JPJ

Hi Bassfan, welcome aboard! To start with, let me say I have no personal experience of the WorkingPro stuff. I am an SWR user myself, but at the other end of the scale (750x, Goliath & SoB). But, unless we know a little more about the style of music your into, we wont be able to make much of an informed response. For example, a 1x10 combo will not really cut it in a loud rock band, even if it is DI'd through the PA as any half decent drummer will drown it out. However, it works perfectly in an acoustic situation. If I was you, I'd be looking around for some second hand stuff, as £300 will buy you a lot of amp these days. Stretch your budget a little further, and you can be looking at some serious kit that will be capable in all but the largest gig situation.

[quote name='douggy' post='43773' date='Aug 10 2007, 02:26 PM']honestly guys , its not going under, they might have goosed up somewhere , but they definitely arnt going under . if they do ill eat my words but im pretty certain they arnt doug[/quote] Good, Cant speak for the rest of the country, but the lads in Newcastle are a canny bunch and i'd hate to see any of them unemployed.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='43856' date='Aug 10 2007, 04:50 PM'][size=1]No[/size] [size=2]No[/size] [size=3]No[/size] [size=4]NO[/size]... I will resist from turning this sensible thread into the usual BC farce... Oh go on then knit me a 40" one! We are talking chest size for a cardie aren't we?[/quote] Wow 40"! Thats almost 'Upright' scale isnt it? Mrs WH must have large hands, Mrs JPJ struggles with my 'standard' 34", good job yours is only a 4 stringer.........

Well, Blondie got her first gig a couple of Sundays ago, and boy am I pleased with myself! I intended to use her for the first half and then my trusty East equipped Jazz V DLX for the second-half but somehow, Blondie got both halves to herself. Playing through my SWR rig (750x, Goliath & SoB) she sounded absolutely awesome. Since the build finished, I have modded the switching options so that I now have position 1 as both J's on full (no resistor) but the best position live is definately the P + the bridge J, that position really cuts through in a gig scenario and still has loads of balls. In truth, the paint job could have been better. Using car spray paints means that they need a long long time to harden fully on a wood base, so I have some marks in the finish where my new strap rubbed against the edge of the body at the bridge end. Similarly, I managed to stick the back of the bass to a cheap tee-shirt transfer thing, and in getting the gunk off, I have rubbed through the lacquer. In time, I will probably have her professionally resprayed as she has turned out so well, she is probably worth it. But for now, she'll do, and as I have more gigs at the end of the month, she'll get plenty of stage time before any respray.

As a 21012 owner, its probably time I chimed in on this thread. I use mine for small gigs paired with my SWR 750x. As most of you know, the SWR is generally known for having a natural mid-range cut, which may explain why it works so well with the 21012 which is supposed to have a mid range hump. I don't gig very often these days, and when I do, its generally depping with a loud rock covers band. For smaller pub type gigs, I'll generally throw the Schro in the boot and it has no problems keeping up with a four channel dietzel head on a mesa 4x12. The projection from these things is quite amazing, and it really fills a room. If you are looking for totally flat hifi type sound then I don't think this is the cab for you. Yes, it has a tone of its own, yes it has great clarity, yes it has great projection, but it also is a big sound. Somebody explained to me that because the 12" driver is set behind the tens on an angled baffle projecting into what amounts to be a horn flare, you get a timing issue between the sound coming from the tens and the twelve. The best way I can describe this in practise is that when you are up the dusty end (somewhere I don't go very often) you get what amounts to an extremely mild reverb type effect. It is extremely small mind and I might be exagerating it, after all, once you start listening for something, you generally convince yourself that you can here it. Weight-wise, its a comfortable one man lift and is certainly easier to handle than my SWR Goliath (or SoB for that matter!). My other rig is the same amp head paired with the Goliath (4x10) and Son of Bertha (1x15) cabs. Sure, this rig has more balls than the Schro on its own, but it also takes up a lot more car/van space and has more potential to wreck my back in the short term! If you are in the market for a relatively small but powerful cab for a single cab setup, I recommend you try a Schroeder.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='41520' date='Aug 5 2007, 11:21 AM']The Jazz I have sounds great with the original passive stacked-knobs in. However, with the J-Retro fitted the tone just opens up and has more... life; even with the tone controls set flat.[/quote] Snap, my thoughts exactly! Both of my five stringers have John East active eq's in them and I love the sound with everything flat (or perhaps a little mid cut depending on the room). My Ibanez Musician fretless is active with a bypass and a passive tone, but the levels between active and passive are just too great to make it feasible to change mid-gig. As to batteries dying, I dont gig regularly, I dep with a local covers band a couple of times a year so its fresh batteries before each outing. Same for any other deps that may come up. But with the East circuits, you get a ridiculously long battery life so it really isnt an issue.

Some of the modeling stuff (line 6, Fender B-Dec etc) have built in tuners. Euphonic Audio (IA350 etc) also have a built in tuner. Dont know of many others though.

The Newcastle SC must be the exception that proves the rule here. I have always found the staff there to be friendly and helpful, but I have been shopping there since it was Rock City back in the late seventies/early eighties. Never bought anything significant off them, just strings, pedals and the like but I am encouraged to try anything I want (and frequently do!). Maybe its because my guitarist brother-in-law spends a small fortune with them every year on Gibsons and Jacksons, perhaps they think that I'll eventually catch the bug and have to join him. Nice end to this post is that my fifteen year old daughter (who plays violin and a bit of guitar) went into the Newcastle branch with a couple of her mates on a Sat afternoon. One of the guys recognised her as my daughter and let her try out a USA tele, telling her to fetch me along to buy it for her. Her friends were suitably impressed and she walked out about two foot taller than she had walked in.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='38818' date='Jul 30 2007, 10:29 AM'] Yeah this Trace 1248H cab would be pretty sweet but the only places that have them online these days are rental companies and studios. This cab is also rated at 8ohms where the V8 is rated at 4 or 2 ohms specifically. If the cab was wired in series, I'd see if I could rewire it in parallel to give 2 ohms instead.[/quote] Kiwi, I think you'd better get the number of Ped's surgeon, that amp and cab look great but getting them UPSTAIRS!

I've just bought my second one because I bought one, loved it so much I went to the rack version (which isnt 'tuned' for bass, so doesnt work as well in a live situation imho) and now have gone back to the pedal version. I use it after the Punch Factory compressor. To explain, I use the punch factory live to control my occassional excesses on live gigs. The Exciter comes next just to add a little sparkle to the top end and a little meat to the bottom. Bearing in mind I play through an SWR750x into either a Schroeder 21012 or a Goliath/Son of Bertha stack, you could say that the exciter isn't strictly necessary. However, I think it adds a little something else to the overall sound. Word of caution though, use both ends of the effect spareingly as it has a huge amount of tone shaping capability.

[quote name='warwickhunt' post='22203' date='Jun 22 2007, 11:25 PM']I owned Ashdown gear before it went East and I have to say that I had a mute button that didn't, a VU meter that meant 'virtually useless' and tolex covering that came off quicker than a fat lasses knickers down the Bigg Market (Newcastle) on a Saturday night![/quote] Most of the fat lasses my er 'mate' has met dont even bother with the knickers these days......

[quote name='Hamster' post='36398' date='Jul 24 2007, 03:04 PM']Crumbs! - just seen the pictures of the vertebre fusion cage thingy - you were right - can't make out if they're 1/4" jacks or neutriks though? Hamster[/quote] Look like standard quarter inchers to me mate, bloody typical, the NHS couldnt even stretch to a nice pair of switchcrafts!

[quote name='ped' post='36286' date='Jul 24 2007, 10:56 AM']thanks for the feedback everyone. i have taken the comments and ideas o board and pla to have brand new news from bass companies direct as well as a proper calendar editable by everyone. been on my feet just now, my tubes have come out and im feeling alright but pretty stiff headachey and sickly. no worse than a decent post gig party. all the best ped (new and improved!)[/quote] Hey Ped, Take it steady and dont rush anything. I hope you're not having to pay that outrageous AirCall or whatever they are called to use the bedside 'phone TV and internet thing? What a bloody rip off that is!

For both general electronics bits and handles/corners/edging strip etc for amps, cabs and flight cases, you cant beat 'The Electronics Shop' in Cullercoats Tyne & Wear. The shop is an aladins cave of muso bits & pieces and the website is pretty good too. Same prices on web as in shop so well worth a visit if your ever in this neck of the woods. www.theelectronicsshop.co.uk

Both my 1401 Bass Exciter and 1404 Punch Factory have developed intermitent faults with their footswitches. As both of these live on top of my amp and not on the floor and are operated by hand, I was wondering whether it would be possible to replace the footswitches with toggle switches? Any advice? Also, I was thinking of decanting the innards of both pedals into a 1U rack box along with my NE-1 para-mid and hard wiring the three pedals together with a mains transformer. Again, any thoughts on this or what I should look out for?

If we are showing off our custom made prides and joys, here's my home made five string P bass / Stu Hamm cross. Came out so good that its replaced my pimped J five as my weapon of choice. [attachment=1290:P_Hamm_V...Finished.jpg] [attachment=1291:P_Hamm_V...Finished.jpg] [attachment=1292:P_Hamm_V...Finished.jpg] I made and finished the body from a two-piece body blank from Craft-Supplies. The paint is Halfords Ford Ivory White over white primer and yellow filler primer, with two coats of clear laquer to finish. The neck is a mighty mite off eBay, she features John East Bass & Treble and Mid-Sweep stacks, with a pair of Bart J's and a Bart P via a five-way Schaller superswitch.

Thats an awesome shot of you and Ray with the priory in the background, if it was me, that would be hanging over the mantle piece! Managed to catch a couple of songs before I wimped out due to the rain (sunday was hectically busy in the JPJ universe). I waved from the back but you just ignored me, you bloody rock stars are all alike............. Sound was excellent, who did the PA? Oh and Rachel sounded great too!

Do I sense an outbreak of the balancing on one leg Geddy Lee school of bass and keyboard tomfoolery?

Its not quite as simple as hacking the existing carcass around a bit and then expecting them to work as well as they do now. Probably best to either use the in'ards to build a pair of Bill Fitzmaurices designs or design your own cabs using something like WinISD. That way you can keep the original boxes and either sell them empty or put the drivers back and sell them as working units when you decide to upgrade. Personally, I'd recommend you just sell the Peaveys and buy some Mackies.....

I agree no need for a fancy top, it looks fine as it is and it shows off the through neck nicely too.

That's really sweet, and a classic colour combination too. No wonder she's going to be your no1, nice find!

Wow, what a transformation, dont know why, but I'm thinking John "the Ox" Entwhistle just looking at it

Sounds like either a wiring fault or a dodgy power transformer. Probably best to take a trip to your local amp repair man, rather than poking about inside.

+1 on the John East link. I put one of John's bass & treble stacks along with his mid stack into my P bass project (see the builds thread). Needed a fair bit of space, but as I was building my bass myself, I was able to remove a bit more wood and make space for the electronics. I also put in a seperate battery box which helped.