therealting Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 (edited) Got one of these recently, and was impressed enough with that I am planning a raft of mods to make it a really killer instrument. Today we start nice and subtle, almost undetectable. Can you see what has changed? More photos: Edited September 18, 2020 by therealting Updated with more photos 11 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassApprentice Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 That'll be a less shiny but new bridge! I'm very much interested in these but also tempted by the new Sire passive Jazz basses. Looking forward to seeing what else you do to it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 @BassApprentice A new less shiny bridge is indeed part of it! I’ll see if anyone spots the other bit before I post a further photo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey D Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Have you gone headless?! I was thinking that for my TMB35 at some point. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 (edited) We have a winner! Fairly major mod obviously, and cost me more in parts and labour than I actually paid for the bass itself, but I **REALLY** like the way it’s turned out and now intend to follow through with a new preamp, aged brass knobs and a new pickguard... possibly aged brass too? Kudos to Tom at Feline Guitars who did the work - it looks like it was originally designed and built this way. Photos added to original post. Edited September 16, 2020 by therealting 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikey D Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 Cool. It'll be a hell of a lot cheaper than a fodera mini MG still Is the head and bridge the same that S Martyn uses? Looks like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted September 16, 2020 Author Share Posted September 16, 2020 @Mikey D Yes I believe he uses it too, it’s the Nova headless system from Brazil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 16, 2020 Share Posted September 16, 2020 My word! I appear to be having a tingling moment! Im going to need a 3rd 5 string, aren’t I? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted September 18, 2020 Author Share Posted September 18, 2020 @fretmeister Quite possibly! Thoughts on the pickguard, everyone? Brass? Gold-anodised aluminium? Black/white/black? Tort? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba_the_gut Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 I like that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted September 18, 2020 Share Posted September 18, 2020 I quite like the existing scratchplate but is I was going to change it then BWB would be my choice. I don't like the feel of metal plates and tort is only for deviants. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 @therealting Have you done anything with the pickups? I'm liking the P but when I'm recording the J is a noisy thing. I'm trying to find a noiseless J that I can drop into it without any routing but I'm not having much luck so far. Any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EMG456 Posted October 6, 2020 Share Posted October 6, 2020 Bravo! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted October 7, 2020 Author Share Posted October 7, 2020 18 hours ago, fretmeister said: @therealting Have you done anything with the pickups? I'm liking the P but when I'm recording the J is a noisy thing. I'm trying to find a noiseless J that I can drop into it without any routing but I'm not having much luck so far. Any ideas? Not yet - I’ve taken it out once for church, and found that: 1. I’d forgotten to intonate it. D’oh! 2. There was a grounding hum only resolvable by touching one of the knobs. The first was easy to fix, the second I think requires me to sand part of the finish off the bridge so it can contact properly with the grounding wire. Haven’t gotten around to that yet. I reckon I will be upgrading one or both pickups and also the preamp. Will probably put in the Glockenklang that came with my Sadowsky NYC, and as for the pickups I’ll wait for something suitable to come along secondhand. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretmeister Posted October 8, 2020 Share Posted October 8, 2020 I think the nordy hum cancelling J will fit. I need to do some accurate measuring to check before I order. Then maybe an Aguilar 2 band. I quite like them and they seem to be low noise too. I'm actually thinking of moving on my 2nd 5 string and getting a 4 instead, and then modifying that quite extensively into a 32 scale stingray type. I have really fallen in love with the 32 scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natexxo Posted October 9, 2020 Share Posted October 9, 2020 That's one awesome looking bass! If you don't mind me asking, what are the advantages to headless or is it just personal preference? Always been fascinated with headless instruments but never had a chance to get my hands on one to try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkHeart Posted October 11, 2020 Share Posted October 11, 2020 Been looking at these bridges on the `bay` are they just surface mount with no additional routing required behind so you can tune it? In other words.....more pics of the bridge please 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyJ Posted October 12, 2020 Share Posted October 12, 2020 Awesome job! That bridge system looks great, and the routing and refinishing was nicely done. I really like the look of that cutout for tuner access. On 09/10/2020 at 19:29, Natexxo said: If you don't mind me asking, what are the advantages to headless or is it just personal preference? Always been fascinated with headless instruments but never had a chance to get my hands on one to try. I play two Status S2 Classics and a Hohner B2A, and to me the biggest advantages are Tuning stability: because you don't need to wind the strings around a tuning post, there is a lot less slipping and stretching. Instead, on most headless systems, the ball ends of the string clamp into a claw at the bridge end and the claw moves forward and backward on a threaded tuning screw. Once the strings are properly stretched, there is barely any detuning; Compact size. I like how compact my Status basses are, especially for portability: they fit into a regular guitar gigbag. The Hohner has its own dedicated gigbag which is even more compact because of the body size (if you can call it a body). 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomus Posted November 12, 2020 Share Posted November 12, 2020 Hi there - congrats on an absolutely gorgeous project! I'm thinking of following your example, get the wife to get me an Ibanez mezzo for Christmas, and go down the headless route. Before I do that I just wanted to ask you: a couple of months down the line, how are you finding the bass has responded to the mods? Cheers Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre_Passini Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 What a nice convertion bass, it is a gorgeous one, thank you for using my bridge, thank you for the support. Andre. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre_Passini Posted November 21, 2020 Share Posted November 21, 2020 On 16/09/2020 at 18:14, Mikey D said: Is the head and bridge the same that S Martyn uses? Looks like it. Yes it is the same Mikey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazed Posted December 22, 2021 Share Posted December 22, 2021 @therealting Love this! Any chance of an update on this? Had this idea for a long time and never bring myself to do it. Oh the basses I’ve in my head chopped the head off 😂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
therealting Posted December 23, 2021 Author Share Posted December 23, 2021 On 22/12/2021 at 17:17, Dazed said: @therealting Love this! Any chance of an update on this? Had this idea for a long time and never bring myself to do it. Oh the basses I’ve in my head chopped the head off 😂 I haven’t actually played it for a while as I got a bunch of other basses which have captured my attention. Will get it out again one of these days! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dazed Posted December 24, 2021 Share Posted December 24, 2021 Well if you think of letting it go 😄 Can you recall did the conversion change the sound or character much ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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