The Reverend Club (part 7)

[Low-Bottom-E]

@ LBE: That's what I'm thinking. (And, yeah, I got it).

OGIE OGILTHORPE digs this...

 

[BartmanPDX]

An XL PJ?
Man, that's gotta be the King of PHAT!

I could see that being great for the bridge pup, but is it good for the P pup?

It can be either an XL or a PJ. Came with two single coil (JJ) pickups in addition to the PJ pickups. Also two PGs. I had an XL harness made for the JJ pickups so that I could swap out the whole thing in about 20 minutes or so. Whitefish has the JJ pickups in it now, so it has the XL wiring harness.

Here it is back when I had it as a PJ:

And then since I got the swirl PJ, I converted it into a JJ (with XL wiring):

 

[Chef]

Ah....so it's not an XL-PJ then...

 

[mattvon]

Again, not a factory XL-PJ, but I've wired my black PJ in series, thus emulating the "down" switch position on an XL. I love it, the different pickups blend together really well...

 

[Jimbo]

hello! i know i've been gone around TB for a while now but i'm back with a question for my fellow rumblefish club members

my poor 5L J/J is missing one of it's chrome knobs. fell off during a gig and haven't been able to find it since. i'm trying to get the bass ready for a possible trade (potentially for a 4 string fish) and i'd like to replace the knob. anyone know where i could find them or have some extras to sell?

i have an email in to reverend to see if they have any. knobs weren't listed on the "parts" section of the website

thanks! it's good to be back
jimish

 

[Dave Siff]

Roundwounds goin' back on the 5L. The Chromes are cool but they're just not working for the band. The guys want me to bring the P-bass every week. I've got a spare set of Fender 8250-5, so I'm gonna try those on the 5L.
Problem is, it's not just the other guys who want the P-bass every week. I've realized that I like the 5L, but I may not love it. I've also got an urge to boil things down to one main bass. Or maybe I'm just bored. In any case, there may soon be a black/maple 5L on the block. Stay tuned.

 

[Chef]

The 5L is very voiced.
It's a kewl sound, but, it's a non-standard sound.
P-bass and 5L aren't so very interchangable, IMO.

 

[Dave Siff]

I think it's the flatwounds. I love the way the 5L sounds in series mode, and I never heard a negative word out of anyone before I changed strings. So, we'll see.

 

[Chef]

Yessir

 

[kenkell]

Yessir

I can't speak to the 5L. In 8 years I have never heard anything but compliments about the sound of Chromes on my PJ. I have Chromes on my P-bass too.

But my rarely played Lakland and Turner Renaissance. 5s have round wounds.

 

[Dave Siff]

I can't speak to the 5L. In 8 years I have never heard anything but compliments about the sound of Chromes on my PJ. I have Chromes on my P-bass too.

I had Chromes on my PJ before I sold it and I thought they were the perfect match for that bass, especially with the metal top. My 5L sounds really good with Chromes, but I'm doing progressive rock with a loud guitar player and a busy drummer and I'm just not cutting through.

 

[kenkell]

I had Chromes on my PJ before I sold it and I thought they were the perfect match for that bass, especially with the metal top. My 5L sounds really good with Chromes, but I'm doing progressive rock with a loud guitar player and a busy drummer and I'm just not cutting through.

I'm not second-guessing you at all. Of course your choice of strings (and bass and amp) are going to be application-specific. I am probably pushing my old-school sound to the limit with my band. Luckily they really like my sound.

 

[Low-Bottom-E]

I had Chromes on my PJ before I sold it and I thought they were the perfect match for that bass, especially with the metal top. My 5L sounds really good with Chromes, but I'm doing progressive rock with a loud guitar player and a busy drummer and I'm just not cutting through.

Andrew left the Chromes on after he got your PJ & they aren't going anywhere while I still own her...
I wonder if a BH5 would make the cut?

 

[matrok]

I still have to try Chromes on my PJ. next string change

 

[craigb]

The PJ 'Fish did it again. I'm getting ready for a home recording project with some folks and have been taking different basses to the rehearsals to let them hear how they sound. First couple weeks were my L2Ks (US & Trib) w/rounds & compressors, then my "Sheehan-ized" Trib SB2 w/groundwounds. This week was my PJ 'Fish with old, old TI Powerbass strings. As usual through the Avalon preamp the PJ 'Fish was warm and supportive with just a touch of bite -- and it's the one they want me to bring to the actual session. I've had other times where the G&Ls made the engineer sit up and take a close look at the headstock to see what was making that tone but this time, as has happened before, the 'Fish tone was what made the folks happy.

 

[kenkell]

I still have to try Chromes on my PJ. next string change

That could be the last string change for a long, long time. I put Chromes on my PJ when I bought it in 2003. Haven't changed them out yet. And no plans in that direction.

 

[matrok]

I keep my strings on a long time regardless. I've been using Elixirs and keep them on til the coating is falling apart. I like my strings to have some funk on them

 

[Chef]

"string life"

Flats=who cares. Older is better
Rounds= I like them about 12 hours old. Fresh is too much on top, but once that initial uber-edge is gone, I like them that way.

 

[matrok]

back in the 90's I had a real thing about string life, boiling my strings when I couldn't afford new ones or was on the road and couldn't find the brand I liked. Now I leave em on for a long time, enjoying the more "broken in" tone

 

[Chef]

If you want to clean your strings, use pure de-natured alcohol.
Soaking for an hour or two removes dead skin and oils and leaves them clean and dry.
All the gunk settles in the bottom of your pickle jar or whatever you might use.

Boiling promotes rust and decay, and all the gunk floats to the top to re-coat your strings on exit.

IMO, YMMV, etc.