LawrenceH

[quote name='mcnach' post='1217642' date='May 2 2011, 03:25 PM']That black p-bass was Back to body stripping... I haven't done much lately. But I tried the hairdryer trick. And it does work!!! Unfortunately my hairdryer is not very good and it overheats quickly, cutting out until it cools down again. I tried to borrow a good one but I was denied its use once it transpired what I wanted it for It does take a little bit of practice to get it right, to know when it's warm enough etc. Here's my first attempt on the front of the body (on an area that will be covered by a pickguard). The bottom area was where I started. I scratched a bit the wood... but on the top area I got the hang of it and was able to remove nice chunks without damaging the wood underneath. It'll all be sanded afterwards, but the less damage, the better, eh? This is going to take some time, but it's not hard and the result is clean. Although the curved bits are going to be tough...[/quote] Good stuff! Looking at your pics I think the fact I used the hairdryer straight onto the poly without stripping that layer off probably helped me - the thick black poly would get nice and hot and totally f*** the sealer layer underneath melting it off nicely, looks to be a bit tougher when you've only got the sealer left. Actually, thinking back, the few areas that the sealer was left on with mine did prove somewhat annoying. Look forward to seeing how this progresses.

[quote name='JTUK' post='1218733' date='May 3 2011, 03:51 PM']Some of the tricks above might help but sustain defines a bass so should be one of the first things you look for when buying... A 10 sec note shouldn't be hard to obtain on a decent resonant bass, IMO, at all..[/quote] 10 seconds?! I'm not sure I've ever let a note sustain for 10 whole seconds (on bass at least - keys, oh yes)

[quote name='The Bass Doc' post='1218287' date='May 3 2011, 07:49 AM']A load of epoxy would certainly help but you still have the 'visuals' to contend with and side dots not being in the ideal place.[/quote] That bothers me not at all! My current lined fretless has side centre dots/fretboard dots, never found it to be an issue. Thanks for answering my question

I bet it sounded a lot better in the room. A desk mix always sounds a bit crappy on this type of music IMO - like listening to punk as gentle background!

When doing sound I used to persuade bands using small guitar combos to use my amp stand to tilt the amps at their ears wherever possible. This normally meant they'd drop the amp volume right down AND be happier with the stage sound, giving a much better balance out front - it always went down well with those that could be cajoled into trying it. The midrange frequencies which give clarity to a sound are very directional from a 12". I do the same thing with my own small bass combo and it really helps.

There are some fretless block/bound jazzes kicking around among talkbass users. I thought this'd be pretty cool, it hadn't occurred to me that blocks would present more of a problem than dots for a fretless. Perhaps less of an issue if the neck was epoxied? Be interested to know the Bass Doc's opinion on that, since it's something I'd like to do one day!

[quote name='Doddy' post='1215047' date='Apr 29 2011, 04:10 PM']Interesting reason. I use active basses often and I hit the strings pretty hard.[/quote] You need the headroom throughout the signal chain to do this without overloading things. With the right gain structure and decent kit, it's fine, otherwise it can cause issues.

In terms of usage/value for money, my Sennheiser HD280 'phones. Had 'em for years now and they've served me very well. Or, my crap Behringer mini mixing desk, despite one channel dying ages ago! They have outlasted all my basses. My old UK-built Ashdown Electric Blue was a great piece of kit for the cash too, gigged tons of times and utterly reliable. Having said that, I wouldn't replace them with the same thing if stolen now, because my needs have changed. I'd get Sennheiser headphones of some kind though.

[quote name='Ou7shined' post='1214656' date='Apr 29 2011, 10:19 AM']Do you make your customers pay for your mistakes though?[/quote] Any decent professional repairer in most businesses would try and rectify their mistakes, and in a lot of cases carry insurance to cover for them as well.

[quote name='RobJF' post='1213596' date='Apr 28 2011, 10:16 AM']Got the bass back from the local guitar tech yesterday, and he'd stripped the threads, unfortunately.[/quote] This guy sounds like a f****** idiot, total amateur. I would be pretty angry here and pushing for him to compensate you - looking at trading standards if necessary, because they clearly are not competent at what they're doing. A skilled tech or just a decent carpenter would likely have been able to sort this, and definitely wouldn't have stripped the threads. I'm sorry to hear that this has happened to you! Name and shame? I certainly want to avoid this person.

[quote name='bubinga5' post='1213239' date='Apr 27 2011, 10:10 PM']cuts everything, boosts nothing..[/quote] Not quite...the added capacitance lowers the resonant peak of the pickup which gives a little boost just before the rolloff frequency. So for example (and where I find this most useful) there is a bit more low-mid output from a bridge pickup solo'ed with the tone off than with it full on. It's not very obvious on some basses but it's a very clear difference on my aerodyne. See here [url="http://terrydownsmusic.com/technotes/guitarcables/guitarcables.htm"]http://terrydownsmusic.com/technotes/guita...uitarcables.htm[/url] scroll down to the 'tone control' heading for a graph showing this.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1211495' date='Apr 26 2011, 10:14 AM']even the sealer? hmmm, I found your thread... that seems the absolutely cleanest and nicest way to strip a body! I just bought a sander on eBay (there are loads! cheap! ) but I will definitely try this first. Thank you![/quote] Yup, the sealer didn't come off uniformly but where it didn't, the heat definitely softened it to the point of being more of a gel that could be scraped away easily. Probably it was an advantage having the black finish on there and doing it in one go, as that would have held the heat nicely and spread it into the sealer. This and/or the evil nitromors have got to be worth a try, with a power sander you always run the risk of accidentally 'recontouring' the instrument!

Mine would be that gold-on-gold jazz that's perpetually on ebay...which I would LOVE.

[quote name='mcnach' post='1211000' date='Apr 25 2011, 04:35 PM']I was hoping to leave it till the very last minute with very fine sandpaper... but it's looking like a heaavier job is required, yup. Live and learn! [/quote] Before you do that - Tresemme hairdryer on its hottest setting did very nicely for me stripping a poly body including sealer coat. Gentler than a heat gun so no scorch marks but softened the finish enough for me to scrape off easily. Worth a try!

[quote name='Darkstrike' post='1050724' date='Dec 7 2010, 05:55 PM']Heh, I'm betting it's 100% this part of the quote. "I also changed my E string to a heavier .125 from a 5-string set." [/quote] The tension doesn't change depending on the peg position but for some reason the subjective feel does. In a similar vein I really noticed how flappy a Fender E string feels when I switched from my previous Ibanez. Same strings, same guage, same scale, same action/set-up. There is tech stuff written about the difference between 'tension' and 'compliance' which is probably relevant.

[quote name='leschirons' post='1209536' date='Apr 23 2011, 09:18 PM']Son of a preacher man. A: I can't hear everything that's going on. B: I can't keep it that busy without seeming to crowd out the whole song.[/quote] I think both these things are connected. Zero growl in the mids there, proper old-school US sound!

[quote name='Tom_Strutt' post='1208507' date='Apr 22 2011, 05:50 PM']My 78 Jazz has just stopped working.. I have a gig tomorrow night which is getting recorded and I ideally want to use it! I opened up the part by jack input and cant see anything lose or wrong and it was literally working 2 hours before I discovered it wasnt working... What can I do? Please help![/quote] Do you have a basic multimeter and soldering iron? If so, you'll probably be fine! Either way you need to do some basic fault-finding. First try another lead, and ideally another amp (or into a tuner or something, just so you can confirm you get no signal out). If it's not either of those, unscrew the control plate from the body with the lead plugged in, and check that the tip of the jack is actually engaged with the contact on the socket (ideally, use a multimeter set to resistance (ohms) for continuity test). Also check that the socket is clean at the contact points as corrosion can stop it working, and that there is continuity with the jack sleeve and the socket sleeve. Next, use a multimeter to check the resistance between all the points that are supposed to be connected to earth on the control plate using a standard jazz bass wiring diagram. All the metal bodies of the pots and the jack sleeve should share a common earth with one side of the pickup. If they're all fine then check for shorts to earth/breaks in the + signal wiring (on pickups directly, with volumes down - should be 6-8k each).

[quote name='machinehead' post='1206623' date='Apr 21 2011, 12:02 AM']Apart from the finish, does anyone know what differences there are between the MIM roadworn series and the MIM classic 70s range?[/quote] Pickup position, neck wear. That's about it (officially) although I suspect they pick the bodies for the RW series and the QC is higher. Having said that, the 70s classics are niiiiice if you like that funky funky sound!

[quote name='Soliloquy' post='1206133' date='Apr 20 2011, 05:20 PM']I'm thinking you can just wire the capacitor in line with the pickups. Presuming you're happy with not being able to control the passive tone level. I always prefer to have mine off anyway, so I think I may try it.[/quote] If there's room in the cavity you could always wire in a small pot there along with the cap to act as a trim, allowing you to tweak the sound before closing it up.

[quote name='alexclaber' post='1205752' date='Apr 20 2011, 12:58 PM']I don't believe any bass amps out there are under-specced with regards to power output. However some meet more stringent specs than others. [b]The anecdotal evidence regarding all the lightweight high power amps suggests that whichever one you think is loudest is the one whose full power compression/limiting best suits the dynamic feel you like.[/b] It's just like how some people think the SVT sounds and feels amazing whilst others think it sounds compressed and midrangey when you're cranking.[/quote] This.

I don't know what kind of strange watts they use over at ampeg, but I'd hazard a guess that the smaller number is the more 'realistic' one.

I would bet that a badass v stock bridge is going to change the character of the bass tone more than dropping a standard gauge E on there would - but I'm sure you've had enough different basses to know already whether it'll be to your liking or not!

Much earlier it was mentioned and you seem to have found a solution...but disconnecting the tweeter, and potentially a crossover if there is one, is definitely worth a shout here to get a smoother old-school thump. Also, I personally think the Markbass cabs are excellent but rather forward and detailed sounding, so it's not surprising that if the strings don't give you the sound you're after you will really notice it on their cabs.