hubrad

20 minutes ago, Beedster said:

I sold a bass on here a while back (there's a surprise) and the buyer came back to me and complained about fret buzz, which he said was all the way up the neck. He demanded a refund. It was a top-end Jap Yamaha, and was so well made that the action was almost a case of strings sitting on the frets, no effort to play, but lovely tone nonetheless. I'm guessing he was used to a rather more agricultural approach to technique. He didn't take well to my suggestion that he simply raise the action a little either  

When I worked in a music shop, we sold a guitar mail order to a chap who specified string gauges and setup heights to the fraction of a millimetre. Not a problem as such, but our tech (who really knows his stuff and has a natural feel for setup) phoned him to advised it would rattle all over. Customer got quite high-horsey, and 'knew exactly what he wanted', so our chap did as instructed and we shipped the guitar out.

Not a surprise, then, when customer rang up suitably shame-faced and accepted the offer of another setup as per our chap's suggestion. Happy customer!

Back on topic, you can go a bit lower action-wise by using heavier strings. This, of course, may alter feel and tone in a way you like or dislike..

5 minutes ago, floFC said:

Stop right there. yes, you need special strings for acoustic basses.

Ball end bass strings, use whichever you prefer.

The trick, as with acoustic guitar, is to get the ball alongside the pin once it's through the soundboard, so the pin acts as a toggle rather than holding the string in by friction.

Initially fiddly, but once you get the hang it becomes second nature.

It was (ahem!) some years ago, but I had some Boss pedal that just clashed with other pedals. Fine on battery, but noisy as you like when in a FX box all on the same PSU. I spoke to the Boss folks, who said that ground wasn't actually 0 Volts, unlike pretty much everything else available at the time. I wonder if it's one of those?

5 hours ago, miles'tone said:

I was very tempted by the Bruce Thomas Profile bass  but every picture I've seen of one has the pole pieces on the D and G really out of alignment with the strings. The tort pickguard is cut wrong on every one, with the outside poles of the A and D directly on top of each other. Check out how a real P has it's pickups positioned for reference.

You don't notice this on the first Profile Bass run with the blank covers of course.

Lovely looking and sounding bass but considering all the work they put in with the prototypes getting it 'right', that is a massive schoolboy error! Does kind of make me wonder what else they've missed..

I didn't notice such things on a pupil's Bruce Thomas Profile last year, but I must say it was a splendid bass! I'm no P bass afficionado, but it really grabbed me.

On 08/12/2018 at 18:30, Jezyorkshire said:

just found this thread, ive just ordered a Bass Collection Detroit and its expected to be delivered on Tuesday!

That means you've had it about a month now.. how's it going?

About 15 years ago, the bassist in a band in which I played guitar had a heart attack, mild enough that he was able to drive himself to A&E.

Docs told him to get back to work but lay off heavy lifting, so for a few months he had a (younger and fitter) friend roadying for him. Seemed to work.

Best wishes for a good recovery, Bilbo!

Not owned short like 30 inch, but I have dabbled on various scale lengths down to 25 and do own fretless 33, 34 and 35, and db.. once you get used to any instrument your muscle memory and ear engage and you'll be fine.

2 hours ago, Bolo said:

How does it read at the 12th fret?

Play the harmonic at 12th fret, which is a much cleaner signal for any tuner to read as it cuts out half the harmonics. Also you don't get any of that effect of the heaviest string pulling itself out of tune as it flaps!

Always done this, even on 6 string.

Saying all the above, I mostly use a Planet Waves Micro Tuner these days, which copes really well with DB E string and electric bass even down to low B.

Haha.. let's look at 'some' of the Modulus ones..

G'wAAAN!

Take it steady on the caffeine.. less is more! 🙂

1 hour ago, NickA said:

Ah the joys of autocorrect.  I too have trouble sustainng my pizza , had to switch to lasagne. 🙂

Haha, I'm leaving that up!

Silver Slaps are wire wound iirc, so tend to grab the bow hair. Not ideal, but if you don't want to change strings for now you'll just have to put up with this while you get your chops together.

Honeys bow nicely enough; a good general purpose set. Flatwound, as are the majority of dB strings.

Going to higher tension, stiffer steel cores tends to be a bit harder to control Arco but quite doable. More harmonic content, so sometimes easier to scratch or whistle.

Conversely, full-on orchestral strings are pretty amazing Arco but much harder work for pizza sustain.

Worth keeping your eyes open on here for part-used sets so as to experiment on a better budget.

Interestingly enough to revive this thread..

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F223035306112

Is there a UK distribution for Ampeg? 

I have an ah250smx head, probably the same generation as the op's combo. Turned out the XLR out was not actually built as a balanced di but unbalanced. After quite a few comments on low signal from engineers, I contacted Trace, who informed me of this.

The fix was to install a balancing transformer (sold by Trace, natch!). Problem solved. 

Isn't there someone darn sarf doing service and spares on Trace gear?

Weekday delivery from Swedish hub?? 

Might be awkward for collection..

I'd assume fakes. Too cheap to be true, and searching for 'WeichsterSports' - the seller on Wish - only brings them up on Wish, selling a right old selection of random shite stuff.

I'd happily be proved wrong, though.

Perhaps someone from Elixir will come along and comment.

7 hours ago, discreet said:

Rubbish, we know EVERYTHING. My grandad was a doctor anyway, so that proves it. 

My grandad was a doctor, too.. are we long-lost brothers?

1 hour ago, 2x18 said:

Right guys  -- I bought the Moollon on E-bay thinking I was getting a cheap asian bass like Amoon , Rocktile etc. in a nice Mono gig bag ( I had never come across Moollon before )  -- Planned to keep the Mono gig bag and sell the bass cheaply!

Imagine my surprise when the bass arrived and I unpacked it -- Stunning build quality and played and sounded better than most P-Basses I have ever played ( And that is a lot in my 72+ years )

I did some searching on Google and quickly found several reviews ( all Good )  and then I came across one of Scott playing his on youtube and thought that it looked familiar so looked through his other vids and found the one reporting it as stolen!

I managed to contact Scott on Facebook and he rang me and I confirmed I had his Bass but wanted to ensure the Police followed up on it so I got the crime report No. from Scott and contacted the Police. I also contacted the Vender ( blueandyellow stores, which turns out to be Cash Generators ) and told them they had sold a valuable stolen Bass, They wanted me to send it back to them so they could sort it -- No Chance!

The Police came and collected the Bass and I gave them all the sales information so they could investigate ( which I believe is still ongoing ) The Police officer assured me she would take the Bass straight back to Scott the rightful owner, which she did.

I eventually managed to get a refund from the vendor once the police were involved and I did receive many Thanks and a very nice Reward from Scott!  -- Thanks Scott.

All in all a nightmare experience but hopefully the Police may get the Culprit(s)

Will  ( Eddie to Family and Friends )

Wow, what are the chances?

Excellently played, mon brave! 

There's a few around; mostly custom makers, but then you can pick a colour, any colour..

I contacted this one, and they came back very quickly. Website looks very good: http://www.jacksinstrumentservices.com/custom-scratchplate-cutting.html

A 'stonking buy', indeed! Have a bump on me. 🙂

If Polar aren't being much help, I'd contact GK in USA. If they suggest contacting Polar, say why you've come direct to head office!

Phew.. I'm glad I'm not the only one to have seen that one!

Fair enough, someone has put a load of extra work into it, but we all know about the resale value of mods.

This looks like yer man: he'll take your existing plate and replicate it in a wide variety of materials and finishes.

http://www.jacksinstrumentservices.com/custom-scratchplate-cutting.html

Basically, it all starts here.. the more you play, and the more intensely, the quicker it'll develop. Keeps on happening for years, albeit less noticeable day to day.

Enjoy the ride! :-)