Leafenbacker

[Gilmourisgod]

Mapleglo
Now you are just making me jealous! What kind of differences in the sound of the two basses are you getting? I would imagine the third pickup on the Leafenbacker would give you more range of sounds. How were the electronics wired? Is that three volume controls with no tone? I must admit that I never really liked two volume and two tone controls on my old 4001, seems like whenever you change volume on one pickup, you are effectively changing the blend between pickups, and therefore the the tone. I'm wondering for my own bass if its possible to wire it as master volume, master treble, master bass, and a blend pot. In that scenario i'd want the blend pot active only in the middle pickup switch position. Maybe one of you electronics gurus can tell me if that's feasible. My electronics knowledge is strictly monkey- see/monkey -do, though I've gotten pretty good at basic soldering.

The snowglo project sounds cool, but I think white hardware would be too much (not to mention expensive and prone to wearing away on the high spots). Shiny chrome against the white will look great! Would you use black binding, how about checkerboard binding for a little Rick Neilson vibe? I have decided to go whole hog on checkerboard binding on mine.

 

[mapleglo]

Mapleglo
Now you are just making me jealous! What kind of differences in the sound of the two basses are you getting? I would imagine the third pickup on the Leafenbacker would give you more range of sounds. How were the electronics wired? Is that three volume controls with no tone? I must admit that I never really liked two volume and two tone controls on my old 4001, seems like whenever you change volume on one pickup, you are effectively changing the blend between pickups, and therefore the the tone. I'm wondering for my own bass if its possible to wire it as master volume, master treble, master bass, and a blend pot. In that scenario i'd want the blend pot active only in the middle pickup switch position. Maybe one you electronics gurus can tell me if that's feasible. My electronics knowledge is strictly monkey- see/monkey -do, though I've gotten pretty good at basic soldering.

The snowglo project sounds cool, but I think white hardware would be too much (not to mention expensive and prone to wearing away on the high spots). Shiny chrome against the white will look great! Would you use black binding, how about checkerboard binding for a little Rick Neilson vibe? I have decided to go whole hog on checkerboard binding on mine.

Interestingly enough, there's a noticeable difference between the two basses. The Ric is perfect for songs like Highway Star, while the Leaf really shines in Ramble on. I also find it much easier to play with my fingers on the Leaf, while the pick seems to work better on the Ric. When I posted the sound clip earlier, someone mentioned it has a Jazz Bass quality. And the more I play it, the more I agree. Though it does the "clank" fairly well too. The best thing about the Leaf, it's that it's comfortable to play, and lighter than the Ric. I really like that Carvin neck.

And yes, it's wired with 3 volumes, which I most just keep all dimed. I've always preferred to control tone at the amp or with pedals.

I'm not a fan of binding on a body, so likely wouldn't use that. And I agree that chrome looks nice with pretty much any color, including white.

 

[JIO]

Just a couple more pictures from band practice today. I had the Ric out and played it a bit.

Of course I also took the Leaf along, and played that too.

the Leaf is so you - rock on!

 

[JIO]

Painting hardware white is no big deal. For a Gildaxe client I sprayed the lower sleeves on a stacked-pot knob-set. Roughed up the finish w/emery cloth & steel wool, cleaned them thoroughly w/naptha, sprayed (thinner based) Kilz primer and finished w/Krylon indoor/outdoor satin white. I trimed 2 corks to wedge into the bottom for platforms and removed the screws replacing them w/tips of sharpened pencil points. (so the threads stay unpainted) The small indicator holes didn't fill it which left them visible. Came out great.

 

[hover]

check this out - really cool take on a Ric!

What do you get when you take a full-size shrinky dink of a Ric, bake it only half way, then throw an ATK bridgeplate with a 10 dollar guitarfetish.com bass bridge bolted on top of THAT, then create a headstock inspired by a bottle opener?

This bass.

 

[GBassNorth]

What do you get when you take a full-size shrinky dink of a Ric, bake it only half way, then throw an ATK bridgeplate with a 10 dollar guitarfetish.com bass bridge bolted on top of THAT, then create a headstock inspired by a bottle opener?

This bass.

I personally quite like it, actually much more than a typical Ric. To me the Leaf looks more organic and earthy in kinda the same way as my Warwick Thumb BO5. Not at all like the cold, impersonal, designed by a mechanical engineer look of a typical Ric. I also like the Leaf headstock proportions much better. I guess different strokes apply here.

EDIT: turns out hover was not referring to the Leaf bass but a different bass (Lanzi Mk1 Ric bass) that does indeed have a cartoonish look to it. I stand by my Leaf comments above as they relate to a normal Ric bass but apologize to hover for my wrong assumption on his opinion of the Leaf.

 

[Ric5]

Here's a blackout 4004 4-2-5 I did a while ago ... this bass has been showing up on ebay for a rather high price from a seller in Europe.

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/4004-goth.htm

 

[Aceonbass]

Gilmourisgod.....What you describe is not possible in a bass with passive electronics.

 

[pilotjones]

Right, the Blackstar. I don't remember the names, but Ric also did an all-white and an all-red model. You used to be able to see all these on The Ric Page on the sold instruments page, but it's not there anymore.

 

[giantbaba]

I was never a big fan of binding on a body. I can certainly appreciate it on a fret board though. And yeah, black strings are a must. Do they make them in round wounds? If not, I think I'd have to switch to flats or tape wounds for that bass.

DR Black Beauties are roundwound with a black coating. Great thread and build btw. It really turned out great.

 

[JIO]

What do you get when you take a full-size shrinky dink of a Ric, bake it only half way, then throw an ATK bridgeplate with a 10 dollar guitarfetish.com bass bridge bolted on top of THAT, then create a headstock inspired by a bottle opener?

This bass.

apparently we have different takes on creative design

 

[JIO]

I personally quite like it, actually much more than a typical Ric. To me the Leaf looks more organic and earthy in kinda the same way as my Warwick Thumb BO5. Not at all like the cold, impersonal, designed by a mechanical engineer look of a typical Ric. I also like the Leaf headstock proportions much better. I guess different strokes apply here.

FTR - he isn't addressing the Leaf - he's critiquing this - Lanzi Mk1 Rick Bass from Argentina

 

[mapleglo]

Painting hardware white is no big deal. For a Gildaxe client I sprayed the lower sleeves on a stacked-pot knob-set. Roughed up the finish w/emery cloth & steel wool, cleaned them thoroughly w/naptha, sprayed (thinner based) Kilz primer and finished w/Krylon indoor/outdoor satin white. I trimed 2 corks to wedge into the bottom for platforms and removed the screws replacing them w/tips of sharpened pencil points. (so the threads stay unpainted) The small indicator holes didn't fill it which left them visible. Came out great.

View attachment 439724 View attachment 439723

Those came out perfect! Thanks for the tip.

Here's a blackout 4004 4-2-5 I did a while ago ... this bass has been showing up on ebay for a rather high price from a seller in Europe.

http://www.3dentourage.com/425/4004-goth.htm

Beautiful! Were you able to buy the pickup covers black, or did you just paint them? And is that a stock Ric bridge?

DR Black Beauties are roundwound with a black coating. Great thread and build btw. It really turned out great.

Thanks! I'll have to look into those strings.

 

[hover]

apparently we have different takes on creative design

I didn't say I didn't like it. The only thing I thought odd was the bridge hodge podge, not to imply it wasn't completely functional.

 

[hover]

I personally quite like it, actually much more than a typical Ric. To me the Leaf looks more organic and earthy in kinda the same way as my Warwick Thumb BO5. Not at all like the cold, impersonal, designed by a mechanical engineer look of a typical Ric. I also like the Leaf headstock proportions much better. I guess different strokes apply here.

Whoa whoa whoa whoa...to be clear....my quoted post was not about the Leafenbacker...I am thoroughly SMITTEN with Mapleglo's creation...it's truly wonderful.... I was speaking to the melted-Dali-esque Ric inspired bass a couple pages back...the Lanzi MK1

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Rover
Glad you clarified your comment, I was getting all riled up thinking you were slamming the Leafenbacker (thems fighting words!)The Lanzi bass is like a badly drawn cartoon, can't see the appeal. I picture Shaggy playing it on Scooby-Doo.

Aceonbass
Thanks for popping my party baloon idea on the electronics! I shoulda known that wouldn't work. I like a pickup switch, master volume and two tones, any suggestions for the fourth knob? I suppose I could leave it a dummy just for looks.

 

[GBassNorth]

Whoa whoa whoa whoa...to be clear....my quoted post was not about the Leafenbacker...I am thoroughly SMITTEN with Mapleglo's creation...it's truly wonderful.... I was speaking to the melted-Dali-esque Ric inspired bass a couple pages back...the Lanzi MK1

Massive face palm happening on my side of the computer right now.
So sorry! I misread your post and was forwarded by JIO to the bass to which you were referring. My deepest apologies!
Off to edit my other post now.

 

[Aceonbass]

Aceonbass
Thanks for popping my party baloon idea on the electronics! I shoulda known that wouldn't work. I like a pickup switch, master volume and two tones, any suggestions for the fourth knob? I suppose I could leave it a dummy just for looks.

Well.....You could wire both tone controls to feed into one volume control, BUT...The tone controls would no longer act independantly of each other. Electrical signals are a funny thing. You'd think they'd flow in one direction along the path you set by wiring something up, but they don't. Oh, and you'd lose your Rick-O-Sound option.

 

[JIO]

I didn't say I didn't like it. The only thing I thought odd was the bridge hodge podge, not to imply it wasn't completely functional.

Ok, but even the hybrid bridge is something I would consider a creative design solution. Aside from the next greatly more expensive step of designing and manufacturing your own bridge, the plate w/pu surround and bridge on top is a very elegant and functional nod to the Ric style bridge. Speaking of which, I owned a 4003 that had the two screws at the lower section of the bridge plate because the newer higher tension strings were lifting it away from the body. Not an especially great design really.

 

[hover]

Massive face palm happening on my side of the computer right now.
So sorry!

No worries at all good Sir!!!!