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Conklin GT 7???

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daranjeri

Sep 17, 2012
7
0
52
Toronto
#1
Hey Everyone,

I'm new to TalkBass, and I'm also a new bassist (been playing for just under a year.) I just ordered the Conklin GT 7. Any advice/info on this bass? I'm learning to play jazz, soul, and funk, and I was thinking of possibly modifying the Conklin at a later date - new pickups, new preamp. I don't know much about them, but I saw a guy modded his MTD KZ with Ken Smith pickups and aguilar preamp, and the sound waskiller. I know that the MTD and the Conklin are 2 different basses (the Conklin has a purpleheart fingerboard, whereas the KZ has a maple one), so they'll sound a little different. But considering that I want to do jazz/soul/brazillian/funk, what pickups and preamp would you modify the Conklin with??? Any advice would be really appreciated :-):hyper:
 
#7
the pickups in the GT-7 are USA Bartolinis.. the preamp is a Mighty Mite MM-114, which is a copy of a later HazLab Spector NS preamp.. it's on a PCB, and is very easy to mod.. you can swap out the opamp in it for a lower noise floor/higher quality opamp.. or change the values of the resistors/capacitors..

or, swapping out to a different preamp.. Bartolini, Aguilar, Glockenklang, etc.. whatever you are comfortable with..

most people use Bartolini in the GT-7.. i intend on replacing mine with either a Glockenklang, or a Mike Pope Flexcore pre..

most people replace the tuners and the bridge with Hipshot hardware.. the string spacing at the bridge is somewhat tight at 16.5.. afaik, you can go to 17.5, depending on the gauge of your lower strings, without falling off the edges of the fretboard.. plus the Hipshot hardware is much lighter than the stock hardware, which is a real bonus with this bass.. the bass is well balanced, but it's *not* light at all.. mine is 13.8lbs..
 
#8
I own one.. have gigged tons of times with it.

It's a very clear and articulate sounding bass...has some passive characteristics to it.

--

Sincerely, I have both a Demeter and Bart preamp in a drawer waiting to be installed... I've yet to have that big a problem that i needed to swap it out.

Preamp is part most swap out.
 
#9
daranjeri said:
Hey Everyone,

I'm new to TalkBass, and I'm also a new bassist (been playing for just under a year.) I just ordered the Conklin GT 7. Any advice/info on this bass? I'm learning to play jazz, soul, and funk, and I was thinking of possibly modifying the Conklin at a later date - new pickups, new preamp. I don't know much about them, but I saw a guy modded his MTD KZ with Ken Smith pickups and aguilar preamp, and the sound waskiller. I know that the MTD and the Conklin are 2 different basses (the Conklin has a purpleheart fingerboard, whereas the KZ has a maple one), so they'll sound a little different. But considering that I want to do jazz/soul/brazillian/funk, what pickups and preamp would you modify the Conklin with??? Any advice would be really appreciated :-):hyper:
Click to expand...

You've only been playing a year and the first thing you want to do is rip up your Conklin? In fact, you don't even HAVE it yet, and still you think that the first thing you want to do is tear it apart and change what Conklin built as their best idea of what that bass should be? That is what noobs seem to do. I've got a GT7 and my advice is to first learn to play it! If you want to "mod" it, sell it and move up to a Bill Dickens model (like mine). The ONLY mod mine has was a Plek job because it had a couple high frets. I've been playing MANY years and I'm reluctant to start fooling with delicate balance of tone that a 7 string needs. I've also got a Bass Mods 7 string and it's a completely different animal from the Conklin. It's much more "ordinary" sounding. Which is not bad, it just depends on what you want for the music you are playing.

So my advice is that unless you have money to burn on "lessons" as to what various kinds of pickups and preamps do on a 7 string bass, I'd back off for now until you can come here and precisely tell us exactly what you find "wrong" with your bass, and what you'd like to see it do/sound like to "fix" the "problem".
 
#10
throbgod13 said:
the pickups in the GT-7 are USA Bartolinis.. the preamp is a Mighty Mite MM-114, which is a copy of a later HazLab Spector NS preamp.. it's on a PCB, and is very easy to mod.. you can swap out the opamp in it for a lower noise floor/higher quality opamp.. or change the values of the resistors/capacitors..

or, swapping out to a different preamp.. Bartolini, Aguilar, Glockenklang, etc.. whatever you are comfortable with..

most people use Bartolini in the GT-7.. i intend on replacing mine with either a Glockenklang, or a Mike Pope Flexcore pre..

most people replace the tuners and the bridge with Hipshot hardware.. the string spacing at the bridge is somewhat tight at 16.5.. afaik, you can go to 17.5, depending on the gauge of your lower strings, without falling off the edges of the fretboard.. plus the Hipshot hardware is much lighter than the stock hardware, which is a real bonus with this bass.. the bass is well balanced, but it's *not* light at all.. mine is 13.8lbs..
Click to expand...
Good to know! I didn't realize my Bill Dickens had American Bartolinis. It certainly records well. I may have to try some of this replacement of bridges and tuners. It's a great bass but it's definitely a heavyweight! I may try Sperzels as tuners if they can still be had-love 'em on my earlier Carvins.
 
#11
Thanks for the feedback, everyone :-) I decided to go with the GTBD 7 instead. And on the advice of BassBenj - I'll refrain from being a noob and just play it for a good while before deciding whether to mess with it or not ;-) ... I have a feeling that with the GTBD-7, I probably won't even want to change anything on it. I ordered it yesterday, and can't wait for it to arrive. this is going to be the longest "7 - 10 business days" of my life, lol. Will update when it comes!
 
#13
I own 3 Conklin 7, it's been my main bass since 1994 .
I have collected the 7 string jokes all these years ;)

One is custom and only get use in studio or for detuned gigs, great sound but very heavy

One GTBD 7 (wine burst,looks awesome in the stage lights),slim neck very fast action,a lot of electronics.My fav for gigging .

Con:the bass sounds best with a fully charged 9 volt, I can ear a difference after 4 or 5 hours of playing.

Need a strong back ,workout a must if you plan on playing a double :)
No room in the cavity for upgrade it's full

One GT7 upgraded with RME Piezzo saddle and preamp with 13 pin out for midi.
The neck is bigger but still very playable for small hands, the electronic is on one board ,not so convenient for DUY upgrades but the sound is good on the stock preamp
Like mentioned in a previous post a bit more of a passive bass sound.
My go to for practice and double gigs :)
 

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