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Southern Heel posted:I've got a Squier CV 60's P-bass which I've used for a year or so with no problems, but in the last month or so it started crackling. I suspected the jack so I replaced it, but it has continued. Further investigation showed that it was due to the jack/jack-socket inside touching the inside of the control cavity. After much wrangling I managed to get it into a position where it would work, but after picking the guitar up again today I can see that it's dead again with I assume the same issue. I've had similar issues with a VM Jazzmaster. I would honestly just replace the electronics inside because right now I can get it to start/stop by tapping on the volume and tone pots.
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Feb 24, 2015 18:45
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Good idea, but in my case I've already had it apart and tested each component, literally the only thing wrong is when the jack socket/jack touches the inside of the control cavity. Given electronics are so cheap these days it's a bit of a no-brainer if you're having more complicated faults though. Unless you need cloth-covered wire and vintage caps... (you don't)
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Feb 24, 2015 19:23
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gently caress sake! Despite all the insulation the bloody thing won't work if the pickguard is attached to the guitar; it's got to be a contact with the shielding but I've layered electrical tape around the entire area. What a palaver.
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Feb 25, 2015 15:17
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On the off chance, is a wire getting stuck between the jack and your 1/4 plug? This would only apply if there was ZERO output. I had a loose wire that would sometimes wiggle itself in there on an older Teisco that had a top mounted pickguard jack like the JM and P-bass. Just a thought.
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Feb 25, 2015 17:55
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It gets weirder - hiss comes and goes if I dial the vol/tone but no actual sound. if I tap the live wires (either pot to jack, or pickup to pot) then I get microphonics out of my amp. Striking the pickups does nothing at all. Any ideas?
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Feb 26, 2015 00:20
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Southern Heel posted:It gets weirder - hiss comes and goes if I dial the vol/tone but no actual sound. if I tap the live wires (either pot to jack, or pickup to pot) then I get microphonics out of my amp. Striking the pickups does nothing at all. just replace the electronics, honestly it sounds like its all pretty shoddy.
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Feb 26, 2015 15:24
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Smash it Smash hit posted:just replace the electronics, honestly it sounds like its all pretty shoddy. Either that or try a complete re-wire on everything. Pickups, pots, etc.
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Feb 26, 2015 16:54
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Southern Heel posted:It gets weirder - hiss comes and goes if I dial the vol/tone but no actual sound. if I tap the live wires (either pot to jack, or pickup to pot) then I get microphonics out of my amp. Striking the pickups does nothing at all. God drat would you believe that it was the cap nudging up against a different pot terminal when the wiring loop was pressed into the cavity? gently caress!
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Feb 26, 2015 21:56
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In celebration I threw this together; it's a cover and there are a couple of flubs, but after tweaking the neck my bass feels amazing and I wanted to get my hands on some fat bottom: https://soundcloud.com/williamayerst/rolling-gospel
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Feb 26, 2015 23:23
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Been recording a couple of songs at my friend's father's personal studio (he's been a professional musician for over 40 years now so he's got an amazing setup) and have had the pleasure of playing on an immaculately maintained '73 SVT this week. Now when I get home my GK 400rb is going to sound so lousy in comparison... The next time I feel like going overboard and splurging on myself, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm getting.
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Feb 27, 2015 01:08
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Super Rad posted:Been recording a couple of songs at my friend's father's personal studio (he's been a professional musician for over 40 years now so he's got an amazing setup) and have had the pleasure of playing on an immaculately maintained '73 SVT this week. Now when I get home my GK 400rb is going to sound so lousy in comparison... The next time I feel like going overboard and splurging on myself, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm getting. some day i'll get me one of those. i've got an ad200b right now, and while it's real nice and loud i have this somewhat irrational yearning for a PTP amp 
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Feb 27, 2015 08:26
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I got a good deal on a Fender Active Jazz, but the vintage white/tortoise pickguard combo is pretty heinous. Does anyone know if the regular Deluxe J pickguards will work on the active Deluxe?
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Mar 1, 2015 01:50
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I have a Fender Deluxe J with a black pickguard that the original owner put on it, so yeah I'd assume that most J pickguards would work.
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Mar 1, 2015 07:28
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Count the pickguard screws and buy a new guard with the same number (it'll be 10 or 11). Generally that works. Also, white + tort is p awesome.
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Mar 12, 2015 05:16
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So has anyone got the chance to play around with the Ibanez SRF700/705 Portamento fretless? I happened upon it the other day and am kind of fascinated by it. Fretless, two and a half octave string scale, with a Piezo system and it's $900, which seems reasonable for how fretless basses are priced. I may have to take the dive on this next time I got money burning a hole in my pocket but am kind of curious if anyone has actual hands on experience with it. The videos I've seen with it all sound really neat too, has a bit of that upright acoustic bass sound without the bulk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0PqwxZYpsA
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Mar 13, 2015 19:08
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I recently got a Squier VI. I've known about the Fender VI from the 60s for many a year, and until recently, there were only two ways to get one of these weird things: pay thousands to get a vintage instrument, or pay thousands to get a custom shop built version. Now you can pick up a fairly good version for about $350. Not too shabby. I've been unable to put this thing down. It's an instrument that has no right to exist, but that I'm thankful someone decided to make. I'm having a lot of fun playing guitar stuff on it, and I am even using it as a regular bass, although this is trickier due to the short scale and closeness of the strings. Finally, the dirty channel on my Sunn 300T is getting a really good workout. Hooked up to the 2x15 and 4x10T, this thing really wails. Even on the clean channel, it sounds bassier than I'd expect for a short scale base sporting such light gauge strings. Any other Bass VI owners out there? Any suggestions on stuff to listen to and learn to play on this weird beast? (Preferably in the area of rock or metal, or any of the myriad of variations on those genres....) Also... DeathSandwich posted:So has anyone got the chance to play around with the Ibanez SRF700/705 Portamento fretless? I happened upon it the other day and am kind of fascinated by it. Fretless, two and a half octave string scale, with a Piezo system and it's $900, which seems reasonable for how fretless basses are priced. I may have to take the dive on this next time I got money burning a hole in my pocket but am kind of curious if anyone has actual hands on experience with it. While I haven't played this bass, I do have a 20-year-old old Ibanez 5-string fretless (SR505FL). Looking at the SRF700/705, I can tell you that the extra range they talk about is almost certainly useless. Even getting your fingers up to those notes on the last 6 "frets" won't be easy, unless you're tapping or something. Extended range like that is usually a gimmick, frets or not. But to get that upright acoustic bass sound, definitely invest in a set of nylon tapewound strings. They feel like flats but are easier to move up and down on, and they have an amazingly good upright bass sound, even without piezo pickups. (The strings are usually black, but I'm sure there are other colors out there.)
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Mar 15, 2015 18:13
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I'm jealous. I tried to do the bass VI thing, mentioned a few pages back I was expecting delivery of a MIJ one. Well it arrived, and was essentially unplayable. Could not set the bridge height or neck relief to be able to get anything useful out of it, think it was simply a dud. Tried a Schecter ultracure vi which played a lot better but had a splintered fingerboard on either side of the 9th fret that never should have left Musician's Friend in that condition. I'm glad you like yours, I really wanted to give the 6 string bass in that form factor a go, but I am apparently cursed. Oh well. Sticking with the fretless for the near future.
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Mar 16, 2015 21:02
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tarlibone posted:
Fellow Bass VI owner here. I've had mine since the Squire was released. I liked the original setup, but I wanted something different. I decided to go baritone, so I picked up a custom set of strings and tuned it A-a standard. It's a bit brighter, so it leans more toward guitar, but still has that full sound. An added benefit, no more intonation hassles!
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Mar 16, 2015 21:02
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Jonithen posted:I'm jealous. I tried to do the bass VI thing, mentioned a few pages back I was expecting delivery of a MIJ one. Well it arrived, and was essentially unplayable. Could not set the bridge height or neck relief to be able to get anything useful out of it, think it was simply a dud. Tried a Schecter ultracure vi which played a lot better but had a splintered fingerboard on either side of the 9th fret that never should have left Musician's Friend in that condition. I'm glad you like yours, I really wanted to give the 6 string bass in that form factor a go, but I am apparently cursed. I don't have good luck, and the weather was really bad when I ordered mine, so I had my instrument shipped to a nearby Guitar Center. That way, if something was wrong, there wouldn't be any hassle with getting it set up or replaced or whatever. Thankfully, it arrived set up properly--I was surprised as hell--and it just needed to be tuned up. Just seeing one and knowing it was mine was pretty cool, and hooked up to a Blues Junior, it sounded really nice. I don't know if I'll go baritone with it. The low E string is a little floppy, but a thicker gauge could fix that, probably, and it's fun to play guitar lines one octave too low. The really low stuff doesn't work too well, but anything from the A string up is fair game. (Yeah, right in the baritone range....) This is an instrument that shouldn't exist, really. I can totally see why this wasn't a hit in the 60s, but I'm glad it's available now, especially at the Squier's price point. It's a unique instrument.
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Mar 16, 2015 23:46
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Can anyone talk a bit about the Ibanez Artcore AFB200 and/or the Epiphone Allan Woody Rumblekat? I've been playing the GSR200 from the OP for years and I'm thinking about upgrading and hollow and semihollow basses look really neat, but I'm not sure how they'll play. If I were going for a solid body, I'd be looking at the Epi Thunderbird Pro-IV and it's definitely something I'll be checking out too. I'll be going round to a few different places to look at and play different basses, but I thought it'd be a good idea to ask here if anyone knew of specific problems / issues / awesome stuff with the ones I'm primarily looking at.
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Mar 17, 2015 13:38
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I have a Rumblekat. I bought it in 2008 and I've modified it a bit. The pickups are rather boring and it will thump along well enough. At first I put some Alumi tones in and added a bridge pickup location and that really opened it up (if it wasn't for the inconsistency of those pickups I'd still have them in there). Now I have a TV Jones pickup in the bridge and made a pickguard to cover up the other holes. Stock, the bass plays well enough. It's light and comfortable. I was playing my Yamaha Attitude and then switched to the Rumblekat and it was so light and easy to play. The bridge sucks on it, but you get that with almost all Epiphone and Gibson basses. I haven't played the Ibanez, but I imagine the experience to be very similar in terms of playability and pickup quality. At least you wouldn't have that 3 point bridge.
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Mar 17, 2015 16:23
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I've recently joined a band after their old bassist left and have been ramping up for a show by learning all their songs. I've been playing mostly guitar for the past year or so and while I'm definitely able to play these new songs, they're much more "athletic" than what I've played on bass previously and are probably at the outside edge of my current endurance/ability. As a consequence by the time I'm done with a practice session (1.5-2hrs) my fretting hand is pretty exhausted and is sometimes pretty tight the next morning, and one time my wrist was a little sore, so I've been taking an Advil before practice and another before bed. I don't want to hurt myself by overdoing it obviously, but I did commit to playing a show in a few days and am facing another 1-2 hour practice every night until then. Are there any stretches/techniques to reduce the tightness after a particularly grueling string of practices, and is there some sort of best practices like ice/heat afterward to help bounce back faster?
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Mar 19, 2015 16:20
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himajinga posted:I've recently joined a band after their old bassist left and have been ramping up for a show by learning all their songs. I've been playing mostly guitar for the past year or so and while I'm definitely able to play these new songs, they're much more "athletic" than what I've played on bass previously and are probably at the outside edge of my current endurance/ability. As a consequence by the time I'm done with a practice session (1.5-2hrs) my fretting hand is pretty exhausted and is sometimes pretty tight the next morning, and one time my wrist was a little sore, so I've been taking an Advil before practice and another before bed. I don't want to hurt myself by overdoing it obviously, but I did commit to playing a show in a few days and am facing another 1-2 hour practice every night until then. there's a book called bass fitness that has some really good excersizes for, well, bass fitness.
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Mar 19, 2015 16:22
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Isn't Bass Fitness just a bunch of those chromatic "spider" exercises? You could probably come up with your own variations with just some paper and a pencil.
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Mar 19, 2015 16:24
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Try warming up / stretching out properly BEFORE picking up your bass.
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Mar 19, 2015 16:29
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Seventh Arrow posted:Isn't Bass Fitness just a bunch of those chromatic "spider" exercises? You could probably come up with your own variations with just some paper and a pencil. maybe, but there's 200 different exercises for different situations. well worth the price imo. in my opinion you're just exercising too much and should take a day or two off. all that playing won't help you if you have an inflamed tendons on the day of the gig.
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Mar 19, 2015 16:33
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It could be because you're used to guitar, and your hand is having some growing pains. Playing bass requires a little bit more hand strength on the fretting hand. You might also be fretting too hard. If you're playing on an old or cheap instrument because bass isn't your primary instrument, the action may be high, making things even a bit worse. I've met other bassists who seem to be trying to mash the strings into the frets with all their might, and they have the same problems you're describing. Not to mention the fact that if something is just harder to play, there's a tendency to tense up and do everything harder. Hell, I'm guilty of that, and I've been playing bass for over 20 years. It happens, and it creates cramps. My advice would be to rest that wrist and hand. Doing even more exercises won't help and will actually make it a little worse. You only want to do the exercises if you're not having rehearsal all the time. You're messing around with carpal tunnel syndrome, and the answer is not more stress.
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Mar 19, 2015 16:45
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basically if playing hurts, you have to take a break. def don't take pain meds and practise more, you'll just gently caress up your hand and end up having to let it heal for a lot longer than the break now. here's a story about bass fitness: my right shoulder is 5-10 cm lower than my left due to a hosed up playing position for the past 15 years. my posture is basically so hosed that i have to start doing daily exercises to counter it now or i might end up with serious health issues down the line. Dyna Soar fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Mar 19, 2015 |
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Mar 19, 2015 16:47
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Yeah, I definitely don't want to play any more than I am right now! I'll try and pay more attention to how hard I'm fretting, I think I do have a tendency to death-grip on some parts, and work in a before/after stretching routine. I think after this weekend I'll take a few days off and just stretch before I get back into a routine.
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Mar 19, 2015 17:12
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When I was in college I practiced for 12 hours a day and I never had problems with my wrists or hands; in fact, I had to take over a gig for a guy who developed carpal tunnel syndrome. Always keep both hands relaxed, never play harder than you need to. Keep the strap at a length that's comfortable and try to make sure your hands are in the same position whether you're sitting or standing. Also - and people will debate the importance of this, but that's ok - try to keep your fretting hand thumb behind the neck. Try to avoid the "baseball bat" approach of gripping the thumb around the neck, especially if you're used to playing guitar.
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Mar 19, 2015 17:44
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Seventh Arrow posted:When I was in college I practiced for 12 hours a day and I never had problems with my wrists or hands; in fact, I had to take over a gig for a guy who developed carpal tunnel syndrome. Always keep both hands relaxed, never play harder than you need to. Keep the strap at a length that's comfortable and try to make sure your hands are in the same position whether you're sitting or standing. Also - and people will debate the importance of this, but that's ok - try to keep your fretting hand thumb behind the neck. Try to avoid the "baseball bat" approach of gripping the thumb around the neck, especially if you're used to playing guitar. Yeah I always play with the bass really high up so my wrist-forearm transition is pretty flat, I tried to play like Krist Novoselic once and my wrist has never forgiven me. I think I'm probably gripping too hard since I'm not used to having to play this fast on such thick strings or how often I'm having to fret 2 whole steps is in first position.
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Mar 19, 2015 17:50
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it's a fine line to tread, ergonomy vs. looking cool
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Mar 19, 2015 17:52
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Dyna Soar posted:it's a fine line to tread, ergonomy vs. looking cool I really like post punk and those dudes all played like jazz dorks so it's 'aight
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Mar 19, 2015 18:02
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I've never liked the caveman look of having the bass around your knees. Then again, having it at Mark King height is a little too nerdy.
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Mar 19, 2015 18:02
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himajinga posted:I'm not used to having to play this fast on such thick strings or how often I'm having to fret 2 whole steps is in first position. I can play a lot faster and more comfortably on a short scale bass with tapewound strings. Either or both of those might help, if it fits whatever sound you're going for.
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Mar 19, 2015 18:33
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i really wanted to grab a 5 string cort curbow but they're always like twice as much as the 4 string versions. it's still a really good price but it's frustrating then there's one on ebay in perfectly fine condition but it's local pickup only. why does local pickup only exist outisde of places like big cities muike fucked around with this message at 22:01 on Mar 19, 2015 |
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Mar 19, 2015 21:57
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Anyone have book recommendations on jazz fusion/prog bass playing? Preferably for 5s but 4 is okay. I'm going to maybe throw chromes on my Bongo 5 and brush up on my skills enough for recording a solo project I've got planned for sometime this year. My bass technique/creativity is nowhere near my guitar side so I need to put in some hours.
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Mar 20, 2015 02:23
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Not that I know of. I think the best way to build up prog/fusion chops would be to just transcribe your favourite bass parts from those bands. As far as playing over complex changes, I think the best approach to doing that is to just start with jazz standards and build up your expertise there. Yeah, playing "How High The Moon" is cheesy, but you're building a general skillset and there's more resources for that kind of stuff than there is for fusion.
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Mar 20, 2015 15:39
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Last night I warmed up thoroughly and did stretches then played as light as I could and it helped a ton, thanks for the advice. My new practice routine is going to be training myself to be mindful of the tension in my fretting hand!
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Mar 20, 2015 18:31
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Seventh Arrow posted:Not that I know of. I think the best way to build up prog/fusion chops would be to just transcribe your favourite bass parts from those bands. See that's the thing, I don't learn songs often and nowadays I'm really focusing on only learning riffs/licks and such from bands and letting the rest come from inside myself. It's weird but it works for me creatively. That's a good plan though. Realistically sticking to mostly jazz practice while mixing in rock and metal techniques on the side should round me out. Thanks
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Mar 20, 2015 19:14
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