Boodang

PS. as much as I like Jaco's playing, more his albums than some of his exuberant live solos, my influences are more double bass in jazz and melodic styles like Eberhard Weber. So these pickups are potentially part of a technical project to create a Jaco sounding jazz bass just for the fun of it more than because it'll suit my playing (I like jazz basses!). In fact if I get a bass sorted Jaco style, it'll spend most of its time being played in a completely different way!

Actually Ed Friedland was talking about this on his bass whisperer channel so it made me try it out (I'll see if I can find the episode and link it). The attack is more 'immediate' where the pole piece is directly under than with the offset 2 pole design. Having said that it's subtle and the overwhelming difference in the sound is the overall character as the pickups, despite being single coil, are radically different in design.

On the Seymour Duncan custom pickup web page there is a listing for a pair of jazz pickups called 'Weather Report', the specifications of which are taken from notes for some that he made for a 'special friend'! I'm intrigued to get a set of these Jaco pickups but before I shell out (they're not cheap!) I was wondering if anyone has got experience of them.

Wired is a good Jeff Beck album! As you have listed, there's lots of parameters on pickup design to tweek. Something that I've been experimenting with recently with my jazz basses is the difference between the usual 2 offset pole pieces per string compared to just having 1 larger centered magnet. Definitely affects the attack of the initial note. I can feel a conversation coming on with the custom pickup guy for more pickups!

It's very Pollock... I love the splatter look.

The colour of the plastic will effect the aesthetics of the bass which will effect the mood of the player which will effect what he plays!! Ta da!! (Which is a good argument for why pickup covers should come in a variety of colours). PS when I got my custom pups made i actually ask for red covers but he didn't do them. So now I'm in a black mood!

What's the difference between a piccolo bass and a guitar? Answer.. 2 strings.

All the above will of course affect tone massively tho.

... or just a guitar!

Interestingly given the toy scale length of 24", I put on heavy gauge nylon short scale strings (stringing thru the body is a must to use up some string length) and the tension on low E wasn't quite there but it's ok tuned solo at F#. Putting on light gauge Bass VI roundwounds and the tension on low E was ok but the sound was not as deep. Also the nylons intonation above the 9th fret gets very iffy, whereas the roundwounds faired better.

Replaced my standard pups in my Squier VM jazz for some custom Creamery jobs. Alnico2 for the bridge for more mid emphasis and alnico5 for the neck for more punch and bass.... they're awesome. They're not the cheapest but mostly because they're a one off custom and there's no economy of scale. Thing I liked about getting them was that I had a chat with the guy who makes them to discuss what I was after tone wise. There might be standard pups that would do the job but this way I could get them tailored to my tastes and it was an interesting process.

https://seymourduncan.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/categories/360002801434 Pickups 101

My Jedson equivalent from the 70s, slightly modified! However the 24" scale is ridiculous, not so much a bass as just a guitar with thicker strings. Also a terrible instrument, intonation is appalling above the 9th fret, and not enough string tension at this scale to tune to regularly. Is it worth restoring? Depends on how much you like it but it's never going to be worth much money and given it's scale length (what were they thinking, it's a toy scale length!!) it will play like shyt. Having said all that, i love my Jedson for all its idiosyncrasies and would never sell it.... still plays like shyt tho.

The 2 things that will make the biggest difference to your tone on a bass guitar; strings and pickups. Bung in your old pickup, identify what you don't like about it, then look for a pickup that solves those issues. There's some good articles on the Seymour Duncan site that detail the elements of a pickup build and it's effect on tone that can help you with this.

Have you tried Cog pedals? Some good heavy options there.

Afraid I can't comment on the vegan strap. The leather one seems fine but then I'm not an inveterate strap adjuster.... in fact I've adjusted it the once when I got it and I'll probably never adjust it again!

In an interview with Jonas Hellborg, they asked him about his Warwick signature bass and why it had an acoustic body. He said it had nothing to do with the tone, it's just that an acoustic body was thicker than a solid and he found it more comfortable and ergonomic to play. The tone he reckoned came from the pickup and it's position.

In a nutshell for those that like mid scoop sound; Mid heavy = nasal Bass heavy/scooped = full I play double bass and fretless bg. When I play fretless I pluck over the fretboard around the 17th fret as I prefer the sound and feel. My DB and fretless tone isn't so much mid scooped so much as mid and treble light and bass heavy. This does cause some issues with definition and live sound at gigs, but then that's how it is with double bass generally.

That's interesting and, in a way, good to know. Who would have thought being based in NYC and paying a decent wage (good for them) could push the price up so much. That makes the price more palatable, in fact 10% is not much of a profit. I've got more respect for Fedora now, I take it all back!

Just the sound of the recorder, no matter how well played, just sends shudders down my spine as horrendous memories of school music lessons come flooding back!

Just because a bassoon is expensive doesn't mean the price of a Fedora is justified. I can see how an acoustic instrument could be expensive but I'm at a loss, given the materials used, to see where the money on a solid bodied bass guitar is spent when they're pushing the prices that Fedora charge. Am I offended? Only mildly as people will pay what they are willing. Is it Fedora value for money, in terms of what it cost to make I very much doubt it, in terms of what it brings to the person who bought... well, if they love it then yeah. Incidentally I'd love to know how much it costs for Fedora to make one of their instruments. The £12k bass in the SBL video, what do we reckon? 2 to 3 k tops? If that, it is a solid body after all. That's a 9 to 10k profit, quite a mark up!

Give the Bose Sleep buds a go, they will take your mind off it. I don't just use them when I'm trying sleep, the sounds can 'transport' you so if I fancy reading on a tropical beach, i load up the 'waves lapping on a beach' file and there i am... in spirit anyway! For me the Bose has been a revelation and I couldn't live without them.

Not forgetting the EBS Valvedrive.

True in the sense that they can't 'fix' tinnitus but it can be caused by a broken or bent hair in the inner ear (caused by constant loud noise) which will then create noise signals without any stimulus. Out of interest one thing I've found that has helped me.... Bose sleep buds! Now, they're not noise cancelling or indeed even wireless headphones but what they do is play sounds which you select from the Bose library, things like waves, camp fire, rain forest, there's loads. When I want to read or it's quiet and I find myself more conscious of the tinnitus, I put these on and it seems to distract my mind from it. But not so distracting I can't read. Also helps with what it says on the tin ie going to sleep. Expensive but awesome bit of kit.

The model J is a great pup but as a split coil it's not going to give you that single coil toppy air. Having said that, if you want a beefier tone this is a great choice and the coils in each pup can be switched series/parallel as well. So lots of tonal choice.