HowieBass

I wonder if the battery clip itself is the problem? Might there be a short within the clip causing the drain?

Impressive! I doubt I'd have the skills or nerve to try this with a new instrument! Glad it's worked out

[quote name='Roger2611' timestamp='1437853788' post='2829571'] The problem with trying to play by eye on a fretless is that as you look down on the strings it gives you the wrong perspective, I have never played a fretless where I can look down at the dot and find the guitar is in tune across all 4/5 strings, the key to a fretless is playing by ear, you slide into the correct position, trying to do it by eye will never work, I have always had unlined finger boards, I have played a few lined fretlesses and found the fret lines helped a bit but playing by ear is the key [/quote] If you had a lined board and it WAS correctly intonated wouldn't it be in tune right across the lines though? The side dots help me, I am pretty good with perspective so I know where a fret/fret line would be in relation to the side dot and it helps me get pretty close to the right note - yes you can slide when playing slowly and I know that part of the sound of a fretless is that it's not always bang on exactly in tune hence the character of the sound, slides or no slides. Trying to do it by eye doesn't work for you but please don't claim it 'will never work' because I don't believe that's true - shouldn't we say each to their own? If a bass has lines or side dots you can just not look at them if you choose to play solely by ear but others find them helpful.

I bought a fretless bass off eBay (my Cort B4FL) and it wouldn't intonate correctly based on the side dots - even with the saddles wound all the way back (essentially the E being the main problem). Since this was/is my first and only fretless I decided to reposition the bridge a few millimetres further back to give me enough saddle adjustment in order to get the harmonics ringing out at all the right positions (up to and including the 24th 'fret'/side dot position). Plus, the bridge was slightly off kilter anyway which was bugging me. I think it's worth getting a fretless correctly intonated to match the side dots - even more so if it's a lined board - yes you can get the right notes by ear but if new to playing without the benefit of frets I think you might as well give yourself all the help you can.

My (now ex) partner and I liked pretty much exactly the same types of music and the same bands - it was pretty much why we got together in the first place (going to watch her brother gigging with his band in Manchester).

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought the young lad who got through had pretty random timing and didn't deserve to win his round - I thought I was being unduly harsh (and doubted myself when the other judges voted in his favour) but it looks like maybe I'm in less of a minority than I thought.

Is there much neck dive on that plexi P? New scratchplate looks very tidy!

To the OP; do you have a Facebook band page yet? I'd be inclined to get that sorted first so you have an online presence and you've chance to establish the name of your band (which might even involve staking a claim to the name before anyone else decides to use it). With a Facebook page you could then hopefully gather a few followers and ask for feedback from your 'fans' as to which of the logos looks good and best represents you?

If that's the only blemish I'd accept that as a 'mint' or 'as new' condition - it's most definitely 'as new' because I'd say that's how the bass arrived when bought by the previous owner... it's a minor manufacturing defect/flaw/blemish that's been there from new. If it's really bugging you then you might drop some clear lacquer into the nick to fill it.

I'm not sure there's a problem here if you're going to change both the pickups and the pickguard and you buy replacements suitable for a MIM Jazz unless you believe the mounting screw holes for the bridge pickup aren't accurately placed... in which case follow the standard wood glue and cocktail stick method of filling the existing holes before mounting the new pickup. Note that you may have to do a little bit of filing/sandpapering of the new pickguard just in case it's a tight fit over the pickups - it depends where you buy it from (and how well it's been made).

Aha, I wondered if it was some sort of detuner but I couldn't see how it'd work - just found a video on YouTube that explains it all (but I think I still prefer the bass type you can easily do on the fly)

Not being a g****rist I'm wondering what's with that 'trick' bridge? The body wood looks fantastic

[quote name='Thunderbird' timestamp='1437167297' post='2824231'] Try changing the battery's if it been used for a while [/quote] The OP mentioned trying new batteries so it's probably not a battery issue unless the old one's leaked and corroded the battery clip. I'd squirt some electrical switch cleaner into the back of the pot that no longer seems to be working - in fact I'd probably use switch cleaner in all the pots, switches and jack socket just to be thorough.

This isn't just the typical mid-scoop you get with a jazz type bass is it? Try dialling in some boost on the mids to see how this affects the volume.

If the end cap is wonky and the fingerboard/neck itself is level/untwisted, then as long as the strings sit correctly on top of the zero fret I guess there's no need to worry? If it bugs you I wonder if the end cap could be removed, the screw holes plugged and it realigned - much like you sometimes have to do with a conventional bridge.

It could have been worse for your old neighbours... they could have had a massive Mark King fan living next door

The 80s for me meant bands like Echo and the Bunnymen, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Magazine (just about made it into the 80s), The Comsat Angels, Cabaret Voltaire, New Order.

[quote name='pfretrock' timestamp='1436551888' post='2819171'] Just had a delivery by dpd, never heard of them before. I got 5 hours notice of a 1 hour delivery slot, it arrived 30 minutes into the slot. Tracking gave a link to google map which showed where the van was, what parcel number he was delivering (75) and what my parcel number was (87). Looking at the route the van took across town, it was well organised for shortest routes, updated at every drop. I guess this would be too much to ask of every delivery company. But ParcelForce have alway delivered my Thomann stuff within 36 hours from reaching UK (no strikes in Europe at that time). But really, I should get a life or take bass lessons rather than follow tracking on PC [/quote] I think it's also with DPD that you get told the van driver's name. Seriously!

Have you checked the pots and wiring? Try cleaning up the jacket socket in case there's oxidation on the contacts. Clean the pots too. If all the wiring looks sound then unfortunately the pickup might be the problem (the poles might have lost a lot of strength or there could be a short in the windings).

This ought to make a lot of bass players very happy!

Can't read music but is ok with tabbylature... Coat got.

This spell checker issue was covered in another recent thread http://basschat.co.uk/topic/265091-change-bc-spellchecker-to-uk-english/ When I have a misspelled word or something that the dictionary doesn't recognise I get the offending word underlined in red - when I right-click on that word I can see that I've got 'Check Spelling' enabled in the menu plus possible replacement words (or add to dictionary). I'm using Firefox on Windows 7.

I thought spell checking was performed by your browser?

[quote name='ambient' timestamp='1436314532' post='2817069'] Silly question time, but how would the goings on in Calais be holding up the parcels that are in Koln ? [/quote] Maybe the tracking system has designated waypoints - depots/hubs at which a consignment gets booked in when it arrives. If the last place a box was seen was in Koln and the next place it's supposed to be booked in is at some distribution hub somewhere in England... well to the system it still seems to be in Germany even though it's waiting at Calais?

I posted something on here the other day when I saw a news pic that showed migrants clambering all over boxes in the back of a truck - I saw enough of the labels to work out they were from Thomann