Kiwi

I've just installed a preloaded scratchplate with an EMG 89 (coil tap HB) and two EMG SA pickups with the SBC mid boost control. The sound is wonderful - very clear, clean and powerful. The gain from the humbucker is awesome yet the two single coils have no problem with Gilmour impersonations (he has the SBC and TBX installed on his guitars) and Chic funky chords. The pickups sound very different, maybe less 'organic', compared with the original seymour duncan set I've just removed. Consequent the other pickguard preloaded with mid 80's Seymore Duncan JB and two single coil pickups for sale if anyone is interested, £80 excl. PM me for pics.

I'm one of those long time BC fans. Her lyrics can be a little pretentious at times but there's no escaping her playing. I saw her at the Jazz Cafe a couple of years ago and the incredible diversity of the crowd who showed up was a tribute to the breadth of her appeal. BTW, when she played that full 99min concert in Switzerland, it was recorded although it hasn't been published yet. You can still see a stream of it here though if you have Realplayer installed. [url="http://r.bluewin.ch/?id=48859"]http://r.bluewin.ch/?id=48859[/url] If anyone can capture the stream onto their hard disk, please let me know. I'd love an offline copy.

[quote name='Muppet' post='132448' date='Feb 2 2008, 10:37 AM']We have a leader? I thought we were an autonomous collective....[/quote] Thats what I thought too. Congratulations Foal30, you have been assimilated. [i]NOTE TO SELF: Ask Phatmonkey for an "ironic" emoticon.[/i]

[quote name='Mike' post='114734' date='Jan 6 2008, 03:16 PM']Looking great so far Kiwi. Can you expand on cutting wood using a water jet? New to me![/quote] Basically the process involves creating a very high pressure and thin jet of water so powerful that it can cut through most soft materials up 250mm depth or thinner materials like metal and plastics. To paraphrase one website: * Cuts virtually any sheet material including metallic and non-metallic composites and honeycomb constructions. * Accommodates highly polished and reflective surfaces. * Clean and precise cut, free of heat affected zone. * Eliminates many secondary finishing operations. * Accurate, even on the most complicated designs. * Heat and abrasion free cutting means no distortion at the cut edge There's a PDF [url="http://www.controlwaterjet.co.uk/art/Waterjet%20PDF%20Option%201.pdf"]here[/url] Latest from Jon on the bass is these shots. Two of the facings glued and sanded. Plus the neck has been routed for the carbon fibre rods and planed to final depth, ready for shaping. [attachment=5353:Picture_308.jpg][attachment=5354:Picture_309.jpg][attachment=5355:Picture_310.jpg]

I have a Cutlass 1, its a lovely sounding bass apart from the well documented neck issues. Best Cutlass to get is probably an early one, before Geoff Gould took his eye off the ball as far as production quality went. But you'll probably have to fight me for it. . Clips and pics here: [url="http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/musicmancutlass.htm"]http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/musicmancutlass.htm[/url] Compare with my 78 stingray here: [url="http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/musicmanstingray.htm"]http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/musicmanstingray.htm[/url]

[quote name='Mike' post='129966' date='Jan 29 2008, 01:07 PM']I think he was hugely messed about when he asked for the payment he was owed. Hope that worked out okay.[/quote] I was and it did, thanks Unfortunately, I was one of many. R5R5 got screwed around more than I did, and I recommended the Bass Centre to him! I get the impression that either their bank or their accounting firm charged the company for withdrawls above a certain number so they kept lumping in their commission sale payments in with their salary payments. Then I suspect they had to give their accountants a certain number of go's at processing the payments before they had to cover the Bass Centres bank charges. All of this translated into ridiculous delays, because they expected the customer to wait while their accountants got their arses into gear and organised themselves. I really didn't see how that translated into a positive attitude towards customer service, they should have had a contingency plan rather than force their customers to wait up to 3 months for payment. Having said that, I do miss being able to walk in there and engage in some healthy banter - Jimmy Simms and Dan were great.

[quote name='G-bitch' post='129185' date='Jan 28 2008, 11:59 AM']Nice amps but just a little too 'polite' for my tastes and also I've found that I prefer lower power valve heads so that you can get a little power section saturation without causing structural damage to the building you're in![/quote] You can get that with the V8 and V4, they have 2 channels so you can run one clean and the other dirty and change between them with a footswitch. Alternatively, pair the Trace valve heads with an inefficient cab and you can push the power section at reasonable volume. The cabs will act like a powersoak. [quote name='ped' post='127954' date='Jan 25 2008, 06:54 PM']Look at what a chap on Talkbass did to his Trace[/quote] Looks well camp, mate. I can see why you like it.

just post a photo if you can along with a serial number. John will create any Series bass with any features for anyone with the money, so it doesn't necessarily hold that all Series 1 basses are automatically desirable. Prices also fluctuate wildly, sometimes ebay bidding can get out of control for a specific bass. I once saw a hideous refinished neon pink Jaydee with pink neck LED's go for £1300 on Ebay a couple of years ago. Also the Roadies can function and look identical to Supernaturals (even to having 2 pickups and active 3 band eq) except for having a black headstock but they lack the kudos of a MK model.

[quote name='thedontcarebear' post='121659' date='Jan 16 2008, 06:30 PM']I don't get the price of that, it's just a jazz bass.[/quote] Have a listen yourself maybe? [url="http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/celinderupdate4.htm"]http://www.freewebs.com/crazykiwi_bass/celinderupdate4.htm[/url] There wasn't a lot of difference between the cost of this bass and the cost of a 70's jazz bass to be honest. In fact, there are probably cheaper basses out there that could do the job just as well. I just wanted a modern bass that could do the 70's Marcus Miller jazz thing quite well with none of the potential risk that a vintage instrument offered. I didn't have to play this Celinder first before purchasing to know that it would be a winner. If I want to test an amp, generally its the bass I go for first. However it does lack a little as far as mids go so its not the growliest of jazzes out there. The body is very heavy and dense, the bridge is very heavy and dense, the neck is very stiff (with graphite reinforcing) so that kind of recipe is going to end up with a bass which puts out clean, snappy highs and thunderous lows. Softer woods tend to enhance the mid range at the expense of highs and lows. Generally we bassists like a combination of both which is where all the nice innovative designs come from. I'm personally very surprised at how similar a Fodera sounds to a mid-60's jazz tonally, yet they're completely different designs. Go figure. I also have a Celinder P-bass care of Mr Flanker that is getting a LOT of gigging at the moment. Also, a great bass that does the 70's p-bass thing as well. It has a stock Celinder bridge and pickup in contrast to the jazz. I'd say there's not much in it as far as the quality of the pickups go but I probably prefer the Badass bridge because of the mass it has. There's probably no superior or inferior way to design a bridge, it depend very much on what kind of contribution you want a bridge to make to the overall sound of the bass. If you want the wood to do the talking, then a lighter bridge will do. If you want the bridge to add solidity and snap through adding mass, then a heavier bridge like the Badass will do the job as well. The more basses I play, the less point I see in making generalisations where bass design is concerned. There are many different ways to achieve the same thing.

Another update - some pics of the neck glued up. Its REAL! I was expecting there to be slightly more wenge but there's nothing wrong with a lot of stiff maple. [attachment=4618:Neck_1.jpg][attachment=4619:Neck_2.jpg]

or they could make it out of garlic bread?

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' post='113543' date='Jan 4 2008, 02:21 PM']That would have to be a peak reading. There are no twelve inch drivers capable of that level broadband averaged. Twelves do exist that have 100dB sensitivity (making a pair 103dB), even a bit more, but they only achieve that sensitivity above 200 Hz or so. Below 100Hz, where it counts, 98dB is the practical limit in a direct radiator cabinet.[/quote] In terms of my experience of listening to the two, I would agree that the Neo212 has a distinctive response. Its certainly less even sounding than one Acme (which was quite happy being powered by 400w and sounded very good). There's definitely a mid hump with the Neo 212 (somewhere around 400-600Hz) and a touch of boominess, but that was at 'home' levels of volume. I couldn't say whether that character was due to the neo magnets, the cabinet design, the speaker sensitivity through the frequency range or ambient acoustics though. Probably a combination of them all I expect. I'll see how the neo 212 shapes up at rehearsal this weekend, 3dB here or there probably means very little on stage.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='113403' date='Jan 4 2008, 10:24 AM']A pair of Low-B2s are ~96dB. A typical 2x12" is ~98dB. However, based on the EBS cabs I've heard I'd expect a sensitivity peak in the high midrange plus a very high sensitivity tweeter which would make it sound more than 2dB louder. Lowpass the two rigs at 500Hz and you'd hear little difference in output. Lowpass the two rigs at 200Hz and the Acmes would probably be louder. Lowpass the rigs at 100Hz and the Acmes would be significantly louder. Alex[/quote] I haven't measured the B2's myself but the blurb on the Acme site says a B2 is about 93dB. EBS rate their 212 at 103dB. I was content to go with those figures for the sake of a purchasing decision. When I ran the Acme's with the amp, the lows were considerably more distorted to my ears but I don't have the inclination to lowpass the cabs, thats not how I use them. Still liked the sound the Acme's made a lot and in other circumstances I would have kept them but didn't want to tailor my setup around the speakers. I wanted speakers to match the amp.

It was me who made the original comment and I was going by my experiences of comparing my Acme B2's to my EBS 212 with a sensitivity difference of about 10dB. There was definitely a difference in volume and a marked improvement in performance at band rehearsal volumes. When I used the B2's with my 140w Burman heads the amp sounded like it was putting out about a quarter of the power. I have learned that sensitive cabs are more versatile in allowing me to satisfactorily use them with amps with a wider range of power ratings.

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='113344' date='Jan 4 2008, 07:42 AM']It was off ebay so hopefully I've got some form of 'buyer protection' (I used paypal).[/quote] Protection don't mean squat if the seller operates without a credit card and has shifted the money out of their paypal account before you lodge your claim and 'does a runner'. I'm still waiting for £70 still owed by a PC seller who couldn't tell the difference between an AMD CPU model number and its actual rated speed. Don't think I'll be seeing that money again. There are some horror stories about pretty much every courier from what I've seen of people's experiences. I think it boils down to the bloke who is on your round basically. When I get things express shipped by Fedex on my account, often items come through having been passed by HM Customs and Extortion without duty or VAT charged. The express shipping is extra but it has saved me a tidy sum on the big ticket items like my Smith fretless. I can also ask the seller to ship Fedex on my account number and that way I can avoid any 'extras'.

I think their Ebay guy needs a Ebay management course? and then perhaps a second one about flogging a dead horse. Ebay must think he's Christmas with the fee's he's been coughing up on this auction.

I bet its going to require a mortgage to own too Mark Bass do a tube head - nice blend of old and modern technology as well but it costs well over £2k.

hey mike you seem to be a child of the 70's if your influences are any indication?

I did 6, not helped by the MD of my former band walking out in March, and the band reforming into a new one and not getting a keyboardist until July. However we've fallen on our feet since September and have set up 25 slots for 2008 with 19 already filled. We're all comfortable with that plus we get an extra £100 or more a gig above and beyond our base rate for slots #25-30.

[quote name='dlloyd' post='57507' date='Sep 8 2007, 07:12 PM']When I was your age, I'd just bought a Westone Spectrum II.[/quote] SNAP! I had a Westone Spectrum II when I was 18 and didn't get my Jaydee Supernatural MK until I was 20. Sweet jesus, some of you guys are seriously lucky, [b]even [/b]if you work to afford the gear. I couldn't get a decent paying job where I lived to fund some of that sort of stuff even if bust my balls. Good on ya

[list] [*]Learned the importance of sensitivity in cabs and how much quieter a 93dB cab sounds in comparison to a 103dB cab. [*]Learned the importance of understanding what the presence of punters will to to your onstage sound in tiny venues [*]Became a recent convert to neo cabs AND p-basses (will wonders never cease?) [*]Learned that it's possible for a neck thru and bolt on necked bass to sound very similar but the means by which this is achieved can often be radically different. [*]Learned the im anticipation portance of [/list] Reflected on the fact that there are many luthiers/CEO's of manufacturers out there whose interpersonal skills leave a lot to be desired. Yet strangely they're still in business...

welcome Sweet set up you have!