How do charvels sound

[Thrashist]

I want a tone like David ellefsons will a charvel 2b help me acheive this

[NOT]

Never played one. But a Jackson with EMG pickups will get you his sound.

[amimbari]

you could ask some folks in the charvel/jackson thread. there's lots of people in there with 2b's
The Official Charvel/Jackson Club!

[LanEvo]

Originally Posted by Thrashist

I want a tone like David ellefsons will a charvel 2b help me acheive this

I don't think the bass is as important as the pickup/preamp selection in this instance.

Dave uses an EMG 35 CS in the neck position and 35 DC in the bridge position, as well as an EMG BQS on-board preamp running at 18v. As far as I know, these are all off-the-shelf components from EMG.

I had a Steinberger XQ-5 bass with that exact same pickup/preamp combination and it absolutely nailed the Ellefson tone: deep bottom, scooped mids, punchy (but not harsh) highs. My bass had a totally different construction (swamp ash body, bolt-on graphite neck, bridge tuners) compared to Dave's Jackson Concert, but it sounded the same. I really think the electronics are key here.

All of this to say, I don't think you'll be able to get that exact tone from a Charvel 2B. Even if you swap out the electronics, the P-J pickup configuration is going to be working against you.

You'd be better off starting with a bass that already comes loaded with dual EMG soapbars. There are a number of basses by Spector, Ibanez, and the like that already come with a 35 DC (often paired with a 40 DC). EMG stuff uses solder-less connectors these daspitsbergen it's easy to swap out pickups and on-board preamp yourself.

[Thrashist]

Originally Posted by LanEvo

I don't think the bass is as important as the pickup/preamp selection in this instance.

Dave uses an EMG 35 CS in the neck position and 35 DC in the bridge position, as well as an EMG BQS on-board preamp running at 18v. As far as I know, these are all off-the-shelf components from EMG.

I had a Steinberger XQ-5 bass with that exact same pickup/preamp combination and it absolutely nailed the Ellefson tone: deep bottom, scooped mids, punchy (but not harsh) highs. My bass had a totally different construction (swamp ash body, bolt-on graphite neck, bridge tuners) compared to Dave's Jackson Concert, but it sounded the same. I really think the electronics are key here.

All of this to say, I don't think you'll be able to get that exact tone from a Charvel 2B. Even if you swap out the electronics, the P-J pickup configuration is going to be working against you.

You'd be better off starting with a bass that already comes loaded with dual EMG soapbars. There are a number of basses by Spector, Ibanez, and the like that already come with a 35 DC (often paired with a 40 DC). EMG stuff uses solder-less connectors these daspitsbergen it's easy to swap out pickups and on-board preamp yourself.

So if I were to say switch out the stock pickups for say these http://www.emgpickups.com/products/index/58 would this help me

[LanEvo]

As an example, here's a totally random (and very low-quality) bass with a single EMG 35 DC swapped in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2yA3...e_gdata_player

That sounds closer to the Ellefson tone than a Charvel 2B if you ask me.

[LanEvo]

Originally Posted by Thrashist

So if I were to say switch out the stock pickups for say these http://www.emgpickups.com/products/index/58 would this help me

By and large, basses with P-J pickups are known for their growly, punchy mids. That's not really what you're going for.

Since you want huge low-end and scooped mids with clacky highs up top, I don't think the P-J configuration is a great starting point.

[Thrashist]

Originally Posted by LanEvo

As an example, here's a totally random (and very low-quality) bass with a single EMG 35 DC swapped in:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2yA3...e_gdata_player

That sounds closer to the Ellefson tone than a Charvel 2B if you ask me.

Thank you for your help