BassTractor

Anyone know what the quickest fix would be? I see: 1) metal glue to glue the 2mm or so thin part of the pot shaft back on the pot. I'd use vaseline on those parts that must not get glue on them. Requires a rig for placing the shaft semi-perfectly over the pot. 2) stainles steel "rod" glued into both parts. This would require drilling a 1mm or 1.5mm hole in the pot part of the shaft as well as in the thick part of the shaft, and glueing in a fitting stainless steel bit into them. I can easily mount the thick part of the shaft in a vertical bench drill with clamping system, but may have trouble mounting the body perfectly horizontal. 3) soldering in the new pot (or whatever method is required). This seems like the easy solution, but someone warned me against it, as reportedly these preamps are not that easily serviceable as one might assume. Before I put the bass on the operating table and remove its innards, can someone give a heads up on the preferred method?

Hey Lucien, and welcome! I like the tug bar bottle opener idea. Enjoy BC! Bert

Sorry for the confusion. I was trying to save you from a long thread of helpful advice in the style of "the correct placement of a generic bridge cover on a Japanese Precision copy body, slightly depending on the build year - as there are some complications for the latter part of 1992 and the years 1993 through 1995, is... over the bridge"... ...or "over the headstock of course, you dumbass!". So, are you asking for advice about the work method to get it precisely where you want it, or about the positioning choices themselves? If the former, then just cut three bits of wood to have around the bridge so there's no leeway for the cover, before placing the cover and marking the exact right spots for the screw holes. Me, I use Velcro instead though, which is a more flexible solution, with quicker strings change. Also adds height to the cover, which can be nice, and is slightly better for resale value when one can offer a bass without the holes.

You are aware that you're asking for it, are you?

[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1410634555' post='2551528'] but "play" button saves your work ? [/quote] Hahaha! Like this Siemens ISDN phone that had dedicated buttons near the display for: - Latest Missed Calls (very nice indeed) - Latest Outgoing Calls (the whom-have-I-already-called-so-I-don't-really-need-a-dedicated-button-really-THAT-much-even-though-it's-a-great-feature button) but where the function for Latest Incoming Calls (who have called me and asked me to call them back when I had thought this through and know the answer to their questions) is conveniently placed..... ...wait for it..... ...in the Phone Installation menu! Man, this cries for a dedicated Off Topic thread. It's so hilariously stupid!

C'mon guys! OF COURSE there's a name or a logo on the headst... Oh.

[quote name='timmo' timestamp='1410562707' post='2550953'] No [/quote] That Korg KR thingie will do exactly what you'd expect, and at reasonable sound quality. Haven't used that exact one, but a similar one, and it worked well. In my own case I did however notice getting bored with it, so I'm not convinced anymore that after some time, it is so much better than a metronome. What I'd like to see though was one like just that, but with three foot switches: the chosen pattern is repeated until you press the switch for one of the other two that you've stored "under" them. Never seen one, but equipped like that, it should come in well under 100 quid.

. Welcome, Mission man! ...to BC and back to the low end again. [quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1410545253' post='2550675'] except me - i'm 'orrible [/quote] True. Lowdowner is 'orrible, just like Xilddx and JTUK (and me, but you understood that). The rest is kinda "charcoal"...

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1410534998' post='2550532'] Well obviously, the one that sounds best would be the roasted maple one [/quote] Fixed, and with you there!

I'd think the MarkBass with VT pedal is the safe choice given that it's a very flexible solution without too many knobs (ymmv). The Terror Bass is a lovely amp (just sold mine but not because it's not great), but because of the heavily scooped sound, one is more limited (IMS, a relatively flat respons is reached by turning the Mids all the way up, and the other ones all the way down). I'd not advise anyone to buy one untried. If you like it, chances are you'll love it, but if you need to buy untried, then get the MarkBass with the pedal. The model is not that big an issue, but some prefer their LM II over the LM III (don't remember why), the F1 is very clear and true to the original signal, and by large the "valve" version of the little ones seems not worth the extra price of admission as it's reported to have a limited effect on the sound. Personally I haven't heard it, but from reading on the web, I'd get an F1 with a VT pedal.

[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1410444050' post='2549507'] Sorry if I seem to be so dismissive [/quote] Not at all, mate, and I'm totally with you. Similarly, I have this thing against Hartke, where I'd be hard pressed to buy it after one negative experience. I know it's nonsense, but the feelings are there, and I choose to follow them. Now if we can only get you to hate Ashdown soo much that you throw away those cabs, and then invest in a nice CTM 100 instead, with some big ass CL cabs!

You's messin' wid me head, Ben. Less than 24 hours ago, I wrote "Welcome, Ben!" to wenbainhouse, and now this. It's too complicated for me. Other than that: welcome, Ben! Sounds like you made the right choice several times. I hope you enjoy BC. best, [s]ben[/s] bert

Suddenly got an idea: The MAG 300 head has a good EQ (if you're willing to dial a little), and so has a used ABM head which I guess would be within budget. Try and test one of those with these cabs, and see what you get. I'm not initially believing that it is exactly what you want, but the result might just be less wrong than feared. If some people on BC are to be believed, there is little of this "perfectly matched" in our bass guitar world. Reportedly it's a world where production costs are what is looked at first and foremost. (For reference: I used to shove my 4 - 8,000 quid synths through 4,000 quid amps and 20,000 quid speakers. It's a different world.)

I'd expect that the tone you want can be found, but your situation is a budget and two cabs you are keeping, which may be somewhat limiting. But I don't think BC gives up yet, if you don't. The sound you describe (as I think I understand it) is what I feel I get from the Little Bastard and two LB cabs, and the Little Bastard indeed has a valve power amp. Mind you: the LB cabs are not lazy. Send a Hi-Fi signal from a good amp (I tried the Genz Benz GBE 750) through them, and hear them perform. Have you heard the BH500 with other cabs? It's quite possible the combination that killed the joy. I got a nice bluesy, rocky sound from it with either TC's own BC cabs (they are not so good, but this seemed to work well enough for that sound) or TC's more expensive but awkward RS cabs (which had a weird litte edge to them that probably needs taming). When you want warm and thumpy but also clear at the same time, I feel the cabs need to be quick. The MAG cabs IMHO are lazy, and I feel no remorse whatsoever over having sold mine. But as long as you're keeping them, my guess is you're better off with a flexible amp with great EQ and good damping factor than with a head that has that tone built in, as my guess is the cabs are gonna ruin that tone - whether it comes from a Streamliner or a MarkBass. Unless; if by "clear" you do not mean "enough high mid and treble output" but instead "max control of the power amp over the movement of the cones without any old skool after-movement (sorry, I don't know the correct term for this), then you are gonna need an amp with a high damping factor. I do not know which amps have that, but my spine seems to tell me that a cheapish Class D with a switching power supply is not the ideal partner for this. My gut feeling says: weight and size are your buddies. YMMV.

Are you gonna keep the Ashdown 115 and 210? Are they MAG or ABM or...? If you're keeping them, my initial thought would be that you could even get a Hi-Fi head, and rely on the cabs for the blues/rock sound, especially if they're MAG cabs (or ABM cabs with tamed tweeter). If however you may be looking into new cabs, I'd probably choose the head with the new cabs in mind. Nothing wrong with the Terror Bass or the other heads mentioned, but for your type of music and sound cravings, I'd add the TC Electronic BH 500, which has great flexibility, and if memory serves, a Class AB power amp. In general, after all the reported stuff on Class D power amps (sensitivity to mains' "cleanness", demand for effective cabs), I'd consider whether a Class AB could be worth it instead. Looking quickly at all the suggestions, I think they're all Class D. Mind ya, I've got Class D amps myself (Terror Bass, Streamliner, Promethean...), but just thought I'd mention the notion. Good luck with the search! You can hardly go wrong with any of the above, I feel.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1410385767' post='2548994'] James Thurber [/quote] Ah! Great call! Also, IMS, Kinky Friedman's "Greenwich Killing Time" as well as his "A Case Of Lone Star" were funny. If translated to English: Knut Pettersen's "The Patients" (aka "The Pig Farm") had me in stitches.

[quote name='Dazed' timestamp='1410376970' post='2548817'] You must know my friend Colin [/quote] Of course I do. Everyone in Norway knows Colin! (...and ya know, it's not even that far-fetched. In Norway everybody does seem to know everybody. Never ceases to amaze me.)

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1410383956' post='2548954'] I was of course referring to 'Into The Lens". ;-) [/quote] Fcourse you were. (Twas only by mistake I actually remembered its title today. I'd normally never do that, swear to god.) ...and silly me, some hours after our previous talk I suddenly remembered how the Buggles version you mentioned was indeed called "I Am a Camera", just like the GG song. Looking it up, I was surprised to see the GG release date predated the Buggles release date, but I guess the Buggles song actually was written before the Gentle Giant one, seeing as the Buggles took the song with them into Yes. [/prognerd]

Hello mate, and welcome! Not often we hear from the IoW, but I seem to remember we do have one or two members from your parish already. Come sit at our table and enjoy our company! No, not that chair. That's Charlie's. best, bert

Cool question! Very good! I'm not the specialist that Bill is (the person you talked to on the other thread), but lemme just say that "underpowering" is a lame concept that is misunderstood and misused to boot. Mostly, amp vs cab is like a gas pedal in a car: one does not have to press it all the way all the time. "underpowering" does get some (some) validity if by that one means that the cabs are fitting for the needed volume, but the amp is not. Also, some amps do not have the control over the cabs that the wished for output quality needs, and one ight on that case also misuse the word "underpowered" As to the square waves from a synth, they most probably are far from as square as the square ones that are the result of ss circuits clipping, but if they indeed are close, I think there is one important issue: some gear is made especially to be able to handle that synth. Most traditional bass gear probably is not. At this point I recognise I'm really to exhausted for this, and bid you farewell. I hope others will answer better.

Phew! Congrats, Shaggy! Now bring us some more! Easy stuff, like The Beatles' "Sgt, Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band", or Samla Mammas Manna's "Måltid".

€400 sounds like some form of International Hasty Super Express delivery. I recently paid €220 to have a bass package from the USA in their custody as few days as possible. It was the most expensive alternative available, whilst the cheapest was half that (which still was some form of signed for International Express with insurance). My expensive choice should take two or three days, but did take nine or ten days, so was totally not worth it. He or she who sends must work a little harder to find the rates for more standard shipping, I'd guess. The choice of transporter seems to need to differ per country also if you look at their quality. Some that are seen as terrible in the UK have been stellar in Norway for example.

[quote name='Cosmo Valdemar' timestamp='1410371208' post='2548712'] Buggles- Adventures in Modern Recording? A guess based purely on the knowledge that they re-recorded Yes' "I Am A Camera". I'll be surprised if I'm right! [/quote] Sadly not, but that was an ultra cool answer. I did think of Yes's "Into the Lens" myself, where they sing "I am a camera", if memory serves, but had no idea there was this Buggles link to it, or I would've used the same song list but with better reasons! Maybe it's time to drop this one now. I thought it was easy seeing as many people on BC are antiquities like me. Might it help if I said it's prog from 1980, and the bassist in that band is highly regarded on BC but not mentioned very often?

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1410352666' post='2548427'] Not quite so simple as that! Ebmm did a range about four years ago I think called the 251 or something, two eq only, no hard case, poplar body and less colour options to choose from [/quote] Ah! That explains it. Twas before my time (and after my old time as well). Thanks for bringing the light to me!

Welcome, Ben! Just don't ask me. "I no no thing". Enjoy the chat, and let's hope you get your answer in time for your Christmas wish list. BTW, the answer is [s]Fodera[/s] [s]Wal[/s] [s]Dingwall[/s] [s]Rickenbacker[/s] [s]Jazz[/s] [s]Precision[/s] [s]StingRay[/s] Bongo! best, bert