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5 string Ricken-Musicman Bass.
- Thread starter Videojunkie
- Start date
If you know who Sheldon Brown was, you are definitely a bike nerd! Or know what a "Dingle" is...
And thank you for having a brake on your fixed gear.
Nice! That all makes sense. I ride a single speed too (but not fixed - my knees couldn't take it) but it's a little hilly here in so I've really thought about putting a 3-speed internally geared hub out back. Of course, I've never built a wheel before, and it seems awful tedious...
They also had this -
Which was like $10. The individual sanding blocks were $5, and this came with 3 sheets each of 220, 320, 400 and 600 grit paper. Seemed like a better deal.
A bit of McGuires compound, and the sander with an appropriate pad and this is really shiny!
It's not perfect, but from any distance it looks awesome. Probably going to throw the electronics in it tomorrow and see what it sounds like for real!
It's not perfect, but from any distance it looks awesome. Probably going to throw the electronics in it tomorrow and see what it sounds like for real!
Well, it's almost tomorrow. The girls went to bed early, so I had a quiet house and too much energy. So I soldered all the electronics.
I need to track down a 9v battery tomorrow to test it (too late tonight), but everything is wired up. I need to install the strap locks. And then testing and setup.
Then NBD!
I need to track down a 9v battery tomorrow to test it (too late tonight), but everything is wired up. I need to install the strap locks. And then testing and setup.
Then NBD!
Rôckhewer
Commercial User
- Feb 28, 2015
- 2,922
- 9,028
- Disclosures
- Owner/Builder- RockHewer Custom Guitars LLC
Absolutely gorgeous!! 
my friend.
Hello electronics, my old friend...
I've come to fight with you again...
See if I can sus out why you aren't working...
Figure out why electrons aren't flowing...
And there's only sounds ... of silence.
I've come to fight with you again...
See if I can sus out why you aren't working...
Figure out why electrons aren't flowing...
And there's only sounds ... of silence.
All things considered, the electronics issue was very minor. I had 2 wires swapped on the North/South switches, and I'd plugged the preamp cables in backwards.
So I was able to plug in and give it a short run through.
First impressions: holy smokes does this thing have deep bass for days! The N/S switches only work noise free in opposition (one North coil, 1 South coil) which is interesting, but expected. The blend pot has to be centered when using these or I get some noise. Expected, as they're effectively single pole pickups at that point (no hum cancellation). With both humbuckers, the blend pot works as expected.
Sound 1 (neck humbucker, blend 100%) DEEP thunderous bass. Not muddy, but you won't mistake it for anything else.
Sound 2 (both humbuckers, blend 50%) nice blend of the deep bass, but with some articulation from the bridge pickup.
Sound 3 (bridge humbucker, blend 100%) growly bass with very articulate highs.
Sound 4 (neck switch up, bridge switch down, blend 50%) nice mellow almost P-bass like sound.
Sound 5 (neck switch down, bridge switch up, blend 50%) aggressive J-bass sound. Punchy highs, and nice attack on the bass.
I've tried the slap setting on the volume push/pull, and it's not set up yet, so it doesn't do much. Once I get everything else worked out, I'll see if I can get that dialed in for even more tonal flexibility!
Overall, I'm really happy! There's lots of tonal variety between the 5 usable positions, and adding eq or other settings, I'm pretty sure I can get almost any sound I want.
There's a few setup issues I need to address, but I am really looking forward to playing this bass a LOT!
So I was able to plug in and give it a short run through.
First impressions: holy smokes does this thing have deep bass for days! The N/S switches only work noise free in opposition (one North coil, 1 South coil) which is interesting, but expected. The blend pot has to be centered when using these or I get some noise. Expected, as they're effectively single pole pickups at that point (no hum cancellation). With both humbuckers, the blend pot works as expected.
Sound 1 (neck humbucker, blend 100%) DEEP thunderous bass. Not muddy, but you won't mistake it for anything else.
Sound 2 (both humbuckers, blend 50%) nice blend of the deep bass, but with some articulation from the bridge pickup.
Sound 3 (bridge humbucker, blend 100%) growly bass with very articulate highs.
Sound 4 (neck switch up, bridge switch down, blend 50%) nice mellow almost P-bass like sound.
Sound 5 (neck switch down, bridge switch up, blend 50%) aggressive J-bass sound. Punchy highs, and nice attack on the bass.
I've tried the slap setting on the volume push/pull, and it's not set up yet, so it doesn't do much. Once I get everything else worked out, I'll see if I can get that dialed in for even more tonal flexibility!
Overall, I'm really happy! There's lots of tonal variety between the 5 usable positions, and adding eq or other settings, I'm pretty sure I can get almost any sound I want.
There's a few setup issues I need to address, but I am really looking forward to playing this bass a LOT!
Me too! And matches my expectations as well. The deep bass from that front pickup is a sound my Spector just doesn't have. It gets like 70% there, but it's not the same.
The bridge pickup adds some really bright, but usable tones that again, aren't in the repertoire of the Spector.
This is so great to hear. For all the work you've put into this, to have it come out just the way you want must be so satisfying. It's been fun watching the whole thing come together from start to finish. Thanks again for sharing your process with us.
Honestly, I couldn't have done it without the help and encouragement from this community. Every time I've run into a stumbling block, someone has had an answer. From go, this has been a really great experience.
Now that I'm almost done with this one, maybe this spring I can get the SCP done...
I have everything except the pickup and the sliders...I was hoping you hadn't forgotten about that one.
Shockingly (to me) the intonation is perfect. Absolutely spot on perfect. 12th fret, 24th fret, every fret in between right on the money. I didn't have to adjust the bridge at all!
I have half a dozen or so high spots on frets I need to deal with. Really just 1 or 2 on a couple of strings. Of course one of them is the D string at the 12th fret...
I worked a bit on the nut, and got the action about where I want it. So I'm really->] [<- close to being done, done.
I have half a dozen or so high spots on frets I need to deal with. Really just 1 or 2 on a couple of strings. Of course one of them is the D string at the 12th fret...
I worked a bit on the nut, and got the action about where I want it. So I'm really->] [<- close to being done, done.
Ok, for those of you who are interested:
Scale 34"
Overall weight: 10.5 lbs (4.7 Kg) (wood before electronics and tuners 6.5 lbs (3 Kg))
Pickups: Seymour Duncan Quarter pounder MM Ceramics. (X2)
Electronics: Seymour Duncan MM preamp
Controls: each PU N/Humbucker/S switch, blend, volume/pull engages slap setting on the preamp, treble/ bass eq, mid eq. (2 switches, 4 knobs. )
Bridge: 16mm 5 String MM clone
Woods used: maple, walnut, and mahogany
Truss rod: StewMac double action
Tuners: Gotoh GB-11
The bass is heavy, but very well balanced. You can set it on the edge of a table and balance it on the hook of the top horn. I've ordered a Levy padded 3 inch wide strap for it (i have several for my Spector as well as my Les Paul.)
Having played around with it for a bit, I really wish I had been more cognizant about how tight 16mm spacing really is. It's not terrible for either picking or fingerstyle, but slap is right out. Unfortunately, it is built precisely to the current bridge, and there's not really any way to change that. The SCP is 19mm, so each bass is a different string spacing (the EUB is something like 21mm)
I'm also going to have to play around with the pickup heights because as I feared, the G string is a bit lower volume than the rest of the strings.
Scale 34"
Overall weight: 10.5 lbs (4.7 Kg) (wood before electronics and tuners 6.5 lbs (3 Kg))
Pickups: Seymour Duncan Quarter pounder MM Ceramics. (X2)
Electronics: Seymour Duncan MM preamp
Controls: each PU N/Humbucker/S switch, blend, volume/pull engages slap setting on the preamp, treble/ bass eq, mid eq. (2 switches, 4 knobs. )
Bridge: 16mm 5 String MM clone
Woods used: maple, walnut, and mahogany
Truss rod: StewMac double action
Tuners: Gotoh GB-11
The bass is heavy, but very well balanced. You can set it on the edge of a table and balance it on the hook of the top horn. I've ordered a Levy padded 3 inch wide strap for it (i have several for my Spector as well as my Les Paul.)
Having played around with it for a bit, I really wish I had been more cognizant about how tight 16mm spacing really is. It's not terrible for either picking or fingerstyle, but slap is right out. Unfortunately, it is built precisely to the current bridge, and there's not really any way to change that. The SCP is 19mm, so each bass is a different string spacing (the EUB is something like 21mm)
I'm also going to have to play around with the pickup heights because as I feared, the G string is a bit lower volume than the rest of the strings.
Last edited:
Hello electronics, my old friend...
I've come to fight with you again...
See if I can sus out why you aren't working...
Figure out why electrons aren't flowing...
And there's only sounds ... of silence.
View attachment 4942140
That was good. 
It's like a tradition with my builds that the first time I plug them in, no sound comes out.
New case day!
I ordered a case from Guitar Center. I think the tweed and red really sets off the color of this bass!
I ordered a case from Guitar Center. I think the tweed and red really sets off the color of this bass!
