Alfie

BJFe Blueberry clone in a repurposed and polished old Boss enclosure.

A bit of synth? Like a Boss SY-1?

Boutique pedals are like craft beer. People get drawn in by the names/graphics/exclusivity. Often they are virtually indistinguishable from each other, or downright unpleasant. I find it annoying how on the other bass forum, most requests for pedal recommendations are met with, "try the Tuba Bazooka Goat's Balls", or whatever other blink-and-you-miss-it snake oil is the flavour of the day, soon to be defunct.

As a teenager in the late-nineties I went up to Denmark Street with a grand intention of playing a Rickenbacker through a valve amp. Confronted by the frostiness of late-nineties Denmark Street hospitality, I lacked the balls to go through with my plan and ended up doing a quick circuit of the shop and pointing to the first set of strings I saw behind the counter before leaving with a mixed sense of shame and relief. A tale as old as time. Of course the strings in question were Fender Original Bass 7150s and this started a lasting romance. It helped that for a young bassist, the smoothness of the nickel, compared to the scouring nature of the steel roundwounds that was all my local shop would carry (Rotos in the orange packet). This made playing so much easier. I loved the initial zing, gradually developing into a mellow thump and less obnoxious than the clang of steel roundwound. Santa got me a set of 7250s once and that ruined the dream of Christmas for me. Over the years I have put flats and steel roundwounds on various basses, even those weird black nylon things, but the bass I have always picked up the most and gigged the most has carried Fender pure nickels because it has the best compromise between steel roundwound and flatwound. The only downside is that the sweet-spot does not last long and I am too lazy to change them as often as I should. Also they changed from a gold sil wrap to no wrapping at some point. I muched prefered the silk wrapped version, both aesethically and tonally.

Generally speaking, I would not consider buying a used bass for more than 75% of the price I could get it new.

I don't know if Gibson is the same as Fender when it comes to nitrocellulose , but Fender "nitrocellulose finishes" are just a top coat with a polyester base. Not that fragile.

I had a LB30 and I agree, it isn't even close to a practical gigging amp, I didn't find out particularly useful as a monitor when I had Pa support either. I don't play in a loud band. I always got the feeling that part of the hype about the LB30 was related to people trying to justify the money they had spent. I now use a Fender Bassman Pro 100T. It suits my bends pretty well; considering I haven't really pushed it, I think it can handle a bit more. It certainly doesn't seem quiter than a 500w hybrid, but that is subjective. What I liked about the 100T, that wasn't available on the 300w model, was the ability to switch output to 25w for recording, or home practice.

I have always quite fancied the idea of a precision bass made out of English oak, finished in sherwood green. That wood be heavy.

How does body weight affect neck dive? Is there a tipping point?

When buying a new car you go for a test drive and place an order for a genuine factory-new vehicle. When I have bought a bass from a shop I have always bought the bass I have played, because of the variety between instruments. Am I in reality buying a display model, rather than a new product? You might not think it is an important distinction, but I like the idea that bass is mine, not that it had been on display for weeks or months, played by a few dozen people. Has anyone ever tried a bass and then bought one from the extra stock, rather than the one they played?

A couple of years ago Barbour released a 75th anniversary jacket that was "pre-distressed". It had synthetic mud spatter on it and everything. Probably the biggest example of relic w***ery I have come across.

I wouldn't buy a reliced bass, but I am not vehemently opposed to them. It is just a finish option, like sunburst (which I wouldn't buy either) What I am vehemently opposed to is instruments being made completely period correct, down to decal and serial numbers. This become counterfeit in my eyes.

This is also quite a useful thread for your purposes: http://www.diystompboxes.com/smfforum/index.php?topic=104438.0 Bear in mind that the Valvecaster is a low headroom, low gain boost. If you want more headroom or more gain, or both, then you don't want a Valvecaster and there are plenty other valve circuits to play with. The beauty of the Valvecaster is is simplicity.

You would need a voltage regulator to send 12v to the heaters. I assume you have read the massive thread over on diystompboxes? Some people like running it at 12v, why do you want to run it at 18v?

Has no one tried these things then? What CIJ in general, what is the Vintage White colour like?

All the distortions you already have and are planning to buy will compress your sound, do you really need a compressor? Might an EQ be a better option?

I quite like the idea of the Fender Japan Vintage Specials, such as: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200937784900?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649"]http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1423.l2649[/url] Has anyone ever tried one? How do they compare to AVRIs? What I really want to know is what colour is their vintage white? is it yellowy at all?

[quote name='Sibob' timestamp='1388709362' post='2325288'] No sh*t Amazing build, would love to see inside the box Si [/quote] Not the cleanest build, I'm just glad it all worked and fit it. The only 0.047uF I had to hand was an orange drop, a bit much I know. If I was to try this again I would definitely think more about the size of my capacitors [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6690_zpsb1ebc627.jpg.html"][/url] I have also built another tubecreamer with a bunch of switchable mods (and a bit of pink and purple). [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6699_zps36eca2f4.jpg.html"][/url]

[quote name='chrismuzz' timestamp='1388776700' post='2326005'] If you're gonna fork out for a b3k and sansamp you might as well get the lomenzo as well [/quote] Or buy a better amp

Reverb on bass can sound good at low volume in your bedroom, but live and in a band mix I have found it to be next to useless, really really crap. Rather than spend in excess of £50 on an effect you might not get on with, but a behringer reverb of eBay for £20 to see if reverb is the effect for you. If it isn't then you can sell it again and you haven't lost out.

[quote name='BigBeatNut' timestamp='1388705146' post='2325236'] Love it Cute. Arrghhh ... where are my [url="http://www.lightdims.com/"]LightDims[/url] ? [/quote] It would take millions to dim my little beauty.

Just finished a couple of builds inside Hammond 1590A enclosures. I am not really into graphics at the moment so I have gone for a brutalist aesthetic. [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6664_zpseeb71cd0.jpg.html"][/url] First a valvecaster with a switchable feedback loop adding a bit more bass: [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6652_zps64956413.jpg.html"][/url] It has a pink LED below the valve to soften up the look a bit. [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6662_zps33ef0828.jpg.html"][/url] This was a real PITA to box. Next is an LPB-1, probably my favourite pedal circuit of all time because of it's simplicity and the oomph-to-component ratio it provides. [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6669_zps8a7f1f16.jpg.html"][/url] I know not everyone likes bright LEDs, but I ruddy love them! The LED here is housed in a glass lens and it obnoxiously, eyesight-damagingly bright. [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6674_zps66f79ce4.jpg.html"][/url] [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6679_zps9ee2a81d.jpg.html"][/url] It lights the ceiling. [url="http://s202.photobucket.com/user/grrh27/media/ALF_6677_zps994e67e2.jpg.html"][/url]

I suppose that someone might see the buy it now and bid more than it's worth, tricked into thinking they have got a bargain.