Lakland 44-66 ThunderJazz?

[webelo]

WV,
At what hight did you find the sweet spot with the thunderbuckers? I finally got mine installed and Steve recommends 4/16-5/16 for the neck, but that seems low to me. I literally just got them in tonight and decided to wire them up with the 250k V/V/T pots that came in my Jazz and I'm only playing through my practice amp. I can't wait to get the new electronics in and head down to the practice space... I have a feeling these are going to be thunderous.

john.

 

[wvbass]

WV,
At what hight did you find the sweet spot with the thunderbuckers? I finally got mine installed and Steve recommends 4/16-5/16 for the neck, but that seems low to me.

Height is kind of subjective, because it depends on how high you set your action, or you have to fret the string at a reference fret and then measure height. This recommendation seems pretty good to me:

I just get the bridge as high as it will go without the strings hitting, and then set the neck to balance.

My bridge pickup is pretty darned high. It probably comes within 1/16 of an inch or so of hitting the strings. The neck pickup is a bit lower, and probably is right about 4/16 or 5/16 of an inch. Here's a picture or two to give you the idea.

Honestly, I don't set up my J or P pickups much differently, but the volume of the pickup seems more sensitive to height with the Thunderbuckers.

On another note, I really suggest you spend ten more dollars and try 500k volume pots. I honestly have not tried 250k volume pots, but even with the 500k pots, these pickups are big, warm and smooth on the top end. I would be concerned that with 250k pots, they might start to be a little dull. Don't get me wrong, I think they will sound good, but I bet if you use 250k volume pots and then switch to 500k pots later, you will feel like the bass really comes to life. Mine is wired with 500k volume pots, a 250k no-load tone pot and a .047 capacitor. And it rocks.

On a related note, I don't know if I've said this, but the '66 'buckers don't just sound good; they are loud too! This is probably my loudest passive bass and can give any of my active ones a run for the money.

 

[webelo]

Well... there she is... all done (almost). Link Removed

Thanks for the pics of your pickup height. So, I have already ordered a 500k volume pot, 500k blend pot, a 250k tone pot, and a .047 cap. I wired up the bass really quickly tonight, just to hear it. Once that stuff comes in, I'll get her wired up right.

I made the mistake of buying light gage GHS Pressurewounds and I really think I'm paying for it. The heavy flatwounds that were on it before just made the whole bass vibrate... now it's just kinda blah. Thoughts?

Anywho... once I get the electronics in there, I'll head down to the practice space and plug in to the stack and start messing around with pickup height.

 

[wvbass]

Well... there she is... all done (almost).

Looks great! I was really tempted to cut a tort guard for mine, but decided against it because white is more of a classic 'bird color. Looking at your bass, I really like the tort too. You will have to let me know if you hear much difference between 250k and 500k. I am betting you will.

I am not the right guy to ask about strings. I am still looking for a "go to" string for all my basses... I am trying SIT's nickel-steels right now. I've got them on three basses right now with a fourth soon to follow. I like them better than the new Fender 7250s, and find them comparible to nickel lo-riders. I like some things about D'Addario XLs, but they sound about half-dead when they are new. I have Fender 7150s on one of my basses and think the tone is good but missing something. I also have a set of blue steels and am going to try those before too long. I usually don't get along too well with flats, but I may go the other direction and try a bright stainless steel string next time I restring my Lakland. And I may try Fodera strings here pretty soon, too, on one of my fivers. So, the short answer is, I don't know.

I do recommend buying from Jason at bassstringsonline.com. His service has been excellent, and he just seems to be a good guy in general.

 

[Dadagoboi]

Ken Smith Bass Burners (nickel) or Rock Masters (stainless) .045-.105s.

 

[wvbass]

Ken Smith Bass Burners (nickel) or Rock Masters (stainless) .045-.105s.

Interesting. I used Smith strings for a long time many years ago. I will give them a try.