Hit&Run

[quote name='bassmasta' post='185607' date='Apr 25 2008, 09:53 PM']Hi! I have recently bought a Warwick Rockbass Streamer Standard 5 string, Thing is, the pick ups are terrible, and i am looking to replace them with something with more power and tone.[/quote] What does the Warwick play like, and what does it sound like unamplified? If it only turns pear shaped when you plug it in then the electronics sound like they need changing (assuming that they're not faulty). Bartolini may make a pickup the same size as yours [url="http://www.bartolini.net/information/bass/new_bass_pu_s4.htm"]W4CBC[/url] (scroll down). John East (BTB 01) and Status (TB5 Stack) both make active bass & treble preamp stacks on one pot, which should fit into your bass without modification. The East one even has a slap/bright switch built in! [quote name='bass_ferret' post='185648' date='Apr 25 2008, 11:52 PM']Dont take this the wrong way You paid for a cheap bass - you got a cheap bass. If you spend loads of money on pups and active you have still got a cheap bass. Sell it and buy something better - then you will have a better bass that will be worth spending money on to make even more better.[/quote] This is true, but sometimes you just can't wait for the bass from the gods. I've got a few hot-rodded Korean & Japanese basses and I love them! I think that if an instrument plays nicely, sounds good unplugged, and looks alright; it's worthy of some minor modifications to bring the sound up to scratch. I'd think about dropping a preamp in your Warwick as this will make the bass active, and may mean that you don't need to change the pickups after all. Depending on your budget there's lots of preamp choices out there. As an alternative to active electronics, the villex Passive Rotary Tone Booster [url="http://www.villex.com/prtb.html"]PRTB[/url] has had good reviews, and it eliminates the 'battery going mid song' stigma that afflicts battery replacement slackers like me. Bassmasta, if you can tell us the kind of sound you want from the bass, forum members might be able to help you out with what electronics will deliver 'your sound'.

I've got 2 Cort basses, a GB74 and a GB99, and both are very nice. I don't know if £500 was a good deal or not for your GB94 as I haven't really seen them around; but now you've bought it you may as well get some use out of it. I'd worry less about the bells and whistles on it, and concentrate more on playing the thing in time & in tune. Having an alright bass means you won't need/want/have to upgrade it as soon.

SX* make jazz clones: [url="http://www.rondomusic.com/bassguitars4.html"]SX Basses[/url] that are quite highly regarded on here. I've got one of the squier VMJ basses and it's awesome. You can get them for less than £250 if you shop around. * I can't believe I mentioned SX before anyone else!

[quote name='Perry' post='174959' date='Apr 12 2008, 02:15 AM']I'm now thinking of upgrading the pick-ups. To get it done by my Luthier is about £180.[/quote] What pickups were you thinking of putting in it?

[quote name='spacecowboy' post='172698' date='Apr 8 2008, 10:49 PM']...this could finally be my excuse to follow through![/quote] There is [u]no[/u] excuse for soiled underwear.

I've got an OLP Tony Levin bass, which I got new for £230 (inc P&P and a reasonable gig bag). I find the playability very good on it, and the construction is pretty good as well. For the money you're talking about spending (£350) there's shedloads of choice: Squire Vintage Modified, Schecter, Dean, Ibanez, Yamaha, Peavey, G&L Tribute, Fender (Mexican)... to name but a few that spring to mind. As stated by others on this thread, you'll get a better bass if you opt for a secondhand one. Buying from someone on this forum offers a certain amount of buyer protection I feel.

[quote name='Beedster' post='171909' date='Apr 7 2008, 11:15 PM']If I am not too drunk to remember corectly, it's one note the whoe way through....[/quote] Class!

[quote name='Doc B' post='171619' date='Apr 7 2008, 05:28 PM']I've definitely noticed a difference between Ashdown combos and speakers with Made in England compared to the inferior (in my experience) Made in China equivalents.[/quote] I'm glad I got an English Ashdown secondhand then! Personally I don't spend enough time worrying where stuff was made, I just want to own it. If I had the financial freedom to be discerning I'd try to be more ethical with who gets my cash, or at least I think I would be. Until that time arrives however, I'll just have to amble on with sweat-shop goods at low prices.

[quote name='Doc B' post='171623' date='Apr 7 2008, 05:34 PM']my Status Groove has a graphite neck..[/quote] I thought the Groove basses had wooden necks. Is it an aftermarket addition?

I'm defo up for some SX action. Being able to try before buying would be a bonus as well.

[quote name='Dillsfretless' post='167131' date='Mar 31 2008, 07:27 PM']At my age I seriously don't think I'd have the confidence to play anything with other people.[/quote] In my last band we were all rubbish on our instruments, but that didn't stop us notching up over 60 gigs in 18 months. The biggest joke is that all you self-doubters are probably much more proficient than I'll ever be. If it wasn't for playing music with other people I wouldn't play at all. I never practice on my own, always with others. Someone once said to me: "Once you join a band you're playing will start to improve much faster". He was right. You will learn a lot (both good & bad) from other musicians. The first step is always going to be the hardest; after that you've always got a bit of momentum behind you. It's a cliché, but it's true.

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='166299' date='Mar 30 2008, 01:37 PM']Had good experiences with [url="http://www.imuso.co.uk"]imuso.co.uk[/url][/quote] +1 I used them recently to buy one of those spalted wood, through-neck vintage basses. Their price was sweet and the shipping was fast, although there wasn't much in the way of packing/padding when it landed up. It was double boxed though.

Looping a lead through a strap or amp handle doesn't just stop you pulling it out of the socket; it takes some of the pressure off the jack plug as well. I reckon looping cables will help them to last longer.

[quote name='gary mac' post='158806' date='Mar 17 2008, 10:08 AM']I know that a few of you have fitted Baddass bridges. Interested to know if this is a worthwhile mod and worth the expense?[/quote] I but a badass II on my VMJ and I noticed a faster attack and a more 'zingy' kind of sound. I expected it to sound largely the same as before the mod, with maybe a slight difference. I was startled at the difference.

Nice one gents. Tort does seem popular, even fender have used it on their P (as pictured above), and I had thought of it. I wonder what pearl would look on it? I've got a pearl 'plate on a CAR bass and it looks good (IMO). I actually can't visualise one against the VWH body.

Stop me if you've heard this one before (actually, don't)... I've just got a vintage white (VWH) jazz bass, and it's got a W-B-W scratchplate at present. I don't mind the look of it, but I have a lurking feeling that it could look a lot sweeter with a different plate on. Anyway, what colour scratchplate(s) look good on VWH? So hit me with those good ideas guys. If you've got photos, even better! Thanks. Here's a picture of a precision in the same finish: [attachment=6559:vwh.jpg]

Stuart Clayton (who posts on here a bit, and writes for BGM) has a new book out which might be up your street: [url="http://www.basslinepublishing.com/funkdisco.htm"]funk & disco grooves[/url]

Guitar, but not very often. I keep meaning to change that.

[quote name='paul, the' post='157999' date='Mar 15 2008, 03:23 PM']I recommend taking the bass to a luthier to remove the invisible frets.[/quote] Sounds costly; any other (realistic) suggestions?

The E string on my fretless appears to make a buzzing noise quite like fret buzz when I 'fret' a note on it. It doesn't make this noise when the open string is played open, and none of the other 3 strings make this noise at all. Seeing as the bass doesn't have frets, I find this quite disconcerting. The strings are rotosound RS55 solo bass pressurewound. So, what's the thinking? Truss rod tweak? Faulty string? Thanks in advance.

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ibanez-SR500-BM-Soundgear-Bass-Guitar-Brown-Mahogony_W0QQitemZ180223732137QQihZ008QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem"]Expensive Ibanez[/url]

Would a set of 45-105 flatwound strings have a noticably different tension to a set of 45-105 rounds? I'm sure I remember someone saying that rounds and flats have differing tensions. If the answer's already on here somewhere, feel free to point me in the right direction. Cheers.