Nostromo

[quote name='icastle' post='1163581' date='Mar 15 2011, 07:55 PM']No reason not to use threadlock, but I suspect that if the saddle is dropping then the thread is so badly worn that threadlock isn't going to help you.
I'd be more inclined to work out whats happening and fix it rather than use workarounds.[/quote]

Fair point icastle,

But on this occasion, if it were me, I'd probably give it a go with the nail varnish or something similar . . . . . . nothing to loose by trying !

After all, even if you used some proper "threadlock" and then it all goes wrong, then its nothing seriously lost . . . its not as if a new replacement Mex saddle is hard to get or expensive ?
. . . . . .

[color="#4169E1"][i]"Whilst endeavouring to offer good advice I make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, reliability, suitability or viability of this information with respect to any proposal or purpose. Any reliance you place on this information is therefore strictly at your own risk".[/i][/color]
. . . . . . .
No . . seriously . . . . give it a try !

Cheers

[quote name='icastle' post='1163588' date='Mar 15 2011, 08:00 PM']IIRC this amp has a single valve pre-amp[/quote]

Yes you do recall correctly, its got 12AX7 pre amp valve I think, and, my SWR SM-500 has, I would estimate, run for between 1000 and 1500 hours altogether since new on this same valve. Its never been changed.

I dont know what the normal service life of a 12AX7 pre amp valve ought to be ?

Maybe the valve is wore out ?

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1163489' date='Mar 15 2011, 06:42 PM']I think if anything they reduce the string's contact area at the bridge (unless you have a small enough string gauge that can be "cupped" by the pitch) - which runs contrary to any of the other mumbo-jumbo about maximum contact = sustain.[/quote]

Yea - I agree with you there Ou7shined, seems to me that the "max contact = sustain" thing is truly mumbo-jumbo . . . . . . its always seemed intuative to me that minimum contact whould equal maximum sustain ? . . . .

Dont think I want to explain why . . . . it would turn this reply into a war and peace post I think ? ?

No doubt its been discussed on here many times before anyway ?

Hi,

After many years of totally trouble free use and fantastic reliability, my SWR SM-500 has developed a very loud buzz when first switched on from cold.

When first switched on it now buzzes away very loudly for about 3 to 4 minutes whereafter the buzz fades away from loud to nothing over about two minutes and after that it performs fine ? . . . it acts the same whichever bass guitar / guitar lead / cab / cab lead I use with it.

It only started doing this about three weeks ago and never ever did it before - I'm wondering if I'm hearing a pre-curser to bigger problems or a breakdown ahead ?

It’s not my main gigging amp, but I use it every week for practice and always take it to gigs as a standby/understudy for my valve gigging amps.

Big question is - if the loud buzz is trying to tell me something is wrong, then would it be worth having it serviced now or is it best to wait till it actually breakes down (if indeed it even is going to break down ?) before I take it to be looked at ?

Or can anyone else assure me that such buzzing is ok and normal for a cold SWR SM-500 ? . . . . .

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1163491' date='Mar 15 2011, 06:43 PM']I totally agree.[/quote]


So to answer Son of Frog's initial question – er - nothing is great or special about them ?

I guess the presence of the thread allows you some easy lateral adjustment on where you place the string over the saddle as apposed to a single notched steel barrel ? . . . but on the other hand you can also get a completely smooth un un-notched steel saddle barrel and that would offer infinite lateral string adjustment ! . . .

So in the end, and as usual, its all down to practical considerations and probably has very little to do with tone ?

[quote name='paul_5' post='1161308' date='Mar 14 2011, 07:22 AM']from my experience that doesn't look much like knurling. To me they look more ....(ahem) ribbed... that is all. [/quote]

I agree, it isn’t knurling . . . . it’s just an example of good old Leo Fender at his most resourceful and practical best ! . . . threaded bar !

I’ve read somewhere that early Fenders often used simple and cheap threaded bar to make the saddles for their instruments. Probably due to nothing more straightforward than it was cheaper (most likely) or easier from a production point of view (second most likely) ? . . Certainly a totally pragmatic low tech solution to the requirements of a saddle !

I think threaded bar saddles were commonly used on Telecasters in the early 60’s and I’ve seen them on early 60’s Jazz Basses – not sure if they were ever used on the very early Tele Basses or Precision Basses ? in fact I think the very first fender basses had pressed fibre saddles - I have no idea what they would have performed like from a "tone point of view" but I've never seen them available as an aftermarket upgrade so I think we can conclude they wern't very good ?

One things for sure – I bet Leo Fender would have said there’s no difference in tone between using a smooth steel saddle as apposed to a threaded one ? . . . . . .

But no doubt there are loads of people who’ll think differently ?

Dosh in the post . . . . . . . thanks again . . . . . . forever in your debt

Cheers,

[quote name='neepheid' post='1162839' date='Mar 15 2011, 10:33 AM']Also have a care as to where the truss rod adjusts on the neck you wish to use. If it has heel truss rod access, get a pickguard with the notch cut out at the heel, if it's head access then get one with a plain heel otherwise you have a pointless notch in your pickguard. Up to you, but it would irritate me [/quote]

Good point . . . . . I forgot that one ! . . . . . yes . . . . . some research will be required to get that right !

There are two issues really.

1. As some other contributors have highlighted, the screw holes probably won't line up – indeed there may not even be the same number of screw holes. But this is no problem since, as has already been said, you can fill the existing holes and re-drill to suit your new scratch plate. You would be really unlucky if any of your old holes transpired to be visible when the new plate was in position. But there is a very slight chance that could happen.

2. The other issue is the shape of the end of the neck. I’ve done several similar projects over the years and have been caught out in that some necks have a “flattened” end whilst others have a rounded end. Also the radius at the end of the neck can vary. This seems to depend on where the neck is manufactured. The point here being that your new scratch plate may, or may not, be shaped to mate exactly with the end of your neck. You just need to look very closely at the neck and equally scrutinise the precise shape of your donor USA scratch plate. If they don’t mate properly there will either be a small interference fit and you’ll have to dress back the plate, or alternatively there will be a slight gap – regarding the latter, either that’s an aesthetic problem to you or it isn’t ? – just depends how much of a perfectionist you are ? . . either way it will sound fine . . its just an issue of aesthetics ?

The attached photo shows what I mean about the detail of the neck/scratch plate interface - if you look closely you will see that the radius of the scratch plate doesn’t match the radius of the neck and there is a small gap (about 1 mm) between the scratch plate and the neck at the radius. In this case you are looking at an Indonesian squier neck butting against an after market USA precision scratch plate. I had to dress the plate quite a bit to get it to interface as well as this. To me the small gap at the radius is acceptable and you cant notice it from more that about 1 meter away – but on the other hand a “true luthier”, which I definitely am not, would say this is a very very shoddy fit ! ! ! . . so, as I say, it just depends how "perfect" you want your project to look ?

[attachment=74814:Neck_Scr...nterface.JPG]

Good luck with your project - its great fun creating your own unique instrument.

Many Thanks . . . . .

I will check out as suggested.

Cheers,

Hi Bass Doc,

Just to let you know I've send you a message via the basschat message system.

Cheers and thanks again,

Wonderful,

Its a deal . . . . . how shall I pay you the Tenner ?

If you'd let me have an address I could post the tenner to you first - and on receiopt of that you could send the knobs ?

Very many thanks to Bass Doc . . . . . .

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1161734' date='Mar 14 2011, 01:34 PM']Must have been a fan then. You should feel honoured.

Seriously though, try [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?s=&showtopic=26672&view=findpost&p=274166"]this[/url].[/quote]

Well . . . . never thought about havin fans nicking me knobs ? . . . surely not ?

. . no only joking ! . . . . am fairly certain I dont have any fans !

Could have been the landlord at the pub where we played the gig ? . . . . always moaning we charged too much to play !

And thanks for your "try [u]this[/u]" link . . . not found anything yet but my google searches are getting warmer ?

ps . . . like your "high plains skankin" by the way . . . .

[quote name='MarkBassChat' post='1162108' date='Mar 14 2011, 06:14 PM']Can you post a photo of the amp from the back? I assume that the fan is working. Have you checked whether the problem is with the preamp or the power amp?

Mark

[attachment=74790:FenderRumble2.jpg][/quote]


Hi Mark,

Yea - I will post up a rear elevation shot of my amp as soon as I next connect my camera to my lap top . . . . but, for info, mine looks just exactly the same as the one in your post . . . . is that your amp ?

If so, have you ever had any problems with yours ? . . . . .

For info, I've just found a couple of old obscure posts (90's) saying that some of the Rumble Bass Amps had duff valve sockets and that otherwise unfathomable problems could sometimes be resolved simply by upgrading the valve sockets ?

And yes . . . my fan is working fine . . . . but its odd that the fan directs airflow over the transformer when its the main chassis units that allegedly get the hottest ?

Havent checked out whether pre or power side problems as I dont know how to do that ?

Cheers,

Thanks for that Mark . . . . I'm sure your advice is good . . . and your way ahead is exactly the one I'm going to adopt.

The info I got from Psycho Bass Guy, (the knowledgeable contributor to the "Vintage Amps Bulletin Board") suggested that all Custom Shop Rumble Bass 300w heads had serious problems. And after lots if internet research I read from various sources that a good percentage of these amps broke down very quickly from new, many in retail stores, after only hours of being demo'd, and before they could even be sold ! ! These infant breakdowns, and there were lots of them percentage wise apparently, went back to Fender and most never saw the light of day again as even fenders warranty repair people couldn't fix them ! . . (that quote was from the guy responsible for the custom shop warranty returns at the time) So, a strange backlog of stories and history behind these rare amps ? . . I’ve never even seen another example in the UK in the flesh other than my own, so I don’t know if the problems reported on the internet applied to the UK batch the same as it certainly did to the USA 110v ones ? . . . . I’ve also read there were less than 30 sold in the UK all together.

I noticed that the Bass Player with Neil Young (Rick Rosas I’m pretty sure it was ?) was using a Custom Shop Rumble Bass head at Neil Young’s Glastonbury gig in 2009 I spotted it on the TV and that’s the only time I've ever seen one being used. (That would make sense as the Rumble Bass was closely associated [design wise] with the AMPEG SVT which Rick Rosas generally used) It would be interesting to know whether that example (probably a 110v model) is still original or whether Rick Rosas has had to have his modded to make it tour reliable ? ?

Anyway, my intention is to let Steve Rowse have a look at mine and see if he can fix it without having to do too much to detract from its originality ? . . . so, thanks for your thoughts and here's a picture of my Rumble Bass which looks lovely but sounds terrible at the moment ! ! !

[attachment=74789:Rumble_Bass.jpg]

Cheers,

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='1161762' date='Mar 14 2011, 01:55 PM']These are the same as fitted to the early Precision Lyte basses.

I may have some in a spares box from way back when a mate changed the circuit in his Lyte.

I'll have a look later today.

In the meantime, nearest equivalent (without the 'F') is Allparts No. PK-0183-023.[/quote]

Hi there Bass Doc,

To the rescue again ! . . . . . . really kind of you . . . . . . be pleased to hear if your search is successful ?

Cheers,

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1161708' date='Mar 14 2011, 01:16 PM']Go to the next gig of the other band that was on the line up and wait for the bass player to go to the loo. [/quote]

Cant believe a fellow bass player would do a thing like that . . . . surely sacrilege to plunder and despoil an all original 80’s fender bass ! ! ! . . . surely not the work of a fellow musician ?

Any advice on where I might find some NOS knobs much appreciated everyone ?

Hi,

I've had the control knobs pinched off of my 80's Jazz Bass Special . . . . . . unbelievable when you think you're only out gigging for penuts to entertain people ! ! !

Left the bass on its stand during a pub gig interval between sets - and when I got back from the bar . . . . two knobs gone ! . . . . and no one saw a thing ! . . . who'd expect that to happen ? ? ?

Anyway thats the sad story . . . . . my question is . . . . . does anyone know where I might get some genuine replacements ?

These knobs look somewhat similar to strat knobs, but, very slightly taller and they have as sort of soft rubber shank covering rather than being hard plastic like a strat knob, so they feel completely different to the touch.

Obviously a great shame to loose the originals on a bass thats now starting to become collectable . . . and what use they will be to the thief who now has them I do not know ? ? ?

Was also wondering if these exact knobs were fitted to any other guitars ? . . . . as if they were, then maybe I could extend my google seach options . . . at the moment I'm using very narrow search terms like "jap jazz bass special knobs" to try and home in on the correct ones ?

Picture of exactly what I'm after attached below:-

[attachment=74775:Fender_J...pan_Knob.jpg]


ps. Ive found a USA website that sells knobs with identical form to these original Jap fender knobs except they dont have the reverse fender "F" cap, so almost a replacement but not quite ! ! . . . . .

So . . . still looking for real fender Japan NOS replacements - any advice or info much appreciated ? ?

Web search not throwing up anything helpful so far ?

Hi,

I’m looking to find a good valve amp repair person in the UK to undertake what I suspect will be extensive repairs on my cherished Custom Shop RumbleBass head.

My RumbleBass is suffering from overheating/breakdown problems (which I'm told are due to poor chassis ventilation) that regularly afflict this model. I’m told the issues are partly due to shortcomings in the amps original ventilation design coupled to the use of cheap low quality components, and that ALL RumbleBass Heads have the same issues, and because of the problems with this rare model there are hardly any RumbleBass heads left in working condition. I’m therefore all the more determined to keep my example up and running - if I can find someone able to undertake the required work ?

So far, three different techs have looked at the RumbleBass but none have been able to affect a repair. One repair guy kindly looked at the amp for free - he didn’t charge me as he couldn't get to the bottom of the problem. Since then I've been to two other techs who have between them recommended complete replacement of all the pre amp and power valves and undertaken lots of biasing adjustments but none of these repairs or adjustments have lasted more than a couple of hours until motor-boating noises, crackling & popping noises, and intermittent volume loss returns. Such a shame because when working properly this amp sounds amazingly good.

Since then I've been told that valves are not the problem at all and that these repairers have been looking at the wrong thing ? . . . .

Psycho Bass Guy who is a regular contributor to the "Vintage Amps Bulletin Board" appears to be extremely knowledgeable on these amps, (unfortunately he's not in the UK) and he advises me that my Rumble Bass head probably needs a complete recap, including the small coupling caps, and probably could do to have all the critical resistors changed, too. Also, both the Pre Amp and Power Amp Chassis units will both needs to be modified to include some physical ventilation to improve heat dissipation. Unless this chassis modification is undertaken I’m advised by Psycho Bass Guy that the overheating problems will quickly return – unless, as someone else has suggested, I can find new componentry that can withstand higher temperatures than the original components.

A couple of people have said that these amps were fitted out with surprisingly low quality budget componentry, considering they were top of the range custom shop models when new, and that this fact doesn’t help. I have no understanding as to whether it would be possible to specifically select replacement components of higher quality/reliability that are designed for higher temperatures ? I would want to keep the electical properties/values of new components the same so as not to change the tone of the Amp ?

Obviously with such a rare and valuable Custom Shop Head I don’t intend to start drilling cooling holes in the chassis units if there is any other way ahead possible ? . . . I maintain the secondary objective of keeping the amp as close to original as is possible, though my priority is that I do want it to be reliable and usable and I dont want to introduce any components that would change the tone of the amp, which I love as it is.

In the first instance I need to find someone expert enough to diagnose the amp properly, identify appropriate replacement components, recommend a way ahead and undertake the required work ? . . So any recommendations on a good amp repair tech in the UK very very much appreciated.

Thanks,

Nostromo

[quote name='webby' post='983210' date='Oct 10 2010, 11:46 AM']Could you put me right on some terms/abbreviations please?

What is SQ, JV and CV in regards to Fender/Squier basses? And what is the Vintage Modified bass? It doesn't even say on the Squier site! What does it mean exactly?

Cheers

p.s. how about a Jaguar?[/quote]

Hi there,

I think JV were the original early series of Fender Japan guitars produced in the early 80's. JV stands for Japanese Vintage as I understand it. They are now highly sought after and dont come cheap ! . . . . As for the Vintage modified Bass . . . well . . . I think that model is called Vintage because its a sort of fenders own generic copy of one of their vintage Precisions (but I dont think its supposed to be a replica of any particular exact year) . . . and I suspect its called Modified because its got Semour Duncan pickups on it, which probably means it wont sound the same as a real vintage american precision . . . you'll have to look on the web, or better still go and play one, to find out exactly what the pickups are and what they sound like ?

As for SQ . . . . not sure about that one ? . . . . sounds like a typical Fender serial number prefix . . . and the letter prefix's usually refer to country of origin ? (possibly a more modern japanese run/range or something like that ?) again youd need to do a web search to nail exactly what it stands for ?

Hi there,

I've got US, Mex & Jap fenders.

Have to say I never buy without trying / playing the guitar so I'm not going to end up with a dud . . . . whatever its origin of manufacture !

My thoughts are, that when you find a nice instrument that you really like, then its hard to put them in any meaningful pecking order, or value order, so to speak ?

I guess if I was forced to make a choice between my bass's, then I'd keep the bass I gig the most - which is my 80's Jap Jazz Bass Special . . . which as I'm sure you'll know is a sort of PBass with a Jazz neck - fabulous guitar. But, that one didn't cost as much as my Mex Active PBass Special which is a totally different sounding guitar and also great to play.

So to answer your question I'd probably bid higher on a Jap guitar I liked as I find them to be exceptionally well crafted and I love the particular neck profile of the 80's ones I've got . . which I find I can play for ages without getting any playing discomfort problems.

So my order would probobly be:-

Jap Fender . . then probably Mex Fender . . then . . the Squier . . . . . but they are all great guitars ! . . . and I've always wanted a nice JV Squier Bass . . . . Ive got a JV Tele . . and the bass is high up on my wants list . . . but the price these days for a good one ! ! ! . . . that on its own answers your question about Jap quality !

Cheers

Great song Zak . . . . i dont like reggae . . . I love it !

[quote name='paul h' post='978514' date='Oct 5 2010, 04:17 PM']At last weeks rehearsal I noticed a significantly lower output from my D and G strings. I tweaked the pickup heights which helped a bit but I am planning on getting over it with a bucketful of compression. I use light strings and I am sure that a heavier gauge might help.

Anyone care to share their experiences?[/quote]

Hi Paul,

Have a look at some of the contributions to my earlier post (of some months ago) on a very similar subject . . . contibutions to that may be of some use to you ?

[topic="64884"]Effect of string gauge on bass tone & overall sound ?[/topic]

Best regards,

[quote name='Twigman' post='973812' date='Oct 1 2010, 12:26 PM']So many of you play in covers bands, in fact it seems to me that all of you do!!!

What is the appeal of playing in a covers band?

I've never understood it.[/quote]

Well . . . . I'd like to think I'm quite a reasonably good musician . . so far as playing guitar and Bass is concerned that is ! . . . . but I'm equally certain I'm absolutely no good at all at writing new material and nor are any of the other members / performers of the covers band I play in ! . . . .

Though you dont make the specific statement . . . are you sort of implying that people who cant write original material or who collectively dont know anyone who can write original material didn't ought to play in bands ? . . . . did we "covers people" all ought to sell our instruments and constrain ourselves to listening to the originals on vinyl or CD ? . . . . Or am I asking, do you think good musicianship is wasted if its only used to deliver a tune written a while ago by someone else somewhere else ?

I believe being able to write music is a wonderful gift and fresh original songs must be very difficult to write these days. If you are one of those lucky people who can write . . or you work with some one who is gifted in this way then I really really envy you . . . provided the quality of the writing is good ! . . . and I guess in that case you could consider yourself a division up from the humble covers musician ?

From my experiance there is nothing better to see and hear, than a live band playing their own material when the songwriting is good . . . . . . . but conversely . . there is also nothing worse than a live band playing their own material when the songwriting is err . . how do I say it . . . uninspiring or just plain bad !

To sum up my thoughts . . . well maybe there arnt enough good songwriters in the world to give all of us bands out here a captivating set of new material ! . . . . and some of us actually do like the covers we chose to perform ! . . . . and anyway all of our songs, now covers, were originals in the fisrt place . . . . . and, actually, one of my main reasons for doing live music at all, is the real kick I get out of entertaining the audience . . . and if the audience have turned up specifically to listen to covers of tunes they know and love . . then whats wrong with me using my playing ability, modest as it is, to do the best I can with those tunes ? . . . so . . . there seem to be quite a lot of reasons for justifying anyone who wants to play covers ? . . . . .

Just some thoughts to stimulate the debate ? . . . . .

OK . . . any thoughts much appreciated . . . . . . .

Just measured up my PBass up . . . . the neck pocket is approximately 95mm long . . . . and the scale length, nut to bridge saddles, is approx 865mm long.

So by calculation we can deduce the following:-

Assuming the shim is a wedge triangle tappered from 1mm to Zero within the neck pocket, then, (by the maths of similar triangles) assuming also that we maintain the relative action height of the strings relative to the fretboard, then, that wedge shim, of 1mm thickness, will raise (or lower - depending which way round you introduce it) the strings 9.1mm from the saddles at the bridge.

This means that for every 1mm increase/decrease of clearance over the saddles that you wish to achieve at the bridge by the introduction of a shim, then, your shim wedge triangle taper needs to be approx 0.11mm thick at its fat end - privded that your neck pocket is about 95mm long to achieve that relative string height change of 1mm.

If your neck pocket is different to my PBass then the ratios change obviosly.

Funny thing about all this is though . . . . I still dont really have a clue what type/thickness of card shim material would be 0.1 or 0.2 or 0.3mm thick.

For my project, I need to raise my strings about 2 to 3mm over the bridge . . which means I need a shim wedge somewhere between about 0.22 and 0.33mm thick ? . . .

I woudn't have the slightest idea how thick a business card is and I've got no way of measuring one ! . . so I still dont exactly know what to use for my shim ! . . . ha . .

All that work and not really much further forward ! ! ! . .