Official Zon Club Part 5

[J.Wolf]

Interesting. Usually the 519's have the narrower Bartolini pickups (not sure if theyre single or dual coil), and not the larger pickups from the "4/1, 4/2, 5/1, 5/2" series.

Billy Gould's sig has a different pickup and knob config, so by the looks of it, this is a headless 5/2 with 19mm spacing, in matte black. Whatever it is, I bet its KILLING.

 

[J.Wolf]

My favorite Zon is still the VB series. There is something about the electronics in that bass that just sounds amazing. IIRC they have electronics slightly different from the other Zon models. Really punchy and quick sounding. The best travel bass on the planet I think.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Interesting. Usually the 519's have the narrower Bartolini pickups (not sure if theyre single or dual coil), and not the larger pickups from the "4/1, 4/2, 5/1, 5/2" series.

Billy Gould's sig has a different pickup and knob config, so by the looks of it, this is a headless 5/2 with 19mm spacing, in matte black. Whatever it is, I bet its KILLING.

View attachment 2971539

The Billy Gould sig has the different pickups, and an onboard distortion circuit. The only controls on the front are master volume and distortion on/off. The remaining controls are accessible by screwdriver through the rear cavity. I totally understand the reasoning, but I'm getting old and don't jump around onstage like I used to.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Playing unplugged today, I do notice some fret buzz in 1/2-step down when I dig in. However it barely comes through the amp, and some bassists (Entwistle as I recall) like to have their basses set up this way: low action with just a hint of buzz up and down the fretboard. Also, as noted, the bass still does play beautifully, and I've never believed that fret buzz is always bad... to the contrary, it can be cool in moderation. I'm torn between leaving it this way or raising it a smidge so I can dig in a bit more. I should know for sure after my rock gig tomorrow night.

Followup: It's fun playing on a bass with ridiculously low action, but to do that I have to play with a light touch. I know, it's healthier, but I normally don't play all that hard, and would like to have room to dig in. So, I raised the action a bit to accommodate the downtuning. Still feels great over all 24 frets.

P.S. Other zero fret basses I've owned have had a nut right behind the zero fret to enforce string spacing. My Zon doesn't. The string clamp on the end of the headstock doesn't strictly enforce spacing, so the strings can shift a bit on the zero fret. That said: the slight shifting doesn't seem to affect tuning, and my fingers don't notice. So, I won't say that the lack of nut is an oversight.

 

[Maiden Bass]

This is a short demo video of the Sonus Bass I purchased last summer. This was done by talkbass member Darren02 who recently purchased this bass from me.

 

[Darren02]

 

[Maiden Bass]

Hey and just so you all know, Darren02 is only 16 years old!

Pretty damn good demo video man!!!

 

[Papersen]

Great video!
I own that exact model (Sonus 5/2) in the same colour.

Love that bass

 

[dhagopian]

Followup: It's fun playing on a bass with ridiculously low action, but to do that I have to play with a light touch. I know, it's healthier, but I normally don't play all that hard, and would like to have room to dig in. So, I raised the action a bit to accommodate the downtuning. Still feels great over all 24 frets.

For what it's worth I used to play with ridiculously low action until I realized the problem wasn't action it was my hands. The more I practice, the less things like action matter. I've raised mine in recent years and I think it gives you more control over tone.

 

[Fuzzbass]

For what it's worth I used to play with ridiculously low action until I realized the problem wasn't action it was my hands. The more I practice, the less things like action matter. I've raised mine in recent years and I think it gives you more control over tone.

I know some excellent players who recommend low action... that's where I was coming from... but I'm with you. Medium, medium-low (or whatever it is I use) allows me more control.

 

[gwangi]

Fuzzbass I totally dig your new Zon, very nice indeed, I have a Legacy Elite VI that I just love and recorded my last record with, Jag Panzer- "The Deviant Chord"
Zon's are where it's at to be perfectly honest.

 

[Fuzzbass]

I had gigs #2 and #3 with the new Zon this weekend. In short: still love it! Nothing new to add, however I should correct an omission from my previous comments: namely, the B string. I think the reason I didn't mention it earlier is because it's so consistent with the other strings, which of course is a great thing. Sounds punchy and in tune even above the 12th fret. My neck is 34" scale (again, recommended by Zon) and the B is every bit as good if not better than the B strings on the 35" Modulus Quantums I owned.

I would have gone with Zon's rec whether it was 34" or 35". I've owned a number of 35" scale fivers and had no trouble playing them. I've just never felt that 35"+ was necessary for a great B string: quality 34" basses can have killer B's. Of course the composite neck definitely works in Zon's favor.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Another quick update: string change time! First time ever changing strings on a headless, so it took longer than usual. I almost cut a string too short, but that's because I got cute and tried to improv on the instructions. Really, the Zon instructions are excellent, and the process is not difficult. I should say that it's about as easy as changing strings on a quick-release standard bass. Joe Zon himself (spoke to him when I paid the balance on my bass) noted that I should make sure to bend the B string enough so that the string sat well on the zero fret... and I did, no sweat. Also, it's a new thing to have to seat the ball-ends in the "claws" in the bridge... again, no sweat. Tools: in addition to the usual wire clips, a brass pin is used to help seat the ball-end in the bridge (might not always be necessary), and an allen wrench used to secure/remove the string on the opposite end. Still.... I believe it'll only take a few string changes for all this to become second-nature.

Still totally happy with the bass: tone, playability, looks, build quality. I love that it's so compact: small/light carry in the gig bag; it's easier to boogie around on a cramped stage without whacking a bandmate (FWIW I'm somewhere between Entwistle and Flea)

 

[Maiden Bass]

Another quick update: string change time! First time ever changing strings on a headless, so it took longer than usual. I almost cut a string too short, but that's because I got cute and tried to improv on the instructions. Really, the Zon instructions are excellent, and the process is not difficult. I should say that it's about as easy as changing strings on a quick-release standard bass. Joe Zon himself (spoke to him when I paid the balance on my bass) noted that I should make sure to bend the B string enough so that the string sat well on the zero fret... and I did, no sweat. Also, it's a new thing to have to seat the ball-ends in the "claws" in the bridge... again, no sweat. Tools: in addition to the usual wire clips, a brass pin is used to help seat the ball-end in the bridge (might not always be necessary), and an allen wrench used to secure/remove the string on the opposite end. Still.... I believe it'll only take a few string changes for all this to become second-nature.

Still totally happy with the bass: tone, playability, looks, build quality. I love that it's so compact: small/light carry in the gig bag; it's easier to boogie around on a cramped stage without whacking a bandmate (FWIW I'm somewhere between Entwistle and Flea)

My legacy elite custom classic 5 will be done this summer!
Options include dual/single pickups, Stainless Steel frets, and luminlay markers.

I'll post some pics when I get it. I'll be going to Joe's shop to pick it up in person!

 

[michele]

may I join?

she may not be the fanciest but I sure can feel beauty into simplicity...
It was sold to me as a '94 but first digits on serial are 93xxx. I can spot just two minuscule dings other than that she's perfect.
The neck is a glove to me and overall weight is 7 lbs 14 oz.
I want she to be my one and only but I have to convert her to fretted. Don't scream blasphemy...it' extremely rare to spot a Zon here and I couldn't pass having lust for one for years...
Wanted to send it to Zon but back and forth shipping costs will be too much. I will have the job done locally. Opinions and suggestion are welcomed...

 

[Fuzzbass]

My legacy elite custom classic 5 will be done this summer!
Options include dual/single pickups, Stainless Steel frets, and luminlay markers.

I'll post some pics when I get it. I'll be going to Joe's shop to pick it up in person!

Mine has bartolini dual/single pickups, and I love 'em. They are so quiet in single-coil mode, even with just one pickup soloed, it makes me think they have a dummy hum-canceling coil (I suppose I could ask, but it doesn't matter). Anyway, love the flexibility of these pickups.

...and shoot, I should have thought to ask for Luminlays on mine. But the side dots are large, and white-on-almost-black provides nice contrast, so I should be OK on dim stages.

 

[dhagopian]

may I join? View attachment 2996100 she may not be the fanciest but I sure can feel beauty into simplicity...
It was sold to me as a '94 but first digits on serial are 93xxx. I can spot just two minuscule dings other than that she's perfect.
The neck is a glove to me and overall weight is 7 lbs 14 oz.
I want she to be my one and only but I have to convert her to fretted. Don't scream blasphemy...it' extremely rare to spot a Zon here and I couldn't pass having lust for one for years...
Wanted to send it to Zon but back and forth shipping costs will be too much. I will have the job done locally. Opinions and suggestion are welcomed...

I know shipping isn't cheap these days but I'd probably send it to Zon just because you're dealing with working with a composite fingerboard. It would make me a little nervous to have a local job on something like that.

 

[Papersen]

I’ve recently discovered that fretboard is not even in my Sonus 5. There’s a mild curvature above 13th fret. Since it doesn’t have a truss rod I don’t know how to adjust it.

Any suggestion?

 

[Jeff Scott]

...I want she to be my one and only but I have to convert her to fretted. Don't scream blasphemy...it' extremely rare to spot a Zon here and I couldn't pass having lust for one for years...
Wanted to send it to Zon but back and forth shipping costs will be too much. I will have the job done locally. Opinions and suggestion are welcomed...

Learn to play fretless. As mentioned above, due to the nature of the fingerboard material, if you really must make it fretted, send it to Joe. A closer alternative might be Status Graphite (Rob Green), if he is willing to work on the Zon.

 

[Vic]

I’ve recently discovered that fretboard is not even in my Sonus 5. There’s a mild curvature above 13th fret. Since it doesn’t have a truss rod I don’t know how to adjust it.

Any suggestion?

the only way is to send it back to joe. either he'll have to remove the frets, reshape the surface, and refret, or, he may just say you have to replace it.