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I've used Warman Twin Loco (hot rails style) pickups in a recent upgrade of an old Hohner B2AFL (fretless). The original EMG Select soap bars were very muddy. The twin rails have much more clarity, even when wired in series.

I haven't used his P or J pickups, but would now consider it - particularly based on other positive comments. 

Thanks Franz. I'll see if it settles down after being left up to pitch for a few months - I gave up the last time I tried this after a couple of weeks!

Dear all,

I've previously tried both the white tape wound and the 'copper white' tape wounds from La Bella. I liked them both for E-G strings (much more top end than black tape wounds or flat wounds), but found that both sets had a very flabby B-string. This is for a 5 string fretless bass (Clement), as I like the increased presence the strings give. It looks like La Bella only do a 135 thick B string in these tape wounds.

https://www.labella.com/strings/category/white-nylon-tape-bass

https://www.labella.com/strings/category/copper-white-nylon-tape

When I say it is flabby - I actually mean it is very low tension, and when used with an accurate tuner you can see that the pitch is all over the place before it eventually starts to settle down. Even when playing with a very gentle touch, the pitch varies. I've already made sure the break angles are sufficient and pre-formed the string bends over the bridge saddle and nut (witness points I think some people call this).

I'm even considering having a mismatched set of strings (such as a black tape wound on the low B, or even worse, a flat wound string on the low B). Apart from looking 'wrong' I'm somewhat concerned that the feel of the bass will be a bit weird having a different type of string on the low B.

Does anyone have any other ideas on what I could try?

Many thanks for any thoughts.

Phil

Tuner. It just makes life easier, and tone doesn't matter when you are out of tune!

7 hours ago, Dazm66 said:

Anyone invested in Ian Martin Allison's presets? Any good? I don't mind chucking a fiver or a tenner just to see what a patch is like but his are far more expensive and wondering if they're worth it. Especially the synth sounds which sound amazing on the videos that I've seen but I always suspect there's more going on than just bass>helix.

My take on this is a bit different. I bought them all, to see what he had done. I was pleasantly surprised that most of his standard amp setup was similar to something that I had already built, so I haven't used those patches. You could argue that was a waste of money. However, I was still glad to see what somebody else had done in detail for a general purpose set of patches. 

His synth patches were more imaginative, particularly the use of press and hold on some footswitches to trigger different behaviour. I haven't used them live as they wouldn't work in the smoothish music that we tend to go for in our church (!), but have enjoyed fiddling with them at home.

I have previously used Dr Tone patches as well to see what others used as a starting point - but had the best results with making my own patches from scratch. 

My personal favourite is to use the tube mic pre model, combined with tape saturation (retro reel), then add effects as needed (reverb, chorus, octave). SVT is fun, Fender Bassman has tons of character, but all the amp and cab models seemed to not let enough of the instrument sound through for my liking, even after putting on a parallel path with <50% going to the amps. 

Your mileage will definitely vary!

Phil

Are the Sandberg publicity people suggesting that the Central is a bit of a boat anchor?

Or is it just a pretty backdrop?!

This might be controversial, but if you are not sure, try a decent digital multiFX to find a chorus sound you like, and then see what it is meant to model.

I'm a fan of the Line6 Helix line - and have an HX Stomp - but there are many other alternatives out there as well.

Good luck on the search.

I've changed and use reverb more than chorus - even on a fretless. YMMV

Phil

Updating this thread for posterity, and in case of future searches...

I finally got around to the shielding job - and am much happier. 

Copper tape (with conductive adhesive) in both pickup cavities and the control cavity (including the lid, with plenty of overlap to ensure good connection) plus ground wire linking them all together have resulted in a much quieter bass. It is now very usable, even with 1 pickup soloed. 

I couldn't get the active pre to work, so ended up getting rid of it, and throwing in a loom from KiOgon that not only had a working tone control, but also push/pull for series mode. I have the same Hohner active 2 band preamp in my black fretless Hohner (with humbuckers) and did not really enjoy the sound much, so was happy to just ditch it. 

Oh my. The bass sounds good now (the Hohner Jack).

Incidentally, I much prefer the sound of the (EMG Select?) single coil (jazz style) pickups in this later Hohner Jack 'Professional' to the sound of the EMG Select humbuckers in the Hohner B2A. 

Phil

I use the IEMs that I will use live - which have quite a flat frequency response. This means that I don't get surprised by a change in tone.

Sometimes I also use some cheap Superlux over ears for convenience, but use the IEMs if practicing for church (which is as close as this rank amateur gets to a gig!)

Phil

Another option might be just to get something like the HX Stomp, and then choose a reverb, octave, chorus or whatever else you want from it.

Nice an minimal as a setup. Price not too bad second hand, and the software is still being updated.

On the subject of LaBella white nylons - I had issues with both the gold white and stainless (white nylon) on a 5 string - the low B never tracked cleanly. I've therefore gone back to La Bella Black tape wounds on my 5 string fretless to get a more stable low B. YMMV

Phil

EMO for passive with a transformer - but they do slightly colour the sound (lose a touch of high end).

Orchid for good value for money active.

I would try ON/ON as this boosts at a lower frequency, and thus might also sound less 'sparkly'.

I would definitely not try OFF/OFF or OFF/ON as these will both have the most HF content. 

Good luck.

Thanks Phil (W). Good to know there is an earth connection to the bridge. I'll open it up in the next couple of weeks and give the wiring some TLC - I'm not a fan of old graphite paint for shielding!

I've added some photos to your other thread. 

Phil (D)

Hi @philw

Attached are a few photos of the control cavity. Is this what you wanted, or was it the battery box + control board end you wanted?

Phil

Dear all,

I recently purchased a rather nice Hohner Jack from @eddbass on this very forum (thanks!)

Unfortunately, because I practice in a rather noisy electrical environment (solar PV inverters), I'm noticing some noise on the Jack in passive mode, through either/both pickups, which only goes away on touching the metal jack (or otherwise providing a good path to ground).

I'm assuming that this means that the grounding is a bit suspect - do others agree?

Did Hohner use the same style of grounding as Fender and others (i.e. ground wire touching the bridge, soldered to the sleeve of the jack socket), or should I be looking elsewhere to find the source of the problem?

I'm probably going to end up shielding the control cavity and pickup cavities anyway (plus linking all shielding together and then to ground), but wanted to find the source of this noise first.

Thanks for any help and tips,

Phil

Where did you get it? Import from Japan? Very nice indeed

Nice! I have had a Clement Anne 5 string fretless (semi-chambered) for years and love it. 

It's a much better instrument than I can do justice to, but I enjoy it every time I pick it up.

Enjoy the Florida beauty!

Phil

Depends what you are running into it. 

Rough rule of thumb - passive bass needs active DI

Active bass (or anything with buffer like effects pedals) needs passive DI.

However, as with all these rules of thumb,  it depends what you want.  

I like the slightly warmer sound of a passive DI containing a transformer, but am too tight to buy a Radial JDI. Instead, I went the local route and get a pre-loved transformer DI from Canford (EMO 520). Quite a few touring PA companies in the UK use them, so you might find one on ebay. https://www.canford.co.uk/EMO-PASSIVE-DIRECT-INJECTION-BOXES

I've also used the active Orchid electronics DI as well and was impressed if you want something without any colouring. I purchased a muting version, but have also used the basic one as well. http://orchid-electronics.co.uk/classic_DI.htm

Phil

HX Stomp for me (with an additional external unit housing 2 foot switches).

It's not perfect, but does a pretty good job, is small, stable, and works well once you've spent the time tweaking and setting up.

For me the parallel paths and global EQ were the killer features. 

Then again, I think the same might be true of any of the newest multiFX units.

Phil

2nd hand HX Stomp. Small, portable, and it will do more than you need. Then a cheap DI to isolate the Stomp from phantom power from Orchid electronics (or buy a cheap 2nd hand passive DI from Canford Electronics - under the brand EMO). 

With the Stomp you can use it with other instruments as well if you ever abandon the bass brotherhood again...!

There are tons of choices. Zoom at the cheaper end are also good, but I've happily used a Stomp for 3 years, and once you get to know it and setup patches that work for you, there is little wrong with it. 

Nice! I fear that my wife might notice if I bought this and sneaked it into the house - otherwise I'd be tempted to get it to compare with a BB2000

Good luck with the sale.

I would try a couple before buying if you can.

I would personally choose Sire if you want a more traditional Fender-like approach, or Ibanez. I've not played either SR or GWB so can't comment on either I'm afraid. 

I'm not an expert on this, but think I've seen reports of acoustic guitar players having back problems if they regularly use a footstool due to the uneven set of hips & back.

As a result some now prefer to keep both feet on the floor, and then use a rest or cushion if the guitar needs to be held up higher

I bought a cheap shaped 'guitar rest' cushion online and this seems to do the job well -except for the strap that is meant to hold it in on your leg being far too short. I just don't use the strap and it is fine. Search for Andoer Guitar Cushion and you should be able to find something similar through your retailer of choice. 

Just don't try a Japan-built, vintage BB. Until then you will be happy with what you have. Afterwards, you will *need* to buy the expensive one

To add to this thread, I have used black tapewounds for years on my fretless. 

I tried the white and copper white tapewounds from La Bella and enjoyed have a lot more high-frequency content. However, in both cases I tried them on 5-string basses (one was my Clement fretless, and the other was an Indonesian Yamaha BB435), and found that the low B was much less controlled - inspecting with an accurate tuner the note was all over the place for ages before settling down. Both were 34" scale length. 

As a result I'd recommend them for 4-strings, but not so much for 5-strings with a low B. YMMV. 

Eventually I'll probably end up using the strings as 4s and keep the low Bs as spares.