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Renaissance/Turner Basses Club

#281
Yes, one of those two trimpots is a bass boost control. On the later D-TAR preamps there is just an internal gain trim pot, no more bass boost control, at least on mine, anyway. Mine is the one that uses two 9V batteries, the later ones use two AA batteries, correct?
 
#282
Jeff Scott said:
Yes, one of those two trimpots is a bass boost control. On the later D-TAR preamps there is just an internal gain trim pot, no more bass boost control, at least on mine, anyway. Mine is the one that uses two 9V batteries, the later ones use two AA batteries, correct?
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Yep. Both my 2010, and my 2013 use two AA's but the 2005, and 2007 use two 9v. I've never messed with the trimpots in any of them.
 
#283
When I had the RB5-FL I set the bass boost for a little bit of boost as the TI strings can get a bit bright sounding with the tone control fully open. The gain control I set to match the average output of my passive basses.
 
#284
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#285
Another Turner Model One just went up on ebay the other day... believe it or not, this is *another* one from the first batch ever made in 1980.

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Even with added EMG pickup mods, still a nice old bass. I can't remember a time when there were this many Model Ones for sale.
 
#286
Hello fellow RT players... hadn't bumped our thread in a couple weeks.

Summer music season is in full swing here in Virginia, and the stable is getting a decent workout. The Renaissance basses get used the most with New River Bound, a neo-oldtyme ensemble. Another group I'm subbing with (again) this year called the Harwell Grice Band, does pop/rock/r&b covers/originals, using a mostly bluegrass instrumentation. They're all plugged-in and louder than dad-gummit, and super-fun guys to play with. Again, the Renaissance basses are a seamless fit. I'm about to record an EP with some local youngsters (read - younger than me by half :hiding:) that are doing an all-original indie-folk-rock thing... think John Mellencamp meets Jason Isbell. I think the Electrolines are going to be the main sound they're after, and I suspect they may want me to play out with them on a couple shows too, at least until they get somebody regular or closer to their age. We'll see how that goes... And what may be the strangest gig I've ever had may be making another run... as part of the live soundtrack for a ballet. More on that if it happens. :whistle:

In the meantime, I've discovered a whole new sound from the Renaissance basses... last weekend on a gig, I was digging around looking for a block of foam for mounting a small microphone in the sound hole of my upright, and found this curious looking square of foam with a velour layer, like from a jewelry box or something. Anyway, I stuck it in my vest pocket and forgot about it until last night at a graduation party, when on a whim I stuck it under the strings and against the bridge of the fretted RB-5. What a cool sound! I've used mutes before, but never on the Renaissances... it's a totally different thing.

So anyway, what are you guys up to this summer?
 

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#288
Ok. I'm new to the Club with this new to me RB-5FL I just traded my NS CR-4 for. It's absolutely incredible. Plays like butter and sounds great. I'm hooked. Hadn't played one for many years at Kevin Kaufman's old shop (Jaco's bass tech) in Fort Lauderdale. I remembered them being very good, but this one is better than that! I'm looking forward to playing out on this very soon.
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#289
You got yourself a beauty there mtb777 - Welcome!

I've been wondering where that one ended up... I was tempted to the n'th degree by it, especially since it was so close to me here in Virginia. Alas, the stable is pretty full with four of RT's finest.

I take it you play in a Praise Band?

*btw - Love the laminated heelcap... is the headstock reverse like that too? (I've only seen a couple like that)
 
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#290
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EdwardofHuncote said:
You got yourself a beauty there mtb777 - Welcome!

I've been wondering where that one ended up... I was tempted to the n'th degree by it, especially since it was so close to me here in Virginia. Alas, the stable is pretty full with four of RT's finest.

I take it you play in a Praise Band?

*btw - Love the laminated heelcap... is the headstock reverse like that too? (I've only seen a couple like that)
Click to expand...

I play at a couple of churches. I also have Worship band that used to do a lot of Fundraisers for Missionaries and local groups. And I have Usually 2-3 Wednesday's( Monday rehearsals) and 3-5 Sunday's a month(Tuesday and Thursday rehearsals) sometimes more. We have a Night of Worship scheduled for the Wednesday after next that's 12 songs! Regular services are 4-6 songs. It's a pretty busy schedule!

As for the heel cap, perhaps the neck was originally destined to be fretted and it ended up fretless And he ended up shimming it with the laminations
 
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#292
mtb777 said:
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Could be... or some other reason the heel needed to be built up. Perhaps the neck pocket was cut a little deeper. It's classy though, and kinda' adds a touch of unique-ness to your bass. It's not common, but once in a while a Renaissance will pop up with headstock laminates... always reminds me of Rick's work at Alembic.

Again, that's a nice bass - should go well with your music!

New Renaissance owner tip - be sure to keep a fresh set of AA's and a small Phillips screwdriver in your case. :thumbsup:
 
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#294
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Jeff Scott said:
My '05 RB4-FL still uses 2 9V batteries, and needs a medium Phillips screwdriver to get to them. I take it the new ones have a separate battery cover with small screws?
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yep... three small Phillips-head machine screws. (easier to see on my fretted Ren with the lighter background) I saw these little screwdrivers at the checkout counter and bought several sets... put a set in each case.
 
#296
Jeff Scott said:
I get to mine by sliding out the preamp tray. Do the screws for the round battery cover have threaded inserts with machine screws, or are they wood screws right into the, um, wood?
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Oh yeah, brass threaded inserts... pretty slick actually.

I've only ever had batteries fizzle out one time during a set. Could happen today I guess (I'm on set break at a gig now) but usually it gives you fair warning... the signal starts fading, followed by a weird squeal.
 
#298
A couple of things, my G string on my RB-5FL seems weaker than the other strings. Is there an adjustable switch on the preamp where I can balance this out? I tried EQ'ing it and it sounded harsh. It has a fresh set of AcoustiCores on it right now. What was the original color if the bridge saddle? The one on there now is light beige or off white and there's one in the case that's a dark brown color.
 
#299
IIRC, the previous owner had a bone saddle installed on your bass... seems like it was made from 2 pieces. (maybe because it's hard to find a piece of bone that big?) First, make sure it's seated all the way into the slot. If the bass was detuned for shipping, the saddle(s) may not have pressed firmly back in place when you tuned it up.

Regarding new Acousticores, it's helpful to burnish the windings with ultra-fine sandpaper, particularly on a fretless Renaissance. Just a small loop of 600 - grit should do it.

*edit - the darker saddle in your case is probably the original.
 
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#300
Tuesday I had rehearsal at the other church I play at and they are pretty bass forward in the mix. I didn't have my little board with me and just used the Church's VT DI straight into the board and the FOH on the SVT settings and this thing just sounded MASSIVE! I had a great sound coming out through my Quad IEM's and after the second song, I popped an ear out just to check it out and it was just EPIC sounding without my Compressor, Chorus (I usually run a touch or some) or Reverb (usually just run a touch) and it was just really woody and the top was sweet! Ran it 4-6 clicks off of full clockwise. That's ampless. The other church I run my TC RH450/RS210/RS212 stack and I'm thinking of lining out to my spare Hartke 15 combo just for a little more earth shaking there.
 
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