Coral Wasp inspired build - The Calabrone

[JIO]

It's on my "To Do" List My big problem is my 'Cool Ideas' list is growing quickly!

put all of your ideas on folded tabs - put them all in a bowl - shake it - pick one

 

[JIO]

Man I love those coral and wasp basses. They are some of the best looking ones from that era. Good on ya to build one, I'm sure it's going to be awesome all around!

The curves of the body and the simple but snazzy flair that's unparalleled, IMO.

Love the lipsticks and the "bubble-like" appearance of the nicely rounded body. Of course, what could be better than a medium scale neck?

Nothing in my opinion...

The 'bubble-like' look is achieved by smoothly tapering the back and front sides into a rounded air-foil like shape. You can see it in this pic of the guitar version - also shown is the lucite pg addition I mentioned. Having the pg pattern under clear makes perfect sense as the pg screw connecting line is printed on the swirl material.

 

[Old Blastard]

Damn, this going to be awesome. And I love the swirl pickguard. Can't wait to see how it turns out.

 

[Reedt2000]

The 'bubble-like' look is achieved by smoothly tapering the back and front sides into a rounded air-foil like shape. You can see it in this pic of the guitar version - also shown is the lucite pg addition I mentioned. Having the pg pattern under clear makes perfect sense as the pg screw connecting line is printed on the swirl material.

View attachment 2817103

Is that control plate flat or does it have so.e outward shape to it?

 

[Fender_Bender]

I'm not familiar with it. I guess the big question in my mind is why would they go with such an elaborate control scheme on what I presume was considered a budget/mid level instrument?.

 

[JIO]

I looked on eBay for lipstick pu's. I typed in "bass lipstick pu's" but most all listed say 'guitar' and a couple say 'guitar/bass'. Some say Strat or Tele. They are various prices, some from US sellers and many very cheap ones from China. The only ones that state 'bass pu's' are the Kent Armstrong version which has blunt-ends and J-bass tabs. (for a J rout) Seymour Duncan has the traditional style but 'for Strat'. Has anyone out there used lipstick pu's in a bass? I can order a set of them for $20 shipped to try but they are most likely going to be for guitar so will they sound anemic in a bass? Were the original Dano pu's like this, meaning were they generic guitar/bass pu's? I listened to some Lakland sound files of their bass that has the Kent Armstrong version and they all sounded good - very bassy. I just don't want the J-tabs and want the traditional rounded-end version. Maybe I'll post this in the pu section to throw a broader net.

 

[JIO]

Is that control plate flat or does it have so.e outward shape to it?

I think the control plate is also clear lucite with beveled edges and a thin sheet of silver foil under it.

 

[Freekmagnet]

I have a lead on some NOS crazy plastic material that could work with this one. Aside from that, there are a few sources I can look into as well and I'll look into the drum wrap material. Once again the aim will be retro referential but not tacky. I mean, that swirly-pearl on the Wasp is awesome but is teetering on being kitchy - I don't want garish and if I can't find anything unusual that works I'll go for standard creme pearl which always looks cool.

Invalid Link Removed

 

[2saddleslab]

I looked on eBay for lipstick pu's. I typed in "bass lipstick pu's" but most all listed say 'guitar' and a couple say 'guitar/bass'. Some say Strat or Tele. They are various prices, some from US sellers and many very cheap ones from China. The only ones that state 'bass pu's' are the Kent Armstrong version which has blunt-ends and J-bass tabs. (for a J rout) Seymour Duncan has the traditional style but 'for Strat'. Has anyone out there used lipstick pu's in a bass? I can order a set of them for $20 shipped to try but they are most likely going to be for guitar so will they sound anemic in a bass? Were the original Dano pu's like this, meaning were they generic guitar/bass pu's? I listened to some Lakland sound files of their bass that has the Kent Armstrong version and they all sounded good - very bassy. I just don't want the J-tabs and want the traditional rounded-end version. Maybe I'll post this in the pu section to throw a broader net.

It's my understanding that the Danelectro guitar and bass pickups were one in the same. They were not instrument specific.

Best of luck with the build, looking forward to it!

 

[JIO]

I'm not familiar with it. I guess the big question in my mind is why would they go with such an elaborate control scheme on what I presume was considered a budget/mid level instrument?.

After MCA bought Nathan Daniels' guitar and amp operation in 1966, they decided expand into more upscale instruments than the traditional Masonite-and-pine Danelectro creations that had proven successful in the first place. The very extensive Coral line consisted of both hollowbody instruments (with bodies sourced from Japan) and solidbody basses and guitars with slim Fender-influenced contours made entirely in the Neptune, NJ factory.

 

[Freekmagnet]

I looked on eBay for lipstick pu's. I typed in "bass lipstick pu's" but most all listed say 'guitar' and a couple say 'guitar/bass'. Some say Strat or Tele. They are various prices, some from US sellers and many very cheap ones from China. The only ones that state 'bass pu's' are the Kent Armstrong version which has blunt-ends and J-bass tabs. (for a J rout) Seymour Duncan has the traditional style but 'for Strat'. Has anyone out there used lipstick pu's in a bass? I can order a set of them for $20 shipped to try but they are most likely going to be for guitar so will they sound anemic in a bass? Were the original Dano pu's like this, meaning were they generic guitar/bass pu's? I listened to some Lakland sound files of their bass that has the Kent Armstrong version and they all sounded good - very bassy. I just don't want the J-tabs and want the traditional rounded-end version. Maybe I'll post this in the pu section to throw a broader net.

I've used lipsticks in a couple of different basses and they are anemic like you described. It's is weird because I've played Dano basses in the store and I really liked them. I think I might of had them wired in parallel instead of series.

Actually, I take that back - the solo neck pickup sounds really good.

As @2saddleslab mentioned above, I'm pretty sure that Danelectro used the same pickup for everything.

 

[JIO]

Ordered - some had raised plates which may have been too deep for a 1-1/4" body - these are lower profile and should work fine.

 

[JIO]

I've used lipsticks in a couple of different basses and they are anemic like you described. It's is weird because I've played Dano basses in the store and I really liked them. I think I might of had them wired in parallel instead of series.

Actually, I take that back - the solo neck pickup sounds really good.

As @2saddleslab mentioned above, I'm pretty sure that Danelectro used the same pickup for everything.

I'm thinking if sold in a set they should be reversed, but I don't know that for a fact. I'll echo the north-south placement of the original (neck-bridge hugging) to get as much bass as possible and can use a cap that favors low-end as well. Maybe flats as they always sound good on the vintage-style set-ups.

 

[Jon Clegg]

Those look like the ones I got from amazon to use on the Danobacker. Should work fine.

It's easy to RWRP one of them:

Winter 2017 Build Off -- The Dan-0-Backer

 

[JIO]

Those look like the ones I got from amazon to use on the Danobacker. Should work fine.

Yah, there were a number that had this same picture of them. I'm sure they are all made in China but these were a from seller in the US (CA). I have to fab some chrome surrounds unless I can run a set down.

 

[Freekmagnet]

I'm thinking if sold in a set they should be reversed, but I don't know that for a fact. I'll echo the north-south placement of the original (neck-bridge hugging) to get as much bass as possible and can use a cap that favors low-end as well. Maybe flats as they always sound good on the vintage-style set-ups.

GFS sells them in N/S sets. If not, I've heard of guys taking one apart and flipping the coil over. Apparently it's not a super difficult procedure.

 

[Jon Clegg]

As I said, they're stupidly easy to RWRP. I bought an extra set and some different magnets (Alnico II and Alnico V) to replace the ceramic magnets. I plan to play around with that on the Lab Rat.

 

[JIO]

As I said, they're stupidly easy to RWRP. I bought an extra set and some different magnets (Alnico II and Alnico V) to replace the ceramic magnets. I plan to play around with that on the Lab Rat.

Once it's playable (a ways off) I'll take you up on a tutorial on how to do that (if needed)

 

[Jon Clegg]

Once it's playable (a ways off) I'll take you up on a tutorial on how to do that (if needed)

Deal.

 

[Matt Liebenau]

I looked on eBay for lipstick pu's. I typed in "bass lipstick pu's" but most all listed say 'guitar' and a couple say 'guitar/bass'. Some say Strat or Tele. They are various prices, some from US sellers and many very cheap ones from China. The only ones that state 'bass pu's' are the Kent Armstrong version which has blunt-ends and J-bass tabs. (for a J rout) Seymour Duncan has the traditional style but 'for Strat'. Has anyone out there used lipstick pu's in a bass? I can order a set of them for $20 shipped to try but they are most likely going to be for guitar so will they sound anemic in a bass? Were the original Dano pu's like this, meaning were they generic guitar/bass pu's? I listened to some Lakland sound files of their bass that has the Kent Armstrong version and they all sounded good - very bassy. I just don't want the J-tabs and want the traditional rounded-end version. Maybe I'll post this in the pu section to throw a broader net.

My understanding is that the original Danelectros used the same pickup on everything.

Since you already ordered pickups it's kinda moot but I had a set of the Kent Armstrong lipstick jazz bass pickups and they sounded really good. They came with optional mounting brackets that would mount through the back like the original Danos. It was just a matter of unbolting those and installing the jazz pickup "ears." That was a long time ago, however, they may be different now.