Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Stellartone---Best passive mod ever!
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
I tried one on a 4 string AmStd P strung BEAD. Sounded great, I didn't find it nasal at all. At about the middle position it had a great mid forward thump to it that sort of begged to be played up near the neck Geezer style, it was great.
Last edited:
Cross-posting here: I made two demos of a Bass Eleven using roundwounds and flatwounds. Granted, the roundwound demo was before a setup that put the pickups much closer the strings and the flatwound demo was made afterward, but I am impressed at the wide range of tones available.
Different cap values (and their associated mid bumps) interact differently with the overall circuit, so it's very possible you'll get some nasal/honky tones as some settings. I would think it's a bit odd to have every setting sound nasal/honky.
I imagine there are facts we don't know.
A couple of hunches (that could be totally incorrect).
1) Strings - What kind are we talking about? They coukd be very mid present strings.
2) Amp settings - I am constantly baffled by players who get settled on particular amp EQ settings and those are now "my settings". You can't change something major in your signal path and then leave all of your settings the same and expect the same results. Probably the most "nasal" or "honkish" bass tone on Earth is a jazz bridge pickup soloed. However, if I twist the dials enough I can make even that sound more beefy.
Last edited:
I had a fretless bass a couple of years ago with a single Nordstrand dual-coil in 60s bridge position. Passive, with a volume control (push/pull to put the coils in series or parallel modes) and a 16 position Tonestyler. I recorded a demo of it before I sold it.
Simple loop with two chords, then the same riff starting open and rolling down to bottom, then coming back up. Played open, then one click down, then two, then every other click going down. Pretty much the reverse coming back up. The chords in the background are in parallel mode while the riff is in series mode.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Propitiatory sacrifice to the minor deities of intonation scheduled for later today.
I only played the bass out a few times, but I remember this one night in particular when it just clicked for me -- the tone on its own could come across as nasal and somewhat honky but that night, with a band and rolled off several clicks (don't remember how many), it was magic in the mix. (Re. the resonant peak moving down as you roll it off, in that particular mix it was more present rolled off than wide open, while getting out of the way in the upper treble region).
I've contemplated another Tonestyler setup -- particularly with another fretless. Would have to look into the options for two-pickup setups.
Simple loop with two chords, then the same riff starting open and rolling down to bottom, then coming back up. Played open, then one click down, then two, then every other click going down. Pretty much the reverse coming back up. The chords in the background are in parallel mode while the riff is in series mode.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Propitiatory sacrifice to the minor deities of intonation scheduled for later today.
I only played the bass out a few times, but I remember this one night in particular when it just clicked for me -- the tone on its own could come across as nasal and somewhat honky but that night, with a band and rolled off several clicks (don't remember how many), it was magic in the mix. (Re. the resonant peak moving down as you roll it off, in that particular mix it was more present rolled off than wide open, while getting out of the way in the upper treble region).
I've contemplated another Tonestyler setup -- particularly with another fretless. Would have to look into the options for two-pickup setups.
I have been using Stellartone for many years and honestly cannot play any passive bass without it. Here are some demo I made:
Great tones.......And watching your vids made up my mind in getting one, and I wish it had sounded similar. Like I have said mine sounded very nasally and honky on all settings except when on by pass with all knobs on my amp in the flat position with the drive cut. I also remember a grounding issue especially when both the volume and tone knobs were touched with my finger. A total waste of money for me, but I am now happy with the original tone knob and any tones that I want I get from adjusting the EQ etc on my amp and pedals.
Awesome playing! So fluid. From reading youtube comments it looks like you had a 10 position on your p bass and now you have a 6? If my detective work is correct why the change? Or did you go the full pick guard setup route?
Thanks!
There are 3 different demonstrations. At the end I stayed with the 10 position knob.
Cause the Tonestyler gives you 10 different frequencies to choose from and they do make a difference! When you change to a different position it gives you a different roll off!
From the Stellartone website -
"The Invalid Link Removed is a ten-position control featuring one "tone pot loading circuit" in switch position #9 (adjacent to TRUE BYPASS). This EQ position exactly duplicates the subtle loading and treble reduction of a standard 250k ohm bass tone pot with a .047µF tone capacitor, when turned to maximum clockwise brightness. Range: TRUE BYPASS to .100µF."
So yes, they still use the .1 mf cap for dub land.
"The Invalid Link Removed is a ten-position control featuring one "tone pot loading circuit" in switch position #9 (adjacent to TRUE BYPASS). This EQ position exactly duplicates the subtle loading and treble reduction of a standard 250k ohm bass tone pot with a .047µF tone capacitor, when turned to maximum clockwise brightness. Range: TRUE BYPASS to .100µF."
So yes, they still use the .1 mf cap for dub land.
These are great demos (let's just say it's not the first time I've watched them).
My own view of tone cap switching has changed a bit over the past year as a result some experimentation with one of my basses. As the saying goes: 'In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they aren't.'
In theory, I think it's a great idea, but in practice, I've found two problems: the higher cap values tend toward honkiness (sort of a cocked wah sound), and no matter how many options are available, there are only a couple of sounds I regularly use in live performance. (Also--I know this all too well--my own playing time is better spent focusing on music than flipping switches.)
Now, this guy has figured out how to eliminate the honkiness by using resistors in series with the smaller value caps (which tames the resonant mid bump), and he's spaced the cap values to give a smooth decrease in treble as the control gets dialed down. But now there's a new problem: the tone circuit is bespoke for his specific instrument/pickup, so my bass or yours might well require different cap and resistor values.
So as a matter of practicality (unless one wants to do up a custom tone circuit for a specific bass, which may be the ideal), I think the good ol' tone pot with a .047 uF cap (or other value of choice) is good enough for most real world applications; for a bit more variation, a switch with a second cap value is handy, but beyond that, I think the usefulness decreases. (One tone mod I'm a fan of, however, is a switchable bass cut cap in series with the bridge pickup to improve blending on two-pickup basses, but that's another subject.)
But here's another perspective to contradict mine: Invalid Link Removed
P.S. I'm fascinated by passive tone circuits, and while all sorts of cool things are possible, my tinkering has led me to prefer simplicity--the minimum needed (however little or much that ends up being) to be musically useful. Of course, that can vary from musician to musician!
My own view of tone cap switching has changed a bit over the past year as a result some experimentation with one of my basses. As the saying goes: 'In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they aren't.'
In theory, I think it's a great idea, but in practice, I've found two problems: the higher cap values tend toward honkiness (sort of a cocked wah sound), and no matter how many options are available, there are only a couple of sounds I regularly use in live performance. (Also--I know this all too well--my own playing time is better spent focusing on music than flipping switches.)
Now, this guy has figured out how to eliminate the honkiness by using resistors in series with the smaller value caps (which tames the resonant mid bump), and he's spaced the cap values to give a smooth decrease in treble as the control gets dialed down. But now there's a new problem: the tone circuit is bespoke for his specific instrument/pickup, so my bass or yours might well require different cap and resistor values.
So as a matter of practicality (unless one wants to do up a custom tone circuit for a specific bass, which may be the ideal), I think the good ol' tone pot with a .047 uF cap (or other value of choice) is good enough for most real world applications; for a bit more variation, a switch with a second cap value is handy, but beyond that, I think the usefulness decreases. (One tone mod I'm a fan of, however, is a switchable bass cut cap in series with the bridge pickup to improve blending on two-pickup basses, but that's another subject.)
But here's another perspective to contradict mine: Invalid Link Removed
P.S. I'm fascinated by passive tone circuits, and while all sorts of cool things are possible, my tinkering has led me to prefer simplicity--the minimum needed (however little or much that ends up being) to be musically useful. Of course, that can vary from musician to musician!
Last edited:
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,027
- 1
- 31,767
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
I have several Stellartones in several basses, and like them very much. I'm about to install a Triple Six in a bass; do any of you have opinions about the three different bands?
So happy with my #1, a '57 AVRI P, that I wouldn't dare gut it.
But wha-hey, this looks like just the excuse I needed to start chasing a new #2
But wha-hey, this looks like just the excuse I needed to start chasing a new #2
Hey guys, late to the party...
Started reading and realized that this started in 2013. I got very interested but will admit after page 2 I skipped to the most recent page. Was considering going active on my J bass but am thinking of trying this first. Any good J bass demos? I've seen and heard the P bass demos and I'm really impressed.
I was just on the manufactures site and it seems the recommended J bass unit is a bass duo 6? Is that right and can anyone talk more about this?
Thanks
Started reading and realized that this started in 2013. I got very interested but will admit after page 2 I skipped to the most recent page. Was considering going active on my J bass but am thinking of trying this first. Any good J bass demos? I've seen and heard the P bass demos and I'm really impressed.
I was just on the manufactures site and it seems the recommended J bass unit is a bass duo 6? Is that right and can anyone talk more about this?
Thanks
