Jack Casady low-z pickups

[Agent 00Soul]

Does anyone know how the Epiphone Jack Casady Bass' low impedance pickups connect to a high impedance output jack without a preamp?  My previous low-z bass needed an onboard preamp with a 9 volt battery to connect to a high-z outpit.  The Les Paul Signature bass that the Casady modelled on had both high and low I believe.

[ahpook]

It uses a a transformer, old school 

 

 

The three position switch changes what impedance the pickup feeds into - tapping the transformer at different places on the coil gives three different sounds.

 

HTH

 

Edited July 21, 2023 by ahpook

[sandy_r]

Wow - what a find!

 

55 years after I made a DIY bass, as a teenager, including winding copper wire on some small Alnico rod magnets for a pickup, I may finally be able to do something meaningful with the controls!  I think my pickup is around 200 ohms.  I've always just used plenty of input gain to bring the signal up to regular levels

 

I'll have to experiment with the control values shown here for the Casady pickup

 

[ahpook]

2 hours ago, sandy_r said:

Wow - what a find!

 

55 years after I made a DIY bass, as a teenager, including winding copper wire on some small Alnico rod magnets for a pickup, I may finally be able to do something meaningful with the controls!  I think my pickup is around 200 ohms.  I've always just used plenty of input gain to bring the signal up to regular levels

 

I'll have to experiment with the control values shown here for the Casady pickup

 

 

That's great - do let us know how it goes !

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 03/09/2023 at 09:09, sandy_r said:

Wow - what a find!

 

55 years after I made a DIY bass, as a teenager, including winding copper wire on some small Alnico rod magnets for a pickup, I may finally be able to do something meaningful with the controls!  I think my pickup is around 200 ohms.  I've always just used plenty of input gain to bring the signal up to regular levels

 

I'll have to experiment with the control values shown here for the Casady pickup

 

Now I am curious...

 

Can we see the whole bass, please?

 

Also how does it play and sound (other than having a really low output level)?

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[sandy_r]

4 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Now I am curious...

 

Can we see the whole bass, please?

 

Also how does it play and sound (other than having a really low output level)?

 

 

Ah well, having seen some of the amazing builds by BCers, I'm a little reluctant to share the laughable attempts of a teenager, many decades ago, who'd never held or even seen a real bass up close

 

This is an example of my naivety then: 

I blagged some money off my parents to buy some bass strings (cheapest available); I went to Bell's Music (Tolworth?), said I wanted some bass strings, the salesperson put some on the counter..

Me: "but I haven't told you how long they need to be, yet"

SP: "It's ok, they'll fit all basses"

Me: "Oh - do they stretch, then?"

 

The guitar sounds er, old, like me.  Actually it sounds better now I've treated it to a Luthier-installed fretless board, to replace the length of Ramin Kitchen trim I originally used to make the fretboard

 

I'll wire my pickup directly to the jack, as a first step towards trying the Casady mod, and record a short clip with flat EQ and see if I can share that here

 

Cheers

[Baloney Balderdash]

10 minutes ago, sandy_r said:

 

Ah well, having seen some of the amazing builds by BCers, I'm a little reluctant to share the laughable attempts of a teenager, many decades ago, who'd never held or even seen a real bass up close

 

This is an example of my naivety then: 

I blagged some money off my parents to buy some bass strings (cheapest available); I went to Bell's Music (Tolworth?), said I wanted some bass strings, the salesperson put some on the counter..

Me: "but I haven't told you how long they need to be, yet"

SP: "It's ok, they'll fit all basses"

Me: "Oh - do they stretch, then?"

 

The guitar sounds er, old, like me.  Actually it sounds better now I've treated it to a Luthier-installed fretless board, to replace the length of Ramin Kitchen trim I originally used to make the fretboard

 

I'll wire my pickup directly to the jack, as a first step towards trying the Casady mod, and record a short clip with flat EQ and see if I can share that here

 

Cheers

Well, that is exactly what would make it interesting and special.

 

I think we all are familiar with having been obliviously ignorant teenagers, so I doubt you'll loose any cool street credit by refusing to post pictures of your deformed creation, rather perhaps quite on the contrary.

 

But of course it is your instrument and entirely up to you.

 

In any case thanks for the additional information about it.

 

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[sandy_r]

10 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Well, that is exactly what would make it interesting and special.

 

I think we all are familiar with having been with being obliviously ignorant teenagers, so I doubt you'll loose any cool street credit by refusing to post pictures of your creation, rather maybe quite on the contrary.

 

But of course it is your instrument and entirely up to you.

 

hmmm, ok, but i would prefer all sniggering, and tut-tutting at 'broken laws of bassbuilding', to be done quietly in another thread well-hidden from my view -deal?

 

[Edit: ...i have to reduce the pixel size down to something more socially acceptable... coffee break!...]

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by sandy_r

[sandy_r]

...not sure about photo (pixel) sizing...

 

[Baloney Balderdash]

16 minutes ago, sandy_r said:

...not sure about photo (pixel) sizing...

 

Honestly...

 

That looks freaking awesome. 

 

Not looking that far away from some of the more daring experimenting and arty builders out there come up with.

 

The bridge might be a bit to the more "alternative" side, not sure what what appears to be an additional shallow rectangular cavity near the neck is for, and the top and bottom string does look dangerously close to the edge of the fretboard, but other than that, really, really cool in all its brute rawness! 

 

What scale length was/is it?

 

 

Edited September 5, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[sandy_r]

13 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

Honestly...

 

That looks freaking awesome. 

 

Not looking that far away from some of the more daring experimenting and arty builders out there come up with.

 

What scale was/is it?

 

 

Kind words - thanks!  From a distance it looks sort of basslike, and I was very very fortunate that it turned out to be playable (not that I knew what to expect!)

 

hah, scale? ...you mean the strings aren't stretchy?!?  Dayyum! 

 

The E string overwind only just passes the nut, so I guess it's close to 34"?  

 

[Edit] - Oops, somehow missed some of your questions - will read & reply below

 

[Edit 2] - my mistake - scale is approx 30" not 34! 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by sandy_r

[sandy_r]

8 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

 

The bridge might be a bit to the more "alternative" side, not sure what what appears to be an additional shallow rectangular cavity near the neck is for, and the top and bottom string does look dangerously close to the edge of the fretboard, but other than that, really, really cool in all its brute rawness! 

 

 

 I asked the Luthier to make me a new bridge when he replaced the fretboard - i think i sketched out something chunky with a triangular cross-section and he obviously decided that wasn't going to fly and did his own thing (unfortunately, his own thing turned out to be mandoleles!)

 

 

 

Yes, the edge string spacing is my fault - i just plucked (sorry, no pun intended) a neck width out of the air and ended up with something 4 matchsticks wide 😞

 

I replaced my original white formica scratchplate with the perspex one shown above - i need to rethink that because of the pickup wiring rout

 

The rout near the end of the board is to give spanner (yes, spanner) access to the industrial rebar truss-rod nut (don't ask!)

 

ok - i think that's enough painful weirdness for one day

 

After I mess about with a 'Casady' controls mod, i may document a bit more of the weirdness in a build archive

 

A guitarist friend i jammed with at college christened my bass "The Washboard".  He wasn't joking

Edited September 6, 2023 by sandy_r

[sandy_r]

Getting back to Low-Z pickups... (er, but not Casady ones - do I need to ask for my posts to be moved/start new thread ?!?)

 

I've disembowelled my bass and had a butchers at my pickup -'butcher' seems an appropriate word...

 

The windings (4 in series) total 185 ohms.  I've just disconnected it from the pots; so at the moment it connects straight to the jack

 

I have a variety of high value bipolar caps but the ones similar to the Casady circuit are way too big physically to fit in the guitar. In any case, I'm thinking that it's better to leave the pickup signal unmodified for the initial journey out to the pre, to maximise the signal-to-noise level

 

I'll try and get a recording thro' my Palmer Pocket Bass Preamp at flat EQ and post a link if I can...

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by sandy_r

[sandy_r]

...don't know if it's possible to upload the mp3 clip of the pickup in action, but here goes...

 

(Best heard tbrough headphones, of course)

 

Ok, so this clip is recorded thro' my Palmer preamp, flat EQ, clean drive, no amp sim - masses of gain!  Using a Zoom H2 recorder, mp3 file passed thro' Audacity only to Normalize level and reduce recording hiss

 

Listening back to it, I'd probably want slightly more bass (maybe some mid and a touch of top?)

 

Edited September 6, 2023 by sandy_r

[Agent 00Soul]

Sounds great!

[sandy_r]

32 minutes ago, Agent 00Soul said:

Sounds great!

 

Thanks - initially i thought the Casady control config would work for me, but trying the pickup straight-through, i realised that it was better to preserve the already low-level signal onboard, as much as possible, and do any tone-shaping in the preamp

 

The low-Z pickup approach of Casady does seem to result in a good tone though - good catch!

 

[ahpook]

On 06/09/2023 at 12:20, sandy_r said:

...don't know if it's possible to upload the mp3 clip of the pickup in action, but here goes...

 

 

(Best heard tbrough headphones, of course)

 

Ok, so this clip is recorded thro' my Palmer preamp, flat EQ, clean drive, no amp sim - masses of gain!  Using a Zoom H2 recorder, mp3 file passed thro' Audacity only to Normalize level and reduce recording hiss

 

Listening back to it, I'd probably want slightly more bass (maybe some mid and a touch of top?)

 

 

That sounds really, really good.

 

Top work !

[sandy_r]

2 minutes ago, ahpook said:

 

That sounds really, really good.

 

Top work !

 

thanks, much appreciated!

 

[tauzero]

On 05/09/2023 at 23:08, sandy_r said:

...not sure about photo (pixel) sizing...

 

 

I like that. You could do with an opaque pickguard (just the be unusual, maybe veneer the current one).

 

After a little consideration, I realised that it put me in mind of G-Plan - this is not meant to be derogatory, incidentally. It's the gently curving lines, I think.

[sandy_r]

9 hours ago, tauzero said:

 

I like that. You could do with an opaque pickguard (just the be unusual, maybe veneer the current one).

 

After a little consideration, I realised that it put me in mind of G-Plan - this is not meant to be derogatory, incidentally. It's the gently curving lines, I think.

 

Hi 

thanks for the comments - i agree

 

I'd sort of ground to a halt with ideas/motivation re. the pickguard. It was originally in white formica (how G plan is that?!?), but much later i thought it would be nice to reveal more of the mahogany with clear perspex. Then, of course, I needed still to cover the wiring routs

 

So, temporarily, I used black tape, with the intention of masking a better outline on the rear of the guard later, removing the tape and spraying it instead

 

Since joining BC recently, however, I've seen the amazing range of possibilities and one such was exactly that  - I realised that I could now obtain and use a thick (mahogany?) veneer for the pickguard

 

Also, I missed a trick with the pickup cover all those years ago :  I made a mold out of some of the scrap mahogany from the body, and applied car-repair setting-paste (!) to build up and smooth for the cover. I see now that I could have been really ahead of the game  by several decades and just hollowed out the mahogany!

 

Not surprised to hear of a G-plan vibe - my Dad and I were both heavily into DIY furniture in the 60s/70s, and our home probably looked like a G-plan showhouse

 

cheers

 

[Edit] hmmm ...just remembered I've got a 10" wide roll of Black Walnut veneer left over from renovating a vintage radio last year - it's thermo-glue backing, so probably wouldn't be a happy outcome applied to the perspex, but if there's enough left it may work doubled up, back-to-back

Hah - second thoughts - that won't fly: not strong enough to support pickup, controls & jack!  Maybe if I place layer of veneer under the perspex?

...could look something like this?...

 

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by sandy_r

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 08/09/2023 at 08:14, sandy_r said:

 

Hi 

thanks for the comments - i agree

 

I'd sort of ground to a halt with ideas/motivation re. the pickguard. It was originally in white formica (how G plan is that?!?), but much later i thought it would be nice to reveal more of the mahogany with clear perspex. Then, of course, I needed still to cover the wiring routs

 

So, temporarily, I used black tape, with the intention of masking a better outline on the rear of the guard later, removing the tape and spraying it instead

 

Since joining BC recently, however, I've seen the amazing range of possibilities and one such was exactly that  - I realised that I could now obtain and use a thick (mahogany?) veneer for the pickguard

 

Also, I missed a trick with the pickup cover all those years ago :  I made a mold out of some of the scrap mahogany from the body, and applied car-repair setting-paste (!) to build up and smooth for the cover. I see now that I could have been really ahead of the game  by several decades and just hollowed out the mahogany!

 

Not surprised to hear of a G-plan vibe - my Dad and I were both heavily into DIY furniture in the 60s/70s, and our home probably looked like a G-plan showhouse

 

cheers

 

[Edit] hmmm ...just remembered I've got a 10" wide roll of Black Walnut veneer left over from renovating a vintage radio last year - it's thermo-glue backing, so probably wouldn't be a happy outcome applied to the perspex, but if there's enough left it may work doubled up, back-to-back

Hah - second thoughts - that won't fly: not strong enough to support pickup, controls & jack!  Maybe if I place layer of veneer under the perspex?

...could look something like this?...

 

 

 

 

 

I like the pickguard as it is!

 

Please don't change it.

 

I've always wanted a transparent pickguard where you could see the guts of the bass, and I think it even suits this bass particularly well.

 

Edited September 9, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[sandy_r]

15 minutes ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

I like the pickguard as it is!

 

Please don't change it.

 

I've always wanted a transparent pickguard where you could see the guts of the bass, and I think it even suits this bass particularly well.

8

 

Hah - dilemma!

 

The transparent pickguard does at least show more mahogany, but the routs are masked off with tape to hide my slapdash teenage trenchwork

 

maybe a compromise would be to replace just the black tape with veneer?  ...although i think the Black Walnut is too grey to complement mahogany, so a warmer tone seems called-for?

 

thanks for ideas, all 👍