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Don Kasper said:

Here is my quick harmonic sketch of the 2 sections starting at 0:08, showing the root movement in the bass notes and changes.
Thx for posting this tune...
Just my $0.03.
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Thanks Don
That looks very useful. Once again you come to my rescue.
Much appreciated.
Alan

Wood and Wire said:

Sounds like you've already got your first accessory figured out.

You just need to make a simple connector mechanism (an even simpler version of the pickup connectors on the EMG Geezer Butler pickup kit), so that users can hot-swap pickups without having to remove any screws at all.

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Heh.....I don't think that's really practical. These percussive pickups involve the whole body structure, including the bridge, and the bridge mount.

But....It does lead to the idea that we may offer different versions of the EUB with different types of pickups, for different styles of players. You guys aren't all the same in what you want from an EUB.

The pickup that failed the test is a further development of the design that I used on the Series IV Scroll Bass. It's made specifically to add a sub-low warble character, like you hear in an upright bass. It worked well on the Series IV, in combination with the quad magnetic pickup. This new version is similar to what I'm planning for the upcoming (someday....) Series V AUB-2. The same principle in how it works, but in a different configuration. I realize now that, that sound character is not like a Baby Bass, or what the Baby Bass guys want.

So, after I get the Baby Bass version sorted out, I may go back and look at offering a version of the bass with the Series IV/Series V pickup. And see if some customers prefer that sound.

Also, there's the quad magnetic pickup, as I used on the Series IV. I still have all the tooling to make them, and I even have a couple of complete units sitting here in a box. How about mounting that, right up near the end of the fingerboard? That could have a really nice sound of its own. Either blended with a percussive bridge pickup, or by itself? Some players may prefer that over the Baby Bass pickup.

These are future options. For the immediate, I need to make the Baby Bass guys happy.

I also realized that I need to invent some new names and definitions for these types of pickups:

Diaphragm Pickup: The Baby Bass and AEB-1 style pickup, where the bridge is mounted on a horizontal thin spring steel sheet diaphragm. The bridge bounces mostly vertical, with some rocking motion. Magnetic coils under the diaphragm detect the movement of the diaphragm. The sound added is a percussive Boom down in the low range, around the bass strings' fundamentals. It's similar to a strike on a Conga at the start of the note.

Percussive Pickup: The style of pickup that I developed for my Series IV AUB-2, and intend to continue on other upcoming models. The bridge is mounted on a spring steel frame, and can move in multiple axes; vertical, horizontal and rocking. It has much more travel than a Diaphragm Pickup, which lowers the frequency of the added percussive sound into the sub-low range. The magnetic coils detect the movement of the bridge in all axes. The purpose is to add a sub-low Pop and Warble to the notes, similar to an acoustic upright bass.

These two types are both Percussive Pickups, but they are tuned differently. The Diaphragm Pickup sounds like tapping on a Conga or Tom; the Percussive Pickup sounds like tapping on the body of an upright bass.

sunbeast said:

The wiring is correct traditional J-bass wiring- you could mess with the tone capacitor and potentially the pot to shift some of the lower Tone settings but it shouldn't affect the higher Tone settings at all (it could have a funky implementation of a log taper, there are alot of variations on log taper and alot of cheaper pots will act more like switches, though this one doesn't quite seem like that to me based on the demo). The capacitor only generally comes into audible play around halfway down the sweep, the first half of the sweep from the top is mostly affecting tone via the loading through the potentiometer. The lowest tone setting in your video sounds like what I might expect from a 0.1uf tone cap, which does roll off quite a bit of midrange when turned all the way down- these days 0.047uf Is a much more common value and cuts less into the midrange when turned all the way down.

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Thank you!

I’ll take that

Definitely entertaining guitar player.
Hope he gets well.

mikewalker said:

I've never met a Kvass I didn't like!

I used to buy it fresh from the mobile vats in Moscow parks during the summer, I have never tried a bottled version. I read somewhere years ago that Coca-Cola was considering introducing it to the USA, but I don't think that plan ever came to fruition...

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Pretty much the same here, but there are some I've preferred to others. But between me not getting it often and the labels being in various Cyrillic script languages, I never quite remember which flavors/varieties I thought were best.

Beautiful mid-August night! My Gould sounded incredible as usual

73_Blazer said:

do the pressure wound strings get better with age and do you guys keep them on your bass for a long time like you do the flats.

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TomB said:

My comment earlier in the thread is that PW’s last longer than typical rounds. However, when they finally die, they do so quickly.

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I can echo the comment by @TomB. PWs do last longer than typical rounds, but not like flats. They don't get better with age as such, but they do break in fairly quickly and retain that "nicely broken in" tone for a long time. I typically change them once a year as part of the annual maintenance.

2saddleslab said:

OP, glad you found a fix that works for you.

I much prefer slippery leather as I will change bass positions from Bill Wyman vertical to Johnny Cash horizontal on the same song.

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Same. I like to shift my bass around. If the under side of the strap is grippy you have to lift it up to change position. Also they tug on your shirt.

a piece of F Bass history for sale here:


if I didn’t HATE driving to Toronto I’d be all over this.

Chicken Wing said:

Thanks! It’s a 1969 with the original tuners. Here’s an up close on the frets. Dealer said it’ll need a re fret in future. My luthier will take it for a setup this week and I’ll ask him about the frets. The neck has great mojo, I’ll post some more pictures.

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Thank-you for that detailed reply. I must have had Rotosound rounds on my ‘73 Precision longer, or I played in the ‘money’ positions more, or something…
Thanks again.

I bought the NUX B-8 wireless a few months ago on a whim. A buddy has the dongle style for playing guitar and he loves it. However, I am vain enough to pay more for something that wasn't a dongle style. I wanted a cable. At the same time, I didn't want to pay $500+ for one (Shure, etc). So I was picky.

Walked into GC one day and saw the NUX B-8 on sale. Normally $249, they had it marked to $199. New in box, I figured I'd take it and give it a try, I had 45 days to make up my mind, right? The sales guy did the old, hey, buy the warranty for $20, but I wouldn't, so he did some calculating and gave it to me, with warranty, for $199 + tax (he marked the kit to $179, the sneaky kid). Don't care, he gets a pat on the back for selling the warranty.

I tried it out at home and it had all sorts of radio noise. I traced it to the small patch cable running from the receiver to my compressor pedal. At home, practicing, it was pretty nifty. I could go upstairs, onto the deck, outside, and still hear the bass amp in the basement. So far so good. I took it to rehearsal and for the most part, it was fine.

However, it did drop signal a few times. Twice, to be exact. Not *too big a deal, at first. It would drop for about 1-3 seconds, and then come back and everything was fine. The next week at rehearsal, it did it again, but twice in one song and I didn't love that. At that point, I was still within return and planned on taking it back.

Did some more reading and the signal drop was a common complaint for purchasers of this kit. There were recommendations to adjust the input from the bass. I was playing my L1K with the MFD pickups, so yeah, the hottest bass I own. The NUX pedal does also allow the input level to be reduced, so I knocked that down a bit, while keeping the volume on the bass at full. Back to rehearsal and then some gigs, and I am happy to report that it has been great. No signal drops. Freedom to roam, no tip-toeing around cables. It's great.

The good about the NUX B-8?

• The aforementioned freedom. I am pretty active on stage, but always tethered by a cable, no matter how big/small the stage is, or how long/short the cable is. Not having to worry about it is pretty cool, really like it.
• The build of the pedal and receiver. Stout, hearty, thoughtful. The transmitter you wear on your strap or pocket, it has contact points and a magnet on it that allow for it to charge when attached to the pedal on the board! You can also use a USB-C cable to charge as needed. Hold the power button to turn on and connect, tap it to mute your guitar.
• The "value-add" features of the pedal:
  • the aforementioned charging capability of the pedal/transmitter combo
  • built in tuner with multiple viewing options
  • built in boost, up to 12dB
  • tap or long-press pedal switch to choose tuner or boost, either can be assigned to either
  • can add custom wallpaper to pedal, as well as boot-up animation (have not done that)
  • pedal has XLR to act as DI
• Detachable 1/4" cable from transmitter. Screws in for security

The not as good about the NUX B-8?

• The random signal drops. But, as mentioned, once I adjusted for it, it has not failed for me since
• The detachable cable is way too long. One YouTuber made a shorter version. I have a soldering iron, just need to learn how to do the same
• The battery pack clip is tough to get on a thick strap. Makes it more secure, but it's sort of a pain

Not having used any other wireless before, I have nothing to compare it to, but knowing what I know now with the NUX B-8, I feel pretty good about what I have.


Put on the board before I rotated it. I removed my Korg tuner to make space.

Long wire around the back, pedal rotated 90° on the board.

That looks awesome

I’m working through Fretboard and Technique Accelerators. Highly recommend. I’ve made a ton of progress.

I have it listed on Gear Exchange if anyone is interested.

ryan morris said:

Hey sunbeast, thanks for the suggestions. I tried a no name cheap tbird pu from ebay. I've heard some on Epi Thunderbird basses before, and didn't love it.. but that was a long while ago and my taste has definitely changed in the last 10 years. I mean, I love the Allen Woody pu.. I was actually thinking, to achieve the three tones (wooly old rumblekat, musicmaster open and bright, and mustang/baby precision-ish) I'm looking for that maybe a half blade half pole mini humbucker could be good. I was looking at prails as an option then remembered that's how the Rumblekat mini humbucker (and most mini humbuckers in general) are kind of constructed. So, I just ordered a cheap Artec mini humbucker, which seems like it will fit the bill with 4 conductor wires, so I can try it in series/single/parallel.

The last 4 years I've been trying to get down to one bass and one guitar. I feel like I'm getting close. If I can get this middle pu doing triple duty, I might be able to get rid of my last two basses. If that mini one doesn't work, I might have to try some of the EMG35 sized options.. but where to begin?

Initially I should have just tried that eyparts pu linked. I've seen it mentioned here quite a bit in digging through posts. Might have gotten me in a good direction from the beginning.. but I think I had my eye on the LZN B90 so strongly that I was probably still going to eventually move on to try that one out. It's been fun rolling them around in this project. And trying out strings.. Think I'll keep 3 sets around.. (Gibson Flats (silks trimmed at the ends) - used most of the time, GHS Pressurewound when I want just a little more bite/grind and string feel difference, and Labella Low Tension Flats - when I want some good woody thump)

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Some of the modern Epiphone T-Bird pickups are closer to the originals, but for years both Gibson and Epiphone were using super overwound ceramic T-bird pickups (very dark and compressed) that really changed people's perceptions about what those pickups were supposed to sound like.
It's possible the no-name pickup you have are the same as the EyGuitars one, I've seen a few that look the same and with seemingly the same specs though never tried any of the other imports to know for sure.

I had a Rumblekat for a year or so and was surprised how much I liked the stock pickups- they were much more growly and clear than I'd expected (particularly the neck-most pickup). I did much prefer that bass with the cheap stock nickel roundwounds than the flats that were on it when I bought it though. I could see how they might seem a bit dark if your main strings are Gibson flats.

Another pickup maybe worth consideration is the Guid Bisonic, which is a body-mount single-coil pickup that actually works really well with higher string height (originally mounted on hollowbodies with higher clearance) and should fit in and cover that hole as well (I had a bass with two Darkstars/Bisonics years ago that I eventually put in T-Bird pickups as well as a few EMG35 and Rickenbacker options after trading the Darkstars for a large profit): Guild Guitars | accessories
The Bisonic tone is very wide-sounding (strong treble extension) but with less of the midrange peak than more typical passive pickups have. I find the Bisonic design really articulate and expressive, while retaining nice heft (sometimes "articulate" seems synonymous with thin/modern which these definitely are not). I haven't actually tried the modern Guild reissue version, but Serek offers them as an option on their basses and their demos make them sound quite nice to me. That reminds me that I have a Serek Single around here that I picked up on TB a long time ago and totally forgot about the needs to find a home!

I have an H22 around here, but hasn't yet found the right home either. It is a really cool sounding pickup, but also quite pricey IMO. I picked it up at a large discount in the TB Classifieds or probably never would have given it a shot. I love how easy the design makes it to mount just about anywhere and have tried it briefly over a few J and P routes in various instruments.. You'd definitely want to mount it over a pickguard or something on your bass though (would be a similar issue as the Mustang pickup, though the H22 may have a bit higher output).

murphy said:

Chemical Brothers has some of the coolest basslines played on their music.

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Can you name a few examples?

i always wanted a second 1983 L2000, but I could never find one no matter what year with the same wood combinations and same neck profile for some reason.

NBD! 635-24 (17mm~8.8 lbs)… Simple alder/rosewood, with black metal knobs. I’m quickly bonding with it—super comfortable to play; fantastic sustain all over fb; predictable bass tone(s)…

I’ve always preferred matching headstock/wood knob versions, but gotta say…this one really appealed to me as well, even more so after receiving it!

Giffro said:

No sir..the cab is an 1820 and so marked on the rear plate...not sure where to find the serial though..had this rig since the 80's and still have it...MKIV head into the 1820 cab.
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That’s interesting. The front of your rig looks like it has the smaller 1810 spacing. The serial would be on a little black and silver tag just under the back plate. It may not be there anymore. You can tell even on the brochure page you posted the 10s are spaced higher off the 18 and the cab is a bit bigger by a few inches

Well, update here. Since I got myself a Cort A5 Plus (great used deal!) I play back and forth between the two. The Epi, on same settings is definitely muddier, to the point of feeling slightly distorted. The best solution for a clean sound that I found for it is using a graphic EQ pedal and go for a different route in settings. Achieved a decent result using it like this, going straight into a Fender Rumble 40 v3 on flat settings and no gain:

gtirard said:

Thank you, and sorry (I usually hate when people ask questions that have been replied already ).

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No prob. You didn't know, what you didn't know!

Thanks very much for posting this!

-Asdfgh- said:

That definitely needs pro help. Poking out the filler and putting in veneers I could do. I've done the second bit. Getting the nut on and off to sand it just so afterwards is the bigger issue. But taking the board off - no way I'd attempt that myself.

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I agree.

bass player 53 said:

A bit off topic, but is anyone else old enough to remember Flite Sound?

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LOL. I’m old enough to remember all three owners of Flite Sound!