BaggyMan

Had some play time and I think I have the skinny on it. The barts are not very clear, not a pickups to match the quality of the build in total. The Glockenklang is good all round pre amp and a better fit tonally than the markbass i think. Overall its a very modern sounding bass and expecting it to have musicman or P bass characteristics isn't really the idea of it, so that my bad for not letting it have its own style.. I tried it through a markbass amp and it sounds great, through the my darkglass amp, not so much lack definition in the bottom end for some reason. Changing the pickups and pre have changed it for the better in the end, just not in the way i expected. Like i say a journey.

I'll admit i bought a space 5 on impulse, having loved the vibe of headless basses since way back in the 80's when i owned my washburn force 42...not heard of it well see below.... a wish i hadnt sold it bass tbh. Anyway I bought a secondhand Space 5 the main idea being its a little dude of a bass and handy for small venues and jam nights. First up its a lovely build, very nicely put together, good materials and the spec and reviews indicated that it was going to be a fun bass, bart Mk1's and markbass pre. But no, the sound was muddy or woody and a bit hollow and not to my liking and there was no 'snap' in the sound. Folks are pretty down on Bart Mk1's, especially cort in house ones, so i went a bit giddy and bought some aguilars.. fitted and well still not distinctive...so pre amp swap then ( i like modding basses usually to good outcomes, so happy to fiddle as its not one of my 'front line' basses)...but this one I dunno. Dropped in a glockenklang three band this week. Still not there. Something like £200+ worth of pickups and £100+ of pre amp and no real change (ok some but not £300+ worth of enough) So pondering this on the way home from a gig last night and my next thought was perhaps its actually the pickup placement. Might drop in some dual coils and parallel/series them to see where we go from there. And before everyone kicks off with whats the point , why did you buy in the first place etc, i enjoy the journey, have turned the cheapest of basses into great gig machine in the past with some choice mods. Just surpised how wild the changes i have made have made only a small amount of difference. coil tap/series parallel mod coming up. Washburn Pic grabbed from the interweb..not my bass.

Its one I had laying around, i think its by a chinese company called Donlis. Its a good higher output type jazz pickups and does a great job. Going forwards I may looks at delano who also do big pole jazz pickups. For now this is as good as the original and a better balance in terms of the output https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32867705703.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.main.57.4581P1aAP1aAWL&algo_pvid=214ba381-7e3f-425e-87f9-f3b7ee2d3602&algo_exp_id=214ba381-7e3f-425e-87f9-f3b7ee2d3602-28&pdp_npi=4%40dis!GBP!16.09!16.09!!!20.26!20.26!%40211b698e17299496958354213e9d6e!12000034714672003!sea!UK!760833171!X&curPageLogUid=fwvxSc4CaGM9&utparam-url=scene%3Asearch|query_from%3A

Put mine through its paces and it running like a champ. Mods: Changed out the neck pickup for higher output, control knobs.

Been using this chopped carbon wrap on scratchplates.. the one on my z7 fits well enough to not need screws..really pleased with look without the screws. Swapped out the neck pickup for a slightly punchier big poled version. Better volume balance and a more cohesive look.

On the way to a gig...'did i leave the gas on? was there something in the oven???....oh shiiiii..."

I have seen models across the range with horrendously dark necks and board where you really couldnt see the fret markers. I hard a P5 that was close to being too dark. .I think you are right the sugars/sap crystalise inconsistently across the timbers used some do are ok, some go dark..

I took a sneaky pick at the pre amp. It has an adjustment pot. Suspect a tweak will help. And then I notice thats been said on other post ...sigh Welcome to overlabouring a point (or pot) post club

Did a full gig this weekend with the Z7 and overall very happy with it. The neck dive issue wasnt really there so not going to bother with Ultralites or whatever anytime soon. General weight of the bass is good so happy there, Sounds wise i like the neck pickup as a blend option to round off the 'stingray' (there i said it) tone and drop in some bottom end. The neck pickup is quieter than the Mman bucker and i 'may' think about swapping that out in the future for a more powerful/stacked and noiseless alternative. The steel fret aren't any great difference to the standard old school one's but i supect they will last longer. Rolled edge on the board is just plain lovely. Comparing it with previous V7's and V3 i found it say better in the mix for the sort of music i play, so i doubt this will be on ebay (or here..) in the near future. She's a keeper.