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NMD - New mod day - Sire P5

K-2

K-2

Nov 30, 2016
181
495
Vilnius, Lithuania
#1
Hey all,

Wanted to finally share this build. Got into some trouble with pickups being out of phase. Got in touch with EMG, was advised to swap green and red wires on the MM pickup - issue resolved.
Still need to adjust pickup heights, action, etc. But wanted to take a break from stressing out about this thing not working properly.

So here she is!

EMG GZR P and EMG MMHZ. Delano blend pot and EMG volume pot. Harley Benton knobs.
Schaller tuners and Gotoh bridge - both required drilling. There is a tiny bit of previous bridge hole that can be seen, but it is on the bottom side, so not a big deal.

Understand that aesthetically might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I like it a lot. My friend upon seeing it, described it as a blend of vintage (sunburst and tort) and modern (black hardware, EMGs)

Cheers!
f3d5066f-4ea9-401a-8a78-a4b847becc22.jpg
 
Last edited:
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#4
K-2 said:
Hey all,

Wanted to finally share this build. Got into some trouble with pickups being out of phase. Got in touch with EMG, was advised to swap green and red wires on the MM pickup - issue resolved.
Still need to adjust pickup heights, action, etc. But wanted to take a break from stressing out about this thing not working properly.

So here she is!

EMG GZR P and EMG MMHZ. Delano blend pot and EMG volume pot. Harley Benton knobs.
Schaller tuners and Gotoh bridge - both required drilling. There is a tiny bit of previous bridge hole that can be seen, but it is on the bottom side, so not a big deal.

Understand that aesthetically might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I like it a lot. My friend upon seeing it, described it as a blend of vintage (sunburst and tort) and modern (black hardware, EMGs)

Cheers!
View attachment 7380237
Click to expand...
Looks good :cool: to me! I bet it sounds good too. I’m always interested in mods too. I’ve done that with just about every bass I’ve owned.
 
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#6
K-2 said:
Hey all,

Wanted to finally share this build. Got into some trouble with pickups being out of phase. Got in touch with EMG, was advised to swap green and red wires on the MM pickup - issue resolved.
Still need to adjust pickup heights, action, etc. But wanted to take a break from stressing out about this thing not working properly.

So here she is!

EMG GZR P and EMG MMHZ. Delano blend pot and EMG volume pot. Harley Benton knobs.
Schaller tuners and Gotoh bridge - both required drilling. There is a tiny bit of previous bridge hole that can be seen, but it is on the bottom side, so not a big deal.

Understand that aesthetically might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I like it a lot. My friend upon seeing it, described it as a blend of vintage (sunburst and tort) and modern (black hardware, EMGs)

Cheers!
View attachment 7380237
Click to expand...
Great looking instrument
 
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#7
SC Bassboy said:
Definitely beautiful, and most likely a tone monster. Nice build! What all did you have to do to the body? I assume it wasn't already routed for both those pickups?
Click to expand...
Correct. Body had to be routed for the pickup itself, as well as pickguard cut to fit the pickup so close to the P pickup.
Control cavity is big enough to fit a tone control too or some type of preamp (would still need a route for a battery) - but I never use a tone knob, so decided to keep it simple with blend and volume. I have a couple of active basses, so wanted to keep this passive to, so there's still plenty of room under the hood.
And there's plenty of power coming from those pickups.
25f8386f-8515-473e-986f-f95bd33af337.jpg
 
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#9
K-2 said:
Correct. Body had to be routed for the pickup itself, as well as pickguard cut to fit the pickup so close to the P pickup.
Control cavity is big enough to fit a tone control too or some type of preamp (would still need a route for a battery) - but I never use a tone knob, so decided to keep it simple with blend and volume. I have a couple of active basses, so wanted to keep this passive to, so there's still plenty of room under the hood.
And there's plenty of power coming from those pickups.
View attachment 7380346
Click to expand...
I love it when someone commits to their vision and follows through. Kudos, my friend.
 
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#11
Attaching some sound samples.

1st clip: Fingers
2nd clip: Upper register
3rd clip: Pick
4th clip: Slap

Disclaimer: These are old Harley Benton round wounds, tuned in Drop C (C, G, C, F). Going through some compression (Blend and attack on minimum, Volume at 12 o'clock, Compression at 9 o'clock. More on slap clip, to prevent clipping), no amp/cab sim, straight to DI. So chain was: Seymour Duncan Studio compressor, Focusrite Scarlett Solo, Studio One DAW.
All clips are firstly on P pickup, then MM, then both.

Cheers!



 
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#13
I really like how it sounds. Punchy and rich. I'd even rock those used strings no problem with a pick, some OD, some thickening and heavier compression, which is my kind of tone (my kind of picking sounds similar to yours). I'm not a fan of 2 pickups too close together (often produces some nasality I don't like), but for some reason this sounds real nice to me when both pickups are on.

I assume the P pickup is wired series (stock). The MM pickup sounds like it's wired parrallel (is it?). If the MM pickup is 4-5 wires (not hardwired series or parallel inside) I'd definitely add series/parallel switching, for BOTH pickups. Lots of tones to be had there (or even just the P if the MM is hardwired inside). But thats just crazy me wanting every possible combination with such interesting couple pickups 👍
 
#14
andruca said:
I really like how it sounds. Punchy and rich. I'd even rock those used strings no problem with a pick, some OD, some thickening and heavier compression, which is my kind of tone (my kind of picking sounds similar to yours). I'm not a fan of 2 pickups too close together (often produces some nasality I don't like), but for some reason this sounds real nice to me when both pickups are on.

I assume the P pickup is wired series (stock). The MM pickup sounds like it's wired parrallel (is it?). If the MM pickup is 4-5 wires (not hardwired series or parallel inside) I'd definitely add series/parallel switching, for BOTH pickups. Lots of tones to be had there (or even just the P if the MM is hardwired inside). But thats just crazy me wanting every possible combination with such interesting couple pickups 👍
Click to expand...
Ou yeah, I'll put this through some serious tone affecting signal chain - Tech21 DP3-X, Joyo B7K clone, DG Alpha-omicron and Mesa 2x15 cab sim. I might be able to do some sound samples tomorrow - it gets pretty nasty! Agreed in regards to both pickups on - somehow it works and I can't tell if it really reminds me of anything else. Yes, there is this natural mid scoop happening, but it has its own thing and doesn't sound as a PJ. I wonder why there is not more interest in such configuration, when you see a P with another pickup it is usually (not talking about custom shop builds) much closer to the bridge. I guess people just like what they are familiar with.

Both pickups are in series, was worried MM might sound too mid heavy or nasally, but nope it has that Stingray resemblance.
I though about adding switches for series/parallel, but decided against it. Just like I removed tone control all together. While I love having tons of options while playing at home - and have a couple of active basses that scratch that itch - I understood that I prefer simplicity while playing live. This year all the shows that I've played, were with ESP with one pickup at MM position and just volume control, hehe! But I fully understand where you come from - two humbuckers with wiring switches is a ton of fun!

Cheers!
 
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#17
K-2 said:
Correct. Body had to be routed for the pickup itself, as well as pickguard cut to fit the pickup so close to the P pickup.
Control cavity is big enough to fit a tone control too or some type of preamp (would still need a route for a battery) - but I never use a tone knob, so decided to keep it simple with blend and volume. I have a couple of active basses, so wanted to keep this passive to, so there's still plenty of room under the hood.
And there's plenty of power coming from those pickups.
View attachment 7380346
Click to expand...
I LOVE how simple the wiring is. Great work.
 
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#18
K-2 said:
Attaching some sound samples.

1st clip: Fingers
2nd clip: Upper register
3rd clip: Pick
4th clip: Slap

Disclaimer: These are old Harley Benton round wounds, tuned in Drop C (C, G, C, F). Going through some compression (Blend and attack on minimum, Volume at 12 o'clock, Compression at 9 o'clock. More on slap clip, to prevent clipping), no amp/cab sim, straight to DI. So chain was: Seymour Duncan Studio compressor, Focusrite Scarlett Solo, Studio One DAW.
All clips are firstly on P pickup, then MM, then both.

Cheers!
View attachment 7380395
View attachment 7380397
View attachment 7380398
View attachment 7380399
Click to expand...
That's interesting. I like the sound of the two p'ups together, it sounds very good. Good work.
 
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