Yeah, it's pretty important to be able to do stuff like that yourself. If you ask, I'm sure that the guitar tech that you take your bass to would be able to show you how to do it. I always gave free lessons when I was working at a guitar shop.
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New 6 strings from Rondo ($170)
- Thread starter sheepdog
- Start date
Yes, yes.
I can change strings fine, but I have no experience repairing rogue nuts that decide to go flying across the room.
Anyway...
WEB 846: money pit, or truly worth investing the money and time?
I can change strings fine, but I have no experience repairing rogue nuts that decide to go flying across the room.
Anyway...
WEB 846: money pit, or truly worth investing the money and time?
As long as the nut didn't break, a very tiny amount of glue is all it would take to put it back.
Worth investing time to learn how to fix but not necessarily worth the money to pay someone to do it for you.
right.
I guess I rescind my question, since the focal point has somehow become my inability to perform a professional set up.
I guess I rescind my question, since the focal point has somehow become my inability to perform a professional set up.
Based on my experience with Rondo basses in the past, it's worth investing the money in a new set of strings and a pro setup. If you don't want to do the setup yourself, it's not a huge investment to get it done, and it will be well worth the $60 if the results are as good as the Rondos I've set up.
Oh I do want to learn. But I think I require supervision. Last time I tried to replace strings on my first bass the nut came flying off. Hence my trip this Saturday for *that* set-up.
le sigh.
Same thing happened to me on my first string change. I think I'd bought strings that were a bit bigger than the stock ones on the bass, and bigger than the nut was cut for. That big E string snapped the corner off the nut.
Made me feel like a doofus. But a new nut and remembering what size strings to buy from there on out, and I was golden. 
There are some good how-tos out there on the net for things like changing a set of strings. Don't feel discouraged. Just do what you need to get the experience. Watch a setup being performed, perhaps.
Just ordered the green Douglas 6 yesterday.
we'll see how it goes, but dropping $126 shipped for a 6 string is pretty much robbery in my opinion.
we'll see how it goes, but dropping $126 shipped for a 6 string is pretty much robbery in my opinion.
That is good news. does it sound Jazz Bass like, or is there more of a modern vibe to it?
I was looking at putting a Music Man-style PU at the bridge, since a couple of my basses have that style PU in them, and it has become the sound I hear in my head. When I switch to my ESP/LTD, our worship leader misses having the floor vibrate under her feet.
Do you think that would be a good step forward? Most say the bass is fine as it is. Not to put you on the spot, bro, (but I will anyway), what do you think?
oyo
PS - I realize the upgrade will cost nearly as much as the bass did, and it will take careful routing, so as not to mess up a nice instrument, but I love that MM sound! MMmmmm! Good.
Got my bass in, it has a bit of a ding from shipping, but I'm keeping it anyway.
It is comfortable to play. A bit of neck dive for nylon strap users, but I use a wide leather one. I prefer a rounder neck profile, but this feels good for a "shredder" profile- and a thicker neck would make the neck dive worse.
The action on this thing is unbelievable, after a few tweaks of the truss rods and bridge, that is. Not too shabby out of the box, either. The sound, while not comparable to a $1000 and up bass, is very nice and professional. Punchy and clear, works and plays well with others in the mix. No "air" or "breath", but no one in the room would hear that in the mix of drums, keys and loud guitars anyway!
I don't see any need to go on and cut up my bass for a MM pup. I like the sound as-is. If I want a modern tone, I solo the bridge pup with the bass control up to 75-100%,depending on the song. cuts through, with enough low end to support the B string.
Playing higher up the neck on the G and C strings sounds better with the neck pup soloed and or blended with the bridge.
Just a nice jazz bass influenced sound.
Although these are single coil pups, I was only able to get hum out of them by holding the bass within a foot of my amp. I took the back off the control cavity and it looked like graphite paint in there with foil shielding under the cover plate. Nice.
Even with the ding, I feel like I stole it. If there is some kind of catch to this, I haven't found it yet...
oyo
It's because it is that important to learn how to do it. It will save you time, money, and massive headaches in the future if you learn to do it yourself.
Oh I do want to learn. But I think I require supervision. Last time I tried to replace strings on my first bass the nut came flying off. Hence my trip this Saturday for *that* set-up.
le sigh.
Try this YouTube video:
Look at the fourth post down. Very detailed and precise without a lot of mumbo-jumbo. I've bookmarked this one.
I hope this helps!
oyo
Edit: If you have a WEB 846, there are locking screws for the bridge that must be loosened a bit before setting string height and intonation They are the larger Allen screws on the top of the bridge. You can gently snug them back down after making your adjustments. Sting height and intonation are different subjects than the Alembic link above, of course, but I thought I should mention about the bridge being a little different from most you may have seen, (and the one in the YouTube video).
Has anyone outside the "shopping zone" of Rondo try to purchase and have it shipped? From what I've gathered, they don't ship to Croatia, and damn, a cheap six like that would be worth it.
Email Kurt at Rondo. The site says they occasionally ship to Europe...might be worth a try.
oyo
I just ordered the green 6 fretless. Had a couple of questions which were answered immediately by kurt. Found a cheap source of 6-strings flats at:
http://stores.ebay.com/Mikes-Chop-S...QcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ19865496QQftidZ2QQtZkm
I had the original fender fretless precision in the early 70's (single digit serial number) but they never could get the neck to stay straight and I traded it in on a Jazz. THought it was time to try it again. I am playing a Peavey TL-5, and love it.
http://stores.ebay.com/Mikes-Chop-S...QcolZ2QQdirZQ2d1QQfsubZ19865496QQftidZ2QQtZkm
I had the original fender fretless precision in the early 70's (single digit serial number) but they never could get the neck to stay straight and I traded it in on a Jazz. THought it was time to try it again. I am playing a Peavey TL-5, and love it.
I currently have one 6 string bass, a Carvin, which has been in the shop for quite a while. While 6'ers are not my normal bag, I do want to keep one in good working order and seeing all the positive reviews and comments on the ~$110 Douglas ones from Rondo, I have ordered one (blue quilt) and it should arrive tomorrow.
I have had the blue quilt for about 3 weeks now.
Not a big call for 6 sting in what I play but for $123.00 I couldn't resist. Changed the strings with d'addario nickle rounds. Big improvement there. Two strings required a slight intonation adjustment. The neck relief and string height were fine..
The pros:
The fit and finish are great - no blems frets were fine.
Pickups are quiet when both on are on, standard single coil hum when soloed (not too bad though)
The bass plays nice and looks good.
The cons:
The pickup output is a little low. - I need to bump up the signal a bit on my sansamp...
The Blue finish is a little dark and doesn't really make the quilting pop.
Neck Dive - its very neck heavy
The bottom line is that for me this bass has tremendous value. I would never drop a ton of cash on a 6 string because I just don't use it that much. That said, it's fun to play and now that I have one I will expand a little bit an try to use it when I write and see where it takes me. Someday I might swap the stock preamp for somthing else but it's not something that has to be done today..
{Edited to add Neck dive as a con}
Not a big call for 6 sting in what I play but for $123.00 I couldn't resist. Changed the strings with d'addario nickle rounds. Big improvement there. Two strings required a slight intonation adjustment. The neck relief and string height were fine..
The pros:
The fit and finish are great - no blems frets were fine.
Pickups are quiet when both on are on, standard single coil hum when soloed (not too bad though)
The bass plays nice and looks good.
The cons:
The pickup output is a little low. - I need to bump up the signal a bit on my sansamp...
The Blue finish is a little dark and doesn't really make the quilting pop.
Neck Dive - its very neck heavy
The bottom line is that for me this bass has tremendous value. I would never drop a ton of cash on a 6 string because I just don't use it that much. That said, it's fun to play and now that I have one I will expand a little bit an try to use it when I write and see where it takes me. Someday I might swap the stock preamp for somthing else but it's not something that has to be done today..
{Edited to add Neck dive as a con}
I have been playing it for two days now and I love it. I had one of the original (single digit serial number) Fender fretless precisions in 1971, and they never did get the neck straightened out afer 3 trips to factory so Itraded it in with them for a Jazz.
THis one is smooth all the way up the neck on all strings, with an awesome bottom on the B. I have flatwounds coming in the mail which I would recommend everyone do. Kurt at rondo music is a gem and has replied to all of my stupid emails immediately.
Did I mention the thing looks awesome!
THis one is smooth all the way up the neck on all strings, with an awesome bottom on the B. I have flatwounds coming in the mail which I would recommend everyone do. Kurt at rondo music is a gem and has replied to all of my stupid emails immediately.
Did I mention the thing looks awesome!
I played my WEB 846 at a rehearsal last night for a concert this weekend.
I'm surprised at how much the bass feels like an extension of my body. I didn't notice any neck dive, but I was aware of the weight of the neck. It was almost like the bass disappeared, and the music was just there. Kinda trippy, I know, but I swear I haven't done any drugs since the '70's. Really.
I may have to put a little more relief in the neck, (I have it almost dead flat now), and/or raise the action a bit. It plays fine if I use a light touch, but I can hear the strings slap the frets and sizzle a bit when I dig in.
The action/relief/fret buzz remind me a lot of a $10,000 PRS custom bass I got to try out at the PRS booth at Creation Festival West last summer. It had a ridiculously low action, tiny relief set-up as well (I made sure to check out the set-up details)
! What I tried to do was to set up my $109.95 bass like the PRS to see If I could make it work. Amazingly, it seems to work just as well. I'm not saying the fit and finish on my blue beauty are anything like the PRS, or that the fretwork is even close to being as beautifully done, but the levelness of the frets is pretty darn close. Now I have a (low) point of reference to work from, I'll adjust it to get the notes to ring clearly for my style, which is definitely not a light touch. 
My bass doesn't fret out anywhere on the neck. I've never owned a bass that came close to being this playable with low action, and I've been playing for 30 years, albeit with mostly budget or used instruments. I tried out a Music man that was similarly adjusted, and the PRS, but nothing else came close.
I'll have to chime in with more detail after the "honeymoon" period is over. BTW, I'm still using the stock strings. I like the high-tension feel they have, and they don't sound too terrible to me.
oyo
I'm surprised at how much the bass feels like an extension of my body. I didn't notice any neck dive, but I was aware of the weight of the neck. It was almost like the bass disappeared, and the music was just there. Kinda trippy, I know, but I swear I haven't done any drugs since the '70's. Really.
I may have to put a little more relief in the neck, (I have it almost dead flat now), and/or raise the action a bit. It plays fine if I use a light touch, but I can hear the strings slap the frets and sizzle a bit when I dig in.
The action/relief/fret buzz remind me a lot of a $10,000 PRS custom bass I got to try out at the PRS booth at Creation Festival West last summer. It had a ridiculously low action, tiny relief set-up as well (I made sure to check out the set-up details)
! What I tried to do was to set up my $109.95 bass like the PRS to see If I could make it work. Amazingly, it seems to work just as well. I'm not saying the fit and finish on my blue beauty are anything like the PRS, or that the fretwork is even close to being as beautifully done, but the levelness of the frets is pretty darn close. Now I have a (low) point of reference to work from, I'll adjust it to get the notes to ring clearly for my style, which is definitely not a light touch. My bass doesn't fret out anywhere on the neck. I've never owned a bass that came close to being this playable with low action, and I've been playing for 30 years, albeit with mostly budget or used instruments. I tried out a Music man that was similarly adjusted, and the PRS, but nothing else came close.
I'll have to chime in with more detail after the "honeymoon" period is over. BTW, I'm still using the stock strings. I like the high-tension feel they have, and they don't sound too terrible to me.
oyo
