geoffbyrne

No great probs with the dual - you've more or less covered it. Turn the nut one way, one sides bends & tensions the neck, and turn it the other, the opposite happens. Fairly easy & straight forward to work with. BUT....... Single-action Tension Rod nuts are made from brass, so that, if reamed, they may be removed & replaced. idea being the rest of the rod is steel & is OK. You knew that. A Dual-Action rod does *not* have a removable nut BUT it is still made from brass. So, if reamed, the whole neck's b&ggered. I know. I have one. It has been "fixed" by using a short steel self-tapping screw through it & the judicious use of Araldite, but if the person who designes truss rods had his head together, the adjustment nut wouldn't be made of soft metal. Check the adjustment nut before you buy if it's a dual-action. G.

I've got to apologise for saying I'd *definitely* be there - then not turning up. We had the death of a close family friend & I had to drive from Loughborough to just outside Hungerford Berks. on Friday, then back again. To be honest, there was no way I could face going to the Bass Bash on Saturday. Sorry guys. G.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OLD-VINTAGE-BURNS-BISON-ELETRIC-GUITAR-RESTORTION-/110613853853?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item19c119769d"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OLD-VINTAGE-BURNS-BI...=item19c119769d[/url] G.

Talking of foottapping (I do - big time) I remember some kind of box with a mic in upon which you'd tap your foot for accompanyment. Anyone tell me what to look for on Ebay (or if you have one unused..... ) Hold on - just found something on Ebay - Logarythm. WHOA!!!!! £59.99!!!! Don't.think.so. G.

Hi Paul!!! Did the previous bloke bounce off stage? G.

The difference in sound/tone is more to do with the 'sensing window' - a single coil picks up(!) the vibes & overtones from a noarrow 'slice' while the 'bucker senses a much wider area, and as there are two coils, there's also some phase cancellation (albeit small) going on. In other words, because of the physics involved, nothing will sound *exactly* like a 'bucker except another 'bucker. I have a Westone Thunder IIIb fretless with a double-coil 'bucker at the bridge and I just love the sound. G.

[quote name='Paul S' post='1024405' date='Nov 15 2010, 11:05 AM']My usual stuck record - you cannot go wrong with a second hand Westone Thunder 1A. 80s jap basses that are incredibly good value for money - great build quality and playability - the 1A active sound is immense. Heavy, though. They are always cropping up on eBay - there is an over-priced one currently but you'll often get them under £150. Or Gumtree. I paid £110 for one in great nick about a year ago.[/quote] This ^. Plus, if you're handy with the soldering iron, this is well worth looking at (might go for it myself): [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-Milestone-III-3-4-String-Bass-Guitar-Deep-Blue-/220695578647?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item33627b4817"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-Milestone-III...=item33627b4817[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Squier-Precision-Bass-Guitar-/140477627968?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item20b51e7e40"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fender-Squier-Precis...=item20b51e7e40[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-Guiter-/120643503813?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1c16e9c6c5"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Bass-Guiter-/1206435...=item1c16e9c6c5[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-Milestone-III-3-bass-guitar-4-string-/320615391002?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4aa62a9f1a"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-Milestone-III...=item4aa62a9f1a[/url] and so on.... G.

Have a look here: [url="http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/index2.html"]http://www.guitaramplifierblueprinting.com/index2.html[/url] Myles Rose probably knows as much about valves as anyone & he's very approachable - his column (Feel Free to Ask Myles) is here: [url="http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.php/forums/19/1/Guitar_Player_Forum"]http://forums.musicplayer.com/ubbthreads.p...ar_Player_Forum[/url] You'll have to register to ask a question, but if you read through it all(!) you'll probably find everything's been asked & answered already. G.

[quote name='Geddys nose' post='1022343' date='Nov 13 2010, 01:11 PM']There's/Was a S/H US Cirrus 5'er in at PMT Salford for £699, really lovely bass and £1800 new, Flame top, Wooden knobs ect.[/quote] That'll be a Cirrus USA then. Better pre, but I don't see the difference in cost in the rest of it. The Cort-built (I think) Cirruses (Cirii?) are very well put together. I'd have a Millenium BXP in a minute - the only difference is the 34" scale. G.

[quote name='AttitudeCastle' post='1022034' date='Nov 12 2010, 11:19 PM']Thanks! Geoff! Problem is i don't have a real good idea of the tones of the bass, [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi8K2ES-e40&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi8K2ES-e40...feature=related[/url] is the best i've had too go by so i'm still undecided on if i should save an extra £350 and get the Ibanez! But i'm 99% Certain with a Peavey, if i put some straplocks on, it'll be not just bombproof! Maybe even metal gig proof! haha[/quote] The reason I use the B Bass for The Blues is that the East Pre can pull in a lot more in the way of low mids. The Peavey is more transparent. However I've listened to lots of clips on YouTube & none of them sound anything like me! I'm much more Old School and don't have loads of treble as I'm in the 'Can't Slap, Won't Slap' corner. The Cirrus BXP is great value for money. I don't know why people are afraid to use the EQ - you can dial it in to do pretty much everything. G.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1022210' date='Nov 13 2010, 09:49 AM']Fantastic! I really like to look of these basses. Out of interest how in tune are the strings in each course at the 12th fret? I've always been put off by 8-string basses that don't have intonation adjustment for each string in the course because to my ear they are too out of tune by the time I get past the 7th fret.[/quote] Shouldn't be any excuse for that these days - I have a Burns Double Six & each of the 12 bridges is intonatable (intonable?) so it should be able to be done on an bass 8er. [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GOTOH-12-STRING-BRIDGE-GTC-12-DANELECTRO-BURNS-etc-/320613815390?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item4aa612945e"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GOTOH-12-STRING-BRID...=item4aa612945e[/url] Yup, the only 8 string bridge I could find is not adjustable on all strings: [url="http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/viewimage.x/00000000/bezdez/419htw4.jpg?vvid=33140045&sp=0&vsid=1&vgp=0&vimgs=419htw1.jpg,419htw2.jpg,419htw3.jpg,419htw4.jpg"]http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/viewimage....jpg,419htw4.jpg[/url] Time they were. G.

I have a Cirrus 5 BXP (Bubinga). I find the pre Good Enough (often criticised, but I find the centres of frequencies just right for me). The pickups are Good Enough, but I find that the blend pot isn't very progressive seems to be a common complaint if you read through the reviews. B string is very good (in comparison to the limited number of 5ers I've played). I also have a Hohner B Bass V with a John East U-Retro pre, so it goes lower & dirtier then the Cirrus and it's ideal for the blues band, but I tend to use the Cirrus for everything else. Takes DR Hibeams as standard. I have a very low action, as I have a light touch & it works great for me. Personally, I think if these had 'Fender' on the headstock, they'd be right up there. I *love* Peavey gear - it's bombproof. G.

Read this - just scroll past the big picture of City Hall & the two embarrased men and go to the article about pre-amp valves, or tubes. Myles Rose is one of the most knowledgeable gents out there when it comes to tubes & he's developed his own testing equipment for the proving thereof. [url="http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2010/09/most-critical-least-expensive-most.html"]http://la-economy.blogspot.com/2010/09/mos...nsive-most.html[/url] G.

You'll find the most popular padding for this job is an old mouse mat - cut it up accordingly - one or two levels deep to suit. Reading the title, I thought you'd paid 78p for it - Blimey!, I thought....... G.

Lookee here: [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336504"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336504[/url] G.

I use an Eminence 3015 in a small-ish PA cab - it's at the bottom end of the volume that'll work with the 3015 - but work it does. You need to drive it pretty hard & use EQ to get the bottom, but it works pretty well. I also couple it with a bigger cab with plenty of bottom, & the two work well together. G.

I have an original UK-built MAG 400 (485 Watt redface job - the white MAG 400's are Chinese built & are 400W) which I've gigged for the last 4 years & it's never missed a beat. I've recently gone to a GB Shuttle 6. After an initial problem caused by a bad valve, it's sounding great. As soon as I've proved the Shuttle by gigging it, the MAG may be up for sale - no compressor, though - I use a pedal on the board instead. G.

Moot point now, as the singer has gone for something else! Thanks for the input, Guys. G.

As someone once told me, "You can be a great car driver, but you'll get even more out of it if you know WHY everything works the way it dose." G.

I'm defo coming now. Westone Thunder IIIb Fretless GB Shuttle 6 Eminence 3015 in a small cab. Also have a Cirrus BXP (35"), a 34" Hohner B Bass V and a 29.5" scale Harley Benton, if anyone's interested. G.

Yes, I have one of these currently in the drawer, but I had it on a Telecaster & it worked just great - main prob. is fitting the battery into the control route. Pretty transparent, simply ups the gain as you turn it. Pull to bypass. It's as simple as that. My Strat has a Varitone, which I soldered up myself from a Torres kit [url="http://torresamps.com/"]http://torresamps.com/[/url] and [url="http://torresamps.com/guitar_modification_kits.htm"]http://torresamps.com/guitar_modification_kits.htm[/url] on the mid-knob position, and the Artec QTA [url="http://www.artecsound.com/pickups/index.html"]http://www.artecsound.com/pickups/index.html[/url] on the bottom knob. Good stuff, Artec - they make the pickups for Guitar Fetish. G.

Thanks for that, Guys. Didn't think of the powerd mixer/weight thing. I've got my eye on something & it looks like we're not going for the cabs we were looking at originally (singer's buying, not me). Mobile goalposts!! G.

I'm assuming this has the standard-looking P-style pup? If so, it's a standard passive pickup wired to an active pre-amp. It should be OK to de-solder the leads of the original & attach the leads of the new (passive) pup to the same places. Everything remains the same, except, hopefully, the output & tone. G.