KingBollock

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1372078994' post='2121266'] Shame she doesn't like MPVs. I always use a 7-seater MPV with the rear row of seats removed and ditched, and any/all of the middle row in or out as required. That gives a truly staggering load capacity and relatively easy access (which doesn't apply with my 5-Series Touring). [/quote] Yup, same thing with our Bongo. The ride position is ace, being able to see over other cars and hedges while travelling the roads of Wales is really handy and adds to safety. And even though it is big inside its foot print is no larger than an estate so it is easy to drive and park. And it looks cool!

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1371897705' post='2119270'] I just made myself a guitar lead with a 3.5mm stereo plug (wired as mono) on the end. Plug it into my PC's soundcard, plug headphones in and away I go. It also gives me a little mixer if I want to use the Media Player to play along with. [/quote] All my rack stuff goes through a little Behringer Xenxy 802 mixer and into my PC. Most of my PC audio outputs are handled by the mixer, too. Though I have a little patch bay with switches that I put together and built into my desk, to give me easy access to the sockets on my sound card. Also, I am able to control my Behringer V-Amp Pro and my Boss GX-700 using midi to USB leads. The PC is a brilliant solution. Though, with a little Zoom multi FX pedal, it is easier to cart around if you wanted to, and it takes batteries and as has been said, has a built in drum machine and tuner. I sometimes take mine camping, along with my Cort headless Flying V because its hard case is small and will hold the Zoom pedal and headphones, too, and it's easier to store in the car while travelling than an acoustic guitar. It will even work through an aux in on a car stereo. Would love to get me a stick bass to take camping instead, but that ain't gonna happen.

If I were in your position I would be tempted with one of the older secondhand Zoom Bass pedals. It would be around the same price and be far more versatile. I have an old Guitar version that I sometimes take away with me for playing through headphones. It's actually really good for Bass, too, and has the most versatile tuner I own on it. Or, if you want Behringer, one of their V-Amp pods. I don't know how much one would cost, though. I have the rack version, which is what I use to play through headphones at home. Though, like I say, the tuner on the Zoom pedal is much better than on the V-Amp, the Pro at least.

If you do it properly, you can learn karate at the same time! Tried desperately not to mention the giant bum hole it seems to have left, but I failed.

I had one of these once. In the mid eighties. Still having it.

Someone doesn't like it, they've thrown their pie at her!

[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1371228779' post='2111516'] lol.. thanks :-) Much better for some to love it and others to hate it than everyone to ignore it, whate'er 'it' is! It did sound immense, though... [/quote] I have the same model in a 4 string. To my eyes, it is the most beautiful Bass on the planet, bar none.

I did electronics at college and one of the other students threw a party at his house. There were about 30 people there, most of them also doing electronics. My lift turned up late, so we got there after everyone else. They were all looking rather gloomy... "We've got no music!" They cried, "The stereo won't turn on!" Went the lament. So the bloke who'd given me a lift had a quick look and plugged it in... The title of the thread reminded me of this: http://notalwaysright.com/ This is good, too: http://clientsfromhell.net/

Furry muff. I just know that some can run at either voltage and just assumed there must be a reason. I shan't bother if there's no point.

Give this a try first. It might not work but it's worth giving it a go, assuming you haven't already tried it. While trying to heat the stubborn solder apply some fresh solder. It helps to melt the old solder and has always worked for me, and my soldering iron is only 18w. I don't know what the board looks like but if the legs of the capacitor are showing, you could snip them close to the body of the capacitor and solder the new one to the old legs.

Thanks guys. I hadn't actually looked at the John East stuff and for the stupidest reason... The word retro. I hadn't figured it might mean retrofit as opposed to old or old fashioned. The idea for the twin switched batteries was in case I ended up with a preamp that could run at either 9v or 18v for extra boost. Being able to switch to parallel allows both batteries to drain at the same rate while still producing 9v. Do those preamps come up often secondhand? I'd be after a black set, though not right now and not for a long time yet. My only worry now is that that circuit board looks like it's meant to fit a Bass with a scratch plate and the knobs in a row, which isn't the case for me, I need to find out its dimensions.

I have this idea for a 3 band preamp. The Bass and Treble would be on one stacked knob. There'd be another stacked knob with Middle and a sweepable Middle Q thingumy. Then just separate volume and blend knobs and a passive/active switch (the switch would just be incase the battery died and because I think a switch would look nice and I don't like the idea of a push/pull on the higher knobs incase it got knocked accidentally). So, is this doable? I am fairly certain I'd have to get a proper battery box fitted instead of it sharing the control cavity as it currently does. Would it be worth having a double battery box fitted that I could have with a series/parallel switch, for either doubling the voltage or making it last twice as long? Even if it wouldn't be possible to do from scratch, are there preamps out there that have the different parts that could be incorporated into this one unit? This is assuming there isn't already such a thing in existence, I haven't been able to find one. It's just an idea I have had floating around in the mush I jokingly call my brain and wondered if I should let it just dribble out of my ear along with the important stuff that I am actually supposed to think about.

Thanks, good to retread that before I make a start. It was actually that site that gave me the idea of using stainless steel in the first place.

It's not so much the thinning that bothers me. It's that it's always looked like it's made of straw and he cuts it himself. I love Megadeth, although I lost interest after Risk (which I actually still enjoy) but I made the mistake of watching a couple of recentish interviews with Mustaine and there ain't no way they're ever getting any more money out of me.

He's got rubbish hair, though.

Bugger, that's a shame. It was the reported increase of the bass and treble ends that I was after, as well as them looking cool. EDIT: I found this [url="http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=9433398&q=hi&newref=1"]sound demo[/url] (couldn't get it to work before, for some reason, but it's working now) and I have to say I like the sound of them especially the last few parts with the pick (I am a pick player).

Yup, I've been playing it without any of the sleds for the last year, since I got it. But the saddles aren't very thick and are only resting on the tips of the elevation adjustment bolts, so they're not hugely stable (though, to be honest, this hasn't been a problem) and there's nothing holding them in place except the strings. So it would be useful to be able to use the sleds again. I like your L shape idea but I don't think there is going to be enough material showing above the sled to do it. The sled, while it looks flat from the side on picture, actually has a groove that, if I get the angle on the saddle right, would serve to do the same. I might have a crack at making something like a single piece saddle that I could shape like the one in the figure 3 pic you linked to and have it so it locks in place and is height adjustable. I don't have a milling machine, so I don't know how feasible that might be.

It's a neck through. The problem is that there is no space between the neck/body and the underside of the fretboard, and the fretboard is standard thickness. If you see what I mean. I posted about the problem here: http://basschat.co.uk/topic/203694-bridge-parts/ The fretboard It's just the insert I am going onto be making, to go into the bottom part. In this one you can see the E string with all the parts present and the other strings how I've been playing it for the last year. I'll be making the saddle half the height of the original and grinding about 1.5mm off the bottom of the slider part. I know I could just grind down the saddle instead of making new ones, but making new ones will be more fun.

[quote name='Voodoosnake' timestamp='1370325666' post='2099044'] You apply religion to anything and what happens?? [/quote] I come along and annoy everyone? Though I left that job to someone else in this thread, mainly because my first sentence was genuine. The rest of my post was tongue in cheek.

[quote name='ikay' timestamp='1370330578' post='2099084'] The last two posts in this thread are interesting re ideal design for a string anchor point (which apparently isn't a traditional saddle): [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f18/bridge-saddle-design-question-26739/"]http://www.talkbass....question-26739/[/url] This link may be more useful: [url="http://www.esomogyi.com/principles.html"]http://www.esomogyi....principles.html[/url] It refers to acoustic guitar design but the principle of energy transference from the saddle is the same. See the third diagram down. This shows how the shape on the left with a vertical witness point followed by a broader rounded surface provides better string contact and more efficient energy transfer. For example, something like the pic below (KSM Foundation bridge) - [url="http://www.ksmguitars.com/bridge.html"]http://www.ksmguitars.com/bridge.html[/url] [attachment=136252:KSM Foundation Bridge.jpg] Through body stringing with this sort of design may provide even greater saddle contact and energy transference. [/quote] Thank you. The left hand side of figure 3 is what I was trying to describe as a mirror to the nut, a nut being the same shape but the other way 'round. Unfortunately, the problem that I have with my bridge is that it is currently too tall and I am making saddles half the height of its existing ones instead of sinking the bridge into the bass body, something I wouldn't have the confidence to do myself. The way I am going about it makes the whole process easily reversible. But it also means that the break angle over the bridge will be shallow. Though I have layers with it for a year, with a temporary knocked solution, without problems. I shall be replacing the nut, too, with the same material, so that, along with the stainless steel frets, all contact points while playing will be of the same material. Though, I have to admit, it is mostly for aesthetic reasons, everything else (apart from the fret markers, which I will be getting rid of all but the twelfth fret pair) on the bass is black.

Going to be making my own bridge saddles soon. I shall be using stainless steel bars (I have some with a large enough diameter to cut into a square block). I have three shapes in my head and would like to know which would be the best. The ones I am replacing are just squared off blocks with a little groove for the string. But a lot of bridge saddles are round barrels. The other idea is to have a mirror image of the nut, so the back of the bridge arcs down with the angle of the string but the front has a steep drop off. I sort of have it in my head that a round saddle would interfere with the vibration of the string, but, considering they're so popular, I imagine that the movement of the string at that point isn't enough to be interfered with? So, does anyone know what, technically or in practise, should be the best option?

I have an idea that I would like, some day, to replace the stock pickups in my Warlock, which means replacing two sets of split pickups. Mainly for aesthetic reasons I'd quite like to put twin blade pickups in there, so I am having a curious about the DiMarzio DP127 and wondering if anyone has any experience with them? The bass is active and I'd like it to remain so, though I do plan on installing an active/passive switch. I am also considering building my own 3 band preamp to replace the current one. Actually, there's not going to be much if the original left once I've replaced the bridge saddles and the nut, which I intend to do this month once I've got the tap and die set that my wife is buying me for my birthday.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1370297008' post='2098927'] So a similar post saying 'Christians and Muslims needn't apply' would be OK, then..? It still seems odd to me. I'm not disputing the rules, or this fellow BC'ers legitimate search for a bassist, but I don't see what one's beliefs or otherwise have to do with anything. If the candidate fits the bill, what business is it what his/her creed is or isn't..? Mustn't be Jewish, then, or Scottish, or whatever..? Doesn't seem comfortable to me. Remove these remarks again, if you wish, although I'm not trying to be troublesome. [/quote] I believe the op should have every right to ask for people that fit the image of his band, image is a huge part of a band. Besides I could imagine it being difficult working so closely with someone you believe with burn for all eternity in hellfire and torment because he doesn't believe the same thing as you, it could get awkward.

I genuinely believe that my wife would be sad if I gave up the bass. Having said that, I don't play in a band or gig. I did ask her once how she'd feel if, say, I was in a band and had a gig in London that would require me being away for the weekend and she said she'd be fine with that. And then she suddenly went "Oh! Could I drive the van?". And she just happens to be the best driver I know, or at least the one I trust the most, and can drive anything from a forklift truck (she did have a proper license but they lapse don't they? So I don't think she has one at the moment) to a 36' long lorry. 10 years seems to be a common limit for marriages, I have known far too many people who divorced after 10 years. Scared me silly that did. I don't like the idea that there's gonna be another one in 10 years. Cigarettes is another one, I used to hear people telling me all the time they'd given up smoking for 10 years and started again. Well passed that now too, thankfully.

Slightly off topic but my wife appeared on Pointless earlier this year. She didn't win but she did get to the final on the first day.