#1939179 - 05/08/08 09:12 AM
Next Project Bass (Now with Pic)
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WCriley
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After spending several months looking for a used OLP to use as a project bass, I finally brought an MM2 home last night.
Because I planned to replace the electronics (Maybe a Basslines PU and preamp combination?), the main criteria during the search were the acoustic properties. As is typical with inexpensive instruments, I found a wide variation between the ones I tried. This particular bass passed the “ear to horn” test and, unplugged, I can really feel each note against my chest. Amplified, finger style, it has decent low end girth and a nice upper mid bite, but it seems a bit muzzled/constrained. Thumb slaps sound better than on either of my other basses, but finger pops lack “twang”. I’ll definitely try to improve the top end during the modifications. Fresh strings might help. (This critter seems to be begging for stainless.) I’ll have a better feel for the sound after playing with a drummer and guitar player tonight.
Being able to adjust the volume of each coil is an interesting concept, but poorly executed. A master volume in conjunction with a coil-blend knob would be more practical. The stock tone control is almost useless…it needs to be voiced higher. The small bent-plate bridge is a candidate for replacement. I can’t comment on the quality of the tuners…haven’t used them yet, even after a bumpy hour-long ride home on the back seat of my car. The frets are nicely broken-in and seem level…I’ll know more after I lower the action a bit.
The end result might be equivalent to putting lipstick on a pig, but it should be a fun project.
Edited by WCriley (05/11/08 08:06 AM)
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#1939186 - 05/08/08 09:17 AM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: WCriley]
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jeremy c
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#1939199 - 05/08/08 09:33 AM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: jeremy c]
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WCriley
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LOL!
That's exactly the kind of feedback I was hoping for.
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#1939205 - 05/08/08 09:44 AM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: WCriley]
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kenfxj
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...but it should be a fun project.
That's reason enough to do it. That was the main motivation for building (assembling?) my project P-bass.
Have fun!
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#1939429 - 05/08/08 06:30 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: natobasso]
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jlrush
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All I can say is Lindy Fralin pickups. 
Reading your sig made me wonder about the Lindy's, but now you MUST try to describe them. (Maybe compared to Duncan and Bartolini).
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#1939431 - 05/08/08 06:32 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: jlrush]
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jlrush
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Uh, forgot to say WC, that's a neat story, but where's the pics?
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#1939450 - 05/08/08 07:26 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: jlrush]
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WCriley
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natobasso: I didn't know Lindy Fralin made MM style humbuckers. I'll check them out.
jlrush: Sorry, no pics yet. I know...the bass doesn't exsist without pics. To be honest, I'm not sure I know how to put pics here. Maybe someone can tell me how to link to the pic from the store where I found it?
For those of you who are interested in appearance: Black body and headstock face, all black hardware, blue/gray pearl pickguard, natural neck. One ding on the upper part of the neck near the finger board between the 6th and 7th frets. Some scrathes on the metal control plate near the jack. Very little buckle rash. Still has some of the protective film on the pickquard!
For those of you who are interested in functionality: Played this critter for a few tunes tonight with drums and amplified acoustic guitar. Aside from not having enough strings for most of the tunes: it sat well with the more upbeat staccoto stuff, but the attack seemed to die too quickly for the slower legato styles. My impression is that under its current incarnation, it would sit better with solid body electrics than an acoustic guitar. Oh...and it isn't easy to tune...I'm not sure if it's a tuner issue or the nut. Either way, it's a simple fix.
It's definitely a keeper for now. Darker and punchier than the compressed Hi-Fi EMG sound of my 6; not nearly as bright and punchy as my P-style. It's a nice 3rd voice to add to my arsenal...even if I don't gut and rebuild it.
I'll report back after I set it up and try different strings this weekend.
Bill
Edited by WCriley (05/08/08 07:27 PM)
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#1939466 - 05/08/08 08:18 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: WCriley]
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jlrush
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jlrush: Sorry, no pics yet. I know...the bass doesn't exsist without pics. To be honest, I'm not sure I know how to put pics here. Maybe someone can tell me how to link to the pic from the store where I found it?
Alot of the guys here use Photobucket to transfer pics. I've learned how to use it, but it takes a bit if you can't navigate easily like me. Go to Photobucket.com and register, and try to learn your way around the site. You can send me a Private Message if you need more help.
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#1939474 - 05/08/08 08:47 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: WCriley]
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natobasso
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natobasso: I didn't know Lindy Fralin made MM style humbuckers. I'll check them out.
Whoops, sorry. Just jazz and p-bass pickups as far as I can tell:
http://www.fralinpickups.com/bass.asp
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Thx Joe Mergens at Mojotone.
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#1939489 - 05/08/08 10:07 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: natobasso]
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jeremy c
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It's hard to actually describe a pickup.
I've got Lindy Fralin pickups in my Mike Lull M4V bass.
They sound more like vintage Fender Jazz Bass pickups than the pickups in many vintage Fender Jazz basses.
I suppose you could compare them to Seymour Duncan Antiquities if you wanted too.
To me, Bartolini pickups sound completely different than Fender pickups so I can't compare them. Which is not to say that I don't like the sound of Bartolini pickups.
The Lull bass a Bartolini preamp and I also replaced the preamp in my PRS bass with a Bartolini preamp.
One of my students put an Audere preamp into one of his basses. It sounds nice, but I think it's overkill. You don't need that many choices on a Jazz bass.
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#1939504 - 05/08/08 11:37 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: jeremy c]
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natobasso
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Lindy Fralins, to answer the question, have a very awesome 'growl' tone. They add that clarity to the sound that is missing on stock basses.
Audere preamp I got is SWEET. The controls aren't space age, just pick up blending, mid, treble and bass controls with mid selector switch. Oh yeah, the blue led shows you battery life when you first plug in; love it!
Go to bassplayer.tv to see the audere tested by John Herrera.
_________________________
Bass is key.
----
Warmoth custom 4 string
* Quilted maple top/mahogany
* Maple neck, ebony board
* Audere preamp; Lindy Fralin pickups
* Badass bridge; Hipshot tuners.
Thx Joe Mergens at Mojotone.
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#1940220 - 05/10/08 11:11 AM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: natobasso]
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Tom Capasso
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You didn't mention the bridge, but one of our members who doesn't post much any more (Ace Cracker/Fonz/Bastid E) had an OLP and found that a bridge change worked wonders. He went with a bridge that has separate mountings for each string (it may have been a Tek2?).
I see that Aero makes soapbar PUPs, and RioGrande as well.
Have fun!
Tom
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#1940601 - 05/11/08 08:55 AM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: WCriley]
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WCriley
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I didn't get as much accomplished this weekend as I'd hoped. After taking a little relief out of the neck and lowering the action, I found a few high frets. I'm going to fix that before I replace the strings and finish setting it up.
The pickguard had been poorly cut and installed, causing it to buckle and bend up from the body. After cutting it to fit better at the neck, it still didn't lay flat. I heated it up with boiling water and put a flat 10 pound weight on it as it cooled which straightened it out nicely.
The pickup was lower on the neck side than the bridge side. I adjusted it level to the strings. (It doesn't seem to have springs or foam or anything under it.) It could be my ears, but I think it sounded better before I messed with it.
Tom: Actually, my first post did mention the bridge as a candidate for replacement. I like the concept of the Hipshot single-string bridges, but I'm not sure this project warrants the time and expense. I'll try to locate Fonz/Bastid's post to see what he did to his OLP.
Edited by WCriley (05/11/08 09:00 AM)
Edit Reason: clarity
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#1940816 - 05/11/08 06:59 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: WCriley]
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jlrush
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Hey! This old guy just figured out how to post pics! Here's a pic of the OLP Project bass:  And while I'm at it, here's my previous project bass: 
That's interesting. Your P bass looks like my project P.
You have good taste.;)
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#1940851 - 05/11/08 08:19 PM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: jlrush]
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saxofunk
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Excuse the smell, that's just my GAS. Project GAS. The pain... pass the Maalox!
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#1941031 - 05/12/08 09:06 AM
Re: Next Project Bass
[Re: jlrush]
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WCriley
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That's interesting. Your P bass looks like my project P.
You have good taste.;)
I should have posted a larger picture. There’s actually very little similarity between our P-projects. Yours started life as a blond P, mine started life as an unplayable POS.
The original bridge was a thin piece of bent steel with only 2 saddles. After replacing it, I still couldn’t get it intonated…the nut was positioned wrong. I need to move it over an 1/8th inch.
The original pickup was so microphonic that I could have spoken into it and been heard through the speakers. I tried an EMG Select pup, but this is an extremely bright sounding piece of wood that didn‘t sit well with the EMG. It now has a DiMarzio Model P, but still needs significant EQ at the amp.
Other than refinishing (a previous owner had applied clear polyurethane with a BRUSH) the only cosmetic change was replacing the soft, deeply scratched, pickguard.
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Moderator: Bob Gollihur (bob@gollihur.com), Tom Capasso, _Sweet Willie_
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I’m updating this thread anyway, hoping to get some advice and maybe sharing sharing my trials and errors will help someone else.
