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Club Alleva-Coppolo (Part 13)
- Thread starter Bryan R. Tyler
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+1 All you need is the serial number and he will give you the entire history of that bass, including spec's. I'm not one to bother manufactures, etc., but when I called Jimmy three times (to ask questions prior to my three A-C purchases) he was wonderful and answered every question I had.
Actually, you might not even need the serial number, since he hasn't made that many instruments. He literally remembered both of the used ones I purchased from my description.
Hey, maybe not!
I measured my 69 J and its 31 1/2 inch to the pole pieces on the bridge pup. I measured my 74 J and its 32 inch to the poles...exactly 1/2 inch back where it should be.
I tried to measure from the middle of the nut.
I'm not saying I measured correctly, but I'm not sure its 70s if the seller measured 31 1/2 like Vic posted. That would correspond with my 60's measurement above.
All someone has to do is call Jimmy and ask him if he ever made an ash/maple bass with 60's spacing. Based on quite a few posts way back in the day (I LOVE my ash/maple Sadowsky with 60's spacing... IMO the best spec there is... all the grind and aggressive attach of ash/maple with more balls and growl when favoring the bridge pickup... nirvana), I'm pretty sure the answer will be 'no', based on quite a few discussions. If the answer is 'yes', I might buy the darn thing myself
Edit: By the way, the 'correct' way to determine 60's versus 70's is 'distance between pickups'. I can't remember the exact measurement, but measuring from the nut adds quite a bit of error over that long distance.
All someone has to do is call Jimmy and ask him if he ever made an ash/maple bass with 60's spacing. Based on quite a few posts way back in the day (I LOVE my ash/maple Sadowsky with 60's spacing... IMO the best spec there is... all the grind and aggressive attach of ash/maple with more balls and growl when favoring the bridge pickup... nirvana), I'm pretty sure the answer will be 'no', based on quite a few discussions. If the answer is 'yes', I might buy the darn thing myself
I agree it seems unlikely he made an ash/maple bass with 60s pups, but you never know especially if it was early. I posted my measurements also because it might be a curiosity for some who want to check their instruments against my vintage Js. But I'll check again to make sure I remembered correctly.
TimothyGroovy
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- Aug 3, 2000
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- Owner: Uni•Sound Endorsing Artist: Sadowsky Guitars, Olinto Bass, LaBella Strings
My "new-to-me" AC KBP-4 Classic built in NY shop! Simply amazing!! This is the first P bass I own after years of playing... This one really growing on me and make me tempted to get a 5 string LG.......
It is lucky to own a "vintage" AC - B0008
It is lucky to own a "vintage" AC - B0008
+100. I know we just had a discussion about trim lines vs. options. But the model names were never questioned. Eventhough the website can be confusing, I feel Jimmy is very clear (at least to me) about what is what.
Case in point... My LM5 on order will have black blocks/binding... Jimmy said that it will be an RA5-Ash as it's more of a 73/74 than a 75 which is what the LM is about. Also, the truss rod adjustment will be at the heel cause the bullet wasn't done in 73/74.
To me that is very clear info.
It looks like a very rare transition pickup placement to me probably 75 or so and right between the two...
Jimmy is such a vintage Fender nerd! Love it....So Jimmy changed your order from an LM5 to an RA5-ASH
I guess he'll only do the bullet when it's period correct?
BTW - Made a slight adjustment to my bullet truss last night, first of most likely very few adjustments. Loosened up the A string enough to pull it off the nut slot. Initially it was a little sticky but moved smoothly after that and the hex fit perfectly, very deep, so lots of contact. It would seem there is little to no chance of stripping as long as the correct size allen key is used. Increased the tension by maybe a 1/4 turn Brought back the relief and lowered the action perfectly.
Ok, just got off the phone with Jimmy. As far as he recalls the bass for sale has 70's spacing.
He said he only made 2 Ash/Maple/60's - one was Sunburst and one was Trans White. Both of these were sold as LM due to the wood combo - eventhough my incoming RA5-Ash blurs that line.
He said he only made 2 Ash/Maple/60's - one was Sunburst and one was Trans White. Both of these were sold as LM due to the wood combo - eventhough my incoming RA5-Ash blurs that line.
I'd be curious to know the serial number of that ash/maple bass on Ebay ... and don't wanna speak too soon without talking to Jimmy, but I know for a fact that the first 4 AC's all had 60's spacing ... 2 alder/rosewood (of which i own one) and two ash/maple (at least one of them was natural finish) ... and they all had bad ass II bridges & the hipshot ultralight tuners, which the bass in question has ... Jimmy was going for consistency in his first builds and didn't get period correct until he had worked out a few details. My gut tells me that this is one of those very first Coppolo's from 2004
How is that?
I also disagree with your statement anyway, because some builder could have a design that also moves the neck pickup. What's important, is how close the bridge pickup is to the bridge end of the 34" scale, and the easiest way to measure that is from the nut since it doesn't have the compensating saddle issue.
Really, if you wanna' be totally accurate, you should measure both, and at least one needs to be measured from the nut.
- Apr 3, 2003
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Yes, but that only works if you can assume the pickup pair is in the correct location in the string span. If this is not guaranteed, you have to involve one end of the string span for an absolute reference point, and the easiest one to do that with, is the nut. That's all I'm saying.A quick and dirty measurement should be to just measure the distance between the pickups.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,518
- 19,954
- Disclosures
- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
That's true in this particular case, unless it's a customTrue, but I trust Jimmy to position the neck pickup correctly, so it really comes down to whether he placed the bridge pickup in the 60's position or the 70's position.
, but I was making a more general statement, and really, it was in rebuttal to Ken's comment that measuring from the nut isn't as accurate (tho how, I can't imagine, which is why I asked him).I (still) assert that, not only is measuring from the nut just as accurate, it also takes any assumptions you have to make about the builder's designs out of the equation, so it always works no matter what bass you're talking about as long as at least the scale is 34". Otherwise, if it's not, then the whole' 60's vs 70's J positioning is moot anyway because Fender never made a non-34" scale Jazz bass in the 60's or 70's.
All this just IMHO tho.
- Apr 3, 2003
- 35,518
- 19,954
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- Editor-in-Chief, Bass Gear Magazine
That's true in this particular case, unless it's a custom
I (still) assert that, not only is measuring from the nut just as accurate, it also takes any assumptions you have to make about the builder's designs out of the equation, so it always works no matter what bass you're talking about as long as at least the scale is 34". Otherwise, if it's not, then the whole' 60's vs 70's J positioning is moot anyway because Fender never made a non-34" scale Jazz bass in the 60's or 70's.
All this just IMHO tho.
True, measuring from the nut should be accurate (more so than measuring form the bridge saddles), and I agree that so long as your measuring tape is not faulty, it should be just as accurate over a longer distance as it is over a shorter distance.
But to me, the easiest way to tell a 60's spacing from a 70's spacing is to just measure the distance between the centerline of both pickups.
I am not disagreeing with you, though.
Yeah, I'm assuming you're using a reliable measuring device. And if you really wanna' be accurate, it should always be from the break point of the string (the fingerboard side of the nut) so the nut thickness is also irrelevant (as it should be).True, measuring from the nut should be accurate (more so than measuring form the bridge saddles), and I agree that so long as your measuring tape is not faulty, it should be just as accurate over a longer distance as it is over a shorter distance.
But to me, the easiest way to tell a 60's spacing from a 70's spacing is to just measure the distance between the centerline of both pickups.
I am not disagreeing with you, though.
However, the difference should be 1/2" (that part, I do know)... not some really small amount. So if you have a tape measure that's THAT far off over a sub-34" range, it's time for a new tape measure!
EDIT: And I'm not disagreeing with you or Ken, either, given you know at least one pickup is in the right place in relation to the string span, which as you said, should be the case with Jimmy.
I dont think measuring from the nut leaves quite a bit of room for error on a pup diff of 1/2 inch. When I measure, its clear (even it I dont position the end of the measure with 100% accuracy on the middle, or fretboard end of the nut) which side of 31 1/2 or 32 inches the measurement to the pole piece is going to be. Its almost dead on.
BTW, another factor is how accurate the pups are mounted inside the route. Believe it or not, over the long term I've had pups mounted as much as approx. 1/4 inch off the center measurement, and, also a few not mounted perfectly straight in the route but on a slight angle. I know this is not common, but for me it mitigates against always measuring between pups. I check every bass.
I checked again- LG= 31 1/2 inch, LM= 32 inch.
I re- checked my 69 J and my 74 J and they are as above.
BTW, another factor is how accurate the pups are mounted inside the route. Believe it or not, over the long term I've had pups mounted as much as approx. 1/4 inch off the center measurement, and, also a few not mounted perfectly straight in the route but on a slight angle. I know this is not common, but for me it mitigates against always measuring between pups. I check every bass.
I checked again- LG= 31 1/2 inch, LM= 32 inch.
I re- checked my 69 J and my 74 J and they are as above.
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