Some of you may know if you remember (there are a LOT of people on this forum, I only remember 2-3 of you guys and what you have & are planning...) I bought 2 basses from Rondo. The Douglas WOB 826 and a Brice HXB 406, both fretless.
I really hated the sound of the Douglas. Very "honkey" and not much treble to it at all. I'd play with the treble all the way up and it sounded as though it was flat (at "0"). But acoustically, the bass sounds fantastic with Ash body & maple neck. It isn't something that I noticed right away...it seems as though the sound grew on me in a bad way.
The Brice just feels absolutely awesome as far as shape and finish is concerned; one of the most confortable basses I've played. It sounded good, but I felt that something was lacking, it could use some more balls.
I decided to buy a Bartolini 4.6 3-band preamp (which I purchased yesterday from The Bass Place and has been shipped) for the Brice. While I'm at it, I figured that I'd put the existing Brice preamp into the Douglas. It can only sound better than it does.
Since the Bart is on its way to me, I figured I'd start the surgery.
The douglas stripped:
Decided to do a complete shielding job on it while it's open:
The organ-donor HXB 406:
After figuring it all out...they were actually both wired up differently as far as the battery connection, pickup and preamp was concerned.
I tried it out, didn't fry anything. I actually feel good about myself. The bass sounds a lot different; a lot more vibrant. Sounds a little like the Brice did, but not quite. I'm sure the pickups are to blame. Maybe one day I'll spring for some EMG 40's or Bart CF's (or M4's), but for now, I can live with it.
Now the Brice is awaiting a shielding job (tomorrow) and a new heart.
