What is going on here?

[Avlamonte]

Browsing through EBay, I found a 5 string P that is what I am looking for, but I have never seen the bridge/tuner setup before. Is this a DIY hack? Also, those sure don’t look like 5 string pickups.

 

[bholder]

hack

 

[Avlamonte]

That’s what I thought. Pretty sad!

 

[sleddogn]

kinda sad look'n

 

[Killing Floor]

 

[Avlamonte]

Probably done when it was much younger…

 

[TrustRod]

Not a hack. 4 to 5 conversion kit I think made by Zolla in the 80's.

 

[Geri O]

Either a hack or a badly-done conversion.

 

[Thud Staff]

Browsing through EBay, I found a 5 string P that is what I am looking for, but I have never seen the bridge/tuner setup before. Is this a DIY hack? Also, those sure don’t look like 5 string pickups.

View attachment 5075585 View attachment 5075582

Wilkinson ‘no mod’ 4 to 5 string adapter kit. Pretty cool concept. Except for the extremely narrow spacing…

Wilkinson USA 4+1 5 String Conversion Bass Bridge | Reverb

 

[micguy]

Not a hack. 4 to 5 conversion kit I think made by Zolla in the 80's.

So...a commercially available hack. If your fingers have any thickness at all, keep in mind that taking 3 string spacings at 19 mm each and making them into 4 string spacings means those strings are 14.25 mm apart center to center at the bridge - that's essentially unplayable in my book.

 

[micguy]

Oh, by the way, the A string on that is gonna be picked up by both halves of the pickup - it'll definitely sound different than the other strings as a result. And you better use really light strings, as the neck wasn't made for the tension of 5 strings.

 

[gln1955]

Just because you can do something doesn't mean you should.

 

[bobyoung53]

Oh, by the way, the A string on that is gonna be picked up by both halves of the pickup - it'll definitely sound different than the other strings as a result. And you better use really light strings, as the neck wasn't made for the tension of 5 strings.

If a P bass can handle the La Bella Jamerson set they can handle an extra string.

 

[micguy]

If a P bass can handle the La Bella Jamerson set they can handle an extra string.

A lot of P basses with La Bella Jamerson sets develop 12th fret kinks over time - I'd argue many P's can't handle a Jamerson set. Indeed, Jamerson's bass was reputed to have sky high action, which means his neck wasn't really "handling" the load.

 

[Marc DLarosa]

Seller could (probably) sell it pretty easily IF he made it back into a 4 string, using original parts. Just sayin'...

 

[TrustRod]

keep in mind that taking 3 string spacings at 19 mm each and making them into 4 string spacings means those strings are 14.25 mm apart center to center at the bridge - that's essentially unplayable in my book.

Or much larger than a classical guitar or many of the 5 strings of the time.

 

[Wild_Bill_57]

WOW

 

[wysiwyg248]

Back in the day -90's- I recall seeing ads about this conversion kit in Bass Player magazine. I believe Wilkinson was the bridge manufacturer.

 

[Element Zero]

Yikes! $1550???????????!?!?!?!? Ridiculous. More like, $150.

 

[Marc DLarosa]

Yikes! $1550???????????!?!?!?!? Ridiculous. More like, $150.

That bass "STOCK" averages 2k...