My advice would be to play an Elrick or two. You will feel an extra 'kick' on the D and G strings. That is one of the things that make Elricks stand out from the crowd to my ears.
M. M.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Official Elrick Club Thread!
- Thread starter Mr. Majestic
- Start date
-
- Tags
- club
- Status
My advice would be to play an Elrick or two. You will feel an extra 'kick' on the D and G strings. That is one of the things that make Elricks stand out from the crowd to my ears.
M. M.
Bryan R. Tyler
TalkBass: Usurping My Practice Time Since 2002
Staff member
Administrator
Gold Supporting Member
Supporting Member
- May 3, 2002
- 28,948
- 20,933
- Disclosures
- Reviewer: Bass Player Magazine
My advice would be to play an Elrick or two. You will feel an extra 'kick' on the D and G strings. That is one of the things that make Elricks stand out from the crowd to my ears.
M. M.
He owns two Elricks- a Classic and an NJS- he posted them on the last page
Elrick has been my sound for over 10 years like I said before... nothing comes close to the feel of that neck and the way that whole thing resonates. I've played every style of music I could with it: from jazz fusion to latin jazz , traditional cuban, armenian and persian, tango reggae , R&B etc...
Great tone, but I've learned to play with a not-so-strong upper range, if I need to, I play in the upper register of the lower strings so I don't lose bottomness and punch, you don't want that when playing groove. The same notes played in the G string will resonate across the room like a bell, it rings for hours, but less power....
My quest is to make the NJS 5 string sound closer to a real Jazz bass.
How do I do that?
Great tone, but I've learned to play with a not-so-strong upper range, if I need to, I play in the upper register of the lower strings so I don't lose bottomness and punch, you don't want that when playing groove. The same notes played in the G string will resonate across the room like a bell, it rings for hours, but less power....
My quest is to make the NJS 5 string sound closer to a real Jazz bass.
How do I do that?
He owns two Elricks- a Classic and an NJS- he posted them on the last page
I missed that.
But...one man's 'punch' is another man's 'wet noodle'. It's just a matter of perception, I guess. 
For the record, any bassist who owns two Elricks is a friend of mine. Edit: Mr. lowfreaknzy is a friend of mine!
M. M.
Concerning your two issues, sound and output, a pick-up swap might be the ticket. I have an Elrick Evolution-5 I bought new. It had Bart single coils and an Aguilar OBP3 preamp. That bass had a really low out-put.........so much that I almost sold it due to the output issue. Instead of selling, I sent it away to Nordstrand for a route job and install of a Big Singles set (kept the OBP3 preamp). Problem solved!!!!!!! No more out put issues and the bass sounded better to boot!! So if your bass has the Bart single coils, get new pups. That will solve the output issue. No need to change your preamp, no matter if it is a Bartolini or an Aguilar (my Lakland 55-94 has a Bart pre with Bassline pups, it has output for days, so dont worry if your pre is a Bart). The only thing you need to worry about is to make sure that the pups you decide to go with "plays" well with your current preamp. I know Carey's (Nordstrand) pups sound best with an Aguilar OBP3 preamp. Thats not to say the Bart pre wouldn't sound good. Its just that the OBP3 sounds the best. Trust me, get a set of new pups and you will solve the output issue..........you dont need to change the preamp.
As far as a getting a good jazz sound, that is very subjective. However, one reason those 70's-80's jazz's had "that sound" was due to weight........you're talking 10-12 pound basses!!!! It will be hard to truely replicate that sound w/o having the weight. Sorry, but that is just the way it is. BUT, I would assume you could get close w/ the right pup choice. If you like the EMG's on your jazz. Maybe look at EMG's for the Elrick. Some other options might be Dimarzio, Seymour Duncan, and Nordstrand. I would lean towards Nordstrand. If you call Carey's shop (Nordstrand) and tell them what bass you have and your tone goal(s), they should be able to help you out with making the right choice with their products. I have had super luck with the Nordstrand stuff. NTM, they are super guys to deal with and very helpfull. Definitely some of the best in the biz. Eitherway, good luck and welcome to TB!!!!!!!
Huh..., I'm gonna be checking on those Nordstrand everybody seems to be talking about now, for years got used to the smoothness of the barts... but there's nothing smooth about an edgy Jazz Bass tone...
Found out EMG doesn't make Js for a 5 string..
How about asking Rob for a "heavier" ash body?, In theory It should help right?
If weight is a big thing, I would put up with a couple more pounds, why not?
Anything to keep that neck and overall feel of an Elrick...
Found out EMG doesn't make Js for a 5 string..
How about asking Rob for a "heavier" ash body?, In theory It should help right?
If weight is a big thing, I would put up with a couple more pounds, why not?
Anything to keep that neck and overall feel of an Elrick...
Wanted to ask if Cort Elricks will qualify me as a club member here... 
Elricks have been my dream basses for quite some time now and lately I pulled the trigger on this beautiful JP5... It plays so great, and even has a genuine Elrick logo unlike the RB5...
I will post pics soon, short of batteries as of now.
Elricks have been my dream basses for quite some time now and lately I pulled the trigger on this beautiful JP5... It plays so great, and even has a genuine Elrick logo unlike the RB5...
I will post pics soon, short of batteries as of now.
Here's a couple of clips of my old NJS. Black limba body, Wenge neck and board, Walnut top, Nordstrand pickup and Aguilar preamp.
That bass was super punchy and the low end was huge! I miss it.
They're in Spinach but hey, music is universal!! I have a few more vids of my Elricks, just look for them
That bass was super punchy and the low end was huge! I miss it.
They're in Spinach but hey, music is universal!!
I have a few more vids of my Elricks, just look for them 
Thanks Adrian, that's a beautiful bass too..
It sounds very similar to mine, If u have the chance, at a rehearsal or gig or church, try swapping back and forth between that NJS and a fender jazz and you'll see what I mean.. specially slapping, maybe yours is closer to it than mine. (and how do we measure that?)
Pickups are the first thing I'm doing definitely, but what about the body?
Suggestions?
It sounds very similar to mine, If u have the chance, at a rehearsal or gig or church, try swapping back and forth between that NJS and a fender jazz and you'll see what I mean.. specially slapping, maybe yours is closer to it than mine. (and how do we measure that?)
Pickups are the first thing I'm doing definitely, but what about the body?
Suggestions?
Greetings - I posted my Platinum 6 a few pages back. I am going to offer it up here to you cats prior to listing it in the classifieds. I've always been more of a bolt-on guy for the different feel and attack and this bass, as pristine and amazing sounding as it is, isn't quite there because of that. I actually found an old friend in Florida who owns an old (10 years) 36 inch scale bolt-on 6 that was one of Rob's earlier creations that he's going to sell to me. So, I will need to move this one to pay for it. If there's any interest, shoot me a PM.
If you wanted to keep it within the Elrick specs, you could call Larry Pollack at Aero pickups. As far as heavier ash equals better tone......that is not necessarily true.
Mr. Majestic,
I am not trying to bust your *****, but what do you mean by "within Elrick specs"? Clearly, the Elrick pups are causing the output issue. Furthermore, any pup will work in that bass. Heck, he could slap a Music Man pup in that thing if he so desired. The only thing he needs to do is make sure he knows his string spacing prior to ordering the pup he wants to go with. The only thing I can think off that you might be trying explain "spec" is, is the pup dimension. If that is the case, a competent luthier can do a route job for a relatively nominal fee. Again, I am not trying to bust your *****, just trying to figure out what you are trying to say as I am a little confused.
As far as heavy ash sounding better........I never said heavy ash sounded better. I said the heavy ash bodies found in the 70's and 80's jazz basses are one of the main reasons they have that distinctive tone, ie. Marcus Miller.......I was just merely pointing out that if he is expecting to get that some tone out of his Elrick, that it could be a challange due to him missing the "main ingredient" - the heavy ash body. Again, I never said one was better...........Although I do think the right pups can get him close.
PS - I was cleaning out my PM box and came across the PMs when we were talking about trading my Lakland for your Devon.........MAN, I really wanted that bass!!!!!!!!!!!! In the end, I am glad I kept my 55-94. I definitly would have regretted letting the Lakland go. I was just curious as to what you replaced your Devon with and if you regretted getting rid of the Devon.
nalapit13
official player and catcher of bass
i think he is trying to say that rob uses aero pickups or bartolini. so putting either of those in there would keep it to the original specs you could get the bass with. yes you could put anything you want in there but it would not be original to what rob uses.
Yeah... this bass is a softy, I want more radical changes to it. And I'ts probably not in the "brand" of pups, its on the actual coil/model that I get, cause all brands offer mild and edgy models. I just don't want the same sound but just louder, I want it to be more aggressive, more towards the Sadowsky... But if I can't make that happen by changing electronics, pups and body.....I don't know, maybe this is not the Jazz Bass V for me.
Seriously; dont worry about the pre, body, etc. Start with a set of pups. That is going to make a HUGE difference in the output and "aggressiveness" of your bass. As stated in an earlier post, I went through the same thing as you. Trust me, call Carey (or Stew) at Nordstrand. They will take care of you.
I couldn't agree more!
In general, and this for any bass not just Elrick, if you want to change your tone, swapping pickups by far will impact a tonal change more than anything else.
Specifically to Elrick's, I'd second that a set of Nordy Big Splits or Fat Stacks will really turn your tone into a high output, growl machine!
I really need to start out by mentioning that I was speaking directly to lowfreaknzy's question about pick-ups and not about anything anyone else had put up. Rob only uses bartolini and aero pickups in his basses. The only way he might use another brand of PU would be if the customer made some sort of prior agreement. That is all I meant by Elrick specs. Bartolini makes several different style of jazz pick-ups of which all sound different and the Aero pickups were awarded a bass player magazine top tone award in the jazz bass pickup shootout. I am not pushing bartolini or aero pickups just that to keep it within Elrick specs, as a matter of fact I sell Carey Nordstrand most of his ash also and love his pick-ups.
As far as the statement of heavy ash sounding better.........well that is a very slippery slope that is heavily divided. I sell all weights and classes of ash; from ultra-light all the way up to the heavy stuff and it is my opinion that most of that tone is not very different. Now that is a very dividing statement, that even most of the heavy hitters in luthier circles can't even agree on. I personally think that the differences between the two are not tone but rather resonance and sustain, which can also be affected by other factors.
I really miss that Devon Bass, it was one of my favorite basses of all time and would like to have another made in the future. I replaced it with a CallowHill J(unk) 5, which should be shipped in the very near future. It will have the exact same top that my Elrick has. I based the CallowHill off of that Devon, which was based off of a Sadowsky Modern. The CH has Nordstrand Big splits in the large covers and abalone blocks and binding, I'll post a pic in this thread of the Elrick and the CallowHill side by side. I also have one more of those tops on standby for some other bass in the future, that was originally supposed to be a Nordstrand NX-5, but things changed.
- Status
