Get them. Price difference is minimal. You'll be sorry if your neck goes funny and you don't have the rods.
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The Official MARUSZCZYK CLUB!
- Thread starter ulasengin
- Start date
Ich have 6 without and one with rods; i have the impression that the one with rods stays longer in tune but also the others are fine.
I also don't have carbon rods on my Joker. Holds his tuning pretty stable. Did i mention that i love this bass?
Agree, probably not needed for a short scale. Note that carbon rods likely make the neck a little lighter, not heavier. For a short scale neck, I'd be tempted to go with one piece, no rods.
Lighter? Because carbon is lighter than the wood it replaces?
Fantastic looking bass!
Thanks for your input everyone, much appreciated. I didn't consider that carbon may actually be lighter than wood, which is interesting. I'm a bit wary about dive as my Mustang PJ has a bit when sitting, but it does have HB10s rather than Ultralites.
Beautiful Joker. I was torn between that and the Frog, and I went with the Frog, but as soon as I can afford another build I'm getting a Joker.
How is the low B? For some reason I'm worried about the performance of a 5-string, short scale hollowbody, but I feel like my fears are based on nothing.
Ahhh gotcha. Are there any downsides to a sub-long scale 5 string hollowbody (aside from the cost and rarity of the strings)?
I can only comment on a medium scale Elwood L I used to have. Prior to my order, I asked Adrian that same question. His answer, which I have mentioned here a few times before, was something like this: If you expect a b-string like on a multiscale Dingwall, you will be disappointed. But if you are looking for a b-string with which you can make music, it will work very well. The bass I received proved him right.
There's also this very brief favorable mention of the B string on a 5-string Cazpar:
SOLD - Mensinger Cazpar 5 - did you see the price drop?
My two basses are a (30") Mustang PJ and a 30" 5 string Maruszczyk/Menising Cazpar. The Mustang PJ has neck dive, the Maruszczyk Cazpar does not.
String choice has so much affect on the B-string. I wasn't happy with the Maruszczyk flatwound b string which sounded very different than the other strings (like just the b string had a foam mute at the bridge). I tried Dunlops and the b string was more usable but still very different from the other strings. I now have LaBella Deep Talkin Black Nylon Tapewounds and the B-string sounds like the rest of the strings and is very usable. If I decide to go back to the Dunlop or Maruszczyk flats I will definitely still use the Black Nylon b string. Also, the D strings on the other two sets were quieter on my bass but the Black Nylon A seems balanced.
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When they add carbon fiber rods (which aren't that heavy), they also remove the same volume of wood to accommodate the rods, so there's not as much impact on the weight.
But as @gln1955 says, it's a short scale neck you're considering. Neither neck instability nor neck dive is something you're likely to encounter.
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I agree about the string choice. I was pretty happy with the stock roundwounds on my Elwood 5 30", but lately the B has been sounding too muddy so I put a Kalium tapered string on (guitar ball end, had to thread a bass ball end over it to work!), and the clarity is much better.
Not dissing anyone here, but the Frog was a great choice! I wouldn't trade mine for anything.
I wouldn't worry about the carbon rods causing added weight and neck dive. My bass neck has carbon rods!Maruszczyk owners, how essential or unnecessary have you found the carbon rods to be?
It feels like a no-brainer for added stability - but necks on my basses seem pretty sturdy, got a dehumidifier on the same floor I keep them on which may help.
I'm now concerned that perhaps the added weight in there may contribute more to neck dive, than it would help with keeping it stable? Or am I worrying about nothing?
I'm looking at a hard rock maple neck & board, on a 30" scale Elwood. Going for Ultralite tuners and a Big Maruszczyk bridge, which I hope will be enough to keep the headstock pointing up; just don't want the rods to effect that. Just got to choose whether I wanted a tinted neck finish or not, then hopefully ready to order
I was adamant and specified that Maruszczsk build me a bass which doesn't neck dive!!!!! They listened to my request and built me a bass with perfect balance.
If you don't specify perfect balance and no neck dive then it's a great probability that you will receive a bass that neck dives!
Are you using a short scale set or just cutting down a long one?
I know La Bella make short and medium scale sets of most of their strings in 4, 5 and 6 string sets, but they can be hard to come by...
Cheers,
Eude
Short scale 5-string sets. Thanks to the internet they are not at all hard to come by - but there were only 5 different flatwound and nylon sets to choose from (3 from LaBella). There were a few other options that were harder to get - but not if you ordered 6 sets and waited 6-8 weeks.
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