BassBod

Looks like Sunday for me......

Not sure if I can get away....but I have a plan....as long as no "money" gigs come in for that weekend. (Goes to stare hopefully at almost-empty diary).

Ooooerrr...sorry to hear that. Hope it arrives safe and sound! bB

And the verdict is ???? BB

My comments are based on experiences with Clifton basses - the 5 string was routed for circuitry and battery, but I never felt the need to have it fitted as the two Kent Armstrong humbuckers sound great. My short scale fretless has one Aaron Armstrong humbucker, with only a series/parallel switch (I only use series..) EMGs are fantastic pickups, but have their own (very clear and clean) sound. Its easy to make a passive bass sound active, but pretty hard to make active pickups sound passive. I love the idea of a piezo system, but I've never seen one fitted by CT? My impression is that he's got his own way of doing things, and I wouldn't want to get too experimental on a bass thats taken years to get made. Carl often uses passive KA humbuckers, so I'd go for a "typical" set up (two KAs?) but maybe have a series/parallel switch for each? BB

I've never had the pleasure of playing a real life CT (but would love to!) but here are some thoughts. EMGs are great pickups, but because they have internal active preamps they do have a reputation for always sounding like EMGs, regardless of what bass they are in. In the case of an expensive CT, I'd like to hear more "wood". Think about the passive Kent Armstrongs that Carl often uses, with no active circuit? In the UK Kent Armstrong designed/hand made pickups have been used by most luthiers (except Jaydee and Wal?) at some point. They really are good pickups, and you can always plug into an external preamp (Aguilar, Sadowsky, Sansamp etc) if you feel the nedd for a more "active" tone. It really comes down to the sound you're looking for..but I'd think about passive first. Hope you love the bass - I'd love to see pics when it arrives! BB

I think you'll need to replace the pots - your EMGs are active pickups (each has a tiny active preamp inside, in addition to the seperate preamp). The 25k pots won't be good with passive pickups attached, although you'll get some sort of output...The convention is for 250k pots for single coils and 500k for humbuckers but either will work fine - its a matter of how much high end they allow through. BB

[attachment=12522:DSCN0737.JPG] Here's my modest Epic - great all-rounder, with simple but superb sounding electronics...but it still sometimes reminds me of an 80's Aria......or Westone. BB

Sounds like a good one - I know one local pro who swears by his Demeter preamp, and I think he'd tried a few beforw he settled on it. May be worth an email to the company - you might be able to convert it to UK voltage by a simple change to the transformer connections. Many companies that make an export version use the same components (but not always..) Enjoy BB

Yup, move on and do what feels right, but keeping your "best" bass is a good idea if you can afford it. "Best" is the one you play the most, regardless of value... BB

If you have space for two batteries, the Aguilar OPB1 is great - very much like the Sadowsky (or Musicman) preamp, with great bass boost. Doesn't add any gain as such, so if your pickups are lowish output, then it may still seem a bit low. Also doesnt do any active pickup mixing. Are your pickups active or passive? I'd also be tempted to try the ACG/East filter preamp.....expensive but looks good! BB

If you have space for two batteries, the Aguilar OPB1 is great - very much like the Sadowsky (or Musicman) preamp, with great bass boost. Doesn't add any gain as such, so if your pickups are lowish output, then it may still seem a bit low. Also doesnt do any active pickup mixing. Are your pickups active or passive? I'd also be tempted to try the ACG/East filter preamp.....expensive but looks good! BB

It is annoying..but its also part of the local market. As said, you can pick out the serious buyers/sellers, and the timewasters, and there is feedback so use it. Evilbay is the place for real open market, and all that goes with it. I like to think people here are better informed and generally easy and polite to deal with. That's not to say its all been easy...but reasonable. BB

What BF said. Virtually all background noise usually gets buried in a performance situation - but some amps are hummers, some are hissers. I find the hummers worse to live with. If the hum level changes (gets noticably worse, with nothing plugged in) then you should get it checked. BB

Sorry - that wasn't intended as an EA bash (I love my EA500 and cabs!) but I can fully understand why people don't get on with them... BB

A really interesting bass - sort of Gibson tries Alembic, (low impedance pickups) but not really sure why....but Les Paul thinks we should....how does it sound? BB

If there is one amp that isn't plug'n'play rock'n'roll.....its the EA. You can make them Rock, but it takes a few presets and some experience (and maybe a Sansamp... and a wobbly stage). BB

Not tried any of the Jazz style, but their own design are very good - up with the Wal/Jaydee/Sei/GB/Shuker competition. The extra scale lengths on 5/6 strings can take some getting used to, and the pickups and eq can seem a bit tame, but are designed to be useful rather than just impressive. If you can get there to try them do - Chris is really helpful and informative. One thing to note is that they distribute Acoustic Image and Euphonic Audio amps, so they have them there to try - but these are unusually clean and neutral sounding. If you are used to something a bit more "voiced" or aggressive then take this into consideration when you try the basses. With your budget you shouldn't find it too hard to find "your" jazz bass. I guess the difficult bit is do you really want something traditional, or the modernised active version? I'd go for the best "trad-jazz" I could find, and buy the Sadowsky preamp pedal for those "need more eq" moments. Have fun BB

Sorry, but I can't record anything as I traded the SS1 a while ago...but I'd recomend changing the preamp, and see what you think. The EMG pickups are only a slight improvement over the stock MECs. However I found the Aguilar OPB-2 preamp was a real improvement (wired vol vol treble bass) and very easy to work with (slight treble cut, slight bass boost, change pickup mix to taste). Someone here now owns that bass - traded with Lukeward?? Hope that's some help BB

My old WT300 really didn't like running at 4 ohms (although it was in the spec) and would go into thermal protection if you just looked at it funny. Now I'm sure the newer WT550 is made to cope better, but do check the manual first to see if they explicitly say its ok below 4 ohms - even if it is, don't be surprised if it shuts down when you really push it. When that does happen, it usually resets after about 5 mins cooling time so its no biggie - just turn down a bit and/or take some low end off the eq. The DI still works even in shutdown. BB

Should be no problem - I'm sure the Sadowsky preamp comes with instructions that include this option - or look at the Aguilar website, as (from memory) the OPB1 is very similar. I had the OPB2 fitted to a Warwick SS1, plus EMG's - it sounds really good and is an improvement over the stock MEC stuff. While you have this work done, also change the jack socket to a brand new switchcraft, it may cost an extra £10 but its something less to go wrong in a year or two. BB

Get on down to Mansons - best shop I've seen by far, and if you want to try something specific give them a call and see if they can get one there for you when you visit (no harm is asking, and if its mainsteam they should be able to help). Their service is usually pretty good, but you do pay a bit more for it. Vintage and rare in Bath is worth a visit....just to see how much they try and get for a grotty old fender. I haven't been to a guitar/bass shop in Bristol for a few years. Mainly because I buy "high end"used stuff, and shops just don't sell it anymore. Also because I've never been impressed with any of the shops here. Eugene was great fun, but I hear he has moved on..... BB

I saw him here in Bristol a few months ago (with Bill Frisell..) so he does get here. Citron acoustic into WW and Hartke 4x10 - I was sitting right above him, so could hear his real on-stage sound, and almost read his music. It was good BB

Nice to see Ian remembered here - never got to meet him, but I have met Pete a few times and he was always very helpful, even with basses that had been round the houses more than a few times. Anyone know anything about the future of Wal? I read somewhere (here?) that Paul Herman may take it on? A 21st century Wal...now there's something to look forward to??!! BB