Bloodaxe

[quote name='andyonbass' post='85231' date='Nov 8 2007, 08:02 AM']I've just won the self titled "Back Door" CD on Ebay for two quid any other listening reccommendations?[/quote] Yes, hunt for the follow up - "8th Street Nites" several glorious solo spots including a staggeringly brisk rendition of 32-20 Blues. Managed to collar him for 5 mins at the GBBF, & he said that he was recording with Chris Rea. Not my usual fare, but I'll keep an eye out for it. Pete.

[quote name='man_at_arms84' post='85087' date='Nov 7 2007, 07:29 PM']It may be worth mentioning a speaker jack got stuck in the amp and we had to break the casing for one of the inputs to get the jack out. this was on the same night. But again afterwards I tested the rig for 5 and it seemed good.[/quote] Broke the casing? Just to clarify, was this on the amp or the cab? If it's on the amp, get it replaced ASAP - a dodgy connection can fry the output stage big stylee. If it's on the cab & was mounted in a plastic sort of tray affair then it [i]could[/i] be that you've got a leak that only shows up at high volumes - that could rasp & blart like a raspy blarty thing - check it for cracks. Also might be worth checking that your speakers are properly seated in the cab (you say you've replaced two) - if there's any air getting around the frame that'll do it too. As a long term solution, you may want to look at a DIY project from [url="http://www.billfitzmaurice.com/"][u][b]BFM[/b][/u][/url] - they have a reputation for air-shifting at stupid SPLs. Pete.

In addition to the tips above... 1. NEVER attempt to sharpen a blunt bit - you need a diamond stone for starters, and since cutters can spin at up to 20,000 rpm balance is a real issue. I never want to meet an out of balance router bit. 2. Always push into the work, never pull. Work with the grain, not against it otherwise it'll tear out. 3. Use the right size collet for the bit. Some collets & bits come in Imperial & metric sets - don't mix & match. Clamping is always the ideal, but they can get in the way. Look out for a router mat - they're about £5 & hold the work remarkably well provided only downward pressure is applied (there's a few shots of my one [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=5094"][u][b]here[/b][/u][/url]). In terms of getting to grips with the intricacies, I guess the basics:- Rebates, trimming, fancy mouldings & template work - go through your cutters & find out what they can do. The majority of routing is done to a template so this is a good area to look into as well. Further reading? have a nose around the glossy mags in W H Smiths & I'm sure you'll turn up something, ditto the handicrafts section in most bookshops. Pete.

[quote name='NickThomas' post='85068' date='Nov 7 2007, 06:56 PM']Has anyone seen this band, [url="http://www.thebritishbluesquintet.co.uk/default.htm"][url="http://www.thebritishbluesquintet.co.uk/default.htm"]http://www.thebritishbluesquintet.co.uk/default.htm[/url][/url] , that he's playing in with at the moment? Looks like a cracking line up ![/quote] Yes, saw them at the Great British Beer Festival at Earl's Court back in August. Can't say I was that impressed with Ms Bell - she can sing alright but gave the impression that she wanted to be somewhere else. Zoot Money, Millar Anderson & the Hodge delivered by the truckload though - only two showcases for CH (San Francisco Bay Blues & Walking Blues), which was [i]slightly[/i] disappointing from my perspective, but still left me feeling like a hopeless fumbler. Enjoy. Pete.

That sounds like a helluva evening. I see they're playing in London in a week or so, you still likely to be depping?

[quote name='Lorne' post='82542' date='Nov 1 2007, 10:31 PM']Yuck,sorry,Expensive Fender and Musicman copies are not for me,No matter what the Quality of the bass-Now had you said Sei,then we might have been talking But I'm sticking with the BCR Biches,and the '79 was one of the first Bich basses made [/quote] I'm with you on this one - I'm not even keen on the originals! Back to the problem at hand... Partial short-circuit coil (rare)?, breakdown of the lacquer on the windings? May be from a duff batch of DiMarzios. The pups on early Aria SBs have a habit of self-destructing for no reason, but the later ones are fine. Possibly a call to Andy at Wizard Pickups might be in order, that or a new DM. Pete.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='78864' date='Oct 24 2007, 01:46 PM']Any chance of some pics? Sorry for the thread hi-jack... so to get back on track, is the Aria the same one that I've seen posted many times on TalkBass?[/quote] Yes it is, bought from FL Knifemaker (aka Neil) in Sunny Florida. Im still baffled as to what USPS did with it for 10 days - but at least they didn't break it (or the original hard case). I measured it the other day... 52" tip-to-tip, I think a custom gigbag will have to be the way to go, as the hard case is yuuuuge. More pics will occur at some point, when I've found a stand it won't fall off. Pete.

If it's a moulded case odds are it's made from ABS plastic which is a sod to paint without the right stuff. Elbow grease, a nail brush & the solvent of your choice (Try the above - they won't hurt it, but stay away from cellulose/xylene type (spray) thinners as these [i]could[/i] etch the surface) should get results. If it doesn't, try the following... Fairy Power Spray - [url="http://www.mksmc.co.uk/hintsandtips/hints.htm#Paint%20Stripper"][u][b]Write Up[/b][/u][/url] - also recommends Mr Muscle oven cleaner. Flash Liquid - Used to work well at getting Humbrol Enamel off plastic kits, but may now be too safe to be any good. Washing Soda - Mix the crystals up with water until no more will dissolve, pop on your best Marigolds & get scrubbing. [url="http://www.wonderlandmodels.com/Modelstrip-productx314229.html?zenid=2q1qm61n9vj14nu5bala6g4320"][u][b]ModelStrip[/b][/u][/url] & if none of the above work, there's always Caustic Soda (gloves & goggles compulsory). Pete.

A rare bird - Aria's version of the Steinberger [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Aria-Pro-2-Headless-Bass-Black-with-Hard-Case_W0QQitemZ260174464491QQihZ016QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]The Wedge[/url]

Neil Murray always gets my vote: With [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuJP4tdlImI"]Gary Moore, Don Airey & Ian Paice[/url] (but I turned it off at the drum solo - yawn) With [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=disQySVNdEc"]Whitesnake[/url] - sound dubbed (badly) from the album version, which means you can actually hear him. Pete.

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mavu1RvKJAM"]Colin Hodgkinson[/url] has a slightly different slant on the solo bass idea (the clip gets going about 1' 30" in)

[quote name='aj5string' post='81062' date='Oct 29 2007, 11:18 PM']That would be ideal, except i'm de-fretting a bass with a rosewood fingerboard, and would ideally like to see the fretlines - i'm guessing it'd be a bit dark? Alex.[/quote] Mahogany inlays in a Jacaranda (if you believe the catalogue) fretboard. Admittedly I haven't given it a dose of Lemon Oil yet which will darken things down, but they're still quite visible close up. Pete.

Not in Farnham, but try [url="http://home2.btconnect.com/backlinestudios/location.html"]Backline Studios[/url] in Guildford. Next door to the station, & they say they can provide a kit - but you'd have to bring your own cymbals. Pete.

Ta anyway. I've always liked the Alesis 'verbs - still got my ancient Midiverb 2 which has some very nice FX IMO. Also posted this over on Talkbass & it seems I've imagined it to be something other than it is. My (simplistic) understanding is that it's a means of dialling [i]in[/i] "room boom" sort of. Can't say as I can think of a use for that. Heigh-ho. Pete.

Just picked one of these venerable old beasts up off the 'bay, sourced a copy of the manual from Alesis & am getting stuck in. Does anyone else have one? Currently I cannot get my head around the "Resonator" setting - it looks as though it should be some breed of multiple pitch-shift, but the manual is rather terse on the subject. Anyone? Pete.

[quote name='Jam' post='78622' date='Oct 24 2007, 01:47 AM']Fine fine! I recieved a slight electric shock. Happy now?! My god would you feel guilty if i'd actually died.[/quote] Possibly, but we'd [i]definitely[/i] be weirded-out if you posted here to tell us.

[quote name='steve-soar' post='78586' date='Oct 23 2007, 11:52 PM']I really need to get all of my old Music UK, Making Music, Guitarist mags out of the loft and start looking for all of these old wonders reviews. I'm sure I've got adverts for this bass somewhere. If I can be arsed I'll scan the most interesting adverts (anyone remember Mick Jagger's brothers Staccato Bass?) into the PC and see what everyone thinks.[/quote] That sounds like a plan. Kind of a counterpoint to BigRedX's Weird & Wonderful series. P

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='78569' date='Oct 23 2007, 11:07 PM']Very quiet, unassuming looking bass you've got yourself there Pete - hope to hear it and have a go at the next Bash!! Does it sound as modest as it looks? Nik[/quote] Well, you know I'm one for subtle understatement. It's ideally suited for the gentle lambent tones of Dinner Jazz, and could possibly lend itself to Plainchant if I were to fit a whammy bar. As to it appearing at any Bash (or Fumble), that's dependent on finding a suitable gigbag as the hard case is too unwieldy for Public Transport. Pete.

[quote name='djlufkin' post='77996' date='Oct 23 2007, 02:44 AM']One solution is to get a keyboard gig bag that fits, and load it with foam rubber, that's what I've done for my old parts-bass explorer dave[/quote] Tried that over the weekend at Eric Lindsey's in Catford (relicing while-U-wait), & the drat thing was [i]still[/i] poking out of the end. Admittedly that was the only local shop that had such a thing, so there may well be other brands that will take it. I really need something with shoulder straps as well - maybe a gigbag for a Thunderbird might work, they seem to be rather long beasts. Pete.

Fresh from the sylvan fields* of Parcel Farce's Charlton Depot: An Aria ZZB-Custom in "Bloody Red". I've only ever seen two of these, & the other one is in the catalogue scans over on the Matsumoku.org site - so they're a tad scarce. It's quite light, & very loud. The bridge appears to have been designed by the Pharmaceutical Dept at Aria, & it's a bugger to get it comfy when standing. It's also reluctant to fit most stands. A gigbag would be nice, but that may prove harder to find than Lord Lucan. As a result of this, I hereby proclaim myself GAS-free**. Pete. *[size=1](a lie)[/size] **[size=1](probably a lie)[/size]

Good find, but I find the jazz band of Comedy Horses at the bottom of the page oddly disquieting.

[quote name='ashevans09' post='71381' date='Oct 9 2007, 12:47 AM']Looking to buy an X2 from the ol' USA . Just a quick check, will it be ok just to run it from a UK/USA plug converter? Cheers, Ash[/quote] 'ning, Without knowing off-hand what an X2 is, almost certainly no. The plug converters do just that - adapt a 2-pin plug to a 3-pin socket, but don't alter the voltage. You'll need a voltage converter to step down 240V to 110V. The exact rating (& therefore size/weight) of converter will depend on how much power the unit needs to suck out of the mains. Plugging 110V gear into a 240V socket usually results in a loud & expensive bang. Pete.

That neck/body joint looks interesting! Bolt-on or through-neck? There's a fairly comprehensive (and growing) list of luthiers [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=253"][b][u]here[/u][/b][/url]. There's quite a few within easy travelling distance of Northampton. Pete.

I'm in the market for a bunch of these as well (5 "normal" & 2 "pointed") &, as yet, have drawn a complete & utter blank. The nearest I've found are [url="http://guitarpartsresource.com/gknob7.jpg"]these[/url] from [url="http://guitarpartsresource.com/guitarknobs_plasticother.htm"]guitar parts resource[/url] but they're not right. I'm considering having a go at casting my own out of resin. But it's at the "just thinking about it" stage. Pete.