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Lady 5Jane - Headless, Fretless 5 String Prototype (With Piano Pins)

#161
I replaced the bridge to lower the action and experiment with fretwire as bridge material. Interestingly enough the angle for the neck heel is pretty close to spot on in regards to the angle needed for proper intonation.

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#162
The bridge has been dyed and finished, and a pair of cheapo Chinese J pups have been installed. The C string came in and she is now tuned E-A-D-G-C. Graphite powder was used to lubricate the pins, and the difference in ease of tuning is night and day.

I am calling this prototype done as I need to start focusing on my next build project for a friend which will start right after Thankgiving.

I will record a sound sample later this evening after I have the kids down, but don't expect much from either the Chinese pups or my playing. ;)

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#169
Splods said:
That's sounds great. Is just missing some low end like BioWeapon said. That's most likely due to both pickups being so far back. Bit of EQ should fix that.
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Thanks! The pickup arrangement is due to my Warwick fetish. I think that the Chinese pups are also contributing to the thin sound, but interestingly enough it sounds pretty close to it's unplugged tone when sent through amplification. I have never owned or played a bass that sounds like it, but it sounds decent enough to be a keeper. Once I get through my "build for others" docket I will be building an extended range version with decent pups and some of my favorite woods.
 
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#172
Duplo42 said:
Maybe you can install permanent pin-turning keys to the pins? I know they should be custom machined, just a thought thou.

Btw, wd-40 has these lubricant sprays: http://wd40.com/products/specialist (scroll down and click Lubricate tab) - my friend who is repair/maintaining machine guy says there are really good - i haven't tried them yet thou.
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Good thoughts! The graphite does the job really well, and I would be worried about the WD-40 interacting with the finish. As crazy as it sounds I actually like clean look, though I need to keep the tuning hammer in my bag and possibly get a few extras just in case. I am going to be fitting all of my personal headless builds with this sort of tuning system so I should have a few on hand.
 
#173
I like the way it sounds! I think moving one of the pickups closer to the neck would solve the slightly thin sound, but frankly, I could totally live with the way it sounds now. I really like the body shape too. Nice work!
 
#175
mapleglo said:
I like the way it sounds! I think moving one of the pickups closer to the neck would solve the slightly thin sound, but frankly, I could totally live with the way it sounds now. I really like the body shape too. Nice work!
Click to expand...

wraub said:
+1.

I want one.
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Thank you both so much for the encouragement and compliments! I have been playing around with the sound quite a bit to see what options I have from a tonal pallet and agree that it sounds pretty nice unprocessed. I was able to dial in EQ to make it cut through a mix fairly easily, and am very happy with the results. I was not aiming for a particular sound, so it's very difficult to be disappointed. ;)
 
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#177
Happy Black Friday! I went to Guitar Center today to pick up an Ampeg BA-110 and a Sansamp so I could take advantage of a 15% sale. I took the Lady 5Jane with me so I could hear how she sounded before purchase. At the door the guy who tags instruments as they go in waved me through with a "We don't sell those....I'm not even sure what it is."

I spent most of my time fielding questions about the bass from employees, and it was decidedly odd to have so many people wanting to see and play my homemade bass - especially since I was trying pretty hard to keep a low profile so I could get in and out. The novelty certainly caused a lot of conversation.
 
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#179
BioWeapon said:
Damn, if I had known you wanted one...
There was just a Stupid Deal of the day on the BA-110 for somewhere around 45% off
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No worries - I did not know I was going shopping until last night, so I would not have taken advantage of it prior to today. I was intending to pickup up a larger amp (e.g. BA-115, Micro CL, etc.), but the BA-110 will do just fine for the time being. It's introduced a whole new dimension of fascination for my youngest son who has been showing extreme enthusiasm for "playing" the bass. The SansAmp has been been thoroughly broken in by him....maybe I should have picked up the extended warranty after all. Does it cover damage caused by excessive drool? ;)

By the way - the bass sounds REALLY good through the SansAmp and Ampeg combo, but I have to correct some grounding problems to eliminate a very annoying RF hum. I am planning on connecting the right most piano pin to the bass' ground and hope that the zero fret will cover the rest of the strings, and cavity shielding is going to be a necessity.

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#180
Cool. Some great stuff there. If you want to thicken up the sound, wiring the pickups in series (rather than parallel) with help. It will cancel up some of those upper mid and highs and give you a more bass heavy sound... for example, exhibit A; has the PU in similar position. Here's a sound clip of both coils and then the PU in series...

 
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