Recent content by nmiller

You can't tell anything about a neck twist from that photo one way or the other.

The short answer is: replace the nut. The long answer is: replace... the... nut.

Looks like the strings are sitting in the wrong threads at the saddles. I think you could just detune, move them over, tune back up, and be OK.

The first thing to check in this situation is the fuse.

It's not particularly unusual for a guitar to need nothing but truss rod adjustments over the course of a decade. Many of my instruments don't even need that much work for years on end. It's down to how stable the instrument is and how stable the weather/climate is where they're stored.

1) Depends on the store. 2) The factory usually does the minimum work to make the instrument playable. It would be pointless for them to do a full setup, since the bass may travel to a new climate and the factory doesn't know how the buyer will want it set up. 3) To a limited extent, yes...

The closer the pickup is to the bridge, it picks up less bass and proportionally more treble, but also lower overall output. "Aggressive" and "punchy" might not mean the same thing to everyone, but to me, closer to the bridge means more aggressive and less punchy. The active EQ will allow you...

I replaced the stock bridge on my TBird with a Hipshot. Nothing wrong with the Hipshot, but it really didn't make any difference to the sound or functionality. I don't have that bass anymore, but if I ever get another, I'd just leave the stock bridge on there.

I have to imagine that most of those knobs and switches aren't actually hooked up to anything, and that remembering which knobs do work is a nightmare.

It does, but the effect is quite small on an electric instrument. I would set up the bass to play comfortably, and if you don't like the sound try adjusting the pickup heights.

It's exactly what I would expect if Latka Gravas designed a bass.

That's... very much not what I did.

Sure. You can hook them up any way you want. Without separate volume controls or a selector switch, both pickups will be on all the time.

It's two coils, but considered one pickup - same with other split-coil humbuckers, including ones that had come before. The patent that Seth Lover obtained was for the Gibson-style "PAF" design and was not granted for the hum-cancelling technology, which was already more than 20 years old...

Yes, the technique issue is quite easily fixable. I find the whole "change your bass because you have developed some poor habits" mindset totally absurd.