stevie

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='384692' date='Jan 19 2009, 09:19 AM']Heatwave my arse - we do that in our set and it's nowt like that. I learned the bassline from Standing in the Shadows of Motown - Babbitt plays a bit of it solo as well as the performance.[/quote] Babbit's bassline is particularly stunning when you compare it to the original record. I guess he had a long time to refine it.

[quote name='bluesparky' post='384829' date='Jan 19 2009, 11:48 AM']I sell all of my stuff on here now or on gumtree. It may take a little longer, but i'm rarely in a real hurry to sell stuff.[/quote] I've found that, if you price competitively, it's much faster selling on here than anywhere - my record is about five minutes and I'm not a big gear seller. The expensive stuff takes longer, obviously, but the key is knowing what your stuff is worth and giving your buyer a bargain. Asking for offers, saying 'I'm not sure what this is worth', is just limp-wristed. On some other comparable lists, people are not even allowed to advertise unless they state a price.

[quote name='BigBeatNut' post='384016' date='Jan 18 2009, 02:43 PM']I've got an instrument to sell on eBay (guitar as it happens, not bass) ... is this a good time of year to sell ?[/quote] Some general advice. I feel like rambling today...... Know what your instrument will fetch on eBay before you advertise it. It could take a while if it's an uncommon instrument, but if you don't know what your item is likely to fetch before you put it up for sale, you won't know how to market it properly. Follow a few auctions for similar items to find out how many bidders they attract. Items that attract lots of bidders are much better with a very low start price, as this will pull more people into the auction. Note also which ads get the highest prices, and figure out why. The spread of prices achieved for identical items can be enormous - you want to make sure you are somewhere near the top. If you are going to use a reserve, state it - or start off at the lowest price you are willing to accept. Hidden reserves put most people off, and are likely to lose you some serious potential buyers. As a buyer, I love hidden reserves. I email the seller to ask what the reserve is. Then I follow the auction and snipe just above the reserve. It works most times, because sellers generally fix the reserve at the absolute minimum they will accept, which is usually much less than the item's real value. Offer to sell to Europe (and the US if applicable). When you do this, you increase the number of bidders many times over - and the number of people bidding on your item is key to driving its price up. Bear in mind also that the euro is now worth about twenty-five percent more than it was six months ago. Euro zone customers are therefore likely to pay more for your item, or at least push its price up higher. Paypal is the devil incarnate. Don't give them access to your bank account. Limit them to your credit card. If you are selling a bass, sell it on Basschat. As you already know its value, knock 10 percent off for Basschatters. You end up just as well off because eBay and Paypal don't take their cut. You can wheel and deal if you wish. And your buyer gets a good deal.

[quote name='Merton' post='382546' date='Jan 16 2009, 03:51 PM']I think the earlier cabs were ply but they changed to MDF early 90s. I bloody hope the new 2005+ range are ply, properly braced and damped, coz I'm picking up a 1518 next week! If not, I have prob got enough wadding left from my home build to stick into it...[/quote] Mine has the vinyl covering, but it's obviously not early enough. Yes, it is an empty MDF box. Not a piece of wadding in sight. Nor, and this is just pathetic, is there any bracing in it. I thought this was once considered to be the Rolls-Royce of bass amplification. There's a pretty bog-standard Celestion pressed-steel 15 inside, too. That won't be there for long. They spent some money on the outside, though.

[quote name='bass_ferret' post='382740' date='Jan 16 2009, 07:07 PM']Maybe the cabs are 12 ohms[/quote] That's the most likely explanation. It's not a bad idea either.

[quote name='Merton' post='382518' date='Jan 16 2009, 03:35 PM']No prob! Be careful of the grille - hte first time I took off a port ring I also took off a chunk of my left hand when exposed to the sharp metal bits!! Under the speaker you'll find a bit empty MDF box I reckon [/quote] Thanks for the warning. It certainly looks like a big empty MDF box when viewed through the ports. Who spread the rumour these were ply? I'm hoping they had the decency to put some damping material in there, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

There's a really neat explanation by Marcus Miller on the use of compression for bass on YouTube. He's demonstrating his eponymous amp, but still, it's worth watching: [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ljEuObKHYFw&feature=related"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ljEuObKHYFw&...feature=related[/url]

Aha - so the rings are not part of the port itself. That makes all the difference. I've now managed to get the rings off and there's a piece of drainpipe underneath. It will be interesting to see what's under the grille. Thanks, Merton.

Are the ports in a Trace Elliot 1153t a push fit? They seem extremely tight and not very sturdy. I'd like to take a look inside the cabinet but the ports don't want to come out. Help. Stevie

I agree it's overpriced. But here's how you can get one for free: [url="http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aOFvC2Emmu8&feature=channel"]http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aOFvC2Emmu8&...feature=channel[/url] This company knows what it's doing.

[quote name='Smash' post='378685' date='Jan 13 2009, 10:05 AM']Couple of questions what are the pickups like on these BB's and can you change the bridge i.e. a swap version like Badass on Fenders without drilling?[/quote] I can tell you about the original BBs. You can change the Jazz shaped pickup for a standard replacement but you have to use the original cover and sand the corners off the pickup bobbin. It's not too difficult to do with a small file. The wires will snap if you install a vintage-style pickup with the stiff, cloth covered leadout wires. You should therefore unsolder the cloth wire and use the original plastic wire, which is a lot more flexible. Changing the P-Bass shape pickup is not straightforward and I haven't figured out how to do it yet (anyone??). I'm not even sure if it is worth doing. I changed the rear pickup because it sounded very thin, and was basically pointless. I put a Duncan vintage in there and got more output and a fatter sound. It may work for you. When I got the original pickup out, I discovered it was underwound for some reason - both the resistance and inductance were too low - which is probably why I noticed an improvement.

[quote name='Eight' post='378262' date='Jan 12 2009, 09:09 PM']I would love a copy... so I thoroughly encourage you to undertake the task.[/quote] Me too, but I think you'd probably be OK. Have a look at this: [url="http://www.bemuso.com/musicbiz/musiccopyright.html#canchordsandbeatsbecopyright"]http://www.bemuso.com/musicbiz/musiccopyri...eatsbecopyright[/url]

The easiest way to find out which is positive if there is no clear indication is to use a nine-volt battery (a 1.5V one might do at a pinch). Connect it briefly across the two wires and watch the movement of the speaker. If the speaker goes out, or towards you, the positive terminal on the battery is on the positive conductor of your cable. Connect that conductor to 1+ on the Neutrik.

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='374410' date='Jan 8 2009, 08:37 PM']Both of the wires coming from the speaker are white :S[/quote] Yes, but one of the conductors should have a ridge or a stripe to denote that it's positive. You could always trace the positive and negative from the speaker itself. You will find the 1+ and 1- moulded into the Neutrik socket. 2+ and 2- are not connected.

[quote name='OldGit' post='372392' date='Jan 6 2009, 08:27 PM']The stands came with a thing that could be screwed to a speaker so that it can be mounted on top of the stands if it doesn't have a hole. This isn't it but it's teh same idea[/quote] Aha - I see what you mean ... thanks. It's like the mount that Bose use.

..... although there was a very nice, brand new Celestion neo for sale on here recently for about £50, which seemed like a bargain to me, and would doubtless do the job. It would probably add to the resale value of the amp in fact.

eBay

[quote name='OldGit' post='372178' date='Jan 6 2009, 04:57 PM']I want to stick my little practice combo on a speaker tripod stand. I have a top hat bracket.[/quote] What's a top hat bracket? Do you mean a top hat? If you attach a top hat to the bottom of your combo, you won't be screwing and unscrewing it at all. It will stay under the cabinet and you will simply place the amp on top of the speaker stand, then take it off when you're finished. Unless I'm missing something obvious.

[quote name='PVTele' post='371704' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:28 AM']Right on, Stevie! Good sense from a neighbour (I'm in Wool!) [/quote] Very nice to meet another resident of God's beautiful county. I'm a newcomer myself, but I love it here.

Fender marketing must think the average mental age of its bass customers is about 12. Not quite as bad as Seymout Duncan, who actually puts dirt in his Antiquity pickups and deliberately rusts the metal parts. Why haven't car makers latched onto this idea - I'm sure we'd all rush out to buy a rusty, muddy BMW with scratched and bashed bodywork at twice the price of a pristing one. Wouldn't we?