Mrbigstuff Posted February 3 Posted February 3 1 hour ago, Phill said: Not a “pitty party” between Christmas & new years I had to move a lot of bass equipment sadly, due to the financial strain and illness. So I may be out shortly unfortunately as I have to get some sort of DI/Pre Amp to get gigging again properly. Hope you get back on your feet soon 1 Quote
neepheid Posted February 3 Posted February 3 I'm not in a super hurry to do anything about it but my Epiphone Jack Casady has been benched for over a year now - either the pickup or the coil has gone stupidly microphonic and feeds back at the slightest provocation. It got worse over time - first of all it was using the highest amounts of overdrive, then any amount of overdrive and now it's at the point where if the amp is turned up anything beyond practice levels, the feedback will commence. It used to be able to handle any amount of overdrive and I would have to deliberately approach the amp (and like be six inches from the speaker) to coax feedback out of it. I tried going to Epiphone/Gibson and they basically told me to bog off and take it to a tech. I enquired at Gibson's nearest officially endorsed tech (in Dundee) but I was not satisfied with their answer - they spoke about potting the pickup - both the pickup and the coil are already entombed in epoxy so not sure where this wax is supposed to flow... So looks like I need to replace the gubbins. Now, the chances of landing a Jack Casady pickup/coil/loom are very low (last one sold on here was 4-5 years ago, for instance). Now say I got fed up of waiting for a lightning bolt to strike at the exact time and place I need, in how much hot water with regard to gear abstinence would I be if I was to procure an alternative? The only one I know of which is a direct physical replacement is the MAMA pickups Special J.Casady pickup. I don't know if this would be considered an "upgrade" or simply "different". It's only like-for-like in terms of physical dimensions - it would be a total move away from low impedance stuff to traditional high impedance, using good old series/single/parallel to provide the tonal differences instead of impedance levels. I will stick a wanted post up on here for an OG Jack Casady loom, and if that bears fruit then I guess I'd be fine, but if you think that the MAMA replacement would have me exit the proceedings then I'll just wait until next year - it's already been out of commission for a year and it's not like I haven't got other basses I can play. But it is starting to bug me a bit, having a gorgeous but unusable bass sitting in the corner gathering dust on its gig bag. Over to you... Quote
wavemaker Posted February 3 Posted February 3 23 minutes ago, neepheid said: I'm not in a super hurry to do anything about it but my Epiphone Jack Casady has been benched for over a year now - either the pickup or the coil has gone stupidly microphonic and feeds back at the slightest provocation. It got worse over time - first of all it was using the highest amounts of overdrive, then any amount of overdrive and now it's at the point where if the amp is turned up anything beyond practice levels, the feedback will commence. It used to be able to handle any amount of overdrive and I would have to deliberately approach the amp (and like be six inches from the speaker) to coax feedback out of it. I tried going to Epiphone/Gibson and they basically told me to bog off and take it to a tech. I enquired at Gibson's nearest officially endorsed tech (in Dundee) but I was not satisfied with their answer - they spoke about potting the pickup - both the pickup and the coil are already entombed in epoxy so not sure where this wax is supposed to flow... So looks like I need to replace the gubbins. Now, the chances of landing a Jack Casady pickup/coil/loom are very low (last one sold on here was 4-5 years ago, for instance). Now say I got fed up of waiting for a lightning bolt to strike at the exact time and place I need, in how much hot water with regard to gear abstinence would I be if I was to procure an alternative? The only one I know of which is a direct physical replacement is the MAMA pickups Special J.Casady pickup. I don't know if this would be considered an "upgrade" or simply "different". It's only like-for-like in terms of physical dimensions - it would be a total move away from low impedance stuff to traditional high impedance, using good old series/single/parallel to provide the tonal differences instead of impedance levels. I will stick a wanted post up on here for an OG Jack Casady loom, and if that bears fruit then I guess I'd be fine, but if you think that the MAMA replacement would have me exit the proceedings then I'll just wait until next year - it's already been out of commission for a year and it's not like I haven't got other basses I can play. But it is starting to bug me a bit, having a gorgeous but unusable bass sitting in the corner gathering dust on its gig bag. Over to you... Do you feel like this wouldn’t bug you as much if you were "free" to make your purchases uninhibited by the challenge presented in this thread? Because for me, I certainly do: I‘ve been totally fine with not buying any basses, pedals, or amps this year for several weeks - and suddenly I find myself engaged in a losing fight against Synth/Groovebox-GAS, having all but convinced myself to surrender by way of the age-old argument that this purchase might actually help me play more and inspire new music. I friggin know GAS when I feel it, and I‘m in absolute awe how it has simply shifted towards another genre of gear, apparently. So, if this was your only bass or one of a few, I‘d give you a pass. If you do have a sneaking suspicion this might just be "GAS for repairs", I‘d recommend putting the thought away for a couple of weeks. Personally, I‘ll re-visit synths in March and try to calm down until then. Quote
Mrbigstuff Posted February 3 Posted February 3 47 minutes ago, neepheid said: I'm not in a super hurry to do anything about it but my Epiphone Jack Casady has been benched for over a year now - either the pickup or the coil has gone stupidly microphonic and feeds back at the slightest provocation. It got worse over time - first of all it was using the highest amounts of overdrive, then any amount of overdrive and now it's at the point where if the amp is turned up anything beyond practice levels, the feedback will commence. It used to be able to handle any amount of overdrive and I would have to deliberately approach the amp (and like be six inches from the speaker) to coax feedback out of it. I tried going to Epiphone/Gibson and they basically told me to bog off and take it to a tech. I enquired at Gibson's nearest officially endorsed tech (in Dundee) but I was not satisfied with their answer - they spoke about potting the pickup - both the pickup and the coil are already entombed in epoxy so not sure where this wax is supposed to flow... So looks like I need to replace the gubbins. Now, the chances of landing a Jack Casady pickup/coil/loom are very low (last one sold on here was 4-5 years ago, for instance). Now say I got fed up of waiting for a lightning bolt to strike at the exact time and place I need, in how much hot water with regard to gear abstinence would I be if I was to procure an alternative? The only one I know of which is a direct physical replacement is the MAMA pickups Special J.Casady pickup. I don't know if this would be considered an "upgrade" or simply "different". It's only like-for-like in terms of physical dimensions - it would be a total move away from low impedance stuff to traditional high impedance, using good old series/single/parallel to provide the tonal differences instead of impedance levels. I will stick a wanted post up on here for an OG Jack Casady loom, and if that bears fruit then I guess I'd be fine, but if you think that the MAMA replacement would have me exit the proceedings then I'll just wait until next year - it's already been out of commission for a year and it's not like I haven't got other basses I can play. But it is starting to bug me a bit, having a gorgeous but unusable bass sitting in the corner gathering dust on its gig bag. Over to you... IMO this is fine. It’s replacing a broken part, and as you say it’s near impossible for like for like so why not get the best alternative. 2 Quote
Richard R Posted February 3 Author Posted February 3 5 hours ago, neepheid said: I enquired at Gibson's nearest officially endorsed tech (in Dundee) but I was not satisfied with their answer - they spoke about potting the pickup - both the pickup and the coil are already entombed in epoxy so not sure where this wax is supposed to flow... How about a non-endorsed Tech who might have a better idea? Quote
neepheid Posted February 3 Posted February 3 2 minutes ago, Richard R said: How about a non-endorsed Tech who might have a better idea? Nah, I took it out of the bag for the first time in about six months and ol' Slack Casady is still in tune. That depressed me even more that it's laid up. Now I'm too sad to do anything about it 1 Quote
bass_dinger Posted February 3 Posted February 3 7 hours ago, neepheid said: I'm not in a super hurry to do anything about it but my Epiphone Jack Casady has been benched for over a year now - either the pickup or the coil has gone stupidly microphonic and feeds back at the slightest provocation. It got worse over time - first of all it was using the highest amounts of overdrive, then any amount of overdrive and now it's at the point where if the amp is turned up anything beyond practice levels, the feedback will commence. It used to be able to handle any amount of overdrive and I would have to deliberately approach the amp (and like be six inches from the speaker) to coax feedback out of it. I tried going to Epiphone/Gibson and they basically told me to bog off and take it to a tech. I enquired at Gibson's nearest officially endorsed tech (in Dundee) but I was not satisfied with their answer - they spoke about potting the pickup - both the pickup and the coil are already entombed in epoxy so not sure where this wax is supposed to flow... So looks like I need to replace the gubbins. Now, the chances of landing a Jack Casady pickup/coil/loom are very low (last one sold on here was 4-5 years ago, for instance). Now say I got fed up of waiting for a lightning bolt to strike at the exact time and place I need, in how much hot water with regard to gear abstinence would I be if I was to procure an alternative? The only one I know of which is a direct physical replacement is the MAMA pickups Special J.Casady pickup. I don't know if this would be considered an "upgrade" or simply "different". It's only like-for-like in terms of physical dimensions - it would be a total move away from low impedance stuff to traditional high impedance, using good old series/single/parallel to provide the tonal differences instead of impedance levels. I will stick a wanted post up on here for an OG Jack Casady loom, and if that bears fruit then I guess I'd be fine, but if you think that the MAMA replacement would have me exit the proceedings then I'll just wait until next year - it's already been out of commission for a year and it's not like I haven't got other basses I can play. But it is starting to bug me a bit, having a gorgeous but unusable bass sitting in the corner gathering dust on its gig bag. Over to you... To me, a fundamental point of this challenge is to encourage basschatters to become better musicians by making the very best use of their existing kit, rather than seeking self-improvement by buying new stuff. It seems pointless having a wonderful instrument in one's collection, which is broken, unusuable and unplayable - and leaving you unable to improve your craft. So, if all it takes to get it working is a repair, and you will play the repaired instrument, then I say, go ahead. And, as the rules say, a repair is allowed. 2 Quote
bass_dinger Posted February 3 Posted February 3 (edited) It's a Yamaha! It's got a letter B on the case... It's a baroque-layout soprano recorder bought to accompany my grandson's journey into musicianship. Tier 2 fail, I think? Edited February 3 by bass_dinger Too many photos of a recorder for a basschat thread.... 2 Quote
neepheid Posted February 3 Posted February 3 1 minute ago, bass_dinger said: It's a Yamaha! It's got a letter B on the case... It's a baroque-layout soprano recorder bought to accompany my grandson's journey into musicianship. Tier 2 fail, I think? Aye, probably. If it had been a bass recorder you might have been in more bother 1 Quote
bass_dinger Posted February 3 Posted February 3 (edited) 1 hour ago, neepheid said: Aye, probably. If it had been a bass recorder you might have been in more bother Have you seen the price of a bass recorder!? Honestly, if I had the money to spend on a bass recorder, I wouldn't spend it on a bass recorder... The wonderful Just Flutes in Croydon list them starting at £250, up to £1,500. I will stick to sheet music from them, at least for now. But it's a great shop full of enthusiastic staff - and is located in a building that a friend of mine described as "Shakespeare's birth place". Edited February 3 by bass_dinger 1 Quote
neepheid Posted February 3 Posted February 3 Just now, bass_dinger said: Have you seen the price of a bass recorder!? Honestly, if I had the money to spend on a bass recorder, I wouldn't spend it on a bass recorder... The wonderful Just Flutes in Croydon list them starting at £250, up to £1,500. I will stick to sheet music from them, at least for now. But it's a great shop full of enthusiastic staff - and is located in a shop that a friend of mine described as "Shakespeare's birth place". They misspelled "Shoppe" 2 Quote
Geek99 Posted February 3 Posted February 3 23 minutes ago, neepheid said: They misspelled "Shoppe" And “musick” freaking peasants Quote
Richard R Posted February 3 Author Posted February 3 There are those who would argue a soprano recorder isn't a musical instrument so you're still in. I'm assuming you can play better than I could when I was six, so it's a T2 fail as you say. 37 minutes ago, bass_dinger said: bought to accompany my grandson's journey into musicianship Though for a good cause. 2 Quote
bass_dinger Posted February 4 Posted February 4 (edited) In other news from Bass_dinger Towers, a setup followed a slight repair ( replacement neck and refinish) to this 2023-purchased bag of bassy bits... ....resulting in this barely-distinguishable-from-original finished article... Repairs and setups are within the rules, I think.... Edited February 4 by bass_dinger More verbosity.... 4 Quote
Shockwave Posted February 4 Posted February 4 I throw myself to the mercy of the court for I have sinned (Again). I have yet again breached Tier 2. Another Jeff Loomis Signature model guitar, but the newer one (I bought the older one in my initial Tier 2 breach). I presume that the effect of breaching Tier 2 does not cumulate into a tier 1 offense? However I may have also committed a Tier 1 offense. My one and only bass has a very stiff tuner which really struggled to tune to pitch and sounds very grindy, to the point it was easily going to break very soon and I have auditions next week. Luckily a fellow Basschat member @MungoBass was selling the correct tuners required (Replacing the exact same Machineheads I already have), though in gold. So I purchased replacements from him, I didn't want to risk the tuner breaking on me whilst at the audition. Not only that but the original Chrome Bridge is missing the very essential Locking screws on all but one of the saddles. A purchase was made for an exact replacement bridge.... Which also just happens to be gold. Will the jury look kindly upon my predicament? Quote
ezbass Posted February 4 Posted February 4 15 hours ago, bass_dinger said: Have you seen the price of a bass recorder!? Honestly, if I had the money to spend on a bass recorder, I wouldn't spend it on a bass recorder... The wonderful Just Flutes in Croydon list them starting at £250, up to £1,500. I will stick to sheet music from them, at least for now. But it's a great shop full of enthusiastic staff - and is located in a building that a friend of mine described as "Shakespeare's birth place". I know that shop well, although I’ve never been in it. As to Croydon being Shakespeare’s place of birth, I was unaware that the town that regularly features high up in lists of shit towns, was/is an outpost of Stratford-upon-Avon 🤔. I suspect they were referring to its ambience, rather than its geographical location. Croydon does reasonably well for musical instrument outlets, having the above and the town somewhat bracketed by Rock Bottom (massive misnomer) and Martin Phelp’s. It also the home to Feline Guitars. Quote
neepheid Posted February 4 Posted February 4 5 minutes ago, Shockwave said: I throw myself to the mercy of the court for I have sinned (Again). I have yet again breached Tier 2. Another Jeff Loomis Signature model guitar, but the newer one (I bought the older one in my initial Tier 2 breach). I presume that the effect of breaching Tier 2 does not cumulate into a tier 1 offense? However I may have also committed a Tier 1 offense. My one and only bass has a very stiff tuner which really struggled to tune to pitch and sounds very grindy, to the point it was easily going to break very soon and I have auditions next week. Luckily a fellow Basschat member @MungoBass was selling the correct tuners required (Replacing the exact same Machineheads I already have), though in gold. So I purchased replacements from him, I didn't want to risk the tuner breaking on me whilst at the audition. Not only that but the original Chrome Bridge is missing the very essential Locking screws on all but one of the saddles. A purchase was made for an exact replacement bridge.... Which also just happens to be gold. Will the jury look kindly upon my predicament? This sounds like repairs to me - but help me understand - you bought the bass in this condition? With missing screws in the bridge and wonky tuner? Quote
Shockwave Posted February 4 Posted February 4 35 minutes ago, neepheid said: This sounds like repairs to me - but help me understand - you bought the bass in this condition? With missing screws in the bridge and wonky tuner? I was unaware that it had those issues, so it was an existing condition. Quote
neepheid Posted February 4 Posted February 4 3 minutes ago, Shockwave said: I was unaware that it had those issues, so it was an existing condition. Well, then I don't think there's anything to see here... 2 Quote
tauzero Posted February 4 Posted February 4 18 hours ago, Richard R said: There are those who would argue a soprano recorder isn't a musical instrument so you're still in. Tier 2 fail on torture implements though. Bagpipes would be a tier 1. 2 Quote
Mrbigstuff Posted February 4 Posted February 4 1 hour ago, tauzero said: Tier 2 fail on torture implements though. Bagpipes would be a tier 1. Bagpipes require an arrest warrant 2 Quote
Geek99 Posted February 4 Posted February 4 51 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said: Bagpipes require an arrest warrant And the deaf penalty. as in, being deaf would prevent you hearing them and so actually helpful 1 Quote
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