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Upgrading Spector Performer 5 Pickups - Questions and doubts

The Spector Performer 5 uses two EMG 40/G4-size soapbar pickups.
Nominal pickup dimensions are 101.6 × 38.1 mm, with an enclosure height of approximately 19.05 mm, reaching up to around 22.35 mm near the cable exit or connector.
The mounting screw holes are approximately 95.25 mm apart, center to center.

Aguilar DCB-G4 fits.

Help me get to First Bass! I need a Hamer Scarab bass body pattern

If you are still looking for a Scarab Bass....
A shortcut for sure! But... the quality of the hardware and electronics for most of these Chinese kits is... questionable. The tuners are usually OK, the pickups... not so much. Still, a decent set of P and J pickups shouldn't break the bank. In the OP's shows I'd probably go for it, unless the Building Urge Is Strong!

NBD: Vintage (?) SBMM SB14

Does the headstock say SB14? I know Sterling did a test run of SB24 basses, which were basically just SB14s with premium top woods. I hesitated too long on a cherry burst quilted maple SB24 on Reverb, still kicking myself for that. It was gorgeous, but it had "SB24" on the headstock.
Headstock says SB 14. The cherry quilt model you referred to, I did have in my possession for a brief time. That one was an SB 24.

Darkening a leather strap, not the shirt!

Well y’all it came out great, exactly what I’d hoped. Thanks to @gopherbass for the dye suggestion, first one made. Fiebing’s leather dye was easy to find, easy to apply, colored just right and dries completely stain-free. Thanks also to the member who pointed out that our fingertips are also leather and accept dye readily - gloves solved that one.
Oh, and thanks to Franklin Straps for a very soft and lovely piece of leather. The original color / texture was “Bison”. Thanks all!
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How does a preamp affect a bass's tone?

It all depends on the design of the entire circuit and the intent of the player using the bass and all related elements of the signal chain. Active basses can sound 'warm, round, and vintage' too depending on how the tone controls are utilized, but it depends on the aim of the preamp (and pickup) design and how it all interacts. There are no 'absolutes' one way or another. What I can say for sure is that whether it's an onboard preamp in an active bass, or an outboard unit that you plug a passive bass into (like a Sadowsky outboard pre or even an Aguilar Tone Hammer), the whole idea is for the preamp circuit to affect the sound of the bass in some way.... otherwise, why are you using it?
For starters, one could use or intend to use a preamp (onboard the bass or not) to simply boost signal with no other intention- if the preamp can do that, but also being aware that adding to or changing a circuit, internal to the bass or externally may do more than (simply) boosting a signal and may also unavoidably change the sound maybe in the ways intended and ways tolerable... or way unintended and not tolerable.

If I want to play warmly, roundly and with vintage tone, I'm going to find a way to make that sound come out of the speakers of the amplifier. If I want bright, zingy, and with piano-like brilliance, there are other requirements that are beyond my ability to twist knobs or change my technique/approach. Number one among them is clean/new roundwounds. Another thing is a cabinet with a tweeter, and ideally main speaker setup that has more 10 or 12 inch speakers and less 15 inch speakers. So I have to start from the position of bright, clean and with piano-like sparkly brilliance, and then find the warm tones from there. I have never found it possible to go the other direction- bass with dirty, dead strings and wooly-sounding amp with one or two 15 inch speakers and no tweeter and yet still finding those Marcus Miller/Level 42 slap tones.

So, in my opinion and my experience, it comes back to your first sentence.

Bass Player Magazine

Sometime in the 1990s, I wrote a letter to Bass Player in response to an interview in a previous edition. I was responding to some famous player who had said that people should always play original music and not play other people's music. I responded that I loved being able to play various styles of music with lots of different people in lots of settings. I liked being a jack-of-all-trades. I think that it was in the mid-1990s. The byline was probably "Bob McKinney, Starkville, Mississippi." I don't suppose that any of you fine folks would be able to find it in your stash and send me a photo, would you? Many thanks!

Do you recall who was on the cover?

Trevor Weekz of Goose rig rundown

I saw a recent upload and it looks like he traded the Bergantino for an Aguilar head. Ive only ever played through the Tonehammer models and that one looks much larger than those. Any idea which one it is?
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That’s a db751. They did a limited edition run that was on black late last year. Looks like he got one of them.
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Would you gig with a TRBX174

Would you personally gig with a Yamaha TRBX174?

If yes, what kinds of gigs would you feel comfortable using it for?

- College/student gigs
- Local bars, cafes, or small venues
- Church/worship
- Recording sessions
- Paid professional gigs

If not, what would be the limiting factor?

Also, what would you consider a worthwhile yet still affordable step up from a TRBX174?
I just acquired not one but two TRBX174's. Yamaha Canada had a sale on them for $250 CAD ($177 USD)! One wouldn't expect perfection at that price, but I'm pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to set them up with new strings. And they do sound pretty decent and look a lot more expensive than the actual price I paid for them.

I'll be playing one of them in church this coming Sunday just to test it out, so I'll let you know how that goes.

Yamaha Twins 2.jpeg

Double Bass Help with setup on new to me Double Bass Please!

The string height on my bass, a brand new cheapy was also ridiculously high. I've filed down the nut and bridge to 8mm on the E string, 6 on the E. Depends on the weather as they've said. My bridge height adjusters have bottomed out also. And the threads have stripped. I just glue a sliver of wood in the slots and start again when there's a change in season.

But the playability also depends on the action at the 7th fret. Depending on your scoop that can be too high when there's enough room under the strings to get a good pizzicato going. We should quote the string height at the fifth fret as well I reckon. I'd originally had trouble with this compromise but then with practice your fingers toughen up and you can get a good grip down there with what you thought was lowish action. I suppose if you intend on going beyond the 7th fret the scoop needs to be made carefully uniform throughout. But it's a bass. Why go down there? We've got banjos, fiddles and mandos. They're much better designed to hit the high notes. I don't even try. ie. action at the 7th fret and at the end of the finger board can be independent variables. We should quote both.

Mike Mills from REM bass gear?

Mike Played a Peavey in Germany in the early 80s. Think he has two basses that night. There's a vid on YouTube. I saw them a JPJ Arena in C-Ville during the Fables of the Reconstruction tour. It was hard to see what he was playing, but a friend that was in a different spot than I said it looked like a Musicmaster. I had just traded my Musicmaster for a Peavey Foundation so that was a bit of a gut punch.

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