Double Bass NS Design NXT Megathread

[thumbslapper]

I see both sides of it, but
[remembering once a year to swap battery] < [remember to plug in your bass before every time you play it]

you've never forgotten to plug in your nxt then wonder "who plugged in a crappy distortion unit on my bass"?

 

[joppo]

Am I the only one that is annoyed by the way the NXT-[456]a active pre-amp is charged? At first I was wondering why it kept on running out of charge when I charged it a few days before and only used it an few hours, then after emails exchanged with Gollihur and NS folks I realized that the pre-amp is only charged for about 18 hours no matter if its enabled, or cord plugged in, or whatever, and that we are supposed to charge it for a minute every time before playing.

I don't have an NXTa (yet!), but I put a Mi-Si preamp into an acoustic guitar I built a couple of years ago, and it holds charge incredibly well. I haven't charged it for months, and I plugged into a pedal tuner today to check, and it still had plenty of power for that. I've looked at the specs of the one used in the NS, and it is a different model (mine holds about 8 hours charge while they say yours holds about 16). I'm a little surprised your just drains, so maybe it is a fault with your unit. You could email Mi-Si (Invalid Link Removed) and see if it is supposed to be that way.

 

[FlacMurry]

Hi everyone at talkbass!
I know that this thread is about the "NXT model" but this is my last resort.

I bought an used "NS Design WAV 4" over the internet. Recieved it, tried to plug it into my amplifier and it was dead. Nothing, not even a buzz or hiss.
Took it to my local luthier and he confirmed that the electronics were massacred.
In order for him to fix it he needs the electronic scheme. I've looked online but cant find anything (maybe my google skills a lacking).
This is the reason why i am writing to you guys at talkbass!! Maybe someone can shed some light upon me and hook me up with the scheme?? I've mailed the support at steinbergers home page but so far no response.
Thanks in advance!
TL;DR:
I know this is technically the wrong thread but
Bought a used wav4 with broken electronics and my luthier needs an electronic scheme.
Anyone here that is able to hook me up?

 

[monkeyland]

Hi everyone at talkbass!
I know that this thread is about the "NXT model" but this is my last resort.

I bought an used "NS Design WAV 4" over the internet. Recieved it, tried to plug it into my amplifier and it was dead. Nothing, not even a buzz or hiss.
Took it to my local luthier and he confirmed that the electronics were massacred.
In order for him to fix it he needs the electronic scheme. I've looked online but cant find anything (maybe my google skills a lacking).
This is the reason why i am writing to you guys at talkbass!! Maybe someone can shed some light upon me and hook me up with the scheme?? I've mailed the support at steinbergers home page but so far no response.
Thanks in advance!
TL;DR:
I know this is technically the wrong thread but
Bought a used wav4 with broken electronics and my luthier needs an electronic scheme.
Anyone here that is able to hook me up?

Call NS. They are very responsive.

 

[Garret Graves]

Just Got my 5 string NXTa today! Feels and sounds great. Gave the truss rod about 1/2 turn, lowered the strings a little bit. Nice low action, and it bows just fine! Looking forward to playing it in a band, hearing it rip!

 

[Matthijs]

Hey mc flurry, I’m pretty sure there’s a schematic buried somewherr in the wav megathread. I’ll see if I can find it for you. But it’s not that complicated.

Basically there are two piezo’s. The treble side piezo is connected to a switch to reverse polarity. On the reversed polarity setting a cap is added To cut some highs (that’s the arco setting) the rest is a simple tone and volume control, much like an electric bass.

If the electronics are gutted it is an easy upgrade to fit a regular db piezo. At the moment i have a under-wing-piezo fitted straight to the jack. If you want I can make a picture to show you how I did that.

 

[Matthijs]

Nope the link is dead. The link was to the gollihur website. Maybe they can help you.

If you’re interested there is a lot of information on the wav in the “wav4 megathread” parts 1 and 2

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Nope the link is dead. The link was to the gollihur website. Maybe they can help you.

If you’re interested there is a lot of information on the wav in the “wav4 megathread” parts 1 and 2

What link? I'm having difficulty figuring out what you're looking for, I might still have it.

 

[Matthijs]

A link to the schematic of the electronics of a wav4. It was in one of your post on page 28 in part 1 of the wav4 megathread.

 

[gravesbass]

I would love to get a schematic for the NXT5 electronics if thats possible or anyone here has it.

 

[Randy Ward]

Hi everyone at talkbass!
I know that this thread is about the "NXT model" but this is my last resort.

I bought an used "NS Design WAV 4" over the internet. Recieved it, tried to plug it into my amplifier and it was dead. Nothing, not even a buzz or hiss.
Took it to my local luthier and he confirmed that the electronics were massacred.
In order for him to fix it he needs the electronic scheme. I've looked online but cant find anything (maybe my google skills a lacking).
This is the reason why i am writing to you guys at talkbass!! Maybe someone can shed some light upon me and hook me up with the scheme?? I've mailed the support at steinbergers home page but so far no response.
Thanks in advance!
TL;DR:
I know this is technically the wrong thread but
Bought a used wav4 with broken electronics and my luthier needs an electronic scheme.
Anyone here that is able to hook me up?

Hi everyone at talkbass!
I know that this thread is about the "NXT model" but this is my last resort.

I bought an used "NS Design WAV 4" over the internet. Recieved it, tried to plug it into my amplifier and it was dead. Nothing, not even a buzz or hiss.
Took it to my local luthier and he confirmed that the electronics were massacred.
In order for him to fix it he needs the electronic scheme. I've looked online but cant find anything (maybe my google skills a lacking).
This is the reason why i am writing to you guys at talkbass!! Maybe someone can shed some light upon me and hook me up with the scheme?? I've mailed the support at steinbergers home page but so far no response.
Thanks in advance!
TL;DR:
I know this is technically the wrong thread but
Bought a used wav4 with broken electronics and my luthier needs an electronic scheme.
Anyone here that is able to hook me up?

Someone posted a mod that has the schematics

Not sure if this helps

Google Image Result for https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/ns-wav-4-mod-schematics-jpg.285580/

 

[Matthijs]

Someone posted a mod that has the schematics

Not sure if this helps

Google Image Result for https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/ns-wav-4-mod-schematics-jpg.285580/

That’s the one

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Here's the schematic for the WAV4. The NXT is different, as it uses the Jackpot and a different tone setup.

 

[gravesbass]

Hi Mark, do you have the schematic for the NXT (non-a)? Thanks

 

[Mark Gollihur]

Hi Mark, do you have the schematic for the NXT (non-a)? Thanks

No, but the non-a should be virtually identical to the WAV, AFAIK.

 

[FritzM]

Hey guys, I have one quick question. Would you choose an NS CR5M that is pretty beat up or a brand new NXTa5 that is brand new? Both are about the same price. This would include a stand and tuner upgrade on the NXTa5. I will tune it with a high C. And, I'm really not trying to emulate an upright. I actually like the sustain. I will be using Spiro solos and a medium high C. Both would end up costing around 2k.

 

[equill]

Hey guys, I have one quick question. Would you choose an NS CR5M that is pretty beat up or a brand new NXTa5 that is brand new? Both are about the same price. This would include a stand and tuner upgrade on the NXTa5.

Mine is merely a WAV4, but I believe the main practical difference between the NXT and the CR5 is the preamp, once you're done upgrading the tuners. So I'd say it comes down to how important its appearances are (new vs visibly beat-up) and the magnetic pickup, which you don't get on the NXT.

 

[donotfret]

Hey guys, I have one quick question. Would you choose an NS CR5M that is pretty beat up or a brand new NXTa5 that is brand new? Both are about the same price. This would include a stand and tuner upgrade on the NXTa5. I will tune it with a high C. And, I'm really not trying to emulate an upright. I actually like the sustain. I will be using Spiro solos and a medium high C. Both would end up costing around 2k.

I play an NXT5a and it's an excellent instrument. Originally I started playing it like a big fretless bass. Now I've started taking double bass lessons to broaden my range of possibilities and I really love what I can do with it this way.

The CR5M has some additional features. One thing is that you can blend the polar pickup, whereas on the NXT you can only switch between the pizz and arco settings. The other is that it also has magnetic pickups, which are not available on the NXT. Do I miss those features? Not really. The blending seems nice, but I usually want either the pizz setting (more punchy) or the arco setting (more electric leaning when plucked like a bass guitar). Can't tell what they are like with a bow, because I haven't used one so far and might not do it in the near future. As for the magnetic pickup - if I want to play with a more electric sound, I go for my fretless bass. That one has a piezo pickup on the bridge and two Bartolinis, so I can cover a broad range of sounds. If you don't have that option, it might be useful to consider the CR5M though.

In terms of quality I think you're very much settled with the stand/tuner upgrade. I have the standard tuners and stand and I'm very pleased with the overall quality.

 

[FritzM]

Thanks for the replies! I already play upright, I was just kind of wanting to know what you guys would choose. The thing that worries me about the used CR5M, is if it has other issues. IMO, the scale of the bass keeps it from sounding like a fretless electric. Think Eberhard Weber vs Jaco. Very different to my ears.
Anyway, what would you do?

 

[equill]

Thanks for the replies! I already play upright, I was just kind of wanting to know what you guys would choose. The thing that worries me about the used CR5M, is if it has other issues. IMO, the scale of the bass keeps it from sounding like a fretless electric. Think Eberhard Weber vs Jaco. Very different to my ears.
Anyway, what would you do?

I find they have very different sounds and feels, too - I'm happy using the EUB with piezo for one sound, and a fretless bass with magnetics for another. I haven't actually tested an EUB with magnetics or a fretless with piezo, so it's not a fully-informed opinion, but I'm confident that for me those combinations would reduce the characteristics that I like about each of them.

Given the opportunity, what I'd do in your place is try the CR5M with piezo, magnetics and with the two blended, and guess as best I can how much use I'd get out of the magnetics. And check it over for fingerboard damage, dodgy electronics or truss-rod issues. The one chronic issue on my WAV4 is that the fingerboard is separating from the neck - its far from new, and it's had a pretty rough life, so I'm not faulting the design at all, but now I know it's something that can happen.

OTOH, I'm commissioning a new EUB with piezo only at the moment, after buying a replacement magnetic-only fretless for the one that appears to be dying, so apparently I'm confident in my position