Winter Build Off 2026 - Run Whatcha Brung

[mapleglo]

I ordered Hipshot Ultralite tuners. They have already been shipped. The neck, allegedly, will be shipped tomorrow. I'm pretty close to deciding to do the 5 string Fenderbacker. The last Fenderbacker I made was a 4 string, so this will be new. I still have to decide on a pickup or pickups. I'd like to do one pickup, and I'd like it to be hot. I'd also like it to be a soapbar. None of those Musicman/Precision/Jazz stupid/crazy/weird shape rout thingies. Any suggestions would be welcome.

 

[Beej]

I love the EMG TW40 for this. It's a switchable humbucker where you can select from side by each or single stacked. IMHO it's different from their CS40 despite their stating it has the same tone when in humbucking mode. I'm guessing it's the extra magnet under the 'single side'. Anyway, I got one cheap and tried it in a bass with CS40 in it, and I really like the TW's comparative ability to aggressively cut through. It immediately became my metal/punk bass. It's in the P position or maybe a touch closer to the bridge.

 

[mapleglo]

It looks like EMG only makes active pickups. I won't use any active pickups in a bass I play. I'm weird that way.

 

[Reedt2000]

It looks like EMG only makes active pickups. I won't use any active pickups in a bass I play. I'm weird that way.

The EMG Hz pickups are passive, though I find them sorta bland and generic sounding.

 

[mapleglo]

The EMG Hz pickups are passive, though I find them sorta bland and generic sounding.

Which I'm not seeing in a 5 string configuration...

 

[Reedt2000]

Which I'm not seeing in a 5 string configuration...

Hz 40 is typically the 5 string version, though could be 45 depending on spacing. Pretty sure theyre bar magnets so just need one wide enough for the strings to fall solidly in the field.

 

[mapleglo]

With this EMG system, you are kind of locked in to their volume and tone controls. Everything is solderless. So if you want to go with a different tone cap, or no tone control at all, or a different volume control value, you are out of luck? Hmmmm.

 

[Flying B]

With this EMG system, you are kind of locked in to their volume and tone controls. Everything is solderless. So if you want to go with a different tone cap, or no tone control at all, or a different volume control value, you are out of luck? Hmmmm.

Yes and no....
I bought a used emg pickup which came with none of the wiring, so i just soldered some wires to the terminals and it worked fine.

 

[Reedt2000]

With this EMG system, you are kind of locked in to their volume and tone controls. Everything is solderless. So if you want to go with a different tone cap, or no tone control at all, or a different volume control value, you are out of luck? Hmmmm.

You can just take/cut the connectors off and use whatever components you want, even more so with the passive pickups cause you use standard value pots

 

[Beej]

It looks like EMG only makes active pickups. I won't use any active pickups in a bass I play. I'm weird that way.

I remember that now.

 

[mapleglo]

And of course there's this:

The EMG Hz pickups are passive, though I find them sorta bland and generic sounding.

I'll still keep looking. Though the price is right on the EMG pickup.

 

[joover]

Let me join the fun: Domed Fretless Scratch Build

 

[BishopJP]

Question for all who are posting or reading the build threads.

Does anybody have a preference for the pics in a build thread being inserted as a "thumbnail" or a "full image"?

Does it matter to anybody?

 

[Why Nautilus‽]

Full image is my preference as a lurker

 

[MonetBass]

Question for all who are posting or reading the build threads.

Does anybody have a preference for the pics in a build thread being inserted as a "thumbnail" or a "full image"?

Does it matter to anybody?

Full image, please. With the ability to copy/paste images now, there's no need to host them somewhere else first.

 

[Beej]

I also prefer the full image. It saves me clicks.

 

[BishopJP]

Wow, ok! Unanimous vote for "full image"! Noted.

Thanks for the input, folks.

 

[Gary_M]

Yep, full image please.

 

[Slidlow]

Question for all who are posting or reading the build threads.

Does anybody have a preference for the pics in a build thread being inserted as a "thumbnail" or a "full image"?

Does it matter to anybody?

The fuller the better

 

[13ghosts]

One problem with lots of images is their size, because it can sometimes slow down page loading times. I usually scale them to a width of 800px. How do you do it?