spongebob

I ran the 500 combo alongside a 1x15 cab for a while. Sounded really good, bags of room. Changed the car, so couldn't fit it in, so moved it on. Only reason.....it was a great combo, very useful on its own. I think the Rumbles are great (terrible name, though!). I've previously run a 1x15 as well, which I often gigged on its own, it was great. My practice amp is a Rumble 40, had it for a few years now. I don't own any others now, as I went back to separates (Markbass and Markbass...now Barefaced - thanks Rhys re the BF!).....but I'd recommend the Fenders greatly.....and I'm plugging in a Ricky as well. When I did stick a P in, it went to a different dimension!

TGI Extreme. I use one as (although I'm not on public transport), and find them to be light, well padded, and very well priced.

I've been using D'addario NYXL's for the last year or so. Nice mix of bright, grit, and volume.

The Marcus Miller range seems to be well thought of, and upgrade from the Little Mark 3. If endorsements lead to more artist involvement, and gear improvements, then we're all winning! Or am I just trying to justify the future purchase of a MM product? 😮

I love what BW did. He wasn't known as 'The Maestro' for nothing! His 70's output is pure soul gold. I'm not much of a fan of when the 80's rolled in - he stopped using live musicians on record, went down the machines route. Sadly, the results were not on a par with his older luxurious productions, so well arranged by Gene Page. The whole soul 'loverman' got to be a bit of a parody for a while (Lenny Henry amongst others), and maybe for some, that may have prevented their actually giving BW a serious listen. A real shame, as those classic-era albums are just stocked full of outstanding grooves. On radio, you only ever hear the same couple of tracks....he had so much better. His autobiography is a great read, too. He came from nothing to rise to where he did. Really inspirational. He died, sadly, relatively young (58), and the last I read, the family were still arguing over his estate. Not nice. Whilst Love Unlimited are in the topic, my fave album is probably their last, 'Love Is Back'.

Purchased an as new, and immaculate Barefaced Two10 from Rhys. Superb to deal with, excellent comms, and packaging tape that would have survived a nuclear blast! I always trust BC feedback, and once again this has proven true. Deal with 100% confidence. Thanks again Rhys! 😀

I love The Stranglers and Yes. Does this make me a bad person? 🙄

I had a job interview in about 1997/98 (didn't get it), and the woman asking the questions mentioned the fact that my CV mentioned playing bass, and other musical interests. She said 'my sons are in a band' - okay, I was thinking, maybe our paths have crossed - 'do they do much around here?', I enquired - 'not much', she said, 'they're in Morcheeba'! At that time, they were a pretty big deal after some hit singles. Turns out the two brothers in the band, I was being interviewed by their Mother! Never liked their stuff, anyway......🙈

For my entry, it's got to be the late, great, John Entwistle. Without doubt, it was his association and work alongside James How of Rotosound that resulted in the development of the roundwound string, completely changing the face of bass playing as we know it. For that reason (and of course the bucket loads of great lines and talent), it has to be the Ox. Had none of this taken place, I think it's fair to say that, even this discussion and competition, may never have concurred.

I played a gig a few years ago, and who was in the audience? Hugh Cornwell's ex-wife! She introduced herself, can't remember how it came about......but for myself and our drummer, big Stranglers fans, we were thrilled! Not that we mentioned any of this, though. Maybe we should have!

Black And White for me as well. Fab songs, and definitely their best sounding album IMHO. JJB's bass tone is unsurpassed throughout.

Stranglers 77 - 82 were simply outstanding. Think their output suffered massively afterwards, but their still a good live experience. I never saw them with Hugh, but did see Jet. He was absolutely awesome!

Thanks guys. Only started looking at alternatives, as the Bart pup (third in the set) is quite pricey.....hence other forums offering alternatives. Going the stick to the extra Bart....much more of straightforward procedure - hopefully!

Does sound like a minefield in the making.....

Not sure.....i know the Bart make/made their own '3rd' pup for the same position....obviously geared up for the job. The jazz pup mod has been used as an alternative (cheaper by a mile). However, that was with two single coils. Modder suggested with 2 humbuckers it would be OK, but I'm not sure......

I've got a Bartolini humbucker neck and bridge pair on my 4003S. Love them. However, to add a bit of bright, I've been advised to add a Duncan 1/4 pounder jazz neck pup in there. It's got a place to go, so that's not an issue. It's been suggested to simply wire in parallel with the neck humbucker. Just before I dive in, can anyone foresee any issues with the single coil/humbucker mix? Can't seem to find much bass-related stuff on the web.

Thanks Paul! Sounds straightforward enough.....😀

Just wondering how to remove the plastic cover from a Jazz bass pickup - namely a Duncan Quarter ponder. I've got the potential idea to do a mod, but the pickup needs to be installed minus the cover. Read that it's (I think) easy enough, but wanted to check before I proceed with ordering anything! Cover has to come off, as it's not for a Jazz bass!😀

It's apparently been prevented on newer basses, a change in material stops the lift. I personally wouldn't worry about it. Loads of the older basses have it, and they're all still going strong. It's only an issue when it interferes with the set-up. Happened to me with a '74, so it was changed. All the other vintage models that passed through my hands had the original, if slightly lifting, bridges. I'm not a fan of the Hipshot replacement.....stick as your are!

I've been advised that it could be simple.....an out of phase issue. Going from 2 single coil pups to a single coil and a split coil. Hopefully installing the dual coil humbucker bridge pup might even things out? They do advertise them as a pair, although available individually.

Many thanks for that! I'll print that off and give it to him.....it must be close enough! As I mentioned, it's probably something simple, as he's the second chap I've used that's done the same thing! 🙈

Just to add....seen a few diagrams online, but can't seem to find a definitive one to fit both pups, on models which feature the vintage tone selector. Be handy to find some kind of reference point to put him on the right track....sure it's a simple fix.....

True! I think it was just the fact that it seems to have affected the vintage tone thing.... From memory, I had a standard Ricky neck pup rewound some years back, and the repairer had the same problem when he reinstalled it then as well (different luthier!)

Looking for some wiring inspiration here! I recently bought a new Bartolini 6RT for the neck pickup of my Rickenbacker 4003S. It's a 2018 model, so has the vintage tone selector. Picked up the bass from the Luthier yestoday. First impressions - loving the Bart. Maybe not to all tastes, but as a long-term Ricky player, I love it. It's like it's been turbo-charged - so much so, I'm going to have to order a 6RC for the bridge. However, there is a problem. The vintage tone selector is for the bridge pup only, it's not for the neck. So a neck pup replacement shouldn't affect it, right? Wrong! When the neck pup is solo'd, it as usual. Vintage tone knob up or down, no change. All good here. Solo the bridge pup - vintage tone knob down, it's off - raise it, old-skool cap engaged. Once again, all good. Put the toggle switch in the centre - both pups on together - here's where the problem lies. Having the vintage tone selector knob down (so it's off), it's suddenly on! Raise it, and it's off. Exactly the opposite to how it should be, but only with both pups on. Can't work out why it works as usual for the bridge pup, but engage both together, and it goes opposite - especially when it was the 'unaffected' neck pup that was replaced. Before I get the 6RC fitted, I'd rather go armed with more knowledge of what to tell the Luthier to assist him. Any ideas here? I spoke to him on the 'phone, he was fairly foxed - so hence, I thought I'd turn to the BC experts for a solution!