KingBollock

[quote name='Dom in Somerset' timestamp='1337496137' post='1660741'] What controls are most common? VVT, or perhaps VVTT? (I don't do actives) [/quote] VVTT is the most versatile, but if you've not got space for the extra knob, then Volume/Blend/Tone would be what I would go for.

I've found a mate of my wife's who owns a screw/bolt removal set, so I shall five that a go. I am going to ring 'round some places tomorrow to see if anyone can recommend someone to do the repair for me. If I can get it fixed for less than it would cost to return it, the return postage being unrecoverable, then I shall keep it. So I have about £40 to get it fixed. I've got a feeling it wouldn't be easy to return it anyway. I think this nut is the one I'm looking for: [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Trussrod_Nut_Cylinder_Nickel_TRN-11"]http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Trussrod_Nut_Cylinder_Nickel_TRN-11[/url] When I straightened the neck with my hands yesterday, the strings sat perfectly. This Bass does mean a lot to me, if I can get it fixed then I'd be the happiest person on earth. If I can't and I have to return it, the chances of me ever getting another one are pretty much zero as I shall never trust buying over Ebay again and living where I do it's unlikely I'd ever find one within a reasonable driving distance, especially with the price of fuel as it is.

One of the things I [i]do[/i] like about my Warlock is the sound. It has the double P pick-ups and it sounds huge and really clear.

[quote name='CBbass' timestamp='1337451413' post='1660355'] What bass is it? Jazz? [/quote] Promise you won't laugh? It's a B.C. Rich Warlock NT. I've wanted a Warlock for over 20 years. Last year I decided to go for it and buy the ideal one for me. I had seen one new for £499, everywhere else was asking £560+. Then I discovered that it was a discontinued model and then the place I was going to buy it from sold out. I ended up buying a Cort T-35 and a Peavey 4x10 instead. When I saw this one on Ebay I just had to have it. I think I'm cursed.

[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1337450103' post='1660319'] If the nut is really that badly damaged then it would suggest that the truss rod has some sort of problem... like it isn't turning. That being the case you should probably return it anyway. [/quote] Erk, that's an even horribler thought.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1337449081' post='1660287'] In that case, if you can't repair it cheaply I'd push for a partial refund to cover your costs! Hope you get it up and working either way, must suck to have your dream bass experience tainted by this [/quote] It really does suck. In all honesty I could cry. Like I say, we have struggled this month just to pay for it. I took into account bank holidays and weekends and delivery times, but even so it took far longer than it should have to get here. That was worrying, especially as he didn't tell us what was going on without us having to ask, and I didn't want to be pushy. I was chuffed to bits with the condition of it, though, it's been really well looked after and I was willing to forgive the wait, until I found this, which is a pretty major flaw.

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1337448655' post='1660275'] What tools have you got? I'd remove the neck for best possible access, then try various screwdrivers, allen keys. torx drivers whatever fits into the damaged socket best, a straight screwdriver blade will sometimes fit across the internal hex corners enough to do the job. Failing that try a Torx, you can even attempt to get a tool in with a gentle application of hammer!. Then before trying to turn (left for loose) take the strain off the rod by applying hand pressure to the neck, then go for the best grip you can get & try, it shouldn't be that tight with no load on. Good luck, John [/quote] I forgot to mention that it's a neck-through, so can't take the neck off. Unfortunately, buying it has left us short this month so I am going to have to wait to buy tools. The hole has been sheered smooth, there is nothing to grip at all. I was wondering about cutting a slot in opposite sides and trying to get it out with a large screwdriver but I don't have one wide enough. I hadn't thought about taking the strain off the neck like that, though, that is very helpful, thanks.

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1337448577' post='1660271'] If he sold it to you like that he's stitched you up mate, you'd be within your rights to return it despite him telling you he doesn't take returns (I wonder why he says that!). If you want the bass I guess you could send him a bill for the repairs. How did you pay for it? If its Paypal or similar, it's so easy to get a refund [/quote] I paid with a debit card, I think it went through Paypal but I'm not sure, my wife did it. I'm a bit worried about having to stump up for the postage though. I paid £15 for the postage and he later said it actually cost him £40. I can't afford to just let that amount go, I struggled to pay for the damned thing in the first place, I only bought it because it's my dream Bass and I've wanted one for over 20 years.

Well, I'm sick to death of this new Bass already. Who said dreams can come true, eh? After finding that the action looks like a suspension bridge I lowered the bridge saddles as much as they would go, which wasn't far. I also noticed that the neck has quite a bit of relief in it. So, today, I decided to have a crack at the truss rod, but the damned nut is buggered. Where you would normally put an allen key it is totally round, nothing to grip on. I noticed that WD Music do a replacement nut: [url="http://www.wdmusic.co.uk/product/Trussrod_Nut_Cylinder_Nickel_TRN-11"]http://www.wdmusic.c...r_Nickel_TRN-11[/url] but I'm not sure how to get the current one out. I have seen these on Amazon: [url="http://www.rolsontools.com/search.asp?page=1&id=376&tt=1&ct=1&searchCat=0&searchStock=28997"]http://www.rolsontoo...archStock=28997[/url] and was wondering if they might work? I can't find a repair place near here by looking online, I don't suppose anyone knows of somewhere near Carmarthen that could do it? How much should I expect to pay to get it fixed? Or does anyone have any advice on how to do it myself? I tried taking photos of it but my camera won't focus in the hole, so you can't see the damage. At this point I'm wondering if it would be possible to send it back for a full refund, though he did say he didn't take returns, I have his address I might just turn up and stick it up his ar*e. I doubt I will be buying online again, I've been totally put off.

Now I feel sad. My 18th birthday cake was made in the shape of my old silver Westone Raider I Bass. I wish I had the photos of it but they were kept by my ex.

I've always bought cheap strings and never been particularly happy with any of them. There always seems to be a very short period between too bright and new and dead. I have to confess that I won't replace them unless I break one, then I will change the whole set because the remaining ones won't match the new one. The last set of strings I bought I decided I wanted to try flatwounds but thought that if I wanted a fair representation then I shouldn't just buy the cheapest I can find. I bought D'Addario Chromes and I adore them. I loved them as soon as I put them on and several months later they're just as good. They're not cheap, but I don't expect to be replacing them anytime soon, in the end they will work out a lot cheaper and I'm a lot happier. Because of the price it's taking me time to get around to changing the strings on all my Basses to the Chromes, but it will happen.

My first band, that I had put together, very noisy and desperate to sound like Motorhead. It was me, my brother on Guitar and my mate on Drums. We decided we needed another Guitarist. First to audition was a girl (we were 12 or 13 years old) who turned up with an acoustic Guitar, sat down and said "Well, I think you should be a Country & Western band.". Never saw her again. Second audition was a mate of my brother's. He didn't know how to tune his Guitar and while we were playing he turned the volume on his Guitar off and pretended to play along. We split up after that. I was once asked to stand in for a rehearsal which ended up with the band asking would I join them if they sacked their current Bass player... They had two singers, neither of which could sing, an absent Drummer whom I knew and I also knew didn't own a Drumkit, and a Guitarist who could play Enter Sandman really well, as long as he was looking at the tab in the book, he couldn't play any other songs, not even from his book.

[quote name='cheddatom' timestamp='1336997899' post='1653664'] I do this with my Peavey TNT (well I run my pedals full range but anyway) I have the hi output from the crossover going straight to a guitar amp, and leave the lo output unplugged. This seems to send the full range from the pre to the power section of the peavey amp giving me full range to the combo speaker. The easiest way to test is to plug a patch lead into the hi output of the crossover and see if it drops all the high end from your sound. [/quote] Thanks! This is exactly what I'm hoping for. I shall trying as soon as I get the chance.

[quote name='Jack' timestamp='1336933486' post='1652944'] An idea would be to split the signal and have one of those split signal be full-range for your bass sound. The other could then go into the crossover, from which you only take the high output for your guitar sound. [/quote] The crossover is built in, it doesn't have an input, it's input comes straight from the preamp. I need to know if by using the crossover I'm disengaging the preamp from the power amp altogether (in the way headphones will in some amps). I've had this amp for a long time but I've never bothered with the crossover before because the manual is rubbish and I've been able to find out very little about the way it works. I read recently that to use it you run one of the signals back into the built in power amp using a patch lead, and the other off into another amp. This would suggest that the preamp is indeed disengaged or else I'd be running the full signal and one from the crossover into the same amp, which would be bad. But I don't know how much of what I read was fact.

I bought one many, many years ago. I had a thought that I'd like to put together an Irish Folk band, so I went and bought and learned to play a bunch of instruments (acoustic Guitar, Banjo, Penny Whistles, Harmonicas, Bodhran, Bongos, already had a Fiddle), then realised that I was the only person I knew that could play any of them... I got really into the Bodhran, I seemed to take to it quite well. But back then we had neighbours that made a lot of noise so I didn't mind making some myself. I did pick it up again recently but I'm very conscious of the volume of the bloomin' thing. It's a shame because I really enjoyed it.

Thanks dude, that's good to know. Thinking about it, though, I don't want to lose the high frequencies from my Bass sound, I'm happy with that as it is. So is it possible to just tap the high frequencies by running the high output from the crossover to the GX-700, or will plugging into the crossover disengage the preamp from the internal power amp? I think there are other places in the chain where I can split the whole signal, but then I would need the octave up pedal, like you said, and then run it through the GX-700. My Zoom effects unit will do that but it doesn't sound very good, it sounds a bit "digitally". But, as you say, if it won't do any harm then I can just experiment and see what happens. The trouble is that the rack is a pain in the bum to get to the back of, it never leaves my music room, so I like to get an idea before I go pulling it out. I need to get one of those tall racks on wheels. Oh! There's a project idea for the future!

I wasn't sure where to put this, but as I think the main question is about the capabilities of my old Boss GX-700 I thought I'd stick it in here. I have never bi-amped before, but as I was reading about my Peavey T-Max's built in crossover, I thought I'd look into it a bit. I quite like the idea of trying to set it up so that I can sort of cover a basic rythmn Guitar's sonic space, say in a 3 piece band setting. If you see what I mean. The thought, from the beginning of the chain to the end, is to plug Bass into T-Max as normal, run the low frequency from the crossover into the T-Max mono power amp and out into my normal Bass cabs. Then run the high frequency from the crossover into my Boss GX-700, where I can add Guitar effects and split the signal into a stereo signal, and out into my stereo power amp and into the pair of cabs I usually use for my normal Guitar rig. I wonder if I'd be better off splitting the signal before the pre-amp of the T-Max and splitting it through come kind of crossover that would work with the signal straight from the Bass. But one of the things I like about my above solution is that I wouldn't have to buy anything else to make it work, it's all already there and even in the same rack. My biggest question is would the GX-700 take the line signal from the crossover without melting? It does have an input level adjustment knob but I don't know how effective it would be for this and the manual isn't very clear on it. Just in case these might help, there is a scan of the GX-700 manual online, here: [url="http://www.gx700.freeservers.com/"]http://www.gx700.freeservers.com/[/url] The page about the Input Level is page 11: [url="http://gx700.freeservers.com/cgi-bin/i/images/GX700manual/Section1/GX700_11.jpg"]http://gx700.freeser...n1/GX700_11.jpg[/url] Peavey T-Max manual: [url="http://www.peavey.com/assets/literature/manuals/80302264.pdf"]http://www.peavey.co...ls/80302264.pdf[/url] There's probably a very obvious answer, but, considering how long I've been playing, there are somethings I am very inexperienced, or lack confidence in. EDIT: I wonder if it might be a better idea to allow the full range of frequencies to go through the Bass side and only allow the high frequencies to go out and through the GX-700, that way I don't lose them from the Bass. My question then is can I still use the normal pre-amp out at the same time as using the crossover high out? What would happen if I tried to leave everything as it is but tap the high frequency from the crossover? Would that work?

The problem I have is with my Cort T35. I've got the neck bang on but the action is still too high. It looks like it should come down but it just rattles like a drummer trapped in my Saw cupboard when I try. I'm not going to be able to sort it anytime soon, though, as I intend to replace the strings with flatwounds (at £50 I can't really afford to do it right now) so it'll need setting up again anyway.

I'm thinking of making a stand for the hardcase it comes in, so that it stands almost upright because I don't think the Bass will sit on my Guitar rack or individual stands. That way I can keep it stood with my other Guitars and not hidden in a corner where the temptation might me to just not bother with it, this time, I'll just grab a closer one for now... With it stood like that it means I'll always be putting it back in it's case, which will be safer and considering the amount of dust I create in this room, I think it would be for the best. I think I'd only bother with protective caps for the spikes if they were already broken, basically replacing them with steel and make it look even more \m/etal than it already is.

How would a simple man like me (let's assume I'm an idiot and you won't be far wrong) know whether fretwork needs sorting, without taking it to a professional first? I'm not asking to be able to fix it myself, just get an idea if it might need fiddling with.

Anyone know if anyone makes protectors for the tips of Warlocks? I know that chipping the spikes is a common problem so I wondered if anyone had tried to remedy it, it would seem an obvious solution. As I've said, I've just bought a used Warlock. It hasn't arrived yet so I don't know what condition it is really in. If it is already chipped I might well get myself a bit of steel and make my own protectors. If I do them right, they should look quite cool too.

I once asked my wife how she'd feel if I joined a band and had to go away to play for weeks at a time, her reply was that she'd come with me! She can drive anything, from a forklift truck to a 36 foot long lorry or even a 36 foot long boat, so she figures that's what she'd do, be a driver. The only thing she's licensed for other than the normal license is the forklift, so she couldn't drive HGV. I rather like the idea. We don't have kids, though, so we don't have to take that into consideration.

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1336668490' post='1649271'] Sweet! I know it's not a bass but it's still cool. I'd love a hard tail black beauty looking one but with tidy pickups. [/quote] My wife actually picked that one. She wanted to learn to play so I bought her a guitar and let her pick it. I had almost convinced her to go for a BC Rich Warlock but she changed her mind at the last minute. Then she very nearly picked a Cadillac that had the solar system painted on it, which was cute and a hard-tail too. I hate the Floyd trem, I have no need for it and I tried to tell her that if she doesn't bother with it it's me that will be stuck with it... but she was adamant. I think she's only ever picked it up three times. I even hate the colour of the damned thing.