Paul_C

a Roland Cube 30 should be plenty

Nothing that anybody else chooses to do on bass, or anything else, matters. If you like what someone does then enjoy it, if you don't like it then let it go. In other words, if all you want to play is simple stuff, then that's fine, if all you want to listen to is music with simple bass parts that's good too, but that doesn't mean that anyone else should base their playing style on what you want, they should be free to please themselves and leave it up to every individual who might listen to what they decide to play whether they choose to enjoy it or not. Ultimately nothing is good or bad, it's just that you either like it or you don't, and if you don't like it, don't worry about it.

[quote name='Mr.T' post='526229' date='Jun 27 2009, 07:58 PM']I have just finished swapping out the pups on my Jazz for Wizard 84's. Either one on its own produces a healthy output, but... Both on together and the volume drops considerably. What have I done????? [/quote] You do get a drop in volume on a Jazz with both pickups on full, but if you're losing a lot of volume and bass then you might have the pickups out of phase. If the both-on sound is thin then reverse the wires from one of the pickups and see what you get.

[quote name='thedonutman' post='522456' date='Jun 24 2009, 11:32 AM']It could be cheaper to get a non-broken Rockbass off Ebay and just break it yourself?[/quote]

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='521935' date='Jun 23 2009, 06:10 PM']Surely if it's got a broken headstock it would make sense to take a picture of it.[/quote] there are some pics : not a good looking break, no guarantee that just glueing it would be enough to hold it together as there's no big flat surfaces

I've had any number of effects in the past, including a £700 (second hand!) multi effect set up, now I only use an ART Comp/Pre and occasionally a Sweeping Demon wah.

I've just de-fretted an Affinity Jazz for a local music school, and I have to say it's a nice bass for very little cash, having done it I'd quite like one myself

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnC1Xzm5uKM"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnC1Xzm5uKM[/url]

It's been known for a guitar lead to catch fire if used as a speaker lead, because it's designed to work with the relatively small signal coming from a bass, not the extra load that comes out of an amp.

[quote name='dood' post='507476' date='Jun 7 2009, 12:53 PM']not 100% sure about the damned,[/quote] it says as much on his website, and his wiki page [url="http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.gray/"]http://homepage.ntlworld.com/paul.gray/[/url] [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gray_(musician)"]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Gray_(musician)[/url]

my main gigging bass for the last four years (Bongo, US) has moved on, so now I'm using one I built myself (UK)

[quote name='mildmanofrock' post='501153' date='May 29 2009, 06:23 PM']Who/what is that about?[/quote] Steve Lawson, solo bass player - so he's only got himself to sack - though he's gigging a lot with Mrs Lawson now, so it's a little more complicated

I had a Fender Lead II (bought from a mate from my local pub for £25) made in the early 80s that had the same black/crazed finish - IIRC I was told at the time that Fender had to stop using nitro because of all the fumes being pumped out of the factory, and the finish was an early poly that didn't work too well I stripped off the bits that didn't just fall off and oiled/waxed it, sold on ebay a year later for £200

[quote name='Beedster' post='498634' date='May 27 2009, 12:06 PM']I'm currently putting together a Jazz Bass and have the opposite problem, that is I need an earth strip as it's a 62' RI body and there's no way I'm gonna take a drill to the control cavity! However, as I'm installing a J-Retro, I'm getting the idea from the abovge posts that I can do so without needing to earth the bridge, is that the case? Cheers Chris[/quote] IIRC you are correct

[quote name='BassKS' post='498602' date='May 27 2009, 11:30 AM']hahah, good one. Thats what I was hoping to do. the difficulty arises to find a long enough drill bit. But it can be done then thanks neepheid. BTW. If I chose to get a set of bartolinis passive with epoxy casing it shouldnt be bad, should it?[/quote] .... if you fitted a set of EMGs you wouldn't need an earth from the strings of course EMGs might not be to your taste ..

As an alternative to the business card, you might want to try a piece of wet and dry paper the length of the pocket - folded a third of the way along and cut to shape - that way you get something that grips both neck and body.

[quote name='rslaing' post='498019' date='May 26 2009, 02:41 PM']Exactly, this is a forum and the rules are to stay on topic. Which is exactly what I do, and others obviously don't. I ain't arrogant or egotistical - I make strong points about things which I know about and have experience. I say nothing about any subject about which I have no knowledge, which are many I assure you. Anyway, I'll keep this short, because it isn't on topic. But really, if people in here want to spend all day trolling, baiting, or as you put it, busting chops, maybe they should find a suitable forum exactly for that.[/quote]

Two things you might try: 1) find some thin foam as extra packing between speaker and cab, I had an Ashdown cab that buzzed annoyingly and like you I couldn't find anything loose, finally I added some thin strips on top of the foam already there and it disappeared. 2) I had an EBS 1x12 that made some curious noises which I finally traced to the jack socket - I was plugged into the speakon connector and as the back plate wasn't in a sealed box, it allowed air to pass out of it - I plugged a jack in to seal the hole and the sound disappeared.

I recall getting quite a good DB-ish tone out of a defretted Washburn acoustic AB10 by using a wad of kitchen towel wedged under the strings right by the bridge - I'd tried all sorts of different density sponge, but the kitchen towel worked better.

while it isn't as good as the stuff developed for medical use, I have used superglue a couple of times when I've stabbed/sliced myself, in my experience it peels off quite quickly, especially if you sweat, so might not be of much use unless you sit quietly when you gig

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='496854' date='May 24 2009, 09:35 PM']Jeez, all I was trying to express was that increased tuning accuracy was arguably a moot point when compared to other factors which might well make a greater (negative) contribution than a cheaper tuner. So... How does one install a BFTS shelf nut or compensated nut to an instrument with a zero fret and have it make any difference?[/quote] you can't - you could move the zero fret though (before the shelf nut, the nut slot had to be filled and a new one cut)

a proper wood glue is going to be a much better choice than superglue Titebond is what I use, both for repairs and for building instruments. [url="http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=22581"]http://www.axminster.co.uk/product.asp?pf_id=22581[/url]

[quote name='dlloyd' post='496758' date='May 24 2009, 07:10 PM']The Buzz Feiten system that rslaing is advocating along with this tuner is a neat system for dealing with a mechanical problem that's inherent in fretted instruments, in that the lower frets play sharper than they should due to the way the string stretches to a greater degree when you fret in these positions. This particular system involves requires an adjustment to the open string tuning, which means that you need to use a tuner with a special function that will tune the open string slightly flat (2 cents on most strings, it varies on guitar though). There are other tuners that have this function and they will work just as well as a strobostomp. Other manufacturers compensated nuts use standard tuning. I'd like to try out a Buzz Feiten system guitar, just to see if it does seem any different... I can honestly say the lower fret issue doesn't bother me that much, or, frankly, that I've ever noticed it when I haven't been looking for it, particularly when you've got additional temperament issues going on... the major third being 13 cents out of tune for example. Maybe compensated nuts work on a more subconscious level. The Feiten system is not designed to address issues of equal temperament, and while the strobostomp does have alternative temperament systems, they're not applicable to equally tempered instruments. The 0.1 cent accuracy claims are probably true, but any assertion that this level of accuracy is in any way necessary (or detectable by the human ear) in a real musical situation is pretty much hype.[/quote] I've fitted Buzz Feiten nuts to a number of guitars (no basses) including one for *name drop* Steve Rothery *name drop* and it does make a difference, but I've always sold it with the understanding that: a ) it isn't a complete fix, but certainly an improvement and b ) it's more of a benefit for someone who's not happy with the sound of their guitar even at its best (just been set up, new strings, etc.). There have been customers who have been overjoyed with the result. I can see the benefit when you're playing chords, not quite so convinced of its value on bass, but again, if you can hear something you don't like it might well be worth spending the money having it done (maybe of more use for those playing chords, on ERBs, for example) I use a Peterson tuner (VSII) too, and it's more than earned its keep over the years, but as I set up guitars professionally I felt I had to own a decent one. As has been said, there are many other factors that affect the note, and in a gigging situation, with changes of heat/humidity/adrenalin (or beer) making you play harder/grip the neck tighter etc., it might not make that much difference (and apart from very extreme situations, there won't be many in the audience that would give a damn if a note was flat or sharp unless even a cheap tuner could spot it).

[quote name='grumble' post='489939' date='May 16 2009, 05:01 PM']OK, here goes.. I've defretted a Peavey Milestone 3 and everything went well. Fitted the neck back on the body and strung it with some new Rotosound Jazz strings. Played a few scales around the fifth fret and everything seemed Ok but when I dropped down to the 1st/2nd fret region I found the strings were dead/buzzing. OK not a problem, raise the action and check intonation. The trouble is that now the action is a little high for my tastes and fingering around the 1st/2nd fret region is quite hard. A (guitard) friend has suggested shimming the neck, how would this help and how would I do it ? Any other ideas? On a plus note, I'm pleasantly suprised by my accuracy on the defretted Peavey. I'm still a sh*te player but now with a nicer tone [/quote] have you cut the nut slots down ? usually the nut is cut to match the level of the first fret, but with a fretless you want it cut right down - I usually leave a small step from board to nut, but only a fraction of a millimetre