LewisK1975

[quote name='cocco' timestamp='1465148572' post='3065612'] Go back to passive. A bass like that should be passive/as original as possible anyway. [/quote] I'm with you cocco!

Mine would be (in no particular order): Billy Sheehan Steve Harris Geddy Lee James Jamerson Paul McCartney Predictable? Probably!

[quote name='Grassie' timestamp='1465213675' post='3066123'] Currently watching Duran Duran live at the Eden Project on the BBC red button service. The worst mix ever. Can't hear John Taylor very well at all, its all vocals and keyboards. Wait until the end when they do Rio. Jesus... What is it with the BBC and live bands? Later with Jools is another. Bass sat way back in the mix, no bottom end at all. I'm writing to Points of View. "Irate of the Isle of Wight..." [/quote] I assume you've got the sound coming through a more decent source than the TV's built in speakers?

[quote name='Muppet' timestamp='1464994131' post='3064603'] I love the J retro in my Lakland DJ4 but would never consider fitting one in my AVRI 74 Jazz. I think it would ruin what that bass is all about. [/quote] Yep I think this is pretty much where I'm at too. For me the 2 just don't go together.......OK lets get ordering a passive loom!

Is this what you seek? http://andybaxterbass.com/details.php?id=1008

Hi all, I picked up a US 75ri jazz which has an East J-retro in it. I really prefer passive basses and was hoping that the original wiring harness was going to be found in the case, but alas not. I know the J-retro can be switched to passive, but I really can't get past the fact that it's there anyway. Plus there's no passive tone control. What are your thoughts? 1) Are you mad, the J-retro is great, use it ya numpty! 2) I'm with you, passive all the way, get a good re-wiring job done and sell the pre-amp!

Before trying anything drastic, I'd try a new E string, or re-winding it on the peg at least. Might not be the cause of your problem, but it'd be quick to find out if it was.. Something else to try, push down on the string just after the bridge to make sure the break angle is correct. Also make sure you've got at least 3 winds of string around the tuning peg.

I was interested to see that TC 'sub n up' octaver, which I'm assuming does a +1 octave as well as -1 and possibly -2. I use the micro POG for a +1 and it's great, but that TC looks to be much smaller!

[quote name='uk_lefty' timestamp='1464949811' post='3064015'] I took my Ashdown toneman 300 combo in to the rehearsal room last night for the first time to give it a push before gigging it. It did well at 70% volume up and with all my pedals running direct to the input instead of to the effects loop. Lots of compliments on sound quality. However, my first gig with this band and this amp is coming up. It's in a marquee. I don't think this combo is going to shift enough air and I don't know if the PA will be able to handle bass input though I hope to God it does... Question is what would be the best way of getting the necessary welly out of my kit? Options are: 1. Buy the 15" extension cab - don't know how much extra this will give me though 2. My singer has an "old but massive" peavey bass amp. I could use this alone and hope it holds the tone clearly (I use a hartke vxl for tone shaping) or even slave it up with the Ashdown. I'm yet to see this Peavey... 3. Buy a new more powerful amp... Which I don't want to do because I am a bit short of cash Any advice or other options gratefully received! [/quote] Whats the PA setup? That seems to be all important here, if it's a sub/tops system with guitar and drums mic'd then just DI and you'll be fine. If it's a vocal only PA, then really speaking you only need to be as loud as the drummer / guitarist / vocals to achieve a good mix. EQ wise, don't go for scooped tone, focus on pushing the low-mids to project a bit better.

[quote name='Westenra' timestamp='1464867828' post='3063274'] Funnily enough I was looking at them, they seem ideal. Sadly they appear so few and far between on the second hand circuit! How does it sound without effects because I would like to have a nice tone overall when playing clean. [/quote] [quote name='M@23' timestamp='1464905110' post='3063763'] I recently acquired a Puma 900. It's is the nicest amp I've had. It is clean, but more versatile than the Markbass LM3, which is similar, but the Puma has better EQ, IMO. It is very punchy and articulate. The 900 has masses of headroom too. It's a really great amp. [/quote] M@23's pretty much nailed it there. The Puma is very 'open', and really all you need to do with it to get a useable tone is to fiddle with the 'taste' knob until you're happy. I found the other EQ points more suited to dialing in the room rather than sound shaping, if that makes any sense!

Really been considering this for some time. Our singer HATES it if the stage volume is too loud. I by my own admission get sulky at being asked/told to turn down to a point where I can barely hear myself, and it obviously sours the whole gig for me. Seems a good fix for everyone if I switched to in-ears! We probably need a better mixer to get it going properly though.....

Yep - Done it recently. Was up to 11 at one point, went down to 5, now 6. 2 Precisions, 2 Jazzes, and 2 Yamaha Attitudes.

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1464712079' post='3061720'] Sandberg VS4 Passive. The Mk1 version, as the Mk2 has a slightly different shape. The necks are all the same across the VS and TT range - very jazz like but with a flatter 'board. Very comfy indeed. [/quote] This is what I was about to say!

[quote name='Muppet' timestamp='1464536229' post='3060165'] It's far more versatile on a Jazz than on a Precision. I took it out of my Precision as it just switches to a weedy pointless sound. [/quote] Ditto, first thing I did on a 2006 US precision I had a while back.

[quote name='jaketheape' timestamp='1464635230' post='3061039'] Hi, just reopening this topic. I recently bought a second hand EVO II (uk manufactured) and the VU Meter bulb flickers on and off all the time. Nothing wrong with the output from the amp at all, but the flickering light is annoying. I've tried as others have suggested, removing the 4x screws from the front plastic in front of the vu meter, but they are firmly in place and just turning - 1x of the philips screws is badly worn so I am assuming the previous owner/s had already tried at some stage. Is there another way I can access the vu meter maybe from the back? My amp is one of these ones that fits into a Gator case, so has a chrome front. If anyone can help or provide any suggestions I would be very grateful? Thanks in advance. [/quote] Take the 'lid' off the amp and get at it that way.

We have 2 Mackie SRM1801 subs and 2 JBL PRX625 tops. 5k total. It's a spectacular sounding rig.

The low tension on them is exactly why I like 'em so much, I've been using the 45-105 nickels for a while now. I was looking for a while to get away from high tension steels and these seemed to fit the bill. I don't have my action super low as am a heavy handed bugger, but the OP is correct, they will usually require the truss rod to be adjusted if you've had other higher tension strings on. I will say you can get them cheaper than £25 though. My last ones (last week) were £17.50 delivered.

I suggest having a look for a used Tecamp Puma. I had one (PUMA 500) and it was SUPER clean, perfect for fronting up with effects if you ask me. I used it set flat through 1 or 2 BF supercompacts and got all my sound shaping from my pedal board. Worked very well. Obviously if you can afford to buy new, then EICH amps are the 'new' Tecamps. But they are essentially the same thing.

Yep - the Tom in the top photo is a great guy, did me a great deal on a Fender Geddy Lee a few years ago, and sourced me a couple of thing I was looking for too. Excellent!

Update - Mark at Bass Direct was a real help and spoke to Sound Technology about it - upshot, it's been sent to them today and they will return directly to me! Let's hope it doesn't take too long, I really love that pedal!

Again Top marks from me - had to deal with them today to get my EBS Billy Sheehan deluxe pedal fixed under warranty. No hassle, got back to me with 30mins, with a returns authorisation number and where to send it. I thank ye!

Update - Sound Technology told me I have to go through the dealer I bought it from to get it fixed. Bass Direct about to get an email! Hope this doesn't turn out to be a tortured path to resolution!

There's been a bit of a situation with these - on some of the pedals, there is a volume issue on the clean channel - you have to max out the volume of the clean channel to achieve unity gain. EBS have identified the issue as:- [b] [i]Do you need to crank up the Clean level all the way to achieve unity gain?[/i][/b] [color=#444444] [i]We have discovered a misaligned factory calibration with some of the Billy Sheehan Drive Deluxe pedals that has been shipped out so far.[/i][/color][color=#444444] [i]The fault is recognized by the fact that you need to crank up the Clean level almost all the way to achieve unity gain when the pedal is engaged.[/i][/color][color=#444444] [i]If you experience this issue with your pedal and want it properly aligned, please contact us at[email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email] for further assistance. It is covered by warranty.[/i][/color][color=#444444] My Pedal definitely has the issue and I contacted EBS who are doing the fix themselves if you're in Sweden, but as I'm not, they pointed me at Soundtech in the UK, who I think are the distributors. I emailed them but have had no reply as yet, sigh.. [color=#222222] [/color][/color][color=#444444] Billy Sheehan has chimed in on this on the Yamaha Attitude Facebook page and reckons the fix can be done DIY, and is going to share how to do it. If he does post the fix, then depending on the difficulty I'll either have a go myself, or use a local guy I've used before who knows his stuff.....[/color]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1464098888' post='3056533'] Definitely have a go on a Ric before taking the plunge... they are VERY different in both tone and playability to pretty much everything else. [/quote] Can't argue with this - I'll just add that IMHO it's also worth trying it in a standing playing position as well as sitting down. That's where I went wrong.