Jean-Luc Pickguard

[quote name='s_u_y_*' post='89789' date='Nov 17 2007, 10:32 AM']Oh... I can never do that! Frankly, it looks like I've got a phallus sprouting from the top of my head! (Sorry, had to avoid the profanity filters. )[/quote] I was walking home from a jam night with my bass gigbag on my back and a bunch of lads approached me because they thought I was some kind of nutter wearing an Elvis quiff wig. When they realised I had a heavy lump of wood instead they decided against taking the p155.

Jap 70s RI Jazz - PROS: Looks cool CONS: No idea, not actually got to look at one closely, such is the availability in the UK; possibly price (i'll come onto that) Highway 1 - PROS: seem to be well made; secondhand price is good; not too many out; nitro looks cool; badass CONS: No S1 (i'll come onto that as well), rosewood boards only (I think); Nitro - could possibly start to look battered quickly. Amercian Series S1 PROS: S1 switch which actually makes a difference to the tone (compared to a precision) and I WOULD use it if I had it; comes with a hard case; second hand prices actually not bad; should be plenty to choose from; maple boards available. CONS: Can't really think of any right now - new ones are expensive (comparitvely) I suppose Well,It looks like you're set on geting a new one - If so the Japanese ones are very well made and you can get an upgraded model with usa pickups. I have a highway 1 jazz (original 2003 version) to which i've added a badass, kent armstrong lipstick pickups etc. The thin finish is cool and the accelerated wear pattern is personal to how you play it, but it doesn't wear overnight - I've used mine as my main gigging bass for four years and apart from a few dents its picked up through carelessness (I do try to be careful though) the only playing wear its picked up is a small patch of finish worn off over the bridge pickup where I sometimes anchor my thumb. The S1 switch is just a series/parallel switch it is probably a £20/£30 job to get a mini toggle that does exactly the same thing fitted by a luthier/tech or you could fit one yourself if you feel up to it for a few quid and under an hour.

I'm thinking of putting a wizard thumper in one of my Precisions,but I don't have one yet, so I can't comment. As for the pickguard a genuine fender tort will look best I reckon. Cheaper torts may look a bit, well, cheap.

Journalists make up such a load of s**t sometimes when they're writing about a subject they know nothing about: [quote]A guitar has been made which tunes itself - but does this mean that roadies, or guitar techs as they're now called, could be out of a job?[/quote] Yes roadies are all guitar techs and all they do is tune guitars as its too difficult for the guitarist to tune for himself. Perhaps the writer thinks that roadies are like the stereotypical 90 year old blind gentlemen that tune pianos for a living. This one made me laugh [quote]Professionals have guitar techs and as many as 80 guitars on stage to combat that, but the average person doesn't have that.[/quote] Yes a lot of guitarists change guitar at least three times a song. Self tuning guitar or bass - no point if you use standard tuning. Get an SOS tuner for £15 and tune accurately in seconds.

[quote name='charic' post='88967' date='Nov 15 2007, 02:57 PM']1/4lbs all the way [/quote] Seeing as an ancient thread has been dug up, I'll add that the Wizard Thumper pickups seem to be very well regarded as well. [url="http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass"]http://www.wizardpickups.co.uk/shop.asp?category=Bass[/url]

I prefer the more mellow sound of a rosewood board with a P, but I have a US P with maple a MIJ P with maple and a "frankenstein" fretless with ebony. My Maple necked P is very bright even with TI flats, but that could just as equally be due to the heavy ash body and original 80s pickup. I'm thinking of putting a Wizard thumper in to warm up the tone a bit. Because of the finish applied to maple it is a more expensive job to get a refret on a maple board - not that this would worry you on a new bass of course.

[quote name='Exile252' post='88199' date='Nov 14 2007, 12:58 AM']I'm not sure what the differences are between the two. But I use LE in college, and it isn't my fave choice for recording program. LE is very very bland, and has absolutely nothing fancy, it's there to record and thats what it does.[/quote] There are loads of free vst fx available to make less bland. For example the [url="http://www.kjaerhusaudio.com"]Kjaerhus[/url] classic series free plugins are a worthwhile addition for a very good quality set of basic fx.

[quote name='bremen' post='88463' date='Nov 14 2007, 03:36 PM']Was it this one? [url="http://www.gizmag.com/go/4951/"]http://www.gizmag.com/go/4951/[/url][/quote] Nope That looks like an overpriced solution looking for a problem if ever I saw one. The first line of that article shows that the writer doesn't know what he's going on about: [quote]"For most people, tuning a guitar takes three to five minutes"[/quote] I can imagine the ribbing I'd give the guitarists in my band if they took several minutes to get in tune. Tuning a 5 string bass using a planet waves SOS tuner takes about 15 seconds.

[quote name='King Tut' post='88255' date='Nov 14 2007, 09:32 AM']OK peeps - I keep reading on here about how awful the original strings are on NS EUB's.[/quote] Really? First I've heard about it - is it the strings on the Czech CR series or the Chinese Wav basses that are s'posed to be awful? I'm quite happy with the original D'Addario-made NS strings on my NS CR-5M. String choice depends whether you have piezo-only or the additional EMG magnetic pickups. If your bass is piezo only it might be fun to try the cheap "weedwacker" strings from this chap: [url="http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fantastic-Musical-Instruments"]http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Fantastic-Musical-Instruments[/url]

[quote name='Alien' post='87826' date='Nov 13 2007, 12:36 PM']One of my basses has a switch on it that's not wired to anything (never got round to it), but most people believe they can hear a difference when I flick it to a different position! Andy[/quote] Ah yes - A "producer" Switch

I've just finished mixing & premastering the tracks for the new obviously 5 believers album (featuring not only a couple of my fenders and Ned Steinberger CR5M upright, but also my Ashbory). We're going to use mediasourcing for the manufacturing and they will make the glass master using the data on the master CD exactly as supplied. When I burn audio CDs I get the option to include text info so the track titles etc are shown on the display of the CD player. I don't recall ever seeing a commercial CD that uses CD text - I guess older players might have a problem with text perhaps, so should I burn the master without text? Any opinions on this or any tips for supplying a master for pressed CDs?

I'm sure someone somewhere will want it - its just they're probably locked up somewhere at the moment.

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='86683' date='Nov 10 2007, 10:27 PM']It would be great if a manufacturer wanted to release a ltd. ed. Basschat version of a UK bass though... ...or amplifier for that matter.[/quote] Many manufacturers would probably be up for that as long as there's a minimum order of 30. Lakland certainly need to place an order of at least 30 with Cort to get them made in Korea. Cort also made Korean G&L tributes, Fenders, ibanez, schecter and others. For a basschat limited edition something not too costly made in europe might be cool like a Czech made Bach [url="http://www.bachmusik.com"]www.bachmusik.com[/url] who also do low quantity custom runs of instruments.

There's one advertised on gumtree at the mo: [url="http://www.gumtree.com/london/41/15828541.html"][url="http://www.gumtree.com/london/41/15828541.html"]http://www.gumtree.com/london/41/15828541.html[/url][/url]

+1 for the neoprene strap. My '81 precision feels like it is made of concrete and was pretty much unplayable for anything longer than 30 mins until I got a neoprene strap. I have a couple of comfort straps and a couple of fender branded neotech ones - They really do seem to help with heavy basses. Failing that you can spread the load with a leather strap at least 3" wide, but the noprene will be more comfy.

[quote name='ahpook' post='83747' date='Nov 4 2007, 11:11 PM']at work they when the bosses have meetings they drink some kind of posh bottled water that has the same closures as grolsch bottles. they normally leave the tray with the drinks finished bottles outside the meeting rooms when they're done... i've acquired a few washers that way [/quote] I hope those aren't reusable filtered water bottles that are to be refilled by the catering staff. If so they might start getting peed off that someone keeps nicking the seals... Today I found Grolsch in swingtops in Sainsburys (Purley Way Croydon) so I bought three. For some reason one of my basses is already wearing a single one. Most shops are now only selling the small crown cap bottles or the canned "fizzy pee" version of Grolsch. if only a decent realale like hobgobin was sold in swingtops.

Can you post some pics? There are some very experienced & knowlegable people here, but I'm sure they may be better able to help if they could see how the speaker is mounted in that particular cab before suggesting how to get it out.

[quote name='lovedub' post='85714' date='Nov 8 2007, 10:46 PM']Taking the **ss??!!! No, I certainly wasn't, Jean-Luc. I'm merely suggesting an option. It may be time consuming but it's not like modifying the saddles is going to bring on the ten plagues of Egypt, or is it? Perhaps filing deeper grooves into the saddles with a small round file would be better ... but hey, don't listen to me, I'm not a luthier If I'm wrong offer me reason as opposed to arrogance please. I'm also here to learn.[/quote] Sorry mate - I wouldn't have made such a flippant reply if I thought that you really believed that filing down the saddles would be a good suggestion rather than it being a jokey reply - your "piece of **ss" comment just seemed a bit silly as filing would be more hassle than shimming. Now I know that you were serious doesn't the "piece of **ss" comment comes over more arrogant than my reply seeing as you don't seem to have much experience or knowledge of simple routine setup jobs, but are making incorrect suggestions to people as if you know what you're talking about? Shimming the neck can be reversed. If you shim it too much or not enough you can adjust it easily with different thicknesses of card and/or the position of the card as required. Doesn't it make more sense to do something thats quicker and 100% reversible instead of hacking up the hardware?

[quote name='SJA' post='85700' date='Nov 8 2007, 10:07 PM']actually I was only half-joking when I wrote that- have you seen the Fender Eddie Van Halen Frankenstrat? [url="http://www.evhgear.com/frankenstein/"][url="http://www.evhgear.com/frankenstein/"]http://www.evhgear.com/frankenstein/[/url][/url] they were charging $25,000 for that piece of...er...fine craftsmanship.....[/quote] I though this was the Eddie van Halen Frankenstein

[quote name='lovedub' post='85588' date='Nov 8 2007, 05:59 PM']Unscrew the saddles, clamp them in a vice and file the undersides of them down, one at a time. piece of **ss[/quote] :wacko: taking the **ss more like As others have suggested: Shim the neck - that's the only solution a luthier would perform.

[quote name='crumpet_tramp' post='85447' date='Nov 8 2007, 01:49 PM']Some Vintage Fenders had cream pup's I got some on my P[/quote] Didn't this only happen in around '83 - '85 ish, and then those were more white than cream. If a 70s Fender has cream pickups I'd wager it was "upgraded" to Dimarzios early in its life.

Its got to be worth a fiver just to get experience of fret levelling (if you're interested in that sort of thing) etc.

[quote name='Freuds_Cat' post='85396' date='Nov 8 2007, 12:42 PM']Being offered VERY cheap to me.[/quote] It looks like it was found in a skip. I'd pass if its over £20.

I think you can't go wrong with either choice. I used to have a MAG300 head with MAG210 & MAG115 cabs. I preferred the tone using both cabs over either single cabs, even when playing at the same volume.

Is it designed to be played by the producer or another band member while the bass player is away shooting up somewhere?