Mottlefeeder

[quote name='rhythmbug' timestamp='1382365548' post='2251221'] Stumbled across this thread while looking for solutions for the neck dive on my Corvette. Seller no longer appears to have anything for sale. Any idea who else might sell this strap, or a good alternative? [/quote] I tried several methods with my 5-string Corvette: 1) I drilled a deep hole and fitted a threaded insert in the end of the horn. I was then able to fit a threaded rod into the horn, so that the sides of the hole supported the rod, and the threaded insert kept it in place. You need to extend the horn by about 1 1/2 inches to get the bass to balance, and it looks odd. 2) I poured nuts and washers into a padded phone case and hung it on the body end of the strap - from memory, you need about 12 oz of extra weight (hanging on your shoulder). 3) I bought five Hipshot Ultralites and fitted them - they helped but were not enough. 4) I lined the control cavity with a piece of lead of the same depth as the cavity - it helped, but was not enough. They all have an effect, but you end up with an instrument that is heavier, looks wrong, or is considrably more expensive that what you wanted to own in the first place. I sold mine on. David

I recently heard a double bill of two folk bands. One used an ABG which fitted in well acoustically, and the other a P bass, which did not. Whether the latter was due to his EQ and style I'm not sure, but it really did sound wrong to me. David

I've just started converting '60s & '70s vinyl 'Greatest hits of...' to CD to MP3 so I can learn the bass lines for a pub jam session - early Stones, Who etc. Should have done it years ago - stuff I enjoyed listening to, but never learned to play. David

For anyone who is gassing for a 5-string TRB, may I remind you that my fretless TRB1005 is up for sale [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/206380-for-sale-yamaha-trb1005-fretless-now-l425/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.u...__fromsearch__1[/url] Here's a taster David [url="http://s285.photobucket.com/user/Mottlefeeder/media/DSCF0539_zps2ffc5e1a.jpg.html"][/url]

I've just had a look at the Fender Passport mini, and it comes without batteries. It takes 6 'C' type cells which will set you back about £12-15 per set of alkalines, or £20-25 for a set of rechargeables. Add to that the cost of a new charger, if you do not already have one that takes that battery size, and you are in the same ball park as the cost of replacing your existing power pack, which will also run your amp more than twice as long - and you still have to buy the Fender kit. That one-box solution seems an expensive way to go. David

[quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1378401114' post='2199810']... I tried the battery pack for a while but the missus thought it would be a good idea to plug her hair straighteners into it while camping and I think she blew it - it can't even cope with a mobile phone being plugged into it now! ... [/quote] When I plugged a 900w power drill into my 300w invertor, it ran for a few seconds and then blew the incoming fuse. If you haven't already checked, that may be all that is wrong with yours. I have no experience of the passport mini. David

A bit late to the party, but still may be able to help... +1 for PU, and mentioned by flyfisher Polyurethene glue foams and expands as it goes off, so it will force itself at least part way into the join, and it provides a bond that is usually stronger than the wood. I'd wipe the joint area with a slightly damp cloth, to make sure the glue starts to cure then run a fillet of PU glue down it. David

[quote name='GregBass' timestamp='1377698661' post='2190512'] If you have sound on your PC, Maplin sell USB turntables. You can then use your existing gear [/quote] If you check the 'Which' reviews at your local library, some of these basic USB turntables provide a really low-quality output. David

I have a related but slighty different question - I'm thinking of frettting a fretless that was supplied with brass 'fret' markers. Any thoughs on the best way to get the markers out? I am assuming that the brass would be harder than the rosewood of the fretboard, so a saw would wander. and I do not think I can use a soldering iron to expnd the metal to widen the groove so that it can be got out more easily - it would burn the wood. The only thing I have come up with so far is to grind down a Stanley knife blade and use that with a hammer to tap out each fret marker. A ground-down single-sided razor blade might be better, but I am not sure if you can still get them. Any comments welcomed. David

M experience of small combo amps is limited - My short list at the time included 20-30 watt combo amps by Hartke, Ibanez, Fender and Peavey. I originally went for a Hartke B30, but the buzz from the transformer bothered me, so I returned it and bought a 120W Hartke Kickback 10 instead. It's quite small (and quite loud), but probably bigger than you want. For the sort of volume at which you are likely to be playing, any of the mainstream models should do, providing that you like their sound, and do not turn up the low end and expect it to sound like an 8 by 10 fridge. David

Combo amps can sound bad because the amp is not powerful enough and is clipping, or because the speaker is being driven beyond its design limits, and hitting the end stops. You will also get distortion if the preamp is overloaded and clips. If the amp/speaker overloads, turn it down - if the preamp is overloaded, turn down the volume on your bass. None of these is dependent on the size of the speaker. If you want a combo amp to plug the bass into, while you play along with MP3s or whatever, either speaker size will do the job, The problems start when you practice with another instrumentalist - piano or whatever, and you have to match their volume. As always, only you can tell whether the sound it produces is the sound you want. David

Somewhere that repairs tents and awnings would probably have a selection of longer zips. David

I'd also urge caution in using the pocket-rocket. When I plugged mine into a bass with a faulty earth connection it went into full volume feedback - I now have mild tinnitus. I now use a Tascam GT-R1 with my music on a memory card - expensive, but does tuner / play along / speed change & key change / record rehearsals / loop playback between your markers, and so on. David

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1375086859' post='2156410'] ... Bit of a downer at the end in that my mobile went missing and the venue hasn't had it handed in, probably have to get another one. Was only a cheapo pay as you go so didn't owe me anything, just inconvenience of getting a new number etc unless the company can arrange for me to keep the existing one somehow. [/quote] Talk to your phone provider - they should be able to brick your old phone and port your old number over to a new SIM card. David

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1375037766' post='2156042'] Just play all your lines normally. There is no difference in the top 4 strings. Then start to expand onto the B string, ie play E on the B instead of open E. Don't switch back and forth. A 5er will feel different but it won't if you stick at it. [/quote] If the OP is playing 4-string basses in the lower positions, then surely he has to make a decision to move to a different area of the fretboard, otherwise he will make no progress in adopting the new string. That suggests to me that playing the lines normally is not the way to go? In my case, I play across the fretboard, and I do not play open strings, which makes it very easy for me to change the key to suit a singer, but that obviously does not suit all styles or all songs ('All right now' springs to mind!). As you suggest, I did not swap back and forth between 4- and 5-string basses, and it took me abourt three months to be fully up to speed on a 5. David

Group all your songs into keys, and tackle all the ones in the same key first, then another key and so on. I found that an easy and fairly fast way to get used to the new string. Work out the scale for each key, using four frets plus one either side, across all five strings, and try and play each song without moving away from that 'home' scale position. For example, for a song in E major, start your scale on the B string at fret 5, and do not play below fret 4 on any string. At the top end, decide where the B-string tone changes into something you don't like, and work out alternative places to play those notes. David

[quote name='tosh63' timestamp='1374931128' post='2154891'] How about this for Fender Precision and Jazz basses? [attachment=139882:Bass horn strap extension.JPG] [/quote] It looks a bit flimsy, and it is trying to lever the screw out of the wood (like a claw hammer pulls out a nail), so it probably works fine, but it is not the way I would have done it! David

The PJB is 100W, and the Ashdown is 10W, and the two batteries are 2x6x12Ah = 60Wh and 12x7.2 = 84Wh, so you would expect considerably longer life out of the lower-powered rig. Also, one is used to let people close-by hear the OP, and the PJB would be expected to be run considerably louder for a bigger audience. David

The Maplin one does not appear to specify the battery size, but a similar looking one on Amazon gives it as 17 Ah, so your 10 W rig should last half a day on that! One note of caution from the user comments. The battery charger is very unsophisticated, so if you leave it permanently on charge you will fry the battery. David

I have to agree with StingrayPete1977. If you want it light for carrying, and you want it to fit into a smallish car boot, a separate head and cab is a better option. It will probably weigh slightly more than the equivalent combo, but you can lift each part separately, and you can fit them into the car boot in ways that a combo doesn't. You also have more options when you buy, and if you buy a pair of cabs, you have further options of one for rehearsals and two for the gig, etc. Finally, if any part of your kit fails, you only have to borrow / hire a replacement for the broken bit. You have had comment about BF (Barefaced) cabs, but there is also BFM (Bill Fitzmaurice) cabs. <http://billfitzmaurice.net/ > They are lightweight, and loud, and come up for sale from time to time. I'm about 30 miles down the road from you, so if you want to check out a pair of BFM Jack 10s, let me know. David

Either of your combos could be used with an invertor, but your 10 watt amp is going to struggle unless you turn the bass control way down and just amplify the low mids. People talk about using 60-100 watts for a 'coffee-house' gig, and out-doors will be worse, so your Hartke A100 would be a better option, but it is heavy. I have a Hartke Kickback 10 (120w) , and have just checked it with my invertor and caravan battery. With no input cable, there is no buzz. With a good quality input cable and a solid body bass with hum-bucking pick-ups, there is a buzz which disappears as soon as you touch the bridge or the strings. With a good quality input cable and an acoustic bass, which has a piezo pick-up, there is no buzz. I have also used the invertor with a Hartke 300 watt amp, and if I remember correctly, the invertor drew about 5 Amps average from the battery. This ties in with the PJB handbook which suggests an average current draw of 4.5 Amps. So, a 20 Ah battery would give you 3-4 hours of use. Maplins, Halfords and Screwfix all do similar invertors, and are happy to give refunds for gear that is not suitable. On that basis, I suggest you buy an invertor, try it, running your rig from a car power socket, and see if you can live with whatever buzz leaks through your amp. If not, take it back and have a rethink. Assuming that you do decide to go with the battery / invertor / existing combo, the next problem you have is that the kickback shape does not fit easily on a trolley. I tend to transport it on its side, with the battery in a box strapped on top of it. This means that you have to unpack and connect it all together when you reach your destination - not a problem if it is one-off, but a pain if you are are trundling the rig around various busking spots in a town centre. If, as suggested, you go for the biggest leisure battery available, it too will be heavy, and it will have exposed terminals, so you will need to buy / knock together a ventilated box to put it in - preferably one that will sit under your combo amp on a trolley. Your cheapest option is to reuse the gear you already have, but your best option is a rectangular battery box under a rectangular combo amp. Prices Decent flatpack trolley - Maplin / Aldi / etc, occasional special offer - £20 Invertor - Malpin / Screwfix / Halfords - £35 Caravan leisure battery 75Ah - Amazon - £60 Golf trolley battery 20AH internet - £35 David

[quote name='Jonnyboy Rotten' timestamp='1373913554' post='2143094'] Hi Guys, Recently me and some friends took our guitars up to a field one evening and they were playing acoustic guitar and electric guitar via my mate's very cool Yamaha TH10 battery powered amp with guitar mode. It does have a bass mode but only one input so I could plug my bass in but one of us had to be left out for a bit. I think the Yamaha unit is about £250 and has far too many electric guitar focused features which I would never use and I am looking for an affordable alternative that I can play my bass through. It doesn't need to be massively loud but should hold its own against an acoustic guitar and electric playing through the Yamaha (10 watts). There seems to be loads of electric guitar or general purpose battery powered amps but hardly any bass ones. I have seen three battery powered bass amps and wondered if anyone had any experience of them. The Roland Micro Cube RX is the highest price and to be honest too high at £200 although it does seem like the best one. The other options are: The Vox AC1 RhythmVOX Bass which is £50 but only 1watt so probably underpowered for playing outdoors with other people(?) The Roland Mobile Cube at £130 which is a general purpose one but says it can do bass guitar. What do people think?! The other option is I get a 240v outlet battery pack for £70-£100 and use it with my Ashdown Tourbus 10. [url="http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_180794_langId_-1_categoryId_255206#tab1"]http://www.halfords....yId_255206#tab1[/url] If I wanted to work out approx how long it would last, should I assume the Ashdown uses about 10watts and then say the power pack has about 20Ah battery? Is there an easy calculation to do? Would I be likely to get a buzzing or whistling in the speaker because of the poor quality power? Any help would be appreciated! [/quote] The Phil Jones briefcase is rated at 100 Watts, and the recommended battery is a 12V 7Ah (84 watts for 1 hour or 1 watt for 84 hours). The instruction book suggests that this will last about an hour, depending on your playing style. I've used a 150 W invertor with a Hartke 300 watt head, with no problems other than a slight buzz when you let go of the strings. I tried mains filters, separate earths, etc, but could not get rid of the buzz, so I assume it is caused in part by the hi-z input of the amp. Turning the treble down, and keeping one hand on the strings gave a workable solution. As mentioned in other threads, a car battery is designed to be used almost fully charged all the time, and will deteriorate rapidly if discharged and recharged repeatedly. You will need to get a battery designed for lawn-mowers/golf carts etc, if you want it to work for more than a few gigs. Also mentioned in another thread is that car srereo booster amplifiers can be bridged, and contain their own invertor power supply. A 400w peak stereo amp usually translates into about 80-100 w RMS into 8 ohms, so if you have a separate head and cab, you should be able to pick up a suitable 12v amplifier on ebay or equivalent. David

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1373883535' post='2142503'] Just for my lefty 'let's save the high street' bit, buy from the shop that lets you try, as opposed to trying it out (maybe adding an accidental dig) and going home to buy on line for slightly cheaper. But that's another thing! [/quote] We are pretty close in our view-points - if I need to try something, then I will not buy it from a place that has no demonstration facilities. In the case of the Warwick, the one I tried was not the finish I wanted, so I ordered the one I wanted through that company. Having said that, in my quest for an acoustic bass, I recently found that Gear4music had several basses on the wall that were obviously straight out of the box, and were unplayable, but Guitarguitar, who would not let me play a bass until they had tuned it, had one with faulty electronics, so I had to order one from their on-line team. None of them are perfect, some try harder than others, and none of them are on any high streets near me. David

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1373874829' post='2142381'] Very frustrating. You certainly did your best! If you bought a £50 bass then you might expect something like that but Warwick, of all people, I would have thought could have been trusted to have got something as basic as that solved before going to the market. I wonder with things like this and outrageously heavy bodies when someone will come along with the nous and time and sue for not being fit for purpose. Especially if it aggravates or causes an injury. [/quote] I think the issue is more about playing style, and whether neck-dive bothers you. Those of us who play with something like a classical guitar player's hand position are likely to be bothererd by neck dive, but those who hang their thumb over the top of the neck whould probably be less botherd by it. Warwick thumb basses are often cited as being neck heavy, but there are plenty of good players out there who use them. David