Muzz Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 OK, so I picked up a Fortress on here a while back, and after some initial hand-wringing about aesthetics, it's become the first thing I pick up to play, certainly at home. Had a shock at the first gig, tho, when I put down my Wizarded P-Bass bitsa, picked up the Fortress, and wondered where the volume went... A bit of pondering later, and I decided to put another set of Wizard P/J Big (Thumper and 84) pups in the Fortress. Win - best decision I've made in a while. It sounds just what I was after, very like the P. Which made me think: OK, there are some tonal differences between the two basses, but I'd say 10-15% at most, and certainly in a live environment this would decrease. One is a big Ash-bodied, maple necked, maple boarded bass, with a corian nut and Schaller bridge, and the other is a much smaller, maple-bodied, wenge-necked bass with a brass nut and a two-piece bridge. The only similarities are the pickups are the same, as is their position (near as dammit) in relation to the bridge. Even the pots are different - 3 on the PJ, 4 on the Warwick. Just goes to show what the biggest tonal influence on a bass is. I certainly won't sweat changing 'tonewoods' ever again... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dc2009 Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Changing tonewoods/fretboard woods can have a lot of impact on the sound you hear straight out of your amp in your bedroom, but in a live situation I don't think you'd notice all that much difference. Having said that, I think you would definitely notice the difference if the tonewood was replaced by a block of carbon fibre! Glad your sound is good, bet that Warwick is a cracker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XylemBassGuitar Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I'd have to agree with you Muzz. I've always been of the opinion that tonewoods have a fairly subtle effect on tone. Player style/ability (that's #1 in my book) pickups/electronics and scale length will generally change your tone a lot more than the wood. I'm glad there's one more person who might agree with me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lanark Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Muzz' post='1313155' date='Jul 22 2011, 07:57 PM']Just goes to show what the biggest tonal influence on a bass is. I certainly won't sweat changing 'tonewoods' ever again... [/quote] Unless you're playing accoustically, the pickups are always going to have a much greater effect on your sound than the wood the instrument's made from. Hell even for acoustic instruments; Stradivarius used wood that was so cheap and nasty that no luthier nowadays would allow it into their workshop. Edited July 23, 2011 by lanark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blademan_98 Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 It's good to know that they have made the difference for you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mojobass Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 is your fortress the one with an active preamp? ive got two fortresses, one with standard MEC P/J pusps and pre and another with SD basslines P/J and pre. I have to say that for me theres not a HUGE difference between the two but the SD loaded one is a bit louder! i'm too thinking about the wizard config in mine! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 (edited) As an aside, I'm going to form a Prog Metal band and name them after the title of this thread. It was my idea first. Edited July 23, 2011 by wateroftyne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 if the pickups on your fortress were anything like the ones i had in mine, then i'm not suprised you changed them. i put bartolinis in and the change was amazing - the originals were just so quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted July 23, 2011 Share Posted July 23, 2011 I thought this was going to be about Hogwarts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='1313963' date='Jul 23 2011, 05:25 PM']As an aside, I'm going to form a Prog Metal band and name them after the title of this thread. It was my idea first. [/quote] that i like im glad to hear the wizzards worked well in your bass, I plan to stick some nordstrands in my streamer stage 1 when I have the mollah Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 Maybe wizards just colour the sound a lot? I'm sure there are more 'transparent' sounding pickups out there :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 I have a Fortress Masterman and i would not dream of changing anything on it. It is the perfect bass for cutting through metal guitars, especially when using a death metal "clacking" sound like Blood Red Throne. However if the pickup upgrade works for you then great. I find the fortress one of the best balancing and comfortable basses to play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 [quote name='charic' post='1314474' date='Jul 24 2011, 09:31 AM']Maybe wizards just colour the sound a lot? I'm sure there are more 'transparent' sounding pickups out there :-)[/quote] MEC's have a certain tone to them, for some people and some types of music they are great. For others less so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Schnozzalee Posted July 24, 2011 Share Posted July 24, 2011 [quote name='waynepunkdude' post='1314054' date='Jul 23 2011, 06:28 PM']I thought this was going to be about Hogwarts.[/quote] DITTO!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted July 25, 2011 Share Posted July 25, 2011 [quote name='LukeFRC' post='1314824' date='Jul 24 2011, 03:19 PM']MEC's have a certain tone to them, for some people and some types of music they are great. For others less so.[/quote] I've got MECs in my fortress and haven't ever thought about changing them, on the other hand though I'm dying to get them out of my corvette! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='lobematt' post='1315791' date='Jul 25 2011, 02:56 PM']I've got MECs in my fortress and haven't ever thought about changing them, on the other hand though I'm dying to get them out of my corvette![/quote] i kinda want to try something else in my streamer, prob not for a year or so when I have money How does it work with a SC pup in the bridge? not too hummey? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted July 26, 2011 Share Posted July 26, 2011 [quote name='Dread Bass' post='1314552' date='Jul 24 2011, 10:53 AM']I have a Fortress Masterman and i would not dream of changing anything on it. It is the perfect bass for cutting through metal guitars, especially when using a death metal "clacking" sound like Blood Red Throne. However if the pickup upgrade works for you then great. I find the fortress one of the best balancing and comfortable basses to play.[/quote] But that's no regular pick-up. The MEC JJ is a [i]super[/i] pick-up. It's great in the Fortress MM5 I own, and it'll do more besides Death Metal. No coincidence that it's found in Infinity/Dolphin/Vampyre also... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobematt Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 [quote name='LukeFRC' post='1317684' date='Jul 26 2011, 09:52 PM']i kinda want to try something else in my streamer, prob not for a year or so when I have money How does it work with a SC pup in the bridge? not too hummey?[/quote] Not that I've ever noticed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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