SR style 5 String Kit Build

[caitlin]

I measured it and it looks like a BE2 will fit, ho hum, I wonder if it'd be worth the cash.

[caitlin]

Nut slotting files are £150 on that guitar shop from the bloke with tattoos on his head so the £3.80 draper files I've just slotted mine with are totally fine, right? The B E A and D strings didn't want to drop into the slots in the nut, so i've mashed them carefully wider whilst trying not to make them any deeper. I still think the action is pretty high on this, but I'll try other things before filing the slots deeper since there's no undoing that. I'm planning to swap the nut out at some point but I may as well learn as much as i can with this one first.

[SpondonBassed]

The strings supplied seemed ever so coarse on mine.

I swapped them for some D'Adddario half-rounds.  I had to open up the hole in the bridge a little to get the windings through near the ball end on the B.

[caitlin]

How much does intonation vary on different strings? Obviously this is still settling in, and i have few clues, but my saddles are currently really far back, in fact the B is out of travel, but I adjusted the truss rod and now the 12th fret is a bit flat so the saddles will need to move forward for a couple of strings.

The B is really clanky and buzzes a bit, but higher action would be insane, it's already like trying to crush a railway sleeper, my left hand *hurts*

I've reworked two of the songs I like to play to use the low B and it's nice not needing to change hand position but there are a few more fret to fret+4 reaches than in the 4 string positions, so it's an interesting trade off between three fret and 4 fret reaches and staying in one position.

[Geek99]

20 hours ago, caitlin said:

Nut slotting files are £150 on that guitar shop from the bloke with tattoos on his head so the £3.80 draper files I've just slotted mine with are totally fine, right? The B E A and D strings didn't want to drop into the slots in the nut, so i've mashed them carefully wider whilst trying not to make them any deeper. I still think the action is pretty high on this, but I'll try other things before filing the slots deeper since there's no undoing that. I'm planning to swap the nut out at some point but I may as well learn as much as i can with this one first.

Just get a set if welding cleaning files

 

[caitlin]

2 minutes ago, Geek99 said:

Just get a set if welding cleaning files

 

Hah, wonderful!  Having looked up what they are; if I have to do this again that's a decent shout, also useful if I expand from TIG to MIG in the future

[Geek99]

20 hours ago, caitlin said:

Nut slotting files are £150 on that guitar shop from the bloke with tattoos on his head so the £3.80 draper files I've just slotted mine with are totally fine, right? The B E A and D strings didn't want to drop into the slots in the nut, so i've mashed them carefully wider whilst trying not to make them any deeper. I still think the action is pretty high on this, but I'll try other things before filing the slots deeper since there's no undoing that. I'm planning to swap the nut out at some point but I may as well learn as much as i can with this one first.

You can easily discover if the nut is cut right - guide measurements here 

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/nut-height-action.619581/?amp=1474037821

 

You’re right that there is no undoing it, so go carefully as you are but if nut height is wrong  then most things won’t follow right . It might be out for only one or two strings 

I always check nut height, then neck relief, then twelfth fret action then intonation 

[Geek99]

2 minutes ago, caitlin said:

Hah, wonderful!  Having looked up what they are; if I have to do this again that's a decent shout, also useful if I expand from TIG to MIG in the future

Good alternative to ridiculously expensive nut files that you need once every ten years 

like this https://rover.ebay.co.uk/rover/0/0/99?loc=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fp%2F1105398624%3Fiid%3D401666860931

Edited May 8, 2020 by Geek99

[Geek99]

Seriously though @SpondonBassed is right the strings they come with are awful. I’d hold off further mods until you get some decent ones in a gauge you like 

you might get a good setup this time but What would you replace them with when they get tired?
 

One, square, to, back

Edited May 8, 2020 by Geek99

[pete.young]

On 06/05/2020 at 20:44, caitlin said:

I measured it and it looks like a BE2 will fit, ho hum, I wonder if it'd be worth the cash.

Looks great, well done.

I have a used SE 3A if you want to give that a go. I think it works but might have a crackly pot. I don't want anything for it but you might need to find some black stacked knobs for a couple of the pots. I think Axes'R'Us  have them.

SE 3A has volume, blend, bass/treble and para EQ, last two are stacked pots.

[caitlin]

1 hour ago, pete.young said:

Looks great, well done.

I have a used SE 3A if you want to give that a go. I think it works but might have a crackly pot. I don't want anything for it but you might need to find some black stacked knobs for a couple of the pots. I think Axes'R'Us  have them.

SE 3A has volume, blend, bass/treble and para EQ, last two are stacked pots.

That's an astonishingly kind offer, however I looked at those very options and think the boards might be too tall to fit in this cavity which is why I leaned towards the BE2 which is horizontal. As it goes, I've a BE2 in the mail so I'll give you a shout if that doesn't show up or doesn't fit. Thanks.

[Maude]

I've just read through the whole thread and really enjoyed it. It's great when someone just grabs the bull by the horns and gets on with it, and it's turned out superb. A nice crisp white really suits that style of bass, especially with the black hardware. 

Great stuff. 👍

[Maude]

On 05/05/2020 at 17:36, caitlin said:

Well i worried about the string snapping, but I wasn't sure what else i could realistically do, 

This isn't the only way but what I've always found easiest is to screw a wooden baton into the neck pocket and hold it like a giant lollipop. Screw a hook into the other end of the baton and you've got something to hang it with. It's easier, especially with rattle cans, to turn the bass body to where you need it and keep the can upright, as it'll spray better and not spit or drip so much. Also if runs start to develop, you can turn the bass the opposite way to the run and get it to flow out, likewise holding the bass horizontal while the paint is still wet will help it flow out flatter, flipping periodically from front to back. 

Like this, 

I realise this advice is too late but it's good to know for your next build, there will be a next build even if you don't know it yet. 😁

Edited May 8, 2020 by Maude
Adding picture for reference.

[Pea Turgh]

2 hours ago, Maude said:

 

I wish I had a tree that grew bass bodies in my garden.

[caitlin]

Well, I knew changing to 5 strings was a paradigm shift and not playing the B string was the lamest thing any 5 string wannabee

could do. It's *fun* re-working out fingerings for songs but damn, some are confusing.

I have a stupid book with I Wish in it but it LIES and has it written for 4 string in E when the real song is in E flat, right. So I'm tuned B E A D G and I'm starting the first riff at fret 11 of the E string (which is obv Eb), does that sound mental? It's dropped the 'shape' of the pattern into a scale box shape I understand and the pitches seem sensible but I can't help wondering where the 'best' place to phrase it is. Better go look at some videos and peel my eyes for the bassist.

[caitlin]

ha looks like none plays it there. meh. back to the thinking about it.

[SpondonBassed]

18 minutes ago, caitlin said:

Better go look at some videos and peel my eyes for the bassist.

Nate Watts always tuned his four string bass to E flat.

[caitlin]

Shoulda stuck to drums.

[Richard R]

2 hours ago, caitlin said:

Well, I knew changing to 5 strings was a paradigm shift and not playing the B string was the lamest thing any 5 string wannabee

could do. It's *fun* re-working out fingerings for songs but damn, some are confusing.

I have a stupid book with I Wish in it but it LIES and has it written for 4 string in E when the real song is in E flat, right. So I'm tuned B E A D G and I'm starting the first riff at fret 11 of the E string (which is obv Eb), does that sound mental? It's dropped the 'shape' of the pattern into a scale box shape I understand and the pitches seem sensible but I can't help wondering where the 'best' place to phrase it is. Better go look at some videos and peel my eyes for the bassist.

There's also an E on the 5th fret of the B string, so isn't your starting point the Eb on the 4th fret there?  

[Geek99]

4 hours ago, caitlin said:

Well, I knew changing to 5 strings was a paradigm shift and not playing the B string was the lamest thing any 5 string wannabee

could do. It's *fun* re-working out fingerings for songs but damn, some are confusing.

I have a stupid book with I Wish in it but it LIES and has it written for 4 string in E when the real song is in E flat, right. So I'm tuned B E A D G and I'm starting the first riff at fret 11 of the E string (which is obv Eb), does that sound mental? It's dropped the 'shape' of the pattern into a scale box shape I understand and the pitches seem sensible but I can't help wondering where the 'best' place to phrase it is. Better go look at some videos and peel my eyes for the bassist.

Why not just tune down by a semi tone to get to e flat ? 

[jrixn1]

4 hours ago, caitlin said:

I have a stupid book with I Wish in it but it LIES and has it written for 4 string in E when the real song is in E flat, right. So I'm tuned B E A D G and I'm starting the first riff at fret 11 of the E string (which is obv Eb), does that sound mental? It's dropped the 'shape' of the pattern into a scale box shape I understand and the pitches seem sensible but I can't help wondering where the 'best' place to phrase it is. Better go look at some videos and peel my eyes for the bassist.

There's more than one way to play it, but you can start with your first finger on the first fret of the D string (which is Eb).  You can play the whole song from there without shifting position.

[SpondonBassed]

7 hours ago, Geek99 said:

Why not just tune down by a semi tone to get to e flat ? 

Yes, that way you get the extra growl from the added slackness.  Nate's trademark sound comes from that.

[caitlin]

The BE2 is HERE. I'm started soldering JST tails to it so I don't need to mod the plug and fail nature of the existing electrics.

Still need to work out how the hell the wiring on the socket works, it is a three pin dooble but i'm going to need to shove leads in and out of it to understand which bit is the 'switch' and how that goes between plus and ground in any case.

The BE2, with a little violence, slides into the existing holes, but since some move cavity needs to come out to allow the battery to fit I've got some forstner and some wood chisel in the post. Should be able to get this hammered in by the weekend for much grin and more drive and hopefully a lower noise floor into the bargain..

[caitlin]

Aw flip, I thought my socket was a stereo one, but its not, the third pin is connected to the barrel, but never to the sleeve of the jack, there's no switch closing taking place. A stereo socket becomes ordered and should hopefully land with the other junk on Thursday. Back to working on the motorbike for a bit then.

[caitlin]

I've smashed the BE2 in with extreme violence, Forstner bits and chiseling a plenty, here's where we stand as of now:

I had some trepidation about plugging it in, I checked as many things as I could think of with my multimeter and then whacked it into my zoom pedal on batteries as a sacrificial object that could make noise. I can hear it doing a balance between pickups, I can hear it doing a bass boost and cut and a treble boost and cut which to be honest is more than I could hear the original electronics doing.

That cavity is tight as anything and I have to admit that the board and jack socket are an interference fit, the saving grace is that it's an earth that's rubbing against the earth of the board so there's no electrical risk there.

I am underwhelmed with the sound, I expected it to be night and day, but there it is. I guess the pickups are potentially at a price point but it's not a lively responsive instrument at present, and the other day when this was gutted and I went back to my 4 string, I was stunned by how much more articulate and dynamic that one sounds in comparison.

Of course I did get to play a friends' very modern Ibanez a month or three back and I found that almost unmanageable, by which i mean it really laid my crappy fingers out plain.

I'll give this setup some time, and prod it a bit, perhaps muck about with pickup heights but it's interesting how this experience is going.

What fun.