GOC Bass Club

[olko]

I placed order for mine on 24th December, 4th Jan it came to my house (in Czechia)

Had ultra long scale elixirs on another bass and for whomever it may concern, they fit!

My illumina came with out of phase pickups but i talked to GOC and they will send me new set of pickups, afterwards I'll put on fresh set of elixirs and could take photos of nut/0 fret if anybody is interested in where winding ends

overall I am happy with bass, love the pickups (by themselves, cannot have both on at the same time), originally wanted to put in either Dingstrand Nordwalls (but they are from what i can find standard P and so that would mean that they will not be catching strings properly) or FD3n, but am scared to route for proprietary FD3n route and then find out that they won't fit

So i finally changed strings (along with pickups for MEC splits and preamp to darkglass tone capsule (tho i still hate darkglass as a company))

To fit MEC's i had to drill out standard soapbar hole, but dimensions wise it was spot on.

In future I'll probably add 3rd pickup, but that will have to wait until i think whether i want it closer to bridge or closer to neck

Attached you can see how extra long elixirs fit on the bass brand new

 

[bears]

Recently got my GOC bass with one of the Chinese New Year editions. Still not sure if I prefer this Eclipse finish or the Luna one.

Swapped out the pickups for Delano dual coils and the strings for a set of nickelwound Dingwall strings. So far, enjoying the bass with this setup quite a bit, but I do wish the pickups were further apart for more tonal variety (or just the 3 pickup Dingwall setup). I also would like a mid-sweep, but besides that, I don't have too much to complain about. The low B is definitely much nicer compared to my EHB 6-string. I can already feel that it will be hard going back to 34/35 inch scale lengths for 5+ string basses.

Also, for some reason, my factory pickups were wired in single-coil mode, which was an interesting choice.

 

[Sonny Savage]

Recently got my GOC bass with one of the Chinese New Year editions. Still not sure if I prefer this Eclipse finish or the Luna one.

Swapped out the pickups for Delano dual coils and the strings for a set of nickelwound Dingwall strings. So far, enjoying the bass with this setup quite a bit, but I do wish the pickups were further apart for more tonal variety (or just the 3 pickup Dingwall setup). I also would like a mid-sweep, but besides that, I don't have too much to complain about. The low B is definitely much nicer compared to my EHB 6-string. I can already feel that it will be hard going back to 34/35 inch scale lengths for 5+ string basses.

Also, for some reason, my factory pickups were wired in single-coil mode, which was an interesting choice.

It's gorgeous! What strings are you using?

 

[bears]

It's gorgeous! What strings are you using?

Just standard Dingwall Nickel strings. They work quite well as a basic do-it-all string, which I kinda expected. Might try some extra-long elixirs later, since I've heard they fit just fine, and I've always loved elixirs.

 

[Giubaloo]

If anybody has any tips for restringing their GOC bass I’d appreciate it! The hardware is slightly different than what I’m used to. Have a fresh NYXL multiscale set I’m excited to try!

 

[Giubaloo]

Recently got my GOC bass with one of the Chinese New Year editions. Still not sure if I prefer this Eclipse finish or the Luna one.

Swapped out the pickups for Delano dual coils and the strings for a set of nickelwound Dingwall strings. So far, enjoying the bass with this setup quite a bit, but I do wish the pickups were further apart for more tonal variety (or just the 3 pickup Dingwall setup). I also would like a mid-sweep, but besides that, I don't have too much to complain about. The low B is definitely much nicer compared to my EHB 6-string. I can already feel that it will be hard going back to 34/35 inch scale lengths for 5+ string basses.

Also, for some reason, my factory pickups were wired in single-coil mode, which was an interesting choice.

That finish is stunning, looks incredible!

How are you liking the Delanos? I’m considering swapping the pickups for either Barts or those Delanos but haven’t decided yet.

Also what did you mean by the original pickups being wired in single-coil mode?

 

[bears]

That finish is stunning, looks incredible!

How are you liking the Delanos? I’m considering swapping the pickups for either Barts or those Delanos but haven’t decided yet.

Also what did you mean by the original pickups being wired in single-coil mode?

The Delanos are quite nice. I was also deciding between some Bartolinis (CBC Bar Magnet ones) and the Delanos, but ended up with the Delanos, as they sounded really clear. I would make sure to check out the fatbasstone's videos as they demo all the pickups they sell on a blank slate bass.

When I first got the bass, I noticed that there was humming when the pickups weren't blended. When I went to change out the pickups, I noticed that the 4-conductor wiring seemed to be set in single on the blend pot. One wire was unused, and 2 were set to ground, with only the white wire acting as a hot connection. I am a complete novice when it comes to this stuff, as this was my second time soldering and first time doing a pickup swap, but from what I've read online, this means it was wired in single (Also just comparing to the Delano sets wiring).

I was also tempted to wire the neck in parallel, and the bridge in series for tonal diversity (since the pickups are so close together), but I just ended up doing series for both. Might try switching it later, as I'm definitely not getting a large difference between the neck and bridge pickup due to them being together. I would love to add a third pickup as DangaDanga did, but I would definitely have to hire a luthier to do that, as I am not too comfortable drilling/removing wood.



Here is a good video to watch that explains the string changing process. It's for GOC guitars, but it seems to function the same.

 

[Giubaloo]

The Delanos are quite nice. I was also deciding between some Bartolinis (CBC Bar Magnet ones) and the Delanos, but ended up with the Delanos, as they sounded really clear. I would make sure to check out the fatbasstone's videos as they demo all the pickups they sell on a blank slate bass.

When I first got the bass, I noticed that there was humming when the pickups weren't blended. When I went to change out the pickups, I noticed that the 4-conductor wiring seemed to be set in single on the blend pot. One wire was unused, and 2 were set to ground, with only the white wire acting as a hot connection. I am a complete novice when it comes to this stuff, as this was my second time soldering and first time doing a pickup swap, but from what I've read online, this means it was wired in single (Also just comparing to the Delano sets wiring).

I was also tempted to wire the neck in parallel, and the bridge in series for tonal diversity (since the pickups are so close together), but I just ended up doing series for both. Might try switching it later, as I'm definitely not getting a large difference between the neck and bridge pickup due to them being together. I would love to add a third pickup as DangaDanga did, but I would definitely have to hire a luthier to do that, as I am not too comfortable drilling/removing wood.



Here is a good video to watch that explains the string changing process. It's for GOC guitars, but it seems to function the same.

This helped a ton thank you!

Can't recommend the D'Addario NYXL Multiscale set enough. They're balanced tension and feel excellent.

 

[Raenobrac]

The Delanos are quite nice. I was also deciding between some Bartolinis (CBC Bar Magnet ones) and the Delanos, but ended up with the Delanos, as they sounded really clear. I would make sure to check out the fatbasstone's videos as they demo all the pickups they sell on a blank slate bass.

When I first got the bass, I noticed that there was humming when the pickups weren't blended. When I went to change out the pickups, I noticed that the 4-conductor wiring seemed to be set in single on the blend pot. One wire was unused, and 2 were set to ground, with only the white wire acting as a hot connection. I am a complete novice when it comes to this stuff, as this was my second time soldering and first time doing a pickup swap, but from what I've read online, this means it was wired in single (Also just comparing to the Delano sets wiring).

I was also tempted to wire the neck in parallel, and the bridge in series for tonal diversity (since the pickups are so close together), but I just ended up doing series for both. Might try switching it later, as I'm definitely not getting a large difference between the neck and bridge pickup due to them being together. I would love to add a third pickup as DangaDanga did, but I would definitely have to hire a luthier to do that, as I am not too comfortable drilling/removing wood.



Here is a good video to watch that explains the string changing process. It's for GOC guitars, but it seems to function the same.

Not sure if you tried wiring series/parallel, but that isn't what that unused wire is; it's a coil tap! It drops the output, a bit but you don't get anything too different with the tone

 

[Ovibos]

I have one of these and the pickups hum a lot when not fully blended. Are they actually humbuckers? Is there a wiring issue I should look at? Something else?

 

[Raenobrac]

I have one of these and the pickups hum a lot when not fully blended. Are they actually humbuckers? Is there a wiring issue I should look at? Something else?

They look like two coils wired in series with a coil tap at around 65% wraps. Mine happen to be dead silent but I can't easily confirm internals.

I wonder if something is wrong with the preamp or improperly grounded.

 

[DangaDanga]

I have one of these and the pickups hum a lot when not fully blended. Are they actually humbuckers? Is there a wiring issue I should look at? Something else?

When mine was stock I did not have a hum problem with the individual pickups

 

[bears]

When mine was stock I did not have a hum problem with the individual pickups

Interesting, mine definitely had noise issues when soloing pickups until I swapped them out for Delano dual coils. They looked like a pair of stacked coils upon removal with a single wire sent to hot. I've since sold the bass so can't send a picture sadly. Maybe it's a different pickup design for the newer releases? Mine was the most recent batch so idk.

 

[Ovibos]

Interesting, mine definitely had noise issues when soloing pickups until I swapped them out for Delano dual coils. They looked like a pair of stacked coils upon removal with a single wire sent to hot. I've since sold the bass so can't send a picture sadly. Maybe it's a different pickup design for the newer releases? Mine was the most recent batch so idk.

Mine is the recent batch too, purple.

Did you keep the stock preamp when you got the Delanos?

 

[bears]

Mine is the recent batch too, purple.

Did you keep the stock preamp when you got the Delanos?

Yeah, thought the preamp did its job and didn't really see a reason to replace it. It also seemed much more time consuming to replace the preamp compared to a simple pickup swap.

 

[MisterUbu]

I didn't realize there was a club, nice! Here's my new GOC in their Luna CNY finish.

Like many others in the thread I'm definitely going to be modding it. I got several things I'm doing first, from doing a setup to my specs (later on installing a set of stringjoys I got waiting), a teardown to lubricate the bridge tuners/maybe replacing the thrust bearings, to making a full sized playing card shim for the neck as the action starts to get a bit high past the 9th fret (not unusable high but enough that a shim is needed).

Otherwise, I'm currently in the process of emailing a rep at Fretillusions to get the right sizing for their inlay stickers. I want to get the iridescent abalone stickers they released, here's the current process trying to fit their sizing template on my bass.

Outside of that, I bit the bullet and got a set of Norwall dingstrands pickups that shouldn't have any problems dropping right in, I'm just torn on the preamp and rotary switch. The control cavity is not that big so I'm partially leaning towards the dg tone capsule as it's the most cost effective one (I'm chasing the Dingwall tone dragon as well lol), but I'm really trying to find a Dingwall rotary switch at a reasonable price due to shipping costs to Canada at the moment (let's just say it was uh really bad for nordstrand pickups, I'm happy PayPals pay in 4 made it slightly bearable)

If I can't find one I'll probably see if I can go off the beaten path and try to wedge a Jtex preamp with their new LFC control in the bass. It's not that much more than the dark glass when ordering all prices needed but that's a whole other can of worms to see how/if that'll work!

 

[MisterUbu]

Am I wrong in thinking that this is the lightest in weight and most affordable 37 inch multiscale? Just came across the Ilumina and it just seems too good to be true for the price lol.

With the new swamp ash bodies it's both the most affordable and the lightest in weight! My GOC was 7.1lbs on the bathroom scale, I'm incredibly happy to find a 5er sub 10lbs in general, but with their swamp ash bodies the fact that it's under 8lbs is amazing in of itself.

 

[Raenobrac]

I didn't realize there was a club, nice! Here's my new GOC in their Luna CNY finish. View attachment 7496304

Like many others in the thread I'm definitely going to be modding it. I got several things I'm doing first, from doing a setup to my specs (later on installing a set of stringjoys I got waiting), a teardown to lubricate the bridge tuners/maybe replacing the thrust bearings, to making a full sized playing card shim for the neck as the action starts to get a bit high past the 9th fret (not unusable high but enough that a shim is needed).

Otherwise, I'm currently in the process of emailing a rep at Fretillusions to get the right sizing for their inlay stickers. I want to get the iridescent abalone stickers they released, here's the current process trying to fit their sizing template on my bass.
View attachment 7496305

Outside of that, I bit the bullet and got a set of Norwall dingstrands pickups that shouldn't have any problems dropping right in, I'm just torn on the preamp and rotary switch. The control cavity is not that big so I'm partially leaning towards the dg tone capsule as it's the most cost effective one (I'm chasing the Dingwall tone dragon as well lol), but I'm really trying to find a Dingwall rotary switch at a reasonable price due to shipping costs to Canada at the moment (let's just say it was uh really bad for nordstrand pickups, I'm happy PayPals pay in 4 made it slightly bearable)

If I can't find one I'll probably see if I can go off the beaten path and try to wedge a Jtex preamp with their new LFC control in the bass. It's not that much more than the dark glass when ordering all prices needed but that's a whole other can of worms to see how/if that'll work!

The JTEX parts are amazing. I'd highly recommend. If you want versatility, the distiller with the unity buffer is an excellent combo. This gives you more versatility than any static frequency onboard preamp without colouring your pickups.

Another option is to get something like Broughton Audio's Resonant Peak Filter pedal. It's amazing at sculpting the voice of a pickup, or accentuating frequencies for distortion pedals. This gives you so much more versatility. But it's a bit harder to dial in.

Darkglass Tone Capsule preamps are insanely transparent. You can get the same tone from any transparent EQ pedal that can boost/cut 500hz and 2.8khz. It's different, but not unique.

I'm in Canada and bought the Dingwall Rotary switch. I took it apart, and it's nothing special. All you need is a 3p4t rotary switch which should cost you less than half of the dingwall switch.

 

[MisterUbu]

The JTEX parts are amazing. I'd highly recommend. If you want versatility, the distiller with the unity buffer is an excellent combo. This gives you more versatility than any static frequency onboard preamp without colouring your pickups.

Another option is to get something like Broughton Audio's Resonant Peak Filter pedal. It's amazing at sculpting the voice of a pickup, or accentuating frequencies for distortion pedals. This gives you so much more versatility. But it's a bit harder to dial in.

Darkglass Tone Capsule preamps are insanely transparent. You can get the same tone from any transparent EQ pedal that can boost/cut 500hz and 2.8khz. It's different, but not unique.

I'm in Canada and bought the Dingwall Rotary switch. I took it apart, and it's nothing special. All you need is a 3p4t rotary switch which should cost you less than half of the dingwall switch.

In my case, I used to have the Broughton RFE, but I ended up upgrading to an Empress para eq Bass which is amazing in its own right. I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want in an active circuit but I'm definitely leaning towards having onboard controls that my pedalboard (wireless > EQ > comp/drive) doesn't already do (i.e in not too hot on the dark glass due to the fixed eq points)

I'll definitely consider the distiller + unity buffer, I was thinking of finding some way to fit two distillers for each pickup + the low frequency control but I feel like that may be overkill for pickups that aren't multicoil. Ive played an Ibanez SR that had a mid sweep and I found I quite liked the option of sweeping the mids.

 

[Raenobrac]

In my case, I used to have the Broughton RFE, but I ended up upgrading to an Empress para eq Bass which is amazing in its own right. I'm trying to figure out exactly what I want in an active circuit but I'm definitely leaning towards having onboard controls that my pedalboard (wireless > EQ > comp/drive) doesn't already do (i.e in not too hot on the dark glass due to the fixed eq points)

I'll definitely consider the distiller + unity buffer, I was thinking of finding some way to fit two distillers for each pickup + the low frequency control but I feel like that may be overkill for pickups that aren't multicoil. Ive played an Ibanez SR that had a mid sweep and I found I quite liked the option of sweeping the mids.

Two distillers is all you need, if you go thst route! Underhill preamps makes an excellent product too, and have incredibly modular preamps. If you want a complex onboard, they're where I'd go.

I only use volume, pickup voicing selector, and Buffy McBooster, and I find that does everything I need. I should mention my neck pickup is an AlNiCo5 and my bridge is ceramic. Love the mixture.

My Schecter Studio 5 has the "Full English" Wal copy. It's definitely versatile! I'd recommend it to anyone looking to go the dual filter route.