flyfisher

[quote name='icastle' post='1020382' date='Nov 11 2010, 04:50 PM']Thats where the issue with lead waste comes from - not the fact that its used, but the fact that entire products are dumped in landfill for the sake of a 2p resistor.[/quote] True, because stuff is so cheap today that it's affordable to buy a new TV/Hi-Fi/Phone/Camera/whatever than pay someone £40 an hour to locate the fault and replace the 2p resistor. Plus, surface-mounted components on multi-layer boards are bl**dy difficult to repair anyway. Plus, technology advances so quickly that no-one really wants their TV/Hi-Fi/Phone/Camera/whatever to last for 30 years and a breakdown is a great excuse to buy the latest and greatest. Besides, few consumer electronic items are designed to last for 3 years, never mind 30. The throw-away society is well-named.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1020011' date='Nov 11 2010, 01:18 PM']Its all good now. Bass sounds great, looks exactly the same and plays like a dream. Job done.[/quote] That's good to hear. Thanks for the update. The last company I worked for had a manufacturing facility in the USA and the changeover to lead-free solder cost them a small fortune. Most of their products used surface-mounted devices (SMDs) and the higher melting temperature changed the behaviour of the solder paste during reflow soldering and meant that a lot of their boards and solder-screens had to be slightly redesigned to accommodate this. Since they were a small-volume, specialised manufacturer with a large product range it involved a great deal of work. Still, I'm sure the environment will be grateful.

I used to be an 'early adopter'. In the past 10 years I've been through four Palm PDAs, umpteen mobile phones, four iPods, three shuffles, three Canon Digital Ixus cameras (the first one costing £600 for a massive 2MP !), two camcorders, three Sony Vaio laptops including a rather nice TR1 sub-notebook, half a dozen PCs, a DSLR and four lenses. Fortunately, I didn't have to buy them all myself. I'm also not good at selling stuff, so still have most of the above items, which is a constant reminder about the futility of chasing the latest and greatest bits of new technology all the time. These days, I find it very hard to get particularly excited about brand new stuff that will probably not work properly until it's had a couple of software upgrades and, by the time it does, will be superseded by something else. These days, I think I've grown out of my gadget-envy phase and it's saving me a small fortune. Consequently, there's something rather nice and reassuring about my simple, reliable 21 year-old P-Bass and Ampeg combo.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1018749' date='Nov 10 2010, 01:39 PM']I do have a 40watt that might be better for the back of the pot, and this has a thicker tip so maybe ill give that ago tonight.[/quote] Yep, that's what I would do. I'm sure you'll notice the difference. Good luck.

[quote name='icastle' post='1018707' date='Nov 10 2010, 01:04 PM']I know it's not very environmental to say, but I'm not a great fan of lead free solder either - it seems to have a tendency to produce dry joints very easily whenever I use it...[/quote] That's my experience too. Fortunately I still have a large reel of 22swg lead solder, which I'm hoping will last me a very long time! The other thing to consider is the size of the soldering iron. It's not so much a temperature issue, more of a thermal mass issue. A small iron with little thermal mass can be easily cooled down when applied to something like the back of a pot. The result is that it has to be left in contact a lot longer to melt the solder, but by then the user is getting worried about the contact time so tends to rush the joint with the result that the joint is actually formed at a lower than ideal temperature. And this is exacerbated with the higher MP of lead-free solders. In such cases, it's better to have a quite large iron with a large thermal mass so that the iron stays at the right temperature throught out the jointing process. In addition, the item being soldered, e.g. the pot back, heats up quicker so the joint can be made faster. The result is that the metal of the pot is heated more locally because the iron is removed quicker. Consequently, it can actually be easier to overheat a component by using a too-small iron than using a too-large iron (within reason, of course).

A burst electrolytic usually smells in a particularly characteristic way (but difficult to describe) so if there was no smell than it maybe another component. Might be easy to see though. Still, it seems you're already looking on the bright side.

Did the bang come from the speaker, like a louder-than-usual switch-on thump, or was it something else? Was there any smell of burning, or (if you know what it's like) any smell of an exploded electrolytic capacitor? Though that would be more of a pop than a bang in my book. If you're comfortable taking such things apart (and know how to handle potentially dangerous voltages safely) then it might be worth doing so and having a close look around the board(s) - on both sides - looking for any signs of burning or discolouration on the board itself or any of the components. Also have a good look around the mechanical bits such as sockets, switches and pots as these items are subjected to physical wear and tear. If you're really keen and think it might be a dry joint, then it might be worth going over it with a soldering iron and reflowing the joints, though this can take a fair time and is not really recommended unless you're competent with an iron. Good luck - it's a bummer when stuff breaks.

Interesting thread. Just to pick up on a few points: 1. Don't forget than pots are available in linear and logarithmic versions, usually identifiable by LIN or LOG stamped on the back near the ohms value. A LIN pot can be connected either way around, but a LOG pot will behave quite differently from an operating point of view. 2. The tone control is such a simple RC filter (on passive basses anyway) that it's easy to experiment until you get the sound you like. There are online calculators for determining the cut-off frequency, but the roll-off will always be the basic -6dB/octave so it's a pretty primitive low-pass filter really, hardly a tone shaping circuit in the modern sense of the term. 3. So, such a simple RC filter is fairly pointless compared to the sophisticated tone shaping circuits on most amps, and even more so if you play through one or more pedals. I leave my tone pot in the 'off' position and use the amp to set the tone. So, all in all, I'd agree that there's a lot of snake oil involved. Having said that, there's little doubt about the placebo effect and we all know that confidence can be the key to playing well.

[quote name='bumnote' post='1016860' date='Nov 8 2010, 08:14 PM']Any way who cares, great music, great songs.[/quote] Yep, says it all really.

I guess "bigger things" is a rather subjective. I can see that Phil Collins became bigger in a 'popular' sense than Genesis (though I preferred it when he was just a drummer and intensely disliked his solo stuff - not to mention his dire productions of EC albums), but I'm not sure about Sting being bigger than the Police.

[quote name='indiegrungesound' post='1014725' date='Nov 6 2010, 08:22 PM']Thanks flyfisher! What's the compressor like on it?[/quote] Well, it seems to work OK. I'm afraid I'm probably not the best person to advise on the detailed features as I'm not a particularly finicky about tone. That's not to say I don't care at all about it, more that I've been able to get a sound I like out of a variety of rigs (my Ashdown separates, my Ampeg combo, a friend's Laney and a rehearsal studio Trace Elliot). I really replied regarding the reliability question. I've heard the stories about Ashdown gear but my 18 month experience has revealed no problems. But then, I tend to look after my gear. FWIW, reliability is a difficult thing to judge by word of mouth without knowing the characteristics of the user. I'm constantly amazed when watching people who seem to have almost no idea about their gear. I regularly watch one of our guitarists plug his spare speaker output into the mixer - the approach seems to be just plug anything anywhere until something works. His fairly new electro-acoustic was terribly distorted during a soundcheck to one gig, which I eventually tracked down to a very low battery in the guitar. He didn't realise it even had a battery! I mentioned before another guitarist who didn't bother tightening the loose jack socket on his strat for many weeks until the inevitable happened and an internal wire broke - fortuntately during a rehearsal, but it illustrates the point I'm trying to make. I've also seen people switch off their expensive valve amp at the end of a rehearsal and immediately plonk it hard onto the floor. And don't even start me on how some people wind their cables up!

[quote name='bumnote' post='1016637' date='Nov 8 2010, 05:56 PM']To me they have always been that thing where the band as a whole seem to be more than the four individuals.[/quote] I'd agree with that, but can anyone think of any famous band where any of the individual members have gone on to bigger things?

[i]"there are a great number of bass players I know who also want to distance themselves from the ‘quiet-but-reliable guy at the back’ image constructed by the media when writing about bassists"[/i] Constructed by the media or reflected by the media? Whichever, I'm actually quite content being the 'quiet-but-reliable-guy-at-the-back', (well, loud-but-reliable ), having never, ever, craved the limelight. And I don't use effects pedals. Does all that make me a disgrace to the fraternity?

[quote name='Count Bassy' post='1015936' date='Nov 8 2010, 01:28 AM']Maybe he was pissed off having Jules Holland foisted upon him!!! (have you all sensed that I don't like Jules Holland yet? Actually I quite like the music he does, it's just him that pisses me off)[/quote] I also wondered if Stainton was miffed with Jools butting in, although I suspect he's enough of a pro not to. But he sure looked miserable for some reason - not something I've noticed in all the times I've seen him play with Clapton. Actually, that goes for Dave Bronze too. Maybe they were all just having an off-day. Jools himself doesn't bother me. I think it's good to have a "non-pop" music show fronted by a pro musician and the nature of Later will always mean variable acts. Wasn't Whistle test the same? Still, if they brought back whispering Bob I wouldn't be writing to the beeb to complain.

Yep, an outsider's view, by definition. I appreciate the secrecy thing, hence my use of quotes. The guys I knew were definitely nobs, but I appreciate it's unfair, possibly, to put that down to their mason's membership.

I've known a few freemasons in my time, firemen, policemen, salesmen. I was even invited to join a worshipful company of city somethings once upon a time, but politely declined. I can't quite put my finger on it but there's something a little bit creepy about 'secret' organisations. Plus, in my experience anyway, they would seem to be populated by people who seem to need the status of belonging to something as an antidote to their lack of individuality or accomplishment. But I'd hope that wasn't always the case.

One of the bands I play with is mainly originals and we're working on a short 8-song set for an upcoming support gig. We've got 8 songs that we've played before and two new ones that have not been performed yet. Unsurprisingly, there's a lot of enthusiasm for the new songs and replacing two older songs from the set-list for this gig. So, at this week's rehearsal, we play the new songs. After about 4 run throughs they are sounding OK, albeit still a bit loose. We run through the other 8 songs one after the other with no problems. We play the new ones again a few times and the general consensus (i.e. not me!) seems to be that they're OK for the gig. I'm not naturally pessimistic in outlook, but I point out that if it takes us half-a-dozen run-throughs to get a song 'OK' then it's not really ready for performance. But the others seem to ignore the starting position and just focus on how good it was on the 6th attempt. I point out that we won't get six attempts and that we'll have to turn up and play it right first time. I would rather play old songs well than new songs badly. But I know the others in the band seem to quickly get bored with the same set and are always wanting to add new songs. Actually, we have a similar problem in my other band, which is mainly covers with a few originals. Almost as soon as I feel we're all right on top of a song, the rest of the band seem to get bored with it and want to rush in a new song. Don't get me wrong, I love to learn new songs, but I do feel that when performing we're, well, performing and we owe it to the audience to do the best possible job, not try out a bunch of under-rehearsed new songs just because we're a bit bored with the older ones. I once read (on here I think): Amateur musicians practice until they get it right, professionals practice until they don't get it wrong. That is ringing so true with us. OK, we're never going to be pro musicians but surely we can behave as if we are! So, how do other bands handle this sort of thing? Am I really so out of step in wanting to put on a good, tight, performance at the cost of perhaps playing the same old songs?

I've got a Mag300 head, one of the new ones, that I bought about a year ago. I've gigged it about half-a-dozen times plus loads of rehearsals and it hasn't missed a beat so far.

[quote name='skej21' post='1014307' date='Nov 6 2010, 02:39 PM']I would agree. Revolver (and in particular "Taxman") is one of the reasons I picked up the bass![/quote] Macca also played the lead guitar break on Taxman, I believe. Not the reason I started playing bass, but taxman is one of my favourite lines, even though I still can't get it spot-on - unlike this guy:

Ferrite rings will, indeed, help suppress high frequency interference (useful if you're trying to make it compliant with EMC regulations) but I doubt they'll make any audible difference in an bass amp

Nice collection! :drool:

I hadn't thought about the usefulness of the bridge cover for holding foam. The first P-bass I ever used had a finger-rest below the strings and I did actually start playing just using my thumb, so it was quite useful at the time. But I soon outgrew the thumb thing and now just use my fingers. When I bought my own P-bass, it didn't have the finger-rest and I tend to rest my thumb against the top pickup - is that a generally used technique? I've tried playing with a pick a few times for a different sound, but could never really get it right. I can see that a bridge cover would help alot as a hand-rest. Interesting stuff, thanks.

I'm never really sure about the various P-bass editions but I'm sure we've all seen the versions with the metal covers; sometimes just an end cover, sometimes just the pup cover, sometimes both. My P-bass doesn't have them so I've never missed them. I would guess they might be handy for playing with a pick, but I only use fingers so I don't really know. Also, I wonder if the pup cover might help with interference, although I've never had a problem with my cover-less p-bass. It does seem to me though that the end cover would be a bit of a nuisance when changing strings. So, do they have an actual purpose or are they just decorative?

I learned basic guitar during my schooldays and was always messing around with music and recording (anyone remember Akai 4000DS 1/4-inch reel-to-reels with sound-on-sound for multitracking? I remember being drawn to the basslines in songs from a very early age and would generally pick out the bassline rather than the melody on my guitar. My first bass & amp (USA P-bass and Laney rig) was borrowed from my brother-in-law (for 5 years!) and was a complete revelation. I immediately felt at home with a real bass instead of messing around with the bottom four strings of a strat. I later decided to learn drums and spent a couple of years playing at home before discovering that a bunch of workmates had similar musical leanings, so we decided to get together and see what happened. It turned out that the keys player was a better drummer than I was, and I was a better bass player than he was, so we swapped and the rest is history.

[quote name='Marvin' post='1010663' date='Nov 3 2010, 12:51 PM']Well I'm very naughty and bite mine so I haven't a clue [/quote] Me too. I only play with my fingers so I'd guess they'd have to be fairly short anyway.