KingBollock

Anyone seen this? http://femurdesign.com/theremin/

I was given a set of the nickel roundwounds, as a bribe to teach friend of my wife's to play bass, and I was reluctant to try them for ages. When I finally decided that the Chrome flats weren't working on my Warlock (despite loving them on my Westfield) I decided to try the Fenders and love them. They also seem to be lasting a lot longer than the Rotos I had always ended up with before (because of the price).

I recently tried my stomp boxes in my amp's effects loop and they really, really didn't like it. I mentioned it on here and someone said that it might be because of the line level output on the effects loop. Today (I've had the damned thing for over 15 years!), while browsing the amp's manual, I discovered that there is a high/low switch for the effects loop. [quote]EFX LEVEL SWITCH (33) Selects the effects loop operating level: -10 dBV (3 V RMS) when in low position and 0 dBV (1 V RMS) when in high position.[/quote] Does this mean that if I set it to low the pedals might stand a better chance? I know the difference between instrument and line level, in as much as I know there's a difference, I just don't know what the numbers are. I know I should just try it but getting at the back of the amp and setting it all up is a bit of a chore.

As you say it is also a problem during rehearsals maybe you could record them. Record one song and play it back and all should be able to hear where it is wrong and be able to change what needs changing. Keep doing that until it is right. Hopefully this would help the guitarist's understanding and he'll be able to translate it to a gig situation.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1391878171' post='2362256'] KingBollock, what's that? I've found out it's not the EC-154DX, and guess it's more expensive than that one. [/quote] It's the ESP LTD EC-404. They're usually around the £700 mark, I think. I don't have hugely expensive tastes.

http://grbasses.com

Have you had a look under the nut? If it wasn't just the wrong size when fitted I might suspect an unsuitable shim has disintegrated or the wrong glue laid on too thick that has crumbled away.

It is unlikely to ever happen but if I were to have the luxury of buying another bass it would have to be one of these: Bloomin' lovely.

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1391692971' post='2360231'] Thanks for the info, I'll pick a Big Stubby up out of interest. Is your Primetone this type: http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/primetone-semiround-grip Or this type: http://www.jimdunlop.com/product/Primetone-picks ? [/quote] The second one. I ordered a pack of three of the large sharp tipped ones (bottom right in the pic) but received two of those and one rounded tip one (bottom left). Which is a little annoying because they're relatively expensive, but it sounds so different that I will probably use it if I need a much mellower sound.

[quote name='tedmanzie' timestamp='1391632839' post='2359606'] you're right, i've lost track! i tried those stubbies when i played guitar, i can't get a hold of them, they are small aren't they. i was thinking of a regular sized pick i suppose, but chunky! [/quote]You're thinking of the normal Stubbys, the Big Stubbys are much er... bigger. I recently changed from Big Stubbys to 3mm Primetones.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1391343138' post='2355927'] No controversy intended! I just can't play faster with a thicker pick, is all. [/quote] Have you tried one with a tapered tip? I use 3mm picks but if they were 3mm all over I think that would slow me down considerably, or even anything above 1mm.

[quote name='JazzBassfreak' timestamp='1391361559' post='2356189'] I can understand that, BC Rich basses are highly underrated. Not a fan of the shapes though I'm more into simplistic body styles. [/quote] I got really lucky. I had wanted one for over 20 years, yet I hadn't even ever seen one in the flesh, only in magazines and videos, let alone played one. One day one came up on Ebay for a good price and I went for it, bloomin' glad I did too.

I adore my BC Rich Warlock NT. It's beautiful and plays like a dream. It sounds good, too, yet I still have an irresistible urge to tinker with it and want to change the pickups for DiMarzio DP127BK's and the pre-amp for a John East U Retro Deluxe, the nut for a stainless steel one and the jack plate and truss rod cover for fancy cast metal ones.

I had a problem with a guitar I was hanging on an external wall. The wall would get a lot of sun in the morning and then none in the afternoon, so there was a huge temperature change. I am not sure exactly how the guitar warped throughout the day but it was enough to break strings.

Never saw the catalogue before, but it has made me miss my old Laney Klipp (p47).

A John East U Retro Deluxe, with black knobs.

I voted for the first time. For some reason I have always felt that because I don't actually join in I have no right to vote. Not because of anything said about it, just my head taking its self to the stupid step. I do wish I could join in. I do keep fiddling about with recording stuff, finally got my head around doing the drums, but every time I try my mind just goes completely blank. I'm getting there, very, very, veeerrrryyyy slowly. Oddly, if there were prizes involved I definitely wouldn't enter. But, again. that's just me. I am quite happy to build someone a website, or give someone's kid a bass or guitar lesson, but as soon as I am offered money for it I go cold and can't do it. Oh, and I think a time limit on the songs would help. I think two and a half minutes would be ideal.

My wife uses these little button magnets in her floristry, for holding on corsages without using pins. They're really quite powerful and brilliant for cleaning up wirewool leftovers.

I am not giving anything away because I still want to use parts for non PC type stuff. I have an old Viglen P3 600 that cost me £2025! I can't bear to throw it away but I have had another idea for it. One is that I am going to use the case cowling, those nice flat sheets of metal could become all sorts of useful things. Another idea is to turn the PSU into a bench PSU. I will be able to get fixed 12v and 5v supplies from it and using a volt controller from an old broken cordless drill, I will be able to have an adjustable supply up to 12v, which is ideal for the sorts of things I would use it for. Sometimes when something stops being useful as what it is, it is worth looking at it in a different way to see what it [i]could[/i] become. Since having these ideas I am regretting chucking several other computers, including a couple of old 286's. All that sheet metal! What a waste. At the very least I should have stripped the PSU's of their components.

You could get adventurous with a scratchplate. Try different materials, metals like: copper, bronze, steel, aluminium or brass; or different woods or plastics. And go crazy with the shape. Some of those could be achieved by layering, which has very interesting possibilities, you could have a nice rosewood base with aluminium details on top, all sorts of things. Even if you don't like my ideas, maybe someone might. That'd be cool. Might end up looking a bit Traben, though...

I'd go with a scratchplate, and I'm not usually a fan of scratchplates. If it were mine I would be tempted to fashion a piece of stainless steel into a banana shape and have it go under the knobs, too, if the wood is that thin... Just another idea, but I think it would look good.

[quote name='hamfist' timestamp='1390806753' post='2349607'] If you've already go a router I can't see why you shouldn't do the job yourself. You don't actually "need" forstner bits. Just a plain old straight router bit (I use a 6mm for stuff like that). Just go slow and steady, enlarging the cavity you have. I did much the same to an alder P bass body yesterday. I'd done pickup cavities before and this was the same, just bigger. Protect the exposed surface around the area with tape of some sort (I use sellotape as it's the thinnest and least likely to catch on the routing guide). A luthier will charge you an arm and a leg to do that sort of work. [/quote] Mostly I am afraid of mucking up the finish, chipping it or something, because I know that that isn't something I could fix myself. It's not even the main cavity part that bothers me, it's the shallow recess for the cover that I am worried about, the delicate part. Perhaps a Dremel router attachment would be a better idea for me? And I'm a big girl's blouse.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1390781920' post='2349562'] What's wrong with the pots, other than your objection to their size and your perception of their quality? [/quote] Probably nothing! The centre detent on the treble knob is almost no existent, which is a little annoying because I do use it a lot, often going from centre to rolled off and back again. I am also not happy with the blend pot but I am not entirely sure it's the pot's fault. When centred there is a noticeable drop in oomph. That's the best way to describe it. It's also wired backwards but obviously that wouldn't require changing the pot. The biggest thing is that I would like to replace the pre-amp and the one I want to replace it with comes with the pots, which simply won't fit as it is. It also comes with 2 switches that also won't fit. Even if I didn't replace the pre-amp, I like tinkering, that's why I have replaced all the pots in my other basses and guitars. I had to remove wood to get the CTS pots into my Westfield, too, but not much and it was only my Westfield.

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1390777232' post='2349495'] Goes w/o saying if you increase the size of the cavity, you'll need a new cover too. I'd just check very carefully the area you want to increase in size does not impinge on any other area of the Bass, you can take wood away but its very difficult to put it back if you go too far... It's not a big job per se for a luthier but they'd need to make a template. Is the area around the existing cavity flat, if not that makes it more difficult, usually these things are all routed before the body is finally shaped. [/quote] The area around the existing cavity is flat and there is plenty of room to expand into. I am aware that no matter what I do, unless I choose to leave it as it is (but where's the fun in that?) I will have to replace the cover. I was thinking of making a laminate of ebony veneer (to match the fretboard) and a thin sheet of aluminium (perhaps 0.5mm or 1mm, depending on weight) for strength and shielding.