Beautiful. Very cool to see you go from (I think) a novice at bass building and winding a few threads ago to being able to make something like this. Great work sir.
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More Fun with the Modelo Uno: Forward and Lateral Motion
- Thread starter Freekmagnet
- Start date
I love the colour of the wood showing through the F-hole, and how it contrasts the top colour.
Really great work all around!
Really great work all around!
Your skills as a builder have definitely grown, and your pickups sound like a continuing evolution of creative wonder.
Another LC bass I'd be glad to give a try, but clearly above my pay grade.
Very impressed.
Another LC bass I'd be glad to give a try, but clearly above my pay grade.
Very impressed.
Due to a global pandemic, I haven't had a chance to gig with this bass yet, but I felt I should post a few thoughts about this instrument after having played it at a few rehearsals.
So far so good. I play through a Fender Rumble head and a Bag End 115 at the studio. Not the best combo, but it works. As of late, the band - bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, 2 horns and a singer - has been going over some newer material. Mostly 70's-80's R&B numbers. The bass itself puts out what I'd call a more "modern" tone than "vintage". A tight, but present low end, pronounced and well-defined midrange and plenty of upper mids and top end on tap. It seems to fit pretty well with the songs we're working on.
The single coil sounds really fat and aggressive sounding. In certain respects, it sounds similar to my EBMM StingRay, but it really doesn't sound like it at all. The single-coil hum is definitely a thing, but it doesn't bother me when I play the bass. The only time I notice it is when I back the volume off when we're not playing - I can hear that 60 cycle hum disappear from the chorus of other hisses and hums coming from the PA system. I suppose could build dummy coil, but on the other hand, it's probably a waste of time. The universe has been living with 60 cycle hum since the dawn of audio.
The 2-band preamp is pretty good. I'm not sure if I miss the dedicated mids knob, or if I should move some of the mids from the treble knob to the bass control. I usually have the bass turned up about 80-90% and the treble backed off at least 75%. I don't have the schematic in front of me, but I think the bass is boosting everything up to 300hz and the treble boosts everything above 1000hz. Maybe I could move some of those low-mids into the bass knob.
I re-designed the chambered body largely because I was having trouble with the top warping. Basically, I made several smaller chambers instead of two bigger chambers, and I made the top about 3/8" thick. I can't say definitively that these chambers affect the tone in any way. In a future iteration, I might experiment with thinning the top down to 1/4" or less in some spots - maybe have it be a more "progressive" depth that is thicker at the edge and thinner at the center. There's a larger central chamber that runs from the front of the bridge to the neck pocket. I might make that chamber deeper, making the central axis of the instrument a little weaker.
That's about all I can say about it for now. I think that I can call this design "complete" - any changes will probably be incremental at this point. Although, I do have a humbucker I designed that I can fit into the same footprint. I might build one and install one of the HB's in it instead of the single coil.
The next thing I have to do is make and audio/video demo. A buddy of mine wants to help me out with that - I hate demos with just the bass by itself - I want more of a band context. My friend wants to compose a couple of play-a-long tracks. I wanted to do a little cumbia groove, and old funk jam and a reggae riddim. Maybe throw in the intro to Roundabout to demonstrate my theory that all you have to do to get Chris Squire's coveted tone is cut all your low end.
So far so good. I play through a Fender Rumble head and a Bag End 115 at the studio. Not the best combo, but it works. As of late, the band - bass, drums, guitar, keyboards, 2 horns and a singer - has been going over some newer material. Mostly 70's-80's R&B numbers. The bass itself puts out what I'd call a more "modern" tone than "vintage". A tight, but present low end, pronounced and well-defined midrange and plenty of upper mids and top end on tap. It seems to fit pretty well with the songs we're working on.
The single coil sounds really fat and aggressive sounding. In certain respects, it sounds similar to my EBMM StingRay, but it really doesn't sound like it at all. The single-coil hum is definitely a thing, but it doesn't bother me when I play the bass. The only time I notice it is when I back the volume off when we're not playing - I can hear that 60 cycle hum disappear from the chorus of other hisses and hums coming from the PA system. I suppose could build dummy coil, but on the other hand, it's probably a waste of time. The universe has been living with 60 cycle hum since the dawn of audio.
The 2-band preamp is pretty good. I'm not sure if I miss the dedicated mids knob, or if I should move some of the mids from the treble knob to the bass control. I usually have the bass turned up about 80-90% and the treble backed off at least 75%. I don't have the schematic in front of me, but I think the bass is boosting everything up to 300hz and the treble boosts everything above 1000hz. Maybe I could move some of those low-mids into the bass knob.
I re-designed the chambered body largely because I was having trouble with the top warping. Basically, I made several smaller chambers instead of two bigger chambers, and I made the top about 3/8" thick. I can't say definitively that these chambers affect the tone in any way. In a future iteration, I might experiment with thinning the top down to 1/4" or less in some spots - maybe have it be a more "progressive" depth that is thicker at the edge and thinner at the center. There's a larger central chamber that runs from the front of the bridge to the neck pocket. I might make that chamber deeper, making the central axis of the instrument a little weaker.
That's about all I can say about it for now. I think that I can call this design "complete" - any changes will probably be incremental at this point. Although, I do have a humbucker I designed that I can fit into the same footprint. I might build one and install one of the HB's in it instead of the single coil.
The next thing I have to do is make and audio/video demo. A buddy of mine wants to help me out with that - I hate demos with just the bass by itself - I want more of a band context. My friend wants to compose a couple of play-a-long tracks. I wanted to do a little cumbia groove, and old funk jam and a reggae riddim. Maybe throw in the intro to Roundabout to demonstrate my theory that all you have to do to get Chris Squire's coveted tone is cut all your low end.
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The gig report - (I know it’s unbelievable that I’ve been doing gigs during COVID-19. I’ve been to say the least, apprehensive about it, but House Arrest has been playing a weekly outdoor gig at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center. The audience stays in their cars. We’ve been calling it “Soul Sundays”.)
In short, this bass kicks a**.
In short, this bass kicks a**.
Is there one today? I'm in Camarillo this week.
Wow! There’s one scheduled, but it might get cancelled due to rain - I am awaiting the text from the boss-man. I should find out within the next couple of hours. I’ll post when I find out.
I think we’re playing next week, too. If you’re going to be around, let me know. Getting tickets is a complicated procedure. I’ll send you a link.
Is that a real pancho or a Sears pancho?
@Jon Clegg -
alright, I just got the text. No Soul Sunday today. Bummer! That would have been awesome!
alright, I just got the text. No Soul Sunday today. Bummer! That would have been awesome!
Bummer. Oh well. I'll be out this way again.@Jon Clegg -
alright, I just got the text. No Soul Sunday today. Bummer! That would have been awesome!
Cool! Let me know - gigs are touch and go with this global pandemic going on, but House Arrest will probably be doing more of these outdoor in your car gigs in the future.
Are you working in Camarillo?
