Kiwi

Lee doesn't play upright...what on earth are they doing?!

La Bella make many of their strings in batches. I had to wait 4 months for a 6 string set with the exposed core. So there may be times when a certain kind of string isn't available anywhere because everyone's run out but La Bella haven't received enough orders yet to make another batch.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1360961137' post='1979237'] If they were out of polarity, would it not just be a case of reversing the wiring on the series switch the reverse the polarity on each Jazz pickup? I get what you're saying, i can test it and all before i start, but the only way i'm really going to see if it will work is if i try, is it not? [/quote] You'll get phase cancellation effects in certain settings. What kinds of effects will depend on the polarity of the humbucker coils.

Why Status in particular and what is it that you are hoping they will deliver?

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1360957865' post='1979149'] Both jazz pickups are going to be wired to a single volume pot, which means both pickups will always be at the same level. The pot will be a pull pot for switching the jazz pickups to series. From the volume pot, the signal will go into the preamp. The MM will have its own volume pot, which won't be a pull pot, but the MM pickup will be wired in series constantly. The signal will go from the volume pot to the preamp. [/quote] Both the jazz coils and the wiring for the coils in the MM humbucker are in parallel in the original instruments. If you want series, that's up to you but as I mentioned above, you'll have to reset your input gain on the amp/effects board every time you switch between parallel and series. It will drive soundmen NUTS. You also won't get the characteristic MM sound if the coils in the humbucker are in series. You will need to be clear about the effects of polarity when you mix the humbucker and the single coils. The jazz scoop comes from the single coils being reverse wound and reverse polarity in comparison to one another. I have no idea what will happen when you mix them with the humbucker.

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1360955586' post='1979090'] I think you'll find that it's [i][b]Father[/b][/i] Jack... [/quote] See that bit I wrote above about details? http://www.youdopia.com/2010/07/27/punctuation-its-the-difference-between-helping-your-uncle-jack-off-a-horse-and/

FWIW - both my spectors have coil switching soapbars by Andy at Wizard. They switch between single coil and parallel humbucking settings and the preamp has an input buffer. That means the output of any coil selection remains the same volume. Even though the two middle coils aren't close together, they still manage a good enough impression of a stingray to sit comfortably in the mix of a Chic cover. So for the purpose of playing live, close enough is good enough. The outer coils sound a bit like a Tobias with a little more jazz bass bite. For recording, I wouldn't even bother with coil switching, I'd just bring two basses.

Its also worth being clear that the coils can be physically accommodated too. It might be worth checking the single coil bridge pickup and MM humbucker don't overlap one another if you haven't done that already. [quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1360956334' post='1979107'] Ok, what i was going to do was have the single volume pot for the jazz pickups, and one for the MM pickup. Then have a series/parallel pull pot for the jazz pickups. How much would a custom set cost? [/quote] He made me some replacement single coils for my Celinder for 75 quid each. So not much different to the prices from big name manufacturers. If you have a pickup blend between the single coils, you'll still have to consider what happens when mixing one single coil and MM humbucker. If you won't be mixing jazz and MM outputs, a switch would be a simpler solution with a master volume.

Even with volumes, you'll be selecting different coils because you'll be mixing single coil and humbucking pickups. If you get jazz pickups that are stacked humbuckers (the second coil is a humcancelling dummy) you'll be selecting between different humbuckers in terms of voltage but still get the single coil sound. Polarity is still something to be careful about though when selecting a single coil and humbucker. Aaron Armstrong will be able to make you a custom set of J/M/J pickups and advise on how to blend them.

Ah'a - I see wh't you did there. Have to admit, I'm suffering from punctuation blindness at the moment. The project I've just finished included spending 4 months editing a 25,000 word document I'd written down to 16,000 words and I've really stopped giving a sh*t about details.

I'd suggest talking to someone like Aaron Armstrong about the impact of polarity in different coil combinations too. Having lots of coils makes life very complicated unless the coil switching options are restricted to a few options that work well.

"Lets eat, Grandma." vs "Lets eat Grandma." A comma can mean the difference between life and death. "Lets help Uncle Jack off a horse." vs "Lets help Uncle jack off a horse." Poor capitalisation can lead to a sticky end also.

OK, I didn't see the bit about eq - sorry about that. But with multiple coil combinations you'll still need an eq with an input buffer. It won't help much with the series/parallel changes but it will help between parallel and single coil selections.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1360932676' post='1978489'] Great suggestions, thanks for that, but i'm trying to keep it simple in terms of build and controls. I think for now, i'll just have the Jazz with a MM pickup in between. And if needs be, refine it after that. Maybe make a MKII? [/quote] With all due respect, I suggest you don't appreciate how complicated your initial proposals will make your life. You haven't mentioned eq so I'll assume you're intending to run a passive bass. Have you thought about the volume changes between pickups? You won't be able to run a passive bass with multiple pickups and avoid having to adjust the gain on the amp every time you change coil settings. Different pickup designs have different loudnesses, even pickups that come from the same range can change in volume depending on whether the coil settings are in parallel or series. A preamp with input buffers will even things out. Doesn't mean you need a complicated eq, either. John East makes a perfectly good single knob eq, the BTBM-01 which would do the job of mixing mag and piezo. If you want a bass that will do jazz and MM sounds, you'll just need a heavy ash body (wood from near the root) and a bolt on maple one piece neck. But that won't give you the sound that you have described as "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3] great, throaty (steady on) sound, full of mids, bass and treble (respectively)" [/size][/font][/color]unless that description is in context of the sounds that are only available from both those instruments. The point I'm making is that there are other ways of delivering that sound better than a MM or Jazz. BTW, have a go on a HH stingray too, if you would like to see for yourself the impact of volume changes in coil switching without an input buffer. A Lakland Skyline 4402 would probably give you what you are looking for without the risk of failed experimentation.

Neigh.

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1360704682' post='1975220'] Hopefully all that together should give a great, throaty (steady on) sound, full of mids, bass and treble (respectively). [/quote] I don't think what you have suggested will give you what you are looking for. Choose either bolt on or thru-neck depending on your taste. But you'll need to make sure the neck is just about stiff enough, not too stiff if you want mids to be prominent. A stiff fingerboard will help keep things rigid if you opt for a higher proportion of softwoods in the neck but you'll need a super stiff spine. Maybe consider laminates of mahogany for mids and maple for rigidity and brightness with a nice and thick maple or ebony fingerboard. The body can be mahogany or alder. Chambering can tune things a little. For a broad frequency response in pickups, think about piezos and add a MM humbucker in the stingray position for extra bottom oomph, attack and graunch. You can coil tap it or make it series/parallel for variety. Just run it through a preamp with an input buffer to even out voltage changes with different coil combinations. Try a stingray with piezos out at a bassbash sometime just to see how you feel about it. If you don't like that combination, you can always have single coils added later.

I agree. This horse is 194cm tall which doesn't help.

You could probably set up a patch to do this using a multi effects processor like a Lexicon MPXG2, TC Electronic GMaj or pretty much any unit made by either company since. Alternatively Native Instruments Guitar Rig will provide you with a way to play around with connecting effects up.

They vibrate too much on a hollow stage and move about. The angle of the cab still isn't pointed at my ears.

It's interesting how acting on negative emotion in the heat of the moment can sabotage perfectly good relationships isn't it? Everyone has triggers from their past experiences and they're part of what make us human. It can take a bit of practice though to recognise when our buttons are being hit and take evasive action before we react.

[quote name='dood' timestamp='1360696471' post='1974956'] Kiwi, have you seen GreenBoy's Fearless F115 cabinet? It's not an active one, but it's a full range solution in a kickback sized box. I really like this idea. [url="http://www.facebook.com/fEarfulbass?fref=ts"]http://www.facebook....fulbass?fref=ts[/url] There's also the F112 that features 12" speakers too: [/quote] Now that is interesting! Thanks! Last time I looked on their site there weren't any angled cabs. But that was probably a year ago. Making it active wouldn't be difficult with the right modules and cooling.

I think angled cabs are a great solution for small stages where the mix is 100% through FOH. GK make bass specific 'kick back' cabs and they're very good. But also very heavy. I've been trying to find a company who will make a lightweight version, for the last 6 years but with no success. So I'll eventually make one or two myself one day - based on the GK 1x15 but with lightweight ply and more bracing. Once my life has settled down and I have some garage space.

But for real, this is one that does it for me. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABYnqp-bxvg[/media] Love the expression of innocent joy in it. Reminds me of my childhood and happier times.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1360628198' post='1973828'] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcFvt1sLpis[/media] [/quote] Oh yes. Love that energy. But I can top it...sort of. :/ [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4xUSjftm04[/media] Tee hee. I showed it to some female friends of mine from Zimbabwe and they were laughing so hard both at the parody but also in admiration that someone so hugely pregnant could move so quickly.