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Show Us Your Rob Allen Basses Part IV

#1,061
I have a question (sort of) regarding my recently acquired Mouse (see post #1048 above.) Today I got around to a cleanup, polish, string change, bass fondling session and ran into an issue. I purchased a new set of La Bella 760N Tapewounds, Short Scale, and it appears that they aren't going to work for this bass. It turns out that with the string through mounting feature, the required ball-end to silk wrap length is just a bit over 32", and these strings come in at 32".

I should have checked more carefully, but per La Bella's website, I should have ordered medium scale strings, which are 34" ball end to silk. Can anyone here corroborate this? Anyone here want a good deal on an unmounted, untrimmed set of short scales?
 
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#1,062
Philonius said:
I have a question (sort of) regarding my recently acquired Mouse (see post #1048 above.) Today I got around to a cleanup, polish, string change, bass fondling session and ran into an issue. I purchased a new set of La Bella 760N Tapewounds, Short Scale, and it appears that they aren't going to work for this bass. It turns out that with the string through mounting feature, the required ball-end to silk wrap length is just a bit over 32", and these strings come in at 32".

I should have checked more carefully, but per La Bella's website, I should have ordered medium scale strings, which are 34" ball end to silk. Can anyone here corroborate this? Anyone here want a good deal on an unmounted, untrimmed set of short scales?
Click to expand...
I've not yet swapped strings on mine, so I'm afraid I can't be of much use. They were the ones on it when I bought it, and I think they may be originals. Plus, I have an extra pack in the case, which I was told were purchased from Rob at the same time the bass was purchased. Now I'm going to need to check string length!
:D
 
#1,063
Philonius said:
I have a question (sort of) regarding my recently acquired Mouse (see post #1048 above.) Today I got around to a cleanup, polish, string change, bass fondling session and ran into an issue. I purchased a new set of La Bella 760N Tapewounds, Short Scale, and it appears that they aren't going to work for this bass. It turns out that with the string through mounting feature, the required ball-end to silk wrap length is just a bit over 32", and these strings come in at 32".

I should have checked more carefully, but per La Bella's website, I should have ordered medium scale strings, which are 34" ball end to silk. Can anyone here corroborate this? Anyone here want a good deal on an unmounted, untrimmed set of short scales?
Click to expand...

Dang! Yes it does look like Medium Scale is the right answer. I think Labella once had a "Rob Allen" model and it must have been for his specified string length.
 
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#1,064
I have an amazing Rob Allen Deep 5 fretless bass that I love.
I am feeling more comfortable with 4 string so I am looking for a trade.
Looking for a Deep 4 ONLY....

Rob Allen Deep 5.JPG
 
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#1,066
Philonius said:
I have a question (sort of) regarding my recently acquired Mouse (see post #1048 above.) Today I got around to a cleanup, polish, string change, bass fondling session and ran into an issue. I purchased a new set of La Bella 760N Tapewounds, Short Scale, and it appears that they aren't going to work for this bass. It turns out that with the string through mounting feature, the required ball-end to silk wrap length is just a bit over 32", and these strings come in at 32".

I should have checked more carefully, but per La Bella's website, I should have ordered medium scale strings, which are 34" ball end to silk. Can anyone here corroborate this? Anyone here want a good deal on an unmounted, untrimmed set of short scales?
Click to expand...

A few years ago I was able to get medium scale labella's through Rob, directly. Not sure if he's still able to do that, but he was super helpful.

Edit to add: That bass is gone now; I don't think I ever measured the winding length!
 
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#1,068
Update: The bass has gotten a dose of TLC and a few minor changes: It came with some nasty, sticky tape residue from a ramp that had once been installed. After consultation here and directly with Rob, that was easily cleaned off with Naptha (AKA lighter fluid, AKA Coleman Gas.) That left an uneven sheen on the face from the cleaning's polishing effect. I pulled the neck, masked the pickup and bridge, waxed the body with Johnson's Paste Wax, buffed out with 0000 steel wool, and restored its rightful soft sheen. There was a bit of fret sprout that I carefully dressed down. Replaced the Chromes with LaBella tapewounds, and for vanity's sake swapped out the brushed chrome Ultralites for a new black set. I rather like the complimentary Bison hide strap too. This thing plays like a dream!!

Invalid Link Removed
 
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#1,069
For those of you who have played both the Deep 4 and Deep 5, is there any inherent difference in sound/tonal quality?

Of course different basses and different woods will effect the sound.

I have a Deep 5 that I am trading for a Deep 4 and do not want to loose the basic full/deep sound that my Deep 5 has.

Similar to how my Deep 5 sounds fuller than my MB-2.

Thanks for any comparison info!
 
#1,070
Philonius said:
Update: The bass has gotten a dose of TLC and a few minor changes: It came with some nasty, sticky tape residue from a ramp that had once been installed. After consultation here and directly with Rob, that was easily cleaned off with Naptha (AKA lighter fluid, AKA Coleman Gas.) That left an uneven sheen on the face from the cleaning's polishing effect. I pulled the neck, masked the pickup and bridge, waxed the body with Johnson's Paste Wax, buffed out with 0000 steel wool, and restored its rightful soft sheen. There was a bit of fret sprout that I carefully dressed down. Replaced the Chromes with LaBella tapewounds, and for vanity's sake swapped out the brushed chrome Ultralites for a new black set. I rather like the complimentary Bison hide strap too. This thing plays like a dream!!

Invalid Link Removed
Click to expand...
Yeah, I swapped the tuners out for black Sperzels and think my bass looks nicer with them. Improved the balance too.
IMG_6866_C.JPG
 
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#1,071
Update from my post above:

As much as I love my 35" scale Deep 5, and while I can play it, I just prefer 34" scale. So this beauty is up for trade.

My strong preference would a Deep 4.

I am now also considering and MB-2 5 string but it would have to be 34" scale.

And...... I am also considering dropping back to a MB-2 4 string. However, it would need to be a deep, resonant sounding instrument.

For the MB-2's you would need to add cash
 
#1,075
This is the current rig for my basses. I can have a different profile (at least in terms of speaker sim) for each bass to match. it's great. I do my two RAs differently than any of my other basses.

E7owVO6WYAUtnME.jpg


That all goes into a MAS 1/6 right now. I'm considering maybe changing that out but the MAS sounds great and punches far above its weight (literally).Rare pic of me with the D4 and you can see the custom cable I use for the two outputs. That is why I have the little box at the top right of the board.
ah-ra1.jpg
 

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#1,076
FenderP said:
This is the current rig for my basses. I can have a different profile (at least in terms of speaker sim) for each bass to match. it's great. I do my two RAs differently than any of my other basses.

View attachment 4352897

That all goes into a MAS 1/6 right now. I'm considering maybe changing that out but the MAS sounds great and punches far above its weight (literally).Rare pic of me with the D4 and you can see the custom cable I use for the two outputs. That is why I have the little box at the top right of the board.
View attachment 4352909
Click to expand...
Nice. Could you please talk me through the sequence of the pedals and what each adds to your sound.

I own a Monique M700, an FDeck and a Mouse. Sounds heavenly, but Always looking for extra ideas.

Have you tried TC Electronics Body Res? Or tried any reverbs/delays?
 
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#1,077
Groove Doctor said:
Nice. Could you please talk me through the sequence of the pedals and what each adds to your sound.

I own a Monique M700, an FDeck and a Mouse. Sounds heavenly, but Always looking for extra ideas.

Have you tried TC Electronics Body Res? Or tried any reverbs/delays?
Click to expand...

Long story short, it's all about the B-15. I own a real '63 B-15N with an original Jensen. The D4 piezo is a bit hot for my B-15 at anything other than lower volume but is fine for my other basses. Also, the B-15 is heavy to schlep. I need something light(er) and have gone through a few setups over the years, but ultimately I have been chasing the B-15 sound in a much more portable setup.

The box at the top right is a Saturnworks Active 2-Channel Mixer with Switches. This accommodates the discrete outputs of each pickup and sums them. I don't use the Broughton Synth Voice Deluxe (may be replaced with a regular SV) with the D4 but it's next in the chain. That runs into the Broughton P-15 which is basically the preamp section of a B-15. It can handle the D4 with no issues. Alone it's fine, but not totally that B-15 sound. The thru from that runs into the Strobostomp and the out runs into the Two Notes Torpedo C.A.B. M+. That is a speaker simulator as well as a tube power amp simulator. With that essentially I can recreate the sound of a B-15 (relatively speaking). That runs into the HPF (the Thumpinator) and the output goes into the Simone 500 which is just a power amp. That runs into the speaker. It's really just a deconstructed B-15 sans the SVD.

I tried the BodyRez and sold it on. I didn't find it helped my D4 sound in any way I have no need for reverbs or delays.
 
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#1,079
Jeff Elkins said:
@FenderP Did your D4 come with 2 outputs? Or did you (or a previous owner) separate the outputs yourself? If the first, what is the control setup? I see two pots on the bridge and two more on the body.
Click to expand...

Rob built it for me that way. I've talked about it quite a bit here over the years. The controls on the bridge are the standard D4 electronics (stacked tone on left, volume on right) and the other two are volume and tone for the magnetic pickup. The mag is basically a modified S4 pickup and is not hot. The mag is also passive so even if the piezo dies, I can use the bass.

Remember this was my second D4. My original was the first D4 Rob shipped. While that one was also built custom to my specs roughly 10 years on I wanted some refinements to the formula.
 
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