Dingus Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 [quote name='4000' timestamp='1386263188' post='2297941'] A while back I bought a Korean Squier P off ebay for more risky gigs (festivals etc). The build quality isn't that great and the frets need some work but I actually prefer it to several of the boutiques I've had. As soon as I plugged it in it just sounded right and the neck is lovely. It cost me £130; I've spent 10 or 15 times that on basses I've liked a lot less and I prefer it to any Fodera I've ever played. [/quote] Thats fair enough, but I would make the point that you could just as easily have gelled with a similar bass that was a slightly more expensive, more upmarket model that needed less modification . It is folly to spend a great deal of money modding a cheap , poorer quality bass in most ( but cetainly not all) instances . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 (edited) My point was really that in this particular case it simply didn't need modding, and in the OP 's (or anyone else's) case he might throw that extra money into an altogether worse bass that he likes a lot less. Plus of course modding can be fun. Spending more on a bass is only useful if you prefer the bass, which isn't always the case. As long as the build quality is acceptable I'd be far more concerned about sound and playability. Edited December 5, 2013 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 [quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1386000997' post='2294479'] I found them to have a soft, indistinct character and have always ended up taking them out after a few days to regain note definition, especially in the attack of the note. That said Ymmv IMHO IMHO etc etc etc etc everyone's ears and tone goals are different. They look so damn cool too. [/quote] That's odd... I reckon they're loud and detailed... must have a rogue set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 [quote name='bh2' timestamp='1386275897' post='2298229'] That's odd... I reckon they're loud and detailed... must have a rogue set. [/quote] Or this brand of pickups respond better to the tonal characteristics of your particular bass... It's all snake oil anyway, isn't it - this sound business? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 (edited) [quote name='bh2' timestamp='1386275897' post='2298229'] That's odd... I reckon they're loud and detailed... must have a rogue set. [/quote] No, that's my experience of them too and I've had a few basses with them in and played absolutely loads. I remember Bass Player doing a pickups test once and IIRC they recommended preamps for all the Barts because they were relatively low output. Edited December 5, 2013 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclowend Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 I just put some barts in my MIM jazz and they are coming straight back out. I have lost all punch and tone. Maybe I should change the resistor. My Ray sterling 5 sounds awesome. I would never do anything to it. Stingrays are built to be perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 What resistor? Can you draw a circuit diagram of what you have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclowend Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Sure will. I just have to get past the next few tedious hours of work and I shall put pen to paper. How would I send you this monét sketch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 Either draw it in a graphics program or scan it. Then use something like Photobucket to host it. Don't use the Basschat uploads system as it reduces diagrams too small to make them usable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclowend Posted May 23, 2014 Share Posted May 23, 2014 ready?..............The purple wire is an earth to the body. Green is the neck pickup which is live on the neck pot and earthed on the middle pot. The blue wire is the one in question. It leads straight to an earth screw in the body (the original bridge pickup was earthed to this but is now earthed to the middle pot which is the red wire). The yellow wire is the earth to the actual bridge. The bridge pickup red wire is live on the bridge pot on the second terminal. All the white wires are standard. Maybe I don't need the blue wire or maybe I should earth straight to it from the bridge pickup. Is that the correct value resistor? Its says 503 100v on it. <a href="[url="http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/dinggremlin/media/photo_zps861dcdf7.jpg.html"]http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/dinggremlin/media/photo_zps861dcdf7.jpg.html[/url]" target="_blank"><img src="[url="http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii560/dinggremlin/photo_zps861dcdf7.jpg"]http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii560/dinggremlin/photo_zps861dcdf7.jpg[/url]" border="0" alt=" photo photo_zps861dcdf7.jpg"/></a> <a href="[url="http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/dinggremlin/media/WP_20140523_007_zpsc450754b.jpg.html"]http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/dinggremlin/media/WP_20140523_007_zpsc450754b.jpg.html[/url]" target="_blank"><img src="[url="http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii560/dinggremlin/WP_20140523_007_zpsc450754b.jpg"]http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii560/dinggremlin/WP_20140523_007_zpsc450754b.jpg[/url]" border="0" alt=" photo WP_20140523_007_zpsc450754b.jpg"/></a> <a href="[url="http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/dinggremlin/media/photo1_zps6dd71711.jpg.html"]http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/dinggremlin/media/photo1_zps6dd71711.jpg.html[/url]" target="_blank"><img src="[url="http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii560/dinggremlin/photo1_zps6dd71711.jpg"]http://i1259.photobucket.com/albums/ii560/dinggremlin/photo1_zps6dd71711.jpg[/url]" border="0" alt=" photo photo1_zps6dd71711.jpg"/></a> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrammeFriday Posted May 24, 2014 Share Posted May 24, 2014 I wouldn't put Barts in any of your four basses. You love the sound of your Jazz, so leave it as it is. The Stingray already has a unique and unimprovable sound that you simply cannot mess with. You'd be better off putting wizard thumpers or SD quarter pounders in your Squier P if you want to upgrade that, and if your fretless is as bad as you say it is then there's no point in polishing a turd. If you really want the full fat Bart sound then better to save up and buy a bass that already has Barts (and a decent pre) installed as standard, or get a 2nd hand modern active bass (like your friend's Ibanez - often going for low prices on BC) and upgrade that instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassman Rich Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Conan' timestamp='1385562323' post='2289658'] To my ears, I tend to find Bartolinis a bit "polite" although they are "warm" too. Others love them for that very characteristic! They can probably calm and tame a very aggressive-sounding bass though. [/quote] The bass in my avatar was handbuilt by me, and has Bartolinis in. I just went for them at the time, didnt know about basschat and they were recomended by the luthier who guided me in the build. I agree with the above, definitely warm, certainly warmer than any of my 3 Fender P's (a 71, 83 and 2003), not the most agressive (but not really polite, well not with my thumping JJ Burnell esque bass stlye). Nice though as a change. If I was doing it again, wouldnt bother with the J pup, bit of a superfluous waste imho. Edited June 3, 2014 by Bassman Rich Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Why is there what looks like just one wire (a hot signal connection?) going to the output jack socket? Maybe it's just my eyes but it looks like there's a wire missing? Shouldn't there be a ground wire taken from the tone pot to the ground connection on the jack, like this http://buzzardsbass.com/electronics/wiring/diagrams/jazz-bass-std.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Still can't see any resistor in your photos. Which legs of the tone pot are the live and the capacitor attached to? AFAICS the week point in the wiring is the assumption that the metal plate that the controls are attached to is making good electrical contact all the way to the output jack. I would run a dedicated earth wire between the earth side of the pots and the socket so there is a definite good connection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) [quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1401788683' post='2466771'] Still can't see any resistor in your photos. Which legs of the tone pot are the live and the capacitor attached to? AFAICS the week point in the wiring is the assumption that the metal plate that the controls are attached to is making good electrical contact all the way to the output jack. I would run a dedicated earth wire between the earth side of the pots and the socket so there is a definite good connection. [/quote] Exactly what I was thinking, hence my post above showing a Jazz bass wiring diagram. BTW 'cclowend' is mistaking a capacitor for a resistor, it's a .050 mfd 100V cap... Edited June 3, 2014 by HowieBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 IMO someone who doesn't know the difference between a captor and a resistor probably should leave the rewiring of their instrument(s) to someone who does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclowend Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 This wiring is as it came. There are differences from the buzzard bass diagram. 1. bass has an earth to the wood body from the bridge pickup wire which then earths on the bridge pot. 2. I have another earth to the woodbody which earths on the neck pot. 3. There is no earth on the neg terminal on the jack. I have always found this strange. Maybe I should go with this wiring in the diagram. The bass sounds fine, just a little weak. The capacitor is a 0.05mf. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclowend Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Putting resistor was a simple mistake and having an HND in mech/electrical engineering makes me confident that my wiring knowledge is quite a good reference to go by. Maybe instrument wiring is different as the lack of neg wiring baffles me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Well, you've got a massive earth tag on that jack socket just crying out for a ground wire... http://s1259.photobucket.com/user/dinggremlin/media/photo_zps861dcdf7.jpg.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclowend Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I know! Its weird. I will try wiring it up buzzard style. What's the worst that can happen?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowieBass Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 (edited) It should improve the sound if it makes any change. Here's a thought; maybe the existing jack socket to control plate connection (through which we have to assume the ground connection is currently established) isn't particularly well made; poor electrical connections in a simple circuit like that might have a capacitance effect and that will affect tone. I had a guitar cable with solderless connection jack plugs on each end; there was no loss in volume and with active instruments everything sounded fine. I then got hold of my passive P bass and using the same cable it lacked tone - by chance I just happened to swap around a few cables and the P bass came to life. I believe that the poor connection between jack plug and cable offered by the solderless connection was actually introducing a capacitance (like turning the tone knob down); I then put a couple of old screw connector jack plugs onto either end of the same cable and it works fine. Your bass might be suffering because of a similar effect but I'm no expert... but it won't hurt adding that ground wire. Edited June 3, 2014 by HowieBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclowend Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Yep, I am going to remove the bridge pickup wood earth, the same wood earth to the neck pickup and use the neg tip to earth it all. I will then nest it through my digitech pedal instead of blowing my GK!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I have Barts on my fretless CIJ Precision... I guess it's a custom job so I don't know what it was like before. It's passive but has a lovely tone, quite warm and woody and plenty loud enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 I've just fitted a set of 9CBJD Barts in My Thumb along with a U-retro Preamp. The difference is staggering to be honest, I'm not sure if it's the Pups or Pre, probably a combination but the D+G strings leap out now whereas before I struggled to hear the G when gigging. The tone is ever so slightly darker than the MEC's but there's so much more going on now in the whole spectrum and it's brought the instrument to life. I've tried a few different types in my Alder Bodied Jazzer. Got a set of EMG's in there at the moment that are working quite well but the differences between Pups have always been very subtle in that Bass. I'm a happy camper !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cclowend Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Cool! Maybe I will remove the wood body sheilding earths? I expect the barts are sufficiently shielded themselves. There doesn't seem to be any sheilding earths on the standard and buzzard diagrams. I will however be putting an earth on the jack just to make sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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