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ajkula66 · Jul 19, 2026

Count Bassie said:
I've got no bass pictured, just the pickup- and it's def not a split p configuration. Might be distortion in the photo, I think I see what you're looking at. But this is definitely, visually at least, laid out like a trad sidewinder.

I was replying to a post made by oranje ( # 10) quoted in my own reply, not yours...guess that solves the confusion...

Ach · Jul 19, 2026

Necrobump to this thread.

I have added a 2.2nF loading cap to my Nordstrand MM5.4 pickup to make the Lakland 55-02 sound like a Stingray (EBMM 3EQ Stingrays have a loading capacitor onboard their preamp).

It worked really well.

Ref:

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/lakland-owners-group-69.1056364/post-29678106

Jared Lash · Jul 19, 2026

tommyeadg said:
I was able to snatch a B-stock up locally for a great price. I had already listened to the demo’s online so I suspected this would be a great fit for my uses.

But wow. It sounds and feels even better than I expected. The most truly transparent OD i’ve tried so far, sounds perfect with flats. Amazing gain texture, bitey yet never intrusive. Exactly the sound in my head. And i’ve tried a LOT: Barbershop, Spark, BJFE and Bearfoot Blueberries, Azure Drive, Dark Driving, Tubedrve, Ceriatone Centura, Nobels etc etc.

I still absolutely love the BJFE Blueberry and it's variants. The version JohnK built for me with the Zeibek Submarine in the same enclosure is one of my favorite bass drives after years and years of trying other things. But the Blueberry circuit isn't all that transparent, especially at lower tone/higher gain settings.

The Spark, Nobels, and Barbershop are pretty transparent (I haven't tried the Ceriatone), as is the Greer Lightspeed. And I love all of them on guitar, but they've never quite worked for me on bass. The MG Clean really does. As always, YMMV etc.

Gunga Din · Jul 19, 2026

I have a 2023 model, bought s/h in 2024. It's mainly a Case Queen, seldom comes out. However, it's been beside me in the livingroom for the past week, and I decided to lower the E and the A at the nut, as they were a bit high.

The G came down a bit, too, and after adjustments at the saddles I then began to notice that the fingerboard was a bit wider than my other two non-RIC 4000 series basses. The nut on this one is 43.33mm; the others are 42 and 42.2..

1mm might not seem that much, but it's noticeable. I don't remember any of my (long gone) '70s 4001s feeling quite as wide.

Froski · Jul 19, 2026

MadJack said:
My family is a Sept of the Clan Boyd. The Boyd Tartan uses similar colors, but the green is more prominent, and the white and yellow stripes are opposed, rather than side by side.

Royal Stewart:
View attachment 7539041

That's a great cultural history

Michedelic · Jul 19, 2026

Of course Jan Terri popped up early in this zombie thread, but there are some far more…something or other videos from her…
Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Login to view embedded media Ain’t nothin’ like live…
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Apparently her dad was a mob hitman or something like that

AMJBASS · Jul 19, 2026

It arrived… so far so good! I haven’t had the full size one for a while, but I don’t notice that this one sounds much different (as all of you have mentioned). Sonically, for me, I like it more than the LUCE. I’ve got a couple of bigger shows this week I’ll use it on.

Les Fret · Jul 19, 2026

Prodigus Filius said:
This sort of thing will become more common with AI signups unfortunately

Probably so. Hope the moderators are alert on that.

cjac9 · Jul 19, 2026

Mister Magic said:
I know this thread is getting a little old, but I happened across an old Jamerson interview today (by total coincidence) where James Jamerson himself clarifies everything for us, in a question that is asked so perfectly...

"James Jr. told me that you never used any other fingers on your right hand, no matter how complex the passage was. It’s hard to believe that you could execute a very technical bass part like "Bernadette" and pull it off so cleanly with just one finger.

That’s why they called that finger "The Hook." This first finger of mine would be dancin’ around pretty good on my bass when I was in the mood. If Wes Montgomery was playing all that fast stuff with just his thumb, why couldn’t I do the same thing with just my index finger? But see, I didn’t do it for show. I did it for the sound-always the sound."

Link: An Amazing 'Interview' With James Jamerson A MUST SEE!

I think of it it like a drummer playing 16ths on a hi-hat. One hand vs two hands feels completely different. There’s a video of Jamerson playing with Marvin Gaye somewhere and Jamerson’s right hand is sooo relaxed. Gotta be the key.

Chris Chong · Jul 19, 2026

“Manis" means sweet in another language.

Brad66 · Jul 19, 2026

Quackhead said:
Does anyone else dig his playing? And does anyone happen to know what bass(es) and amp(s) he used for the big hit period of Supertramp, basically centered around Breakfast in America?

Early years he used a Ric. The breakout period he played a 76 Stingray. He also played a frettless Jazz. Later years he plays G&L and Yamaha.

InstantEctobass · Jul 19, 2026

GTHintz said:
If they are turning black and/or your fingers are turning black it’s probably the nickel. I don’t play on any nickel strings because of this. And because they die on me within days.

I play nickel Fenders, Elixir and DR without an issue but I understand what you mean

Les Fret · Jul 19, 2026

Cool story! Maybe have the neck reforced/repaired and restring it with low tension strings? I bet a good luthier can make that neck stable again.

tombowlus · Jul 18, 2026

John D Harris said:
Don't leave us hangin' ... !

I'd think that would sound great with either acoustic instruments or electric!

Good catch! Yes, I currently play mostly in two bands, one of which is mostly electric and one of which is mostly acoustic (upright and ABG), so good catch on the two rather different preamp pedals on top! I will say that the IP cabs are like the ultimate blank slate, where Jim has really dialed them in to reproduce exactly what's going in. So, with an acoustic instrument, it very, very much sounds like that acoustic instrument, only louder. As opposed to sounding like a blend of an acoustic and an electric bass, which honestly, many amps can sound like.

MastahThrash · Jul 18, 2026

Sourcing material alone is going to be hard And I would very much like to try this thing out. I am currently waiting to hear back from guyker apparently this thing has between fourteen and fifteen millimeter spacing, which it would be easy to find a bridge for if it wasn't headless. And if i'm gonna go for chinese aftermarket. I would prefer to go with them because i've at least used some of their parts in the past. If anyone has any suggestions or single string bridge options that would achieve at least fifteen millimeters or less.

T McClure · Jul 18, 2026

Lammchop93 said:
The sherwood fender

The main thing to check out is whether the bridge is misaligned over the string through holes. The first run was off by a very small amount. Plenty of people still bought them and didn’t care, but that’s the source of the complaints for the only Mustang bass currently being made in California. I don’t know if they have fixed it on later runs. But there are also people who seem to love them.

Malak the Mad · Jul 18, 2026

I'm not gonna say, "You NEED to buy THIS gadget!", but it might serve as a bit of inspiration.

Heresy. A Fender Jazz Bass 3 Way Switch Series / Parallel Wiring Harness and Control Plate. | Reverb

Sold as a complete set. Wiring harness and plate are one unit. Toggle Switch Color Options: Black Tip, Black Tip & Body or Chrome tipPlate Options: &n...

reverb.com

As of now, I've installed one into two, different basses and I've grown rather fond of their straightforward simplicity. I just choose a setting…neck, both, bridge with series and parallel…and go from there.

sunbeast · Jul 18, 2026

plumberstrummer said:
future impact v4 vip on the way! i am not sure how to upgrade to the 4.51 yet, but i guess ill cross that bridge when it gets here…

thank you all so much! greatly appreciated!

FI firmware updates are pretty easy these days IMO as long as you have a MIDI in/out interface with your computer, but as mentioned if bought from Panda MIDI it’ll come with the newest firmware already loaded

nixdad · Jul 18, 2026

Welcome, @truejiro!

CrmdgnthDrdg · Jul 18, 2026

Antisyzygy said:
I got a G&L L2000 Tribute a couple weeks ago, and I noticed right away that it had super low action. It made quite a lot of fret buzz when fretting the D string mostly, on the 2-4th frets. If I hit the A and G string just a bit harder than neutral it will sometimes happen on those string as well. However on the D string I can't adjust my playing style to eliminate fret buzz without going quiet.

The neck doesn't appear warped in any way.

I decided to follow the G&L user manual and set up my G&L L2000 the other day, but there's still quite a lot of fret buzz, more than I'd be comfortable with normally with my technique. The D string still has the worst of it.

So long story short :

1. Fret buzz, mostly on the D string in the 2-4th frets
2. I did a G&L Spec Setup
3. It didn't fix the problem

My understanding is the following :

1. It's not the nut -> Open strings don't buzz
2. It might be there isn't enough relief -> I measured and I'm in spec but on the shorter side
3. I could set the action higher -> The action is about where I want it though, but it's lower than Fender specs which is what I normally play
4. Lots of other people seem to have problems with L2000's buzzing

What do you guys think I could do to set this up better? I can play a bit lighter to reduce fret buzz but the technique changes between the D string and the others to do so.

My thoughts are to try the following :

1. Heavier gauge strings
2. Raise the D string a bit more, but also raise action to be closer to Fender specs like my other basses
3. Add relief to the neck

Would I be a candidate to get a Fret leveling? I don't want to take the bass back quite yet because well, I'm not convinced it's even set up properly. It should still be under warranty though.

Be a darling and upload the manual! G&L is as dead as Leo and George, and so is their website! Don't sell it on EBay like a chud, share with those privileged enough to have grabbed them while they were alive. Pretty Please!

BargeOn · Jul 18, 2026

The song is Green Room from Towner's Batik, 1978. The original featured Eddy Gomez.

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RedJag · Jul 18, 2026

So I finally took my Mike Kerr bass apart and looked at what's going on with the Neck WR Humbucker. It was wired in series and measured over 20K DCR. It was wired with 4 conductor wiring so I was able to split the Red and White wires. Each coil measured 12K DCR exactly.

So I decided to actually wire it in parallel instead of series and it now sounds much more like a normal neck pickup to me, even if it isn't "correct"

Also: not sure if this got linked anywhere in this thread, but I found this article that shows the inside of the pickups

Fender Tele bass humbucker repair

This came in for a rewind a couple of weeks ago and while I keep saying I don't really wanna rewind a lot of pickups, I also say if it's something weird and wonderful and you can't just buy a drop in replacement, I'll help out if I can. Well, you can't get a drop in replacement for one of these...

tymguitars.com.au

michael_t · Jul 18, 2026

zzub said:
A possible solution to the mystery...
I just bought a set of Gibson flat wound 45-100 short scale strings from a local store.

The silks on the new stings are identical to those on the installed strings.

The length from ball end to silks on winding end is ~31.25" for all 4 new strings

The length from ball end to silks on winding end is ~31.25" for the installed E, A, and D. The length on the installed G is ~35.5'.

On both sets of strings E and D have gold ball ends: A and G have silver ball ends.

The installed G string being from a long scale set of Gibson flats seems to be a strong possibility considering that based on some limited research Gibson uses the same color silks on both long and short scale flats.

Sounds like you just solved the mystery. One curious thing about the installed G being 35.5" in winding length (ball end to silk) is that's the same winding length as the TI's "short scale" (as in the G in JF324 set).

Taffbass1 · Jul 18, 2026

Taffbass1 said:
From Zeline direct

bassboysam · Jul 18, 2026

R10FCB said:
Hi all,

Recently I have just installed a brand new set of Optima RB flats on my Rickenbacker 4001 and noticed the E string being particularly dull compared to the rest of the set.
I know on their website they state the E string is meant to sound darker and softer in comparison to the other strings but for those who have experience with these strings, is the difference meant to be this drastic?
I find the E string sounds very muted and almost lacks in volume and sustain to the rest and whilst they have more bite and attack to them. I was wandering if this is what they are meant to sound like or if the low string will sound better with time? Or by chance have I just received a dead E string?

All my other basses have Dunlop flats on them so maybe I'm just not used to this style of low muffled thud on my E string but I thought I would check with others experiences before I write these off.

Thanks

I've had a set of RBs on my '73 4001 for a year now. They sound pretty consistent in my opinion. They are very old school thud and thump. more dead sounding than any flatwound i've tried, and i've tried a lot of them, but it took a few months. The RBs are really thunderous on a Ric, lots of low end but not muddy at all. It just takes some time.

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