Gruuve Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Out of all my basses, the Conklin GT-5 is the one that I can get the most nasally midrange out of...it's a matter of panning toward the bridge pickup and digging in just a bit. The MM SR5 has just a little bit of nose, G&L L-2500 Tribute and the Dean fretless both get a little bit of nose if you solo the bridge pickup, but none of these have the sinusitis-bound horned-rimmed glasses kinda nasally tone that I can get out of the Conklin in comparison. The neck on the Conklin is a wenge and purpleheart laminate (very thin but seems to be super-stable) and the fretboard is purpleheart. I'm assuming the neck and/or fretboard woods are what really deliver "the nose". Since I know from ears that many of the Warwicks are also quite nasally, and they generally have wenge necks and/or fretboards, I'm assuming the wenge is what delivers the nose. Am I right in this assumption? How much do the electronics figure into the equation in a case like this? Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwinH Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Those dense woods will give you taht naturally compressed midrange punch and clank, but it also has a lot to dow ith pickup placement. For me a j bass pickup biased towards the bridge IS that nasally sound. Also, electronics influence that sounds as well. I don't think of it as much as the frequency centers in active elctronics but just the effect the pickups and electronics have on the sound. That "nose" is really accentuated with less "open" sounding electronics. To me that sound is the complete opposite of the open gank and low end punch you get from a fender. The sound is compressed, tight, and centered in the lower mids ( I've notices tho that the frequency isn't really THAT low). www.myspace.com/movementwithoutmotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArwinH Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 P.S. Right now I have a strong preference for the raw gank. (I give permission to cmdn and tom to transomigry the intent of this statement as they please) Anyway, I'm itching to try out a fretted maple+ash jazz bass on a gig. www.myspace.com/movementwithoutmotion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Where are the bridge pickups on your various basses? It seems to me that as you move closer, from the standard '60s Jazz position, it gets more and more nasal and growly. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 Hmmm...on the Conklin, the bridge pickup is maybe a little closer to the bridge than the G&L, etc. I hadn't thought too much about the actual pickup placement, but now that you mention it, I would tend to agree that bridge pickup placement does have bearing on it. The Stingray5 really only has a "bridge" pickup, so but it's pretty far from the bridge (check the pic in my sig). The fretless bridge pickup is very close. The Conklin is more nasally than the G&L, so do you think the 1/2" or so pickup placement difference has that much of an impact? http://www.ipass.net/davesisk/music/pics/ConklinGT5.jpg http://www.ipass.net/davesisk/music/pics/GandL_L2500Tribute.jpg Also, I think I recall reading somewhere (probably here) that J-type pickups tend to have a lot more nose than humbucker/soapbar style pickups. Is that true in general? If so, is it by design or just coincidental? Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowbee Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 If this is just an excuse to show off your foxy basses all I have to say is... they're beautiful! Now theres three of you in a band, youre like a proper band. Youre like the policemen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by Rowbee: If this is just an excuse to show off your foxy basses all I have to say is... they're beautiful! LOL...no, it's a sincere question...but thanks, I like 'em too... Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 1/2" of difference in position has a significant bearing on the bridge pickup sound. J pickups tend to have more upper midrange than soapbars as they sense a smaller aperture. Also, if they're both positioned with the back edge at an equal distance from the bridge saddles then the soapbar's aperture is centred further from the bridge. My fretless has its pickup in a similar position to my Warwick's J pickup. It doesn't sound as nasal unplugged though it has plenty of growl, but plugged in its not far off. If you pluck my Warwick near the bridge it has a very growly compressed nasal sound, which is no doubt due to its predominantly wenge laminated neck. Dark wood fingerboards tend to do a good job of letting the growl through without the sound becoming overly bright, as a maple board might. A lot of it is in the strings as well. There is a definite sweet spot in terms of mass per unit length and stiffness that brings out the most growl. A Bootzilla 105 E is significantly growlier than a Deep Talkin' Rounds 110 E. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 Strings are a definite good point. I'm about to try some DR LowRiders (130-45) on the GT-5 to see if I can bring out more of the mids...these are reputedly know for some very colorful mids. It currently has Ernie Ball Slinkys (125-40, a lighter guage than I normally use)...known to be a little mid-shy. Hopefully, I'll get those on sometime today... Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Following up on that excuse, here's the pickup positions on my Warwick (new camera!): http://www.thehumanzoo.com/alex/Other/body.JPG http://www.thehumanzoo.com/alex/Other/whole.JPG I think my fretless's bridge pickup is about 1/4" closer to the bridge, which is v close indeed for a (now) single pickup bass. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rowbee Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Another example of a beautiful instrument - where were you, in the desert?? Now theres three of you in a band, youre like a proper band. Youre like the policemen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 Alex...what's the L-shaped piece? Is that a third pickup, or just a finger rest? Nice pic, btw... Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by Rowbee: Another example of a beautiful instrument - where were you, in the desert?? 'tis a great bass: 1987 Warwick Streamer with a few modifications - aluminium trussrod replaced with s/s; brass nut replaced with graphite just-a-nut; ebony ramp/thumbrest added; electronics changed from 9V to 18V power; MEC2 preamp replaced with Aguilar OBP-3; controls layout changed from vol/pan/bass/treble to vol/bass/mid/treble + 3-way pickup switch + mid freq switch + preamp bypass switch. Pic was taken in the garden! Originally posted by Dave Sisk: Alex...what's the L-shaped piece? Is that a third pickup, or just a finger rest?It's an ebony ramp/thumbrest. Makes for better fingerstyle technique. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by Dave Sisk: Also, I think I recall reading somewhere (probably here) that J-type pickups tend to have a lot more nose than humbucker/soapbar style pickups. Is that true in general? If so, is it by design or just coincidental? Dave I think that's why they are called "humbuckers". Definatly designed for that purpose. Rocky "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gruuve Posted June 13, 2006 Author Share Posted June 13, 2006 Rocky...I actually did mean "nose" (as in nasally sound), not "noise". Alex, cool idea on the thumb rest. Dave Old bass players never die, they just buy lighter rigs. - Tom Capasso, 11/9/2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by Dave Sisk: Alex, cool idea on the thumb rest.I liked the idea when I saw it on Gary Willis's bass, and then on TBL Neil Murray (from Whitesnake!) suggested building a temporary one from gaffa tape, which I had on the bass for a year or so. Then I got Martin Petersen of Sei Basses to knock that one up. Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 The other side of my bass! http://www.thehumanzoo.com/alex/Other/back.JPG http://www.thehumanzoo.com/alex/Other/w%20back.JPG Alex Barefaced Ltd - ultra lightweight, high ouput, toneful bass cabs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky McDougall Posted June 13, 2006 Share Posted June 13, 2006 Originally posted by Dave Sisk: Rocky...I actually did mean "nose" (as in nasally sound), Dave Oh! There I go again, not listening to what people are saying and just jumping to conclusions, etc, etc, etc. I've been thinking of a thumb rest my 89 Fender Precision Plus. I have seen some that are 2-4 inches long right above the E String. you would really have a lot of hand position options with that. Alex's is more than a thumb rest, all picking fingers would come to rest on it. "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb, voting on what to eat for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb, contesting the vote." Benjamin Franklin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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