anzoid

Thanks @BassBunny - brought it into work with me this morning to see if it might be an EMI thing (which apparently can affect SMPSs), but it made the same noise. Tapping the case made a difference - the noise changed to a rapid ticking noise. Well, looks like it's going back... which sucks because the basic tone of the amp when you tune out the noise is good.

Hmmm, that is definitely a possibility - from a very unscientific test of putting my ear to the amp, the noise does seem to be coming from where the power supply is from looking through the grill. Realised the noise also starts well before the fan kicks in... Easily fixable (like £50 or less?), or do I just send it back? And edited to say - thank you!!

Just bought a secondhand TCE BH250 amp off of eBay. Condition externally is good. It powers up fine but there is a constant whine that I don't think is the fan. Listening up close to the amp it sounds like a tiny little modem is screeching away in there. It's loud enough that playing sitting next to it in my room with volume at a quarter and all the controls flat it is noticeable. From across the room you can hear it when nothing else is making a noise. I would imagine that at a gig it would be almost un-noticeable. I'm reluctant to open it up - thought trying to disconnect the fan to see if that was the cause. When the mute switch is engaged the tone of the whine changes pitch slightly. Wondered whether this is a sign of imminent component failure? Any ideas what it might be? So, am I being overly critical of a cheap amp or have I been sold a duffer? Could this have been from being rattled around on route? It came in the original TCE box and a thin layer of extra cardboard. Does anyone know of a quick fix - or whether this is even just a TCE thing?? Not fancying the hassle of boxing it up and sending it back, but not exactly happy with it either. Sorry for so many sub-questions! Any help appreciated!

Fair enough. May I suggest an update on the eBay page, because if I bought that and I looked the bass over and found that chip, I'd be super annoyed because the rest of the bass is otherwise impeccable - and rather tasty

Noticed the eBay listing doesn't show the chip on the lower horn that appears on all the listings here... hmmm.

Beautiful piece of work! I had the privilege of seeing this whilst "under construction" when I visited Tom to buy his Warwick Thumb. The body was (is) graceful and carved with real attention to detail and form. Would love to try this out!!

Thanks for all the advice! Very much appreciated. I'll definitely look for an amp with SpeakOn jacks - it's kind of annoying that the super-mini amps I'm interested in tend towards jack sockets @BassBunny - thanks for suggesting cables from your clearout I'm thinking of making my own - not exactly rocket science but fancy having a go!

After an age just using a small combo, I'm about to take possession of a couple of Warwick Gnome 1x10 cabs, each rated at 150W. They'll be powered by an as yet unpurchased amp - probably 200-300W max, so a little one. I'm planning on getting some custom cables made - speakon one end, jack or speakon the other depending on the amp I end up with. Looking at customs cables... I can have 2×1.5mm²,2×2.5mm², 4×2.5mm² or 2×4mm² cores. I have no clue as to which would be sufficient and/or worth getting. Advice very much appreciated from those who know their cables!!

Bought recently from a fellow Basschatter. Apart from my fretless Corvette, not played anything else since.

Bought an Ibanez SR500 off eBay a few years ago. Bass arrived rattling around in the box and the neck at a rather funny angle - could fit a couple of fingers in the neck pocket. Had been shipped ParcelForce. It went back to the seller who said he'd claim on the insurance. Didn't like to tell him he'd not have much luck there...

Have just bought Tom's Warwick Thumb custom - and feeling like a very lucky bassist indeed. Tom has been superb throughout - great response to messages (and dumb questions) and was willing to hold onto the bass for me until I was able to drive up to pick it up. A wonderful welcome on arrival and a very nice hour chatting basses. The bass itself is gorgeous and exactly as described in the ad - the mods that Tom has made are all spot on and complement the bass nicely. Thank you!

Have to admit it's not had a lot of play recently - so just dug it out... it's passive and setup VVT. The EMG Selects are OK, sound is quite tight and solid but not got a huge range of tones. Bottom end is a little thin. Don't think anyone would mistake it for a proper Q series v2 Steinberger. I like it though, it's very light and plays nicely - I like the neck profile - 38mm at the nut but thicker front to back than your average Jazz. I also have one in cherryburst (not for this thread :D) and put EMG HB pickups and EMG BTC System in it - that one rocks and I guess is as close as you're going to get for the money.

Steinberger Spirit XZ-2.

Had one a few years ago. As LeftyJ says, the DC + piezo was a great combo. But... the one I had was way heavier than it looked, surprisingly so, and the bridge was, in my opinion, its weak point. Proper intonation was difficult because of the limited range of movement and the fact it was just one solid block. The bridge sits in a bow-tie shaped slot so you can only realistically pivot it round the centre point, and there's very limited space to move in. The one I had would also not work with the double-ball strings I used to buy from Status Graphite, they were too short. I remember reading somewhere other people finding the same thing. Steinberger brand strings would, apparently, fit - but not all other brands. I ended up with an NS Designs Radius WAV 4 which, despite the similar bridge layout (one piece) was just overall better and lighter than the Synapse. The piezo in the WAV 4 was also smoother compared to the Synapse which proved to be a bit scratchy. The fit and finish on the WAV wasn't as good as the Synapse though. Still wish I had the Synapse though because it was miles ahead of the Spirit XT-2s that were around at the time - the Synapse at least felt like an advance (for a wooden Steinberger...) compared to the warmed over rehash that was (is) the XT-2s (of which I've had a few too...).

Bought some EMG JX pickups from Kim - arrived just in time for Christmas Condition is perfect, can't wait to get them installed. Comms and all that stuff was great with a photo of the package sent prior to shipping. Thank you!

Bought a set of pickups from Martyn - great experience, nicely packaged, quickly delivered. Very easy from beginning to end. Thanks Martyn!

Yeah, seen a few too recently and in light of the discussion here have been reporting them as I see them.

Interesting... is it always the same eBay account then? I've seen this type of scam before (possibly even the same basses...) with just the email address in an image and/or the same type of "here's the real value/price" image + invitation to email, but never really noted whether it was the same eBay account.

Exactly, and if you look at the photos - they're all taken in different places, someone listing multiple items generally takes photos of the stuff in the same place. And the Ritter image just looks like a stock photo. And @Hellzero - there's no reserve prices on his auctions, and the image you posted is kinda proof of nefarious intent. So, not clever... account takeover (find a good account with lots of positive feedback) and used by a scammer.

Get 'em while they're hot: Ritter Roya currently at £7.50 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ritter-Roya-5-String-10th-Anniversary-Bass-Guitar-quilted-redwood/293773306807 Fodera currently at £3 - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fodera-Bass-Imperial-Elite-Select/293773306836 Also got a Steinberger "very very rare" guitar... but no-one cares about six skinny strings anyway. I think someone got their account hacked.

Markbass Micromark 801 is pretty good. Got one recently from Bass Direct after deciding to downsize amp stuff. It definitely has the Markbass sound, but in a very small package - cube that's 26cm on a side. Surprisingly loud too. Bottom end is good if not stunning. There's a socket to use a min. 8 ohm cab. It goes quite nicely with the Ampeg 2x10 that I've still got (and should really get rid of...) Plus (or minus) it's got quite a lot of yellow

All sorted I think - left overnight, wiped off the finish is definitely more even. It's still kinda "sweating" a bit of oil - which it was doing before, but I can just wipe that off. The fretboard is definitely looking more even. Now I just need to learn to dress frets to sort out some buzz after lowering the action Fun times. Thanks for your help!

That's great, thank you! Will give that a go. Would overnight be too long with the oil on the board?

I have just taken possession of a rather nice Steinberger Spirit XZ-2 - the one with the body. It was kinda grungy enough that I decided to give it a good clean up. The frets have come up nicely with a bit of fret polish and look great. I used some lemon oil (Dunlop 65) on the rosewood board and the result is... odd. The oil hasn't soaked into the wood evenly - it's like there was some coating on the fretboard. Where the strings touch the fretboard the oil has gone, but the wood between the strings is kind of resisting the oil and there's still oil sitting there which I keep wiping off. What have I done wrong? I didn't use much oil at all - couple of drops and then used my fingers to spread it around. Under the strings the fretboard is less shiny now than between the strings. Should I use something else on the wood to remove the oil I put on plus whatever the coating might be? Steel wool? Fine grade sandpaper? Don't want to wreck the fretboard, but would prefer that it was unifrom in looks - the oil I guess will eventually disappear either into the wood, or onto my fingers when I play... but never had a partially matte, partially gloss fretboard before, and don't really like it much...

I've not played a Spector (one day, one day...) but recently bought a Warwick Rockbass Streamer NT - the neck-through. For the money it's a stunning bit of kit, the equal of any other bass I've had in this price bracket and I'd happily put it up against basses in the £1,000 to £1,200 bracket that I've played. It's active PJ and sounds pretty good. Fit and finish is excellent - frets are all good, finish is smooth and very nice. Nothing wrong with it I also have a shortscale Corvette Rockbass and that is also excellent, but being secondhand does have a few dings, but hardware-wise it's very good. Finally, also just got a Korean Pro Series Thumb bass and that is just that bit better than the Rockbasses, but they're getting harder to find. Same hardware as the German Wicks but different woods - ovangkol body and maple neck. Still sounds like a Thumb though.