Lfalex v1.1

[quote name='fingerz' post='860137' date='Jun 7 2010, 05:51 PM']Yeh 51m0n - I remember working my ass off for an amp when I started gigging. It wasn't my amp of choice, but loud enough to play with a drum kit. Bad karma if you go and do gigs and don't own your own gear to do so! Do these people even exist??!![/quote] Oh yes. They certainly do. I've seen people turn up with [u]nothing[/u] and expect to borrow instruments, leads, straps, tuners, money, get a lift home... the list is endless. If you tolerate it. There was a situation when (for once!) I'd set up and gone out front for a beer and some chips, only to find some oik using my rig without even asking (I heard it from outside). We won't talk about what happened next, though. Needless to say, he ended up with no onstage monitoring, and just a DI box at his feet. If he'd asked, I might have obliged.

[quote name='chris_b' post='858772' date='Jun 6 2010, 12:00 PM']It probably came with MEC pickups and the Bartolini's have been added later, by a DIY'er? I wouldn’t just launch in and make changes when you don’t know what the problem is. I'd get it looked at by a tech. It sounds like the previous work hasn’t been done properly.[/quote] Not necessarily so. My Streamer LX 6 has Seymour Duncans in it, and I've seen Barts as standard in a Thumb 6 fretless. I'm not sure I've ever seen a sixer with MEC pick-ups in. MEC Eqs are usually a stock option on most Warwick basses, though. As for the treble, it could be a knackered component in there somewhere- capacitor or potentiometer. Can you try out a 3 band equipped Warwick in a shop and see if there's any difference by comparison? At least then you'd know if your (presumably) MEC eq was working properly or not. As for replacements, I'd imagine you can accomodate quite a lot if you're prepared to have 3xstacked controls. That'd open up all sorts of products from MEC, Duncan, EMG, Bartolini, East, Aguilar, Glockenlang, Audere, ACG, and so on etc. IIRC Thumbs have 18v electrics, right?

[quote name='MythSte' post='856450' date='Jun 3 2010, 07:35 PM']Hmm, Gloves or elixirs... Gloves or elixirs... If that recordings with gloves though I'll be seriously impressed.[/quote] Neither. Get your hands Nanoweb coated. I'm sure they'd do it for you! Edited a few minutes later- Frivolous joke gives way to serious idea. Anyone tried the tight-fitting latex gloves (like the ones they sell for mechanics etc.)? I might give some a go if I can find some...

[quote name='chris_b' post='849988' date='May 28 2010, 01:00 AM']There might be better strings out there but I'm very happy with the job DR strings do for me.[/quote] People's taste may vary and, as such, they may not like the tone. Otherwise they are amongst the very best IMO [quote name='geoffbyrne' post='850081' date='May 28 2010, 09:29 AM']Quick question on DR strings generally: I have a 35" scale (Cirrus BXP) for which the recommended string is the HiBeam, whch is the correct length - are all DR string types suitable for 35" scale? Geoff[/quote] As long as it's top-loaded rather than thru-body strung, they ought to be long enough. They easily make it across my thru-body strung jazz (34") with masses to spare. I'm sure I read somewhere that they do fit 35" scale instruments, too. Just don't take my word for it! Whose recommendation was it regarding the Cirrus BXP?

It was Gavin at GM audio in Maldon... Here you go: GM AUDIO SERVICES LTD UNIT 5, STOCK CHASE CM9 4AA MALDON, ESSEX Phone: 07919404895

How old is "old"? I have a 14-year old SMX head & 3 cabs (1203h, 1152 and 1084h) No issues at all from the cabs. The head glitched once, and I had it serviced and fully tested by an ex-Trace employee. He knew what was up before he opened it! The boards inside are connected by wires with push-fit spade terminals. Over time, they work loose. As a fix, he soldered all mine in place, cleaned the whole unit out, cleaned an re-lubed the graphic eq, replaced all the illumination, everything. That's all I've had in 14 years. Neither the amps nor the cabs are state-of-the-art by today's standards. They're perfectly giggable, but heavy! I'd avoid the 4x10 combos- They're MEGA heavy and bulky and top heavy and you can't lock your arms to carry them and the cabinet volume is less than the standard 1048 to keep the weight down, so you lose a bit of bottom end.

Nice mod. "Threadlock" compound would also work a treat, as (IMO) the amount of adjustment required (when it's not adjusting itself) is quite small.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' post='852205' date='May 30 2010, 11:06 PM']use a capo[/quote] Wonderfully simple! Excellent idea! (Wouldn't have thought of it myself)

Vigier Passion V S3 Warwick Infinity SN4 Yamaha Attitude 10th Anniversary 2004 MIA S1 Jazz Status Streamline

I own an MIA jazz (2004) and a Squire VM Jazz. Both very different. Both good, but the VMJ's reached the point that it needs new pick-ups and electrics if it's to improve further, and I'm not sure it's worth the expense. The last Classic vibe I tried was great, in terms of look, feel and sound. I'm beginning to wonder whether (with modern methods properly applied and correct QC) it's likely that poor quality basses in the £250-£300 bracket will even exist soon.

[quote name='Metalmoore' post='852190' date='May 30 2010, 10:29 PM']I love the custom nordy pup covers, makes it look like there isn't any pups there, just poles.[/quote] Ditto. Well executed.

Yup. Liking Genesis, ELP, Marillion, Liquid Tension Experiment. Also fond of earlier Supertramp and some ELO, but I'm not sure that they're truly "Prog". Got to say I prefer to listen to it than play it. Spoils my enjoyment if I have to analyse it too much!

All I can say is; [b]"Re-fitting is the reverse procedure to removal..."[/b] Yeah, right. (Visualizes people de-fretting their necks, sanding their 'boards down and refretting them to adjust the action...)

New? Perhaps A Warwick Streamer LX VI? The aforementioned Yamaha? One of more expensive Ibanez? Second Hand? What can you find? Smiths might be in budget, as might a Vigier.

This one! 2004 MIA S1. Nice, 2 piece Ash body in Trans Sunset Orange,Thru-body strung, Rosewood fretboard. Tried it against 8 other Jazzes, Musicmen, Corvettes, etc. and it comfortably bettered them all in tone and playability, and not just in my opinion. Now even better with DR Sunbeams on it. I also have a Squier VMJ with a BadAssII and FatBeams on it. Good bass, but [u]completely[/u] different to this! Edited for; Why do they not offer Stacked pots on new (MIA/MIM/CIJ) models? I'm tempted to do the Squier, but never understood why they stopped it ('62/'63?) in the first place.

FatBeams and SunBeams for me (from experience) I like the slighter softer feel under my fretting hand due to the greater compliance offered by round-cored strings. Other plusses? Extra output from the (Nickel (plated?) Sunbeams make my Jazz's output that little bit hotter without extra noise. They seem well made (no duffers in about 15 sets) and do last well.

That's a pity, your money will go a lot further if you do go down the second-hand route. I'd buy some of the equipment/instruments in the for sale sections like a shot if I had any money/ needed anything else.

Bass. Never had the urge to play guitar. Plus, my hands are like shovels

It wasn't entirely flippant. I had considered the implications, hence the knowing [i]idiot savant[/i] wink at the end!

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='847211' date='May 25 2010, 09:34 AM']Quite strangely, on the Strictly Tour, I've been eq-ing as I always do, making sure I can hear every frequency of the bass & sending the DI signal "pre eq" from the amp. The sound where we are on the stage is great, but all I hear is thud and boom out front. This weekend however, I sent the signal "post eq" and the engineer commented, "Wow, your bass sounds amazing this week." Hmmm... [/quote] I have employed this tactic before! pre/post EQ DI switches are underrated. That, and in A STUDIO, I deliberately left the EQ on my Vigier flat when messing around with levels etc. and then turned it on +15dB across the selected frequency (flick of a switch downwards) for the take/s. Sounded amazing. No-one noticed, except to say "That really came through well..."

[quote name='Fat Rich' post='847591' date='May 25 2010, 03:30 PM']I had a wife I didn't tell my basses about. Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing her around for a while [/quote] Is she in a flightcase under the stairs?

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='847606' date='May 25 2010, 03:45 PM']Typically it's that standard area on a bass guitar - somewhere between C# and E on the G string. Sometimes (on Fenders and Stingrays mostly) I've also found them around G# on the E string. Soloing the octave down voice you will find that the pedal gates your note very quickly after you play it - this is what makes it very obvious.[/quote] Ok, that's improved my understanding of the issue. The G# (4th fret) E-string seems to be a common one for Fenders IIRC. 6th, 7th, 8th & 9th frets on G string, I'm not so familiar with. Stingrays are (semi) notorious for having the potential to have weak G strings. Have just tried widdling about using the octave on my Korg Pandora- through headphones. Aside from tracking issues (!) I can detect none of the gating effects you refer to on either my Streamline, Vigier or Warwick Infinity. My Jazzes are cased up at the mo' but I'll try 'em. Edit- Have you ever tried using a FatFinger or some similar? They fit onto the bass' headstock and can help to even out dead spots by altering the mass of the headstock. They're no panacea- they seem to mute harmonic content and can make neck-dive worse, but it may help..

[quote name='SteveK' post='847625' date='May 25 2010, 04:06 PM']Wow! Is Paranoid [i]still[/i] a pub band favourite? I remember playing it in one of my first "proper" bands in the early 70s.[/quote] Good tune's still a good tune, I guess.

Use the Megadeth or Big Country cover versions? More modern recordings, for sure. They're still in the right key, too (though probably not de-tuned)

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='847534' date='May 25 2010, 02:30 PM']Never had a deadspot or never had a deadspot "problem"? I've had basses which appeared fine on their own but the deadspots became obvious once I stuck an octaver between the bass and the amp.[/quote] Just to clarify; The deadspots only become apparent when using the OC-2, right? What notes are you playing- Whereabouts on the fretboard- up high? down low? Does the OC-2 have an octave down & 2 octaves down? and how do you blend them with the original signal. Just trying to get a feel for what makes the deadspots become suddenly obvious, and are the notes the same on every bass? I don't use an octaver, I can never get one to track well enough, and they never seem to sound "right" to me (and I don't think it's due to deadspots!)