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Carvin SB5000 / SB4000 Roll Call...Part 5!

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#401
Okay, I know I've said this before but I think I'm finally in a position to order a SB5000. The wife seems okay with it and I've got caught up on a few things.

I think I've decided to knix the chambered option and just request a light body and hope for the best. I wish they just chambered the wings and not the center block.:hmm:

Now I'm just debating Swamp Ash vs. Alder for the body. The fret board is definitely going to be maple (birdseye) and had originally planned to do Alder for the body but I really love the tone of the basses Sekou plays on the demo videos. Also I loved the tone of my old mid 70's Jazz which was HEAVY Northern Ash and probably has little to do with the sound of Swamp Ash. I do love me some Maple/Swamp Ash Sadowsky tone though!
 
#403
I think the chambered stuff outlived its usefulness as it seems the chambered and non chambered ones are coming out on the in stock page at about the same weights now. I'm partial to the solid Alder/Maple setup personally. Although the Alder/Ebony fretless I had gave pretty much the same basic tone.

If I ever run into Sekou Bunch, I am going to shake his hand for designing my favorite bass.
 
#404
Jarrett said:
I think the chambered stuff outlived its usefulness as it seems the chambered and non chambered ones are coming out on the in stock page at about the same weights now. I'm partial to the solid Alder/Maple setup personally. Although the Alder/Ebony fretless I had gave pretty much the same basic tone.

If I ever run into Sekou Bunch, I am going to shake his hand for designing my favorite bass.
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I had two late 90's Stringrays 5's, a fretted alder/rosewood and a fretless Pao Ferro/Swamp Ash. I know it's kind of apples to oranges because of the frets but the fretless was sooooo much better in a mix it wasn't even funny. In fact the guys in the band I played with at the time told me to leave my Warwick Dolphin 5 at home(which they had originally loved) because the fretless Stingray sounded so much better in the mix. I don't recall it being scooped or mid shy like some people describe Swamp Ash, in fact it seemed really punchy in the mids but that may have been the fingerboard or the fact it was fretless.
 
#406
I play with my volumes full on, so no noise issue. We had a gig where we were on the same circuit as the neon open sign and I liked to favor the bridge with my fretless and it buzzed some, but it was really wreaking havoc on the acoustic guitar player more than I.

If I did another fretless (or bass where I planned to favor one pickup a lot) I might do the humbuckers.
 
#407
Jarrett said:
I play with my volumes full on, so no noise issue. We had a gig where we were on the same circuit as the neon open sign and I liked to favor the bridge with my fretless and it buzzed some, but it was really wreaking havoc on the acoustic guitar player more than I.

If I did another fretless (or bass where I planned to favor one pickup a lot) I might do the humbuckers.
Click to expand...

I have a fretless 5 string kit on the way, with J99A pickups.

Any reason you'd choose humbuckers over singles?
 
#408
As regards humbucking versions of a single coil pickup -
The plusses are greatly reduced hum problems when favouring one pickup and a slightly smoother sound. Possibly more low mids.

The minuses are less bite/presence/hi mids, and possibly less dynamic range. Some people can barely tell the difference. For me, the humbucking version of any pickup always sounds a bit lacking in life compared to the single coils. I've found this to be true of Nordstrand, Sadowsky, and also the Carvin J99A vs the humbucking version. A TBer put up a comparison youtube video a year or so ago, if you go back through the early versions of this thread you should be able to find it.

As a result, I always go with the single coil version, unless the pickup is inherently a humbucker, as in a Stingray or a Precision. Hum is annoying, but it's more important to me to really like my tone. And I almost never play with both pickups up all the way.
 
#409
Warrior_Bass said:
I have a fretless 5 string kit on the way, with J99A pickups.

Any reason you'd choose humbuckers over singles?
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I'd listen to the guys that have actually tried both. I've only used the J99As. I love them, my fave pickups, but I did have some annoying hum on some gigs with my fretless when I would favor the bridge with them.

I guess its a toss up. Occasional hum or a less dynamic sound. I'm not sure which I would choose for fretless.

Edit: The more I think about it, the more I think I would stay with the J99As, they sound great.
 
#411
I think I have Dunlop nickels on mine and they sound great.
I'm not 100% positive as they look just like DRs and I don't know for sure what I put on there last.

It is a bright instrument but backing off the treble control (or passive tone) just a hair should round off the edges, especially in a mix.
 
#414
LaBassGuy said:
What strings do you guys use for your SB's?

I feel mine in Ash/Maple is bit too bright--I don't know if anyone else feels that way. So what strings would fatten it up bit more?
Click to expand...

For roundwounds, I only and always use Circle-K balanced sets with a .136 B string. They are the most amazing set of strings I have ever played, at least for me and what I want tone wise.

Right now, my SB5000 is wearing Carvin flats and has a great old-school thump thing going on. I like those flats on the SB more than I like the Chromes, though I have Chromes on other basses.
 
#416
LaBassGuy said:
What strings do you guys use for your SB's?

I feel mine in Ash/Maple is bit too bright--I don't know if anyone else feels that way. So what strings would fatten it up bit more?
Click to expand...

I stuck a set of light gauge Sadowsky flats on mine, and am really loving it. I used D'Addario nickle rounds on it too, and it was certainly brighter, but not annoyingly so. Mine's a maple/alder combo, so my instrument might just be a bit darker to start with.
 
#419
LaBassGuy said:
What strings do you guys use for your SB's?

I feel mine in Ash/Maple is bit too bright--I don't know if anyone else feels that way. So what strings would fatten it up bit more?
Click to expand...
Don't have a SB (yet) but I really like DR Nickel Lo-Riders. They aren't as brite as the stainless version or Hi Beams and I think they sound thicker than Sunbeams while keeping their down low. They also thicken up a bit more when the get a bit broken in and I like their medium tension; not quite as low tension as Hi Beams and Sunbeams but lower tension than Ernie Ball Slinkys and way lower than Fender Nickel Rounds.

Here is a link to Ed Friedland's (a SB5000 owner) DR string reviews-http://bassemporium.com/blog/?p=445

He has different views on some of these sets than I do but it's a good read and he's got sound clips for you to make up your own mind.
 
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