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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call...Part 5!
- Thread starter smperry
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Ya, that one just showed up at the Round Rock GC location. $729 is a pretty nice price, I think.
Yes indeed on both parts. First time into that store. Quite a nice place. Their studios are... I shutter at the word... dreamy. But it is! 14 dollar and 18 dollar/hr rooms outfitted with drums, amps, and if you want keys, another 10 bucks.
Got the postcard in the mail today. It's due to be completed by 12/12/11. Hopefully it gets completed on time!
Dude can't wait to see it! It'll be an early Christmas present.
Yay, you...and your newest prize.
whoapower said:
Crap, I was there last night and did not see it! I will try to check it out tomorrow.
I'll post pictures of them both together once the new one comes in. This one will have more of a vintage vibe to it which I'm excited about.
You've all heard it before, but these are amazing basses, especially (but not only) for the money! I did some recording with my band, SB5000 and Lakland 55-94 into Streamliner 900 taking the direct out (post-eq). The SB has the pickup blend and variable mid controls.
The Lakland plays easier but the SB5000 sounded better, more muscle, bite and definition. Sat in the mix just right. If I get the SB plekked it will probably play as well as the Lakland, so I might do that soon. Not too bad for less than 1/3 of the price. Here it is, my main player ahead of several MIA Fenders, the Lakland, a G&L Tribute, and a Peavey Cirrus:
The Lakland plays easier but the SB5000 sounded better, more muscle, bite and definition. Sat in the mix just right. If I get the SB plekked it will probably play as well as the Lakland, so I might do that soon. Not too bad for less than 1/3 of the price. Here it is, my main player ahead of several MIA Fenders, the Lakland, a G&L Tribute, and a Peavey Cirrus:
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Just ordered a fretless SB5000. Antique Brown stain with blackburst edges and matching headstock. Been wanting to get a fretless bass for a while, and after trolling the for sale ads for what seems like forever, I decided to just pull the trigger on a new SB5000. Called the order in because I had some questions. Very helpful sales person. Great to work with. I can't wait till that beauty gets delivered.
Hey all, I have a mod question about the SB5000.
It's already my main player, but there are some things I would like to improve.
I LOVE the sound of the neck pickup, it's like the best of the P and J, classic and modern. But the bridge is brighter and thinner than I would like. I'm thinking about routing the bridge cavity a bit bigger in the direction of the neck and putting in a Nordstrand Big Single. Since that pickup is a bit wider, would that put it at the same position as a 60's jazz? Anybody have any intuition about how that might sound or work electronically? I currently use 100% neck pickup 90% of the time, so I wouldn't be losing any tones I really care about.
It's already my main player, but there are some things I would like to improve.
I LOVE the sound of the neck pickup, it's like the best of the P and J, classic and modern. But the bridge is brighter and thinner than I would like. I'm thinking about routing the bridge cavity a bit bigger in the direction of the neck and putting in a Nordstrand Big Single. Since that pickup is a bit wider, would that put it at the same position as a 60's jazz? Anybody have any intuition about how that might sound or work electronically? I currently use 100% neck pickup 90% of the time, so I wouldn't be losing any tones I really care about.
Don't, I would really advise against changing the pickup. The bridge is in 70's position already. Putting a Big Single in there would do little to solve your problem. I've had basses with Big Singles, NJ 70's wind, and NJS pickups, all in 70's position...there really isn't that much difference in the low end, and definitely not enough to justify routing out the bass. The SBs are great sounding basses...if you are soloing the bridge then boost the bass on the eq to fatten the sound.
I know it's in 70s position now. Since the BS is wider I would expand the existing hole farther towards the neck. Hopefully that would put me in 60s territory, which I prefer.
Obviously I've tried eq fixes but as I'm sure you know, that is not the same as the differences in harmonics you get from moving the pickup. How far is the difference between 60s and 70s bridge positions?
As I said, I agree it's a great sounding bass, but currently the bridge pickup doesn't do much for me.
Obviously I've tried eq fixes but as I'm sure you know, that is not the same as the differences in harmonics you get from moving the pickup. How far is the difference between 60s and 70s bridge positions?
As I said, I agree it's a great sounding bass, but currently the bridge pickup doesn't do much for me.
it won't put it in 60's position because you'd be routing toward the neck and you don't want to route more toward the bridge because that will only thin out the tone more. If you want 60's jazz sound then you're going to have a nice gap between the end of the pickup and the original route.
Lackey is correct, the bridge pickup would have to move 1/4" closer to the neck.
Also, fykozonisz is correct that you would end up with a very visible hole on the bridge side of the bridge pickup. If the bass is a solid color, you might be able to do some creative filling, but it'll be a bit of a challenge to make it look nice again (I guess if you care about it). You might be able to get away with just painting the route flat black so at least from a distance, it might just look kinda' like a larger pickup, and then you'd also have the ability to switch back someday if you wanted to. Dunno.
You are correct, however, that there is really no way to EQ a 70's bass to sound like a 60's bass. It's not a matter of EQ... it's a matter of harmonics and overtones... essentially, its fundamental voicing.
Thanks guys.
Actually, the width of the current pickup is 0.75" and the BS is 1.25", so if I routed the extra 0.5" toward the neck, the *center* of the BS would end up exactly 0.25" closer to the neck. So really the only visible holes would be for the semicircular screw thingies, which the BS doesn't have.
What does a Big Single sound like in 60's bridge position? I assume it's a bit thicker and less focused sounding than a jazz single coil, right? And how well would the output balance between the Carvin neck and Big Single bridge work? I assume the BS is hotter.
Actually, the width of the current pickup is 0.75" and the BS is 1.25", so if I routed the extra 0.5" toward the neck, the *center* of the BS would end up exactly 0.25" closer to the neck. So really the only visible holes would be for the semicircular screw thingies, which the BS doesn't have.
What does a Big Single sound like in 60's bridge position? I assume it's a bit thicker and less focused sounding than a jazz single coil, right? And how well would the output balance between the Carvin neck and Big Single bridge work? I assume the BS is hotter.
Non-Carvin, no. And based on my experiences, I'll extend that range up to $2,000.
I'd have to agree. For me, if they put out a version with 60's spacing and the ability to have both mid control and a passive option, it would be almost perfect.
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