henry norton

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.

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='516869' date='Jun 17 2009, 09:48 PM']I've put a Dimarzio model 1 at the bridge on a P bass (custom narrow spacing on the bridge) and it sounds really nicely defined and you can get some nice squealy harmonics if thats your bag (even on a bass tuned down to A).[/quote] Yeah I was hoping it would sound good but without sounding 'just like a Musicman/G&L/universal long scale bass' type of thing. That's quite encouraging. I've got a model one on its way which will hopefully find itself onto an EB-2 / Starfire semi hollow type bass when I get around to making it. Actually I want to build a maple veneered one with the model one and an ebony or walnut veneered one with a Darkstar, or maybe a pair of EMG HBs and an active tone circuit. Oh, and I need a new fretless too. Oops, I think I've hijacked my own thread

[quote name='Metalmoore' post='516985' date='Jun 17 2009, 11:29 PM']Just wondering if it was possible and if there is any guides around. I would imagine getting something really pointy and stabbing away at the space under the P PUP :wacko:[/quote] What exactly do you want to do? Add a Jazz pickup to the bridge of a Precision (relatively easy) or change a precision into a Jazz (rather more involved) or something else in between?

Thanks Steve, Yeah, the Rotosounds are really good - I never got on that well with flats before, even though I played fretless exclusively for quite a few years. At the moment I switch between the two sets depending on what I'm playing. I can't think of a better excuse to get another bass to be honest....

And the picture which didn't upload for some reason....

I've been thinking about doing this long before I got hold of an EB-0. Now I've got one I can't put it down and the old Precision has been relegated to the wardrobe. Here's a pic of the cover in place, now all I've got to do is cut the hole. I'll start with just the 2 pickups and 2 volumes but will eventually try series/parallel/single and perhaps some active stuff.

... if you could buy bass strings that had the sexy, smooth feel of nylon flatwounds (like Rotosound tru bass) but with the brightness, sustain and sparkle of a decent stainless roundwound. People have walked on the moon, why can't someone do this?