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Renaissance/Turner Basses Club

#904
ficelles said:
New Renaissance owner here... just acquired a used Renaissance Fretless 5 and absolutely hooked on the sound and the playability. I wasn't sure I'd like the Thomastik AB strings as I'm a confirmed flats player but I think I'm there. Is there any way of dating the bass from the number on the headstock?
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Welcome, come on in with your new-to-you Ren. My first Turner was a fretless 5-string Renaissance... still got it, still love it. We go back-and-forth on the T-I AcoustiCores here. I love 'em in this application, enough that I simply don't even care to experiment with anything else. On Rick's advice, I polished the windings of mine down to a smoother almost half-round feel with some 600-grit sandpaper, then cleaned and lubed them with FastFret. To me, that is the essence of what a Renaissance sounds like. I describe them as giant classical guitar strings; clarity, depth, and sustain, all pros if you are doing acoustic simulation. I don't recall ever waving my arms around and claiming upright tones. I know upright basses. This ain't it, nor would I have that expectation. But I can pull off a lot of gigs with a Ren that any other bass guitar couldn't substitute for an upright. (I can honestly get closer with a Guild Starfire...)

Others here have tried and raved about different tapes and flats. Read and search back through, it comes up a lot, usually right after someone first gets one.

Jeff already squared you away on the serial number system... Year / Sequence. I believe it's been the same since Lindsey Buckingham took possession of #79-003... back in... uhhh... 1979! :roflmao:

Again, Welcome and Congratulations. Post us some more pictures when you can. :thumbsup:
 
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#905
porterbass said:
@EdwardofHuncote Daaaaamnnnnn! I knew you had both of these but I don't think I was aware of the finishes on yours. Both are stunning in their own way! Absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for posting these photos with the info. What do yours weigh? I think I got lucky with mine... My EL-434-PMM weighs 8.6lbs and the EL-434-MMM fretless prototype weighs a little less than that.

On a more important note...how is your back doing? Sounds like you've been able to stand and play for a while now.

On a final note...how is that Model 1? :bassist:
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Man, I'm doing okay... just working like a fool. And I don't mean that in the slightest bit to sound like I'm complaining. I really am thankful to be so busy. My occupation is the definition of an essential service, and there are not many people who do it. Right now, I have literally no backup, so it's just me doing double-duty. I already had COVID (early November), and thankfully it was such a light case that I enjoyed the time off. I was legitimately sick for two days and nights, by the time they called to tell me I was positive, I felt fine. I spent the next few days of quarantine doing housework and yardwork. Mom says don't wave a red rag around unless you want a bull to chase you though... so I just kept it to myself. :laugh:

My rockstar neurosurgeon and my pain management doctor think another fusion surgery is eminent. Probably later this year. This time they will do C7-T1-T2. After that, I should be good for a few years. I have been getting ESI (Epidural Steroid Injection) put in there to get the pressure off the nerve at three month intervals, and that's worked but is reaching a point of diminished results. The effects just don't last. And insurance companies don't like paying for stuff that often if it isn't fixing an issue. It ain't too often I'll come down on their side, but I get that. These stupid things are expensive. They ain't no fun either. My Dr. though, is a musician, so he at least gets why it's important to me that I have dexterity in the fingers. :rolleyes: Freakin' amazing what they can do... hit a 3mm target with a 2mm needle, and squirt the magic juice into a thin sheath around a nerve right at your spinal cord. Guy does this 8 hours a day. Coolest Kat you ever met.

Yeow!.jpeg


The Model One... keeps Jeannie up nights. :smug:

M-1 #18-5108 (angled).jpeg


(will do a better spread and review of it later, maybe a vid, but the mauve sheet wasn't doin' it for me yesterday.)
 
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#907
Jeff Scott said:
And, not unlike that of the earlier company he worked for.
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:smug: Jeff spake not the name, in case The Boss drops by, but here is a swiped picture from FB of Rick Turner with #72-001, Jack Casady's Zebrawood Alembic, -the first from-scratch instrument of it's kind- reunited after nearly 50 years. That must have been a cool moment.

20190427_154957.jpg


They rather infamously fell out in late-'78, some bells can't be unrung, songs can't be unsung, and the rest so-they-say, is history.

But yeah, I think it's both cool and common-sensical to use the Year / Sequence scheme. I'm glad it continues. Alembic, fwiw, doesn't use that anymore.
 
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#908
For many years now, RIC has been doing the same regarding S/Ns. Year of manufacture is on one end of the jack plate, and the week of production and sequence number combined at the other end.

Totally makes sense to do this, unlike many manufacturers who use S/Ns akin to - S37294TR 071X-u-Haul 23, or similar.
 
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#909
EdwardofHuncote said:
Anyway, I was telling somebody around here the other day about my Electrolines. They really don't get enough yakety-yak. Both of mine are fully-pully EL-535-PMM models, Reference Piezo bridges and two magnetic pickups, blending electronics. You could hard-pan to any one source, or balance all three. Let me be upfront about it... these these will smack your butt faster than yo-mamma will. (My Mom was a pro at smackin'...) The reference piezo is like a bass boost function. I have solo'd it out and played that way. It is nothing like the acoustic-y response you get back from a Renaissance. I can't adequately describe it, but it is much more sensitive. It can't do that Ren thing nearly as well as a Renaissance does. It could be the strings too. My parenthetical point here is, there is a lot of difference between the undersaddle piezo element and the reference piezos which have a separate element for each string. I think more accurate information is being transmitted that way, by each being isolated. Someone more educated about how they actually work is free and welcome to chime in and correct me.

So what does it do? Pretty much any music you want to play. I like playing Grateful Dead music, Dead & Company, Fleetwood Mac, I like quite a bit of pop country. My main gig (back when there were such things) was a newgrass/jamband thing. Those guys don't care what instrument I play as long as I keep their time straight, but the Turners fit right in. During the shutdown gig-less Summer of 2020, like quite a few of you I spent some time playing through the home practice rig. You can easily dial-up just about anything with these basses. They are not complicated at all. Volume, Pan between the magnetic pickups, Pan between the piezo and magnetics, and two concentric tone knobs for treble roll-off on each source. Simple. Just play it. They balance great. A little bit heavy, but the trade off is ergonomics. I got a Titanium plate, and an arthritic spine and I can play 'em for two sets with no problem.
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Fine basses, indeed. I'm on my second Electroline, a MMP four, which I love. The first one however, I didn't care for at all...a fiver MMP. Trans burgundy over heavy ash, with a cool tort overlay on the headstock. Couldn't get a pleasing sound out of it (subjective, I know), despite it wearing a set of TI flats. To my ears it lacked definition and clarity, surprisingly. I thought about keeping it and working to find its merits, until one day the top strap lock failed. The bass hit the deck and dorked the tort overlay. Final straw, flipped it.

Fast forward a few years, I stumbled into a great deal on a minty burst '02 MMP four. Unlike the previous one, this bass really sings with all freqs present and accounted for. Probably the best sounding piezo I've had yet. It's right on 9lbs exactly, manageable but not ideal for me these days. If it were a pound lighter I'd probably induct it into my Hall Of Fame Vault Of Eternity. I have to say these Electrolines have the prettiest Sunburst finishes, just beautiful.

Here's my current EL (no pics of the previous fiver)

101_1555_zps13d9c351.jpg


rickturner-4.jpg
 
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#911
ficelles said:
A quick question for Renaissance owners - is there access to the tone & volume pots from within the neck pocket?

Tia,
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Nay. I have seen later models that had the V-T pots mounted on a removable plate. Don't know if they came that way or were retrofit during a pot replacement. I have often wondered, how the ham-sandwich one would swap them out...
 
#912
EdwardofHuncote said:
Nay. I have seen later models that had the V-T pots mounted on a removable plate. Don't know if they came that way or were retrofit during a pot replacement. I have often wondered, how the ham-sandwich one would swap them out...
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I've rewired a 335 in the past and it isn't easy... but basically you tie thread to the pots before pulling them out so you can use the same threads to pull the new ones back into place. Of course if it goes wrong it's a challenge...
 
#917
Jeff Scott said:
I wish the one that I had was unlined...
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Something I had given thought to, Jeff... it would not be that difficult -I don't think- to do an unlined rosewood (or whatever) veneer over a lined fretless board. What you would end up with is sidelines at every fret. The hard part would be coming up with the counter-radiused caul necessary to clamp even pressure over the entire length of the fingerboard. I'm pretty sure I can do this. It might happen to the Renaissance first, and if I like it, the fretless Electroline next. Time man... I just need time. (went on-duty at 6am, just now walked in the door...) :dead:
 
#919
EdwardofHuncote said:
Something I had given thought to, Jeff... it would not be that difficult -I don't think- to do an unlined rosewood (or whatever) veneer over a lined fretless board. What you would end up with is sidelines at every fret. The hard part would be coming up with the counter-radiused caul necessary to clamp even pressure over the entire length of the fingerboard. I'm pretty sure I can do this. It might happen to the Renaissance first, and if I like it, the fretless Electroline next. Time man... I just need time. (went on-duty at 6am, just now walked in the door...) :dead:
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Come on, man! Don't hold out. You have to do this, then you can teach RT your method. ;)

ficelles said:
All my basses are unlined, but the 35" scale Renaissance is the one where I really appreciate the side dots. That is a long neck!
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The first few fretless basses I had were lined, beside the Renaissance basses, due to them having been converted from fretted (1973 7ender Telecaster Bass, '87 Yamaha BX-5, and '87 Alembic Persuader-Vector body). I have repented, since. :smug:
 
#920
How 'bout we have a Renaissance Festival in here today? :D

Here's #10-2911 a fretted RB-5 'Special'.

#10-2911 (angled).jpeg


2911 stamp detail.jpeg


She's kinda' plain-jane mahogany-on-mahogany, but I did a little bit of dress-up with some maple accents for the plastic covers, to match the 'Dingus' strap extension, and the rosewood knobs match up with the fingerboard. It came with black hardware and gold foil logos.

2911 plate detail.jpeg

2911 controls detail.jpeg

#10-2911 headstock.jpeg

She might not be flashy, but she gets the job done.
#10-2911 front (full).jpeg


#10-2911 front.jpeg


#10-2911 back (full).jpeg


#10-2911 back.jpeg


Stay tuned... :bassist:
 
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