iiipopes

[quote name='paul_5' timestamp='1349045923' post='1821179'] Ricks have a 0.0047µf cap on the bridge PUP to cut the bass and low mids. This pretty much renders it useless without the neck PUP engaged, as it sounds sh*t. [/quote] I respectfully disagree completely with paul_5. I used to have a 4001, now I have a 4002. The capacitor is an integral part to the Rickenbacker tone. So much so that I have put a .01 capacitor inline to the bridge pickup of my custom bass so it will have better clarity. Now, back on task: EMG used to make a version of it for their active pickups as well, but I can't find it online anymore. This may be because they now have another control that simultaneously cuts bass and boosts treble. In any event, here is the Rickenbacker schematic:

Being active, you run the risk of a "kill" switch making a "pop" through the jack to the amp every time you use it. I recommend against it. You might use the switch instead for a variety of applications, including a choice of tone capacitors, a Rickenbacker-style capacitor to the bridge pickup to cut lows, the EMG PA2 for soloing, the Pi2 for phase, etc.

I am a great fan of the current Fender 9050CL flats. They are steel, not chrome, and they have almost a subdued Roto growl to them. They are absolutely consistent string-to-string and up the neck, less expensive than most, and last almost forever. These are the strings that switched me from a roundwound to a flatwound player, after over 35 years playing bass.

I liked the old reds when I played bass guitar in jazz band in college. But all the above, and expensive, and, well...we'll see if the new reds address these issues.

I had a '75 Jazz bass in 1980-82. Same issue, which is the same as all single coil pickups. When a pickup died, and Fender replacements weren't available, I went with the DiMarzio Model J, one of the first humbucking drop-in replacement pickups. It was great: no noise or hum (I sold the bass later when the frets wore out and there were no good luthiers in my area to fix it...oh, well!) Now, since then, many others have now gotten into the noiseless J-bass pickups: DiMarzio UltraJazz to go with the J, Seymour Duncan in a variety of stacks, Bartolini, Barden, Aguilar, Fralin, etc., even Fender themselves. I currently use a DiMarzio UltraJazz in the bridge position of my custom P-J fanned fret bass. I will never go back to single coil pickups.

I do not like the Fender 5-strings that are derived from their classic 4-string Jazz or Precision models, regardless of whether Squier, MIM, Am Std, or whatever for these reasons: 1) the B-string tuner is too close to the nut, and the speaking length of the string binds around the tuner, risking breakage and tuning difficulties, and 2) the bodies are balanced for four tuners, and adding a fifth makes them neck heavy, even using lightweight Gotoh, Schaller or Hipshot small tuners; 3) A Precision pickup is too middy in its tone to allow the full fundamental of the B string to develop, and the neck pickup of the Jazz versions is too close to the neck to allow the proper overtone development of the B string to get good versatile tone, and together they are too "scooped" to give a full overtone development to help define the B string. I would go with something actually designed as a 5-string, not as a converted 4-string, as pointed out above. And as the above post amply illustrates: make sure you know why you're getting a 5-string and for what purpose, as no single instrument does everything.

I just recently acquired an Ibanez Soundgear SRA305 5-string with the "scoop" control (Ibanez' version of the EMG EXB: a great variable slap contour control or a vintage-to-modern sweep control) to play as my main bass in a band I have just rejoined (I was their original bass player 20 years ago, and their most recent bass player died unexpectedly and I was called to fill the gap, and, well, they keep asking me back...) that is a pub/party band that plays everything from '60's to present. We gig regularly and have a loyal regional following. Since it has an opaque finish, I don't know what kind of wood it is, but it has great tone and playability, everything is in the right place for the right reason as a 5-string bass, not a converted 4-string bass, and it was inexpensive. In my experience, Ibanez SoundGear has come up in quality over the past decade; but don't pay retail price. The models change over quickly from year to year, mostly cosmetics, pickup selections, tuner layout, etc., and the best deals are in slightly used or last years' new old stock. Also, with good seasoned wood, ply versus one-piece or two-piece is not the issue it used to be. And generally, with wood supplies as they are world wide, to get a good two-piece body is going to cost a significant amount, usually above the price point of this particular line of instruments. Even in Fender's "golden years," two piece bodies were the norm, and they would use 3-piece bodies at times. Gibson ES-175 and Epiphone Casino guitars have plywood tops. Very good plywood, yes, but plywood nonetheless. So it's not whether it's ply-versus-solid; it is the care in selecting the wood to begin with. Soundgear has come up in quality in that aspect to be a fairly decent value-for-money, if you shop for a good deal. Actually, for a good electric instrument, I do not like a one-piece body, because the resonances are harder to control and it may have a great tone, or it may have a bad tone. A two-piece body will even out the resonances, much the same way that a two or three piece neck will tend to eliminate the inevitable "dead spot" in a lot of necks, especially Fender-style one-piece necks.

The new 4003 basses (and this from a guy who owns an original 1981 4002 with the original checkered, er, chequered binding) are the best the company has ever made for fit, finish, tone and playability. I also like the binding, and wish RIC would reintroduce it. Alas, the labour involved means that only custom or one-off instruments that sell for ridiculously high prices are all they make. As above: if you simply want a 4003, get a new one and be done with it. You will be very pleased. If you want the aesthetics of the checquers, will be prepared to spend a significant amount and then some.

You could also try the Italian method for awhile, which involves 1-3-4 instead of 1-2-4; the downside is that the tendons of the 3rd and 4th fingers tend to work together, so it will difficult at first. Also, with the sliding or rocking involved with the Rabbath method, that might also be something to tide you over until your finger heals. Good luck! [url="http://earlybass.com/articles-bibliographies/eighteenth-century-method-for-double-bass-found-in-italy-in-2005/"]http://earlybass.com/articles-bibliographies/eighteenth-century-method-for-double-bass-found-in-italy-in-2005/[/url]

I also play brass. I started on trumpet in primary school and have played everything that goes along with a mixed brass/woodwind concert band in school and some other types of concerts over the years. I settled on tuba in college when it was obvious I wasn't going to be as good on trumpet as I would need to be to make that a primary instrument. Yes, I "triple." I perform gigs on electric bass, double bass and tuba. I can tell you that the muscle tone required for the embouchure without "pulling" and the volume and velocity of breath support required for trumpet is demanding, to say the least. If you persist with brass, I would suggest holding down the fort in a brass section with trombone, euphonium, or Eb tuba instead. The upside is that by getting to be known as a doubler on both bass guitar and tuba, your opportunities for gigs will open up as well.

The wiring is not the issue. The issue is the crown radius of the fingerboard of the EUB. The D and A strings will be too far off the pickup, and the E and G strings too close. If you want a magnetic pickup on a double bass or EUB, the standard application is now the Krivo pickup: [url="http://www.gollihurmusic.com/product/2435-KRIVO_HUMBUCKING_MAGNETIC_UPRIGHT_BASS_PICKUP_INCLUDES_FREE_JACK_MOUNT.html"]http://www.gollihurm...JACK_MOUNT.html[/url] Also, if you want to run both a piezo and a magnetic pickup on the same instrument, they will both need their own separate onboard preamp to buffer the different outputs in both level and impedance, if you'r thinking about combining them for a single out to an amplifier.

You may also need new knobs to fit the larger diameter pot shafts.

OK, I'm not going to give a brand. I'm going to give some features to look for: 1) Are you trying to get a bass that feels and sounds like your 4-string, just "deeper," or are you going for a different sound or feel altogether? 2) Do you like the spacing of your current bass at the nut, or do you want narrower or wider? If you're used to a J-bass style 4-string, you might want a 5-string with about a 1 3/4 inch nut, if your 4-string is wider, you might like a wider nut. 3) Likewise at the bridge. I like narrow string spacing, some like the full Fender-style 3/4 inch between strings for the full five. 4) Tuners: I recommend a bass with 2+3 tuners, or just the B & E on one side, so the B is up on the headstock where the string leader won't bind around the tuner post into the speaking length of the string, to help with string life, accidental breakage, and ease of tuning. 5) Pickups: This is all over the map, but there is no reason to not get good pickups that are relatively even in response. Because of the 5-string, more middy or overwound pickups may keep the fundamental of the B string from doing what it needs to, and too scooped a pickup will keep the overtones from the B string from contributing to the tone. 6) Balance: with the extra tuner, a lot of 5-strings are prone to neck dive, so something with the smaller Gotoh or Schaller tuners and an upper horn that is a little longer to help balance is good. Other than that, there are a lot of models out there. I went with an inexpensive bass because of all of the features listed above, an Ibanez SRA305, and that I only use it on a few songs; the vast majority of what I play is still played on my favourite 4-string P-style fanned fret. Notice I didn't say much about electronics. Again, with the extended range, good clean electronics, whether passive or active, are more important that 2-band, 3-band, contour, etc., although I've been pleased on my bass with Ibanez' version of the EMG EXB for a variety of applications, from using it as a variable slap contour to a vintage/modern range control.

As you stated, unlike an electric instrument where you basically (pun intended) just change the nut out, readjust the bridge saddles, and go, a double bass has a bass bar and a sound post. In a conventional right handed instrument, the bass bar is roughly under the E string and the soundpost is near the bridge on the G string side, or just below it (oversimplification, but bear with me for purposes of this thread). When you switch to a left-handed instrument, these have to be swapped for the bass to have the appropriate tone and resonance, as well as structural stability. This involves taking off the top, shaving off the (usually) glued on bass bar and rebuilding the inside of the top in left-handed orientation. This can be expensive. I'd just change strings to something more of what you're playing now.

Don't hold your breath waiting for RIC to "reissue" or take up production again of the model. Mr. JH doesn't seem to care for them, as he has compared the appearance of the upper bout to a certain active appendage of [i]Equus asinus,[/i] with the reference taking the vernacular tone in the present participle tense.

I just saw a thread on TalkBass with a post about a fellow who was taking a tour of the GHS factory and saw Ken Smith envelopes sitting on a packaging station.

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1347984787' post='1807695'] Had an interesting chat with a rep for a distributor and he said that there are only two major string factories around. One in France and one in the U.S and all the name strings come out of one or the other. You will get small makers who wind their own...Newtone, for exmaple, but the difference mostly between many makes is the metal grade, gauge and the designe quirk. Major plus for Newtone then, IMO, who are making the cleanest strings I've tried in the last two years. [/quote] The distributor may have been referring to the wire companies like Mapes which make the raw wire for those who manufacture the actual guitar or bass strings.

D'Addario does NOT make Fender strings. All companies may or may not occasionally subcontract out a particular line, and most get their raw wire from Mapes. Fender bought out the V. C. Squier company in 1965 and has made most of their USA strings in house.

There's lots of them over at the RickResource forum: [url="http://www.rickresource.com"]http://www.rickresource.com[/url]

Yes, it can be done. If you're using Spirocore Mitts, are you using the S42 4/4 set or the 3885 3/4 set? If you're using the S42 4/4 set, then you might want to go with the 3/4 3885.5 E string when you tune down to D, as it is the slightest bit heavier than the S39 E string out of the S42 set, and may hold both tune and balance better with the rest of the S42 ADG. Or, you might just go Stark on the E string to see what happens. And yes, as above, once you retune, I'd leave it there, both to avoid the touchups to the other strings, and to avoid unnecessary wear on the string at the stress points.

Fender steel flats (they're grey colour, not shiny chrome) 9050CL 45-60-80-105 converted me a couple of years ago from rounds, which I played for thirty-five years before that, to flats. They growl (in an almost subdued Rotosound Swingbass kind of way) when you want them to, are mellow when you need them to be, are absolutely consistent both string-to-string and up the neck, are value-for-money, and they last seemingly forever. I use them for everything from Friday night to Sunday morning.

Sheldon has a forum on his website, dingwallguitars.com , and I'm sure he be happy to discuss it with you, as to feasibility and costs.

Unfortunately, yes.

We're not talking "new old stock" from the time period the bass was built. We're talking every-day, off-the-shelf, standard parts supplier CTS 250 audio taper pots that are the industry standard, still made the same, value-for-money pots that are in the vast majority of instruments and amplifiers out there, irrespective of make or model.

[quote name='MrFingers' timestamp='1346605814' post='1791127'] Pots do change tone, if you're switching values (replacing 250K pots by 500K pots make the sound a whole lot brighter. That's how the rhythm-circuit works on the Fender Jaguar & Jazzmaster guitars (1Meg (jag) or 250K (jazz) <> 50K (rhythm circuit)). If you change the pots with CTS 250K pots, you won't have any differences in terms of sound. CTS is "the standard" for quality pots, and used by Fender since the sixties. The only two things you can do is upgrade your capacitor to a PiO (Paper in Oil, like the Sprague Orange Drop), which gives a "not so muddy closed sound when the tone is rolled off"-sound, and replace the tonepot with a 250K LINEAR pot (which makes that your tone rolloff is very equal. The difference between 90% and 100% is the same as the difference between 0% and 10%). Fender used logarithmic pots for everything, making your tone pot more of an on-off switch. [/quote] +1