KingBollock

[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.

After seeing how easy it is to build my own, needing just 4 sockets, the right footswitch and a case to put it in, I am going to do it myself. It would be so easy to add a second loop that I might do that anyway, even though I don't need it at the moment. I love building stuff my self and would always prefer to if I can, and I would save money, which is always nice. So, sorry guys, but thanks for the offers.

I had to change the battery in my Warlock last night and had a bit of a look ' round in there. It is bloomin' tiny! The pre-amp is just sitting loose on top of a bunch of wires, as is the battery, there has been no attempt whatsoever to make space by only having the wiring as long as it needs to be. But I knew all this from a quick squint at it when I first got it. What I hadn't spotted, under all that wire, was the pots, they look like the smallest, cheapest pots you can get. I don't like that, I even installed CTS pots in my Westfield. But the cavity isn't big enough to put better pots in. I am fairly sure I could remove enough wood from around the pots without going beyond the cavity cover limits. I would have to change the locations of the screws but I was going to install brass inserts anyway because the screw holes are threaded. Which means replacing the cover, too. The thing is, I was considering replacing the pre-amp at some point. I had been hoping that installing a battery box would give me enough space for the pre-amp I want, but I now don't think it will. The idea of routing the bass scares me silly. I have a router but I would need to get some forstner drill bits. But I don't think I have the guts to do it myself. I am thinking that the best thing to do would be increase the size of the cavity, rather than just add a battery box. I was hoping to have space to install a couple of switches, too. Is it possible to double the size of the cavity without having to do any refinishing? I would shield the cavity so the exposed wood inside would be covered. I am thinking it must be possible if done carefully enough... If I were to do the sensible thing and take it to a luthier, what sort of costs would likely be involved? Does anyone know of a good luthier in south west Wales? I adore this bass. I had been gassing for one for over 20 years. It plays beautifully. It's just the electrics that concern me (there have been other problems but I sorted them). So I think the work would be worth doing.

[quote name='Budgetneil' timestamp='1390603953' post='2347589'] Mr Mister - Broken Wings. No? Just me then... ;-) [/quote] Sadly I love that song. But it's the only one of theirs that I know and I know nothing about the band. I just remember it being on a compilation LP the year it came out.

Tom Araya - Seasons in the Abyss Glen Benton - Satan Spawn the Caco-Daemon Blackie Lawless - Hellion

Thanks guys! I had been searching for loop and looper pedals but just kept getting sampler type things. I am new to pedals, most of my stuff is in a rack but the distortion is somewhat lacking so I am having to go with pedals. I've got a Digitech Bass Driver, which I adore, and my wife just bought me an Ashdown Hyperdrive; the two together sound amazing. I have now, thanks to you guys, found a wiring diagram for a looper pedal that will suit my needs. I also intend building a pedal for controlling my amp, which will include a channel switch so I can go from a clean SS channel to a tube channel, and I want to build a simple booster to boost the tubes. Most of the effects in my Behringer V-Amp Pro are actually pretty usable, but I also use an old Zoom GFX-707 pedal that I bought for guitar a million years ago, in case I want to have more than one effect, say flanger and chorus, on at the same time. I need to replace the Zoom, though, because half the buttons on it don't work anymore making making new patches difficult. Even though it is the guitar version it still sounds really good (for a cheap Zoom pedal) with bass, without filtering out the bass, it also has an incredibly versatile tuner built in, the V-Amp Pro is meant for bass but still struggles with a low b string, where as I haven't found a tuning the Zoom won't do. Unlike my Boss GX-700, which hates bass, which is a real shame because it is brilliant for guitar. Oddly, I have seen at least two people on BassChat with one of those in their rack I did ask how they used it and if they actually used it for bass (mine is in my rack along with my bass stuff, so it isn't a given that they do) but never got a reply (I only asked in the thread, not PM, so they might not have seen it). Sorry about that, I got a bit carries away, I am quite excited about it all. Edit: Thanks, too, to Wooks79 for the PM. I am rubbish at PMs but always feel guilty for not replying.