hubrad

This is the one I use.. http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/servisol-super-10-switch-contact-cleaner-200ml-jp17t Maplin are easy to find, but most places doing electronics gear and many music shops will stock it. Because I use it myself, we stock it at work!

Definitely try cleaning the pots and sockets first.. it may well fix the problem, and if not you'll have an appreciation of why a repairer will charge so much for 'simply changing a pot' and why they'll often suggest changing all the pots at once. Depending on the amp, getting to the back of the pots in order to spray Servisol in there can take anything from a few minutes to a couple of hours!

2112 THE album that got me into rock!

If you can track one down, the Aria STB-JB is just such a thing.

On my own, I aim for zero. That's the height off the board when I 'fret' a note.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1446718310' post='2901643'] I dunno, the last band I left? [/quote] The best answer of the thread so far; I'm surprised nobody else picked up on it!

I'm not bothered about the price tag, as such. If it's one of those basses that I connect with, I'd be gutted if it got broken or nicked whether it was a couple of hundred or a couple of grand. If you love it, guard it well!

Did you get sparks? I once had a speaker blow, well within power, and I was alerted to it by one of the guitarists pointing and laughing! Sparks , smoke, the works. :-D

[quote name='zawinul' timestamp='1446494125' post='2899849'] looks like I've gone and got myself an ACG fretless beauty...... I'll let you know when the deal is sealed!!! [/quote] Excellent. . Hope it's the one! I've got different fretlesses for different purposes. My longest standing one doesn't even have (or need) a tone control. Also a different set of strings can radically alter the whole tone and response, so buckle up and enjoy the trip!

Also, have you tried fresh batteries? Active circuits usually distort when the battery is low.

[quote name='anzoid' timestamp='1444640056' post='2884626'] If it's a de-fret - i.e. where someone has at some point taken the frets off an "ordinary" bass, then make sure that whatever they've used to fill the gaps is level with the rest of the fingerboard. Best thing is that the gaps are filled with wood - which should (hopefully, all being well, etc) move with any other shifts in the fingerboard. Some people use plastic wood filer and, personally, I'm not a fan. Also, having wasted time on a buying a de-fretted bass - make sure a good job has been done and that where the frets have been taken out no (or very little) fingerboard wood has gone (and been filled...). The tangs of the frets sometimes rip the wood if the job wasn't done well and if nothing else it's plain ugly. [/quote] All of this! I've done a few defrets, being predominantly a fretless player myself. Don't just assume a factory fretless will be right, though. I got a Squier VM Jazz FL a couple of years back, just for the experiment you understand! A decent enough piece of kit in general, but the fingerboard was crap! Every fret line was in its own dip. I had to sand the whole fingerboard to make it usable. Sold it on in far better fettle than I bought it. :-)

True, plus probably less fiddly than just tweaking around trying to get the existing ones balanced. New stuff. Yaaayy!

If the shafts are bent, surely they'd wobble already?

Either that or make up some uneven washer, so they get pulled back into a straight aspect.

Are the pot shafts at an angle to the plate or body surface, so the knobs stay at the same angle all the time, or are the knobs at an angle on the shafts so they kinda wobble as you turn them?

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1444995910' post='2887970'] WAL, FODERA, FBASS, ENFIELD, GUS! [/quote] Dirty, dirty dirty.. oooh!

I still love my AH250SMX, but felt the need for a little extra 'something' without losing that Trace clarity. Started off looking a little higher up the TE range, but they don't seem to be either around much or that well reputed since they left these shores. Ended up settling on a GK Fusion 550 from Phill at Bassgear of Twyford.. totally blown away with it, in fact it's become my main amp with the SMX now being the backup!

I think that's the thing, David - you were initially nervous but then 'completely blown away' by a particular maker. I've experienced the same thing myself with Overwater. Plenty of folks go for such as Fender 'cos they know what they'll get; a bit like eating in Wetherspoons in a strange town. Reliable, but if you hit lucky there are most likely far batter eateries, depending on what you fancy. It's another endless debate!

[quote name='DavidMcKay' timestamp='1444846689' post='2886698'] I was too at the start but it is all going wrong for me! [/quote] Ah, the biter, bit! See what you started. . [size=4] [/size]

Bleeding over from a FB forum, could we introduce a trigger warning?

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1444297290' post='2881924'] Fodera on the other hand is one of the largest can of worms you can open on here [/quote] I thought that was Fender! [runs for cover]

[url="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=abs+flightcase+handle&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAmoVChMIzrDB16yryAIVBdMUCh31LgtJ&biw=960&bih=617"]https://www.google.c...biw=960&bih=617[/url] Reveals quite a few with the same looking handle.. contacting one or more of those companies could find the handle as a replacement part. Have exact dimensions to hand.

Another Ebay shop.. I've had various cabinet handles and fittings from him.. http://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/mlc-audio?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2754