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It would be totally cool to put "Leo's last circuit" on that bass to increase versatility. You know like a G&L L2X00 where you have series, parallel, and single coil. Could be wired like a L2X00 with one switch for both bickups or separate switches for each pickup!
Cripes! I can't even buy one and I'm ready to start modding! I wrote Rondo about being notified when then came in and the support girl just told me to sign up for the newsletter. SPAM doesn't seem like a good idea to me.
I haven't looked inside yet. I am wondering about wiring/switching/blending options also. I am surprisingly enjoying the "both pickups on" position. I usually run my GGS's with Big Splits, mostly neck. The neck pickup is quite a bit closer to the neck than on my GGS's. I might look back at a recent thread I saw where a TB'r modded a 5 string Defiant multi scale. He changed out to EMG's though.
Modding my Fanned Fret Defiant
Todd
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I got to use my Brice Defiant at band rehearsal Saturday! I enjoyed it a lot. I was able to play without fretting problems and the tone worked real nicely. I haven't changed the strings yet, but I'm kind of enjoying the round wounds that came on it(I've been using flats exclusively lately). I'm playing with the pickup selector on both pickups which is different for me. On my other basses I usually go 100% to 80% neck pickup. My GGS's neck pickups are more like in the "sweet-spot/P bass" location. With this I need the bridge to bring in the mids and highs. I recorded a bunch of songs for practicing purposes using my Zoom H4, and I really like how it's sounding in the mix.
I did the bath scale weigh job and it's about 10.9-11LBS. I'm not feeling any discomfort from the weight, however I have ordered a strap pad to make sure.
I'll put on the Payson GW's later this week and report back.
Todd
I did the bath scale weigh job and it's about 10.9-11LBS. I'm not feeling any discomfort from the weight, however I have ordered a strap pad to make sure.
I'll put on the Payson GW's later this week and report back.
Todd
Payson makes some awesome strings. I really, really like how his feel on my Dingwalls. Good choice in string!
Too bad it is so heavy. I don't have any issue per se, but I just dislike playing heavy basses. I try to keep everything under 9.5 lbs if at all possible.
Too bad it is so heavy. I don't have any issue per se, but I just dislike playing heavy basses. I try to keep everything under 9.5 lbs if at all possible.
Put on the Payson GW Flats last night! Love the fit and balance! I'll have to break them in a bit yet, but my initial impression it that they are excellent GW's. I'm already thinking about getting Nickel Reduced Cores to try. Great service from Payson!
I also got the D'Addario strap cushion and it works nicely.
Todd
I also got the D'Addario strap cushion and it works nicely.
Todd
Here's a picture of the cavity. I think they are four wire pickups. I think the red and white wires are for coil tap.
Todd
How is the neck profile? Slim, chunky? I know it's hard to quantify, but any vague description would still be helpful
I would say it's fairly slim to medium. I find it very comfortable. I tend to like a little size, not a fan of ultra thin or narrow necks.
Todd
My thoughts after a few weeks;
I loved the Payson GW Flats, however was enjoying the round wound strings that came on it. This basses voice is on the darker side. I found out that the strings that Rondo sent it out with were a customized set of "La Bella's Deep Talkin' Stainless Steel Rounds - 760RM". I emailed Kurt and he shot back a note in minutes! I went ahead and ordered Payson's Stainless Steel Rounds and Reduced Core Nickels. I've put the SS's on and fine tuned the action and intonation. For the band I'm currently in I think these will be perfect! The GW Flats would work fine and I'm sure the Reduced Cores will be somewhere in between.
I'm getting quite used to this bass and it has taken a sweet setup!
Todd
I loved the Payson GW Flats, however was enjoying the round wound strings that came on it. This basses voice is on the darker side. I found out that the strings that Rondo sent it out with were a customized set of "La Bella's Deep Talkin' Stainless Steel Rounds - 760RM". I emailed Kurt and he shot back a note in minutes! I went ahead and ordered Payson's Stainless Steel Rounds and Reduced Core Nickels. I've put the SS's on and fine tuned the action and intonation. For the band I'm currently in I think these will be perfect! The GW Flats would work fine and I'm sure the Reduced Cores will be somewhere in between.
I'm getting quite used to this bass and it has taken a sweet setup!
Todd
If they weren't ridiculously heavy (my Dingwall ABZ6 is just over 8 lbs) I'd buy one and have it professionally defretted.
This thread has pushed me over the edge! I ordered a Link Removed
Now the waiting begins. [Oops, had to correct the last word in that sentence, stupid word correct]
Now the waiting begins. [Oops, had to correct the last word in that sentence, stupid word correct]
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So cool! I was just trying to justify to myself grabbing one of those while they are available. I'm enjoying mine so much! I hope you like it as much as I like mine. I've been really enjoying the Payson Strings on mine, but the LaBella strings that came on mine were quite good. Not the same urgency to replace the strings like on my SX's.
Todd
UPS says mine should arrive tomorrow! Yippeee! I'm off Friday, but have to go to a HS graduation for my granddaughter in the morning, but count on some comments/pics sometime Friday.
I don't normally think about mods before I try something, but being the J type bass player that I am, I am seriously thinking about changing the controls to VVT, with dual switchpots (on the bridge pup and tone pots) wired so that I can select series/parallel/inner coils/outer coils (or whichever coils, 1 from each pup, are noise cancelling when used together) for both pups. We'll see.
I don't normally think about mods before I try something, but being the J type bass player that I am, I am seriously thinking about changing the controls to VVT, with dual switchpots (on the bridge pup and tone pots) wired so that I can select series/parallel/inner coils/outer coils (or whichever coils, 1 from each pup, are noise cancelling when used together) for both pups. We'll see.
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Thant's awesome! I'm looking forward to your review and details on your mods if you do them. I have been thinking about going vvt or vbt. The series/parallel/inner/outer coils sounds tempting also.
Todd
OK, I guess I neglected to do a NBD, but I'll share my experiences here.
The bass is well put together. I am a J kinda guy though so the HBs as arrived are too thick-toned for me. I just finished replacing the switch with a switchpot, I also put a switchpot in the tone control location, and wired it VVT, and used the switchpots to give me each pup as series, parallel,or inner coils or outer coils. The pic is before my mods, but all that looks different now is there are 3 knobs instead of 2 and a switch.
NOW we're cookin'! I'm still getting used to the controls as I have no other basses wired like this, but it now has a very nice range of tones! The pups are a little high, so I'll probably lower them a little too. Oh yeah, they are very hot too, lots of signal.
One thing I will say though, a 37 inch scale B string feels like a 34 inch scale E or A, it's really nice!
My next change will be strings... as soon as I figure out what to change these to.
The bass is well put together. I am a J kinda guy though so the HBs as arrived are too thick-toned for me. I just finished replacing the switch with a switchpot, I also put a switchpot in the tone control location, and wired it VVT, and used the switchpots to give me each pup as series, parallel,or inner coils or outer coils. The pic is before my mods, but all that looks different now is there are 3 knobs instead of 2 and a switch.
NOW we're cookin'! I'm still getting used to the controls as I have no other basses wired like this, but it now has a very nice range of tones! The pups are a little high, so I'll probably lower them a little too. Oh yeah, they are very hot too, lots of signal.
One thing I will say though, a 37 inch scale B string feels like a 34 inch scale E or A, it's really nice!
My next change will be strings... as soon as I figure out what to change these to.
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Heck yeah, 37" scale for the low string just absolutely rules. The balance and clarity gained from it is an experience that can drastically change opinions and a player 
.
For the most part, I like the Payson strings (www.paysonbass.com). If you buy just a single set, it's like $32, but Payson will also cut you a good deal if you buy more. I buy mine 5 sets at a time. I also change my strings like once ever 2 or 3 months, so I tend to burn through them at a good rate. They sound and feel pretty dang nice and the price is hard to beat. The only "con" to this is that Payson has a limited selection of gauges - so if what he has isn't what you're after, you'll need to look elsewhere for now.
If you want to spend a little more (~$36/set), or look for alternate tuning stuff, Kalium is the way to go. You can build up a custom set of just about any gauge, and those guys can hold your hand to help you get exactly what you want. They'll be a bit more spendy, but in general it's well worth it. Off the cuff of my sleeve, if you're going with them, the 130 or 136 sets is where I'd start (Link Removed). I run Kalium on all of my parallel fret basses, and next week I'm going to order up a set for F# tuning on one of my Dingwall's. Depending on some things, I may switch my other Dingwall to them as well. If you're doing any down tuning at all, Kalium is definitely the one to look to.
.For the most part, I like the Payson strings (www.paysonbass.com). If you buy just a single set, it's like $32, but Payson will also cut you a good deal if you buy more. I buy mine 5 sets at a time. I also change my strings like once ever 2 or 3 months, so I tend to burn through them at a good rate. They sound and feel pretty dang nice and the price is hard to beat. The only "con" to this is that Payson has a limited selection of gauges - so if what he has isn't what you're after, you'll need to look elsewhere for now.
If you want to spend a little more (~$36/set), or look for alternate tuning stuff, Kalium is the way to go. You can build up a custom set of just about any gauge, and those guys can hold your hand to help you get exactly what you want. They'll be a bit more spendy, but in general it's well worth it. Off the cuff of my sleeve, if you're going with them, the 130 or 136 sets is where I'd start (Link Removed). I run Kalium on all of my parallel fret basses, and next week I'm going to order up a set for F# tuning on one of my Dingwall's. Depending on some things, I may switch my other Dingwall to them as well. If you're doing any down tuning at all, Kalium is definitely the one to look to.
OK, I guess I neglected to do a NBD, but I'll share my experiences here.
The bass is well put together. I am a J kinda guy though so the HBs as arrived are too thick-toned for me. I just finished replacing the switch with a switchpot, I also put a switchpot in the tone control location, and wired it VVT, and used the switchpots to give me each pup as series, parallel,or inner coils or outer coils. The pic is before my mods, but all that looks different now is there are 3 knobs instead of 2 and a switch.
NOW we're cookin'! I'm still getting used to the controls as I have no other basses wired like this, but it now has a very nice range of tones! The pups are a little high, so I'll probably lower them a little too. Oh yeah, they are very hot too, lots of signal.
One thing I will say though, a 37 inch scale B string feels like a Er inch scale E or A, it's really nice!
My next change will be strings... as soon as I figure out what to change these to.
if I had a wiring diagram of that, I might get one of these also
Okay, take the wiring diagram in post 6 here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] And to make it exactly like what I did take the outputs to 2 volume pots like in this diagram:
I also wired the outputs of the pots per J diagram.
One more tip, once you identify the pos and neg leads for each coil (I'll tell you what mine were later when I get to my notes) if you physically flip the bridge pup in the bass and flip the coils for that pup in the diagram, you will have inner/outer coil selection AND when you select either of those and put each pup full on they will be humbucking, just like a good J.
