brensabre79

[url="http://www.rondomusic.com/URS2MNPROCAR.HTML"]SX?[/url]

If Ikea made bass guitars....

Well i'd give it a swerve personally, I don't think it'll be any better quality than those Shine basses that are on eBay ready built, I doubt you'd get much over £100 if you sell it, and you probably won't want to keep it. ;-)

I have not built one of these although I've seen the link before. I would be wary as to the quality of all those bits personally. You may find having built it that you will need to replace much of the hardware as well as spending considerable effort setting it up. But it could be a good starter project, for someone looking to get into building Fender copies, to make their mistakes on...

Bass frequencies require a lot more power due to the Fletcher-Munsen effect of perceived loudness. Guitars operate in the range of frequencies our ears are most sensitive to (the same range as a baby crying incidentally) so not much amplification is required. Bass frequencies however are well outside this range of sensitivity so require a lot more amplification to be perceived at the same level as a guitar (or anything else in that frequency range). Which is why guitar amps generally don't need to go much past 60W - 100W (a big stack!) whereas bass amps start at around 100W and go up to 1000W + to be heard at the same perceived volume. Its probably OK for practicing to have a 20w bass amp, but you need power to carry those frequencies in a live situation and I doubt 20W would even get you above the level of an acoustic guitar!

That +1. I use a GB Shuttle 6 because they were on offer when I was buying a new amp. Alex C uses the same amp for testing/development of his cabs too I'm told.

A bass player in a band that was supporting us recently had one of these, it scared the bejezus out of me watching him put a lovely looking 6 string handmade bass on that little thing. he smiled at my open mouth and said, "it's amazing isn't it but it won't fall over unless I kick it" I said "I'll take your word for it" I still don't trust my Quicklock.

As long as you go into it with your eyes open to the fact that whatever you spend on it, in terms of [s]retail[/s] resale its still just an Encore LTD 83. In the same way that if you buy a Vauxhall Corsa, cover it in superglue and ram-raid halfords in it... underneath the spoilers, drain pipe exhaust etc. it is just a Vauxhall Corsa (and probably worth less than if you left it alone. You can spend a huge amount of money upgrading without really benefitting the instrument so be warned! Next step, if you don't care about resale because you like the bass and want to keep it, is to work out what you want from it... If you like the way it plays then I would maybe look at the way it sounds. If you like the way it sounds then you can address the way it looks. The best upgrade you can possibly do to start with is setting the bass up correctly and getting it playing just how you want. If you can't do tis, spend the money on a good luthier to do it for you! Usual places to upgrade are: Pickups - changes the tone dramatically so do your research and work out what you want... you can spend a fortune on pickups! Active electronics - loads of aftermarket preamps are available if you want to go active - again can change the sound dramatically or not much. Hardware: Bridge - a better bridge will usually help you get more sustain and set up the intonation easier Tuners - help the bass stay in tune if your current ones aren't great Nut - a tusq or graphite nut will help the tone on open strings and if you file it down right you can get a really slinky low action making fretting the low notes easier. Scratchplate - depending on the design you can probably get a nice scratchplate to change the look of your bass - has no effect on the sound. Theres so many sources of bits though that its better to look around and see what you want to achieve first.

Not tried the gold lion ones, if you're thinking of getting a Hartke and swapping the preamp valve, the Mullard NOS/copies are quite smooth in response and really warm when they break up (no fizz), [url="http://thetubestore.com/12ax7wa.html"]Phillips[/url] quite rich sounding. But if you want lots of mid I'd go for a [url="http://thetubestore.com/tesla12ax7.html"]JJ-Tesla[/url] (which I've stuck into my DHA pedal) - maybe try the genelex and the JJ and see which you prefer... Mr Foxen probably knows far more than me about the technicalities of valves etc. and might have a better suggestion than getting an amp with a single 12ax7 valve preamp and solid state eq and power sections. My Hartke setup served me well in getting a pretty driven valvey sound - without hauling around an all valve amp and paying megabucks for an SVT or Mesa! These days I use a Genz Benz amp, its very clean sounding hence the dirty valve pedal in front

By tubes for mids do you mean a tube that has a lot of mids in the tone? Or tubes that break up in the mids? I think someone on here has done a comparison of various tubes - obviously the effect of the individual tube will differ with each preamp design though. [url="http://thetubestore.com/12ax7review.html"]Here's[/url] a comparison i found on the net, a lot of these are more for guitar though but the description of the tonal characteristics may help you decide on a couple to experiment with...

Tube preamps tend to be quite expensive on their own as they are specialist, but you should be able to get a tube drive pedal. Like a DHA or over your side of the pond I'm not sure if Devi Ever does a tube drive for bass. Generally the bass ones have a mix/blend control so you can keep the low end in there as overdrive tends to soak your low frequencies into oblivion. I stuck a Mullard valve in my Hartke amp with great results and then wound the valve pre all the way up for a dirty fat sound. I bet you can get a HA3500 or similar prett well within your budget. There are probably better amps you can get S/H for $500 though.

Have you thought of a hybrid amp? Tube preamp / Solid state power amp - much cheaper than all tube and you can drive the pre to get the overdriven tube sound. Its not quite all tube but some come close enough - heck of a lot more reliable on tour too! There's loads around and plenty secondhand.

Cheap Tube Amp pick any two

The only bass of mine that I've left the stock Fender pickups in is the one with the East EQ, it really doesn't need an upgrade. The rest have Wizards in.

[quote name='bubinga5' timestamp='1332183896' post='1584522'] i have the US non export version of the MIJ 75 RI jazz.. the pickups are great... never feel the need to change them... i wanted to change the bridge, but found out that most aftermarket bridge saddles sit too high because of the depth of the bridge base. so a low action can be difficult.. with new DR's this bass kicks ass.. [/quote] Good point, you will most likely need to shim the neck pocket for either a Gotoh or Badass bridge because of the increased height from the higher mass. Its a pretty simple job though and the hassle is far outweighed by the improvement over the stock bridge IMO.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1332175250' post='1584316'] No doubt someone will be along soon to tell you what Wizards to get (it's the BC way ). [/quote] Not wanting to disappoint... Andy at [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/"]wizard pickups[/url] does a special order '74 Jazz pickup - you have to ask for these they are not on the website. Its growlier and hotter than the '64s and not as loud and 'Hi-Fi' as the '84s he does. All are excellent pickups (especially at the price!) I have 2 sets of '74s in two different basses, one a 70s the other a 70s style and I would recommend them to anybody looking to upgrade from the standard Fender pickups. I also tried the '64s - one of which I have in a fretless and the '84s which were just a bit too hot for my onboard pre-amp. If you want something more universal, less bespoke, and you're looking for a 70s sound i might suggest the DiMarzio model J as the design (and tone) of these has not really changed since the 70s - but i would personally go with the Wizards Bridge wise, not sure where you want to go with this but [i]THE[/i] 70s Jazz Bass mod was to stick a Badass bridge on. They are hard to come by these days and they do have a distinctive look to them but the sustain you can yield from one of these is awesome. If you're after a more traditional look I would have a look at Gotoh, they do a couple, one that fits the existing Fender holes (as the Badass does), and one that needs a couple of extra holes drilled (although these would be covered by the original bridge if you ever went back). The Gotoh bridge is high mass like the badass but a more traditional look - again the sustain improvements are noticable.

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1331919608' post='1580975'][list] [*]Therefore, you can build a guitar that is very giggable and exactly how you want it but it will cost pretty much the same as the next level up of a new one. [/list] [/quote] But you can get lots of bits used. My Sunburst bitsa is a lovely S/H Squier neck (£70) S/H MIM body (£85) S/H Badass Bridge (£40) Wizard P/u's (£70) S/H Gotoh Tuners (£30) the rest of the bits and bobs came to about £55. I have to say it plays better than my MIA Jazz (which was about 3x that cost) and the hardware is better quality too. Its good to experiment with the cheapest bits you can find, as long as you know the shortcomings to expect from cheap hardware etc. The above bass is the product of years worth of what I call Triggers Broom guitar building - 3 different bodys, 2 necks, 2 bridges etc. to get to where i am, and along the way selling the bits I don't need. Its all about recognising the weak link in the chain. Sure the resale value is practically £0, I accepted this a long time ago but I'm keeping this bass - along with the other one I've made almost entirely from 70s bits. To an earlier post - this is why I've stuck with Fender-ish, go into the realms of ibanez, peavey or whoever and the bits are not standardised so parts become harder to source (and fit!). Good luck with the project Icarus, I'm sure you'll be pleased with the result eventually!

Ah so. Yes that seems more like it. Still, bet you can't wait to get hold of the bits and start building eh? The two bits of wood should bolt together easily enough. If you haven't had the bridge holes drilled you might want to get some help with the positioning of that though. WD Music are pretty good for scratchplates over here! It'll be gorgeous when its done though

I think Fender do one as well - which they claim is 'not like the old 60s ones' - and its about half the price (how often does that happen with Fender?!) I agree that too much money can be spent on super duper cables when the chain is only as good as its weakest link. But I for one can hear the difference between a good quality lead and some moulded plastic ended effort from the bargain bin. The issue with curly leads is that no matter how good the cable is its about 3x as long as its reach because of the coiling. So if you have a 10m curly lead you're going through about 30m of cable. The shorter the better as this is where the signal gets degraded, the longer the lead the weaker the signal. And I take the point about the multicore etc. but usually that signal has gone through some kind of preamp and is a balanced line.

[quote name='BRANCINI' timestamp='1331829000' post='1579605'] But if you run along the stage, then sort of leap up and backwards, you can make it look like the springs pulling you back. Now you'd look silly trying to do that with a wireless......Wouldnt you [/quote] A spring would probably be a better conductor than a curly cable. Plus you have a built in reverb unit

[quote name='CBbass' timestamp='1331741633' post='1578119'] Around £150 for the Warmoth parts. [/quote] Wow! Every time I've gone on their website and spec'd up a neck its run to at least $500. How did you get so cheap?

I don't care what anyone says or how expensive they are curly cables are not a good thing, unless they can literally defy the law of physics. In which case they are the work of the devil.

Did someone say it was on an advert though? I don't read the mag but I know that generally adverts are supplied to the magazine and placed in a reserved space. The ad space buyer is the one responsible for any mistakes on the ad, not the magazine editor... Although I doubt Fender would let something like that out the door, it wouldn't be the first time they have made a mistake would it?

Bitter?

Yeah I would check the adjustment of the truss rod but without pulling it apart. If its set up ok for neck relief then no need to open it up, there's always a risk when you take a guitar apart that you'll weaken the neck joint anyway - each time its unscrewed a little bit of sawdust falls out... If its far from optimal I would suggest that they get it taken to a luthier and set up properly before you buy it (same goes for a music shop - they are usually happy to do this). That way you'll have the guarantee that it is as close to optimal as it can be and you'll have a realistic idea of how it can play, plus if there is any problem with the truss rod the seller gets the bad news, not the buyer...