prowla

Did Cort used to be Kay?

I've got a bass with a J-Retro and is is rather good; if I were activating a P-bass, I'd definitely look at the John East product.

[quote name='prowla' timestamp='1493642149' post='3289598'] Cheers! Status necks are rock-solid. As it stands I seem to have 5 Statuses/Statii (The two J's, a headless and two 5-string wooden neck ones), so I might've overdone it... I think the fretless one is going to go. [/quote] The fretless one went last weekend; its new owner was very happy to add it to his collection!

[quote name='Skybone' timestamp='1495576389' post='3305079'] Nice dungaree's Lefty! So, has anyone tried any of the replacement pickups in their Faker's? I'm considering some different pickups for one of the triumvirate, but can't decide which ones to try. Not too sure about the Seymour Duncan's, previous experience of SD's, I haven't been very impressed with the sound quality of them. The Gemini Waverider/Tsunami pickups look pretty darn good. The JBE's are just too expensive. Any others I don't know about? [/quote] I've got an SD treble pickup in a real Ric; I was playing the club scene in the 80s and the stock one was just too noisy. I quite like it. (But I do have the stock one to put back if/when I choose to.)

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1495574562' post='3305065'] Mine too. The insert on mine is black, not that it matters. [/quote] I think I've found suitable ones on ebay: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/chrome-metal-dome-control-knobs-for-electric-bass-guitars-set-of-4-/401331544943?hash=item5d7139636f:g:WM0AAOSwPcVVpUyx"]http://www.ebay.co.u...M0AAOSwPcVVpUyx[/url] I've ordered them; looks like I'll have one leftover too!

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1495573945' post='3305050'] The size is about right, but mine has a finer knurl on the sides. [/quote] I reckon they do subtle differences just to make things harder! It's metal and has a bit of weight to it, but then has the plastic insert.

There are a lot of ropey "Fenders" about; it's a bit of a minefield! One of the problems is when someone puts a transfer on one and then sells it; by the time it's changed hands once or twice more it all gets a bit blurred.

My unlined fretless has a really good feel to it; it was way below the budget in this thread though. The neck is a Mighty Mite and it has dots along the top edge. The rest of the bass is:[list] [*]A Squier body - I planned to replace it, but it really works well, so I'm not feeling the need. [*]Badass II bridge. [*]Wilkinson machines and a Hipshot bottom-E. [*]Shadow passive pickups. [*]My own wiring loom (CTS, Switchcraft). [*]I've got a "Prowla" decal to put on the head, when I get around to it. [/list] As I say, it's way under budget here, but I like it! I've just sold a Warmoth body/Status Graphite neck (lined fretless)/EMG pickups one with gold hardware which was rather good too!

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1495562400' post='3304890'] Hmmm... what size are they? Tell me the diameter, I might have one. [/quote] OK - here's some knob pictures! It'd be great if you do have a spare one of those!

Well, the Corvette 5-string I had for a while had plenty of space for a 2nd battery. The Streamer I'm doing is passive, but I reckon there'd be space for two if I did want to make it active.

I'd just like to say that I am no longer a bona-fide member of the Rickenfaker club - I sold mine yesterday. Who knows - might rejoin again someday, depending upon what crops up...

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1495486162' post='3304188'] Hey cool!! That's a great improvement. Enjoy the bass, Prowla. [/quote] Cheers. I do need a knob for it - Warwick don't do those push-on ones anymore.

(Hope folks don't mind me posting in this thread...) I gave the Warwick a clean and put a full set of strings on it; it's already looking way more respectable.

It's a genuine replica!

I have an unlined fretless P-bass I made from parts; it's got a Mighty Mite neck, which is rather good.

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1495440619' post='3303645'] The electronic theory behind this is with Passive pickups, the lower the resistive load of the pots, the more the resonant peaks of the pickups are attenuated, which translates to less treble. As a basic rule most modern humbuckers are tuned for 500K pots and most traditional singles for 250K. You can use a lower value pot to tune a pickup thats too bright (ala les paul bridge pup), and conversely you can use higher value pots or remove pots entirely to give a warm humbucker more punch (ala charvel 80s single pup single volume). With passives the cable and the amp/pedal input stage all have a factor too as they all form part of the passive circuit, which is where a lot of the mojo between cetain amps and certain guitars traditionally happens. This rule does not apply to active pups, as there is a preamp in between the pup and the pot that takes resistive load out of the equation, so usually you see 25K-100K pots used there. In the case of a brand-new bass from a respected manufacturer, I would assume they know the impedance (and the inductance) of their pickups and they have selected the value of the pots for a reason, other than simply economy. In their situation of buying large quantities there will be no difference in cost. Some years back I bought a Fender Jazz with the "500K upgrade". The sound was quite metallic. I changed them to 250K and the bass did come through a lot more. I guess, another option is to have the treble there, and simply use the tone pot to tune out as much of the treble as you want. [/quote] Seems like I need to do some experimenting!

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1495273844' post='3302608'] Al K. Please can you stop thinking of 500K as an "upgrade". This is simply a different value of pot. Neither is more expensive than the other. Neither is "better" than the other as there is zero difference in quality. Look at it like "upgrading" from a blue pen to a black pen - same thing, different end result. The pot you need in the circuit is one of the correct value to get the sound you want. 500K Ohm pots are usually put in guitars with humbuckers as they enhance the treble frequencies. This might me a desirable feature in a guitar. I've had a few basses with 500K pots put in them. IMHO they sounded crap and I took them out. [/quote] Yes, I'm not getting this idea that a bigger pot means better, or even that it enhances the treble or anything. As a general rule, the pot (on a passive) should be at least 10x the resistance of the pickup, so it the pickup is 10k then the pot should be >100k; by that token 250k or 500k (or 330k if you've got a Ric) shouldn't make much difference to the sound when turned fully on. People also express the pickup resistance as "output", which is back-to-front. However, it may be an indicator of the length of wire used in winding the pickup, and thus the number of turns; it's the number of turns which (along with the strength of the magnet) defines the output. (And, of course, the resistance is only a static measure; the impedance varies across different frequencies, so it is not a constant when you are playing the guitar.)

I've had my white Ric since '77.

Wickenbacker?

I have a 'faker, at least 'til the weekend, when someone is due to come and take it off my hands. I've enjoyed the fun of buying it in bits and building it up to a full bass, which included replacing the tailpiece, replacing a pickup, wiring it up, acquiring a twin jack plate, and finally playing it!

The S2 Classic is a nice bass. Here's a trio of Statii

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1495044012' post='3300852'] Hey - make sure to do a timelapse video of you refurbishing it, with how it looks and sounds now and how it turns out?! [/quote] That's a thought... However, at the moment it doesn't sound like anything as the wiring is borked. I have, however, fitted the 2nd pickup and cleaned it; it looks a heck of a lot more presentable now! (I was so impressed, I went and cleaned another guitar which has been sitting in my bedroom for many years - a Yamaha FG-180 acoustic.)

Right - I've ordered the backplate (electronics cover) from Warwick, along with a pre-wired set of pots. They don't do the correct length pickup screws, so I've ordered a pack of them from ebay. I've now spent half as much again as the bass cost me. Next thing is to apply a bit of elbow grease (zero cost!).

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1495010911' post='3300338'] It's not neck through, so I'll pass on that one... But seriously, really looking forward to seeing that restored. Will you be doing the work yourself? [/quote] Yes - I put a new set of strings on it and it plays really well; I don't think it needs any adjustment! I can get the pickup screws and backplate from Warwick. Then I'll do the wiring and give it a clean and job's a good 'un.