Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Obrienp

⭐Supporting Member⭐
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    1,127

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Everything posted by Obrienp

  1. Obrienp
    Yep, I guess it is meant to be retro, or something. It means that I can reuse it with the P-127 set. I have to though, because they cut a big hole in the top to accommodate the extra width. If you want shiny P-bass pickups, I guess the DiMarzio Billy Sheehan Relentless middle set would do it. £122 from Thomann, plus delivery!
  2. Obrienp
    At least that one is walnut, so presumably light by Ricky standards but the price is eye-watering. I doubt it will hang around for long though. Somebody will have the cash. I’ve just discovered a mate has a band saw, table router, drill press, band sander and is just completing a CNC machine in his garage/workshop. He’s one of those folks who makes valve amps for fun and has built his own Moog-alike synths. I am wondering if we could tackle a Rick-alike shorty together. I am sure it would come in a lot cheaper than the 4030S.
  3. Obrienp
    They are really good basses. Much better value than any Squier IMO. That’s not saying Squier bad, it’s just Sire seem to have hit a purple patch in terms of design, features and manufacturing quality. I have the fretless version of the U5 and I can endorse everything you say about them. It is the first value bass I haven’t seen the need to upgrade; even the machine heads are standard but I use a grippy strap to counter any neck dive. I have put black nylon tapes on it but that is just to make the fretless experience even better.
  4. Obrienp
    First instalment of what I hope doesn’t become a saga🤞. Checked the existing pups under the covers. Pictures below. The originals have fixed plastic covers and the lugs are marginally bigger than standard; see comparison of a Tone Rider cover and the OEM pup. They have foam rubber pads stuck underneath with embedded springs (old school and good). They are slightly longer than usual. Perhaps intended for Jazz pups. Anyway, that was encouraging enough for me to pull the trigger on the DP-127. £105 plus £10 postage (!!) from Thomann: can’t see any in stock with UK outlets. I’ll have to do a complete re-wire now, so will put a full size CTS pot in for volume and a Pure Tone jack socket. I already have an Artec varitone style control in place of the original tone pot. I had a really nice varitone made up by my Humble Workshop but I couldn’t get it through the f-hole. Anyway lots of fiddly fun to come😏. I’m just a little worried that the aperture in the OEM chrome covers might not be wide enough to avoid contact with the blades in the DP-127. I might have to get my metal files out 😰. Further report to come.
  5. Obrienp
    I just found this thread. Funny; I have been wondering about replacing the pickups in the Starfire 1. In my view it is crying out for a great big humbucker like the Bi-Sonic Guild put in the original and the previous reissue. Unfortunately, that would mean significant surgery that could not be reversed and I would need to make up a pickup surround to hide the gaps (the existing set is wider than a bi-sonic, or mudbucker). It could devalue the resale value big time. I then thought about an alternative P bass set that would get closer to the humbucker sound. Up to now, the size of the covers has been putting me off trying but I was looking at it carefully today and came to the conclusion that there are standard P bass pickups underneath (as per the comments on the Guild forum mentioned above). I am going to take one side out tomorrow to have a look. If they are standard, then I might order a DiMarzio DP-127 Split P set to replace the stock parts. The DP-127 is essentially two humbuckers in a split P bass pickup configuration. As far as I am aware, this is the only humbucker replacement set for P bass…..unless of course, someone knows of another one out there?
  6. Obrienp
    PM’d you.
  7. Obrienp
    I would love to play in a band, with a brass section, doing those old soul/R&B numbers. I get to dep with a band at NYE that does quite a lot of old R&B but they don’t quite reach that level. Nice one @Bernardo👍. Nice basses as well. I have had a Starstream but not Aguilar equipped and I still have a Cat. Matter of interest, have you got rounds, or flats on your Cat?
  8. Obrienp
    For those of us not in the know, what is it?
  9. Obrienp
    Yeah, not quite sure why I wrote that. I should check it before clicking post. 🥴
  10. Obrienp
    Latest iteration of the Heartwood Satellite: I can’t help but tinker. It’s now got a DiMarzio DP145 Will Power humbucker in it with a coil tap switch. I think it looks the part and sounds huge.
  11. Obrienp
    Well folks, thanks to all the advice, I have done it and I am inordinately pleased with my work. I actually cut the main shape out with a power jig saw that has a scroll setting so that you can change the direction of the blade. I marked the shape out on the reverse of the blank using the original scratch guard and pre-drilled the screw holes so I could attach the blank to a sheet of 10mm ply before cutting. Cutting out the aperture for the pickup was a little tricky but I eventually used a bi-metallic blade on an oscillating multi-tool to get the straight lines. Once I had the basic shape I used an assortment of files and sandpaper to get it more uniform and put the 45 degree chamfer on the edges. The end result:
  12. Obrienp
    Gregor in the Bass the World video said that the Satellite bass would look really good with a big humbucker in place of the precision pickup set. I guess he thought more in keeping with the 60s bass vibe. Anyway, that has been eating away at the back of my mind and I happened to have a DiMarzio DP145 Will Power in my last remaining long scale bass (a three pickup bitsa I put together). Long story short, I decided to try Gregor’s idea. It meant making a new scratchplate to accommodate the different pickup up shape, which was a challenge but it’s done now. Result in the pictures below. I think it looks the business and it sounds immense without being too muddy. I wired it up with a DPDT switch to give a coil tap option. Tapped it sounds a bit like a Jazz front pickup but not quite as woody. I’m pleased with the result. I may leave it this way.
  13. Obrienp
    Funny, quite the opposite for me. 38mm much preferred but we are all different.
  14. Obrienp
    Interesting. Of course, a Squier Sonic Bronco costs less than £170 (new, less used) and that gives you a neck and a Mustang-alike body. However, this neck may be better quality.
  15. Obrienp
    Unfortunately, I can’t manage a full scale Rickie these days: the necks are too wide and the overall weight is too great (even the rare walnut ones), so that severely limits choice. The old 3000 series SS look like proper shorties, although they were not a shrunk down 4000 series, which is what would have appealed to me about 4030. However, I’m sure I could get my local luthier to make me a custom Rick-alike shortie, or even have a go at it myself, for much less than the 4030s are likely to sell for.
  16. Obrienp
    The 90th Anniversary semi short scales (was it 4005?) seem to sell for over £4K, so the pricing doesn’t surprise me. The semis might arguably be a better attempt at an SS bass. I doubt Rickenbacker will have any trouble selling the 4030s though, even at that money. I guess it is supply and demand; limited run and no doubt they will at least hold their value, if not appreciate. I would still love to own a Rickenbacker but that sort of money puts it well out of range, even if it were a perfectly designed and executed short scale. Shame.
  17. Obrienp
    Played a gig at the Glaven Bistro at Glandford near Holt yesterday evening with Bandwidth (covers and originals). This is our third gig there. Unfortunately our keyboard player had a lurgie and couldn’t make it. TBH I don’t know how we managed to fit all 5 of us into the available space before. It felt cramped last night. Essentially we get the space against the wall half way down a very long converted barn. Hard walls and floor, straight up to the roof. Acoustics are tricky and I wasn’t happy with my sound all evening but apparently the overall band sound was good out front. It is very intimate, with the dinners literally a couple of feet away and I always wonder if we are an appropriate act. Smooth jazz or lounge music might be more appropriate but we always get a great reception. I guess we are people of a certain age, playing music for people of a certain age 😏. We got lots of praise from the punters and another invitation to return early next year, plus the possibility of playing for a Christmas party to celebrate their 2 year anniversary. Lovely people who looked after us as always. Free coffees to start and bowls of chips during our break. Home by 10pm (result)! Sorry no pics yet. Gear: Guild Starfire 1 and Sire U5 fretless, Bass Flyrig 2 into Harley-Benton GPA-100 power amp (and the PA), LFSys Monza sitting on Auralex isolator. Black suede desert boots.
  18. Obrienp
    Just echoing what most other people have said: how lame can you get Rickenbacker? They had an opportunity to come up with something that would tick all the short scale boxes: less reach, smaller lighter body (important for Rickies), pickups in the sweet spot (but still different fundamentals from the scale), etc. it could have been a Rickenbacker for players who hanker after one but can’t handle the size and weight of the standard offerings. They could even have taken the opportunity to fix some of the other shortcomings like the bridge/intonation and the sharp edges! Opportunity lost IMO!
  19. Obrienp
    It’s usually the way with short scale variants unfortunately. The same way that fretless versions tend to cost more than fretted. Less is more…. Cash in this case.
  20. Obrienp
    Are they going to be coming to the UK I wonder. Also what kind of premium for short scale?
  21. Obrienp
    Reading through this I have gained the impression that you won’t get full power out of most power amps using pedal preamps, because their (preamps’) output is insufficient. However, there are some power amps on the market specifically aimed at pedals, modellers and preamps for guitarists/bassists. Examples being the GRBass Pure, Seymour Duncan Power Stage series, Harley Benton GPA-100, Fryette Power Station, etc. Are these not designed to match the output levels of typical pedal preamps? If not, their marketing promises are very misleading. Personal experience of using the (cheap as chips) Harley Benton GPA-100, is that I seem to be getting the full oomph out of it driven by my Bass Flyrig II into an LFSys Monza. The Monza does seem to have great sensitivity, which may explain some of the apparent volume I get from it. It works fine as a combo for rehearsals and coffee shop/bistro type gigs (our drummer uses an electronic kit, so can be turned down). This positive experience had encouraged me to consider a more powerful (and expensive) preamp like the Palmer Macht 402, or even the GRBass Pure. Reading this thread has made me question whether I might be very disappointed with the resulting output. Any thoughts?
  22. Obrienp
    Have to agree with @Wolverinebass and @Phil Starr : my two Monzas seem perfectly stable stacked and the corners do interlock. However, we all have different standards for these things and perhaps a heavy head makes the OEM setup feel more precarious. I have had issues with the rubber feet on my BF Two10, I think caused by over enthusiastic helpers dragging it out of the van at a gig. Basically one foot was torn out of the wood and another bent at an angle. I had to remove the remaining feet to play the gig. Fortunately I had my isolator pad with me so there was no damage to the tolex as a result. The mounting holes needed a little filler repair in order to replace the feet. Not the end of the world but it would be better to have them mounted into captive nuts IMO. I understand why manufacturers don’t do this, as it would add cost and time to the build. Interlocking corners seem to be a good low cost solution.
  23. Obrienp
    Have you thought about a two channel amp with independent EQ? Most of these have a footswitch control for channel switching.
  24. Obrienp
    Absolutely no connection with the seller but there is this in the BC listings: I have a Maruszczyk Elwood 4a 32”” and I can safely say it is the best playing bass I have ever owned. This price looks like a bargain. I have several medium scales now. One problem is the limited range of strings available for genuine medium scales but some people say they do fine using full scale strings. I happen to like D’Addario nickel rounds and chrome flats, so I am catered for at reasonable prices for medium scale strings but if you prefer other brands, their medium scale strings can be hard to find and seem to command a price premium over standard scale. BTW: Gretsch now do a medium scale for around £500. There is also the Hartwood Satellite for £199 (Gear4Music), if you like slightly off the wall designs. I also picked up an 80s Greco P/J for just over £200. Various similar Yamahas, Arias, etc come up occasionally for much less than your £1K max. Happy hunting! P.S. Warwick do a few medium scale variants including the Star Bass that comes in under £1K.
  25. Obrienp
    I would refer that one to @agedhorse. Perhaps worth starting a thread in Technical and Repairs.
×
×
  • Create New...