HowieBass

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1471338316' post='3112188'] Capo on first fret, fret the 16th or 17th fret. A credit card should just be able to pass under the 7th fret without raising the string. Adjust truss rod to suit otherwise. [/quote] Relief is usually measured at the 8th fret and is the thickness of a business card (cardboard) or 0.012" if you have a set of feeler gauges (I already had the sort used to check spark plug gaps so I use that). A plastic credit card is too thick.

[quote name='MoonBassAlpha' timestamp='1471871112' post='3116532'] I may have asked this before, but I don't remember any replies. Could you run an isobaric cabinet with the speakers magnet to magnet, one facing forwards, one facing backwards, both emitting sound? Speakers wired in antiphase to retain isobaric operation. I suppose there wouldn't be any acoustic suspension to control the cone overshoot... Would the sound phase issues be any different to using a rear port? [/quote] Yes you could but you have potential distortion issues according to this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isobaric_loudspeaker

Excluding my fretless from this (as the rest of my basses are all fretted) I've a passive P (Squier VM), an active J (Squier Deluxe Active), a passive/active super PJ (Westone Spectrum LX) and an active 5er with the humbucker in the MM position (Cort Curbow) and though they do all have differences in tone the instrument with perhaps the most characterful sound (throaty?) to my ears is the Curbow - this worryingly means that I might well enjoy playing a proper Stingray so much that I'd want to own one! Doubtless though, in the mix to an audience, they'd just be hearing a bass!

Air bass doesn't count but Alan Partridge miming Palladino and 'Music For Chameleons' always cracks me up. http://youtu.be/VokAbAfTfCc

Fender flats are inexpensive and give quite a bright sound IMHO. They really suit a P bass which is why I've got them on my Squier VM P bass (and I've a set of Fender flats on my Cort B4FL fretless).

Found a photo of a Tokai Violin Bass copy on a Tokai forum. It has the same tailpiece and the same control knobs as your instrument though the Tokai copies seem to properly have Tokai on the headstock. Here's a link to the photo: http://s158.photobucket.com/user/glennmitchelluk/media/img4_73191.jpg.html

I've got the Spectrum LX which has the same EQ options (except on mine the Volume is a push pull pot for In Phase/Out of Phase). The Active Tone should do nothing until you engage it using the Active On/Off toggle switch, at which point clockwise rotation from centre position should boost treble (which seems to offer a fixed boost as you sweep through a range of frequencies) and counter-clockwise rotation from centre position should boost bass (again it sounds like this is across a range of frequencies). The centre position of the active tone is not flat, there's definitely a change in character as soon as you engage the active tone. On mine, the other mini toggle switch is a coil tap which offers a sound closer to a single coil instead of a humbucker, though my bass is a P/J pickup configuration. My bass has an 18v circuit and if the Thunder II is the same you need to check that both batteries are supplying power correctly before consigning the active EQ to the dustbin (eg. there could be a problem with one of the battery clips). EDIT: Here's a circuit diagram for the electronics: http://www.westone.info/wiring/thunder2abass/index.html

Rather than go by the recommended measurements, have you tried slowly raising the action (I'm talking fractions of a turn on the saddle screws) until the fret buzz disappears? If the relief is indeed correct for the neck/fretboard radius and you can eliminate fret buzz and the action is still comfortable then it's problem solved.

I used to play with a pick many years ago and those are the couple of times I broke a string - I only play fingerstyle now and haven't snapped a string this way.

Great news. That Squier Jazz should be getting a bit more love from you now! And you'll have to start saving for a bass amp

I've got Fender flats on two basses and though I had to tweak the truss rods to get the relief correct I can't say I find the tension much different to the rounds that were fitted previously.

@blisters - I think a better idea would be remove what's left of the frets if at all possible and put wood veneer strips in the slots but I realise there might not be enough metal available to get a good purchase on with pliers.

@bagsieblue - You've not been sold a Trace head intended for use in the States (110v) have you?

A fair few fretless players go for a virtually flat board but I've got about the same degree of relief around the 8th 'fret' position as with my fretted basses, 0.012" and that suits my playing style and gives me a sound I like.

I doubt you'll hear the full potential of the bass playing through a 15watt guitar amp, particularly when it comes to the 'low and fat sound' you desire. Have you tried playing through a bass amp at all (maybe a friend's or one at a shop)? You mention cutting treble but haven't said anything about using the bass and mid controls to boost (or cut) those frequencies.

How are you currently setting the 3-band EQ and the balance between neck and bridge pickups? Are you using the slap switch at all? What are you playing through? I've got the same bass and it's certainly not short of bass and I can cut the treble and mids too. The slap switch brings in a ton of bass and also boosts the high treble (and it might also cut some mids). The neck pickup offers a 'rounder' tone than the bridge - you might get closer to a P bass sound (if that's what you like) by favouring the neck pickup with the blend (say half way from centre detente to neck) and boosting the mids a little but only a P bass will give you the authentic P bass sound! You might also consider trying a multi-effects pedal with amp simulation modes and overdrives to fatten up the sound - the Zoom B3 is easy to use and good value.

I think I've read (on here I imagine) of some people resolving this issue by applying a strip of tape across the poles before refitting the pickup cover.

Really pleased that you've managed to make something positive out of this; have fond memories of him whenever you play!

I would expect musicians to be 'active' listeners where we almost can't help deconstructing a song/performance in much the same way that a painter looks at how paint's been applied to a canvas with works exhibited in a gallery (I certainly do anyway... I even look at how well a canvas has been stretched when it's not in a frame). So yes, when you create in a particular medium I think you're bound to notice the shortcomings, and indeed the triumphs, far more keenly.

Another big fan here; I really like the first four albums; their fifth, 'El Pintor', I like the least (maybe because I haven't put enough effort into listening to it).

Not so much feature creep as they (Midas) didn't want to merely replicate a Juno 106 but (I assume) looked at what people liked about the original and added a lot more in order to eliminate the original's shortcomings and add functions that improve the sound. Uli had a vision for a 12 voice analogue synth (initially Midas thought it'd follow the trend for 8 voices) and this is what they've come up with. The two guys in the video I linked to have also said this is the first synth they've developed.

My mate had (still has) the JX-3P as well and also the additional magnetically attached controller - great sounding synth. This came after his first synth purchase of a Yamaha CS15 which he again (I think) still has (another nice piece of kit too). Numerous MIDI interfaced expander modules followed (as did a drum machine and a sequencer) so I doubt he'll be interested in the DeepMind 12... I still don't dare show him the YouTube clips though!

They've switched to Markbass active electronics across the C, B and A range basses (used to be a Bartolini spec EQ package). BassTheWorld has reviewed all of them. Here's the C4 http://youtu.be/UBqri0XZOg4

Somebody felt sorry for it and rescued it from a skip then put it up for sale immediately 'cos it smells bad?