franzbassist

No kidding, what a time to be alive (I was, just, at one year old)

Does anyone know of any other small footprint power amps out there? SWR Amplite - rare Demeter Minnie - expensive!

And I quote: "Has 10w built in amplifier to drive a small 8 ohm cab". Not sure that's going to get you very far?

Should fit nicely in a Gator ProGo [u]guitar[/u] bag.

Hi Mark Yes, the Subway can be used without any speakers connected. Cheers Gareth

The LMII puts out 300 watts at 8 ohms and 500 watts at 4ohms, and the RS212 is rated to 400 power handling, so I think you'll be fine. You should be shifting plenty of air, and I doubt you'd notice much more usable volume if you went to 4 ohms

From their FAQ: [i]The function of the Powerchip is to buffer the piezo signal to better match up with the magnetic output. This impedance matching allows the piezo and magnetic signals to be mixed to a mono or stereo output, depending on the cable used. A mono cable will give you a combined piezo/magnetic signal to the tip of the output jack, and a stereo cable will give you the magnetic signal on the tip and the piezo on the ring. The Powerchip is not a blend pot, but a volume pot for the piezo only. To adjust the amount of blended piezo and magnetic signals, the Powerchip and the original magnetic volume controls must both be used.[/i]

It was great to meet Xaver (middle) and his endorsee Ralf Gauck at the LBGS on Saturday. We finalised a few details (shape of the neck heel, walnut stringers in the neck, body finish), and I got to play lots of Xaver's other basses!

I was there most of Saturday afternoon. Engineering works on my train line into London meant a 2 hour round trip became a 4 hour trip, but hey ho. My main purpose for visiting was to meet Xaver Tremel of Franz Basses, as he's making me another bass and it was a rare opportunity for us to meet up. I ended up spending all my time at his spot, and it was lovely to chat with the players who stopped by and played his basses. In more general terms, it was my first time to the LBGS and I was surprised at how low key it seemed. I expected it to be rammed, but actually Saturday afternoon didn't feel that busy at all. That said, I had hoped to catch up with a few people (Alan from Synergy, Mark from Bass Direct), but they were always busy when I stopped by. I wore earplugs the whole time, which made it a much more pleasurable experience. Someone should invent a portable circuit breaker linked to a decibel meter though - it would have come in really handy! One other point is that I love how friendly our bass playing community is. Manufacturers don't seem to regard each other as rivals, more like kindred spirits, and the general vibe was very warm and friendly.

Doesn't it need a buffer? Something like [url="http://www.east-uk.com/index.php/all-products/mpm-01.html"]this[/url]?

Is it worth asking Dood? I think this is the very bass he tried out, so it would be interesting to see if he experienced the same issue. If he didn't it's probably had a knock in transit Maybe an email to Spector might help too?

Get a fretless P bass

You've just got to keep at it. Start slowly with simple pieces and build it up, which is what you seem to be doing. Scales are boring, but so useful in this context.

Deposit paid, we're under way in about three weeks time, and it should be here late June

Lots of people like matched driver sizes, so a 2x10 or 4x10 would be a popular recommendation. Some others say it makes no difference, and 1x15s often appear underneath a 4x10 on stage. I guess the bottom line is, try some stuff and go with what you like.

My band has the same lineup as it did in 1989..... BOOM!

On the plus side, at least they actually engaged you in an email conversation, unlike some manufacturers who never even reply....

I had a Roscoe Beck V that had the best B string I have ever heard. It was fantastic. The Ken Smith BMT Elite was very playable and my main bass for a few years. Tone and sustain was unreal on that bass. My current Franz Sirius fretless is the best bass I have ever owned though. Beautifully made, neck shape is just sublime, sounds wonderful.

Having been so impressed with my fretless I have decided to have Xaver build me a fretted sibling. I'm hoping this will be a proper build thread with regular pictures. I thought long and hard about which model I wanted, but in the end I chose the Sirius DC shape, as it shares a common design with my Sirius singlecut. The spec is as follows: thermo ash body with a chestnut top 5 pc thermo ash neck with walnut stringers, ebony fingerboard, chestnut headstock and matching truss rod cover Delano SBC HE/S-4 pickups Glockenklang 2-band EQ active-passive, (vol, balance, bass, treble active/passive tone) with 2 x switches to switch between humbucker/parallel/single coil ETS 3D MKIII with single string attachment Dunlop strap locks Gotoh Res-O-Lite tuners I've opted for "thermo" ash for the body and neck, which means the wood has been heat treated to give it the properties akin to wood much older than it actually is: it's darker, lighter and more resonant, and I really like how it looks, feels and sounds. The bass will be custom in a three ways; it'll be the first Sirius DC to have a bolt on neck (they are usually neck-through) and pickup coil switches, but the most special bit for me is that the chestnut Xaver will be using for the top came from a tree in the garden of my parent's old house. I have many happy memories in the house, which my Mum sold just after my Dad died, so it will be a nice memory of both the house, and of him too. Here's the top: I've sold my brand new ACG Krell to part-fund the build. That in itself was a superb bass, but I have very high hopes for this bass too.

I have a soft spot for The Black Sorrows.