TRBboy

Thanks guys, that sounds like some frustrating experiences with bass direct, which is quite unlike them! Are there any other reasonably priced lightweight tuners out there? I did start a thread about the Schaller BM Light, but I'm assuming no one's tried them because no-one replied... I know there's the Gotoh Res-o-lites, but they seem to be almost as much as USA Ultralites... Any other suggestions?

Hi folks, I'm about to start building my very first build, and just wondered if there's any particular dual action truss rod I should be looking at? Are some better than others? Any recommended suppliers? Also, if someone could point me in the direction of where /how to find graphite rods to reinforce the neck, that would be great. Thanks! 😊👍

Thanks guys, I see where I was going wrong now! I was looking at the Schaller BM Light tuners before, but then read that they can be a pig to install.... The licensed ultralites don't seem to be much more, so will probably go with those.

I was looking on bass directs website, their prices seem as good as any. Couldn't see a L/R option?

Thanks @Cuzzie Well, as I'm building it from scratch I can make the holes whatever size. 😊 No other issues though? What do you mean the licensed ones can't be swapped? I can't see any options for L/R hand ones, so are they reversible?

Hey folks, Now looking at the licensed ultralite Y tuners for my build, but I have a couple of questions : You can get 3/8" or 1/2" posts - which do I go for and what difference does it make (or is it only relevant if you're replacing existing tuners?). There don't seem to be L & R options - can you use them on either side? Many thanks

Hey folks, I would really like some lightweight tuners for the build I'm about to embark on, and I always see a LOT of talk about Hipshot Ultralite, some mention of Gotoh Res-o-lites, but very little else. Anyway, whilst googling I came across these Schaller BM Light tuners - they look great, are lightweight, and very reasonably priced! Does anyone have any experience of these tuners and give some feedback? Many thanks. 😊👍

So, quick update: After sending and receiving lots of emails to various companies, and doing more research and Youtubing, I think I'm down to probably House of Tone or Cats whisker. Both represent great value for custom made pickups, both made in UK, and both give me a good level of confidence that they can fulfil my needs. My gut feeling at the moment is to go with Allan at Cats whisker, he's very knowledgeable, very responsive and although he was only initially recommended by a friend and bass builder, some goggling has shown that his pickups are highly regarded by those that have tried them. It turns out that he is (or was) making all of the pickups for Alpher too, so that says a lot! I'm still a bit undecided on the J pickup, I'd love it to be hum cancelling, but need to accept that it wouldn't give me quite that classic single coil J sound, although how far from that it is in reality remains to be seen. Apparently I could expect it to sound a little less 'open' and dynamic, with some loss of highs and high mids, bit slightly more pronounced lows and low mids. Still trying to decide wiring also, I keep fancying stacked VT VT a la early 60's jazz bass, but as I've never tried this layout I'm not sure if it makes most sense. If not will probably just go VBT. Waffle over. 😊

Thanks, that's great thinking and what a lovely bass!

Will do.... If I ever get there! I'm notoriously indecisive at the best of times... 🤦🏻‍♂️

Nice! I've heard good things about Lollar, and Lindy Fralins also (which I believe Bass Direct do). Christ, it's a bloody minefield this is.... I think I'm my heart I'd most like a PJ set still (although I have recently fallen nach in love with a 'pure' jazz bass tone!), ah my gut feeling is to get someone like Aaron Armstrong/Creamery/House of Tone to make me something. However, someone very saged and experienced with such things advised me earlier that I was disappearing down a rabbit hole, and actually it doesn't matter that much in the end to anyone except me. So then I get to thinking should I just buy some cheap Alnico V jazz pickups and have done with it? 🤷🏻‍♂️ Ffs....

So, another possible option has arisen.... I could get a pair of the sandberg TT pickups for quite a reasonable price actually.... And at least I know what I'm getting with those. Also just stumbled across house of tone pickups that look quite good, so I might send them an email.

Interestingly, I've just been browsing various pickup websites, and visited Hassuel. I notice that Harry does 5 string P pickups, and also him cancelling J's! Not only that, but after seeing them, I'm 99.999% sure that my sandberg TT5 passive has Haussel pickups, and these are probably my favourite pickups I've ever used! I've been curious about the pickups in this TT since I got the bass, they have very rounded edges with a soft feel, and the ones on the Haussel website look identical! He does some curious slanted and half slanted pole pieces too, I'm not quite sure what the benefit is though. EDIT: Okay, so although I said they're my favourite pickups, I haven't actually been able to gig this bass yet so we'll see! 😂

Thanks, they look very cool! Again, something I've been agonising over is bridge materials etc.... 🤦🏻‍♂️ I'm leaning towards gotoh at the moment, as they do some nice 18mm bridges in lovely finishes, with lightweight tuners to match. I'm particularly liking their 'X-Nickel' finish.

Is there any UK hardware? Doubtful I suppose... Trev Wilkinson is British, but the hardware is all made in China I suspect. May have to compromise on hardware! 😂

That's the other thing for me, I'm trying to use British stuff for my build as much as possible, such as native only woods, so UK built pickups would be good.

I think I'm less sure of what I need now than when I started this thread! 😂 I did have dimarzio ultra jazz in my old Fender years ago, and did enjoy them.... But it was a long time ago so maybe not what I'm looking for now..... Starting to wonder if my best choice tonally is to go for some decent hand made pickups, and maybe keep it JJ.... @Cuzzie is your Bass culture pickup a DCB humbucker? Has anyone here heard of or used Catswhisker pickups? A friend and builder recommended them to me years ago, hand built in the UK for a reasonable price....

Yeah maybe, I don't have any experience with those, and not sure what the pros /cons are vs side by side coils.

Thanks very much, will certainly send you a pm! I was a carpenter many moons ago, and still keep my hand in, so I'm reasonably confident in my woodworking ability, although to be honest I've NEVER used a router! Definitely the neck is the bit that scares me the most, but with the help of Richard it will be a lot easier. He has a table saw set up with a 0.5mm blade and a sled he's made for slotting fretboards. He said it takes like 10mins to do rather than hours of frustration by hand with a fret saw! He is Richard Meyrick BTW, in case anyone wants to look him up. 😊 I'm just still a bit baffled why there seems to be less choice of pickups and hardware for 18mm string spacing, when it seems pretty common on production 5 string basses?! Is it purely because fender 5's are 19mm?

Listened to a lot of Big Split videos last night.... And I'm less convinced now! Don't know how to explain it, but they almost seem a bit empty /tone less? That's how it comes across on some of the Vids anyway, they seem to sound a bit absent in the low mids. Interesting hearing head to heads between big singles /Splits, the singles sounded much more open and toneful to me, and much more present in the low mids. Trouble is with videos, you don't know what other variables are in play! 🤷🏻‍♂️ I do wonder if I'm not going to get the sound I want out of a hum cancelling single coil though... 🤔

Thanks @cuzzie, I'll send him a mail. It is a full build from timber stock, the only premade bits will be electronics /hardware etc. I'm hoping to be able to do a lot of it myself, but will hook up with Richard for the trickiest bits (slotting the fretboard, etc). I'm so glad I found him, a really great luthier, and he charges by the hour to use him /his workshop. He obvs makes his own instruments and does repairs etc, but in between that does builds with people. Super nice guy too. We met two weeks ago to discuss properly, he's given me a better idea of what I need to do in what order. I'll use my existing basses as references for measurements etc, and there are some ideas I may steal from elsewhere too. Got a fairly clear idea what I want to do though. I really fancy trying to build it all out of native woods, so there are some fairly unknown quantities with what I've chosen, but I have a good degree of confidence. It's just pickups and hardware that's bugging me!

@Merton I'm stalking you on insta now... Love the Zoot, but REALLY digging the sound of your Finn! 😍

Thanks Merton, that sounds superb! Definitely the kinda vibe I'm looking for. Does your Zoot have an active eq or passive controls? And is that the neck pickup soloed? Certainly sounds deep and punchy, but still clear and articulate, and without being overly aggressive or 'clinical'. Will follow you on insta! (I'm @Oli_Frost)

Thanks Merton, good to hear! They're not too aggressive are they? Suitable for a variety of styles would you say? Could you get a passable classic P or J type sound out of them? Cheers

Thanks guys, but all the blade type pickups seem to be ceramic bar construction, so probably won't give me the tone I'm after. Big Splits do come in a size suitable for 18mm spacing though.