Fretless OLP MM2 + upgrades

[mcnach]

I recently took the plunge and jumped into the fretless pool, defretting one of my OLPs:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=122606&pid=1123327&st=0&#entry1123327"]Defretting basses - OLP MM2[/url]

That proved to be one of those strange occurrences where the results are nothing like what one expected (this is not the rare part ) but a LOT better (THIS is the rare part ).
Since I got the fretless back I've played about 80% fretless, and the rest divided between my Stingray and one of the Sue Ryder P-basses.

The next step was the inevitable upgrade (for me) when dealing with OLPs: removing the ceramic pickup and putting a nice alnico one. The original ceramic on this particular bass sounded really good, I must say. Better than the other OLPs I have. But it's nowhere near Ray-ish enough. I tend to go for the Seymour Duncan SMB4A pickup... but this time I decided to try the Nordstrand MM4.2, which I never experienced before, and I like how there's no obvious writing on the cover (just a very subtle "N" logo, barely visible).
Since I'm at it... and I have a real 2EQ Stingray preamp in a box (removed from my 2002 MM 'ray, when I put a John East preamp in it)... it seemed like a good idea to put that preamp on the OLP.

Here are the ingredients:
one freshly defretted OLP, a Nordstrand MM4.2 pickup, an original 2EQ Stingray preamp, and a Gotoh battery box.



I removed original pickup and control plate, and tried the Stingray preamp for size... agh, it doesn't fit! The preamp has a largeish printed board and I would have to widen the control cavity to fit it. That's annoying, and turned the 15min job into something a bit longer, and forced me to remove pickguard and bridge so that I could support the router properly in place. You can just about make out the black marker outline of the Stingray preamp, marking roughly the areas I would have to cut.



The battery cavity was supposed to be a doddle. But first, it just about reached the maximum depth that I could route out... although I managed ok in the end, phew. Then... because it was so easy, I lost concentration and made the hole wider and much uglier than intended... argh!!!



Fortunately the battery box has a nice overhang all around and that covered my router sins



There was yet another problem with this cavity. I had reached the max depth I could route with the bit I had. And when installing the pickup I realised the cable would have to go through the battery cavity, adding another 3mm... the battery box did not fit!.
I ended up carving with a drill a channel at the bottom of the cavity wide and deep enough to lay the cable in it and allow me to refit the battery box as it was. Sometimes the simplest tasks turn out to be the hardest!

and here it is with new pickup and preamp:




I tried it on Tuesday's rehearsal... yum!

I love fretless.

The Nordstrand pickup is very nice. Lots of punch. But I'm not sure whether I prefer it to the Seymour Duncan. They're similar enough and the SD is cheaper. Also, I normally play with the particular setup I used on Tuesday with the amp flat and jsut adjust the preamp a bit. This time I had to carve a small bump with the graphic EQ around the 300Hz mark... however these strings are very very very old, and perhaps that has something to do with it. I don't know. I guess I'm leaning towards Seymour Duncan even though they look uglier.

[tommorichards]

Did you split the OLP pickup into 2 volumes?

[apa]

LOL. I know what you mean. Why didnt I try fretless years ago!!! Nice little project there Jose and the defret looks very nice. What are the lines filled with? Its a nice subtle colour.

Im particularly interested in those nordy pickups. I was pondering a future upgrade for my defretted ray projects but heard that those 4.2 pickups dont give out much volume but I may (read probably) wrong. Is there much difference in the preamps?

A

[mcnach]

[quote name='tommorichards' post='1175505' date='Mar 25 2011, 04:17 AM']Did you split the OLP pickup into 2 volumes?[/quote]

No. Originally it comes as 2xVol, 1xTone. But the first thing I do is cut off one of the volumes and connect both coils in parallel to one of them. I don't like the sound of the single coil OLP pickup. Or rather, I don't find it different/useful enough to justify the hassle of the 2xVol configuration.

This OLP has a 2EQ Stingray preamp, so the config is the usual volume/bass/treble controls. The pickup is an alnico Nordstrand MM4.2, which sounds like a Stingrya, unlike the original ceramic one (which is a nice enough pickup, just not the sound I want)

[mcnach]

[quote name='apa' post='1175534' date='Mar 25 2011, 07:19 AM']LOL. I know what you mean. Why didnt I try fretless years ago!!! Nice little project there Jose and the defret looks very nice. What are the lines filled with? Its a nice subtle colour.

Im particularly interested in those nordy pickups. I was pondering a future upgrade for my defretted ray projects but heard that those 4.2 pickups dont give out much volume but I may (read probably) wrong. Is there much difference in the preamps?

A[/quote]


I bought a cheap Stagg fretless 2 years ago. It was utterly uninspiring and it just languished in a corner until I sold it. The trick, for me, was to try fretless on a bass I actually like, from teh sound and playability perspectives. It seems like a logical thing, but at the time I was still trying to figure out what kind of bass I wanted, and thought Stingrays were ugly, bulky and utterly over-rated
I love it now.

The lines are filled with some strange blue veneer my luthier had. When he asked me whether I wanted to disguise the fret slots or make them stand out, he remembered he had some blue veneers from some reason that he never used... and we decided to give it a try. It doesn't look as blue as it seemed it would... but it works.

Re: Nordstrand MM4.2... I think it's a very nice pickup. Take an OLP before and after, and it's like night and day. It has the Ray sound. Output is fine. I didn't try it alone, but hooked to the preamp. However it behaves pretty much like I remember the Stingray to behave with it. To be honest, I wouldn't worry much (if at all) about output. That's what amplifiers are for What I want is a nice sound to start with, and this pickup gives it to you. I just don't know if it's better/worse than the Seymour Duncan SMB4A. I have a feeling that the Nordstrand *may* be slightly bassier and the SD a bit more mids-rich. But I have them on different basses and different strings etc etc... so I could be talking bs. Both are very nice... and the SD is £30 cheaper, so... I'd lean towards the SD. I don't like their "basslines" writing on the cover, but if it bothered me a lot I think I could rub it off.