X2N-7 for Bass

[CThompson]

Help me out here. I've searched through the archives for X2N, X2NB and X2N7 and not really found what I was looking for.

I've got a rather odd project going together and am looking for something different. I've got the P-Bass, a Jazz Bass, a 67 Gibson Melody Maker EB-0 and an Alembic Spoiler, so I've got a fairly wide range of sounds to pick from.

I was looking at my pile of broken and unloved parts and decided to combine them into something weird.

I've taken the remains of an 07 Epiphone Les Paul that had a broken neck and cut it off right at the body, this is a set neck Epi, not a bolt on. The body was in near perfect shape.

I got a bit crazy with a dremel and routed out a neck pocket sized about right for the neck from a 67 Greco beatle bass that I gave up on trying to restore the body.

The result, in a crappy photo as my camera refused to flash due to a dying battery:

I still need to figure out what to do with the fact that the neck overhangs the pickup area, I'm thinking of lopping off the last fret.

So that brings me to why I'm posting in the pickups section.

My first thought for this was a set of TV Jones Thundertrons, and I may still go that route. But I was thinking and I know people have put X2N and X2N-7 into basses and I'm wondering what the result is?

This is a very narrow neck, 30" scale, and from the looks of how wide the neck is in relation to the pickup routes, may be served with just a normal X2N. The bridge is probably going to be a Bass Tune-O-Matic and string through body ferrules instead of a tailpiece. That is, unless I can figure out how to make the Kahler Bass Trem I found in another box work

Looking at your standard Les Paul Guitar:

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30" scale length would put the bridge right around where the tailpiece is on the guitar.

What does this sound like? Entwistle? Lemmy? Chris Wolstenhome of Muse?

My current "rig" is Guitar Rig 3 on a Mac with a Presonus Firebox, so I'm not tied to one specific rig as I currently don't play live.

Any opinions, suggestions, etc? Would the two standard LP pickup locations be good choices for a bass? Should I go with something deep, muddy and warm at the neck and an X2N at the bridge and run out stereo?

I'm intrigued with what this could be. Help me Obi Wan, you're my only hope.

 

[CThompson]

No love for the X2N huh? I think I'm going to start with the 6 string sized Crunchy Rails from GFS because they're cheap.

Nobody's got any comments on X2N?

 

[bacid]

I know how you feel. I spent so long searching for info on the X2N-B and couldn't find any so I just broke down and bought one. It's a great pickup. It's really really hot. I put it in the bridge position of an old Ibanez SR and got a very Billy Sheehan-tastic tone. Middy and dirty. I think it would sound awesome on a shortscale.

 

[Webtroll]

I emailed a rep at DiMarzio last year asking about the difference between the X2N and the X2NB since the resistance seemed the same from what I was reading and he said "the name." I'm not saying it's gospel or that he wasn't trying to be a smartass, but that's what I got.

 

[PICK]

I have an X2N is my seven string Ibanez. I believe the B has more bass, cause its intended for the bridge position. That's where i have mine.

 

[Jazz Ad]

Are you sure you have enough room for the bridge at the end of the body? It doesn't look so in your pic.

 

[CThompson]

I had given up on this thread after several days of no replies, was reading and surprised to find 5!

Are you sure you have enough room for the bridge at the end of the body? It doesn't look so in your pic.

Yeah, I'm fairly sure. 30" is right at the tailpiece, about 1.5" farther along from where a guitar bridge would go.

I'm rethinking things. I'm now thinking about putting an SX short scale neck on it and saving the beatle neck. I don't think the kahler will allow the strings to be narrow enough for the beatle neck.

I'm thinking of starting with a set of 16.5k GFS Crunchy Rails to start with, since they'll fit without issue in the pickup routes. Short scale necks are so narrow they should work for the string spacing. It may require the Beatle neck and a tuneomatic bridge though.