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The Official MARUSZCZYK CLUB!

#4,541
Hi guys, I am really tempted to buy one of the short or medium scale Mensinger basses. What I am still confused about is the pickups. The Domanski are beautiful, mainly because they offer the possibility to match the body color in their cover. However I haven't found proper reviews on the sound and quality of these pickups... are they reliable? what is their sound like, compared to the other famous brands and models?
When I listened to these basses, there it seems to be a lot of fret noise and other buzzes, which is not very pleasant to the ear... I wonder if this just comes from the new strings or it is a problem of the instrument itself.
 
#4,542
drchef said:
Hi guys, I am really tempted to buy one of the short or medium scale Mensinger basses. What I am still confused about is the pickups. The Domanski are beautiful, mainly because they offer the possibility to match the body color in their cover. However I haven't found proper reviews on the sound and quality of these pickups... are they reliable? what is their sound like, compared to the other famous brands and models?
When I listened to these basses, there it seems to be a lot of fret noise and other buzzes, which is not very pleasant to the ear... I wonder if this just comes from the new strings or it is a problem of the instrument itself.
Click to expand...
I can speak to a medium scale Cazpar. Mine had a bit of fret buzz from the factory but the action and relief had been set really low, for left hand speed and a very light touch. I raised both just a bit and it still plays easily with no buzz with a medium right hand attack.
 
#4,543
mkr1 said:
I can speak to a medium scale Cazpar. Mine had a bit of fret buzz from the factory but the action and relief had been set really low, for left hand speed and a very light touch. I raised both just a bit and it still plays easily with no buzz with a medium right hand attack.
Click to expand...
thanks for your feedback. Which model do you have? with which pickup?
it would be great if you could share with us your opinion on the sound of this bass, based on your experience
 
#4,544
NinjaPyrate said:
I'm considering a Maruszczyk 30" 5-string or a Atelier Z ZPO-5 (30" 5-string). Does anyone have any comparisons?
Click to expand...

I actually would like to have an Atelier but I have to admit I don't think they sound great on the videos I've seen (although I wouldn't at all doubt they aren't representative). And if you don't like the sound, they don't really have options like the Maru. The Atelier is more like a fender in that you get what they make, but I know the build quality is awesome.
 
#4,545
drchef said:
thanks for your feedback. Which model do you have? with which pickup?
it would be great if you could share with us your opinion on the sound of this bass, based on your experience
Click to expand...
I have a passive solid alder 5 string with Delano SBCs with each switchable for parallel, series, neck coil or bridge coil. It's so versatile tonally that I don't miss active eq on it. I have a chambered Elwood 4 and 5 as well, and the Cazpar sounds a little less throaty and more direct. Could be the solid body or the fact that the Elwoods have P neck pickups.
 
#4,546
Ordered a replacement for the Jake that I sold last week. Not as refined as some of the most recent builds I have seen on here lately, but it fits my style and needs.


Jake C 5A Blue Burst.png
 
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#4,549
drchef said:
Hi guys, I am really tempted to buy one of the short or medium scale Mensinger basses. What I am still confused about is the pickups. The Domanski are beautiful, mainly because they offer the possibility to match the body color in their cover. However I haven't found proper reviews on the sound and quality of these pickups... are they reliable? what is their sound like, compared to the other famous brands and models?
When I listened to these basses, there it seems to be a lot of fret noise and other buzzes, which is not very pleasant to the ear... I wonder if this just comes from the new strings or it is a problem of the instrument itself.
Click to expand...

Yes, usually they set the Action very low. I have Bassculture Humbuckers on my Mensinger Joker and they are also available in matching Wood Colour. I like them alot. They are not the "hottest" Pickups, with massive Output like G&L, but they are very detailed, with lots of Clarity and Definition. As mentioned, i like them.

Joker Custom OGB.jpg
 
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#4,550
drchef said:
Hi guys, I am really tempted to buy one of the short or medium scale Mensinger basses. What I am still confused about is the pickups. The Domanski are beautiful, mainly because they offer the possibility to match the body color in their cover. However I haven't found proper reviews on the sound and quality of these pickups... are they reliable? what is their sound like, compared to the other famous brands and models?
When I listened to these basses, there it seems to be a lot of fret noise and other buzzes, which is not very pleasant to the ear... I wonder if this just comes from the new strings or it is a problem of the instrument itself.
Click to expand...
Listening to clips online can be very misleading. One of the things I do, and would be really helpful in this situation, would be to listen to a lot of the clips that they make of the OTHER basses, the long scales, the ones with other pickups that maybe are more well known. I think that will give you an idea of what sounds are just common with his playing, recording setup, etc. Personally I find that all of the clips have a lot of high end, which will bring out fret buzz more.
 
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#4,552
2ndBassGuitar said:
Sundays can be great lazy mornings. Today, I have pulled out a personal build - my Jake 4A. It has a flamed maple top, a roasted maple neck, rosewood fretboard and matching headstock. I chose an active Darkglass preamp and Nordstrand Zen Blade pickups. I prefer active electronics, but still have the option of pulling the volume knob and I am in passive mode. Active basses are only a bit more expensive than passive ones. For my personal tastes, the Nordstrands Humbucking are just great pickups (heard good things about the Delano Times Square, too). I will stick with this configuration for my personal builds. Of course there are so many good pickups out there - I like Basscultures too. With Frogs, Jakes, Jazzus, Elwoods available, I am not sure I will ever buy another Fender..... new or vintageView attachment 4247025
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I know a lot of people here are either madly in love with their Fenders, or on a never-ending quest to find the perfect Fender or that perfect Fender tone. To me, that just seems like wanting to be like everybody else. They are free to do that, of course, but I'll never understand it. Why spend money trying to sound like everyone else? I just don't get it, and I likely never will. The three basses on my short list are:
Frog.jpg
Padalka singlecut red.jpg
Eye red.jpg
 
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#4,553
bassbengoa said:
That Jake looks amazing. The tortoise + flamed maple combo is incredible. Had not thought of that before!

Any tips for making a ramp stay in its place on a glossy surface? I am having issues trying to get it to stay in place if I rest my thumb on top of it. I am currently using two sided tape
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I thought about getting a ramp or thumb-rest on my up-coming Frog order, but I decided against it. I don't want to distract from the beauty of the wood and finish in the middle of the bass, and anchoring my thumb on the pickups should be enough for me.

But on my main bass, the one in my avatar, the thumb-rests are glued in place.
 
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#4,554
BlueTalon said:
I know a lot of people here are either madly in love with their Fenders, or on a never-ending quest to find the perfect Fender or that perfect Fender tone. To me, that just seems like wanting to be like everybody else. They are free to do that, of course, but I'll never understand it. Why spend money trying to sound like everyone else? I just don't get it, and I likely never will. The three basses on my short list are:
View attachment 4247623 View attachment 4247624 View attachment 4247625
Click to expand...
OK, I vote #1, though you could take the pups from #2. #3 looks like an interesting fretless, but with frets.
 
#4,555
Bartrinsic said:
OK, I vote #1, though you could take the pups from #2. #3 looks like an interesting fretless, but with frets.
Click to expand...
I'm actually days away from ordering the Frog, pending a few answers from Adrien and my dealer. I'm sticking with the Delano J pickups on that.

The other two are eventual purchases. They're just too unique and interesting for me to pass up. I want the green on the second one to be a little more neon, to be UV reactive like a black light poster*, and I'll decide about the pickups later. The third one will also likely be green, and probably with two pickups.

*like this:
Padalka red 2.jpg

Padalka green.jpg
 
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#4,558
BlueTalon said:
I'm actually days away from ordering the Frog, pending a few answers from Adrien and my dealer. I'm sticking with the Delano J pickups on that.

The other two are eventual purchases. They're just too unique and interesting for me to pass up. I want the green on the second one to be a little more neon, to be UV reactive like a black light poster*, and I'll decide about the pickups later. The third one will also likely be green, and probably with two pickups.

*like this:
View attachment 4248489
View attachment 4248490
Click to expand...
Very nice! Is that neck set-in or set thru?
 
#4,559
Bartrinsic said:
Very nice! Is that neck set-in or set thru?
Click to expand...
Which one?

The Frog I'm opting for has a bolt-on neck. The Padalka is a set neck according to the website, though on the single cutaway, it appears to be very well set. The Eye bass has what I believe is an aluminum core, so everything is bolt-on.

Ya know what? I should probably throw this one into the mix as well, but it would be #4 on the list.
Mayones Patriot.jpg
 
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#4,560
Ordered this Jake 6p back in 2013, admittedly when I had too little experience to know what I really wanted/needed in an instrument. It used to be my main bass for a number of years, until I went back to 4-strings. Now I tend to use it only for stuff that needs a low B. I never used the high C all that much, but it seemed silly to get a 5-string when I had a very nice 6-string that I could get around on just fine. Maybe at some point, I'll order a Frog (probably 4 or 5-string). The shape didn't really appeal to me at first but I've grown to like it, and they did feel nice (my ex's brother had one).

- chambered alder body/ash top
- maple neck
- rosewood board
- all passive, vol/mix/tone with split for the humbucker
- Bassculture pickups
- Hipshot ultra-lite tuners
- Monorail bridge with 18mm spacing

She's not uncomfortably heavy but still pretty hefty...

20210427_105456.jpg
20210427_105544.jpg
20210427_105613.jpg
20210427_105637.jpg
 
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