work that well. Good for acoustic guitars, OK for electrics with flat body sides and a constant radius bottom (eg. Les Paul), crap as soon as you introduce an asymmetric body (Warwick) or chamfered/shaped body edge (Warwick, Fender) or body with non-constant radius bottom (Fender). You [i]can[/i] use them with Warwicks but not if you don't want to spend two minutes making sure it's positioned exactly right on the stand.

[quote name='andy67' post='340209' date='Nov 29 2008, 01:02 AM']WE NEED NOT BE AT ODDS WITH EACH OTHER OVER THIS and yes I'm trying to shout the loudest because this forum has proved in the last couple of days how good it is and as individuals our sense of justice and decency.[/quote] I think you're overlooking something quite fundamental here. This is Basschat. If only one member were to contribute to a topic, he'd be arguing with himself by the fourth post. There is going to be a broad spectrum of opinion, some of it rigidly held, some of it flexible, on any subject, let alone anything as emotive as this. The key point isn't that people shouldn't bicker about what happens, it's that the arguments in this topic and the related ones shouldn't be dragged over to other topics.