bloke_zero

I've only used these guys for pickups: https://www.bassparts.de/epages/61038859.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/61038859/Categories/Bodies/J-style-Bodies But they are well thought of as far as I can tell.

Guitar Build? https://www.guitarbuild.co.uk/collections/bass-bodies

At least you found it though. He was a monster player. I love the crazy part he plays on Chameleon - always shifting, always funky.

Interesting idea. Feels a bit like the Sandberg California VM but with the emg instead of the MM pickup? I’d say go for it! I think you’d get a lot of twang and zing from that pickup there. If you want the measurements of the Sandberg I have them somewhere…

Alnico 2, 3 & 5 are a magnet type (aluminum, nickel and cobalt compund) with the number being 'strength' or softness. 5 is most used on bass, 2 is slightly softer - I'm more familiar with that on guitar. Good read here: https://www.fender.com/articles/tech-talk/what-are-alnico-pickups

Their shop is interesting - the bassman style tube preamp looks very cool. "This is a totaly new and patented design. It features three tubes: one buffer, one tube to drive the top of the sine wave and one to drive the bottom of the sine wave. The sine wave does not get clipped in square forms like in normal preamp overdrive and in overdrive and fuzz pedals but gets compressed softly, retaining a round shape. This results in a very warm and natural sound." Seems like you'd be on safe ground buying from them - they seem to be deep in the bass geek zone!

Like Luke I was out by a magnitude of 10/100/1000 - so most of the bands were correct but not all. And also I had a mix of 2%, 5% and 20% tolerance as I'd had to source the parts from 4 or 5 suppliers. And I can be deeply stupid at times!

Change to repair or change to change? I'd guess that the plate is more to control pickup position rather than being a key part of the sound. Do you mean they are wired onto the plate? Any chance of a picture?

On bigger build you have to. I built a 303 replica and got a resistor value wrong in the first section (the power supply - you build each section and test) which caused me more heartache than I can really admit. There is a vintage synth wizard down the road from me - I took it to him and he found it within minutes. I felt very humble at that moment. After that I checked every resistor value with the digital meter I have. Saved me any futher angst! And his minimum bench fee... I feel your pain!

Jazz neck, brass nut, Wilkinson tuners: Used some Montypresso relic wax to darken the fingerboard and make the maple less white. I'm pleased. Light oil finish feels great. It feels a lot tighter - drilling new holes and super tight fit has really coupled the neck and body. Feels like the mids are much stronger. I hvae been recording as I've gone along but the labeling has been poor! I'll need to reconcile recording dates with posts here before I can post comparison audio. Might do some more work on the nut and obviously get a string retainer for a better break angle at the nut. Mainly I'm waiting for some new strings now as the set I have on there were already old ones which I've now taken on and off about twenty times and feel pretty dead! I can confirm that the pickups sound a lot clearer to my ears at 18V. If you check the manual it does suggest running them at 18 for extra headroom: https://www.emgpickups.com/pub/media/Mageants/p/_/p_p5_p6-b245_0230-0107rf.pdf

Guitar and Bass build took an order from me where I specced pickup, pickup location, neck pocket and wood (MM P Mahogany). The difficulty will be Mahogany - they will do Sapele or Korina which are related but not quite as Mahogany is hard to find. Loving this thread!

A little flux pen helps - the solder sticks in the right places. Then it's a matter of positioning the chip with special tweezers. There are some really good videos that demystify the process. But I agree - it's not easy if your hand is unsteady (like mine).

That is certainly what is implied, but maybe he could be mistaken? It's pretty common to run the EMG's at 18V - EMG sell an external power supply which does just that. Phase 3: Guitar and Bass build Jazz neck with rosewood. That is my new years eve party sorted - some fine grit sand paper, gun oil and a brass nut!

Oh dear! Seems like these were more questions than assertions from Woodinblack? So easy to misinterpret tone on line! Having just tried this (going from 9V to 18V) I can report that this is a simple issue of headroom - there is a lot more of it at 18V and the EMG's sound a lot more like the video. There is something pleasing about them at 9V but I'm getting closer to the bell like clarity with them running at 18V. I don't think it's controversial to say that some preamps run cleaner at higher voltages (though of course some aren't designed that way and don't). I recently built a Hudson Broadcast clone that runs at 9V or 27V with a charge pump and the difference is night and day - 9V being thin and rasping 27V being plump and warm.

I like how it sounds right now. But it doesn't feel as clear as the video, but who knows what the signal chain is there? It feels like it records well. I need a month or so to really get into the details!

If you listen to this (9 minutes in) you can clearly hear that 18V sounds better, clearer and more defined (or do I just mean LOUDER 😉 ) Going to try it out later

Protype pickguard. Need to think about running the EMG's at 18V. Worth it?

You mean don't do it with a hand held drill, a cheap forstner bit and chisel on the kitchen table?! I agree! A pillar drill would have been a good start - there is quite a bit of slop in the pickup cavity depth just to pick one! Originally I was just doing it with a cheap body with a view to maybe getting something custom made if it worked. But then a cheap guitar and bass body came up on ebay and it seemed rude not to jump in. Next time I'm going to swallow my impatience and find a maker space or something where I can do it with the proper tools. I don't feel great about having hacked up a great alder body, but it's not too bad, I'm having a lot of fun and getting results.

I've watched that about 10 times! The thing for me was the amazing bell like tone. Also, my chiseling is ugly to the point I don't know if I can ignore it and a scrtach plate will cover a multitude of sins.

Nothing to apologise for! We've all been a 5th out. I was really struggling with the main riff. This is a much clearer version for bass. Thanks!

Forgot to say that the string to string balance is really amazing - much better than on my other P-basses where the DG side feels weak. That was half the point of the excercise!

That makes sense. I think, given the over enthusiastic chiseling I might just get a p-bass style pickguard made that fits the pickups. It'll probably just be a notch out for the bridge pickup, but I think it'll tidy it up a lot visually.

It's not pretty, but I do like it. I need to dig another 2-3mm out of the cavities as the pickups are a bit close to the strings for me. And the neck pickup is way too loud compared to the bridge. The EA half is too 'high' on both PU's I think a bit more hacking and a pickguard will neaten it up. And a custom pickguard - my efforts so far indicate I need professional help there! Sounds good - doesn't have the real growl of a P, but it does have a lot of presence and clarity. I mean a lot of presence - the neck pickup is very rich and in your face. I'll see if I can get it recorded.

We all know that 3 on E gives the best possible start to a bass line! But it's a fair question. Maybe positioning the pickups by ear gives that particular combination of neck and body the feel that you get from a hand made suit? (Not that I have a hand made suit...). In which case it wouldn't be specifically the harmonics, just a sense of the timbre? Me too! I feel like I've really learnt a lot about what I like and why. I like the fact that there are only a few variables, and they all make different contributions (the pickups arguably being the biggest) but they all do make some small difference, and pickup position makes a big difference. You sir are a scholar and a gentleman! Thank you! I was worried about the neck position as that is so far out of the normal jazz range - good to have confirmation!

I’m sure you’re right. Small changes in position make a really big difference. As it’s hard for me to experiment with just the kitchen table for a work bench I’m really interested in getting the measurements that are known working ones!