bloke_zero

Supposed to be an 12AX7 (ECC83) and an EL84. There were 2 EL84 - the ECC83 (as I understand it!) is a preamp, the EL84 a power amp. No wonder it wouldn't work.

Oh, I zoomed in - Frog preamp. How's it sounding? I just FOUND a Huges and Kettner Blues Master left out on a neighbours wall to take - they'd put the wrong valves in it 🤷‍♂️

That looks MONSTER. What is it? I hate off board wiring too - I think people that do it a lot get really good at measuring ang guiding the wires - I always end up with a big surplus loop. I do a lot of DIY modular synth and some of the modules I've bought from other people - the wiring is so clean it makes me want to cry!

Wow! I don't know how I'd feel on stage with that in my hands. Loving the electronics - multimode envelope filter!

It's the inexplicable name of preset 15 on a Lexicon Vortex circa 1996: In this case it's actually 'Select low or high gain mode'.

I caught sight of this in the Joy Division doc on, I think Amazon Video.

Really interesting video - quite different - I agree with the comments above that the stock bridge sounds brighter and clearer. I'm not sure I agree about EQ fixing things easily. Getting that clarity and definition is much easier if the core sound is already there. EQ can introduce a bunch of artifacts, and of course, can't add something that just isn't there.

I had the Gotoh version - it felt pretty good! Quite a bit heavier and more solid than the stock one though. Anybody going to admit to having gone titanium?! https://k-t-s.com/collections/bass-saddle-bridge-set

Yes, serveral times. No, no import fees. I think because they come in letter size pacakage it hasn't been an issue. I just built the simulcast (pedalpcb hudson broadcast clone) for a friend: Has a Mullard OC71 from the early 70's - sounds really good! The drilling guide was too tight on the footswitch - didn't leave enough room (hence the plastic washer). My first attempt at waterslide decal!

When it came to me the body was clearly an experiment in the other direction (I bought it off ebay wood unknown) - northern ash, MM rout, aluminium bridge. Very scooped. Great sustain. Potentially great for slap tones. Having sat with it a couple of years and recorded it many times, I always end up fighting it with EQ and gating/compression. Leads me to think something more resonant will be better - something more middy, where there is a note bloom as the resonance of the string sort of gets sucked up by the body - hard to explain, but I can feel it my hands, hear it, and hopefully get an easier to shape sound.

Unfortunately everything in this day and age is a marketing term. hmm. Maybe my scope is too narrow. At this point I’m tempted to order a mahogany body with the pickups routed to my specs and see how it sounds over the next ten years!

Thanks - that is really interesting. Especially the ageing effect slowing down. Maybe reclaimed mahogany is the way to go. I don't know how much difference it'd make to the tone either! Interesting to find out.

Yes. And had a passive setup, 2 different active sets ups and different pickups. This is a 5 year project at this point. Incrementally the whole thing is moving forward. At this point the the body is the next obvious variable I want to change (yeah, I've tried flats!). As @itusays, the body just doesn't feel or sound right to me. If I could just walk into a shop and try out different bodies I would, but replacing the body is harder. The current one is very unusal body, very dense/heavy northern ash. Great for a specific tone - lots of low and lots of dense smash highs, just nothing in the middle. Makes EQ to fit in a mix really hard work. And I'm not a big fan of EQ when totally re-shaping a sound, I'd rather get the source right rather than have to fix it in the mix. The neck is roasted maple, has a different kind of snap, but is a beautiful neck to play.

I get you! For background - I've been struggling with a build where I've had 2 different bodies and multiple pickup/preamp configurations. I'm happy with the sound of the pre/PU set up, love the neck, but the body (hard northern ash) is causing me issues - it is very scooped sounding - lots of low and lots of high, but I want mids. So I'm wondering whether I get a body made and just ask for a light resonant blank, or if I can get what I want more easily by finding an old body, maybe from a 70's p-bass knock off to mod (I want add a MM pickup). So I'm perfectly ready to be dissapointed, but gathering opinion on best route.

Love spinal tap! I watched that with my dad when it came out - he was a session player in LA at the time - he said it wasn't a comedy but more like a documentary. I am glad to have finally become beyond parody!

🙂 My empirical process is in it's infancy! I am not making any scientific assertions, merely expressing a preference based on my current experience. I'm specifically NOT ruling out the other factors, just wondering aloud what part age plays and whether roasting and vibrating is an attempt to replicate something that I believe I am hearing. Sorry for any lack of clarity!

Before we start, if you don't believe that wood has any effect on the sound of a bass then please look away now, as the following question will upset you. What role do we think age playes in wood tone? I ask because I want to buy a new body. But the two basses I like the sound of most (that I have access to) are mid 70's fender p-basses. As a test I can pick up one of those Fenders, put my ear on the upper horn (suggested by someone on here, but I can't find the post) and hear the unamplified tone of the bass. The tone that I hear there is substantially what I hear, and like at the amplified output. Conversely, there is an 80's Jazz that has a pretty meh tone amplified, and placing your ear on the horn as above - yeah, it sounds pretty weak! So it feels to me like the two factors I'm zoning in on are: 1. The dominant tone of the body wood 2. It's age (This is not to down play all the other factors, neck, pickup, eq, preamp etc, I'm just interested in the body right now!) I'm thinking of attempts like roasting wood for bodies and necks, but specifically Sandberg doing that weird vibration treatment thing - they seem like attempts to replicate the natural ageing process? After all there is nothing magic about those P-basses, I've built modern versions to the same spec which sound completely different, the only thing is they are 40 odd years old!

Saw this on reverb: https://reverb.com/uk/item/54715130-sirius-alienslam-alderwood-body-blanks-no-s4-5-1989-motoslug-wacken-festival Body blanks!

It took me quite a while to find all the parts (at least an hour looking differnt places) so there is that too - along with the heartbreak of having ineveitably ordered the wrong part for something key!

Interesting - I do love an LDR build! Let us know how it goes. I'm just about to start a https://www.pedalpcb.com/product/generaltso/ Clones the ThorpyFX Fat General that has a couple of LDR in the circuit.

I'm looking to build something in that combo - mahogany with roasted maple - I'm hoping the twang of the maple meeting the middy mahogany will work. Looks like a beast! In a good way!

Lovely project - I've looked at doing something similar but not in such detail. I'm sure Leland would love to know about it. I wonder how hard it is to get those old EMG's?!

You are calling out the must haves for me! Smaller tip, de-soldering tape/wick and a solder sucker and you will be rocking. If you get into real detail stuff (SMD) then a jewllers loupe is a good buy.

I'm a big fan of low output, they feel more live or open and more responsive to me. Agree on the single coil. It even feels to me like silent 'hum cancelling' coils have a slightly deadening effect, though I could be imagining that. That said I do have high output pickups and they feel like they occupy a different and sometimes wanted sonic space, some are incredibly detailed as well as being higher powered.