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that's really nice looking, brady! the rosewood is along the order of what you would expect to see on an american spector...really nice
So....there's probably a few questions about the 3 pickup/ electronics configuration..
Here ya' go. I'll go through the knobs (from the neck side towards the bridge).
First you have the master volume which controls the neck & bridge pickups only. Then, there the pickup pan (blend) which blends between the neck & bridge (basically like a jazz bass). Then, there's an independent master volume for the middle pickup. After that is the passive tone control. The three smaller knobs above the larger ones are the 3 band active EQ (treb, mid & bass). The sonic spectrum this bass delivers is huge. Many, many different tonal possablilties. I'm hoping to do some recording with the bass soon.
Here ya' go. I'll go through the knobs (from the neck side towards the bridge).
First you have the master volume which controls the neck & bridge pickups only. Then, there the pickup pan (blend) which blends between the neck & bridge (basically like a jazz bass). Then, there's an independent master volume for the middle pickup. After that is the passive tone control. The three smaller knobs above the larger ones are the 3 band active EQ (treb, mid & bass). The sonic spectrum this bass delivers is huge. Many, many different tonal possablilties. I'm hoping to do some recording with the bass soon.
Amazing bass Brady!!
I too am getting your custom Delano tripple JSBC pickup system for my 9 string Stinger Bee.
Can you please comment on your likes and dislikes of the triple JSBC system with the Bee preamp please? Mr Reinhard at Delano is custom winding my triple 9 string pups at this time. Ide like to know what the sonic charactaristics of the triple JSBC's in comparison to a double pup system? My guess is that you can blend volumes between the three??
Anyway, I love the whole triple pup idea!
Thanks for your time Brady!
Dave-
It would indeed be interesting to try the triple JSBC setup instead of a MM/J setup.... I'm also interested in hearing some comments of it
Awesome bass by the way.
Awesome bass by the way.
OOPS!!
Sorry, You beat me to the punch in ansering my questions befor i asked them regarding the triple JSBC's.
Thanks again Brady!~
I hope mine comes soon, Fred said it would be ready after NAMM show. I was hoping for pre-Christmas, but instead it'll get here February!!
This setup is a little overwhealming if you're not used to alot of knobs...tweekability....fair warning.
If you're using the bridge & neck pickups together (blend control dead center), it has sort of a "Fender on steroids" mixed with a hint of "MTD" in there. It's got a great piano-like growl. The bridge pickup is very close to the bridge (yeilding a super tight/ almost nasaly mid rangy voicing) & the neck pickup is generously far-forward enough which yealds a great deal of natural lows & bealch. The two pickups together are huge sounding. Super slap tone. Very smooth for tapping. Very responsive to where on the string you play. I've had a hard time blending towards one or the other while being able to hear a gradual shift in the pickup blending....As soon as I pan towards the bridge, you hear almost nothing but the bridge pickup....same with panning towards the neck. I've found the magic knob turning distance......I found a nice voicing that's a little bit panned towards the bridge, but you still detect some neck pickup presence..I do this if I want a little bit more clarity when I play harmonics/ or if I'm playing speed funk....It just takes a little while to settle into any instrument. The neck pickup by itself is a monster. Full & phat. It has some deep lows, really gargly mids & a pleasant sparkle in the top end. The bridge pickup, by itself, is way tight, very much mid rangy with some good top end. I rarely use it by itself. It's placed soo close to the bridge that it's a bit on the nasaly side. However, if I'm loopong & want to take a lead over the top of a phrase that I've recorded...the bridge pickup by itself will soar over the top. You can dial alot of low end/ boost up a little more mids & then roll off the passive tone a good bit & get a really cool tone out of that pickup alone...The middle pickup is a stand-alone beast. It's like a focused Music Man type sound. It has a very focused low end/ a powerful midrange/ and well pronounced highs that are great if you're playing hard hittin' stuff. It really cuts through. The bridge & middle pickup together are BEUTIFUL sounding. Very focused & tight/ awesome harmonics/ very well pronounced mids, plenty of top end without being abrasive. This works well for fingerstyle playing/ tapping/ even slapping. The neck & middle pickup together is a super phat combination. It's like the bottom end of a P bass, but there's this underlying clarity that's brought out by the middle pickup...it just ties everything together sonically. Great for ensemble playing. It's a very big/ phat sound, but every note still sounds like a note. This is an interesting sound for slapping. It sounds different than any other bass I've ever heard. It has that P bass vibe, but it's not out of control. It's very even & smooth, so it never sticks out in a bad way. I think that's the advantage of including the middle pickup. It adds a new level of even'ness to your tone. If you use all three pickups together, you get the best of it all. Very full sound/ very smooth & even. The passive tone offers alot of control & variety to what you can get out of the bass. The 3 band EQ (Bee Pre) is one of the most versitile/ powerful on the market....dead quiet. If I really wanted to go overkill on this bass, I could have gone with a pizeo setup in the bridge as well.......that's alot of knobs, though. I'm quite happy with the setup. I'm still getting used to it......figuring out what it can do....It's alot.
If you're using the bridge & neck pickups together (blend control dead center), it has sort of a "Fender on steroids" mixed with a hint of "MTD" in there. It's got a great piano-like growl. The bridge pickup is very close to the bridge (yeilding a super tight/ almost nasaly mid rangy voicing) & the neck pickup is generously far-forward enough which yealds a great deal of natural lows & bealch. The two pickups together are huge sounding. Super slap tone. Very smooth for tapping. Very responsive to where on the string you play. I've had a hard time blending towards one or the other while being able to hear a gradual shift in the pickup blending....As soon as I pan towards the bridge, you hear almost nothing but the bridge pickup....same with panning towards the neck. I've found the magic knob turning distance......I found a nice voicing that's a little bit panned towards the bridge, but you still detect some neck pickup presence..I do this if I want a little bit more clarity when I play harmonics/ or if I'm playing speed funk....It just takes a little while to settle into any instrument. The neck pickup by itself is a monster. Full & phat. It has some deep lows, really gargly mids & a pleasant sparkle in the top end. The bridge pickup, by itself, is way tight, very much mid rangy with some good top end. I rarely use it by itself. It's placed soo close to the bridge that it's a bit on the nasaly side. However, if I'm loopong & want to take a lead over the top of a phrase that I've recorded...the bridge pickup by itself will soar over the top. You can dial alot of low end/ boost up a little more mids & then roll off the passive tone a good bit & get a really cool tone out of that pickup alone...The middle pickup is a stand-alone beast. It's like a focused Music Man type sound. It has a very focused low end/ a powerful midrange/ and well pronounced highs that are great if you're playing hard hittin' stuff. It really cuts through. The bridge & middle pickup together are BEUTIFUL sounding. Very focused & tight/ awesome harmonics/ very well pronounced mids, plenty of top end without being abrasive. This works well for fingerstyle playing/ tapping/ even slapping. The neck & middle pickup together is a super phat combination. It's like the bottom end of a P bass, but there's this underlying clarity that's brought out by the middle pickup...it just ties everything together sonically. Great for ensemble playing. It's a very big/ phat sound, but every note still sounds like a note. This is an interesting sound for slapping. It sounds different than any other bass I've ever heard. It has that P bass vibe, but it's not out of control. It's very even & smooth, so it never sticks out in a bad way. I think that's the advantage of including the middle pickup. It adds a new level of even'ness to your tone. If you use all three pickups together, you get the best of it all. Very full sound/ very smooth & even. The passive tone offers alot of control & variety to what you can get out of the bass. The 3 band EQ (Bee Pre) is one of the most versitile/ powerful on the market....dead quiet. If I really wanted to go overkill on this bass, I could have gone with a pizeo setup in the bridge as well.......that's alot of knobs, though. I'm quite happy with the setup. I'm still getting used to it......figuring out what it can do....It's alot.
Wow Brady, your review is far beyond what i was hoping for as far as getting a "what do you think of the tripple pup system" goes! i am now fully aware (in detail) about whats to come, and what i can do with your new custom electronic setup. THANK YOU SO MUCH BRO, I AM SO F***ING EXCITED TO HAVE CHOSEN THE TRIPLE JSBC FOR MY NEW STINGER 9-STRING!!!!!!!!!
it might be quite brite sounding with the nine strings, but i'm a nuttso audiophile, so i cant wait to experiment and have my fun trying to utilize the tripple pup system to suit my needs in the sonic realm!!! 
WOOOT!!!!!!
I'm sure you'll enjoy it. I'd bet you'll dig the way it sounds flat! If you have to dive into the EQ at all, a dab'll do ya! The nice thing about the JSBC's is this: they're very crisp sounding. I usually never have to boost the treble on my active EQ. I'll bump the bass & mids a bit & they just sing! I wasn't sure if anyone would be up for the 3 pup system......I'm glad to get some feedback & interest. Somewhere along the way, I had this idea of the possabilities of a setup like this.......It works. I'm extremely thankful for Reinhard Jedamsik's input & influence on the whole thing.
Sign me up guys. I picked up Fred's first Thunderbee 6 a month or so ago, and she's a keeper.
When I first got it, the sheer size of the broad fretboard scared me. I've got small hands and have dumped many a six because it just didn't feel right. I slapped some Dingwall 6 strings on it, tweaked the action a touch, and dang...this is the easiest-playing bass I've ever owned. Responsive, probably cops any tone (and then some), light and well balanced.
I've always admired them from afar, but the deal for this one practically held a gun to my head. I'm glad it did, I'd have missed one of the finest instruments I've ever owned or played.
Fred is the MAN.
When I first got it, the sheer size of the broad fretboard scared me. I've got small hands and have dumped many a six because it just didn't feel right. I slapped some Dingwall 6 strings on it, tweaked the action a touch, and dang...this is the easiest-playing bass I've ever owned. Responsive, probably cops any tone (and then some), light and well balanced.
I've always admired them from afar, but the deal for this one practically held a gun to my head. I'm glad it did, I'd have missed one of the finest instruments I've ever owned or played.
Fred is the MAN.
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Sign me up too. Fred's the man. He certainly is more available sometimes than other via email/phone. I have to say though that right when I'm about to freakout from waiting to hear back from him he gets in touch and spends a good deal of time talking through with me what my options are. I'm having trouble finding a Pickup that will work for me, and Fred has been super cool/supportive trying to help me out with it. He even drove to my house one day and spent a couple of hours swapping/rewiring pickups to try to find a set up that would work for me. Now I've played with the second pickup for 6 months or so and realize that it's not going to work either, although for a different problem - we swapped to a lower output pickup to deal with the fact that the first one would overdrive/distort when I started playing hard at all. This one has a tone that I can't work with (the high end is so pronounced in the frequency range of string clicks/buzz/fret noise that if I play hard at all on a recording, or live with the treble turned anywhere except all the way down, it's really distracting). This is a real problem for me because I play (sometimes) really aggressive finger style, and I don't feel like changing, because I love the sound you get when you really start digging.
I have to give it to Fred though, he's willing to do whatever it takes to make the bass the way I want it. I love that. I think many builders at this point would say "hey I already swapped the pickup once and you've had the bass for like 9 months, ***?" but Fred is all about making it work for me. I really appreciate it because he has to deal with folks on both ends of the spectrum; those who play 9 string monsters and want the action a whisker off the frets, to people like me who play some heavy songs and just pull the hell out of the strings when we're feeling it.
He was so thoughtful and helpful and awesome when we were designing the bass that I got my dream bass in everyway except tone (looks, playability, coolness). I would totally buy from him again.
pic is crap. I really need to get a shot of this bass that does it justice...
I have to give it to Fred though, he's willing to do whatever it takes to make the bass the way I want it. I love that. I think many builders at this point would say "hey I already swapped the pickup once and you've had the bass for like 9 months, ***?" but Fred is all about making it work for me. I really appreciate it because he has to deal with folks on both ends of the spectrum; those who play 9 string monsters and want the action a whisker off the frets, to people like me who play some heavy songs and just pull the hell out of the strings when we're feeling it.
He was so thoughtful and helpful and awesome when we were designing the bass that I got my dream bass in everyway except tone (looks, playability, coolness). I would totally buy from him again.
pic is crap. I really need to get a shot of this bass that does it justice...
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Do yu have any progress pics?? what are the specs on your Bee?
Progress pictures on the weekend according to Petra!
Specs are;
5 String Stinger
Walnut body
Maple neck
Ebony fingerboard
Flame maple/Holly top
Unlined fingerboard
Single delano humbucker
Bee pre
I've been having so much fun with my Godin A4SA and a Roland GR-20, "expanding the horizons of my musical explorations...."
That I wanted a solid-body fretted four incorporating Synth Access, built from the ground up- (the Godin is a semi-acoustic that I use with TI Bronze Phosphor strings-very cool; unique tones, ...and with the synth....sheesh!)
I was intrigued by Bee Basses from the first, and as I read more about them, and saw and heard them, (and started reading what you FAN-atics were having/had built-
I busted a decision- I really wanted BEE to build the aformentioned bass, If possible.
Fred E-Mailed me back immediately, saying he could employ the GHOST 13-pin system, sending me a link etc..
And now I'm hooked.
Hopefully, I'll get on his roster for this forthcoming year; he told me he's limiting his builds.
I KNOW that if I'm fortunate enough and patient enough to get a Stinger built to my specs- with both 13-pin and 1/4" jacks, single pup, 3-band eq with mid switch, Swamp Ash Body, Maple Neck, Maple Board.
It would be a KILLER instrument- I can hear it now!
There I am; creating/arpeggiating a bass line, finding a groove, and here comes the synth patch, mixed in with the "natural" resonance and tone of what a BEE bass does...
Can you imagine!!???
Fred said he'd get back to me with specs/pricing, etc.
Wish me luck.
That I wanted a solid-body fretted four incorporating Synth Access, built from the ground up- (the Godin is a semi-acoustic that I use with TI Bronze Phosphor strings-very cool; unique tones, ...and with the synth....sheesh!)
I was intrigued by Bee Basses from the first, and as I read more about them, and saw and heard them, (and started reading what you FAN-atics were having/had built-
I busted a decision- I really wanted BEE to build the aformentioned bass, If possible.
Fred E-Mailed me back immediately, saying he could employ the GHOST 13-pin system, sending me a link etc..
And now I'm hooked.
Hopefully, I'll get on his roster for this forthcoming year; he told me he's limiting his builds.
I KNOW that if I'm fortunate enough and patient enough to get a Stinger built to my specs- with both 13-pin and 1/4" jacks, single pup, 3-band eq with mid switch, Swamp Ash Body, Maple Neck, Maple Board.
It would be a KILLER instrument- I can hear it now!
There I am; creating/arpeggiating a bass line, finding a groove, and here comes the synth patch, mixed in with the "natural" resonance and tone of what a BEE bass does...
Can you imagine!!???
Fred said he'd get back to me with specs/pricing, etc.
Wish me luck.
I've been having so much fun with my Godin A4SA and a Roland GR-20, "expanding the horizons of my musical explorations...."
That I wanted a solid-body fretted four incorporating Synth Access, built from the ground up- (the Godin is a semi-acoustic that I use with TI Bronze Phosphor strings-very cool; unique tones, ...and with the synth....sheesh!)
I was intrigued by Bee Basses from the first, and as I read more about them, and saw and heard them, (and started reading what you FAN-atics were having/had built-
I busted a decision- I really wanted BEE to build the aformentioned bass, If possible.
Fred E-Mailed me back immediately, saying he could employ the GHOST 13-pin system, sending me a link etc..
And now I'm hooked.
Hopefully, I'll get on his roster for this forthcoming year; he told me he's limiting his builds.
I KNOW that if I'm fortunate enough and patient enough to get a Stinger built to my specs- with both 13-pin and 1/4" jacks, single pup, 3-band eq with mid switch, Swamp Ash Body, Maple Neck, Maple Board.
It would be a KILLER instrument- I can hear it now!
There I am; creating/arpeggiating a bass line, finding a groove, and here comes the synth patch, mixed in with the "natural" resonance and tone of what a BEE bass does...
Can you imagine!!???
Fred said he'd get back to me with specs/pricing, etc.
Wish me luck.
Best of luck with the new bee bass build!!!
I didnt know Fred began limmiting his builds and orders, but i guess that was only a matter of time before it finaly happened. Freds a one man opperation and he must have at least 10 builds going on at any point of time, no doubt. Not to mention all the basses he had unofficialy tucked away into a waiting list of sorts. I guess from the sounds of things now, Fred will be much more upfront and acurate about what time frame you can be expected to wait on as far as "from placing the initial order, to completion of the bass". Great idea IMO.
Nothing wrong with upping the quality in comunication
Let us know how things turn out for you.
Thanks-
Fred gave me rapid replies twice; and only mentioned that he was apparently taking his orders for basses down a notch- He did say he'd get me in the roster though-
I certainly hope so-
His designs are very cool, and based on what I've seen on the site and read here, the man knows how to build a bass guitar.
I would LOVE to arrive at the day when I'm posting pics, and having a big ole stupid grin on my face from diggin' into the instrument I expect I'd receive.
Fred gave me rapid replies twice; and only mentioned that he was apparently taking his orders for basses down a notch- He did say he'd get me in the roster though-
I certainly hope so-
His designs are very cool, and based on what I've seen on the site and read here, the man knows how to build a bass guitar.
I would LOVE to arrive at the day when I'm posting pics, and having a big ole stupid grin on my face from diggin' into the instrument I expect I'd receive.
