Warmoth J-Bass Project

[Snakecharmer]

Hello everybody,

First of all, I am french so please forgive me for my bad english ...

So, My project is quite simple. I would like to make a great bass that I could keep for a while, and this in order to play funk, Hip-Hop, R&B, Motown etc ...
So, I chose to make a J-bass, especially because i wanted one of those growling sounds.

I would like you to tell me if my choices go in the way I expect, and also to give me some advice.

So , here is what I would like to Do :

Body : Swamp ash + Black Korina Top with a tobacco burst.

Neck : Maple Neck + Maple fingerboard.

Passice electonic. As it comes to the Pickups : I don't really know what to chose between Simple J-Bass and Split-coil Ones, Or even between Fralin, Nordstrand, or Seymour Duncan.

Bindings : Leo Quand Badass bridge, Schaller tuners etc ...


Do you think this would be good for the style I want to play ?
What kind of pickups do you recommand me ?
Any advices more ?

Adrien.

 

[snyderz]

Warmoth builds are great basses. Consider Lollar pickups.

 

[Snakecharmer]

Thanks, but I don't really know where to find them on the web.
Moreover, do you think that a Aguilar OBP-3 preamp with an Active/passive switch would be useful ?

 

[snyderz]

www.lollarguitars.com

Can't speak to subject of pre, as I just use passive basses.

 

[JaySwear]

i can't help with your question about the electronics, but that black korina is going to look amazing with that tobacco burst!

 

[splitcoilsenior]

Aguilar + Nordstrand = Yes.

 

[mokkat]

The Glockenklang internal preamps are pretty cheap in europe

 

[Snakecharmer]

Any Soundclips to guide me ?

 

[Snakecharmer]

Ok, So I decided to take some Nordstrand NJ4 pickups.
Now, problem is that I don't really know which Aguilar preamp to Take : OBP-1 or OBP-3. I heard that OBP-1 could be more suitable for J-Bass, Is it right ?

 

[faiz0802]

M not sure about the Aguilar preamps, but I've heard the Audere preamps are crazy cool... you could check them out.

 

[shawn2000]

Fralins with a Bartolini preamp. Absolute gold.


http://www.fralinpickups.com/bass.asp

http://www.bartolini.net/information/harnesses/harnesses.htm

 

[azflyman]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Most transparent usable pre out there, nuff said.

az

 

[Snakecharmer]

Audere preamps seem to me very complicated to use ... I can't get what is the point with those Z-mode :S
Then, it is very important to me to have this type of configurations :
Vol(Stacked with active/passive) , Blend, Mid, Bass/High.
Can I do this with Audere preamps ?
What goes wrong in this case with Aguilar preamps?

 

[iamdenialNJ]

I loved my jazz bass that had an audere jz3 + nordstrand nj4's!!!!!! Awesome combination!
The Audere preamp is cheap too.

 

[TonyP-]

I loved my jazz bass that had an audere jz3 + nordstrand nj4's!!!!!! Awesome combination!
The Audere preamp is cheap too.

+100
This is my favorite combo and few basses set up like this.

 

[Snakecharmer]

Is it possible not to use the LED ? ( I do not really want to drill a hole)
Is it possible to add a Passive/Active Push-Pull Knob stacked on the volume for example?

 

[gruvit]

If you're looking at an Audere, this one will fit a standard Jazz Bass route with no modification:

http://www.audereaudio.com/JZ3.htm

I think another preamp to look into would be a J Retro:

http://www.east-uk.com/

 

[Snakecharmer]

If you're looking at an Audere, this one will fit a standard Jazz Bass route with no modification:

http://www.audereaudio.com/JZ3.htm

I think another preamp to look into would be a J Retro:

http://www.east-uk.com/

I know, but my J-Bass will be "rear routed" so ... No place for those kind of preamps

 

[Engine207]

Dunno about the other preamps, but I love the Audere JZ3 in my Jazz V. The z-switch is really uncomplicated. It just gives a little more "umph" (I dunno the word for that in French) to either the highs or the lows, with the middle position being transparent, close to passive in voice.

Mine has vol-blend/mid stack-bass/treble stack, but other configurations are available. Installation is so easy, a caveman can do it.

The rest of your choices seem pretty solid...much like the way I'd spec one for myself. Make sure you get a fake Fender waterslide decal.

 

[Kael]

IME, a boost only pre like the OBP-1 is alll you will need as long as you have a passive tone knob still (and a passive/preamp defeat switch). Honestly, having sweepable bands of EQ sounds good in theory but usually only clutters up the instrument IME. I have a Larkin with a fixed band of mid EQ onboard and I don't even touch that. In general, I've had better results with getting my mids from the amp and then using the onboard EQ to adjust my highs/lows. Puts the focus more back on technique and less on knob twiddling and results in better tone 9 times out of 10. Hell, you ought to be able to adequately adjust your mids by playing with panning your pickups alone.

Boost only works just fine for lows as I've yet to encounter a situation where I want to cut the low end unless it is to tame a boomy room. In that case I am zeroing in on those frequencies at the amp. Passive tone knobs just sound better at cutting high end than active electronics do, so a boost only treble preamp works just fine too. Additionally you can simultaneously boost your treble actively and attenuate it passively which can sometimes yield a pleasing result.

Another preamp to consider that is boost only is the Sadowsky.

If you want to stay passive both the Sadowsky and Aggie pre's are available in outboard DI formats.


PS: Nordy pickups really are worth the coin. I've been using the NJ4SE's (hum cancelling, more low mids than single coils, a little less top end) in my fretless J for a couple years now. Big difference between them and the stock Fender pickups. Big difference.