Upgrade Day! Anyone Else Upgrading?

Gear
1931

There’s just no escaping G.A.S! No, not even when you can’t afford it.

Yesterday, I replaced the (broken) stock G string tuning machine on my Yamaha BB735 with one from Hipshot. It’s on the treble side of the headstock, while the other four are on the bass side, so I figured the difference won’t be easily noticeable. It’s really not, but…
The Hipshot tuner looks and feels so much better than the stock ones (sorry Yamaha), I just had to order 4 more from Hipshot for the bass side.
Thank Goddess for PayPal 6 months no interest!

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1932

Good call, I don’t think I would ever replace just one tuning machine.

Did you get the Ultralites?

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1933

No, but I got this so i wouldn’t have to drill.

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1934

Congrats on a savvy upgrade, @PamPurrs.

Hipshot tuners are truly great. I have USA UltraLites on two basses, and they make accurate tuning an absolute breeze. The new bass I’m expecting will have them, too.

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1935

Schaller strap locks, count as an upgrade right? kinda? :smile:

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1936

Sure :smiley_cat:

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1937

Absolutely. I’ve got Schaller S locks on my basses. :slightly_smiling_face:

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1938

I’ve always used Dunlop Straplok on my basses, but have switched over to Schaller S locks. A bit more expensive than the Dunlops, but substantially better.

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1939

Only if you snuck them in the house :open_mouth:

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1940

I don’t need to :joy:

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1941

One can easily conceal a set of strap locks by pocketing them. Try doing that with an amp, or a pair of studio monitors, or a digital audio interface, or…

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1942

Amp would be easy. Go to lesson with a bass, come back with a bass and amp. Looks natural.

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1943

Wear a trench coat. With REALLY big pockets.

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1944

peterson stroboclip coming tomorrow too :slightly_smiling_face:

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1945

One thing I love about my Peterson clip is it folds flat against the headstock and travels well in the case

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1946

Or worse an electric upright, lol.

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1947

That could be managed, but I reckon the request for yet another vinyl rose would give the game away. :wink:

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1948

Indeed!

Busted.jpg
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1949

finally came! :smiley:
intonation set nicely :smile:

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1950

So, I’ve been a bit loathe to post about this, but I consider it an upgrade.

A few weeks ago, as I was coming to the decision I needed to settle on 2 keepers for 2023, I picked up a Charvel Pro-Mod San Dimas IV as one of them. I bought it used, at a GREAT price. I’m a fan, the neck is amazing, and it plays awesome.

Anyway, it was one of those which had horrible shielding and buzz issues, but I quickly fixed those. What I couldn’t fix was a problem with the pre-amp. Every so often, it would crackle and the sound would dip to about half volume. Then it would come back after a second or so. I tested all the electronics, the grounds, wires, the whole 9, and the only thing I could come to was that it was a problem with the pre-amp itself.

So, I sent it down to 13th Street Guitars down in Huntington Beach, CA, and had them remove the pre-amp, converting it to a passive instrument with volume/volume/tone knobs:

CharvelPassiveSanDimas
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They did a really good job, and it sounds amazing. Eventually I’ll probably try to find a third matching knob, but for now the tone pot has one of the smaller knobs on it. One of the original EQ knobs.

Edit: Hah, I just noticed you can see a reflection of Watto (Star Wars prequels character) in the bass. I have a full-size replica of him in my office/studio/man-cave. :smiley:

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