• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

NBD - Ibanez EHB1500, most comfortable bass ever

After playing the instrument for days, I finally plugged in after dark & couldn't see the side-dots, At ALL!

Turns out you need to charge them up-close with a strong light. I finally realized my mobile phone's flash LED will charge them, but I'm not too happy that it won't charge in normal, bright light.
I left it on the kitchen table under our brightest light for an hour, nothing!
I was conflicted when I got my used EHB 1500. I so wanted it to be perfect and from a looks perspective it is! Many years ago I bought my first bass, a Steinberger L2. My used EBH did not have the original strings, previous owner put some D'Addario 45-100's on it. It had a strong over tone on the big E string and no amount of finagling would fix. Then I put on a .105 E string and the bass came to life, big bass sound and no overtone distortion. I plays like a dream and I can dial in a lot of things. One thing I'll say which is a little unusual... it does not sound particularly good flat, with all the knobs on the detents. Just a little bass boost and a tweak of the Mid-frequency knob and it has my sound. I almost feel that it is not the same scale length as all my G&L's, even though it is. Playing on the low notes near the nut seems like my left hand needs to stretch more. Weird, huh?
  • Like
Reactions: MovinTarget

Custom Fodera P-Bass

That bass is beautiful, and I can certainly understand the appeal of paying top dollar for a bespoke P bass. But I can't help but think that for that dollar amount, there should be a more elegant solution for the output jack. Not sure what that solution is, but this option just bugs me.

Fodera will do a side jack at no charge. All you have to do is request it. I had a couple of builds done that way, and I've always felt it looked far better.

Is Delano's wiring instruction wrong?

What's the reason? You should find out and get back with us.

Electrically, I don't see a problem with installing the Active/Passive Push/Pull Volume control.

However, if you have a thin-bodied bass, maybe the Push/Pull pot is physically too tall to fit.

On a personal note, I had that problem once many years ago. I made a wood & plastic stand-off, mounted it on the face of the bass, installed the push/pull, and problem solved. Yeah, it was about a 1/2 inch bump sticking up, but who cares. Functionality above looks. I get that some folk don't like 'bastardizing' their instrument and mar the looks, but I'm here to play bass, not enter the frakkin' thing in a beauty contest LOL. I never got fired once for it and the audience never boo'd me, so... :)

Anyway, if you can, find out why he says it won't work.
I ended up having him wire the hybird setup as the directions instructed (it omits the push pull volume for a normal volume pot, and the included treble pot is a stacked passive tone when in passive, and treble tone when in actice). He is having an issue with horrible feedback/noise when the preamp is engaged/humbucker mode. He contacted Delano, hopefully they'll help him sus it out. I went over the diagram with him, seems (hopefully) that he has it right from what I can tell. Fingers crossed they figure it out, I would love to have this bass in my hands soon!
  • Like
Reactions: fig

Help my back

As I write this I'm nursing my sore back from playing yesterday for church and setting up PA speakers as well. Age 53 here.

Lots of good recommendations and reminders about posture, and footwear. It got me thinking though if there are times when you need a high stool with a back, where do I get one that looks good on a stage? The one we have at church is like an old school stool, and it looks pretty ratty.

A drum throne can have a back but they're short.

Quik Lok makes a Musician's Stool but it isn't that tall I don't think: QUIK LOK DX749 | Height adjustable Musicians' stool

Any suggestions?

Edit: Wait the Quik Lok goes up to 31.5" which i guess is pretty high, actually. So thats an option. Anything nicer looking though?

LMI Model SPFSN Manual Fret Slotting System

Hello to all Luthiers and would-be Luthiers, like me. I have had this system for years and am just setting up to use it but I can't find the Locating Pin! Does anyone either have one to sell or have the specifications so that I can make one? I can give it a pretty good go of it with the mount diameter and slot widths. I'm assuming that the pin should be tapered to center on the slots. Any help with this would be great and much appreciated!
I dunno if I'm necrobumping this thread, since I got a head cold.

Contact Stewmac. They got all of LMI's old stock. Currently, they're in the process of streamlining their stock....some stuff in the future with be LMI because it's better designs. Some stuff will be the Stewmac stuff. The Stewmac people are friendly and no BS imho.

Luthier FMI Fantastic Musical Instruments Tom Kerr

Richard, July 24, 2026: Fantastic Musical Instruments in Pasadena, CA is a real “bass shop”. Tom Kerr was very gracious to me when I was trying out basses a few years ago, even after I returned a fine bass I had on trial. I ended up buying a Pollmann Bass from another store. However, when I needed a set-up, , cleaning, and sound adjustment, I took my Pollmann to Tom. My bass now sounds better than ever, and he had a solid string recommendation. Also, just this week I bought a Kay Bass, circ, 1940 from Tom, for my bluegrass, gigs. It was reasonably priced and he did some work I requested for a minimal charge, adjustments to the bridge curvature, and a replacement tailpiece cable (I wanted a new Teflon version). I kept the original metal piece since it was part of the original bass. Thanks, Tom, for your expertise and gracious manner with me as a customer who needed some guidance.
  • Like
Reactions: fatmarris

Looking for some stories of people turning their active basses to passive. The good, the bad, the ugly.

just today I’ve butchered a Bart NTMB from an SR that has aftermarket pickups.

image.jpg


I’d wish, a jack would fit the treble pot hole, but nope. still debating what to do with holes.

pretty happy with sonic results tho, the pre somehow overdrove the low B even at minimum gain. yeah, I know, 18v is also a way, but gave up the idea of fitting a second battery due to compact body.

Has anyone ever tested the Nordstrand Big Singles with Alnico V vs Alnico III?

I almost exclusively use compression wound these days, because they can lean forward and be more aggressive with volume/tone adjustments and attack techniques, or lean back towards (but not quite to) flat wound territory by dropping the tone knob. Plus they’re super cozy. I prefer smith compressors, but they’re wound by ghs, so the ghs pressure wounds work just as nicely.
I've used those before! They are super comfortable. I didn't know what they were when my luthier recommended them, so I took a shot in the dark, and when I picked up the bass later, it was super noticeable that the strings felt different. I'm a GHS fan, and I like the Pressurewounds, Bassics, and round core Bass Boomers. Haven't tried their steels yet, but all my basses are pretty bright so they don't really need em.

Old Ears

Thank You for your suggestion.
I went on a pertaining thread and left a post.


“Just found this thread and never knew about the BackBeat device.
I don’t use IEM but my interest is because of declining hearing. I have a great rig (Bergantino HG410x and the Ultra amp) which has great features but as my hearing is getting worse (I also wear hearing aids) my sound often gets lost or blurry in the stage mix in the small/medium clubs with weird acoustics.
So my application would be feeling more than hearing. Comments appreciated”
I'm glad you found it helpful! I'd love to talk about Neo vs Cermamic as much as the next TB user but I really think a different rig won't address your needs and the backbeat actually might. I've only used one a handful of times but really enjoyed it. I wish I had one on a loud stage so I could keep my stage volume lower. I bet it would help a lot.
  • Like
Reactions: Big String

Alternative smooth bass string similar to flatwounds but less stiff and expensive

Yes the Ken Smith Slick Round strings are generally understood to be made for them by GHS, but no they are absolutely not pressurewounds. You are perhaps confusing the Smith Slick Round strings with the Smith Compressor Wound series, which are also generally understood to be made for them by GHS, and are in fact pressurewound.

See this page on the Smith website, where it explicitly describes the Slick Rounds as "Nickel-iron Alloy Round Wound, Ground On The Outer Surface For A Super Smooth Feel" and the Compressor Wounds as "The Outer Winding Is Compressed To An Oval Shape Just Before Being Wound On The String"

In summary:
Slick Round = ground rounds
Compressor Wound = pressure/roller-wound rounds
I stand corrected !! Thanks :woot:
  • Like
Reactions: Bob_Ross

Light-Weight Hartke Head Recommendation

UPDATE: Head came after only 2 days - turns out the Guitar Center was only one state over. After playing with it twice at home I'm pretty happy - it sounds like a Hartke and it sounds great through my 2x10 GK NEO cab. I have two older Hartke cabs I'm going to take out of storage and try as well. Definitely worth $175.
Can't wait to try it at practice.

Hi there from Germany!

Hello,
I'm quite a newbie on Bass Guitar - although playing Guitar for quite some years and dabbling in electronics (and motorcycle repair, but that's offtopic).

Found my way to the while searching more info about my shiny new amp to be better able to annoy my neighbors.
Couldn't resist to spend 50€ on this Trace Elliot GP12SMX / 1215SMX Combo that someone pulled from his basement.

Disassembled and cleaned it. All Caps seem good (at least nothing "ballooned"), looks practically new and has a real nice rumble to it.
Built in 1994.
Board seems to be quite standard, poweramp seems to be passive cooled AH200 poweramp. I matched this from the FETs (K135 / J50, in To3) to a schematic of a GP12 200W Series 6 poweramp.

Two things that are maybe not total ok:

- Amp has a slight hum to it when idling. Not really annoying, but noticeable. I suspect the input Caps (4700u, 63V) are a bit "aged". Weirdly Voltage after rectifier is +/-64V (no load)... are those boxes built with so small tollerance?

- when switching off the amp (main power switch, no noise when switching). Then lights go off and 20-30 seconds later, the speaker gives a series of 5, 6 "popp" noises. Not loud, but startling.
Any ideas, if this is normal or if I should be concerned?

Thanks for your help / input.
Stefan
P.S. Living near Frankfurt/Main Germany, in middle of the 50s, and making music just for fun, no band / project.
Favorite music style: lots of guitars, not so much electronics. Typical names maybe New Model Army, Bad Religion, Pink Floyd, Linkin Park

Does anyone still use the Backbeat G2? I haven't seen any content lately. Was it a good concept that just didn't catch on?

Just found this thread and never knew about the BackBeat device.
I don’t use IEM but my interest is because of declining hearing. I have a great rig (Bergantino HG410x and the Ultra amp) which has great features but as my hearing is getting worse (I also wear hearing aids) my sound often gets lost or blurry in the stage mix in the small/medium clubs with weird acoustics.
So my application would be feeling more than hearing. Comments appreciated

Aguilar Preamp Install

Could easily and VERY cheaply replace the wonky output jack. Wouldn't take long to solder a new one in.

Fiddled around with the blue adjustment pots on the PCB for the preamp? Not 100% on what they do, but one could be a gain knob. Might solve some of the output issues? Doesn't cost anything to try ;)
It's all set. I was not thorough in my assessing, jumped the gun. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Latest Classifieds

w/Mono Case, 7.5lbs!
$1,850.00
8 watching
Location
Connecticut, United States
Brand new and unopened. I'll ship to you one pack for $28 total
$28.00
2 watching
Location
Austin Texas, United States
Greetings Tb, Up for sale is a package deal of broughton royal MK filter preamp and Studio boost mini. Both in excellent condition only used in my...
$300.00
2 watching
Location
San Diego California, United States
Fender Custom Shop ’60s Jazz Bass Pickups Genuine Fender Custom Shop ‘60s Jazz Bass pickup set in good working condition. Neck and bridge set...
$165.00
Location
Shreveport Louisiana, United States
PA
$80.00
Location
Palmerton Pennsylvania, United States 18071

Filter