HowieBass

If the shank of the screw is about 1.5mm wide you should be fine - I usually hold the drill bit against the screw and try to match the shank width with the bit width.

Two points come to mind, you've already done something about the first which is balancing the volume across all strings (as much as can be achieved with the pickup height). You usually want around an 1/8" gap between string and pickup with the strings held down at the last fret but it's common to have a smaller gap for the G (or in your case C) than that of the B (or E) strings. Secondly you might be competing for the same block of frequencies that other band members are hogging (guitars/keys?) when you play on the G (or G and C) strings when you go for your solo - are they giving you the space?

I usually drill a pilot hole to about the same depth as the screw it'll receive - it's the thread doing the job of holding it in securely not the shank. I'd also put some tape around the drill bit to act as a depth stop.

So now we've got to work out what's wrong with the amp! Good news about the bass though!

Love the way he describes the TeleStrat hybrid "I have put together from all Fender parts. Ok the body is not original Fender " and then lists all the main remaining parts as Squier.

I remember reading that our perception of volume varies by audio frequency such that you need a lot more power to achieve the same apparent volume between bass and guitar so a low wattage bass combo isn't going to match the same wattage guitar combo - I guess that when you factor in the heavier duty speaker and a bigger power stage (more/larger valves?) then you'd exceed the £200 limit pretty quickly? The key thing here though is your assumption of mass production involved - a low wattage bass valve combo has less flexibility than its guitar equivalent and probably less appeal meaning the production volumes couldn't be that large.

If you have a 500k volume pot then that's certainly going to make the pickup sound too trebley when the volume's on full - you usually only use those on higher impedance humbuckers.

I'd be inclined to ask the shop to get the tone pot attended to by a trusted local luthier (hopefully they have someone they use regularly or in shop) - should be a easy fix.

I think how well pickups mix is a matter of experimentation and personal preference - if matched volumes between P and J pickups is important and currently you're finding the P dominates the J adversely then maybe you need a hot J. Bridge pickups always have more treble and typically have to be raised compared to neck pickups to get the same volume. Combining the neck and bridge pickups usually gives a mid-scooped sound which is probably why you hear some volume drop. I imagine a hot J will likely have more mids and less treble than an old-school J. Hopefully another BCer who's already played around with Seymour Duncans in a PJ configuration can offer their experience on this.

The SPB2 compared to the SPB3 can be considered to be overwound which gives it a higher output - it's described as 'hot'. The coils have more windings hence the higher impedance. The SPB2 will be louder but the tonal characteristics differ, it'll have a thicker, more midrange tone compared to the SPB3. You can vary the string to pickup distance by raising or lowering the pickups in order to change how loud each is in relation to the other though this will also affect tonality to a degree.

Wow, that looks amazing! Huge *envy*

From what I've read Rotosound 77s are pretty high tension - I used these many years ago and I have to say I prefer Fender flats these days (which are lower tension but I like the tone). There's a thread on Talkbass about flatwound tension comparisons http://www.talkbass.com/threads/flatwound-string-tension-comparisons.591271/

On all of my basses the 4th fret harmonic (which is the same as the 9th and 16th fret harmonic) is a couple of tenths of an inch behind the fret (back towards the nut) and the 3rd fret harmonic is about the same distance after the fret. It's just a case of finding them.

What sort of balance do you have regarding volume between both pickups? I've read that decreasing the string to pickup distance increases both treble and bass response so maybe the neck pickup needs to drop lower and the bridge pickup needs to come higher to even out the tone though this also affects the volume of each.

[quote name='Diablo' timestamp='1417388743' post='2619993'] Cannot do it at the 12 as there is a run up at the end of each 8 bar section and I cannot jump from the 12th to the 4th fret in half a beat at that speed. Need to stick within finger reach for it all. If you know a better version of the bassline for this song please share :-) [/quote] Another (and probably easier) way to get this is to play the high E on the E string at the 12th fret and when playing the C#, D octave pairs play those at the 9th fret on the E, 11th fret on the D and 10th fret on the E, 12th fret on the D respectively (I use my ring finger to fret the E octave then index finger and little finger for the C#, D pairs).

La Bella nickel rounds (called 'Slappers' apparently - I presume 'cos they're good for that style) have a lot of growl and are pretty zingy for nickels - I was gifted a set by a fellow BCer and love them (I got the SN45 set - 45, 65, 85, 105). They have a smooth feel (as do most nickels I believe) and could be just what you need.

I think that'd be the colour and fingerboard combo I'd go for [s]were I to[/s] when I buy a Stingray... happy new bass day!

Are you playing this fingerstyle? If so then let your plucking finger come to rest on the E string after you strike the A at the 7th.

Lower action won't help in the slightest - you don't want the string in contact with the frets or fingerboard when you sound the harmonics at the 5th, 7th, 9th, 12th etc. You need to practice a light touch and accurate positioning.

That's a really nice finish and the colour works so well. Great job!

Damn that's bad news when you said your old amp was 'kaput' I'd assumed that was for definite rather than you were hearing odd noises when playing your P bass. Rather than rush out again and buy another bass can you tell us what you're hearing because there's really not that much can go wrong with a pickup and a couple of pots. Also, have you checked the guitar cable for damage?

You're assuming that the seller has owned the bass from new and hence their assertion that nothing's been changed indicates it can't be genuine - I think it just as likely the guy bought the bass some time after it was made, at which point it had already been upgraded with the high mass bridge and pickup.

BC member grayn has (or had) a GB75 http://basschat.co.uk/topic/228075-went-shopping-for-a-fender-pj-but-came-back-with-2-corts so you might ask him about it.

You won't thank me but I'm another one to vote for the new amp - and new amps/combos can still be exciting to buy! In my case it was a really good investment because I realised that the old rig I'd been playing through hadn't been letting me hear my basses properly... I went from an old heavy solid state (Class A?) head with a sealed 2x12" cab to a new Class D combo using a 2x10" and tweeter configuration - the difference was like night and day!