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Renaissance/Turner Basses Club

#581
I've been playing rens a long time. When I had the "standard" ones, I used acousticores on all of them. But when i had rick make me a non standard..in my case a 30" 5 with a high C, i had him add a mag pu, so what's now called the deuce. And since the core is nylon..didnt work great with the mag pu. i ended up going through a lot of sets, but have had LaBella white gold tapes on for a few years..they work just fine for me. I also had the shop put on a fretless board too..This is a hybrid Ren and I honestly discover new things on a weekly basis..certain resonant double stops..really an amzazing instrument.
 
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#582
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm finding this is a totally different instrument than what I am used to and will have to figure out how to dial in the sound I'm looking for. I'm using a power amp with F-2B and SF-2, a 112 and 115 cab, so I sould be able to tweak things and get close to what I would like.

I generally don't like round would or half round strings, too bright for my taste. I prefer the sound and feel of flatwounds. I use Pyrmaid Gold flats on all of my basses, but thought the tension of those strings would be a bit much for the Renaissance neck. I put the TI Jazz flats on the Renaissance, I'll let them brake in a little and see how I like it. One problem I encountered is that the B for the FL365 set is too thick to fit through the body hole, so it's a four string bass right now until I can find a B that is small enough diameter and long enough for a body through string set up. So, I'll give it all some time and see what happens. Thanks!
 
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#584
RVBASS said:
I've never tried taped strings, maybe I'll try the LaBella White Golds that JohnP352 mentioned. I see a period of experimentation ahead :)
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there are even more styles of tapes then when i got these a few years back, might be worth a look. I play a bunch of different sorts of music, I mainly use the Ren for free jazz and dub..also my go to when i just feel like "playing bass" if that makes sense.
 
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#585
RVBASS said:
One problem I encountered is that the B for the FL365 set is too thick to fit through the body hole,
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Hmmm... didn't see that one coming. :sour:

I wonder if it could be just the silk binding up in the ferrule? That string shouldn't be any bigger than a .136 B from any other set. FWIW, the Renaissance have graphite reinforced necks, but I would expect to make a truss rod adjustment going to Pyramids.
 
#586
E of H, you are a genius! A little trimming of the silk and I got it through :)

After a couple of hours playing today the strings are breaking in and I'm starting to move toward the sound I'm looking for, very cool bass!

The truss rod will need a little adjustment with these strings on it. How sensative is the truss rod adjustment on these instruments? I go by quarter turns on my other basses.

Thanks for all the feedback!
 
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#587
RVBASS said:
Thanks for the feedback everyone. I'm finding this is a totally different instrument than what I am used to and will have to figure out how to dial in the sound I'm looking for. I'm using a power amp with F-2B and SF-2, a 112 and 115 cab, so I sould be able to tweak things and get close to what I would like.

I generally don't like round would or half round strings, too bright for my taste. I prefer the sound and feel of flatwounds. I use Pyrmaid Gold flats on all of my basses, but thought the tension of those strings would be a bit much for the Renaissance neck. I put the TI Jazz flats on the Renaissance, I'll let them brake in a little and see how I like it. One problem I encountered is that the B for the FL365 set is too thick to fit through the body hole, so it's a four string bass right now until I can find a B that is small enough diameter and long enough for a body through string set up. So, I'll give it all some time and see what happens. Thanks!
Click to expand...

FWIW I too use Pyramid flats on my fretted bass; I've tried the TI flats on it before but found them to be way too floppy but just right for the Ren. The TIs are definitely a bit higher tension than the acousticores sou a bit of tension adjustment is probably in order. The neck is sensitive to adjustments so I think your approach of 1/4 turn at a time is wise.
 
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#590
Thanks again for the comments and for the truss rod adjustment advice, I'll work on that tonight.

I really don't like a ton of mmwwaahh, I just like to know it's there for when I want to use it. For me, the mmwwaahh is more controllable with the flats than the acousticores.

JohnP, thanks for putting it into perspective. I'm totally new to this type of instrument, it's completely different from what I've played before and I have to think of it in terms of what it is and what it can do, and not how it relates to other types of basses. It's a beautiful instrument with a unique sound and will be a good adventure!
 
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#591
johnp352 said:
I'll stick my neck out here..but players looking for the ubiquitous MMMMWAAHWAHH from a Ren are cork sniffing in the wrong place. The bass is so much more than that, and I think RT summed it up years ago by saying...ahh, well ya know, it is an acoustic instrument.
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Rens with Acousticores have their own kind of mwah. Loved how they sounded on the recordings I've made with them over the years.
 
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#592
I can't remember ever adjusting the truss rods in either of the Renaissance basses, (other than to stop one of them from rattling) owing I suppose to the spaghetti-noodle AcoustiCores, but with the T-I Jazz Flats on my Electrolines, adjusting 1/4 turns one way or the other seasonally, until I started putting a humidifier in the case with them. Haven't needed to since. They are very stable.

I'm going out on a limb here and guessing RT uses the same necks in both Electroline and Renaissance series, so they probably both have the graphite reinforcement.
 
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#593
RVBASS said:
Thanks again for the comments and for the truss rod adjustment advice, I'll work on that tonight.

I really don't like a ton of mmwwaahh, I just like to know it's there for when I want to use it. For me, the mmwwaahh is more controllable with the flats than the acousticores.

JohnP, thanks for putting it into perspective. I'm totally new to this type of instrument, it's completely different from what I've played before and I have to think of it in terms of what it is and what it can do, and not how it relates to other types of basses. It's a beautiful instrument with a unique sound and will be a good adventure!
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and that's it! he made something for players to USE. the little vids on his site are right there, the music is all over the place, but it's all great MUSIC. That's Turner to me..here's a hammer now go use the (family blog) thing.
 
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#595
EdwardofHuncote said:
I'm going out on a limb here and guessing RT uses the same necks in both Electroline and Renaissance series...
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That would be my guess, too.

EdwardofHuncote said:
@RVBASS - FWIW, Rick recommends adjusting the truss rods with the strings slack.
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When tightening the rod I always pull back on the neck to relieve stress/tension on the rod, not necessary when loosening the rod, IME, with any bass I've owned, or adjusted for others.
 
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#596
RVBASS said:
E of H, you are a genius! A little trimming of the silk and I got it through :)

After a couple of hours playing today the strings are breaking in and I'm starting to move toward the sound I'm looking for, very cool bass!

The truss rod will need a little adjustment with these strings on it. How sensative is the truss rod adjustment on these instruments? I go by quarter turns on my other basses.

Thanks for all the feedback!
Click to expand...

Congrats on your Ren! Regarding truss rod adjustment on these, you absolutely have to loosen the strings and also pull back on the neck a bit. Both the Rens I had were very stable and I don't recall adjusting the truss rod once set for a string type, but my basses and guitars sit in my home office all the time that is temp/humidity controlled.

Regarding string types, I wasn't a fan of the acousticores, though I get why one would like them on these instruments. I just prefer flats. Love TI Jazz Flats on these! I tried a number of different strings and settled on TI Jazz flats on the 5 string and Status-Graphite tapewounds on the 4. It's a bummer that S-G no longer makes their black nylon tapes...they are my favorite by far. There's also a video on youtube of someone comparing the LaBella White tapes to the LaBella Black tapes, but I think it's done on a Rob Allen MB2 if I recall.
 
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#597
Thanks! A couple of people have mentioned pulling back on the neck to adjust the truss rod. Just wondering how you manage to pull back on the neck while making the adjustment? Seems you would have to clamp the body down somehow.
 
#599
RVBASS said:
Thanks! A couple of people have mentioned pulling back on the neck to adjust the truss rod. Just wondering how you manage to pull back on the neck while making the adjustment? Seems you would have to clamp the body down somehow.
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If you own two working legs it is pretty easy to do. I hold the bass vertically (headstock up), resting on the floor (the bass, not me), with the body "clamped" between my legs. Grabbing the neck (gently, but firmly - the bass', not mine) below the headstock I pull back (gently) on it just enough (not too far) so take the load off of the truss rod while tightening it (clockwise - righty tighty-like).

IIRC, Rick uses a double acting truss rod so there will be a certain point, depending on which way the rods is turned, where it will feel slack and not doing anything (its neutral position). Beyond that point it will start to tighten up again as it starts to act on the other direction.
 
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#600
Jeff Scott said:
If you own two working legs it is pretty easy to do. I hold the bass vertically (headstock up), resting on the floor (the bass, not me), with the body "clamped" between my legs. Grabbing the neck (gently, but firmly - the bass', not mine) below the headstock I pull back (gently) on it just enough (not too far) so take the load off of the truss rod while tightening it (clockwise - righty tighty-like).

IIRC, Rick uses a double acting truss rod so there will be a certain point, depending on which way the rods is turned, where it will feel slack and not doing anything (its neutral position). Beyond that point it will start to tighten up again as it starts to act on the other direction.
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This ^^^. The technique works with ANY neck and truss rod, and particularly well with single-acting rods. It will give you a tactile indication if there's something wrong with your rod's position or your truss rod nut is frozen.
 

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