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EUB project
- Thread starter JIO
- Start date
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,128
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
There will probably be very little in the way of force to work the alu plate out if you make it as snug as your bridge fitting.
I was thinking the velcro would mainly be to snug it up and dampen any vibration. Concealing a little flange under the FB is a good idea.
I wouldn't glue the p/u housing to the end of the FB. However you fit it, it needs to easily come apart. Pick ups are screw mounted for a reason
At the risk of being so 1990's, the "bridgefeet" of the pickup mount sketched could be wood (not the L'ed out aluminum, carry the wood side down to the body (or do the wood/aluminum laminate again) and the bottom of the wood feet could have neodymium magnets epoxied in, and the body could have either magnets or bits of steel for them to grab (or vice versa.)
Alternatively, two screws from the back up into those wooden feet.
Hopkins
Commercial User
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,128
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
This is a great example of tb in action! Your idea of using embedded magnets to lock different positions for pu scaffold feet is a really good idea. Two rows of small round magnets could be embedded in a staggered row that would look cool visually and the 'moveable' bridge could be (easily) positioned in a few different locations resulting in different tone. With the system I'm going with, the pu 'unit' could be pretty light and easily anchored w/such magnets. The only drawback (conjecturing) would be that it couldn't be used as a stable finger-rest like I do on my (standard) basses pu's. However, I'll need to figure out how this instrument will be approached/played down the road, so the unit rigidity may not even be an issue. Definitely food for thought… thanks for throwing that out there!
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- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,128
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Oh, I know Neal - but for my instrument - the steep string anchor angle could have made such a simple pressure-fit 'grounding' of the bridge problematic.
Another option for pickups is piezo. With a good preamp and the right EQ they don't have to sound like an Ovation / URB imitaiton. HPF @ 30 Hz, LPF @ 5khz, Throw a narrowband mid notch one one stacked pot (frequency on the ring, cut on the center), a medium Q boost/cut on a 2nd stacked pot, shelving bass & treble at 100/1.5k on third stacked pot, and you have a 4 knob 4 band semi parametric eq. I'm thinking about this route if I build a 5-string, because the odd number plus small radius means piezo or individual pickups.
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Sounds interesting - but I'm keeping it simple/minimal. I'd like to see your future application of this set-up though.
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,128
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Was about to order the Ubertar Hexaphonic HC pu's and unless I'm mis-interpreting something - I'm seeing each unit is listed for $45! (so $180 for 4 units) …but, $155 for 6 (!?!) I understand hand crafted = more $ but I don't understand selling 6 for $26@ compared to 1 for $45. I wrote an email to Paul (owner/maker) asking for clarification. A bit over $100 is what I feel would be reasonable for 4.
updated:
Got a response from Paul and he'll do $104 + $6 shipping for 4. Sounds like an order. Not sure why he originally had this imbalanced pricing, but he said they mostly sell to guitarists and he thanked me for bringing it to his attention. I've included all this info for anyone reading who is interested in his HC pu's and runs into this issue. (unless he changes the pricing info)
updated:
Got a response from Paul and he'll do $104 + $6 shipping for 4. Sounds like an order. Not sure why he originally had this imbalanced pricing, but he said they mostly sell to guitarists and he thanked me for bringing it to his attention. I've included all this info for anyone reading who is interested in his HC pu's and runs into this issue. (unless he changes the pricing info)
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I've done some sketches for optical pickups using an IR analog reflectance type emitter/detector. Price is cheap, sizes are small, they can be had in small packages and somewhat longish distances, have gobs of bandwidth, but they're EXTREMELY power hungry. (like 50-100mA per string). Forget onboard batteries or even phantom power - you'd need an external power source. But otherwise it's probably the most attractive non-contact direct string sensing pickup technology for super tight radius instruments. It'd be a very narrow aperture pickup, but you could put it anywhere along the string you want provided it can reach and the string excursion doesn't exceed the sensing window.
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- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,128
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Got the strings today and decided to glue-up the fb so I could set it up to be playable. (acoustically for now) Also made an ebony-dust paste using some of the epoxy to repair the nicks on the end of the fb. Ebony is one of the easier woods to repair seamlessly. Also drilled the bridge hole through the aluminum.
BassHappy
Supporting Member
Got the strings today and decided to glue-up the fb so I could set it up to be playable. (acoustically for now) Also made an ebony-dust paste using some of the epoxy to repair the nicks on the end of the fb. Ebony is one of the easier woods to repair seamlessly. Also drilled the bridge hole through the aluminum.
Hey JIO
I noticed that when you mentioned the bondo in the strat boat section you also mentioned that the back would be a dark translucent tobacco color. I will skip my obligatory - "Why in the world would anyone ever paint over that incredible wood" statement - and go right to - What finish are you intending for the rest? You gilding any of it? Sorry if you already mentioned it - I don't recall seeing it. Or maybe you don't want to reveal the finish quite yet, which is fine also.
Curious minds want to know though....
Also, I know you are well on your way in the pickup quest, but I have always had a fascination with these. They are probably a little too common for such an extraordinary build, but I thought I would mention them. Only available on an OEM basis, not for sale to the general public:
They use them on the Blast Cult basses and as mentioned above - Ned Steinberger has been using them on his EUB's as well. You wouldn't have to re-invent the wheel, but I know how much you enjoy re-inventing the wheel, so take it with a grain of salt.
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- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,128
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
I didn't think the EMG NS pu's were available. The ones I ordered are the same idea but they look to be a bit smaller. I just saw a player last night playing a 5-string NS EUB and those poles are staggered, not side by side and look to be about the size of a nickel. I should be able to place mine side-by-side in a row at the correct angles. If I were more electronically adventurous (like @mapleglo) I'd have wired up my own individual pole pu's. It doesn't look that complicated.
The back will be medium value translucent tobacco - so you will still see the wood/grain. The front I am thinking about a Les Paul honey-burst translucent. The neck will go all the trans tobacco. The aluminum bits will go matte black to match the tuners/hw and the mono-pod will be black (aluminum) or the carbon fiber version. So the back will have an overall darker look blending more with the stand. (and it's support I need to develop for it) The NS I saw had a large tripod stand which works for certain applications but I'd rather keep it more mobile w/a smaller footprint. The player I saw/heard was playing guitar and the EUB incorporating a looper so it was perfect for his on-the-fly back & forth playing of it. He also used a bow, which I want to do with this instrument. And he referred to it as a cello - I always assumed the NS was more of a bass. With the 5th string it could sound like either. (not sure how it's tuned)
This is what I will want - you can see the sides are darker but will be lighter than (on mine) the black binding.
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- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,128
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
from @BassHappy's post -
Only available on an OEM basis, not for sale to the general public:
- Jun 30, 2010
- 49,612
- 222,128
- Disclosures
- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Apparently they could be mistaken for pet treats… one thing I noticed about the guy bowing his last night is that rosin dust was all over this raised pu 'tablets'. Something to consider when I create my housing/support for the pu pole-units. It can be (mostly) dusted off but gaps and tight-spots (like on the NS) will inevitably get filled with that sticky dust.
