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I'm seriously considering pulling the trigger on one of these. What pickup shape are they using and what is the string spacing at the bridge? Thanks!

Malak the Mad said:

Only as far as never saying "Fender" in my original reply…but close enough for me to understand the leap of logic. More importantly, I have now learned yet another "thing".

So, what fills your sails, O Ancient Mariner?

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I like my custom Dean Custom Zone that I named Steve for my Heavy Metal P Bass duties. Just replaced the pickup with a hot alnico and wired it up with a tone switch and kill switch for maximum brightness.

Aaron David said:

My 64 reissue

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Sweet!

I've worked on my kit and my Dingwall sound. It really wants more gain than other basses I have but sounds *terrific* even in isolation when you give it that. I get spoiled by the humbucker basses in terms of output from the instrument, I guess. So now this bass - with a bit of massaging of the amp EQ (actually very minor, just added some low mids which were scooped a bit for the humbucker bass) it sounds at least on par with any of my other instruments in isolation. As I have said before, it always sounded great in a mix.

So moral of the story? If you're not happy with your Dingwall's sound, try adding some low mids and pinning gain to just below overload/clip, which is recommended by most amp manufacturers anyway.

Now tomorrow I drive to Toronto to buy what's probably the only AccuGroove El Whappo cabinet in Ontario. Time to bring some more thump.

agedhorse said:

IMO, doing all of this in analog is way simpler AND considerably less expensive... but I'm a long time analog engineer.

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That's true, but it's just to try something different and take advantage of the available versatility—being able to adjust frequencies, Q, and gain, as well as the number of parametric bands or the graphic EQ.

Like you, I'm an old-school electronics guy, more at home in the analog world than the digital one, but I can't sit still.

I always enjoy building analog circuits because any component has its own character. In the amp that I'm doing right now I mixed a lot of technoligies and circuits just for that for enjoy and experiment differents textures.

I have two Kala solid body uke basses, one with EMG split P Geezers and the other with Seymour Duncan split P Quarter Pounders. The QPs definitely have more signal strength than the Geezers, to the point where it's hard to control the overdrive/distortion when playing even a little bit aggressively. I also have a Flight Jazz uke bass with DiMarzio Relentless pickups which I got more to match the chrome hardware. They sound great, but not having a split P I can't really compare them to the others. These basses are all passive.

Braunzo said:

Yeah, I'm with you on this. I like literally everything else about these basses aesthetically. But Marcus's name so prominent versus the actual name of the brand is a massive turn off.

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Well, then the new F10dc/dx or the headless M6 might do the trick for you...

whatever you like.

if you think of the blend knob of like a bridge pickup knob, it's the Sadowsky option. by rotating it clockwise you're adding more bridge pickup. by rotating it totally CCW you're silencing the bridge pickup.

if you think of the blend knob like a mixer (and assume zero is on top), probably the standard option is easier. if it points more to the neck -- it's more neck pickup, that's intuitive.

I think the onboard drive is quite useful; I almost use it always on. Sounds really great with a ray, too, and also sounds nice with bright on when the horn is off.

But sure, if you want a different drive flavor, use a pedal. I must have 20+ drive pedals...

What Would You Say - Dave Matthews Band

57pbass said:

That's really beautiful… congratulations.

John McVie was a big influence on my playing..especially the pre super stardom blues days…

Enjoy !

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Same here. I still spin the Bare Trees album occasionally.

KevInDaBassment said:

You could also buy nearly any bass OD pedal over $50 and have far superior results IMO.

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IF you aren't looking for Fender's particular flavor. There's also some compression algorithms that are part of this Fender O/D model.

warptheory said:

Nice color combo.

Is that a Charcoal Grey or a Greenish color? Looks great with the tort pickguard.

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Charcoal frost metallic

kevk said:

Batch 10 really isn't my preferred specs, though I'm sure it's smazing! : )

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Please share more....

Plectrum72 said:

@ardgedee beat me to it, but a picture is worth a thousand words. If you are right-handed this is the only correct way (IMNSHO) to set up your blend knob. I don't care whose name is on the headstock.
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*edited for spelling

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This. In all the decades I've been playing, most of my basses have had Fender style knobs with no position marker. So for reference I've looked down at the set screw on the side of the blend knob. When the set screw travels clockwise it moves towards the neck pickup.

Of course this is true when the set screw is on the top of the knob. But I can't see it when it's on the bottom, so I always set the knob on the blend pot so that the set screw is pointing up when the pot is in the halfway position.

any new account post ~2022 with very very few posts has AI / bot smell.
I would Assume bot until proven otherwise, sadly.

One of you might have a BB that could use these pickups to regain its glory! (No affiliation)

Greenman72 said:

The tech was able to change it. He said he just had to switch some of the wires and re-solder them back on. A simple fix (for somebody who knows what they're doing.)

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Awesome! This reflects the correct answer (IMHO): Your blend knob should turn in whichever direction you prefer.

mikeswals said:

I'm a big Mesa fan and user for decades.
I've always said that if you get a badass head, then you don't need to doctor it up with more preamps, and Mesa heads rule.
You really should try the Boogie 800D, it really does go for that character of the Bass 400. Mesa really did hit it out of the park with that one.

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I have huge love for the classic Mesa Bass 400 and 2x15 setup. Mojo Boogie and Blues bass tone for decades! One of my favorite rigs from bygone days was a Bass 400 into 2 2x15 Roadworthy cabs, one to either side of the drums. That rig held the stage filled witn a hard hitting drummer, too loud guitar and key/organ. FOH never asked me to turn down. I miss that band, music and players, sadly I am the last man standing.

Franz Lyons and Mark Hoppus. Franz showed me just how much bass can drive a song, Hoppus was the first one I wanted to be like

Trevorus said:

I just found a SGD Series 3 soapbar in my parts bin. It'll be interesting to see what it sounds like. Woe to me if I like it, because finding a match to it might be near impossible judging by the mess that was made of the brand in the years since it was made...

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I have a pair of Neo Sidewinders in my Modulus Q6 and I have been meh about them for a long time, but I just put in an Underhill Paradactyl preamp and now I love them! I had other preamps in there, but I think the key is an active blend.

Michael Jewels said:

This Corvette has been in the same spot for I can't remember how long.

I'm not someone who likes the color gold on a car, but this one doesn't bother me.

There's also an old Jaguar parked nearby, so I'm thinking the same person owns both.

So, what do you think of it?

And, what year is this?

I'll say 1995.

Mike
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The C4 generation ran from 1983 to 1996. Someone more intimately familiar could probably narrow that down. You don't usually see them in two-tone or with the rear spoiler. I'm like you where I don't normally go for gold, but I kinda dig it on this.

Nice color combo.

Is that a Charcoal Grey or a Greenish color? Looks great with the tort pickguard.

I saw him many times with the Tail Gators. Mike Buck on drums, too. It was a tiny joint and easy to hang with the band. I got to know all the members except for Keith. He kept to himself. He scared me.

Don't care about a Fodera, but please wake me up when someone captures the feel and sound of a flagship Alembic, with all the bells and whistles for < $2000.

Until then.....