• 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 Zon Club Part 4

Status
Not open for further replies.
#602
The link Bryan posted explains perfectly well the answer to my question.Why does the action raise towards the 17th fret on a neck compared to the lower action at the second or third fret .
The reason why I continue to ponder this is I was looking at the A string on a 5 string bass and it is the middle string on the neck.The middle string goes straight down the middle of the neck and should not be affected by the cylinder shape of a neck .If you read the link it explains the reason of why the action raises towards the higher frets .
Iam not trying to be stubborn or a stick in the mudd here .Iam looking down the A string of a nice playing high end bass A string and its higher at the 17th fret than the 3 rd or 5th fret .The A string raises towards the 12th fret .Does anyone who has done builds or setups have an explanation or a fix for this?:confused:This seems to be a a very common problem on most every bass .Zon basses are the best at addressing this.What is the deal here ?Its even the same with guitars .Is it simply the angle at wich the neck is set into the pocket on the body? seems like Paul Reed Smith guitars play the nicest and Zon basses play the nicest .Whats the story on this anyone?(I havent played a lot of other instruments and by all means do not mean to discount many other brands as having high action)just have noticed this all my life and you come to accept a certain degree of "status quo" -well they are all like that ??
 
#604
Today I was thinking of how to build my own bass with a flat board neck to get ximum flat action .To simple of an answer -(actually an epic feat)but to simple that some builder must have already realized this and if it was the answer ,would have simply addressed it within a build design already .Zon necks are # 1 so far in my book with action and ease of play.Doubt ill still play bass when Iam 67 ? but the next twenty years should bring about some cool things in bass frontiers .
 
#607
golower said:
The link Bryan posted explains perfectly well the answer to my question.Why does the action raise towards the 17th fret on a neck compared to the lower action at the second or third fret .
The reason why I continue to ponder this is I was looking at the A string on a 5 string bass and it is the middle string on the neck.The middle string goes straight down the middle of the neck and should not be affected by the cylinder shape of a neck .If you read the link it explains the reason of why the action raises towards the higher frets .
Iam not trying to be stubborn or a stick in the mudd here .Iam looking down the A string of a nice playing high end bass A string and its higher at the 17th fret than the 3 rd or 5th fret .The A string raises towards the 12th fret .Does anyone who has done builds or setups have an explanation or a fix for this?:confused:This seems to be a a very common problem on most every bass .Zon basses are the best at addressing this.What is the deal here ?Its even the same with guitars .Is it simply the angle at wich the neck is set into the pocket on the body? seems like Paul Reed Smith guitars play the nicest and Zon basses play the nicest .Whats the story on this anyone?(I havent played a lot of other instruments and by all means do not mean to discount many other brands as having high action)just have noticed this all my life and you come to accept a certain degree of "status quo" -well they are all like that ??
Click to expand...

I believe this effect (which occurs at where the neck meets the body, typically) is referred to as "ramping," and the way to deal with it is to thin out or taper off the fingerboard from the 17th fret on towards the end of the board.

The question of how to deal with this might be a good topic for our next BGM Luthiers Round Table. Thanks! :D
 
#608
My Sonus arrived the other day, it is a spectacular bass. Nothing fancy, just an ash body satin Finish, and the lined board. But wow does it sound fantastic, And it looks like it was built yesterday.

I'm curious what people are using for strings on their fretless Sonus basses. Standard gauge or light? Nickel or stainless? I believe it has standard gauge strings on it I'm thinking about going with a lighter set.

I'll post a pic when I get a chance
 
#611
Thanks guys. Interestingly, I believe it has medium gauge sunbeams on it right now. I like them pretty good, but I wonder if a little bit lighter Would feel a bit better Under the fingers. I haven't use those Jazz rounds in a long time, but I'll give it a shot and see. I had wondered about a coated string, Since I don't typically need a lot of treble, And might get more life out of the strings. Anyone try something like black beauties on their Fretless Zon?
 
#612
J.Wolf said:
My Sonus arrived the other day, it is a spectacular bass. Nothing fancy, just an ash body satin Finish, and the lined board. But wow does it sound fantastic, And it looks like it was built yesterday.

I'm curious what people are using for strings on their fretless Sonus basses. Standard gauge or light? Nickel or stainless? I believe it has standard gauge strings on it I'm thinking about going with a lighter set.

I'll post a pic when I get a chance
Click to expand...

I use DR Black Beauties or Sunbeams. I prefer the BBs though
 
#614
I typically go through strings every 2 months. My black beauties on my fretless basses last more than a year with a good amount of playing. I like the Black Beauties bc they have less finger noise, feel more like 1/2 rounds, and have a killer midrange complexity. Great B on that 125 as well
 
#615
Crazy... I also use Sunbeams on my Zon fretless as well... 45-125.

I thought about going to a lighter set as well, only because you can get more "mwah" from lighter strings, specifically a lighter E and B.

I am a huge Sunbeam fan... love the tension and the overall feel, and especially love how they break in and get nice and throaty after a little bit.

I use them on my fretted CS Jazz, PJ and Ric... however, I used Zon UltraSonic steels on my 519 and they are a VERY underrated string IMO.

I will undoubtedly continue to use them on my next fretted Zon as well, but I'll probably switch to nickel, if only to add to fret longevity.
 
#616
Couple pics of my two (fretted was sonicyoga's, fretless was AJ Brown's):
Link Removed
Link Removed

I put pieces of 1/16" polystyrene plastic over the pickups/ramps to get a really smooth, even ramp surface to play on:
Link Removed
 
#620
milo said:
What happened to your ELRICs ???
Click to expand...

Sold the fretted a while back to have money to order a similar Elrick with tighter spacing, ended up having to spend that money. Sold the fretless recently to either get a fretted with tighter spacing as planned or try something different. Unfortunately, the specs I like (34" or less, tight string spacing, radiused pickups) are very rare for Elricks, and the cost of ordering a new one has shot way up over the past few years, so I went with a couple TJs that I knew I'd like from playing AJ's basses in the past.

The weight on them is really consistent, which is nice- 9.54lbs for the fretted and 9.58lbs for the fretless.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back