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Sei Owner's Club (Part 2)

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#81
Right, first off please remember I am not an expert on guitar electronics…I’m only trying to help!

The simplest way to view a pan pot is effectively two volume controls on the one pot, wired oppositely so the volume increases for one pickup whilst decreasing for the other. It is how that volume or taper varies that differentiates the different types of pots:

  • Dual Volume Pot – Commonly and cheaply available, the volume or taper varies across the entire travel or turn of the spindle. Whilst this works, it means each pickup is at maximum volume only at the extreme settings and when the other is at minimum volume…the centre position results in approx only 70% volume for each of the pickups. Whilst some might not realise this, it can result in sonic inconsistencies in the sound due to the continuing changes in volumes of both pickups.
  • Blend Pot - Rarer and more expensive, the volume or taper varies across only half the travel of the spindle, remaining at the same volume over the other half. Therefore, in the centre position both pickups are at maximum volume. Turning the spindle results in one pickup remaining at maximum volume whilst the other pickup reduces in volume.
Another factor can be the size of the resistance of the pan pot. Typical values are 250K or 500K, with low resistance pots (e.g. 25K) leading to lower volume levels and a tone that is less bright and with less presence.

Finally, there are a couple of ways to wire up volume controls. However, this impacts passive setups most, so let me know if you really want more! :eyebrow:

A good site for more details (including pictures and diagrams) is Invalid Link Removed
 
#83
Kcoble - I don't appear to have you down on my list so I must have screwed up somewhere :rollno: Did you drop me a PM for a number? Either way drop me a PM and I'll update my list and send you a number by return.

Notrt - I've not run into that problem with my Schack, I'm so impressed with it that it was a no-brainer to put it into my fretless. Have you spoken to Martin about the problems?

All - we have yet another new member signed up (that makes 25 once I sort out my error with Kcoble). Hopefully more pictures to see shortly once he introduces himself...
 
#84
7string said:
That 8 string fretless must be with it's owner by now !!
Click to expand...

It certainly is! :p :D :p

Had the bass 2 weeks, during which I have been very busy with other things unfortunately. However, I am just slowly beginning to realise what a bass the SEI 8 is.

I've played fretless solely for some 15 years, during which I've tried just about every fretless I could get my hands on. Some truly beautiful basses, but few that have tempted me to try for more than a few minutes...my basses must feel and sound right to me, intrinsically fitting my playing style with minimum effort (otherwise they become hard work and ultimately distract me from my playing). My SEI 5 is the standard by which I assess all other basses and in 13 years has never been beaten...until now!

The SEI 8 firmly beats my SEI 5 in all areas, fitting my playing style like a glove and making it effortless to play. It excels in the areas of acoustic qualities (hollow body levels), action and sustain, matching or beating the very best I've ever tried...no bass has combined all three so well (including several other SEI fretless basses I’ve tried). It just sings, making it beautifully responsive and inspirational to play.

Other key things for me so far include:
  • Neck - Really rigid according to Martin, enabling very accurate setting of the action (key to making fretless basses growl properly)…it hasn’t moved at all in the last two weeks (my SEI 5 has).
  • Alder Body - Rich, fat tone that helps to warm up the maple and purpleheart neck without loosing any clarity.
  • Villex Pickups - Clear, clean warm almost jazzy sound, with huge fundamentals
  • Glockenklang Circuit - Very quiet and clean, with tone controls that impact all the right frequencies yet without sacrificing any clarity.
  • GraphTech Piezo System – Very acoustic bass sound, which combines with the magnetic sound to create a sound of unparalleled depth and power (feel it more than hear it!)

The bass is so effortless to play that it has taken only a couple of weeks to switch from 5 to 8 strings (I “gigged” the SEI 8 at my church last weekend for the first time)…it is my new standard against which I assess all other basses.

Custom made basses always carry a degree of risk, especially this one (Martin had never made an 8 string before and I had never played one until he finished the SEI 8!). However, I very carefully identified what I wanted and Martin has really delivered with this bass. It has been an amazing experience to work with him and see him turn my embarrassingly crude initial ideas into this final product. There was some debate in this thread whether Martin’s basses are not quite as good as they were, especially when Chris McIntyre was with him. Chris did almost all the work on my SEI 5 and Martin has done most of the work on my SEI 8. If these two basses are representative, there is clear evidence that SEI basses today remain every bit as good as they were.
 
#86
Paddy said:
Sounds like a winner, glad it ticks the boxes. Hope my fretless 5 is as good. Mine should be back from the finishers on Monday apparently :hyper::hyper:
Click to expand...

Paddy, great news re your bass coming back from the finishers...nothing like seeing it for the first time with its shiny coat on! :hyper: :hyper:

I am really looking forward to seeing this one, especially given the intentional lack of pictures so far...I might just have to sneak up soon and give it a try :eek: :scowl:. Martin makes an excellent fretless bass, so no particular reason why yours will not tick all the boxes too!
 
#90
K! Get in touch with Paddy. I think he may extend his offer of a few posts back to those of us in distant climes. I maybe misread a little note that I received from him a couple of days ago but I think he said he's going to give away his Sei basses to us poor buggers out here in Bandit Country, right Paddy? What a Guy!!!:hyper:
Keep in touch, Travelling Man!!;)
 
#91
Hey dudes

Well yes I have been on holiday - Crete was wonderful - if a little packed with "Brits Abroad" but it was very chilled, hot and sunny - nothing like returning to the UK to a blanket of cloud and rain but hey it's nice to be home.

Regarding our lovely Sei basses - I just spoke to Alex and the 'other' buckeye 6 string has just come back from the finishers and I'm guessing so has Paddy's new girl - so no doubt a few pics or news of further progress soon - but if I do see any of my fellow 'waiters' basses I'll PM you first before posting any pics as I respect your wishes sometimes not to see your basses before you can in the flesh.

I'm going to the Richard Bona gig at Jazz cafe with John and Martin next week - bit of a 'work outing' - should be fun.

Cheers

Mike
 
#92
Are you taking a Sei bass along so Mr.Bona can learn how good basses are on this sixe of the pond :ninja: :hiding: :D

Sei24bass - so pleased to hear that the Sei 8 is such a huge success. I've always liked playing fretless and my Conklin GT7 is having the metal rails taken out at the moment. I used to front a rock band with a Yamaha TRB6 II fretless and it always gave the band a different sound. It was hard work but a great challenge !!

I've just returned from a week in Bulgaria staying at a resort unimaginatively titled Sunny Beach. Lots of sun, sea and sand, great hotel, nice people and good food. The local beer is really good and actually costs less than Coke!! Unfortunately, my alcohol intake is rather limited, but I had a couple of pints and Jen flicked through the cocktail list :)
 
#93
Mike Flynn said:
Hey dudes

Well yes I have been on holiday - Crete was wonderful - if a little packed with "Brits Abroad" but it was very chilled, hot and sunny - nothing like returning to the UK to a blanket of cloud and rain but hey it's nice to be home.

Regarding our lovely Sei basses - I just spoke to Alex and the 'other' buckeye 6 string has just come back from the finishers and I'm guessing so has Paddy's new girl - so no doubt a few pics or news of further progress soon - but if I do see any of my fellow 'waiters' basses I'll PM you first before posting any pics as I respect your wishes sometimes not to see your basses before you can in the flesh.

I'm going to the Richard Bona gig at Jazz cafe with John and Martin next week - bit of a 'work outing' - should be fun.

Cheers

Mike
Click to expand...

Hey Mike, I'm off back to Crete in 3 weeks or so (I love it there). I know exactly what you mean about coming back to that blanket of cloud!

Didn't realise Richard Bona was playing at the Jazz Cafe. Oh well, there's another great gig I'll miss......it's not easy living Oop North sometimes!
 
#95
It was about 7 months before my Sei was ready for it's trip to the finishers, so hang on in there !!

Seeing my bass for the first time was unbelievable. It's amazingly light as well before the bridge and assorted extras adds a little extra flab !!
 
#96
Each bass is different and some take longer than others (like mine, but then perhaps I shouldn’t have been quite so demanding and greedy with the number of strings!). Build times are approx 12 months at the moment, which breaks down as follows:
  • Nothing much to see – 5/6 months
  • Shaping and making ready for the finishers – 2/3 months
  • Finishers – 1 month
  • Stringing, putting electrics in and finishing off – 2/3 months

My guess is that you should be seeing a very roughly shaped bass by the end of this month, with it being ready to go to the finishers probably sometime in January 08.

I have always found Martin very approachable whenever I phoned him and he hasn’t mind me visiting once there was something to see. However, you will have to phone him, otherwise he is unlikely to contact you until he needs something (typically once the bass is back from the finishers).

I found the waiting hard going at times with the Sei 8, especially during the last few months of the build. However, it has been so worthwhile for me (see my previous post for what I think of the Sei 8), so hang in there.
 
#97
Well hello there - just popped into see Mr Alex yesterday and my bass is now at the finishers but as a little taster or what it will postentially look like the 'other' buckeye beauty that has just returned from the polishers is looking pretty amazing too:

Invalid Link Removed

Mine is not as zig-zig in pattern - more like 'an Aero' as Al put it so astutely - but I think mine will be simply stunning - anyway it's a few weeks away yet - but the end is near for sure - I reckon end of Nov is relalistic. Also saw Mr Lindsay's AMAZING fretless single cut 5 - still no hardware on her but my god she is a stunner - probably one of the most beautiful Sei's ever - seriously folks - the Madagascar ebony is just jaw-dropping - and the bookmatch on the back is just... words fail me.

If the owner of this Sei is out there - apologies for posting pics of your bass online - I tried to find you on the 'other' bass forum but your thread had dissapeared - I wanted to PM you the pics first - the bass looks amazing and I'm sure you'll ber VERY pleased with it when it's finished - I hope you enjoy this pic update.

Cheers

Mike
 
#99
Mike Flynn said:
Also saw Mr Lindsay's AMAZING fretless single cut 5 - still no hardware on her but my god she is a stunner - probably one of the most beautiful Sei's ever - seriously folks - the Madagascar ebony is just jaw-dropping - and the bookmatch on the back is just... words fail me.
Click to expand...

Glad you called me "Mister Lindsay" - you youngsters need to show more respect to your elders! hahahaha

Hope to see some of you in January when yours truly is "Mr Gallery" while I mind the store for a week as the guys (Martin, John and Alex) are off at the NAMM show in Los Angeles. Just brace yourselves for having to try and decipher my Scottish accent if you phone! hahahaha
 
#100
kevin_lindsay said:
Glad you called me "Mister Lindsay" - you youngsters need to show more respect to your elders! hahahaha

Hope to see some of you in January when yours truly is "Mr Gallery" while I mind the store for a week as the guys (Martin, John and Alex) are off at the NAMM show in Los Angeles. Just brace yourselves for having to try and decipher my Scottish accent if you phone! hahahaha
Click to expand...

That's ace news Kev - I'll have to sort us out some free tickets to a gig or something - make you feel welcome in Lahdahn taaaan - though NAMM does sound tempting - but I think Martin and Co are long overdue a trip to tout their amazing wares - we had a fun night out last night at Richard Bona's gig at Jazz Cafe - RB was great but NOT playing his Fodera... anyway it'll be nice to meet you finally.

M
 
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