NancyJohnson

I've bought a couple of things from that place, most recently a Mustang bass neck. No issues, smooth transaction etc. Needs must, as they say. Gotta say though, while I understand why they're doing what they do, it does leave a particularly bad taste in my mouth when they start selling off stuff that is going to cost a small fortune to resurrect, things like the Gibson set neck stuff.

Mental trying to import one, especially a used one. The one currently on eBay (Sam Ash seller) will set you back £1,230, plus shipping and then you'd need to factor in duty and so forth. And a transformer. You could save a few hundred by contacting Tech 21 direct and ask them to ship you a 240v version direct.

[quote name='Cuzzie' timestamp='1478596362' post='3170079'] ...still wonder whether this would cure all my 'dirt' needs and could offload a bunch of pedals to finance it, or whether it's just too much amp unless you are realistically playing big areas and often. [/quote] Part of my current setup is a two channel floorboard running a Sansamp BDDI for low end and for the treble side I can choose from a Boss ODB3, Sansamp VTBASSDI or Sansamp GT2 (the GT2 is a guitar emulator, so it's low on bass output), this goes into a stereo poweramp and a pair of cabinets. Tonally, I'm very close to the dUg tone just using the BDDI and the GT2, but it's just missing something. It's a lot of money for an amp (c.£2.5K).

I saw dUg at The Cutting Room in New York last year (a double header with Corey Glover) and we swung by the venue mid-afternoon to get our tickets. Crew were doing the load in while we were having a cheeky beer and I had the opportunity to get a good look at the prototype head with Corey's bass player and a guy from Tech 21. I've posted up somewhere else on this thread about that experience. From a live aspect, we were in the VIP seating (waitress service!) about ten feet from the stage and dUg sounded incredible.

There's a quite excellent series of videos on the Crimson Guitars You Tube channel where they build and partially re-spec a kit guitar. The videos show a guy who, let's face it, is a fairly experienced luthier, struggling to work with bad wood, poor routing, awful fretwork etc etc. I wouldn't be lying if I said that when I was broke I didn't give some consideration in building a kit, even if it was only going to be a used as a backup instrument, but my sensibility told me to steer well clear. I suppose if you're a competent woodworker and have the tools, time and patience to turn one of these around, then go for it, but remember these kits are far from the dreamy 'just paint it and screw it together' ethic that they purport to be. Personally, I'd just save up buy a Gibson or a Fender.

[quote name='amnesia' timestamp='1478461541' post='3169208'] Skin? [/quote] Thank you, that's them! I've been trying to remember who it was...I thought the band was called Rage for some reason. Brilliant. I think it was on a CD

Years ago I saw a metalesque band who covered Madonna's 'Express Yourself'...it was done so well, it just fit seamlessly into their set. Brilliant and clever.

Anyone know whether the scratchplate from the Mark Hoppus bass would fit on a regular Jazz body and cover the control panel routing?

Well, here we are full circle. A set of Elixir Nanoweb 45/105 (14077) arrived about an hour ago. Fitted to the Lull and intonation is spot on again. I've also (re)adjusted the pickups up a bit and may drop the bridge a bit later to get things nice and rattly. I still don't really get how bad strings occur or more to the point how you'd get two in one set. Anyhow, as I said earlier, I think I'm done with buying Dunlops, at least the Elixirs have been consistent for me and they last forever. Not all lost either; the E&A from the offending Dunlop set were fine and given they were only on the Lull for a few days were still fresh, so I just put them on one of my Thunderbirds.

Oh, my expectations for pretty much anything have rarely been high, so don't worry about that. Aim low!

I was sitting in the extension this morning and my white Gibson Thunderbird was just propped up against one of the sofas in there. It just looked lovely... P

Well amazingly, it's been listened to and I'm onto the next stage. P

Pre-stretched? Good-f*cking-grief! Seriously? Honestly, what a bunch of nonsense. [Edit] What sort of regimin are these mysterious 'techs' going through? Stretching takes a couple of seconds. World gone crazy. Sigh.

I guess Leo Fender was head of a company that was lucky enough to get some momentum behind it. No idea whether the Fender headstocks are right or wrong, but I suppose it just works. Of Fender headstock design, I prefer the early Precision/Telecaster bass design over the more current/traditional Jazz/Precision design. Moving along, I adore the Spector NS headstock...reckon you could put that on anything and it would work. On the familiarity comment, Status; I loved the headless design, but the headstock on the other models just lacks the dynacism of the body design. Finally, bad design. I've never seen a Cort bass that I didn't hate, but man, that headstock looks like someone took a bite out of it. Wrong. Symmetry.

[quote name='LZD56' timestamp='1477499342' post='3162634'] Where are you based? [/quote] Crowthorne, Berkshire. A few miles east of Reading.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1478026400' post='3166169'] Paul, I know you have your action set pretty low, but have you tried setting the intonation using harmonics, rather than fretting the note? Just thinking it might eliminate the matter of string stretch as you fret and test for other issues. [/quote] Hey Rich Tuning on the D and G is spot on when the string is both open and the harmonic is pinched. It's only when you fret that it's out.

I did give some thought to the pickups being too high and dropped the bridge unit a couple of mm, bit to no effect. There's a pack of Elixir Nanowebs incoming, so I'll swap them over when they arrive. The old set of Elixirs were on for nearly a year and the only reason I changed them was the E was getting dull...the rest were OK. I did a bit of searching online and found a thread on Talkbass where a guy had the same issue with a set of DRs. I just don't get how a string can be dodgy, let alone two in the same set. Hopefully, when the new set arrives, problem will go away. I'm kind of done with Dunlops now. You get what you p(l)ay for, I suppose.

Unsure whether here or repairs and technical. I run a few basses and am a bit of a stickler for making sure the notes are as spot on as they can be on the neck (including up in the dusty parts thereof). I'll prefix the issue I'm having by saying that I do know how to do the general set up poop, truss rod, action, intonation, just to let you know I'm not a[i] foole[/i]. Anyhoo, I recently put a set of Dunlop Stainless Steel 45/105 Super Brights on one of my basses (my previously cursed Lull) and noticed in passing that the intonation at the 12th fret on the D&G strings was off, whereas previously, it's been fine. Tiptop and dandy as they would have said a hundred years ago or less. 'That sounds a bit flat,' I thought. Meanwhile, my £10 Aria Pro II is laughing its sock off. Adjusted the bridge (it's a two part bridge) and it just won't intonate on those strings. I've adjust the saddle back and forth (to a point where the strings should be very sharp) and it's really weird, the 12th fret on both strings is just flat irrespective of where the saddle is. I'm at a loss. Strings? Living on a ley line?

They will send you some if you need spares. Just contact them (I did). You can't buy anything off the shelf that seems to fit. P

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1471769818' post='3115630'] First bass...CBS/Arbiter SG shaped thing. Had flats on it. G-string broke and all I could afford on my paperboy wages was a cheapie roundwound. Couldn't believe how bright that string sounded, so I used that string almost exclusively. It was rounds from then on. [/quote] Twice now. 2nd time about a month ago. Dunlop Nickel 0.40. It was new too...hadn't been on the bass more than an hour; I was at a rehearsal and wasn't even playing at the time (the bass was propped up against my amp). The damn thing broke at the ball-end too. I was so pissed at the time that I took the photo below and emailed it to Dunlop. Guess what happened next? Yep, they sent me a new set of strings. Not really. Not even an acknowledgement. I don't hawk around trying to get free stuff, but this really annoyed me. Grrr. Bad Dunlop. Bad Dunlop.

I do like the look of the switches, but I'm really not so much of a fan of active guitars. Clearly there's a degree of reinvention at work (with this bass), but ultimately it's just a P/J in different clothes; like most gear, don't you just find a bunch of settings you're happy with and stick with those? If I ever landed one of these (probably unlikely), I'd look at just installing a stacked knob plate.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1477852389' post='3164848'] Years and years of trying stuff and refining things. [/quote] This. You read, you listen, you try, you buy, you sell on. And repeat. I guess you really need to be happy with what you're plugging into it it first.

[quote name='gs_triumph' timestamp='1477756886' post='3164330'] I did use search and in three pages of results there is nothing about new york mainly because the words 'new' and 'york' bring up a lot of results individually. I wasnt really looking for the normal things as they are covered in all the tourist guides. I was thinking about things off the beaten track that have been off interest to fellow musos. [/quote] Okaaaay. To search on a string, try using inverted commas ("New York") and limiting your search to the General Discussion and Off Topic forums. I found five or six threads in about ten seconds. Seriously, New York has honestly been done to death. There's a ton of strong information already. Trust me.

[quote name='gs_triumph' timestamp='1477732817' post='3164072'] Hi guys, I'm heading to New York for a week next month and wondered if anyone knew of any music stores that were worth making an effort to get to? (or any other lesser known things that are worth finding) [/quote] Love the fact you're going for a visit, but the New York thing has been covered here a ton of times. Do yourself a favour and use the search facility, you will find all the answers you're looking for. Shops, eateries, itineraries, factory tours, things to go up and how to get around.