Renaissance/Turner Basses Club

[EdwardofHuncote]

Thanks!

Mine was built that way (no magnetic pickups) in 2001. There was a period where he couldn't get the Piezo material for the Electroline, but I think that is resolved. I only sold mine to buy my 150 year old upright. I LOVED that bass, but I needed the upright...

Hey! There's @lowfreqgeek ! Haven't seen you around here much. Welcome back!

Meanwhile, my 150 year-old upright is *still* waiting for restoration... ... one day...

@Jeff Scott, second-hand EL's seem to fetch $900-$1200, although I saw a blue piezo-only 5-string sell on ebay for $700 a while back. It's in this thread somewhere... <looking around>

 

[Jeff Scott]

That's just a little dust, wipe it down and get out there and play that bass!

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

I took a picture of the best part... the rest is a mess.

Because it's in such bad shape anyway, I'm planning a 5-string conversion project for it. The luthier I work(ed) with for a while is a pretty good coach for such a thing, so it'll happen eventually... the bass itself was a very generous gift from a mentor.

By the way, here was the Reverb ad for that Blue piezo-only Turner: Rick Turner Electroline Five String Deep Blue

 

[Jeff Scott]

I like the color coded silk at the headstock! Three different types/brands of strings on the bass. Not fond of fret lines, I'd want a nice clean looking fingerboard. And I don't need that fifth (B) string, the Elfin 5 takes care of that, nicely.

 

[Madwatch]

Guys just a heads up, im putting my Ren 5 up for trade in the classifieds. I hate to let it go as the ren is my favorite fretless but im just not playing fretless these days.

 

[coyoteboy]

Put frets on it!

 

[coyoteboy]

So much real estate on an El-P, does seem a shame not to put a top on it. Figured redwood then. Interesting body woods then?

Ceder, myrtle, maple, af. mahogony, limba, reclaimed cypress, walnut, avodire!

carrots?

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Guys just a heads up, im putting my Ren 5 up for trade in the classifieds. I hate to let it go as the ren is my favorite fretless but im just not playing fretless these days.

Good luck with your sale... feel free to post a couple pictures here. FWIW, yes, I do know they will install frets back into a fretless Ren, as well as render a fretted model to slick-board.

@coyoteboy- RT would probably be glad to entertain the idea of an Electroline Piezo model with a custom top laminate. Check out this one he built for McVie a few years back:

 

[coyoteboy]

Oh, im sure he would, he has one on his website, its just the whats and wherefores. Also taking any tone recommendstions from Mr Turner regarding a fretted -P model. And scraping up a deposit. ;-p

 

[Madwatch]

A few pics

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Seen on Reverb: a first-generation Turner Model One bass... kinda' rough, but all there.

Rick Turner Model 1 One Bass 1980 mahogany

 

[coyoteboy]

Changed mind again. Back to silver top.
EL-5
Body wood tbd (af. Mahog/avodire)
Fine flake silver carved top
Ivoroid binding
Ivoroid Turner Diamond Magnetic Pickup
.656" Bridge spacing w/ Turner Piezo
34" scale
Shiny chrome hardware
Hipshot (lollipops?)
Katalox sapwood fretboard
Ss frets + 0 fret/ body truss access
Diamond position markers
White pearl "pickguard" headstock face
Laminated headstock back
Vol/pan/tone/tone

Whew! This is a final final. Think Ill get this quoted and start saving.

Thoughts?

 

[Anachronism]

I'm in.
I've coveted a fretless Renaissance since I first heard one, and have been kicking myself for a while for not getting the one @Jeff Scott had for sale a couple years back (the funding, alas, was not there at the time). However, I was able to pick up the 4-string lined fretless that @Holdsg listed in the classifieds, and it arrived today.

Initially impressions: Great unplugged tone, very light, nice neck, excellent craftsmanship.
Secondary impressions: Some annoyance as I changed the strings back to the TIs and started playing with my amp. The strings wouldn't stay in tune.
Tertiary impressions: Oooo, that sounded good. The strings are settling in. Hmmm, I think I'm learning how to dial that tone in. I may change my mind on this, but I like the neck having a different profile than my other (fretted) basses, as it helps me differentiate technique between them.

Summary: This is a very well-made bass that I think will fill the two goals I have for it: 1. Upright-ish tone, and 2. Fretless mwaaahhh.

 

[Jeff Scott]

...Secondary impressions: Some annoyance as I changed the strings back to the TIs and started playing with my amp. The strings wouldn't stay in tune...

The TI Acousticores stretch quite a bit due to the core material, you've probably noted that you wind the tuning keys a lot more than you'd expect while tuning up. The strings will settle in; also make sure they are not slipping on the tuning key posts, they can do that sometimes, so I did the overlap type of stringing to lock the strings onto the posts better.

Enjoy that bass, there is no other like it that can produce that sound.

 

[mtb777]

The TI Acousticores stretch quite a bit due to the core material, you've probably noted that you wind the tuning keys a lot more than you'd expect while tuning up. The strings will settle in; also make sure they are not slipping on the tuning key posts, they can do that sometimes, so I did the overlap type of stringing to lock the strings onto the posts better.

Enjoy that bass, there is no other like it that can produce that sound.

Some people do not like them, but I love these strings. I have them on my RB-5Fl and between the 35" scale and the strings, I just can't play them enough. I love how they respond when you dig in! Unplugged, they sound great, plugged in, great! I do have a set on my Tacoma ThunderChief 5 fretless and that set does still stretch out quite a bit. It needs checking after a few songs but my RB holds tune like locked down at both ends. I have to play long and hard for them to budge.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Just a thread bump this Sunday morning, featuring John McVie with (one of) his Renaissance basses.



Can't believe this was '04.

 

[Anachronism]

Some more thoughts after a month with the Ren 4.

The strings settled after a day or two. The rest of the bass took a little more time and tweaking, but I think it's acclimated to the climate and should hold the setup and action I gave it. My fretless technique is improving, and the neck profile is working for me, though I don't think I'd like it on a fretted bass. The tone is very different from my 4003 and 4004, which is good, as I didn't buy it to try to copy them. It sounds very good with a wooden pick, though normally I play fingerstyle.

 

[porterbass]

NBD - I can't believe I'm lucky enough to play this bass. Here's my new Rick Turner Electroline EL-434-PMM. It has the piezo along with the pair of mag pickups and is 34" scale. It's truly amazing how great it sounds, how well it plays, and the variance of tone I can get out of this, which includes a huge bottom end. (I have TI Jazz Flats installed currently which sound and feel great on it...also thinking about trying Sadowsky Black Label flats.) The quality of this Turner is amazing, what one would expect with one of Rick's instruments.

When I purchased it, I had planned on sending it back to Rick to have it converted to a fretless. Now that I've played it a couple of weeks, no way. I love it as it is. I think I'll just eventually add a fretless Electroline someday. I've been a fan of his Ren basses for a number of years having owned several, and have been curious about the Electroline series, but had no idea I would be this blown away.

 

[EdwardofHuncote]

Congratulations & Compliments @porterbass!

Hey, long time - no see, around here... welcome back to the thread. That's quite a re-entry there.

*good call on the TI Jazz Flats, as I believe they really bring out the best in these Electrolines. I tried some TI PowerBass rounds, but found them to be way too zingy, especially with the reference piezos.

On that subject, there's a post here somewhere that gives a little insight from RT himself on using the piezos sort of like a bass boost. I rarely use mine with the piezo solo'd... most often, I find about a 70/30 blend favoring the magnetics gets me darn close without doing anything too crazy with eq.

Enjoy that new bass!

 

[porterbass]

Congratulations & Compliments @porterbass!

Hey, long time - no see, around here... welcome back to the thread. That's quite a re-entry there.

Thank you...I've still been around, following, reading, and yearning now and then. All I need now is that Electroline Fretted and Fretless pair like someone else I know.