prowla

16 minutes ago, AMV001 said:

 

Nice. What are the six positions?

It has two axes each of 3 positions; on my Ric I've got an SD humbucker, so I just have one with in single-coil and one with it humbucker.

But there are lots of other options.

https://www.freewayswitch.com/

23 minutes ago, AMV001 said:

1981 4001 BT with personal modifications. Its taken a while to get all the mods I wanted done and I still want to install a parallel/series switch (probably on a push/pull pot). But that can wait a while I think, I just want to enjoy it for now.

 

I have a (6 position) Freeway switch on one of my Rics.

9 hours ago, p4ul said:

new irrational prejudice is unlocked!

Some of these prejudices can be quite deep.

4 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I was referring to the positioning. Ultimately any passive circuit unless you are using rick-o-sound the tones affect the other pickup. Gibsons are far worse because the volume affects the other pickup too!

The point is that the Ric ones switch out the tone cap with the pickup, so they're not both in-circuit all the time.

15 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Well, more not gibsons when it comes to twin tone and volume controls, fender have their own crazy ideas.

Arguably, Gibsons are wrong, because both Tone controls affect both pickups; Rickenbackers address this by: a. putting the tone caps on the pickup side of the selector switch so that they're out of curcuit when their respective pickup is off, and b. keeping the circuits independent right up to the output sockets and even allowing them to go to separate amps (Rick-O-Sound).

Another "Rics are wrong because they aren't Fenders" issue. 🙂

2 hours ago, spencer.b said:

I know it's irrational and it's all down to personal taste and I know I'm the d!CK here but this is s safe space right?

Custom colour fender basses should have white/mint guards , look in the books , nearly all white guards , why oh why do people put tort on them, sunburst, yeah tort of course, Olympic white beautiful, fiesta red OK I'll let it pass there is the odd one (although more than likely a sunburst bass refinished by the distributor like selmer or kitchens to order when new) but Daphne Blue , all wrong .Candy Apple Red are you f***!ng serious, Shoreline gold, I feel sick 

Apart from looking all wrong the celluloid tort is really hard to replicate unless you drop a fortune on a spitfire, why oh why do fender put awful cheap looking tort guards on custom shop custom colour basses , with an aged mint guard you'd have to get close to tell it wasn't the real thing with a tort one it catches my eye a mile off

Sorry everyone!

It's torture, I tell you!

Just now, AinsleyWalker said:

Which part, the last sentence? Absolutely!
The part about the application of pickguards? I'd say that's accurate

Putting "absolutely" after an opinion still doesn't make it a fact and the "I'd say" confirms it as opinion.

2 minutes ago, AinsleyWalker said:

On an acoustic instrument where you need to strum for volume, I can understand a guard (but I'd prefer not to have one) but on electric basses they have been almost solely cosmetic (Jazz bass) or to hide routing (P bass). Some look OK, others look tacky. 

That is an opinion, but not absolute fact.

4 hours ago, KingBollock said:

Often adding more solder will help to reactivate old, stubborn solder.

 

I’ve been using the same 17w Antex since 1988. About three years ago I bought a 25w Antex, just so’s I could have two different sized tips to hand without having to wait for the iron to cool down to change the bit.

Yep - I tried adding more and that didn't work. 

My old iron is an Antex; it can't do silver solder though.

11 hours ago, Norris said:

No, but it does help to remove the existing solder, meaning there's less left to heat and keep melted. Especially if you're struggling with an underpowered iron.

OK - I'll rephrase...

A solder sucker needs the solder to be melted.

16 minutes ago, Norris said:

Maybe a solder sucker might have helped. Cheap ones are only a couple of quid.

A solder sucker doesn’t melt the solder. 

Status were a bit confusing with their headed models:

• Series 1
• Empathy
• Eclipse
• Energy

1 hour ago, nilebodgers said:

I have a fx888d (70W) - with a big enough tip it certainly can solder to pot cases without any trouble. As can my old 50W Weller TCP - again with a big tip.

Hmmm - it's an FX-888D I have; maybe I'll give it another try.

I was trying to remove existing solder but it couldn't do it, so I just ended up adding more to it...

I have a Hakko; nice for precision PCB work, but it hasn't got the power to melt a blob of solder on a pot base.

Note that the newer Schallers have an integral screw, as opposed to the older ones which are a two-part button and screw fitting.

Also beware that some 3rd party ones aren't quite exact and I've had them not fit the Straplock strap ends.

On 05/01/2026 at 09:51, BigRedX said:

Here are the best bridge close-ups of the two 8-string basses that I used to own:

 

 

Both have individually movable saddles for the main and octave string in each course.

 

The second image is of the Carlo Robelli bass which has the same bridge and tail-piece combination as that fitted to the Dean and Schecter 8-string basses.

 

As @Wolverinebass has said the best 8-string bass bridges used to be those made by Schaller which AFAICS are now out of production. 

 

I wouldn't mind one of those Washburns.

2 hours ago, casapete said:

The manager of a band I was in always said that if the booker or audience saw any of us with just one beer, they assumed we were all pis*ed, so we had to limit drinking to non public areas. Problem was that drinks were always free and plentiful so it took some skill to balance the situation, but we managed it. Ironically in the end drink and drugs led to the downfall of the band though, which was a shame. The next band I joined had a zero tolerance to drinking before a gig, and was all the better for it. 

I had a 1 beer rule and stuck to it.

I've been speculatively pulled over by the police on a couple of occasions and just told them that I'd had one (at the start of the evening), breathalysed to confirm it, and thanked them for their work in trying to keep the roads safe.

3 hours ago, BigRedX said:

That's nice and big, but unfortunately I have no idea which I'm supposed to "get" from this image...

That's the problem with most emojis - I'm sure they mean something to the person who designed them though.

8 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

They weren't at the time I did mine.

Yup - my generation got it free and pulled up the drawbridge after them.

Utterly disgraceful!

Me, I just never liked it.

I used to play in a band where the other guys smoked weed; I remember one of them saying "This sounds great!" but it sounded an absolute mess to me.

On my daily walk I chat with some folks who do smoke the stuff; I'm cool with them doing what they want to, but I've no interest in participating.

OTOH, a lot of my favourite music appear to have been written & perfomed under the influence if various substances, so maybe it does enhance the "creative" gene.

It's not for me though.

My vice is coffee and, at this time of the year, mince pies.

I'm also going to pop an ibuprofen for some aches and pains.

Rock-and-roll man!

10 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

There is a lot more focus on the education when you are paying for it yourself thats for sure!

Aren't all uni students paying for it?

49 minutes ago, Wolverinebass said:

To be fair, mine was a Warmoth body and neck and it was one of the last Explorers Warmoth made before Gibson said, "we've got lawyers you know." Sadly, Warmoth don't even make the 8 string neck anymore either, so that sucks. I presume they didn’t sell enough to keep it on the roster of products.

This is the one currently on eBay.

(Squier)

TBH, I find emojis a bit passive-aggressive, but if there was a rolling-eyes emoji I'd use it on this thread! 🙄