KingBollock

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1372749377' post='2129342'] My first band would also have qualified had we made it (some chance). Pretensious bunch of 17/18 year olds (post-Joy Division floppy fringes wearing 32-pleat Bowie trousers, electric blue chelsea boots and cavalry shirts - this was 1980) decide to follow William Burroughs 'cut up' methodology and randomly pick words from a book. The (perpetually cringe-inducing) result: sensation = grey/blue [/quote] The first band I put together was called Sagitta. I got it from a huge star map poster on my wall. It's a constellation with 4 stars in it and there were 4 of us... But it's a bit wet sounding for a band that desperately wanted to be Motörhead. One band name I chose using the dictionary method (made easier because I wanted the band's name to start with an M, for some reason) I got Mandragora, which I still like. I believe there's a band called Mandragora Scream.

If only Bum f***ers From Hell had made it big, we could have made that list! 66Crush was probably the worst name of any band I was in. John Doe was incredibly boring. When it was suggested I thought we were going to use it as a placeholder, but it bloomin' stuck and I hated it. Fantastic band, though, gawd I miss 'em.

For some reason I was unaware of Cradle of Filth's latest album, which came out last year. It is utterly, utterly brilliant. Certainly up there with Thronography, Cruelty and Midian. Cradle of Filth - The Manticore and Other Horrors

For linking the control cavity with the pickup cavities I used the braid shielding from Gibson wire. Just removed it from its original wire and fed the wires going from cavity to cavity through it, splayed the ends and stuck them down with the aluminium tape I used to shield the cavities. This stuff.

I had a plan to make a new nut and bridge saddles from stainless steel (303), to match the frets on my Warlock. It isn't working out so well. The problem is that I have no way of tapping screw threads into the holes on the saddles. I am able to tap the aluminium (6082) I have, though. Having experimented I know that I can make the nut from the steel, so I am going to stick to that, but I am going to have to make the saddles from the aluminium. The saddle blocks will only be 4x5x11mm. I am wondering how difficult it might be to glue the steel to the aluminium if I were to make the saddle blocks 1.5mm shorter and make steel verneers 1.5mm thick with holes drilled to allow access to the threaded holes in the aluminium beneath. Would this be feasible? More to the point, is there any point in going to the bother? Would the aluminium be good enough anyway? It buffs up to a high shine like steel and, to be honest, this was mostly about aesthetics anyway. I am tired as I have been awake all night, so this is just a thought that popped into my head as I settled down to read my book before going to sleep. So try not to extract too much Michael when answering, please. I have a few days to think about it and may well come up with other daft ideas in the mean time.

My first cab was a 60s Marshall 4x12. It weighed an absolute ton! I got rid of it because my 13 year old self could only lift it 6 inches off the ground by my self. Which was at least something, the warehouse trolley I, erm, acquired, was only that high. So I'd have to drag the thing from my bedroom to the top of the stairs, roll it very, very carefully down the stairs, drag it into the back yard through the kitchen and lift it onto the trolley. Then I just had to push it the 100 yards to the rehearsal rooms with the wheels of the trolley squealing like a pig being murdered. And then doing it all again, backwards. Every week. I swapped if for a crappy 1x15, which I still have the cab of. I like this trend of people going for 12s, it enabled me to finally buy a 4x10 (for £40) and will hopefully mean I will be able to get a nice 2x15, my dream rig! Even if I never get to use it in anger...

I had a go when I was about 15 and seemed to take to it naturally. I would love to be able to play one again. I once saw an absolutely gorgeous piano white Cort Curbow fretless and fell in love with it. I have been unable to even find a picture of it since, but if one were to come up I'd be bloomin' tempted.

[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1372228185' post='2123021'] I seem to recall someone saying that the slug tape variety doesn't work for shielding, something about the adhesive. Not tested the theory myself. [/quote] I use aluminium tape which has quite good conductive adhesive, but to make sure I run a strip across the base layer with the edges turned under.

[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.