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Official Zon Club Part 5

#2,681
Fuzzbass said:
View attachment 4224383

I was overdue for a new picture, so here you go. Appearance was inspired by the Billy Gould sig, but I decided I wanted headless, and also chickened out on the BG electronics package. Joe suggested that this is the first headless 34" scale Sonus with wide string spacing, but I think someone here already had one. "Firsts" like that don't matter to me anyway.

As for whether to go headless: this was my first, but I'm glad I did. String changing is a lot different from what I've been accustomed to over 40-odd years, but I wouldn't say it's any more complex. Obviously headless won't work with a hanging stand, so I had to get a couple of new stands (one for home, one for gigs) that support from the bottom. There isn't much of a volute, so caution is advised when carrying by the neck. The one curiosity is that there's no nut behind the zero fret, even though there appears to be room for one. Because of this the strings can shift a bit on the zero fret. I haven't had any problems keeping the bass in tune* and my fingers don't notice, but still, I'd call that an oversight.

I regularly play bar gigs in cramped conditions, so the lack of headstock is nice. It's a little odd not having that counterweight on the far end of the neck... feels like swinging a wiffle bat when I'm doing my rock-star posing. Not a concern at all, I just find it amusing. The body is non-chambered alder -- not heavy, but not light. So, the lack of headstock doesn't make this a featherweight bass overall, but I'm fine with that, it's not why I went headless.

*To the contrary: because of the composite neck and roller tuners that don't get bumped in the gig bag as traditional tuning keys often do, this is my most reliably in-tune bass, even when I take it out of the case.

Overall, I'm thrilled with the instrument. Build quality is impressive, and it's far from my first "boutique".
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I'm seriously considering ordering something similar to yours, but with EMG pickups (it's a love/hate thing, I know, I love them), 35" scale and a set-in neck. Finished in Candy Pink Metallic, of course ;)
 
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#2,681
Devers95 said:
He was looking more likely to be selling the purple one but Id prefer the special. He hasnt responded anyway, he's either not seen the email or is waiting till later in the year. We discussed it on reddit. Im leaning towards a new 6er at the moment anyway.
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Cool, let me know how that works out, and if you happen to buy it, I want dibs if you ever end up selling it (alternatively direct him to me right away, haha). :) I'd give a leg and an arm to own that purple one.

BTW, do you know why Conner stopped playing Zon? I asked him about it during a Twitch stream, but he never replied. The last two times I saw them, he was using Dingwall again.
 
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#2,682
So I have a fretless Legacy Elite Special 5'er at Joe's shop awaiting a full disassembly, truss rod installation and refinish. Long story short, it's got more relief than I'd personally like but I didn't find it unplayable. I traded it in the Classifieds with what I considered to be full disclosure of a measured .030" relief in the neck, but when the new owner decided that it was "badly bowed" several months after receiving the bass, I offered to trade back. It turned out that he had sent the bass to Joe's shop, so since they already had it I decided to bite the bullet and have them do the work.

I've played/owned a number of different instruments but I find myself gravitating towards Zon as the one(s) to rule them all. And while I recognize that the shop has challenges with meeting delivery dates, the instruments themselves are (for me) as good as they get, and I find myself willing to gamble on an extended wait.

Can't wait. :hyper:
 
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#2,683
Zon basses are special! I can’t play fretless very well due to fretting hand finger joint injuries from the past, but I really like my TJ Custom fretless. I should have sent mine to Joe when the thought of getting it converted into a fretted bass first came to me. I would be enjoying a fretted Zon by now!
 
#2,684
The plot thickened a bit when I found out that: a) what had been described to me as a pickup selector switch is really a coil-splitter switch; b) the midrange control pot is in the control cavity, not on the front of the bass (that's the pickup pan pot). Whoa!

It's funny that this bass passed through a number of hands in the Classifieds and no one seemed to have figured out the controls. At any rate, they are going to add a midrange frequency selector switch and a midrange pot on the front of the bass. :woot:
 
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#2,685
31HZ said:
The plot thickened a bit when I found out that: a) what had been described to me as a pickup selector switch is really a coil-splitter switch; b) the midrange control pot is in the control cavity, not on the front of the bass (that's the pickup pan pot). Whoa!

It's funny that this bass passed through a number of hands in the Classifieds and no one seemed to have figured out the controls. At any rate, they are going to add a midrange frequency selector switch and a midrange pot on the front of the bass. :woot:
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Is that the Koa Legacy fretless that's been up and down? Beautiful bass, wondered why it hadn't found a home yet...
 
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#2,686
Bubinga, I've been told, but yes.

I hope that I can make it work well for me; I prefer the perfectly-balanced, right-shifted ergos of long-upper-horn instruments such as Fbass, but if I really dig the sound and setup of an instrument (which is how I'm expecting the Zon to turn out in the end) it can go a long way in accommodating ergos that aren't ideal.
 
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#2,688
Anyone know the deal with Sonus neck profiles?
I bought a Sonus Special thinking the neck profile would be the same as the Sonus I already have.
It's wider and thicker.

Neck swap isn't possible.
FYI
the Red one is 2007 no truss rod
the Special is 2015 with truss rod

t8YQ0lvMhIsMZ19JeMkz23qYN7P4qbvf3PPwJ2E8qm1Wawepz2EfPXDOhQ0iQTVjAPmvwM-s=w685-h913-no?authuser=0.jpg
 
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#2,691
radmin said:
Anyone know the deal with Sonus neck profiles?
I bought a Sonus Special thinking the neck profile would be the same as the Sonus I already have.
It's wider and thicker.
Neck swap isn't possible.
FYI
the Red one is 2007 no truss rod
the Special is 2015 with truss rod

View attachment 4275223
Click to expand...

sorry that I don’t have an answer to your question

but that Special is sweet!!!!
 
#2,692
radmin said:
I had a Vinny with a truss rod that had the magic profile.
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My Sonus TJ Custom 5 has a truss rod with a set-neck and fits that magic profile, too. I dislike fat/wide neck basses and this Zon's neck plays as comfortably as any of my other thin profile neck basses.
Maybe the "Special" in the name means that it has a wider/thicker neck profile.
 
#2,694
Nightman said:
Maybe the "Special" in the name means that it has a wider/thicker neck profile.
Click to expand...

31HZ said:
I would be sad to hear that. Curious to hear if anyone can verify this.
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I am pretty certain Special refers to the pickup locations and that they are multi-coil pickups (they were years ago, not sure if they still are these days).
 
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#2,695
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#2,696
Ooh, a controversy!
My understanding was the the Sonus Special was a "Sonus Special" due to both the pickup placement (wonderful for fretless) and the Bubinga top.
If you request that pickup placement it's called the "Special" placement. My Zon has the pickups Joe uses in the "Sonus Custom" but in the "Special" position, making it a "Custom Special" (or perhaps a "Special Custom").
 
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#2,698
gwangi said:
Actually Special refers to Zon instruments w/ Bubinga Tops, sorry Jeff you did not when the Lamborghini in this months give-away!!!!

Sonus Special 4 - Zon Guitars

Sonus Special 5 - Zon Guitars

Sonus Special 6 - Zon Guitars

Zon Guitars

Zon Guitars

Zon Guitars
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kesslari said:
Ooh, a controversy!
My understanding was the the Sonus Special was a "Sonus Special" due to both the pickup placement (wonderful for fretless) and the Bubinga top.
If you request that pickup placement it's called the "Special" placement. My Zon has the pickups Joe uses in the "Sonus Custom" but in the "Special" position, making it a "Custom Special" (or perhaps a "Special Custom").
Click to expand...
Yeah, I did forget about the bubinga being particular to the Special, but as I'm not a fan of Lambos, no worries, mate! :D

Would Joe use bubinga for a top on a bass that's not a Special?
 
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