Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[D.M.N.]

I actually think the headstock repair looks kinda cool like that. Very rock and roll.

The buckle rash guard looks ****ing stupid, though.

Yeah, I'm mostly concerned with stability. But I'm also debating whether to, over time, eventually have it returned to as bone stock as possible. I'm talking accurate nitro/aniline dye refinish, headstock inlay repair, repair the body crack near the control cavity, repaint the pickups, etc so that I can have a mint EB-3 that I can then put my wear and and tear into, you know? Make it really mine. But seeing as the finish does appear in good condition, I might just leave it and wear it in as is.

The "guard"? Yeah, I have no explanation behind that. It also looks like it was in a different position previously as well. I almost wonder if it wasn't so much a buckle guard, but rather a jerry-rigged way to attach it to like a belt strap, similar to the Fender "Go-Around" waist strap in the 60s, instead of having it hang on your shoulders.

 

[Blank_0101]

Yeah, I'm mostly concerned with stability. But I'm also debating whether to, over time, eventually have it returned to as bone stock as possible. I'm talking accurate nitro/aniline dye refinish, headstock inlay repair, repair the body crack near the control cavity, repaint the pickups, etc so that I can have a mint EB-3 that I can then put my wear and and tear into, you know? Make it really mine. But seeing as the finish does appear in good condition, I might just leave it and wear it in as is.

The "guard"? Yeah, I have no explanation behind that. It also looks like it was in a different position previously as well. I almost wonder if it wasn't so much a buckle guard, but rather a jerry-rigged way to attach it to like a belt strap, similar to the Fender "Go-Around" waist strap in the 60s, instead of having it hang on your shoulders.

Lol "go around" waist strap? Gotta hunt this cheesy thing down to laugh at.

 

[Burnsy]

Lol "go around" waist strap? Gotta hunt this cheesy thing down to laugh at.

Doesn't Steve Albini use some kind of waist-mounted guitar setup?

 

[D.M.N.]

Lol "go around" waist strap? Gotta hunt this cheesy thing down to laugh at.

Here you go.

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As you can see, it required drilling eyelet screws into the back of the guitar.

 

[Corey Y]

Doesn't Steve Albini use some kind of waist-mounted guitar setup?

I think he literally just wraps a long strap all the way around his waist.

 

[Speedor]

 

[Burnsy]

I think he literally just wraps a long strap all the way around his waist.

Yeah a couple minutes googling concluded as much. He says "you need a really long strap" or something to that effect. He doesn't mention that it might help to be a scrawny lil' f**k, too.

 

[Corey Y]

Yeah a couple minutes googling concluded as much. He says "you need a really long strap" or something to that effect. He doesn't mention that it might help to be a scrawny lil' f**k, too.

Not to mention you have to like playing with your instrument below your crotch, in a deep karate stance. I don't think I have a strap long enough to do that with my belly. Like many of Albini's preferences, despite being cool when he does it, doesn't really translate very practically for most people.

 

[mpdd]

our drummer has this art dealer that wants us to play a show in norway at an art fair and he is requesting a lot of art/merch for the show, bare in mind that this is the guy that was going to have us do a tour of trashy clubs in tijuana that fell through, i wasn't too receptive, when the plane tickets and hotel rooms are booked let me know, otherwise i need to do my photo work, also is there only allowed to be black metal? what about black noise?

 

[D.M.N.]

Any of yous guys use short scales/have experience with short scale strings? Gotta find some new strings to use when the EB arrives. Sadly, Rotosound only makes short Swing 66s in .40-.90, and I'd prefer to keep at least a .100 on the E string. I'm gonna try out the first set of Flats I've had since my first beater bass when I started out, probably some La Bellas, but Rounds I'm a little less certain on. Maybe even La Bella Rounds. Any thoughts?

 

[Turkeypills]

Flats. There is only one choice. TI Jazz flats.

Yeah, they are stupid expensive but this is my logic. I don't want to change my flats. The more worn in the better, I mean they are supposed to be dark and thuddy after all. $100 is a lot for strings but if you figure on not really ever buying another set then, to me at least, $100 doesn't seem to bad. They are worth the admission price as well. I've heard good things of labellas but haven't tried them. I will say that my TIs are incomparably better than any other flats I've played. They can do the vintage thing and also rip when needed. Plus they have a bit more brightness and clarity and the lower tension feel of rounds.

I believe you can also get the gauges you desire.

I'll spend $500 on rounds over time for one bass before I'd consider getting more TIs. And they are like ~$60-70 on the used market uncut and NIB.

 

[JulienneFrankus]

Greetings everyone, So Musicians friend received my Warwick for repair....Turns out the body cracked towards the knob area during transport, and now I have to deal with a UPS investigation, to determine if I will be compensated.
So I went to Guitar Center....and picked up a Tobias 4 string...the $200 one, for $150....I knew it was too good to be true.

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[Turkeypills]

Greetings everyone, So Musicians friend received my Warwick for repair....Turns out the body cracked towards the knob area during transport, and now I have to deal with a UPS investigation, to determine if I will be compensated.
So I went to Guitar Center....and picked up a Tobias 4 string...the $200 one, for $150....I knew it was too good to be true.

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Damn son I'm sorry to see/hear that. Do yourself a favor. Get a used peavey. If it's ****ed up you won't feel bad and it will have "character"

 

[JulienneFrankus]

It's always something.... Thank's for letting me vent guys.

 

[Rhino Rob]

For my short scale I like using these round wounds. D'Addario EXL160S XL Short Bass String Set

 

[Blank_0101]

Any of yous guys use short scales/have experience with short scale strings? Gotta find some new strings to use when the EB arrives. Sadly, Rotosound only makes short Swing 66s in .40-.90, and I'd prefer to keep at least a .100 on the E string. I'm gonna try out the first set of Flats I've had since my first beater bass when I started out, probably some La Bellas, but Rounds I'm a little less certain on. Maybe even La Bella Rounds. Any thoughts?

Short is the best! Bronco, EB-0, mustang, jag, bass vi and my more I have owned or do own!

bassatringsonline many SS sets and some like labellas you can custom pick a set. My .128 BEAD set is teh sex. Chromes, Thomastik, Labella all did me fine.

But I've never played a string round or flat that didn't work for me... I usually go for the cheapest option so earnie ball rounds or d'addario chromes.

Note, most SS strings offer a .90-.95 as the biggest option. tapes are bigger due to tape. Again bassstringsonline.com was the best resource for obscure short scale needs.

 

[dcarwin]

I'm trying some GHS pressurewounds. Just ordered yesterday, to go with new Geezer pickups for my SB-1.

 

[b-bottom]

We just got a bunch of out of town shows booked. So if anyone is in or near Nashville in March come on out

Mass Driver is playing with two local bands, 40 ft rooster (Richard Hellish punk) and the No Loves (Hellacopters ish)

It's going to be a poopie hot show with lots of molten riffs and loose woman wall to wall. So if you're in the area stop by and say hi. I know that I don't post here much but it's always awesome to meet fellow rockers.

 

[The_Janitor]

100W practice rig COMPLETE:

So I kept hounding dude with the preamp until he was back in town today. Met him at a bar, bought the "broken" preamp and left. Got home, ate dinner, then plugged the sucker in to see what the deal was. Guy sold it as-is / not functional. Plugged it in and got output, weak distorted output, but output nonetheless. Encouraging.

Was about to pop top and start deoxit-ing when I remembered the age-old TB advice: "Run a cable from the effects send to the effects return." Figured it couldn't hurt to try so I plugged in a patch cable.

IT WORKS! Fat, clear, low-end ballsy bass tone slammed out of it.

FIXED, HAHA!

It just needs to be cleaned. Hell of a shaging score for $25.00.

It's a cool preamp, two channels, one tube and one solid state. Tube channel has pre and post gain, a passive fender EQ, plus "Punch" and "Bright" switches. Solid state channel has the 7-band graphic, high and low shelving, as well as bass and treble knobs. Channels are switchable and blendable, which is cool - Tube channel scooped a bit? Dial in a mid hump on the graphic and blend in just as much as you want. Effects loop, adjustable crossover, DI out, DIN footswitch plug PLUS 1/4" footswitch jacks for each function of the 3-button footswitch (no paying out the ass for a Peavey 3-button switch if I don't want to).

Tube channel sounds great, with input gain up there's a bit of harmonics/dirt. Sounds awesome with the Altec power amp, imagine it'll be great for recording, etc. It's more hi-fi than the SVT, definitely have a bit of tweaking to do to get it dialed in where I want it. Pretty lackluster for 6-string guitar, but that ain't what I bought it for.

Super shaging pumped!

Now to build a barnwood headshell for the setup.

 

[mc_muench]

Do you know who Bongzilla's tech is? The guy that taught me everything I know has definitely worked on their gear: Joe Frantzen. He part-time tech's at Greg's Guitar Shop for fun really. He's the brains behind my new behemoth Bass Amp as well. Smartest and most thorough guy I know, hands down. Decades of experience. Only caveat is he doesn't always work on gear if it's not up to snuff. As in, if you bring him a Behringer amp, he might just tell you to throw it out and buy something decent. haha.

Also, most non-overbuilt amps will blow fuses if you don't have power tubes installed. B+ skyrockets without the tubes pulling it down. Not sure if that's the case, but if it's already been opened up and looked at, I fear that someone may have realized it has a bad/shorted Output or Power transformer and deemed it not worth the repair. I've seen that often with such amps. Someone starts to fix it, tells owner it will be $400 to repair, they say "no way, give it back" and tech just gives it to them as is, in pieces to limit time costs. Then that person sells it for cheap to recoup some cost, and the new owner is left screwed. I hate seeing that. Certain issues can be a serious PITA to diagnose, that's for sure. Had a Laney AOR with an intermittent OT, took me many attempts to figure out *** was wrong with it. Finally the OT finally gave up the ghost fully, and then it was obvious.

Last, Mace's have a surprising amount of poopie in them. Lots of boards, lots of IC's lots of connectors to disconnect, etc etc. I've worked on a couple, but they are definitely time-sinks if you have to pull the boards. That's why lots of guys don't like taking them. One of the worst are SVT's though.

Paul from The Lions Den in Madtown is Bongzillas tech, Mikey, Cooter and Jeff all take their amps to him now I guess.

I honestly expect a $500 repair bill with this thing, Im cool with that because Im getting for basically free in the trade value wise. Plus Im selling a 200w Bassman to help fund/pay for that repair and the MACEs repair. Which is $170, didnt expect it to be that much, but now that you say their a pain I can understand the $120 labor cost.