I've sort of quietly followed both of these builds but I absolutely love your design choices for both of these basses. This latest one is I think my favorite design for a bass I've ever seen. Fantastic job. I may or may not be slightly biased from primarily being a violinist/mandolinist.
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The SCP - Single Cut P-Bass
- Thread starter Videojunkie
- Start date
I've sort of quietly followed both of these builds but I absolutely love your design choices for both of these basses. This latest one is I think my favorite design for a bass I've ever seen. Fantastic job. I may or may not be slightly biased from primarily being a violinist/mandolinist.
Well good, cause I was wondering the dang sliders were!
I've followed this thread from the beginning, and I must say that I have really enjoyed watching this one come together. Great work.
So, never having played a P-bass much (I've obviously heard them in countless recordings...) I never realized how split (Ha!) personality they are (or at least this one is...) The 3 lower strings (BEA) are nice and bassy without being boomy, a really pleasant tight bass. The upper 2 (DG) strings are very dependent on the tone control. With the tone control at 100%, the timbre of the bass is very muted and bassy while remaining fairly tight. With the tone at 0%, the DG strings become almost "zingy" in timbre and very, very bright.
The Powerblade is a pretty hot pickup overall, so I find I'm running with my volume slider around 50-60% which has a great crisp clean sound. When I run it to 100% it doesn't get much louder, but adds some nice growly-ness to the sound.
The Powerblade is a pretty hot pickup overall, so I find I'm running with my volume slider around 50-60% which has a great crisp clean sound. When I run it to 100% it doesn't get much louder, but adds some nice growly-ness to the sound.
Thanks guys I really appreciate the feedback and encouragement. In case you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed both of these builds.
I look forward to playing them for the foreseeable future.
If you're interested in the plans, I'm happy to share. If you're seriously interested in me making one for you, PM me, we'll discuss...
Yep - this can be mitigated to some extent by reversing the two halves of the P pickup, so the EA side is closer to the bridge and the DG side is closer to the neck. Thinner strings are just by nature tinnier sounding, so moving them slightly away from the bridge gives them a little more room to speak. And of course it works the other way for the E and A strings.
But it sounds a little different than the classic P bass setup, so if you're going for old school, then the way you did it is the way to go.
I can get used to it, and it sounds great, but it's very different from my other electric basses which are all humbuckers. Which kinda was the goal, as I didn't want to wind up with a bunch of similar sounding instruments.
I think once I get the correct strings for it broken in (either flats or possibly tape-wounds) that will help too. The roundwounds on it now are the cheapest 5 string set I could find ($25), and are "super brights"....
I think once I get the correct strings for it broken in (either flats or possibly tape-wounds) that will help too. The roundwounds on it now are the cheapest 5 string set I could find ($25), and are "super brights"....
Got some Rotosound 77s on the way. Debating between them and the high beams (which I have on my EUB.)
Took the bass to my local music shop, and they put it through some paces. It's always nice to hear someone else play a bass you made. There was a crackle in the tone slider, but I'm not sure what caused it...
Took the bass to my local music shop, and they put it through some paces. It's always nice to hear someone else play a bass you made. There was a crackle in the tone slider, but I'm not sure what caused it...
Played at practice tonight for the first time. First impressions from nearly 2 hours of playing.
First off, the power blade is a HOT pickup! Like might be louder than my active basses! Crank the volume and it gets pretty snarly and wants to go into overdrive.
Second, I love the tone. At about 50% volume I can dial the tone between super phat mudbucker territory (although it stays crisp, clear and clean, not muddy) and ringing crystal highs that makes me want to do hammer-ons and slap. The magic spot seems to be between 30-70%. Both extremes, while certainly usable, are almost one dimensional, either being too bright or too dark. Staying in the middle really allows you to balance the tone in pleasant ways.
The bass, while heavy, is well balanced and the ergonomics are sound. Finger positioning is effortless and the shape of the body allows great access to the strings even without an arm bevel. I flow between floating thumb and using the pickup as a thumb rest and this bass really plays nicely.
The music pastor commented that he really liked the complexity of tone that the bass makes. To say I'm thrilled with the bass is an understatement.
First off, the power blade is a HOT pickup! Like might be louder than my active basses! Crank the volume and it gets pretty snarly and wants to go into overdrive.
Second, I love the tone. At about 50% volume I can dial the tone between super phat mudbucker territory (although it stays crisp, clear and clean, not muddy) and ringing crystal highs that makes me want to do hammer-ons and slap. The magic spot seems to be between 30-70%. Both extremes, while certainly usable, are almost one dimensional, either being too bright or too dark. Staying in the middle really allows you to balance the tone in pleasant ways.
The bass, while heavy, is well balanced and the ergonomics are sound. Finger positioning is effortless and the shape of the body allows great access to the strings even without an arm bevel. I flow between floating thumb and using the pickup as a thumb rest and this bass really plays nicely.
The music pastor commented that he really liked the complexity of tone that the bass makes. To say I'm thrilled with the bass is an understatement.
With regards to strings and P Basses, a few thoughts...
- Dunlop Super Brights start out as you describe them but they age really nicely. I once kept a set on a P bass for close to 6 months and thought they still sounded good when I eventually changed them. Once they break in and that new pack zing fades away they are a nicely balanced string.
- GHS Pressurewounds are one of my favourite strings on a P bass. They lean more towards a roundwound sound than flat, but with less zing on top and more punch in the bottom.
- GHS Precision Flats were the first set of flats that actually made me want to play flats. I currently have TI Flats on my main Fender P, and I love the sound but the slinky feel really took a lot of getting used to.
Pressurewounds are great, but might not be the best choice if @Videojunkie is concerned about the high output of the pickups. PWs are made from an iron-nickel alloy that's very magnetically reactive so the strings themselves are higher output than normal steel or nickel plated strings. I like the way they sound for the music I play, but then I'm not playing in churches. I am able to get a nice clean tone if I keep my right hand under control and pluck or pick gently but it's not hard to get growly/snarly tones that dip over into overdriven.
If you like the idea of strings with a rolled/compressed outer wrap then there are other options, SIT makes a version with nickel plated steel and I believe Rotosound's version is stainless steel.
@Videojunkie you could always try lowering the pickups so they're a bit further from the strings. Seems like you ought to have lots of room to do that 
I was originally thinking they were going to be too low! (There's close to 1/4" between the strings and the pickup) but they sound is really nicely balanced between the strings... so there's that.@Videojunkie you could always try lowering the pickups so they're a bit further from the strings. Seems like you ought to have lots of room to do that
It's probably the cleanest sounding B string I've ever played.
Put a set of Rotosound 77s on it, which I was pretty excited about based on some videos I found. Mixed feelings about them. They feel and play great, but they don't sound great (to my ear). Very "dead" sounding even with the tone at 0%. Which I guess is a thing?
Might just throw some elixirs on it and call it a day...
Might just throw some elixirs on it and call it a day...
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Are they the Steve Harris sig.?
I was thinking about giving them a try.
I was listening to some of his bass lines, and it seemed like the bass was a bit dull, not muddy just has an odd thickness to it that I couldn't quite put my finger on.
Rotosound Bass Guitar Strings (RS775LD) https://a.co/d/9mAd8wf
They're not bad, I'm just not sure I like them. I'm going to give them a couple of weeks and see what I think.
That's not a terrible description of the sound. Thick. Not muddy, just lacking any definition.
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I like ken smith taper core stainless strings. They have big clear low end and crisp highs, a great option for mid-heavy basses. And they stay bright for a very long time.
