Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
4-to-5 string conversion
- Thread starter Tpi
- Start date
I previously stated I could justify about $20 more on this project and it turns out that a set of threaded saddles is right about $20. Thus do I thank those suggesting that option!
Even if the full set as-is doesn't work out, I'll be able to mix and match three different width saddles and hopefully come up with a decent enough setup for these experimental purposes. Should this experiment lead to exceptional results, it could be worth doing this properly by having a custom bridge made and fit to a 'proper', quality 4-string. This cheap-o body is made of soft pine that shreds and flakes worse and worse the more you work it. Ugh.
Even if the full set as-is doesn't work out, I'll be able to mix and match three different width saddles and hopefully come up with a decent enough setup for these experimental purposes. Should this experiment lead to exceptional results, it could be worth doing this properly by having a custom bridge made and fit to a 'proper', quality 4-string. This cheap-o body is made of soft pine that shreds and flakes worse and worse the more you work it. Ugh.
To be honest I had that pickup in the bass before I converted to a 5 string so I’m not sure if a non-blade pickup would work.
Turnaround
Commercial User
That's the way it came strung. I had removed G and D, drilled the center fifth hole and restrung, not bothering with the E and B which are actually E & A strings. Those strings are EAADG for concept proofing and were since thrown out as they were junkers. The actual B-G are wrapped in their packet awaiting their day.
Won't the A string sound weird on the P pickup, since it will be picked up by both halves of the split coil? I guess not since no one mentioned it yet, but I had to ask
Yes, I expect so. I figure to dive bomb the inside of each pickup towards each other, raise the outer edges and then compensate for deficiencies downstream. It's all part of the experiment. It's a nice touch that the strings happen to each get two poles on the single pup! The split pup is a little messier as you point out.
I needed a nut cut. My local shop, Marina Music in Culver City is a one man plus one luthier/tech named Lucio. Lucio needed the bass with bridge in place to cut the nut. I needed the nut in place to set the bridge by aligning the outer strings down the neck line. Consequently Lucio made some light cuts in a bone nut so that the strings would set and told me to bring it back once the bridge was in place.
I set the bridge in place with 5 strings adequately across 4 saddles and brought it back to Lucio last Friday. He liked the novelty of my efforts, went through his collection of saddles and offered to drill some custom holes in my bridge and give each string its own saddle. I told him to set it up and check my electrical work while at it!
With today being a monday holiday, I should have the bass back tomorrow or Wednesday at latest. While this additional work is a budget buster, (I expect perhaps $100), the value I'll be getting is well worth it.
I set the bridge in place with 5 strings adequately across 4 saddles and brought it back to Lucio last Friday. He liked the novelty of my efforts, went through his collection of saddles and offered to drill some custom holes in my bridge and give each string its own saddle. I told him to set it up and check my electrical work while at it!
With today being a monday holiday, I should have the bass back tomorrow or Wednesday at latest. While this additional work is a budget buster, (I expect perhaps $100), the value I'll be getting is well worth it.
Given that the bass has been sitting around for a year and was about to be given away for free, I think I can amortize the $90 cost out of the equation allowing me to account for the pending new cost of setup and mods by Lucio. Gotta love accountants and their tricks, eh? 
$70 Paint
$45 Bone nut
$25 Bridge
$20 saddles
$30 new DR strings
$00 Ibanez tuners
$00 Spare strings
$190 subtotal + pending setup and fees.
$70 Paint
$45 Bone nut
$25 Bridge
$20 saddles
$30 new DR strings
$00 Ibanez tuners
$00 Spare strings
$190 subtotal + pending setup and fees.
I've got another post or two and this thread is done.
Yesterday I get a text from the Tech, Lucio.
"Intonated, pickups wired correctly and ready to go."
"Excellent! I will have to get it tomorrow. What do I owe you?
"$45"
"For all that work??? Setup, wiring, drilling, new parts... That sounds awful low. Not that I want to talk myself out of money, but that must have been 3hrs labor easy. I don't want to underpay you"
"You already spent too much on this experiment. I took the challenge just to see if I could do it. Nex ttime, I'll charge you more."
"Lolz. Deal!"
------------------------
At the shop this morning, the 70yr old owner had been away recovering from a heart attack and was back the last few days. He says to me a customer was just asking about 'that nightmare' yesterday. He picks the bass up, plugs it in, proceeds to noodle around quite effectively and hands it over with a nod of approval. Lucio comes out to talk with me a bit. I messed up one of the pot's wiring, but all was well enough. We had a good laugh about it. I gave him a $50 for the work, a $20 gratuity and a bag of spare parts such as tuners, saddles, a bridge, knobs, screws and misc.
Being an ebay crapper, it's got a solid passive, if unremarkable, punch and registers across all tonalities nicely enough. It's nothing to write home about. I got what I expected and paid for. The nut and the setup cost as much as the bass did, shipped! I'm glad for this experiment.
The result is that if I ever want another such 5-string, I would find a 43mm 4-string I like and do the same conversion. The benefit would be better wood, electronics, neck, everything than this balsa bass.
For under $250 (or $340 including the write-off bass itself), I have a unique 5-string with ~14mm string pitch at the bridge. I could have saved a few bucks if I'd gone to Lucio in the first place. Now I know.
I've only noodled a few minutes, but the playing is tight and once I get used to the new fingering required, I may even be 'faster' as compared to a traditional 5-string for those few mm of spacing. It's been decades since I even touched a 5'er, so we'll see.
A further post will include photos of the final result once I get them off my phone and on my computer.
Yesterday I get a text from the Tech, Lucio.
"Intonated, pickups wired correctly and ready to go."
"Excellent! I will have to get it tomorrow. What do I owe you?
"$45"
"For all that work??? Setup, wiring, drilling, new parts... That sounds awful low. Not that I want to talk myself out of money, but that must have been 3hrs labor easy. I don't want to underpay you"
"You already spent too much on this experiment. I took the challenge just to see if I could do it. Nex ttime, I'll charge you more."
"Lolz. Deal!"
------------------------
At the shop this morning, the 70yr old owner had been away recovering from a heart attack and was back the last few days. He says to me a customer was just asking about 'that nightmare' yesterday. He picks the bass up, plugs it in, proceeds to noodle around quite effectively and hands it over with a nod of approval. Lucio comes out to talk with me a bit. I messed up one of the pot's wiring, but all was well enough. We had a good laugh about it. I gave him a $50 for the work, a $20 gratuity and a bag of spare parts such as tuners, saddles, a bridge, knobs, screws and misc.
Being an ebay crapper, it's got a solid passive, if unremarkable, punch and registers across all tonalities nicely enough. It's nothing to write home about. I got what I expected and paid for. The nut and the setup cost as much as the bass did, shipped! I'm glad for this experiment.
The result is that if I ever want another such 5-string, I would find a 43mm 4-string I like and do the same conversion. The benefit would be better wood, electronics, neck, everything than this balsa bass.
For under $250 (or $340 including the write-off bass itself), I have a unique 5-string with ~14mm string pitch at the bridge. I could have saved a few bucks if I'd gone to Lucio in the first place. Now I know.
I've only noodled a few minutes, but the playing is tight and once I get used to the new fingering required, I may even be 'faster' as compared to a traditional 5-string for those few mm of spacing. It's been decades since I even touched a 5'er, so we'll see.
A further post will include photos of the final result once I get them off my phone and on my computer.
Lucio is low 60's, long-time surfer hobbyist, 20yr tech and calls himself luthier. He showed off one of his scalloped guitar necks and some other bits of body work (and offers to custom build, iirc). What he did to mine with all the new holes, aligning, testing, re-configuring and such puts him beyond simple tech doing simple setups, methinks. He did me a big favor for sure.
But yeah, that was real cool of him to get in on the fun. I've got another bass to disassemble and refinish in the coming months, so will give him some more work to express my thanks again.
One side note is I'm getting radio interference in my room on my amp in the form of static snaps with almost every note, mild overall hum. how do I know it's radio? Rotating the body in mid-air changes the hum from some to none.
I think it's the fans in this heat, but I've got a few things going. Consequently, it looks like I'll have to wallpaper the electrical cavities with copper sheeting. Easy enough and there's no way Lucio could have known. I'll text him tomorrow with a quick note and ask on alternative theories. I've opened the body and nothing is loose or touching, but there is a static snap on touching the positive leads on three pots with a screwdriver tip. Faraday Cage to the Rescue! (likely)
But yeah, that was real cool of him to get in on the fun. I've got another bass to disassemble and refinish in the coming months, so will give him some more work to express my thanks again.
One side note is I'm getting radio interference in my room on my amp in the form of static snaps with almost every note, mild overall hum. how do I know it's radio? Rotating the body in mid-air changes the hum from some to none.
I think it's the fans in this heat, but I've got a few things going. Consequently, it looks like I'll have to wallpaper the electrical cavities with copper sheeting. Easy enough and there's no way Lucio could have known. I'll text him tomorrow with a quick note and ask on alternative theories. I've opened the body and nothing is loose or touching, but there is a static snap on touching the positive leads on three pots with a screwdriver tip. Faraday Cage to the Rescue! (likely)
