BigRedX

Always difficult to tell from a photo because you don't know how accurately the camera has been positioned in relation to the object being photographed, but is the problem more that the pickups aren't centred under the strings? Everything looks like it lines up with the low E so the pole-pieces get further away from the higher strings the closer the pickup are to the neck.

OoI what are the three valves? That might help work out what spec transformer is needed. IIRC they are not all the same. Also is it just my eyes or is there a nut missing from the pre-amp board mountings - top right?

Unfortunately it may well be custom wound as I think I can spot the words "Tech Bass" on the side and none of the codes appear to correspond with any of those on the 12V 0.8A standard transformer spec sheet. I wonder if the two secondaries are different for the pre-amp circuit and the valve heaters?

AFAIK none of the Bass VI style instruments have pickups with different pole-piece spacing to compensate for the string convergence between the bridge and the neck. IMO the aesthetics are more of an issue than the relationship between the pole-pieces and the strings. If you have a look under the pick guard I would suspect that you'll find the pickups have a single bar magnet connecting all the pole-pieces together so the contribution of the poles themselves is fairly minimal. And if you can hear the difference between aligned and non-aligned pole-pieces you'll also be able to hear the difference between individual pole-pieces and a blade. Personally having the pickups angled so the pole-pieces align with the strings would bother me more than than the current arrangement. Your OCD may vary. Also if the string spacing is similar to a actual Fender Bass VI at the bridge your typical Strat pickup won't be wide enough which will probably be worse. If it really bothers you, you'll need to get custom-wound pickups, in custom covers either of varying sizes or with the holes cut individually for the 3 different pole-piece spacings (any maybe a new pickguard too). IRRC this is a sub £200 instrument. Is it worth it?

Yes, yes they do.

Even electric drums aren't particularly silent. Especially if you have eliminated all the other amps and speakers from the stage. If your PA is pumping out the band at a decent volume then it's fine FoH, but you still need a certain overall band level in order for the drums to sound like drums, so it's not always a solution at venues where you need to keep the band volume down.

Glad you go it sorted. Sorry that I wasn't able to check the settings on my similar system, but the mobile rack has been in storage since our last rehearsal and I probably won't have it out again until just before the next one in a couple of weeks time.

It's not the angle that's a problem, but the fact that the neck and head are a single piece of wood with a minimal volute. If the head was a separate piece (still cut from the same blank as the neck) and scarf-jointed to the neck it would be far stronger.

Considering that the amp has run for at least 15 years before this problem occurred and then has occurred twice in a short period of time, would suggest to be a new fault has developed somewhere else in the pre-amp.

Looking at what has happened to that transformer, and the fact that its replacement has also died (has it displayed the same overheating symptoms?) would suggest to me that there is a fault somewhere in the pre-amp that is causing this and you/your tech will need to sort this out as well as replacing the transformer.

It might be a misplaced bridge or it could be a duff set of strings (more common than you would like to think). Measure the distance from the nut (or zero fret if your bass has one) to the 12th fret. Double this measurement and measure from the nut (or zero fret) and see where the bridge is in relation. Ideally the furthest forward movement of the saddles should be just shorter than this length. If the bridge is too far back then its in the wrong place. If the bridge is in the right place but you still need to move the saddles further forward to get the intonation at the 12th fret correct then there is something wrong with your strings and you should try another set. The intonation setting is to compensate for the fact that you bend the string (and consequently sharpen the pitch) when you fret it. Therefore the saddles should always be further back than the scale length measurement, never closer. Also the heavier the string the further back the saddle should be, so normally the problem with fitting heavier gauge strings is that you can't move the saddle far enough back, not far enough forward. If the bridge is in the wrong place and this is a new bass, don't waste your time trying to get it fixed. Take (or send) it back to the shop you bought from for a properly made replacement or refund.

For me the optimum number of pedals is one that does everything that I want. I may even dispense with the Helix Floor and just use the Native plug-in on the computer. The computer is already our drummer and second synth player, so it would reduce the amount of kit we need to take to a gig, plus it would also apply all the patch changes in the correct places in the song (something I sometimes fail to do).

If you're a gigging bassist then you need a second (ideally identical) one as spare in case you break a string or have some other technical mishap. I play two different types of bass in two different bands so nowadays I have a total of four basses - two 5-string basses of one band and two Bass VIs for the other.

If you've got a Helix why do you need the Eventide?

IIRC this is the transformer that supplies the HT for the valves as well as power for the rest of pre-amp circuitry. Have you checked that they are all OK? A fault with one or more of the valves might be causing the transformer to fail.

Are you in the right thread?

When you view the list of topics in a sub forum (in this case "Other Instruments") any thread that I have contributed to has a star on the left had side next to the thread title. This particular thread "Decent Keyboard Forum anywhere ?" doesn't even though I added a post: ny ideas?

@Cat Burrito That's a lovely looking Bass VI. If they made that with Shergold Marathon 6-string Bass string spacing rather than that ridiculous skinny neck I would be ordering one now!

The top is actually printed paper. Which might count as wood since it's made from it? What about the ink though? Tone ink? Tone toner?

Glad you got it to work in the end. However the fact that the Mac required a restart for it to recognise the plug-in would make me somewhat cautious about it's continued compatibility with future OS upgrades. The whole point of CoreAudio and AudioUnits plug-ins is that they should be recognised on install and not require these kinds of interventions for them to work. Personally I blame iLok and I won't entertain any plug-in that requires it to function.

The Fender (and Squier) Bass VI is a strange instrument, and the way it is best set up for modern players does not always use the intuitive adjustments you would make for your typical guitar or bass, where you would only fit a shim if the bridge didn't have sufficient adjustment to go low enough. For the Bass VI the bridge should be raised higher than normal and then the neck shimmed to compensate. This is to increase the downward pressure of the strings on the bridge which firstly makes the strings feel "stiffer" which IMO even the heavier sets still need, and secondly reduces the tendency of the bridge to wobble on the posts (although you can also prevent this with custom sleeves on the posts).

A few months ago when I was in the market for a keyboard controller for my DAW I went into the Nottingham branch of PMT and found the all displays in the guitar and bass sections woefully bare compared with my previous visit in 2019. The high-tech and keyboard areas were cordoned off with no explanation as to why and none of the staff appeared to be interested in helping me, so I left and bought a controller from Amazon instead.

When you apply a plug-in to a track in the default settings all the Logic Plug-ins appear at the top of the list by category, and the 3rd party ones are right at the bottom under "Audio Units" and then in sub-menus for each manufacturer. I believe there is a way to change this order but I haven't felt the need to do this. If you have done this either on purpose or inadvertently then your new plug-in could be anywhere (I'd start by checking the effect type in belongs under - delay?) Also check in Preference > Plug-in Manager. Again 3rd party plugins will be at the bottom of the first column list.

If you're not going for original authenticity but making this a player's instrument to sell, then almost any serious prospective purchaser will want the shim refitting and the bridge raising up to compensate. String choice is a matter of taste, but if you can get the intonation right with that Fender set, anything else the next owner might want to fit will also be capable of being correctly intonated.

If you are going to string this with modern heavier strings (i.e. those from LaBella or Newtone) you will eventually need to refit the shim to get a decent break angle over the bridge to reduce the compliance of the string. Without the shim the strings pass over the bridge and on to the vibrato mechanism at too shallow an angle which makes them feel even floppier than they would be normally. This is standard procedure for anyone buying a Squier Bass VI these days. I assume that the lack of bridge posts means you can't raise the bridge high enough to allow for the shim at the moment.