NBD- a vintage mutt

[Rip Topaz]

Took the pickguard off to change the battery, so I took a couple shots.

There's no paint under the pickguard, but the wood under it is notably cleaner. Huge sweat mark under the guard near the P pickup. I'm guessing that where someone anchored their thumb. Funky.

 

[Rip Topaz]

Another under the pickguard.

 

[PWRL]

Perhaps. Me, I'd at least disinfect it.

Well, yeah, I hear you. It needs some cleaning up, but it has so much personality, that's all I'm saying.

 

[Rip Topaz]

The only drawback of leaving the trem in the locked down position is that the break angle of the strings passing over it is next to nothing.

The strings have very little wrap on the tuners, which is also effecting playability. The E string won't stay in the nut slot because of no downward pull at the nut.

I'm gonna keep the trem, but I'll be setting it up properly (NOT locked down) even if I rarely use it. The cool factor is pretty awesome.

 

[Rip Topaz]

Also, it's getting a weird rattle when I hit the E string. I'm guessing that's a by-product of the bridge being set up the way it is. I'm expecting that changing the strings is going to help a lot of its quirks.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I was just looking at this again, and I really like the way the body looks on your bass. I do love funky old P-Basses like this, and own two stripped, modded ones, a '76 and a '79.
I used to own a P-Bass Special exactly like the one pictured above. It had a brass nut and bridge, so maybe your nut is also non-original. Also had the white plastic PU covers.
My problem with the Kahler was two-fold: it added unwelcome weight and it inhibited a low setup. Perhaps it was poorly installed. YMMV.
Anyway, have fun with this beast!

 

[bholder]

The only drawback of leaving the trem in the locked down position is that the break angle of the strings passing over it is next to nothing.

The strings have very little wrap on the tuners, which is also effecting playability. The E string won't stay in the nut slot because of no downward pull at the nut.

I'm gonna keep the trem, but I'll be setting it up properly (NOT locked down) even if I rarely use it. The cool factor is pretty awesome.

Yeah, you probably want to rotate it back so that the string anchors are in the proper spot (providing the missing downforce on the saddles) and stick a shim under the front on the inside to hold the position.

 

[Double E]

Get that thing, the Kahler, off of there! No amount of patchwork to cover the tracks of that monstrosity will look as bad. I am willing to bet that thing is pushing 1 1/2 lbs in weight.

 

[bholder]

Get that thing, the Kahler, off of there! No amount of patchwork to cover the tracks of that monstrosity will look as bad. I am willing to bet that thing is pushing 1 1/2 lbs in weight.

Yeah, but it'll never suffer from neck dive! Me, I'd leave it. Think of the history there, man!

 

[Rip Topaz]

Well, I'm torn. As much as the Kahler is huge and heavy, I'm intrigued by the whole idea of having a trem.

I think my first order of business (after a string change and setting up the trem properly) is going to be rewiring it and taking it as far back to stock as I can. And get that damn battery out of the electronics cavity and into the back where it belongs.

Still debating the active/passive thing. For simplicity's sake I'll probably make it passive.

But for now, at least, the trem stays. I wanna play with it for awhile and see if I like it.

I would love to know more about the bass's history. Looks to have lots of miles on it.

 

[Double E]

Well, I'm torn. As much as the Kahler is huge and heavy, I'm intrigued by the whole idea of having a trem.

If you're gonna use it, that's a different story. I was under the impression it was broken.

 

[Rip Topaz]

It's not broken. At least, it SEEMS to be working right.

 

[Rip Topaz]

Well, I got antsy to play it, so I just did a setup with rounds, and it works great. The set screw to lock the trem in place is missing, but it stays in tune pretty well when not locked. Gonna fiddle with it some more, then maybe record a couple clips.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Even if I wasn't going to use the trem, I'd leave the Kahler in, it's a very massive bridge, and in that locked down position, ought to have really good mechanical / vibrational coupling with the body.

+1, just block the trem solid with a wood shim and work it like a draft horse. Nice nasty grunge appeal as-is, never have to worry about dinging it.

 

[millsbass5]

I don't know why a lot of people thinks those Kahler setups are so bad. I had purchased a brand new Peavey Dyna Bass, in the late 80's that came with a Kahler, and it was a great-sounding/playing bass. Every one I've tried sounds great, as a matter of fact.

 

[bholder]

I don't know why a lot of people thinks those Kahler setups are so bad. I had purchased a brand new Peavey Dyna Bass, in the late 80's that came with a Kahler, and it was a great-sounding/playing bass. Every one I've tried sounds great, as a matter of fact.

Even if you don't use the tremolo, I think they're better bridges than most stock Fender bent metal ones, much more mass, and the route into the body ought to (if done well) really lock them together.

 

[Rip Topaz]

It's definitely a solid bridge. Now that I've got it setup properly it plays great. A bit of neck dive, surprising enough. Didn't expect that. Of course, I used a different strap than normal, just to see how it balanced. With my normal suede strap or my Duostrap it won't be a problem.

Can't really comment too much on the sound of it because the only amp I have at home is a cheap 15 watt SX amp that came in a package deal we got for my son a few years back. Sounds good but I'm sure it'll sound awesome through my normal stage rig.

Changing the strings and making sure I had enough wraps around the tuner posts completely eliminated the mystery buzz from the bridge.

The bass actually stays in tune pretty well when using the whammy. Can't wait till band practice tomorrow night so I can really break it in.

The whammy is definitely cool. I'm keeping it for now, no need to fix what ain't broken. The bridge is missing the side screw that locks it in place like a hardtail. So for now, I'm gonna whammy my brains out!!

 

[bholder]

 

[Gluvhand]

I had a Kahler in my early 70's P. Eventually took it out and had the rout filled with a nice piece of ash. I put a Badass in it's place, at least for now, to cover the patch work. If I ever decide to paint it I might change bridges, or not. I never used the Kahler enough to justify having it there. It's fun for a little while then kind of just gets in the way. For me.

 

[Rip Topaz]

Yeah, it isn't very practical but it's still totally cool. I've considered removing it and making an ash block to fill it with, but for now I'm gonna keep it just for kicks.

The biggest thing I'm planning for now is to get rid of the EMG's. Not a fan of their sound. I've been interested in the Geezer Butler pickups so that's probably what I'm going to get.

And that white pickguard has to go. Probably gonna either go with black, or maybe a purple mirror like WD sells.

But for now, I'm just gonna play it and get to know it a little better before I do anything drastic.