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Official Zon Club Part 2

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#181
Addison's bass got me so excited, I had to have a Zon of my own!

(Well, okay, I have had my eye on this one for some time, and I finally snapped it up.)

Early Legacy Elite 5, Goncalo Alves top, all looks to be stock with the exception of the relocated strap button on the upper horn. Looks like that work was done by Zon, as it has the phenolic-type inset typical of later Elites.

Judging by the old school gold schaller tuning machines (I don't remember them being so heavy back in the day!) and roller bridge, I pegged this as a late 80s, early 1990's model.

Serial number is crazy, which I understand it typical of "Early-ish" Zons - 31290 555

Could be the "90" before the 555 is for 1990 (maybe march 12 1990 build date?), which would Jive with ModuMan's near twin bass posted earlier in this thread but I'll give the fellas at Zon a call and see what they know about this Legacy.

Tone is awesome - very modern, even though the bass is maybe 20 years old - and plays super nicely as you'd expect. I am stoked!

ModuMan's near twin bass posted earlier in this thread

Invalid Link Removed
 
#182
Looking at it, I'd guess around 1990 is pretty accurate, but they were so off/on with their serial number scheme that emailing is definitely easiest. It could be mid-90's even.

Good choice though- the goncalo alves Zon's are the "classics", I think. They don't use it as much anymore, but they're the Zon connoisseurs' choice for vintage instruments! :)

I'm guessing it must be hard to find these days, as Mike Tobias doesn't really use it anymore either, and he was a huge proponent of it, too. It and zebrawood were the two fancy woods of the 80's that nobody really seems to use anymore.

What were you saying is phenolic and inset? The strap button?? I'm not sure what you are referring to, but that's the standard place for the strap button for every Legacy I've seen dating back to 1992. I've only seen the other position on the 80's Scepters.

Edit: Ah, I see the pinhole underneath the upper horn. They must've swapped over around that time. I'm still not sure what you mean is inset, though, as I see the strap pin!
 
#183
Angus said:
Looking at it, I'd guess around 1990 is pretty accurate, but they were so off/on with their serial number scheme that emailing is definitely easiest. It could be mid-90's even.

Good choice though- the goncalo alves Zon's are the "classics", I think. They don't use it as much anymore, but they're the Zon connoisseurs' choice for vintage instruments! :)

I'm guessing it must be hard to find these days, as Mike Tobias doesn't really use it anymore either, and he was a huge proponent of it, too. It and zebrawood were the two fancy woods of the 80's that nobody really seems to use anymore.
Click to expand...


I'll definitely email and see about the serial number. I agree that goncalo alves seems to have gone by the wayside - it definitely has that vintage boutique vibe for me though! This was what the exotic basses looked like in the magazines when I was coming up... but of course they were mostly black and white ads... Heh.

Angus said:
What were you saying is phenolic and inset? The strap button?? I'm not sure what you are referring to, but that's the standard place for the strap button for every Legacy I've seen dating back to 1992. I've only seen the other position on the 80's Scepters.

Edit: Ah, I see the pinhole underneath the upper horn. They must've swapped over around that time. I'm still not sure what you mean is inset, though, as I see the strap pin!
Click to expand...

Yeah, the pinhole under the upper horn is the telltale giveaway. What I was trying to describe is that when the strap button was relocated, it looks like a large hole was drilled into the upper horn, then plugged with some kind of plastic dowel with a flat end, and then the strap button is screwed into that plastic/resin dowel. See pic:

Invalid Link Removed


It's how I have seen the more modern Legacy strap buttons work - I assume its because there is no flat surface on the upper horns, so the dowel is used to create a surface for the button. Seems like this is a factory relocation, because I would imagine that your average home-job relocation would just be screwed into the wood somewhere on the upper horn, rather than done this way.
 
#185
Addison said:
I guess I'm FINALLY a member of the club!

Here's some progress pics of my lefty Zon Sonus 519 with a buckeye burl top, swamp ash body, wenge tone block... it will also have a buckeye ramp made from the same top piece that the body was made from.


Anyway, hope you enjoyed the pics... let me know what you think!!!
Click to expand...

Is that a single piece of wenge between the burl and the ash? This is the first time I have seen wenge used in a Zon.
 
#186
He uses it fairly often as a decorative layer- two of my Zons have it (a third has a THICK piece of ebony as an accent).

sundaybender said:
Yeah, the pinhole under the upper horn is the telltale giveaway. What I was trying to describe is that when the strap button was relocated, it looks like a large hole was drilled into the upper horn, then plugged with some kind of plastic dowel with a flat end, and then the strap button is screwed into that plastic/resin dowel.
Click to expand...

Ah, ok. It's a bit of an illusion because its well fitted- it's just a piece of plastic with a hole in it and an angle cut into it. The hole in the wood itself is just the size of the screw. The plastic piece isn't actually set into the wood, though. It does mean that the strap pin move was probably done by Zon as you said- or at the very least they were involved in some way, as I haven't seen anyone else use those spacers.

AndroWal said:
Question...
Are the upper halves of the Sonus and TJ bodies the same with the exception of the length of the upper horn?
Thanks.
Click to expand...

The entire body is the same, minus the cutaway and the width. A TJ5 is the width of a Sonus 6, and a TJ6 is a bit wider than a Sonus 6. Otherwise, they are identical.
 
#187
Addison said:
Thanks everyone!

Thanks for steering me straight on that... good information to have for when I tell the story a thousand more times!

:D
Click to expand...

There was a great web site called Bunny Bass at one time that featured high quality pictures of vintage and exotic bass guitars. They posted an article on the Zon shop which is very modest. They do not have a CNC but they do have a router!

By the way, since your bass contains wenge I am really glad the person sanding your bass was wearing a mask.
 
#190
Looking for a little help here. I have a Zon Sonus 5 string. Wonderful bass. The problem I have is that, somehow, when I'm playing, higher notes don't seem to have the same presence as lower notes. Higher notes seem to get buried in the mix. I'm sure its something in the way I adjusting the tone but I can't seem to find the right setting. Any suggestions? btw - the bass has a new bart 3 band pre-amp. Thanks in advance.
 
#191
What EQ settings are you using on the instrument? What EQ settings on the amp (even more important)? What height are the pickups on the bass/treble side? What type of strings, and how high are they?

There are a number of factors involved in this, and it isn't really because it's a Zon so much as you haven't dialed in all of the factors that make it sound best (like you may have done with previous/another instrument).
 
#193
Why the silence in this thread?
Is it the holiday season people dread?
I can understand a luthier's delays,
while more than one player waits and prays.
But expectation is hardly a reason to play dead.

My story is one I don't fully understand,
but the pragmatism still drives my demand.
A Vinny on order would take me far,
in making me a player beyond my vision's par.
For with my Barker and a Vinny, both axes will serve the band.

So what say ye, thou owner of a Zon,
whether your wait is fulfilled or put upon?
I for one have ideas in abundance.
My wait is one of redundance.
For now, 'tis lyrics that must turn me on.
 
#194
sundaybender said:
Addison's bass got me so excited, I had to have a Zon of my own!

(Well, okay, I have had my eye on this one for some time, and I finally snapped it up.)

Early Legacy Elite 5, Goncalo Alves top, all looks to be stock with the exception of the relocated strap button on the upper horn. Looks like that work was done by Zon, as it has the phenolic-type inset typical of later Elites.

Judging by the old school gold schaller tuning machines (I don't remember them being so heavy back in the day!) and roller bridge, I pegged this as a late 80s, early 1990's model.

Serial number is crazy, which I understand it typical of "Early-ish" Zons - 31290 555

Could be the "90" before the 555 is for 1990 (maybe march 12 1990 build date?), which would Jive with ModuMan's near twin bass posted earlier in this thread but I'll give the fellas at Zon a call and see what they know about this Legacy.

Tone is awesome - very modern, even though the bass is maybe 20 years old - and plays super nicely as you'd expect. I am stoked!

ModuMan's near twin bass posted earlier in this thread
Click to expand...

That is AWESOME! And I'm jealous of your gold hardware, that's the only thing I would have changed on mine. I agree with your assessment of the bass's sound.

My strap button is underneath the horn which I found totally scary. I swapped them out for Dunlop straplocks but I kept it in the same spot. No trouble at all.

One other thing though, is that I would love to upgrade the Schaller tuners. The gear ratio is pretty low and while it holds its tuning just fine, getting there is not as smooth as it should be. Is there such a thing as a direct drop-in (the footprint is a little weird) with a higher ratio?

I also emailed Zon about a hardware upgrade and, naturally, got no response at all.

My serial number is 31190548. If you get a response, could you ask about mine as well?
 
#195
Just throw in some Hipshots. All 3/8" tuners are the same, so anything will fit (the only ones that won't fit are 1/2" tuners or Sperzels). It's not the ratio that's wrong- they're just worn out, so there is some play in the gears. Put in some new Hipshots and you are set. Just make sure you reuse the screws in the old tuners instead of the ones that come with the new tuners.
 
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#196
Angus said:
Just throw in some Hipshots. All 3/8" tuners are the same, so anything will fit (the only ones that won't fit are 1/2" tuners or Sperzels). It's not the ratio that's wrong- they're just worn out, so there is some play in the gears. Put in some new Hipshots and you are set. Just make sure you reuse the screws in the old tuners instead of the ones that come with the new tuners.
Click to expand...


It's actually not the hole I'm worried about but the screw positions (boy, did that sound all naughty). The Schallers have the weird offset and while I don't have any problem modding a wood headstock I've never tried it with a composite headstock.

OTOH, you think simply replacing the Schallers with new versions will help? If so, I might hunt down some gold ones and a gold bridge as well!
 
#197
Oh, right- they use the non-standard position. Some new ones would work fine. It's just the age that's the problem. Almost all 3/8" tuners have a 20:1 ratio.

But there is nothing fancy about drilling into the carbon neck. For a hole that size, you'd do it just the same as you would for wood, so if you want better tuners, just redrill the holes and reuse the screws. Easy.
 
#200
onewebfoot said:
Why the silence in this thread?
Is it the holiday season people dread?
I can understand a luthier's delays,
while more than one player waits and prays.
But expectation is hardly a reason to play dead.

My story is one I don't fully understand,
but the pragmatism still drives my demand.
A Vinny on order would take me far,
in making me a player beyond my vision's par.
For with my Barker and a Vinny, both axes will serve the band.

So what say ye, thou owner of a Zon,
whether your wait is fulfilled or put upon?
I for one have ideas in abundance.
My wait is one of redundance.
For now, 'tis lyrics that must turn me on.
Click to expand...

Waiting for my Zon
my heart turns to poetry
while the rain patters.
 
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