Lfalex v1.1

(It was from Kent. It took 1 day to get from me back to them.) And the item was not sold as as advertised. I've no confidence in them whatsoever. You may think that's unreasonable. I don't.

Don't bother with this company. Just. Don't. Got an e-mail on 12th Mar; "You're eligible for a refund!" As though I'd won some sort of prize. Timeline; 26th Feb- Ordered. 27th Feb- Received. 29th Feb- Dispatched for return. 1st Mar- Bax received the return. Didn't acknowledge it. (Various emails and phone calls ensue) 12th Mar- Email to confirm that I'm entitled to a refund. Maybe another 14 working days. So I'm looking at 28th Mar before I might get my money back. They'll have had my funds for 31 days at that point. Hmmm. Get some interest on that, did you? Lump it together with everyone else's pending refunds for a month and get some interest on that, did you? And let's not forget that they're at fault for selling me faulty goods that weren't as described in the first place.. 😡

It wouldn't hurt if it helped people make better/more appropriate purchasing decisions! I've never needed to purchase any pickups. But from what I can recall seeing, they only quote things like DC resistance, Resonant frequency, wire gauge and maybe how many windings there are. Yes, they quote magnet material, but field density/ strength? Don't think I've seen that.

I take your point. It might be nice if manufacturers measured/ declared such specifications?

Magnet material also seems to play a part, if only because of the way the sound is presented tonally. I suppose magnet size/strength will govern the field through which the string passes, also affecting output. AlNiCo magnets are the softest, warmest sounding. Ceramics are harsher and seem "louder/hotter" And as for Neodymium...

On a slightly more serious note?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=RFDW9b_ejfI&si=ULoES7CdemU73xTW Still can't work out how to embed things. Not quite an instrumental, but hey...

Bax have, after much chasing, decided that I am "entitled" to a refund. I certainly am! They sent me a POS. I sent it back ASAP in exactly the state in which it arrived. No sign of the actual refund, though, so I'm still without product or funds. Thanks, Bax.

I've been using a 21012L (4 Ohm) with a 450w Class A/B head. Even against a loud band/ drummer, neither component seems to be breaking a sweat. Too middy? Shove it closer to the rear wall and get the benefit of a bit of boundary reinforcement to the bottom end.

Might a tweeter level control be a worthy addition to your design? They're quite common in commercial designs to help tame excessive/harsh trenle without having to mess around with your tone.

Thumb fin, Bass of neck or floating thumb, then, I guess.

I use the inside of the rear edge of the soundhole on acoustics (if the Kingman has one!)

I've shared a bill with Skindred, The Darkness, Biffy Clyro. Doubtless some others. Benji from Skindred is a good laugh. Real nice guy.

I think you'll find, like Nirvana, that there's..... Thumb Fin in the way.

Alas, not likely at the moment!

In spite of my efforts, no refund has yet been dispatched or received. Both Parcelforce and Bax acknowledge that the return made it back to Bax. Yet they've done nothing. Furthermore, my vacuum cleaner bit the dust (after over a decade and many repairs by me) and the car needs a new battery. Looks like the Synth journey is over for now.

My scenario is not going well. 6 days have elapsed since I dispatched the faulty synth. I've received 2 emails from Bax; 1 advertising the new (and presumably working?) version of the dross they sent me. 1 asking for a review of the dross they sent me. Once I have a refund securely in my hands, I shall likely give them a royal savaging in a review for trying to pass off sub-standard product as being ok. It's not ok. Off to make some enquires, Parcel Force first, to see where the return went, then Bax, to ascertain why nothing has happened. Then, if necessary, my bank, to see what recourse I have. Final sanction? I guess Kent Trading Standards. Update: Made enquires. ParcelForce- Yep. Your return made it to Bax on 01/03 @ 1047. Bax- Yep. Your return made it to us on 01/03. Yet they sent no confirmation Email as promised, nor did they initiate a refund. Nice lady on telephone said she'd call finance and send a confirmation Email and start the refund process. Should have it in 7 working days.... Got an Email from Bax; Hey, would you like to buy a Hydrasynth Explorer? Not right now, no. I can't afford one as your sitting on my money. And IF I ever get it back, I still won't give these people another minute of my time or penny of my money.

I think I prefer the G&L bass bridge design. Arguably, it'd be too wide as a 6 string unit. I like the way it's set into a rout in the body, plus the ability to lock the saddles with a lateral grub screw. If you end up with odd saddle positions to achieve intonation, the MM bridge posts might not make the right contact with them. Since they lack the recessed tracks for the height adjustment screws that some bridges have (Fender, for example), the saddles are free to skate around willy-nilly. My OLP 5 lacked the bridge posts, and every time I plucked a string, most of the energy was used in disturbing the saddles rather than making the string vibrate.

It's both. They help secure the bridge to the body AND prevent sideways movement of the saddles. If you look at a 4/5/6 string version of the bridge, the positions are slightly different (as well as being father apart) to accommodate the different spread of saddle positions to achieve correct intonation in a 4,5 or 6* respectively. * 6 is Bongo only, but it's the same unit. 5 is shared by lots of models, as is the 4.

The clue is in the name. They're State-sponsored.

Better still, why did you buy it in the first place?

I shall. I am more than strongly doubtful that any potential replacement will be sourced from Bax. They sent me something described as tested and fully working. That was not the case. I plainly can't trust them.

[Thinks] Modelēz PepsiCo Unilever Mars / Masterfoods Nestlé Danone General Mills That'll probably cover most of the contents of your cupboard..

I've set the wheels in motion with regard to return/refund. We'll see how good their policy/ procedure is. Will there be a replacement? I did like it, and in the 15 minutes I spent tinkering with making a patch, I (accidentally) made a passable Fender Rhodes voice. Going to wait for the refund, then have a think. Only negatives: You can't play a second voice over the arpeggiator (only the deluxe can do that) but the Roland gives me that capacity. Control of the tempo is awkward. The Tap function is slow to respond, and you have to use shift and another key to access fine control via a knob. A dedicated tempo knob would be nice.

Wall hangers and rotating your collection are our friends! Who's going to dig their Ken Smith out of its case in a cupboard when the Fodera is hanging there, tuned and wearing a strap, ready to go? 🙃 I usually have a choice of 4 ready to go, but rotate these to make sure everything gets played. Last band I was in saw a different bass every week... Though in truth I was trying to establish what sounded best with the band (It certainly wasn't the Ibanez EDC715. That thing is like a sledgehammer!)