iiipopes

[quote name='KiOgon' timestamp='1370677296' post='2104204'] Fretless Precision Bass ? [/quote] +1!

I would add a J pickup that is also noise cancelling, in order to work best with the P pickup, keep noise down, and stay close to the configuration you are used to. I myself use a DiMarzio UltraJazz, but, assuming you have a rather "vintage" output P, there are several noise reducing J pickups that will match the P well: Fender Noiseless Jazz, DiMarzio J, Area J & UltraJazz, Seymour Duncan vintage stack, Aguilar end-to-end, Bartolini, Nordstrand and Fralin Split Jazz.

I believe the pickups are different. I don't know about other differences.

It sounds like they are going to be a great hybrid set.

Yes. Sorry about the omission. In the USA, µF is the understood unit unless otherwise stated. Thanks.

There are two Rickenbacker forums that have many threads on the subject. The factory forum: [url="http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum"]http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum[/url] and the enthusiasts' website, [url="http://www.rickresource.com/forum"]http://www.rickresource.com/forum[/url] .

That was my experience. Your mileage may vary. They make a solid top version called the "Will Power" that is supposed to be a full range pickup. Joe Barden makes a rails-type P bass pickup that is extended range like the other pickups he makes. [url="http://www.joebarden.com/main.php?section=Products&pageID=PBass"]http://www.joebarden.com/main.php?section=Products&pageID=PBass[/url]

I thought the thread was about someone who has adopted his clan's tartan for full-time wear!

This line is the predecessor to SoundGear.

To maintain any semblance of clarity of fretting, the nut width on a 5-string bass should be at least 1 3/4 inches, 44-45 mm. Yes, there are those who have converted Rickenbacker basses with their 1 9/16, 40mm nut width to 5-string, but that is really, really narrow. With proper left hand technique of keeping the thumb behind the neck, relaxing the wrist and slightly curving the fingers, it should not be a problem for hands of any size. Quite the contrary, it should help the person be a better player.

I tried a set some years ago. They sounded "thick" to me - the pickup is essentially two mini-humbuckers. Each segment has two coils wired in series which increases mids, then the two segments are themselves wired in series, which increases mids some more, then all that is combined with the rails, which with more metal than standard alnico magnet slugs, increases the inductance of the coils, which also increases mids even that much more. This is in spite of what DiMarzio says the pickups sound like in their tone chart. I mean, altogether there is @20kohms' worth of wire; unless the two segments are wired in parallel they just can't have the mid drop that is advertised in the company literature.

Another thing you might try is to reinsert the bushings for the larger tuners and see if that brings the inside diameter down to the point the new bushings will fit inside them. That's what I did when changing out the old "elephant ear" tuners on my bass for Hipshot Ultralights: I just kept the old bushings on the headstock and installed the Ultralights in them. This saved me much time, energy and consternation.

When both pickups are full on, the impedance is roughly half of either pickup alone. This is compounded by what is known as "comb filtering," where the fundamental or a significant overtone may be out of phase with itself from pickup to pickup because of the inherent nature of the way a string vibrates in segments as well as the whole. These two aspects together cause a slight signal decrease when both pickups are full on compared to, say, full on with the P pickup and 8/10 on the J bridge pickup. The .01 inline capacitor acts as a high-pass filter, filtering out the lows and making the circuit more reactive so it addresses both these issues. You don't really notice it when the J bridge pickup is full on by itself, because that close to the bridge, there is little string excursion over the polepieces compared to the P pickup, especially if the pickup is in the "70's" closer position to the bridge (which works better with a P pickup to get more highs than the slightly farther out "60's" position of the J bridge pickup). This accounts for the lesser output and less fundamental that comes out of a bridge pickup anyway; it's why the bridge pickup sounds like it does. I also change out the .047 tone cap for a .033 to retain more mids when I turn down the tone, which also keeps the overall signal up the slightest bit. I came up with this myself. If I have time, I'll draw it, pdf it and post it.

It may be just what I'm used to, but after many basses over the 37+ years I've played electric bass, and having tried just about every configuration there is, active as well as passive, volume/blend, series/parallel, etc., I always go back to standard Jazz bass V-V-T for my basses. In a P/J configuration, what I do instead is 1) make sure the J bridge pickup is a hum cancelling pickup that blends with the P pickup, and 2) put a .01 inline capacitor between the hot lead of the J bridge pickup and its volume control to eliminate the "drop-out" when both pickups are full on.

With modern steel strings, basses may not need the Romberg Bevel. But the bevel was developed when all there was were gut strings. To get a gut string the diameter it needs to be to be an E string, it is huge by comparison, and still doesn't have the tension modern steel or synthetic core strings have, so the string excursion is quite substantial.

In St. Louis, Missouri, USA, there is a large arch that is a tourist attraction. But it is made in the same way the ideal bridge saddle should be, with a rounded top and straighter sides. This catenary form is the best way to take the force of the string and transmit it downwards, while staying stable in all directions. Here is a link to the math explaining why: [url="http://www.ams.org/notices/201002/rtx100200220p.pdf"]http://www.ams.org/n...x100200220p.pdf[/url]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1370024433' post='2095764'] That's all very well as long as you are sticking to D'Addarios of a particular kind - perhaops that's what you mean. But the tensions won't apply to Fender or other strings even if they are the same gauge. [/quote] Most strings are made in a similar manner out of the same materials, so the tensions will be close enough. There is a company called Mapes in the USA that supplies about 90% of the raw wire used by a variety of manufacturers, and there is only so much difference between cores and wraps that can be done to keep consistency, so they are all close enough.

One overlooked item: the Jaguar-derived bass has a shorter upper horn, and may have neck dive. I'd go with the P-bass version.

Go to the D'Addario website. Download the tension guide. Find out what tension a 45-105 set usually has. I believe you will find it is @ 40 to 45 pounds (sorry, don't have the kilos equivalent) per string. Then cross reference the notes you want to tune down to and follow the pitch line across to where a string has the same or similar tension, then across the chart the other way to find out what gauge that is. Then you will know what gauges of strings to purchase that have similar tension for DGCF as does a conventional 45-105 set for EADG. You can also then go one gauge heavier if you want even heavier tension. I surmise that a 50 will do for the string you want to tune to F, but you may have to go up to @ 115 to get good tension without getting floppy on the string tuned to low D, and in the middle probably 65 for the string tuned to C, and either 85 or 90 for the string tuned to G.

A lot of different variables determine output, especially on an active bass. In addition to the strings, which can make a difference due to different alloys having different magnetic properties, the pickups themselves may have different magnets and windings, the setup of the pickups in relation to the strings is different, and the gain structure of the preamp is different, along with the condition of the battery, and probably more variables that don't come to mind right now. Unless a bass player is always out to overdrive the front end of an amplifier, then any moderate output should be alright.

Make sure your nut slots are perfectly cut, beveled and burnished with a good "witness" front edge. Make sure, just like any other guitar, the frets are dressed properly and the guitar itself has a good setup. Make sure strings are installed properly with two or three neat winds around the tuner post so the strings don't bind. A roller bridge or something like the "bowtie" rocking bridge is necessary so the strings don't hang. The Bigsby itself needs a proper spring, and some folks use a heavier spring than stock for stability, even an automobile brake spring. Teflon spacers between the spring and the base and between the spring and the handle help as well. Lubricate the swing arm. There are many different models: long, short, with down force bar, without, top mount, end mount, etc. Make sure you have the correct model for your instrument. Finally, use 12-gauge strings. 10's and 11's are too flimsy to hold a good balance of tension to keep it in tune. As for me, too high maintenance, too little use. I don't have whammys on my guitars. No, I don't own a Strat, either.

The problem with using guitar pickups is that most of them are overwound to bring out the mids, or the six pole pieces do not align, or they are so cheap that there is not enough wire on them to give a good tone. Yes, as posted above, the common upgrade for Fender Bronco or MusicMaster basses is to use a rails-type neck position Strat pickup, something like a Seymour Duncan Cool Rails Neck position pickup, in order to have clarity, definition, proper bandwidth and response, no drop-outs, and noise reduction.

It's not just the string excursion. It's the mechanical impedance of the neck. I have a Gibson J45 which I really enjoy. When I first got it, I was very careful to set it up properly. As I tightened the truss rod to a point of proper relief, it felt really, really good, and it appeared that it could go just a little bit straighter to make the action even better. But that last 1/4 turn of the truss rod damped down the vibration of the entire instrument too much, and the entire instrument lost its resonance. I backed the truss rod back off that 1/4 turn, and all the tone and resonance came back. I left it there, even though the action could, in an abstract sense, be even lower.

Dingwall, Ibanez, Ken Smith (newer basses) and some others all do the 2+3 tuner arrangement.

Because most long-scale strings go "clunk" when on a short scale bass, something like the Fender 40-95 sets, which are similar to OEM on '60's Mustang basses, are a good set.