Club Alleva-Coppolo (Part 20)

[Chef]

Mine is subtle and even through it's travel, but, doesn't get really dark til it's more than 60% shut or so.

 

[RS]

Mine is very even through its entire taper. It doesn't 'jump' like some, but is very even.

Something not right there, unless maybe due to your string choice and amplification choice you aren't hearing much treble and upper mids to begin with.

Then there is something wrong with all 3 of my basses? Amp is TH500. Treble is set at 12 o'clock.

 

[rodl2005]

Very even all thru mine. :thumbup:
Haven't touched the neck adjustments on mine for yrs either.
Still my no.1

 

[RS]

When I roll it to 90% off it sounds like a quarter turn on my Fender bass.

 

[KJung]

Then there is something wrong with all 3 of my basses? Amp is TH500. Treble is set at 12 o'clock.

If it is the same with all your basses, you are probably fine (i.e. the probability something is 'wrong' with all three is very low).

Remember that the nice, even taper of the A-C circuit will start rolling off the very high upper treble, slowly moving down to the mid and low treble, and finally the upper midrange through its entire taper.

The TH500 (I LOVE mine by the way) does not particularly extend into the upper treble, and if you don't have reasonably new stainless steel roundwounds on your instruments, there isn't a lot going on up there, making the first 25% of the travel sound quite subtle.

I guess what I would suggest is, so you can see what that passive tone control is really doing, crank the treble on your TH500 to 3 o'clock, and turn up the tweeters to 3 o'clock, and boost the on-board treble control a bit. Of course, that will probably sound clicky and clacky to you, but put up with it for a minute for this 'test' and slowly dial down that passive tone control. My guess is, unless your strings are really dead, you will hear quite an even impact through the entire range. It will still be subtle in the early travel, since again, only the sizzle is being dialed out.

IMO and IME.

 

[RS]

If it is the same with all your basses, you are probably fine (i.e. the probability something is 'wrong' with all three is very low).

Remember that the nice, even taper of the A-C circuit will start rolling off the very high upper treble, slowly moving down to the mid and low treble, and finally the upper midrange through its entire taper.

The TH500 (I LOVE mine by the way) does not particularly extend into the upper treble, and if you don't have reasonably new stainless steel roundwounds on your instruments, there isn't a lot going on up there, making the first 25% of the travel sound quite subtle.

I guess what I would suggest is, so you can see what that passive tone control is really doing, crank the treble on your TH500 to 3 o'clock, and turn up the tweeters to 3 o'clock, and boost the on-board treble control a bit. Of course, that will probably sound clicky and clacky to you, but put up with it for a minute for this 'test' and slowly dial down that passive tone control. My guess is, unless your strings are really dead, you will hear quite an even impact through the entire range. It will still be subtle in the early travel, since again, only the sizzle is being dialed out.

IMO and IME.

That's a good thought.

 

[Chef]

concur

If it is the same with all your basses, you are probably fine (i.e. the probability something is 'wrong' with all three is very low).

Remember that the nice, even taper of the A-C circuit will start rolling off the very high upper treble, slowly moving down to the mid and low treble, and finally the upper midrange through its entire taper.

The TH500 (I LOVE mine by the way) does not particularly extend into the upper treble, and if you don't have reasonably new stainless steel roundwounds on your instruments, there isn't a lot going on up there, making the first 25% of the travel sound quite subtle.

I guess what I would suggest is, so you can see what that passive tone control is really doing, crank the treble on your TH500 to 3 o'clock, and turn up the tweeters to 3 o'clock, and boost the on-board treble control a bit. Of course, that will probably sound clicky and clacky to you, but put up with it for a minute for this 'test' and slowly dial down that passive tone control. My guess is, unless your strings are really dead, you will hear quite an even impact through the entire range. It will still be subtle in the early travel, since again, only the sizzle is being dialed out.

IMO and IME.

 

[ACB0015]

I have 2 passive A-C KBP's. Tone pot is very smooth and effective on both.

 

[RS]

I have 2 passive A-C KBP's. Tone pot is very smooth and effective on both.

Now that I think about it, the tone control was more "affective" on the KBP I owned.

RS

 

[vpermana]

Hi All,
Has any body recently take the bass as carry on during international flight?
Did it fit inside the overhead compartment?
Any advice?
Thanks

 

[ursus]

Yepp. My 5-string LG in a gigbag from SF Airport with British Airways to London. One of the cabin crew was kind enough to put it in his own locker. From London to Copenhagen also with BA in the overhead locker. Then train from Copenhagen back to Malmo Sweden.
I was in SF over Christmas and new years eve to visit relatives and Jimmy was just in time to ship my newborn lefty LG 5-string with UPS from LA to Burlingame.

 

[vpermana]

I have called the airlines, they insisted that I need to check it in as a regular baggage.
But I thought maybe I could get away by just showing up at the gate with it.
Risky?

Yepp. My 5-string LG in a gigbag from SF Airport with British Airways to London. One of the cabin crew was kind enough to put it in his own locker. From London to Copenhagen also with BA in the overhead locker. Then train from Copenhagen back to Malmo Sweden.
I was in SF over Christmas and new years eve to visit relatives and Jimmy was just in time to ship my newborn lefty LG 5-string with UPS from LA to Burlingame.

 

[KJung]

I have called the airlines, they insisted that I need to check it in as a regular baggage.
But I thought maybe I could get away by just showing up at the gate with it.
Risky?

Extremely risky. Hard to get a bass on a plane as check in any more. I did an international gig (US to Mexico) a while back. The agency I work through provided a banger P Bass for me. They put it in a hard case and checked in... no problem.

I do have a friend (Tommy Kennedy) who plays at a high level and constantly does international gigs, so he wants to use his own bass. He has some sort of notarized document that indicates the 'business necessity' of his bass, and also the very high cost of the instrument. He always gets it on the plane, but told me many times it is after he has to throw a fit with the gate staff.

If this is a one off trip, find a relatively cheap bass and a good hard case. IMO.

 

[RS]

I did what Ken suggested, and I did notice the tone does start to roll off after about 60-70% travel. I was surprised the Aggie TH500 and DB112s are the shy in the high end normally.

 

[KJung]

I did what Ken suggested, and I did notice the tone does start to roll off after about 60-70% travel. I was surprised the Aggie TH500 and DB112s are the shy in the high end normally.

Cool! Yeah, the TH500 is pretty relaxed up top. It has plenty of treble response for most, just not a lot of upper treble sizzle like the GK stuff for example. Even the treble control is not your typical 'shelving treble' that impacts all frequencies above a certain point. It is more centered in the mid treble region.

And, if you have ANY drive control dialed in, that will simultaneously reduce deep bass and upper treble (it is the old school knob), which will also reduce the impact of that first 25-40% of a passive tone control.

I LOVE the TH500/DB112 rig for that 'old school meets modern' P or 60's J tone. For out and out 70's Marcus Miller slap or whatever... not so much.

 

[RS]

I LOVE the TH500/DB112 rig for that 'old school meets modern' P or 60's J tone. For out and out 70's Marcus Miller slap or whatever... not so much.

Yeah, definitely not a slap bass rig but perfect for what I like.

 

[ursus]

Extremely risky. Hard to get a bass on a plane as check in any more. I did an international gig (US to Mexico) a while back. The agency I work through provided a banger P Bass for me. They put it in a hard case and checked in... no problem.

I do have a friend (Tommy Kennedy) who plays at a high level and constantly does international gigs, so he wants to use his own bass. He has some sort of notarized document that indicates the 'business necessity' of his bass, and also the very high cost of the instrument. He always gets it on the plane, but told me many times it is after he has to throw a fit with the gate staff.

If this is a one off trip, find a relatively cheap bass and a good hard case. IMO.

I showed up with my bass at SF Airport and no questions asked. There where no problem at all taking my bass in a gigbag on the plane SF-London-Copenhagen. But since Kjung says it risky I thank The Lord I had no clue. Hallelujah and Amen
__________________

 

[foderaman]

My tone is smooth and even on my LM5 but there is a wide variance of tone I can get by movement of the volume knobs.The Volume knobs on mine change the tone more than the Tone pot.Both volume knobs at 7/8 are very bassy compared to 100 % up.was told it has something to do with the capacitance of the pots that causes this effect.So I basicly use my volume knobs to change the tone more than the Passive tone but still use passive tone but it is about 3/4 most of the time.Thare are so many variances to Jimmy pres and pickups it can take a while to get use to it.Also his active tone is very similar to the passive tone the Active tones are used to a minimum.

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

I fly with my bass between 5 and 10 times a month (in a good month!). I carry the bass on with me 100% of the time and have never had a single issue. Vintage fender, AC, Fodera, whichever. I usually fly united and ever since they smashed that kids guitar they let pretty much any instrument on but the only airline that seems to have issues with it is JetBlue and occasionally southwest if its a really full flight. But as long as its a domestic flight you can still gate check the bass if they won't let you bring it on and someone hands it to you as soon as you step off the plane at your destination. The tricky part is flying internationally because there is no gate checking policy outside the US. But if you're incredibly polite and just stress that the instrument is incredibly expensive blah blah blah they'll let you store it in a coat closet (there are many on international flights). Of course this is all IME but I've been doing this for about 4 or 5 years now and have NEVER had a single issue. Obviously for domestic gate checking it helps to have a nice gig bag. I use IGig double and single bags.

 

[KJung]

I fly with my bass between 5 and 10 times a month (in a good month!). I carry the bass on with me 100% of the time and have never had a single issue. Vintage fender, AC, Fodera, whichever. I usually fly united and ever since they smashed that kids guitar they let pretty much any instrument on but the only airline that seems to have issues with it is JetBlue and occasionally southwest if its a really full flight. But as long as its a domestic flight you can still gate check the bass if they won't let you bring it on and someone hands it to you as soon as you step off the plane at your destination. The tricky part is flying internationally because there is no gate checking policy outside the US. But if you're incredibly polite and just stress that the instrument is incredibly expensive blah blah blah they'll let you store it in a coat closet (there are many on international flights). Of course this is all IME but I've been doing this for about 4 or 5 years now and have NEVER had a single issue. Obviously for domestic gate checking it helps to have a nice gig bag. I use IGig double and single bags.

+1 in that if you are willing to gate check a bass in a bag and put it in the hold, there is not much risk on domestic flights. Man, I wouldn't do that myself. On international flights, you have been very lucky it seems!