Artcore Double Cut

[FunkyFrosty]

He there - just got a most excellent Artcore DC from fellow TBer Scotch Tape. Nice bass.

Anywho - I want to try some flats on the bass before I go ahead and Darkstar it.

I know and love both Chromes and Labellas on my P basses, but whch are the best flats on a semi for some upright sounding thump??

Frosty.

PS. do these 34" scale Artcores need extra long string sets?? the bridge and tailpiece certainly take up a lot of string length!!??

[62bass]

Originally Posted by FunkyFrosty

He there - just got a most excellent Artcore DC from fellow TBer Scotch Tape. Nice bass.

Anywho - I want to try some flats on the bass before I go ahead and Darkstar it.

I know and love both Chromes and Labellas on my P basses, but whch are the best flats on a semi for some upright sounding thump??

Frosty.

PS. do these 34" scale Artcores need extra long string sets?? the bridge and tailpiece certainly take up a lot of string length!!??

I have an Artcore single cutaway. I strung it up with Thomastic jazz flats and love them on that bass. Great sound. But the Artcore is not really upright sounding or thumpy, no matter what strings you use. For a bit of thump try a bit of foam muting under the strings at the bridge.

With the T.I. strings you have to peel back about 1/4" of the silk winding on the E string. Otherwise no problem. They could use a longer string but I think the 36" scale T.I.s might not work as well with the lower tension of the 34" scale bass. Just my thoughts. I don't know. I know the 36" scale T.I.s are a lighter gauge.

You can get a noticeable variation in sound when you screw the tailpiece all the way down versus raising it a bit off the body. Pickup height on the Artcore also has a noticeable effect on sound. I really enjoy playing the Artcore and find the beefier neck a bonus for me.

[FunkyFrosty]

OK great - gonna try some TI's - may even stick a Darkstar in it.

I too like playing the artcore very much......cool bass and exceptional value for money.

Frosty.

[*smb]

I was going to ask the same question (but I have the sinclecut artcore) - what flats are good for this sort of bass? I've never used flats before but I like would like a much warmer sound than roundwounds give me.

[envika]

Originally Posted by *smb

I've never used flats before but I like would like a much warmer sound than roundwounds give me.

You're in for a treat then! I've always been one for the really heavy GHS flats, but a set of tapewounds would work well.

[62bass]

Originally Posted by *smb

I was going to ask the same question (but I have the sinclecut artcore) - what flats are good for this sort of bass? I've never used flats before but I like would like a much warmer sound than roundwounds give me.

Mine is also the single cut Artcore.

Flatwounds will give you a warmer sound. With the factory installed roundwounds the Artcore has a very Stingrayish sound, due to the type and placement of the pickup. The flatwounds do warm up the sound a lot.

I find the Thomastics have a very lively midrange quality on this bass. After a few hours of playing them in they start to warm up even more. They work very well with a pick too although I usually play finger style.

The Artcore doesn't have a really pronounced bottom end, like basses with a pickup mounted closer to the neck do, so it tends to stand out more in the mix. I imagine the Darkstar pickup would share a lot of that quality. I'm entertaining the idea of mounting an extra pickup on mine closer to the neck and controlling it with a switch. I think one of Bill Lawrence's J 45 noiseless pickups would work well and make the sound more flexible. Everyone who comes over and plays the bass likes the sound which is quite a bit different than a P or J bass.

Also, one of these days I'll get around to finding out what's up with the very strange and mostly ineffective tone control on this bass.

But, I sure do enjoy playing it. I had no trouble setting the action up to my liking and find the factory fretwork and overall quality is excellent.

[*smb]

Haha the tone control is totally useless - I'm pretty sure they've used the wrong value capacitor but I can't tell without soldering through the f-hole which I'm afraid to try. It does make basically no difference. I'm thinking I'll take out the capacitor and put a clip of some kind just inside the soundhole so I can try different filters out in that position.

I'll give some Thomastiks a try then...they're a bit pricey but they last forever I guess!

[62bass]

Originally Posted by *smb

Haha the tone control is totally useless - I'm pretty sure they've used the wrong value capacitor but I can't tell without soldering through the f-hole which I'm afraid to try. It does make basically no difference. I'm thinking I'll take out the capacitor and put a clip of some kind just inside the soundhole so I can try different filters out in that position.

I'll give some Thomastiks a try then...they're a bit pricey but they last forever I guess!

Thomastics last a long time. The set on my old P bass is 7 years old now and still sound good. The other 2 basses I have them on are at 3 and 4 years except for the Artcore at 1 year. I won't play on anything else now.

It might be the capacitor that's the wrong value. I've been meaning to pull the controls out through the f hole. I think they should make it through. I wouldn't want to try to solder through the F hole.