Haha! I can try to take a better photo at some point and I'd be happy to send a .raw copy to you. At least the next time, maybe I can remember to wipe the greasy fingerprints off of the far left one. Sheesh... I'm such an amateur photographer.
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SBO 2022 - Cheaper by the Dozen - 12 String Bass
- Thread starter Gary_M
- Start date
Haha! I can try to take a better photo at some point and I'd be happy to send a .raw copy to you. At least the next time, maybe I can remember to wipe the greasy fingerprints off of the far left one. Sheesh... I'm such an amateur photographer.
Um, I wasn't really thinking about you playing it. It's about watching it being built and then seeing pics of it finished. This is about me.
Basvarken
Commercial User
- Dec 3, 2010
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Ah yes, I can see what you mean. It never worried me that the leads don't run in a straight line underneath the pickup. I just look at the logo and figured it has to be mounted like this.
Guess it's the same discussion as the direction of books in a library. Which way do you tilt your head to read the title ;-)
Speaking of mounting the Lace Alumitones: How do you use the foam pads that come with these pickups? I never use them. I use a spring around each screw, because I never figured out where to put the foam...
That makes sense. I do recognise the excitement and caused impatience to show your latest build to the world.And yes, the intonation does appear to be "off" in these pictures and that's because it was "off".I was running up against the deadline and had to get my photos taken so that I could make my entry post for the build off. I got the bass assembled and capable of making noise, and quickly got photos taken. I ended up having enough time to get intonation set, so I made some sound clips as well for my entry. So, the final intonation looks much better than it does in the photos, no need to worry.
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To be honest, so am I! I've wanted one for so long and now I finally have one. It's a really addictive instrument and it's hard to convey just how big these sound. I'm not sure that I've ever heard a recording that illustrates it properly, but I think to do it right would require some live room mics, not just DI or close mic'd sounds. Sorta like you'd record a drum kit with a lot of "air".
Ah yes, I can see what you mean. It never worried me that the leads don't run in a straight line underneath the pickup. I just look at the logo and figured it has to be mounted like this.
Guess it's the same discussion as the direction of books in a library. Which way do you tilt your head to read the title ;-)
Speaking of mounting the Lace Alumitones: How do you use the foam pads that come with these pickups? I never use them. I use a spring around each screw, because I never figured out where to put the foam...
That makes sense. I do recognise the excitement and caused impatience to show your latest build to the world.
Gorgeous bass! I agree the "Lace" logo looks more correct in the orientation that you used. I had considered trying to remove the silk screen altogether, but was afraid of damaging the surface finish of the pickup at the last moment, so I just left it alone.
I had also considered springs, but in the end I just used the foam pads that were included. I have them placed under the legs and pushed up against the end walls of the pickup cavity as firmly as possible. It actually worked out very well. I may have gotten lucky on the pickup cavity depth which allowed the foam to work properly. I feel that Lace could provide some better guidance when it comes to mounting these pickups, I had to do a few tests to be sure that it was going to work as I had hoped.
- Jul 1, 2005
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Well done Gary_M. Congratulations on a well deserved 1st place. It's a beautiful instrument for sure.
As to your pickup orientation... everyone's a critic these days. That's what you've built and done, your choices and you've knocked it out of the park in my opinion.
I love the photo of the three family members together. You have reminded me that I need to do a photo of my three basses that share their common build. The original, the fretless and my recent SBO for my Son.
As to your pickup orientation... everyone's a critic these days. That's what you've built and done, your choices and you've knocked it out of the park in my opinion.
I love the photo of the three family members together. You have reminded me that I need to do a photo of my three basses that share their common build. The original, the fretless and my recent SBO for my Son.
Hey, not sure how I missed this comment! But yes, I'm sure that's true. I'd need to take some measurements, but that's totally possible that they are carved in at different depths. These are all shaped with rasps by eye so I just go with whatever looks "right" to my eye at the time. The thickness of the top plays a big part in this... and that thickness hasn't been the same twice. I think that's part of what I really enjoy with doing these hippy sammiches; every one is unique and has a good deal of variation.
I could put in a constant radius with a router bit, but I think that would take away from the more organic look and feel that I enjoy. That's also part of the reason that I'm beginning to gravitate toward lower sheen, thinner finishes. It may not make the wood super chatoyant, but it really shows the wood for what it is... open pores, inclusions, etc. Plus I feel like the notes just jump out of these two instruments that I've finished with Monocoat... it's hard to quantify and hard to describe... and I honestly don't know if this can be attributed directly to the finish or not.
Edited to add: Another factor is that I did modify the body shape slightly between the fretted 5 and the fretless 5... the treble side lower bout is different and the horns were angled in toward the neck... so that may be a part of the difference.
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I missed this comment earlier, sorry about that! Honestly, I've enjoyed all of the pickups that I've used so far, but I think if I had to choose one, it would probably be the Nordstrand big splits. They are just incredibly full and punchy in any combination. I want to try the Lace bass bars on another bass aside from the 12. They are pretty powerful and very high-fi, which is great for the 12 and I think I'd also like them on a conventional bass.
Basvarken
Commercial User
- Dec 3, 2010
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