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Custom 5 string for Rudy

#102
Larry Davis said:
Wilser, if you'd used padauk for the transition block lam how do you think it would have affected the tone?
Click to expand...

That is a very, very good question.

Depends on which laminate would have been replaced. For example, if you took out the bubinga and used padauk instead, mid-hump* would have been reduced by about 12%. But if it had been the walnut piece, maybe a slight increase of about 2% in mid-hump* ...but weight might have suffered. No change in mid-hump* for the birdseye maple.

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* mid-hump® is a registered trademark of YOURMIDHUMPYMOM, Inc.
 
#103
Is this the source of said mid-hump?
 

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#110
SWEEEEET!

I can't wait...um...yes, I can.... NOOOOOO!!!! I can't wait...

AHEM! I can wait. It's a matter of "WILL" power!

LOL!

...man, should I get a jump start on the list for another bass Will? It looks like it'll be a 10-year waiting list! Ha ha ha ha ha ha !!!!!!!

No, seriously. I do want another bass...an F bass maybe..we'll have to talk about this sometime!
 
#112
wilser said:
That's "Model F" ...gotta avoid trademark issues :D
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Ooops...Sorry!

You should make one that's called the "Mid-hump®" man...:bassist:

No trademark issues there!

I'll have to figure out how else to make that Model F bass work for me...!

BTW-how do you make your p/ups sound so unique? The concoction you created to make your p/ups is undoubtedly used by others in the same fashion, no?
 
#113
I love your work, but I had a question. I just watched your p'up video and I wondered what exactly was the nature of the tempered dip? At first I thought it was for color, but is it to get rid of impurities that had come off of your fingers or something of that sort?
 
#114
Xanthyr said:
I love your work, but I had a question. I just watched your p'up video and I wondered what exactly was the nature of the tempered dip? At first I thought it was for color, but is it to get rid of impurities that had come off of your fingers or something of that sort?
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EXCELLENT QUESTION! if you don't do that, the windings stay loose within the pickup and cause an effect they call 'microphonics'. This means that when you tap on the pickup (or cover) the windings vibrate and that noise comes out of your amp. By dipping and soaking the pickups in wax, the winds kind of stick to one another and don't vibrate, thus defeating the unwanted effect. Hope this answers your question ...feel free to ask some more!
 
#115
That's brilliant! Thank you very much, but that makes me curious, would impurities affect the sound at all? Or would it be so miniscule it wouldn't matter, or is it that the electrons flow on the outside of the copper, it just goes under anything that would be on it to begin with? Then again, if it flows on the outside of the copper, anything on the outside of it might interrupt or otherwise divert flow... I don't have much education on anything, but I sure know a lot of other things to derive some interesting theories.
 
#116
No, it's not about impurities or anything like that. The pickup is dipped in melted wax, which then hardens between the wires (windings) after taking the pickup out if the pot. If you don't do this, the windings are free to vibrate, and so they can produce sound in a few different undesirable ways, as wilser said. Wax potting them, or epoxy potting them as some others do, locks in the mechanical position of each wire so that they can't move (vibrate).
 
#117
Oi, you must've misconstrued my second question. I understood what he meant, and thank you for elaborating more on the topic, but I was asking if the quality or purity of the wire you use affects the sound, and whether or not grim/oil for your hands whilst wiring it affect it as well.
 
#118
Xanthyr said:
Oi, you must've misconstrued my second question. I understood what he meant, and thank you for elaborating more on the topic, but I was asking if the quality or purity of the wire you use affects the sound, and whether or not grim/oil for your hands whilst wiring it affect it as well.
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The wire, yes, definitely.

The potting medium. I don't know, but if it does it would probably be imperceptible. IMHO you could use molten crap (talk about impurities there ...not recommended by the way, experiment at your own risk :D) it would sound the same.
 
#120
pilotjones said:
The pickup is dipped in melted wax, which then hardens between the wires (windings) after taking the pickup out if the pot. If you don't do this, the windings are free to vibrate, and so they can produce sound in a few different undesirable ways...
Click to expand...

There are more than a few fans of vintage Telecasters and Strats who swear by the unpotted pickups of old. If the microphonics are too severe, the pickup will squeal like a pig....but just the right amount, and you have Tele nirvana that you just can't get from a wax-potted pickup. :hyper:

The difference is very noticable....on a bass, it is probably something you want to stay away from entirely.
 

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