henry norton

Thanx Alex - I'll give it a go and let ya know. What with yourself and Bernie Goodfellow it looks like the City Of Brighton & Hove is becoming the bass capital of the UK.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='524923' date='Jun 26 2009, 04:17 PM']Could you measure the internal volume of the cab (best way is to measure the outside and subtract the wall thicknesses) and also the width and height of that slot along the top rear edge? Am thinking it might be possible to close the main back panel and then let that ventilation slot along the top act as a tuned port. Just need to work out what frequency it'll roughly be tuned to. Alex[/quote] Thanks Alex - the internal dims are 25" x 22" x 7.5", so 2.4 cubic feet or .068 cubic meters - smaller than it looks in the photos. I've got plenty of ply and OSB kicking around so I could try making a ported back panel. Oh, the slot's 15mm high by 635mm wide.

[quote name='attackbass' post='523919' date='Jun 25 2009, 06:31 PM']Ok - if i ever use nitro again - def going to be wearing a mask. Wish i had done mor research before commiting. question is will i live!!?? Spoke to my parents and they said i would most likely be ok - haven't experienced any dizzyness, drowsiness, coughing/shortness of breath from it... So is poly just as bad as nitro - what about spray varnishs etc as i have sanded and sprayed many things growing up as a kid! god knows what i have ingested! plus i live next to dual carriage way too!![/quote] Polyester is much more dangerous than Cellulose (I assume you're talking about Nitro Cellulose or the modern acrylic substitutes). A friend of mine ended up in hospital coughing up blood after respraying his VW in Polyester in his garage with just a paper mask. It doesn't cost much to take a few precautions .

[quote name='Adrenochrome' post='524666' date='Jun 26 2009, 11:20 AM']I'm no expert but... I gigged a Marshall Superbass head and even through a sealed Marshall 4x12 bass cab it was shy in the bottom end at gigging volume with a loud band. Very entertaining in most other respects though. Would it be an option to upgrade the 4x10 drivers to something more efficient? It'd keep your rig to a manageable size at least.[/quote] It's very similar to the Superbass, and I've heard quite a few owners of the guitar version change the drivers - I'm not so sure it'll give me much extra low end because of the open back to the cabinet, although at least I won't be shy of turning the bass up a bit. [quote name='alexclaber' post='524765' date='Jun 26 2009, 01:14 PM']I wonder if you could make a panel to seal the back with some tuned ports in it? The problem with open-backed cabs is the sound cancels out below a certain frequency so in addition to the speaker's 12dB/octave roll-off below resonance (probably about 60Hz) you get another 6dB/octave on top of that, in this case probably starting at about 200Hz. Seal the back and add some ports and you'll get a ton more bottom end. However, how is the amp cooled? Alex[/quote] Yeah, that's an interesting idea as there is a ridge around the back of the cabinet which could be used to attach an entire panel, or even a box like extension. Unfortunately, the valves rely on the open air for cooling. Perhaps the movement of the air and the porting could provide a kind of cooling air pump effect?

[quote name='escholl' post='524072' date='Jun 25 2009, 08:58 PM']honestly not trying to sound like a complete a**, but: it seems this amp really best suits a certain style of music, and that perhaps that isn't the same style that you play? So the most efficient solution may be to get something else, in this case. Failing that, I would agree with Mr Foxen and say that the best bet is to bypass the internal drivers and just use external cabs -- however i'd imagine that would leave an awful lot to carry round.[/quote] That's OK, I don't know what an 'a**' is.... It's a good sounding amp and suits me fine for most situations. It doesn't even weigh that much considering it's a 4x10 valve amp! I did consider trading it in for a Markbass a while ago, but thought I'd ask this question first.

No it's a proper bass amp. It's like Marshall's version of the Fender Bassman but bigger and louder. It was from a range called 'club & country', pretty short lived and quite expensive in the late seventies / early eighties but actually rather good - except for the lack of real rumble. It's probably the perfect amp for 'tic tac' bass lines on a Bass VI.

Here's a pic of my Marshall 4150 4x10 combo. It's a good amp and very loud but it isn't hugely bassy. I presume that's something to do with the cabinet design (an open box). I don't like boosting the bass up too much as it's 30 years old and quite rare, so I thought I might buy (or build) a 15 to give it that extra depth and volume. Thing is, will a modern, ported, neowhatever bass cabinet just dominate and drown out the 4 10s I already have?

[quote name='RhysP' post='523619' date='Jun 25 2009, 02:44 PM']It's evil stuff - be very careful! There's a reason why commercial spray painting has to be done in explosion proof booths by law. Wear a PROPER mask, not one of those poxy paper dust masks. A good tip to help any spray you may ingest get carried through the body is to drink plenty of full fat milk before, during & after your spraying session. Apparently the emulsion (that's what milk is) traps the paint particles & you just sh*t them out rather than painting your insides.[/quote] Well said, although milk is meant to reduce the effects the thinners have on your brain, it'll still fry a few brain cells if you don't wear a mask. Polyester type paint as used by most major manufacturers needs to be sprayed in a spray booth, often with an air fed mask as it can do you some serious harm, but if you can buy it in an aerosol over the counter then you're normally reasonably safe, provided you take sensible precautions. Mask. Mask. Mask......

Got no tone controls on either of my basses, so tend to run the bass amp slightly brighter and adjust my technique for trebly, bassy or middley sounds. It keeps me on my toes and means I play the strings rather than knobs and pedals. I do have a V-Amp I just can't stop playing about with (strictly for bedroom use though ).

I think it looks better in maple anyway (although I like everything in maple so who am I to say). Looks the mutts nuts mate - makes me want to listen to some Sonic Youth.....

Why not go all out and have a metal board - I've heard of fretless guitars with a thin brass veneer glued over the original wooden board. It should sound a bit brighter and punchier than wood, even with a hard surface like superglue.

I've just added a second humbucker to my Epiphone EB-0, what I thought would be an identical EB-0 pickup in the bridge position. I couldn't believe how different they were, the new pickup was so hot and dark it actually sounded more bassy and loud than the original Epi pickup in the neck position. I swapped them around in the end and the bass sounds fantastic now, but I'm wondering whether the Epiphone pickups have been de-muddied and brightened up a bit to make the bass a bit more versatile. They couldn't have been more different.

[quote name='Jarhead' post='521873' date='Jun 23 2009, 06:14 PM']If I were you I'd upgrade the bridge to a Hipshot unit, the one they make for Gibsons/Epiphones, think its the Supertone(?), apparently the difference is night and day, and it feels much more secure, less likely to come out etc. Zach[/quote] Yeah I might try it at some point - it's certainly had good reviews, although it costs nearly as much as the bass did!

Swapped the massive output, hugely magnetted aftermarket pickup with the relatively sweet, trebly Epiphone EB-0, so I now have the epi on bridge duty and the monster one on neck. The bass plays fantastically now and can do Jaco harmonics, Level 42 fonky stuff and Cream style wooly fuzz bass, all with 2 volume controls and no tone!!! Well chuffed. I suppose Epiphone must have cut down on the windings and magnets on their version in order to give the bass a clearer (slightly) more versatile voice, 'cos I was shocked and stunned at the difference between two (what I thought were) identical pickups. Anyway, I got the result I wanted so very pleased.

[quote name='XB26354' post='521145' date='Jun 22 2009, 09:53 PM']A string with a capo at the 12th fret is half as long, so will obviously have less tension with a string of the same gauge tuned to the same pitch as an open string.[/quote] Exactly my point, so if you think of a bridge or a nut as another form of capo, the string's still in tension the other side of the part that's being played. Thing is, an inch or two extra string length behind the bridge is only going to add a few percent to the overall length and none to the free (vibrating) length, so won't affect the sound much, if at all but as Rick Turner said, it might change the feel of the string a bit.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='519194' date='Jun 20 2009, 12:58 PM']Doesn't make any difference to the tension. The steeper break angle can stop the string moving over the witness points on the bridge saddles and give a slightly tighter feel though, as can a more tiltback headstock. The extra string length of thru-body stringing has no effect at all on the feel or tension. A 33" will sound a little rounder and sweeter than a longer scale but it's not going to be a huge tonal difference compared to a 34". The strings will inevitably feel looser but some people prefer that. I prefer the higher tension and more aggressive sound on a 36" scale but I can certainly understand going the other way. Alex[/quote] I beg to differ Alex - any extra length of string between the anchor and the tuning peg will increase the tension. Otherwise you could put a capo on the 12th fret, tune it down an octave and experience no change in tension. I'm certainly not saying it'll increase 'sustain' (the holy grail of guitar design according to some), but if a string is longer, even if its being pushed onto a fret, nut or bridge, it will need to be tightened up more to reach the same pitch. On a less argumentative note, Birdsong do a 31" scale 5 string, which apparently sounds rather good. www.birdsongguitars.com

Yeah the covers are so massive you could just about squeeze a split coil Precision pickup under there - maybe even a hi tech soapbar if you wanted clean sounds with grungey looks. I'm not sure about the sound yet as I'm going to swap the sweeter sounding Epiphone pickup around with the souped up aftermarket one I put in the bridge position. At the moment the bridge sounds bassier than the neck! I'll keep y'all posted

[quote name='steve-soar' post='520197' date='Jun 21 2009, 08:42 PM']Good result, briliant idea to swap the pups. Well done. PS, you look a lot younger than I thought. [/quote] Thanks mate! I always thought the Gibson mini humbucker looked a bit lost on the old EB-3. I'm not sure of the benefits yet but I'll see how this swap over goes. Ahh yes, the picture was of number one son; similar looking to me but without the 39 years in the University Of Life.

Tis done! I'm pleased with the way it looks although the strange thing is the bridge pickup (acquired from this very forum) actually sounds louder and darker than the neck. The impedance is more or less the same but the bridge pup has been hot rodded with, (or was maybe made with) 4 bar magnets instead of the two of the stock (neck) pickup. It just shows you what a difference magnets and suchlike make. The next job is now to swap them over so the darker pup is by the neck and the brighter is at the bridge. One thing that's come out of it is because I have a thumb rest nearer the bridge now, my playing sounds brighter and clearer.

www.bassvi.org There's a whole forum dedicated to these instruments, although the one in your picture seems to have different pickups - maybe it's a baritone guitar version or suchlike. I played one once and it really was like a slightly big, deep sounding guitar. I'd definitely go for one but the MIJ reissues go for megabucks these days. Schecter do their own modernised version called the hellcat, but it doesn't look nearly as nice as the Fender.

If you like a bit more tension on your B string you could always ask for it to be strung through the body. The extra inch or so of tensioned string will firm it up a bit if you're worried it would be too floppy(!).

[quote name='Guy!!' post='518123' date='Jun 19 2009, 10:50 AM']Slightly off topic here, but were you able to find a gig bag for this bass? Im having trouble finding one that the head will fit in, hes quite wide at the top.. and the epiphone bag is apparently rubbish =S[/quote] No I haven't. I guess it's because most short scales are either too cheap to warrant the cost of a good gig bag or vintage instruments usually hauled around in flight cases. If I ever come across one on my travels I'll post it up.

Losing your fingers means losing your job as well as your hobby for most people operating planers and table saws, so presumably you'd have to sell your gear anyway to pay the rent. Mind you, I did see a one armed bassist on Youtube once.

Ahem.... Anyway, I'll cut it out and fit the pickup in the next few days and post some 'how to' pictures if anyone's interested.

A router is the easiest way to get a good result although you can do it with drills and chisels. You just need to take your time and work very carefully. Bear in mind if you want to use a router safely, you'll need to use it with a jig (a bit of plywood with a hole the same shape as the one you need to cut), so you'll need a jig saw or a fret saw to cut that out too. Even with cheap tools it's still a fair wedge if you only intend to do it once.