Kiwi

[quote name='paul, the' post='52370' date='Aug 29 2007, 03:12 PM']I have pins and needles in two fingers.[/quote] DIY acupuncture?

[quote name='The Burpster' post='51633' date='Aug 28 2007, 11:15 AM']This might be a stupid question but, did you change the strings at the same time? You may have a rogue string! I have known several set ups that have been spoilt by old/ tired/ or unstable strings.......[/quote] Hah, I took the Smith 6 into Charlie Chandlers for a plek set up thinking the buzz around the 13th fret was due to duff frets and they showed me it was actually a flat spot on the underside of the string. Saved me a bundle, that did.

[quote name='Old Horse Murphy' post='51922' date='Aug 28 2007, 08:07 PM']I guess my question is, is this normal and do Rays sometimes have a significant difference in output. I've tried a couple of amps and had the same outcome each time. Any help or advice would be much appreciated. [/quote] Did you have the pickup selector on the SR5 set to series or parallel? If it was set to parallel, the resistance through the coils would have been lower, and would have resulted also in slightly lower output levels from the pickup.

[quote name='Sharkfinger' post='51576' date='Aug 28 2007, 09:39 AM']Well, I have a korean Spector with basswood body (bubinga top) and it sounds amazing to my ears. I've heard that basswood can lack mid, so maybe it's the active EMG pups and BQC preamp that are compensating.[/quote] Basswood (a type of lime, [i]Tilia spp.) [/i]to my ears has a fairly prominent midrange but lacks the upper range snap of maple or low end definition of ash. Its not a particularly dense wood. I tried Luke's Ibanez Gary Willis at the SE Bass Bash and it had a basswood body. Its not a bad bass at all, basswood was probably a good choice for a fretless although, as a matter of taste, I did find myself wishing it had more power in the lower frequencies. Basswood is also great for guitars (which picks up on Edwards earlier comments) because it sits in the sweetspot of frequencies that some guitarists seem to like.

[quote name='Wil' post='51689' date='Aug 28 2007, 12:22 PM']One thing to consider of course is that nature has no concept of value or quality.[/quote] apart from natural selection.

[quote name='The Burpster' post='51599' date='Aug 28 2007, 10:36 AM']Thats me that is.....! Does that mean I'm made of quality wood? [/quote] Your rigid neck or your soft body?

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='51550' date='Aug 28 2007, 08:30 AM']1. it's a cheap wood so it's going to be used on cheap guitars. People might actually blame the wood for it sounding crap when it could actually be the pickups or their hearing (if they've not been playing for long/not played enough nice guitars)[/quote] In my experience the wood is the predominant foundation for the tonal character of an instrument. Other elements tend to enhance or detract from that character depending on how they contribute to structural rigidity of the instrument or match in terms of frequency response (aka tonal character). No.1 consideration in my view is a very rigid and dense neck, preferably mated to a softer body wood. However if you use a greater proportion of softer woods that are matched to one another in terms of their frequency responses (like old Fenders) the result can be equally pleasing and even more distinctive.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='51466' date='Aug 27 2007, 10:00 PM']Ta CK, Can you tell me a bit more about your Alembic Activator Pickups? I had a look on the Alembic site but there wasn't much info and they only seemed to be available with a pre-amp and as a JJ set and what looked like a pair of Soap-bars. Obviously I need a P-J set...[/quote] Mine's a PJ set. Pic of my other set (now fitted to the Pedulla) below. Preamp circuit is here: This set of pups doesn't have the solder free connectors, but the set I have spare does. They're passive so can work with any preamp system assuming the impedances are precisely matched. Alemboid was interested in them as part of a trade but he's in France at the mo, so if you're interested then let me know. I'll send pics of the actual set so you know what you're getting.

I posted about this on Bassworld but that info doesn't seem available any longer on Google. Agathis is the pseudo-latin name for Fijian kauri ([i]Agathis macro-phylla[/i]) which is often grown in large commercial plantations not only in Fiji but also around the Pacific in developing nations (such as Indonesia). Technically its a conifer although nothing like a pine or redwood. Its better known (and rarer) cousin is the NZ Kauri [i](Agathis australis) [/i]which grows about 40-60m tall in the north of the North Island. Fijian kauri is cheap to buy and easy to work but it lacks as solid a fundamental compared to denser tonewoods. Ultimately whether its bad or not is a question of taste but you may find the sound less satisfying than other woods depending on the kind of music you play and what your expectations are.

I'd say keep it the way it is. I've fitted a set of alembic activator pickups to my Pentabuzz which freed up a whole load of midrange growl. A set of EMG's might have a similar effect. If you fancy a set of alembics, I do have a spare set going but they're not cheap.

Hey Paul welcome aboard

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='51216' date='Aug 27 2007, 10:36 AM']Are you musical though and do you have a suit? Could be a dealbreaker...[/quote] What?! Is my green lycra suit and fetching antenna not enough?! I demand juthtith! Realistically though I have many suits, I have to wear them to work if I want engineers to take me seriously. They have a hard time believing me when I wear the green lycra costume for some reason, in fact some of them run off and hide under the nearest pile of Risk Assessments. As for being musical - you hum it Son, I'll play it.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='51185' date='Aug 27 2007, 09:31 AM']By the looks of their [url="http://www.luckysoul.co.uk/main.html"]website[/url], they're trying to do the 60s retro thing, so I guess 5-string's a bit too modern. You'd probably look like Buck Rogers wielding your Ken Smith 6-string ironing-board Kiwi. [/quote] Buck Rogers? Duck Dodgers might be more appropriate for me. [i]"Good evening everyone in Theven Thithterth! I inthitht that you enjoy yourthelveth!!"[/i] Actually, could I take two strings off the Smith and it would qualify... ...or I could just use my 4 string J bass like normal folks...

Why on earth would you specify "4 strings only"? If they're right for the band they're right, regardless of how many strings they play. You've just discriminated against 5 string p-bass players who might otherwise be perfect for the job. BTW everyone on this forum in London looks good in a suit. You'll have to be more specific.

If you check out this post you might find there are a few of us who are lefties that play righty. [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2918"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2918[/url] Heck, two of them run this forum Welcome aboard

[quote name='Hit&Run' post='50606' date='Aug 25 2007, 04:53 PM']Here's his latest words to me: " yOU HAVE A GOOD POINT!!! MY MUSICIAN FRIEND SAID IT WAS GRAPHITE, SO ILE TALK TO HIM SOON AS I CAN FIND HIM. CHHERS FOR INFO." He concedes at last! "There is something funny about the neck: Have a look at the photo of the back of the headstock. see the join just above the first tuner?"; says merchant. It looks like there's a definite join there, but I'd have thought it would be easier to put graphite rods in from the heel end. I think it's just a cheapo construction method. That join could proove a weakspot. Quite a few basses feature graphite rods in the neck, but I don't reckon Gould would have gotten into that way of making necks.[/quote] For a bass at that price level, I would be very surprised if there was any graphite reinforcement in the neck. Most likely that the join is simply happened because they're using lumber that is too short for the full neck length. There are some basses where the headstock is deliberately glued on as a separate piece (such as Smith) to remove potential weakspots (anyone who has seen a Thunderbird with a snapped headstock will know them). I would leave this bass well alone unless you're looking for something you can trash with a guilt free conscience. The timber used is likely to be any old job lot they could get in on the cheap. I wonder if [url="http://www.ggould.com/home.html"]Geoff Gould[/url] (founder: Modulus) knows these guys are using Gould as a brand name?

we use a place called Resident - its tucked down the back of some residential streets but the place is quite reasonable in condition and rates. We block book and so get a discount on the rates.

[quote name='chris_b' post='50589' date='Aug 25 2007, 04:05 PM']On the other hand...... I know a very good keyboard player, currently living in the Medway, Kent area, if that is of interest?[/quote] Thanks mate, since posting we managed to snag 'Jim'. But if your guy is comfortable with rehearsals in Willesden Green part of London, if would be worth having his details anyway.

Heh, if she'd walked off the promoter would have had a problem too.