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#221
Yvarg said:
If your pickup is anything like mine, that is most definitely not the case. ;)
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The pup I sent to Yvarg is a side-by-side humbucker in a EMG-35 shape. The pup that Christw got is a P. They are built different from each other. Since the P pup that Chris sampled is a shorter version of my standard pickup designs I did a few things different.
It might just be that the difference in design in a shorter pup is the problem. I'm working on a shorter pickup that is made like my taller one's.
 
#222
jworrellbass said:
The pup I sent to Yvarg is a side-by-side humbucker in a EMG-35 shape. The pup that Christw got is a P. They are built different from each other. Since the P pup that Chris sampled is a shorter version of my standard pickup designs I did a few things different.
It might just be that the difference in design in a shorter pup is the problem. I'm working on a shorter pickup that is made like my taller one's.
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As I've said a lot in here, I'm not quick to blame the pickup when I know certain qualities are already present in the bass. I'd like to rule out all other options before I do. (All these years of engineering and psychological training are paying off!) As always, I'd be willing to put it to the side by side test when you've got them worked out.

I do find that it sounds kind of strat-like (bright, not super deep) in general character so I'd like to see how it compares. The taller one will have it's day in maybe a month or two when I get to building another bass the correct way. I can put both P's in that for a side-by-side (or really a swap by swap? :p)
 
#223
Mid-week update:

I haven't had a lot of time with any instruments, but my last final is out of the way and I have a moment to put some second impressions of the pickup to paper (e-paper, of course.)

My impression of the pickup through my amps is that it is what most of us would call thin. My vocalist wasn't a big fan of my bass's tone at practice Sunday night. It has a lot of high mids, courtesy of the bass itself and my playing with a pick in that band. I can't attribute the high mids to the pickup. That's just the consequence what I use no matter the pickup. The low end just isn't all there though. The highs are still super prominent and it sounds oh so sweet for upper register riffing. However, there isn't any real booty to it. Kind of like a skinny runner girl with a sweet wispy throat singing voice. She isn't going to do opera. I feel like it would be absolutely phenomenal for whatsitcalled bass... when it's tuned higher than normal by quite a bit. I forgot the name and because of my vague terms, I can't seem to find it via search. Basically, it'd sound good for solo playing or as a good supplement pickup to something boomy. (I'm thinking this + my DP127 would be a match made in heaven.)

Anyways, since this was an alternative build (in material at the least?) from John's normal pickups, let's take it with a grain of salt. A short P made the same way as the taller P will be coming to put up to this. I'm curious to see how they sound next to one another. I'll also see if I can't put my SPB-1 in here tomorrow and put some samples of that up for comparison. I've got a couple of other culprits to rule out before I can be sure about any claims of thinness ;)
 
#225
jworrellbass said:
Fair enough Chris. Thanks for being honest with your thoughts in reguard to the particular pickup. I've got a way to make the shorter P like my taller pup designs. We'll just have to wait a few more days until then.
Once again thank you for taking the time to do a review.
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I hate to be the one saying those words. You've been so cool through all of this and I don't want to put a bad mark against you for a one-off pickup. :hmm:

Follow up edit: I just put it side to side with my franken-Ibanez-Hondo-p-thing and the low end just isn't there. I ran it against the "normal" height bridge P in the Ibando (sounds like a type of bean, doesn't it?) and it just didn't do it for me. I still think it'd make a great "presence pickup" to add brightness and sparkle to a super dark bass or supplement a mudbucker, but it doesn't register on the Richter Scale like it should. (In more straightforward terms, it's lacking in the lows.)

PS- John, it still stings me a bit to be writing negative words. Like I said, it's been a pleasure and I'm not holding this one pickup against you. I guess that's obvious because I ordered 4 more, right? :p
 
#226
christw said:
I hate to be the one saying those words. You've been so cool through all of this and I don't want to put a bad mark against you for a one-off pickup. :hmm:

On another note: More testing of it is going on right now.
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No worries Chris, I prefer people to be honest (in a polite way) and you did just that. The best way for me to improve is to listen and learn, I never take anything personally. My goal is to make a great pickup at a decent price.
I'm glad you did the review when you did, I had 2 more of those type of pups ready to wind. I would rather tear them apart and build them properly than blindly wind them and send them out.
Once again, thank you Chris. :)
 
#227
jworrellbass said:
No worries Chris, I prefer people to be honest (in a polite way) and you did just that. The best way for me to improve is to listen and learn, I never take anything personally. My goal is to make a great pickup at a decent price.
I'm glad you did the review when you did, I had 2 more of those type of pups ready to wind. I would rather tear them apart and build them properly than blindly wind them and send them out.
Once again, thank you Chris. :)
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No problem! Thank again for allowing me to be a part of this. I just sent you a PM that's a mixture of what I just said and what you just said. Good to knew all is well! I knew that this was an R&D venture, so now that the first round is done, it's time to make precision pickups version 2.0 and test again. Obviously I'm still willing to throw a pickup in my bass and hope and listen for the best. :smug:
 
#229
John, I've been following this thread since you've started it, and it's good to see things are still progressing! Christw's reviews I'm sure are very constructive as he's quite detailed - were you thinking of an Alto or Piccolo Bass Chris?

I'm still looking forward to hearing and reviewing the pickup you made for me, so I hope to have something to show you in a couple of months. Keep up the great work John!
 
#231
jworrellbass said:
I'll make any size anyone wants. I either need to be able to buy a cover and extend it (make it taller), or fab my own. Then it's just a matter of making a master cast. I know Guitar Jones sells Musicman covers.
Right now I'm tring to get caught up with what I've already commited to. After that then I'll be pumping out the pups (sounds kind of kinky, in a nasty sort of way) :eek:
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No Brother It Doesnt Sound kinky, Its Sounds Great !:hyper:
 
#232
DanSwain said:
John, I've been following this thread since you've started it, and it's good to see things are still progressing! Christw's reviews I'm sure are very constructive as he's quite detailed - were you thinking of an Alto or Piccolo Bass Chris?

I'm still looking forward to hearing and reviewing the pickup you made for me, so I hope to have something to show you in a couple of months. Keep up the great work John!
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Thanks. I try to not ramble too much but sometimes I have an analogy and I roll with it for miles. :p I was thinking of piccolo bass when I typed that. I've never had a P bass or P pickup that registered the notes with too definition before. Normally it was all boomy. Since most piccolo bass I've heard is clear and or sometimes bitingly bright, I thought this would have potential on one of them to liven up the high end. I'm not sure if it would fare as a standalone. A further revision of the pickup would certainly have potential though. :smug:

jworrellbass said:
Thanks Dan. Unfortunately the P pup I made for Chris was a bad experiment. I'm just happy that Chris is working with me on this.
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Hah, I think I jumped on board with all these crazy ideas about pickups that fit 4 and 5 strings and P bass pickups and such. I'm just glad you took me seriously. It's been a cool learning process.
 
#234
Alright, I have finally succeeded in getting some soundclips that don't sound like (total) crap. I've compiled them into an mp3 available here:

(warning! disgraceful cover riffs, disgusting noodling, and an utterly piss-poor attempt at slap ahead; proceed at your own risk!)
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The only way I could get a decent sound was to record my rig straight into garageband with my laptop's built in mic (that's why the sound level goes in and out in the clip :/ ). The setup consists of a JW soapbar pickup in the bridge position (no tone knob in use) into a Warwick Pro FET 5.2 to a Peavey 18" cab.
 
#235
Yvarg said:
Alright, I have finally succeeded in getting some soundclips...

The setup consists of a JW soapbar pickup in the bridge position (no tone knob in use) into a Warwick Pro FET 5.2 to a Peavey 18" cab.
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Very interesting sound clips! Thanks for posting those.

A couple of questions:

How far from the bridge did you place ti pick up (and how did you measure it eg. from G string saddle to bridge-side edge of the pup)?

What strings are you using?

Thanks

Clif
 
#236
need4mospd said:
I had some fun tonight. :D

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Here's the bass this beautiful sound comes from

That is all.
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Yvarg said:
Alright, I have finally succeeded in getting some soundclips that don't sound like (total) crap. I've compiled them into an mp3 available here:

(warning! disgraceful cover riffs, disgusting noodling, and an utterly piss-poor attempt at slap ahead; proceed at your own risk!)
Here's the bass this beautiful sound comes from

The only way I could get a decent sound was to record my rig straight into garageband with my laptop's built in mic (that's why the sound level goes in and out in the clip :/ ). The setup consists of a JW soapbar pickup in the bridge position (no tone knob in use) into a Warwick Pro FET 5.2 to a Peavey 18" cab.
Click to expand...

Thank you for posting your sound clips, I really appreciate it.
 
#237
jworrellbass said:
Thank you for posting your sound clips, I really appreciate it.
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The pleasure's all mine John. :bassist:

One thing to note to others. Be careful with these. I dinged the edges when messing around and the "finish" chipped in a couple spots. It looks like a lighter shade of black poking through. I'm going to attempt sanding the top down a bit to try and hide my oops. I'll post pics and a quick tutorial if it looks good. John, please let me know if you recommend against doing this.
 
#238
need4mospd said:
The pleasure's all mine John. :bassist:

One thing to note to others. Be careful with these. I dinged the edges when messing around and the "finish" chipped in a couple spots. It looks like a lighter shade of black poking through. I'm going to attempt sanding the top down a bit to try and hide my oops. I'll post pics and a quick tutorial if it looks good. John, please let me know if you recommend against doing this.
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You can sand and then use Valspar's plastic paint. Very rarely does the casting process come out perfect. I usually have to give a shot of paint before shipping.
 

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