ikay

If it's anything like my DBX160A, the DBX166XL will need a line level signal to drive it so the effects loop is the right place for it. Providing the loop is configured in series rather than parallel. Don't fully understand your live setup but if the bass goes directly into the VT Bass Deluxe and then to the pa, the DBX should come after the VT (again to get the line level signal it needs).

Aha, thanks. Didn't realise the 26" one wasn't available yet. Post a review when it arrives, be interested to hear how it compares to the Kala. Cheers

Looks interesting. I'm not keen on the tiddly 20" scale of the Kala U-Bass but the 23" shortbass one looks a bit more usable. Its bigger brother, the 26" scale one, looks even better. I can't find these for sale over here anywhere. Did you order direct from Aquila in Italy and how much are they? Can't see any prices on their website.

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1367859674' post='2070333'] Now seriously, I seem to recall a thread with a bunch of EQ curves at various positions of the knobs, and that illustrated the "mid-poor" situation you get by boosting both tone controls. [/quote] [attachment=134289:Stingray5-EQchart.jpg]

Dean Markley's are light blue apparently - more on silk colours here if you can be bothered to trawl through it - [url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/silk-colors-717720/"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f16/silk-colors-717720/[/url]

Under 'see other items' the Fender Roadworn Jazz description ends with the name Evie which would seem to be a clincher (Eveline Giblin)

How about these - [url="http://www.thesitebox.com/screws-fixings/screws/self-tapping-screws/stainless-steel-self-tapping-phillips-countersunk.aspx"]http://www.thesitebox.com/screws-fixings/screws/self-tapping-screws/stainless-steel-self-tapping-phillips-countersunk.aspx[/url] Click the drop down menu in the 'Size' box and scroll down to 6 x 3/8* (assume you mean 3/8" and not 3.8"?!)

1/2"

Very nice. I was rather taken with this Stradi Nature on ebay the other day which is very similar: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stradi-Nature-Bass-unique-designed-fretless-wit-piezo-magnetic-and-4-band-EQ-/111052311883"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stradi-Nature-Bass-unique-designed-fretless-wit-piezo-magnetic-and-4-band-EQ-/111052311883[/url]

Yes definitely the wrong pic - here's the rear view of an SRM350 [attachment=132891:SRM350 rear view.jpg]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1365236438' post='2036965'] but the abrasive marks being very fine does still produce a significant amount of greying to the surface [/quote] This is where you need the micro-mesh. Steadily work up through the grits and the polish will come back.

Not done it myself but from what I understand pretty much any nitro stripping 'substance' will also dissolve the plastic binding. This link may be useful - [url="http://www.reranch.com/101.htm"]http://www.reranch.com/101.htm[/url] (see last para 'stripping').

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1364935615' post='2033065'] Graphite necks are normally stiff enough to mean a very low resonancy frequency [/quote] I think stiffer necks such as graphite have a higher resonance frequency (not lower). This generally has the effect of moving any potential deadspots up into the higher fretted note range or beyond.

Chap on this youtube clip used a GorillaPod flexible tripod with bendy legs to grip the headstock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8rDzN-Bfl4 http://joby.com/gorillapod

A couple pf years ago I replaced the tuners on a Squier VM Jazz with Hipshot Ultralites. It made a difference to the overall weight of about 3oz, which was noticeable, but shifted the balance of weight to the body end. This had the effect of putting more strain on my left shoulder. It had better balance with the standard tuners so I ended up taking them off.

+1 as iiipopes says, the cap value is the critical bit, not the brand or material. This is an interesting thread on cap values and the difference they make - http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f38/multi-capacitor-tone-control-737912/ There's a phenomenon that occurs when you turn your tone control ALL the way down (rather than just roll it off a bit). When fully down the value of the capacitor in your tone control is adding to the internal capacitance of the pickup. It lowers the resonance frequency of the entire circuit and gives you a bump in output at that frequency. In effect this gives your mids a small boost when the tone is fully down. The frequency at which this 'mid boost' happens is determined by the value of the capacitor.

How about 28.6" - http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2012/11/09/ibanez-introduces-5-string-mikro-bass/

Looks like you're into electronics so I'd suggest doing some diagnostics on the wiring to try and isolate the problem. If there are no obvious visual wiring issues then check signal continuity and pot function with a multimeter. If that checks out then disconnect the pickups from the pots and wire directly to the output to see if that gives a stronger signal.

[url="http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars_detail.asp?stock=px-NE15JE1448"]http://www.guitargui...k=px-NE15JE1448[/url] Active I think, have you checked the battery or poked around in the control cavity for any wiring issues?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Emery-Cloth-Polishing-Kit-Micro-Mesh-Sanding-Sheet-MicroMesh-Abrasive-Finishing-/221078302349 I've used this micro-mesh finishing paper set on an ebanol board with good results (1500 to 12000 grit). Ebanol shows every little mark and you need to steadily work your way up through the finer grades to get a polished finish. Wear a face mask as the ebanol dust gets everywhere. The white plastic fret lines on the VMJ ebanol boards can also cause isolated buzzing if their not perfectly flush. Before you tackle finishing the whole board it may be worth checking the 'fret' where you're getting the buzz.

Possibly stupid question - if you put your bass through a convolution reverb with an impulse response from a double bass, will this make your bass sound like a double bass? I'm aware of the Convolution Bass ... http://basschat.co.uk/topic/198742-anyone-after-a-double-bass-sound-have-a-listen-to-this/page__p__1965864 ... which does something similar but requires a specially configured bass as well as offboard convolution processing to achieve the upright sound. What I'm curious about is whether you can get similar results just playing a standard bass through a convolution reverb?

Frequency ranges of the TCM 3P taken from the Noll website specs are: Bass Control +/- 15 dB 40 Hz - 180 Hz Midrange Control +/- 15 dB 250 Hz - 1,5 KHz Treble Control +/- 15 dB 1.8 KHz - 7.8 KHz Kiwi, does this tally with your Noll 3Ps or do yours have custom frequency centres/ranges? When you say the treble could benefit from being broader do you mean the bandwidth of the cut and boost and how about the bass and mid?

Not used a Noll preamp myself but here are a couple of youtube clips of basses with Noll 3-bands: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwdPfxsj9sI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNmQirBW90w

There should be a very significant change in tone when cutting or boosting the bass/treble control so something isn't right. First thing I'd do is unscrew the control plate and take a look inside to make sure there are no obvious issues with the wiring to the stacked pot (eg. broken wire, bad solder joint). If you have a multimeter you can check whether the pots are working by testing resistance between the wiper and the end terminals. As you sweep the pot the resistance should change from zero to the nominal value of the pot. If all that checks out OK then maybe a component has failed on the circuit board. In which case you could look at getting a replacement preamp such as the John East J-Retro Deluxe which is a drop in replacement. http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/East_Preamps_J_Retro.html (about halfway down the page) As far as I know Fender don't sell their preamps as replacement parts but they do very occasionally come up on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fender-American-Deluxe-Jazz-Bass-Preamp-Pickups-/151000368665

Ref back to Mr Foxen's post, I found this: "Roundwound strings are brighter, due to a higher presence of upper-order harmonics, while flatwounds are less bright. This occurs because roundwounds are more flexible than flatwounds.Imagine a string threaded with tightly packed beads. If the beads are spheres, then you'll be able to bend the string relatively freely; if, however, the beads are cubes, then the edges and corners of the cubes will inhibit the bending of the string. This same principle applies to roundwound vs. flatwound strings. When you pluck the string, it begins to vibrate, and as it vibrates, it flexes. Roundwound strings will have greater flex, while flatwounds will have less, because the flat windings inhibit the free vibration of the string. This suppresses the upper harmonics, causing flatwound strings to sound more mellow." Which all rings true