iiipopes

Tort.

I finally had to get a 5-string for two reasons: 1) the band I play with plays a few songs that the bass line does go that low occasionally, and 2) some of the "standards" are being pitched down a step or two so I have to be able to play the bass line down as well. I changed my approach: instead of thinking about the starting point of the open E string and working up, I start with the open A string as the "middle" and work both directions. I also have a left hand that does not like many necks, hence my custom half-fanned fret P/J that is in another thread on the forum. I have found that the Ibanez SRA305 works really well for me for all the reasons you indicate.

You might contact either the RIC factory forum, [url="http://www.rickenbacker.com"]http://www.rickenbacker.com[/url] , or the enthuisasts' forum, [url="http://www.rickresource.com"]http://www.rickresource.com[/url] .

Contact D'Addario customer service. Explain you exact model of instrument and which strings are too short or too long. They will help you.

There is a gentleman who goes by the avatar Ric5 on talkbass.com and the two Rickebacker forums, rickenbacker.com and the enthusiast's forum rickresource.com . He has quite extensive experience in transforming all sorts of basses from 4-string to 5-string, and has posted pictures of his handiwork. I encourage surfing his threads if you are really serious about a conversion.

Since no electronic component has its exact nominal value, the perceived differences in tone could be as much as the manufacturing tolerance difference in the value of the capacitor as the type, and probably more likely, as the slightly different actual value of the capacitors compared to their nominal values would result in a different rolloff frequency.

[quote name='GregBass' timestamp='1381592511' post='2241163'] Thanks for the article iiipopes. It seems odd that the pickup is fitted to the Squier series, but Fender can only supply the horrendously expensive version fitted to the Pawn Shop series (unless they use the same, of course). [/quote] You are right. The Squier is a different unit internally compared to the Custom Shop version, which is an accurate reproduction of the original. The only real similarities is that they are both humbucking and the same overall size and mounting. [quote name='GregBass' timestamp='1381660716' post='2241841'] I did take a look at that one. I think it's designed as a Gibson replacement rather than for a Tele/Precision type/#. [/quote] Indeed. It is designed as a drop-in replacement for the neck mudbucker on Gibson EB's.

That is the bass version of the Fender "wide range" humbucker. These were original on the "Telecaster" basses of the '70's. The new "reissues" have different innards, so they sound different from the originals, but they do have the same physical dimensions. It is NOT a Guild/Darkstar. It is NOT a Gibson, although the pickup was designed by the same guy, Seth Lover, after he retired from Gibson. Oversimplified, but here is Fender's own article on the bass and the pickup: [url="http://www.fender.com/news/the-telecaster-bass/"]http://www.fender.com/news/the-telecaster-bass/[/url]

Having played many hundreds instruments over the 38+ years of playing stringed instruments, and having owned dozens (Not all at one time, of course!), including just about every configuration possible: one-piece necks, two-piece necks, three-piece necks, all manner of fret/finger boards, bolt on and neck through, all different woods, including maple, mahogany, etc., my observations are: 1) clear straight grain with no run-out is more important than whether the neck is slab or quarter sawn; 2) a laminate neck, if the lamination is either a) different grain orientation (i.e., quarter sawn stringer in a slab sawn neck), or b ) a different species of stringer wood (the classic shedua stripe of a Rickenbacker, or the "skunk stripe" of a Fender neck come to mind), helps with damping unwanted inherent resonances and preventing "dead notes." My preference is for a slab-sawn maple neck where you can see the end-grain "freckles" at both edges of the fingerboard to indicate no run-out, and a quarter-sawn fingerboard, preferably Macassar ebony, which is unfortunately now on the restricted list.

The folks at rickresource.com can advise you completely.

There are many threads on the USA TalkBass.com to peruse. General consensus: a different tone. Some like it as being more gutsy or edgy. Not as sizzly as new steels. Can have a rougher feel. Due to cobalt being hard, can chew frets. Due to cobalt being a more exotic metal, more expensive. For some folks, they do not have the longetivity of conventional strings, whether nickel plated or stainless steel wrap.

Back in the late '60's, before there was such a thing as an after-market pickup, the first experiments were those who sold ceramic magnet bars to replace the alnico magnet bars in Gibson humbuckers. This was easy, as all a person had to do was unsolder the cover, loosen the bottom plate screws, and switch out the magnets. Well, the ceramic magnets, not having any electrical conduction properties, had the effect of lowering the inductance of the pickup. This made the pickup brighter, but could also cause magnetic coil saturation and harshness. Later, companies like Larry DiMarzio and Seymour Duncan (who was working in Fender's London shop, learning how to fix pickups and other aspects of guitar repair) took those same magnets, but wound the coils differently, whether with more of the same wire, or a different wire, or even developing different magnets, and started the after-market pickup market. (Mighty-Mite was there, also, but went into necks instead). Others, like Dan and Kent Armstrong, first started as a repair shop, then expanded: Dan with the plexiglas guitars, and later Kent with the pickups. And so it goes with the rest of the famous after-market pickup names. Alnico II: darker, smoother tone. Alnico III: good presence. Alnico V: top end and clarity; Alnico VIII: Ballsy, can be difficult to control, depending on the windings; Ceramic: no conductive interaction, so the same gauss will lower the inductance, increase brightness and clarity, but taken over the edge with gauss or the wrong coil can sound harsh.

Um, I must comment as to one post that may be inadvertently misleading. Yes, in an in-line high pass circuit, the larger value of the capacitor, the more frequency range that is allowed through. But in a typical bass guitar tone circuit, the larger value of the cap, the more highs that are shunted to ground, and the darker the resulting tone through the jack to the amplifier. There is no practical difference as to the tone of a capacitor in a typical bass guitar circuit as far as the type of capacitor. So all the hype about supposed differences tonally in paper-in-oil, ceramics, polythenes, tantalums, mylars, bumble bees, and orange drops, just due to the mode of construction, are all hype. What matters is consistency of the value in microfarads. Voltage rating of the capacitor doesn't really matter, either, as we are talking millivolts. Personally, I do tend to use orange drops, but not because of their hype. I prefer a .033 tone capacitor to allow more mids in the mix when I roll off my tone knob, and it is easier and less expensive to get one of those in that value than some other makes, and Sprague is a reputable company that has good consistency and quality control, so I know if I want a .033, that's what I'm getting, with less variance than with some other lesser quality companies. I can understand that, if a person has a vintage instrument, and for the sake of retaining vintage value, a replacement of the same make, model, value and voltage rating capacitor that was original to the instrument is desireable.

Indeed! One of the foundational instruments of the "British Invasion." I hope you keep the stock wiring, which is a bit more complex, seeing the "baritone switch" is still there. Great bass! Here is the wiring: [url="http://www.flyguitars.com/epiphone/bass/Rivoli_circuit.php"]http://www.flyguitars.com/epiphone/bass/Rivoli_circuit.php[/url]

What the above posters have said about finishes. No, the satin finish is merely a treatment of the finish. It won't hold glue any better than gloss. In any event, you are going to permanently change your bass by adding the thumb rest. The least amount of change will be the double sided tape, but that is also the least durable.

Keep them. Nice basses. Reminds me of back when.... The P/J should be a great player once set up with new strings and to your playing style.

And then again, the OP didn't say he plays F or F# for anything, either.

Indeed. Nut slot problems. Not only if there is a correct "witness point" at the front of the nut, but if the slot is too high or too tight, the string core will stretch and pull sharp.

Keeping it simple: you could just get a snap-in grommet for the unused hole, and have V-V-T traditional wiring. [url="http://www.mcmaster.com/#snap-in-plugs/=ogq2gg"]http://www.mcmaster....n-plugs/=ogq2gg[/url]

It could also be one of the pickups opening up in the coil. When you pop the control plate off, have an ohmmeter ready and since you have the soldering iron already out, undo the "hot" lead from each pickup's volume control and measure it to ground. Each pickup should read @ 7 to 9 kohms DC to ground. Make sure you get a steady, stable reading in that range before you go changing the tone control pot or cap. Then after that, instead of changing out the components, since the tone control is not used as often, it could just be some corrosion in the pot. Get some contact cleaner and spray only the slightest bit in the pot and rotate the knob so the wiper cleans the wafer to see if that helps. If none of the above work, then it's time to change the pot and cap.

D'Addarios are notorious for core stretch. I have an Epiphone Alley Kat guitar. When I put Gibson flatwound strings on it or GHS Brite Flats strings on it, the fretting on the first few frets are fine. But when I put D'Addario XL115W's on it, 11-49, the round wound strings pull like anything and I have to use nut shims to bring the nut witness point forward so, especially on the E String, the F, F# and G don't pull sharp.

If it is the first few frets instead of the last few frets, then that is an indication of string core stretch. This usually means the nut slots are not deep enough and need dressing down a bit. If you are not comfortable with this, a good luthier can sort you out fairly quickly and inexpensively. If you do it yourself, get a proper nut file, and file back towards the tuners to maintain a good fingerboard edge "witness point" for the strings as the come across the nut.

Holy.... I have the guitar version that my mother bought for me out of a Sears Roebuck retail catalog in the spring of 1975. Seriously: 4-pole pickups instead of 6-pole pickups for guitar, bass tuners instead of guitar tuners, and the bass bridge moved back to the tail, of course, but the body, body color, neck, and everything else is identical. If I could get it over to the USA, I'd get it today. Here's a video of one exactly like my guitar: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdhCdMXBwpw[/media]

Yes. Indeed. What is posted above. I just got back from a concert in Japan where we were provided backline, and the 305 they supplied me had the newer 5-knob configuration.

It depends on the bridge/tailpiece geometry. For example, if the bass were Fender P or J style with traditional top load bridge and E tuner next to the nut, even a standard long scale string might be too long and wrap speaking length of the string around the tuner post. But if the string anchor is back away from the bridge saddle even a centimeter or so, then that takes up the slack and the strings will fit. Next issue: tension varies as the [i]square[/i] of the scale length. So a string that has "X" tension on a standard scale will have 33^2/34^2 tension, or about 94% of the tension of the longer scale. This can be a great thing for flats players, because most flats, even the .132 D'Addario Chrome B string, can stand the lower tension without losing tone, but the feel can be so much better.