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mastur posted:I have zero experience with guitar hardware and am looking into getting some new pickups for my iceman and could use some pointers. Well, just from looking at the Iceman bass, I'd say they're MusicMan-style humbuckers. I have no idea if they are actually the same dimensions, so you need to check on that. If they are, then any mm-style humbucker should fit. But I have no idea about good brands/models of them. Edit: but you'd have to be careful because some have "ears" or tabs where the mounting/adjustment screws go, and others (like the Iceman) don't. So the routing may be a bit off. 
Scarf fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Feb 12, 2010 |
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Feb 12, 2010 18:48
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Alright, need some advice. Just got my first bass, and since I'm used to guitar and also have pitifully small hands, it's a shortscale Gretsch G2202. Problem is with the volume pot, I think. Now that I'm typing it out, it's kind of hard to convey, so I'll do my best. It only picks up through the amp when I am holding it at 10, or should I say trying to turn it past 10. It needs that pressure for sound to come through the amp. Eventually it'll "stick" for a while and I can play for a bit until it starts to get crackly. Anything under 10 either won't get picked-up through the amp, or is just crackly. The other thing is, even when I was able to hear it through the amp, it seems to be shifting some notes. The bass is in tune, and acoustically sounds perfectly normal. When in the amp, the same note will sound fine one moment, then drastically sharp the next. This happens through the amp, and also the Vox amplug I tried it with, to see whether it was a problem with the amp and not the bass. So my question is, does this seem like a pot issue that I can attempt to fix, or should I just exchange it?
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Feb 12, 2010 19:22
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PMan_ posted:Alright, need some advice. Just got my first bass, and since I'm used to guitar and also have pitifully small hands, it's a shortscale Gretsch G2202. If it's still under return/warranty, and you can exchange it immediately... do that. Otherwise, changing out a pot isn't a big deal, takes all of 15-30 minutes depending on how handy you are w/ a soldering iron. As for your sharpness... that sounds like an intonation problem. You probably need a good setup.
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Feb 12, 2010 19:28
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It might just be the pot legs are shorting out against the shielding. Holding it at 10 might be moving it away just enough to break the contact. If it is that it is just as simple as loosening the nut and moving it a little then tightening it back down.
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Feb 12, 2010 19:34
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Thanks for the advice. I am messing around with the pot now, loosening the nut definitely helped things. Now I've just got to try and find a spot where it'll stay fine when the nut is tightened back up. Strangely enough, it also seems to help the intonation issue. We shall see if that lasts...
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Feb 12, 2010 20:52
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Good to hear it was the easy fix. You can put a piece of thin foam, or some electrical tape over the spot it was touching if you want to make sure it can't happen again.
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Feb 12, 2010 21:17
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PMan_ posted:Thanks for the advice. I am messing around with the pot now, loosening the nut definitely helped things. Now I've just got to try and find a spot where it'll stay fine when the nut is tightened back up. Strangely enough, it also seems to help the intonation issue. We shall see if that lasts... Pull the plate off the back and dig around in there. Don't worry, you'd have to try to damage something. Make sure that there aren't any crossed wires or shorts. Loosen the nut and rotate the potentiometer a little if you need to. Take a look and familiarize yourself with the wiring. Take a couple of pictures, they might be useful for future reference. Hell, post 'em here and we can take a look and see if something is amiss. Get a decent camera and do it right though. If you use your phone you won't have anything useful. As for the intonation, there can't be a connection. Since it's new maybe the neck, nut, body and bridge are settling in a little. Scarf: Now I hate you too. Yeah, I like Rush, but it has little to do with Geddy's playing. It's good, but the band is just a massive talent sink and every last one of them is a loving god. How I hate them. The thing about Cake that always gets me is how melodic Gabe's playing is. Usually that much moving around the fretboard is irritating (i.e. John Entwistle). Even with all that awesome melodic fretting he still hits the roots when he should. He's so talented I just wanna hit him. Oh, one more thing. I've been thinking about going active with my VMJ. Any recommendations for a drop-in control plate or a sweet non drop-in setup? Maybe a preamp? Maybe I'm a dumbass and don't know they're the same thing? I don't much care about keeping or replacing the pickups. They're a Bartolini-licensed knock-off so I'm guessing they're good enough but I'm not totally married to them. My other guitar is an older active Washburn MB-4. I really like that I get a more consistent tone out of it no matter what I plug it into. The loving Squier is temperamental as balls and sounds just abysmal when plugged into my wireless (which works just fine with my guitar player's guitars). Kynetx fucked around with this message at 00:34 on Feb 13, 2010 |
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Feb 13, 2010 00:24
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If you've got some cash you could always get a nice outboard pre like a Sadowsky and not have to worry about any wiring.
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Feb 13, 2010 00:49
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Kynetx posted:Oh, one more thing. I've been thinking about going active with my VMJ. Any recommendations for a drop-in control plate or a sweet non drop-in setup? Maybe a preamp? Maybe I'm a dumbass and don't know they're the same thing? I don't much care about keeping or replacing the pickups. They're a Bartolini-licensed knock-off so I'm guessing they're good enough but I'm not totally married to them. My other guitar is an older active Washburn MB-4. I really like that I get a more consistent tone out of it no matter what I plug it into. The loving Squier is temperamental as balls and sounds just abysmal when plugged into my wireless (which works just fine with my guitar player's guitars). Have you looked into the J-Retro or the Audere preamps? Those are the only drop-in Jazz Bass preamps that I can think of right now. An outboard Aguilar or Sadowsky preamp would probably cost around the same. The drop-ins aren't cheap.
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Feb 13, 2010 00:52
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So, I would say that the exposed wire coming out of the red wire could have something to do with things, given that it is the pot on the left that is having issues. Am I on the right track?
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Feb 13, 2010 04:20
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Perhaps... It kinda looks like maybe the insulation on the thinner red lead might have gotten melted into the exposed wire coming from the bigger red wire during the soldering. Is the bigger red lead soldered onto the body of the pot? on the other hand, it looks like there should be a lead soldered onto the body of the pot on the left side. There's a blob of solder there and I don't see anything coming out of it. Is anything obviously wrong with it? Any of those wires just dangling unconnected? Good picture by the way. TyChan posted:Have you looked into the J-Retro or the Audere preamps? Those are the only drop-in Jazz Bass preamps that I can think of right now.
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Feb 13, 2010 07:35
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Looks like the smaller red one is coming out of the bigger red one, and is soldered in that blob underneath the bigger one. The smaller one is not melted to anything, though it is hanging on by a thread down there. Nothing is unconnected, which is mysterious because yeah, what is that pile of solder doing over there on the left side? I can't find a wiring diagram for this thing, but the good news is that the Quality Control checklist it comes with says everything is okay. I dunno, at this point I'm trying to decide between taking it to the local shop or seeing what Musician's Friend has to say, which is where the wife got it from.
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Feb 13, 2010 15:13
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If the wire looks like it is hanging on by a thread it could be that solder connection isn't 100%. It should be a quick fix to strip the wire and resolder it. I'd see if you can call Musician's Friend and have them foot the bill for the shop to check it out. It would end up cheaper in the long run than having to ship it back and forth to them.
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Feb 13, 2010 15:40
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I'm returning to bass after an extended absence and want to know if I'm headed in the right direction. My bass experience was with this Johnson JP800 as a teen, self-taught. After a few years I stopped out of frustration because I felt like it was too big for me and I wasn't improving. My brother has it now. I dabbled in acoustic guitar for a while and sang while playing but now I'm doing just vocals for bands who need a female singer in a pinch. For now I want a short-scale bass I can learn on and play small (cover band) gigs with for fun. Eventually I want to be able to switch-hit between bass and guitar, continue to sing and record my own stuff. For shits and giggles I toyed with grabbing the $110 Gypsy Rose 32" bass from Rondo but come to find out it's actually well-reviewed and has lots of modding potential. And who doesn't want a sparkly pink Hannah Montana bass? It comes with STICKERS, Y'ALL.  But in the end I want to make sure it'll be capable of producing the sound I'm after when I start writing. I want to do creepy, swampy blues-rock. Imagine CCR, The Black Keys and Uncle Lucius are all drowning together in some swamp on the Texas-Louisiana border while Tom Waits is doing his weird poo poo in a tree somewhere nearby. So barring the fact that my influences are rather ambitious, suggestions on what I should slap on the Gypsy Rose/play it through? Or other basses I should start saving my money for now? Fake edit: FWIW, I already own a 15 watt Crate bass amp I'm not afraid to open up and gently caress around with.
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Feb 13, 2010 20:25
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Kynetx posted:Usually that much moving around the fretboard is irritating (i.e. John Entwistle).  Trying to get back into bass, I think I'm gonna pick up a Squier Classic Vibe P Bass since they're getting good press and the one I tried out played really well and sounded good. Guitar Center is having a massive President's Day sale, I went to get an Acoustic B20 practice amp since they're on sale for $99 and sound pretty drat good, and literally as soon as I finished trying it out some dude got a salesperson and bought it out from under my nose. Last one 
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Feb 13, 2010 20:28
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Sarah Barracuda posted:So barring the fact that my influences are rather ambitious, suggestions on what I should slap on the Gypsy Rose/play it through? Or other basses I should start saving my money for now? Throw flats on that bass and it'll do exactly what you want it to.
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Feb 13, 2010 20:45
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Well, the volume pot saga appears to be over. Guy at the local shop is going to resolder it for $10.Sarah Barracuda posted:
That bass rules, and everyone loves Rondo stuff (aside from the new SX headstocks), so I don't think you can go wrong. Pablo Gigante posted:I went to get an Acoustic B20 practice amp since they're on sale for $99 and sound pretty drat good, and literally as soon as I finished trying it out some dude got a salesperson and bought it out from under my nose. Bummer! I actually almost got the B20 at GC yesterday, then considered the B100 for $180, but then remembered I'm about to have a kid and I'm likely to just be playing this around the house, so I grabbed the B10 for $80, which they didn't have out on the floor. Got it home and tried it, and it is pretty loving loud, so you might want to look at that if they're out of the B20.
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Feb 13, 2010 20:53
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Greetings, here's a pic of my rig at the practice space. I'm running a GK 1001RBII through an Avatar b410 Neo (4 ohm). The wireless that is pictured is a Shure UT4A wireless. It works fine but I did pick up a sennheiser digital 1000 on the cheap, so I'm planning on selling the shure and using the senn. Pictured is a lakland skyline bob glaub currently strung with DR hi beams. I also have a fender MIJ p bass which is not pictured.   My glaub is listed in the talkbass classifieds if anyone is interested. I'm looking to trade for a lakland skyline decade or an EBMM stingray. Oh, and that hardcase for my GK saved my rear end big time as a gig. Before I got my wireless I was using a 25 foot cable. I play in a punk band and I move around a lot and poo poo is crazy in general. So my cable ended up getting caught in a stool that was getting tossed around, and it pulled my amp straight off the cab. The case took most of the fall and I was only out a broken rack ear (the screw broke). Unfortunately my speaker cable got bent so I have a new speakon cable coming in the mail. Thankfully it happened in like the last verse of the last song for that gig so I ended up being OK. gahpg fucked around with this message at 18:54 on Feb 15, 2010 |
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Feb 13, 2010 21:10
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Sarah Barracuda posted:Sweet bass. You know... It sounds like you want to sound like the Toadies. That's some dark Texan poo poo right there.
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Feb 13, 2010 22:39
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Kynetx posted:Sweet bass. You know, you're kinda right. I dig the Toadies but I like more swamp and mud. Anyway I bit the bullet the other night because they're letting the lefties go for $70 shipped. Didn't come with their amp which is fine since I still have mine, but I'm pretty sure it's got that rose pink gig bag.  But apparently some (righty) guys at TalkBass are buying them up to screw around with. This heartens me because I know someone who can do drat near anything to make that bass playable for me in exchange for art/design/promotional work. I love the barter system.Seriously, the guys at TalkBass are nuts.  Click here for the full 604x451 image.
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Feb 21, 2010 20:12
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Fuuuuuuuuuuck... gotta wait another month for my hollowbody
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Feb 22, 2010 17:26
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And now I want a Fender TNB-110 SPL to boot... (on top)
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Feb 22, 2010 23:35
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Scarf posted:And now I want a Fender TNB-110 SPL to boot... (on top)
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Feb 23, 2010 01:25
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Ugh, I just tried a Edwards J-Bass in my local store that owns so hard. I want it so bad my head hurts. why dont i have infinite amounts of money
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Feb 23, 2010 01:32
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DrChu posted:I'm surprised its got a Gibson-like mudbucker instead of the Telecaster Bass humbucker. MIJ, who knows...
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Feb 23, 2010 03:39
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Urgh, has any one had any experience with Musician's Friend? I ordered some Seymour Duncan Basslines on Thursday, they shipped on Friday, but my tracking still hasn't updated. Plus they gave me a weird USPS tracking number and today I received a catalog from them which probably should've come with the PUPS.
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Feb 23, 2010 04:31
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Big Face posted:Urgh, has any one had any experience with Musician's Friend? I ordered some Seymour Duncan Basslines on Thursday, they shipped on Friday, but my tracking still hasn't updated. Plus they gave me a weird USPS tracking number and today I received a catalog from them which probably should've come with the PUPS. I have. It sometimes takes a day for it to show up on the UPS website. Never gotten a catalog from them before.
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Feb 23, 2010 04:54
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Big Face posted:Urgh, has any one had any experience with Musician's Friend? I ordered some Seymour Duncan Basslines on Thursday, they shipped on Friday, but my tracking still hasn't updated. Plus they gave me a weird USPS tracking number and today I received a catalog from them which probably should've come with the PUPS. If it's USPS, tracking will not show up. The postal service's "tracking" is a loving joke. It'll likely show up AFTER your poo poo has been delivered. I've been dealing with MF since 2000 and have always had wonderful experiences. You'll be fine.
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Feb 23, 2010 14:51
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Well that's a relief. I just wish it worked so I could know where it is because my local postal carrier is terrible and barely tries to deliver packages.
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Feb 23, 2010 17:44
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SWEET! Turns out my bass is ready and is shipping out today or tomorrow!
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Feb 23, 2010 21:18
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Scarf posted:SWEET! Turns out my bass is ready and is shipping out today or tomorrow! Awesome. Can't wait for pics and impressions.
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Feb 23, 2010 21:32
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Sarah Barracuda posted:Anyway I bit the bullet the other night because they're letting the lefties go for $70 shipped.
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Feb 23, 2010 23:38
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Someone tell me how to sound like this bassist. I like how his sound is crisp through the guitar wall, without overdroning the rhythm guitar. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfnIBnz2_zw
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Feb 24, 2010 00:11
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Geisladisk posted:Someone tell me how to sound like this bassist just be sure you'll never look like him
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Feb 24, 2010 00:15
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Dyna Soar posted:just be sure you'll never look like him i don't think you "get" metal 
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Feb 24, 2010 00:34
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Geisladisk posted:Someone tell me how to sound like this bassist. I like how his sound is crisp through the guitar wall, without overdroning the rhythm guitar.
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Feb 24, 2010 00:37
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Geisladisk posted:i don't think you "get" metal i'm more metal than u And yeah I don't get that kind of metal, some NWOBHM was awesome but this poo poo is just like that horrible band a few years ago, The Darkness or whatever. Campy pastiche. /offtopic rant Dyna Soar fucked around with this message at 01:02 on Feb 24, 2010 |
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Feb 24, 2010 00:52
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More importantly, having guitars that are eq'd for the band to not have a muddy low end means you won't have to "cut through" because the band will have a mix that doesn't fight with itself.
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Feb 24, 2010 01:49
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DrChu posted:Use a bass with P or PJ pickups, roundwound strings, play with your fingers and hit the strings hard enough so they clank on the edge of the fretboard. A clean amp or just slightly dirty would be fine. That's the precise habit I've been trying to break lately. Protip: Never learn to play with an underpowered amp. It'll just make you a hamfisted lummox later when you finally get a decent rig.
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Feb 24, 2010 03:36
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Kynetx posted:That's the precise habit I've been trying to break lately. Holy CRAP, this is really something to pay attention to. New bassists and dudes moving to a high powered setup, take heed!
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Feb 24, 2010 05:18
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