Been looking at a lot of these Atelier Z basses lately. What is the tuning system that is mentioned on the back of the headstocks?
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The Atelier Z Bass Owners Club
- Thread starter BlountEdge
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As far as I'm aware, it's a specific setup they do to the basses before they ship.
They recommend getting it done at least once a year, but unless you're near Tokyo or Japan at all for that matter..... good luck.
- Jun 10, 2003
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- Senior Product Manager, Akai Professional
there's a graphic in this thread somewhere showing specifically what it is, but basically, it's a completely straight neck, no relief, and then low action, with a specific measurement of height for each string at the 12th fret. it's like 2.0mm for the E and around 1.5mm for the G. the effect i find is, in addition to it being super low, the straight neck makes slapping a super aggressive "pow" sort of sound.
Hi, Does anyone know if there's a difference between the jbz-4 pickups, and the jz-4 pickups, I see offered for some models of the M245
Atelier-Z's?
Atelier-Z's?
The JZ-4 pickups have slanted pole pieces. Jbz-4 has straight ones. They are slightly different in size as well.
Thanks! I have a M265. I'm thinking with the jbz's. I was looking to pickup a M245, the one I was looking at had jz4's. How do they compare in sound?
The slanted poles are supposed to pick up maximize string vibration and they are split coil, so they're hum cancelling. I would love to tell you how they compare but Atelier is hard to come across in person. I would like to try one of the Z plus models, or DJ-190 with the scalloped neck and Atelier EQM preamp. I've recently seen a Baby Z PJ, with a reverse P up front. A full grown version of that would be perfect for me.
I hear ya, be so nice to get all the juicy details. Thanks for the info!
And yes the 30" basses are very tempting. Maybe a 5 string. Fodera has a nice 30" headless, only goes for $13,000 I think.
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Can’t go wrong with either. Atelier Z will be flawless in terms of build quality and precision, with possibly a slightly more modern tone. Personally I prefer their body shape, it sits perfectly on me but that’s down to personal preference. You might miss the lack of a passive tone control, although as much as I thought I would miss it, in practice I haven’t. I’ve not played a Maruszczyk short scale but the regular stuff I’ve tried has been super nice.
Thanks for that info. The lack of passive tone control may be the downvote (not sure I even care about active electronics). I'm usually either playing a vintage tone or a warmer R&B/Soul tone. I'm leaning towards the Cazpar now (same bass with weirder body shape than the Elwood).
I actually have a Maruszczyk 30” scale Elwood Jazz 5 and it’s a monster. Owned A LOT of Ateliers and this thing is every bit as good in terms of sound and build quality. The key is getting the Maruszczyk branded single coil pickups. I honestly did not expect it to sound as good as it does. I have a pretty decent collection going right now that includes a 77 J bass, a performance J 4 string, a few different Sandberg Js, NYC Sadowsky and this thing very much holds its own even with the short scale.
Thanks for the info. I don't see any Maruszczyk branded pickups available. Unless they are Haeussel pickups - the only option that doesn't cost extra.
They were on the configurator last I looked. I have a 34” scale 70’s J Elwood 4 with them coming to me.
Yeah, I don’t know what’s up. They’re what I have on my 5 string 30” scale Elwood. Great pickups.
