Jaymi
Pink Bass Man
- Feb 11, 2008
- 6,813
- 490
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Ampeg , Jaydee, Kalium
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I just saw one of your videos with that swirl color. That bass is gorgeous. I haven't gotten an attitude yet, but I absolutely want to do that when I do.
man, i've got such a weird relationship with these basses.
ever since i first heard billy play - on that live steve vai DVD he made 20 years ago, i was blown away with him, but especially with "that sound."
I had since bought a seafoam green attitude 2, which i seriously loved. I found myself always using just the P pickup into a regular one-amp rig, and felt i didn't need all these features, plus I do prefer jazz nut width. so i sold it for roughly what i paid for it.
I still always would think about that sound. there's just something wonderful about it. here's the only video I know of from when I was using the II-
it's sort of a long story, but I inherited a bunch of equipment and was able to sell it all, and as luck would have it I had enough from those sales to find myself a used attitude 3.
so, it should be here Saturday. I tested a 3 out before I owned a 2, so I know what it is, it's just nice to get one back in the arsenal - and i genuinely feel like all the changes from 2 to 3 were really valuable upgrades. the neck joint, new woofer pup, countersunk bridge, etc.
ever since i first heard billy play - on that live steve vai DVD he made 20 years ago, i was blown away with him, but especially with "that sound."
I had since bought a seafoam green attitude 2, which i seriously loved. I found myself always using just the P pickup into a regular one-amp rig, and felt i didn't need all these features, plus I do prefer jazz nut width. so i sold it for roughly what i paid for it.
I still always would think about that sound. there's just something wonderful about it. here's the only video I know of from when I was using the II-
it's sort of a long story, but I inherited a bunch of equipment and was able to sell it all, and as luck would have it I had enough from those sales to find myself a used attitude 3.
so, it should be here Saturday. I tested a 3 out before I owned a 2, so I know what it is, it's just nice to get one back in the arsenal - and i genuinely feel like all the changes from 2 to 3 were really valuable upgrades. the neck joint, new woofer pup, countersunk bridge, etc.
Hi All. Just received my Attitude III from Sweetwater. Two things I'm curious if others have experienced. First, the volume knobs seem to be almost like on/off switches. All the way up is fine, but the second I turn it down there is a noticeable drop in volume, way more than I'd expect. It doesn't really taper either, it kind of gets quieter, then slightly quieter as I turn down then almost off completely around half to a quarter. Second, the woofer volume knob seems tight, secure, and spins with just the slightest bit of resistance, in a good way. It feels solid. The woofer tone and precision volume (the push pull pots) turn really quickly and feel loose in comparison. Is this the way the bass is designed or is mine flawed somehow? So far its a nice looking bass, and I'll see how it sounds properly once I get my full rig back from the studio for recording. On another note, I noticed the neck feels bare, almost without finish and I hadn't seen that mentioned anywhere.
Here’s my Attitude 3 that I stripped the polyurethane and resprayed with nitrocellulose. I installed the Relentless woofer pickup, which requires about 3/8” of wood to be routed deeper. I also have a Schecter MonsterTone pickup as well. I’ve done routing under the guard and installed ultralight tuners and changed the bridge. I also reshaped the neck and headstock, and made a brass nut. Multiple other modifications as well. I recontoured the entire body once I stripped the poly. The edges are more round and a deeper belly contour and the forearm contour is considerably thinner and more smooth.
Billy has seen it and digs the modifications.
Billy has seen it and digs the modifications.
The neck is a very satin finish but there is plenty of sealer on it, trust me. I’ve sanded it all off and it took awhile.
The pots are that way now, not sure why. But to be honest the DiMarzio Will Power doesn’t really benefit from the variable resistance the way other pickups do.
I know everybody here is gonna think I'm crazy, but my 1990 Attitude Custom had Billy's signature on it when I bought it used....I removed it.
The signature was probably there for 25+ years, so it took some time/effort to get it off.
Really don't care for anything that is autographed.
Before and after pics, I changed the pickguard too...obviously.
The signature was probably there for 25+ years, so it took some time/effort to get it off.
Really don't care for anything that is autographed.
Before and after pics, I changed the pickguard too...obviously.
My Attitude Custom was made with a volume and a tone control for the split P pickup.
It has a volume control for the Dimarzio X2N-B woofer humbucker and a volume control for the piezo bridge pickups also.
I feel like my Attitude is better than the LTD versions.
What it doesn't have is the scalloped neck feature, which is no loss to me.
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Thank you so much, appreciate your contribution to to the club! I have ordered in aged white pearl and love it! Not a huge change on the bass but I am obsessed with a.w.p pickguards
Thank you so much, appreciate your contribution to to the club! I have ordered in aged white pearl and love it! Not a huge change on the bass but I am obsessed with a.w.p pickguards
View attachment 4707585
You're very welcome. The new guard looks awesome!
This should, IMHO, have been done in the factory. The sharp, not so deep, belly contour is my biggest gripe about my LTD III. Apart from that it´s a great instrument.
- Nov 27, 2003
- 2,017
- 5,417
- 50
- Disclosures
- Rogue luthier employed at Knooren Handcrafted bass guitars
Seeing as how many of you guys have no issue with modding your Yammies, I figured it to be fun to post ana article published in 1992 issue of the Dutch guitarist magazine. Martin Zand Scholten isn't an unfamiliar name for those living in the lowlands. Back in 1992 he was an editor for "Gitarist" magazine where he published the article I'm about to share with all of you.
Of course, because not everybody can read Dutch, I'm going to put in a lot of effort to translate it as closely as I can to you all.
So what about Customizing?
By Martin Zand Scholten
This won't be an article about how neatly you can modify your instrument to fit your needs. But rather a small first-hand account on how “Do-it-yourself” mods can get out of control when the DIY'er is looking to get the best sound and playability of all time.
When I started playing bass, my initial focus went into mastering the instrument, the way the instruments themselves were constructed and that you could actually change it to fit your needs was something I really couldn't care less about. That changed after I bought a fairly expensive instrument and found that the pickups to my personal taste, were lacking in power. With EMG pickups being the hot item of the day, I decided that they would be the perfect choice to rectify that. But to actually get those pickups into my bass, would require some changes. There was some wood that needed to be cut away and because as a starving musician I didn't have the funds to have that done by a professional, I decided to reach for the Chisel.
Until that moment, a bass to me had been something sacred, something you wiped clean after playing, something you should baby. That instance cured me of that attitude for all time, and then the flood gates were opened and the mad professor with an insatiable urge to start experimenting took over.
The bass which got it the worst by far is a five string Music man. Which was refinished four times, had three different kinds of pre-amps installed and ended up weighing half as much as it did when it was stock. I ended up scalloping the lower frets of the neck myself and installed a stereo set up, inspired by Billy Sheehan, who has separate outputs for both the pickups on his bass, going into separate amplifiers.
It was that same Billy Sheehan who then inspired me to acquire his Yamaha Signature Model, the Attitude Limited last year. And even though I really liked playing in stereo, I eventually decided to abandon the idea, because hauling around two backlines was too much a hassle. (And because of arguments with PA crew starting to tick me off when I was just straight up refused a second channel on the desk.)
The Attitude Limited has a big humbucker by the neck and a Fender p-bass style pickup in the middle, which thanks to a small switch, which bypasses the stereo set up you can use mono. And even though the bass still has a rather surprising amount of crisp in its overall tone, I still found that I missed having a bridge pickup in there. And thus the decision to modify the Attitude was made. I went for a Dimarzio Model-J (All pickups in the Attitude are DiMarzios BTW) and wanting to spare this bass the sheer abuse I put my Music man through, I had a luthier rout the cavity very neatly.
Which turned out to be futile, after only a month I suddenly had the idea to wire up two J-bass pickups together. (Just curiosity, honest!) And to remove the neck humbucker because I never used it and even with that very little slapping I did was a big hindrance. After which a period in my life arrived when I started pushing J-pickups in there from all kinds of different makers. (And severely trying the patience from several music store employees.) I tried Seymour Duncans, Bartolinis and even a vintage Sixties Fender Pickup, which all failed to match the sheer output of the stock Dimarzio P-bass pickup of the Attitude.
At first, I tried to address the difference in output with a balance pot and not long after trying that, to install a pre-amp for the bridge pickups alone, leaving the P-bass pickup passive. And when that didn't work out the way I wanted, decided to wire up to Dimarzio Model J pickups together, using a three way selecter switch so I'd have the option of selecting either coil or both of them at the same time and to put them in series mode when they are. All of it is wired to a balance pot which mixes them with the P-bass pickup. But seeing as how the pickguard with installing and removing all those pickups and pots had turned into a piece of Swiss cheese, I had to have a new pickguard made.
Having said all of that, I decided that I liked the resulting sound so much, that I took a four string music man which at that point had always escaped the torture and placed the same set up of two Dimarzio J-bass pickups wired together in there. Strangely enough, that didn't change the overall sound of that particular Music man bass all that much. Which led to the conclusion, that the kinds of woods and the construction of the bass itself is more important to its sound rather than what kind of pickups one choses to put in there.
Okay, then, what am I getting to with this story?
First of all, I ended up reinventing the wheel a couple of times but also pretty heavily damaged my basses in the process, which makes them impossible to sell on. I also did a lot of damage to a a dump load of pickups, which I keep in a drawer. Not to mention the strain it put on my relationship with my girlfriend (Because I did a lot of late night mods because I needed everything to be in working order for the next gig.) and all the money that went down the drain.
But the upside of it all is that I HAVE learned what I want, how to get it and that led to the decision to have a bass being made to my exact specs. That bass is in the process of being made as we speak.
Of course, what I like in a bass is different from anybody else, it's as personal as a fingerprint. I also got to know myself well enough to know that there's always a chance that I'll find something which blows my mind completely tomorrow.
It keeps you on your toes and... it makes it fun!
Here's the picture of the basses he mentions in the article.
Of course, because not everybody can read Dutch, I'm going to put in a lot of effort to translate it as closely as I can to you all.
So what about Customizing?
By Martin Zand Scholten
This won't be an article about how neatly you can modify your instrument to fit your needs. But rather a small first-hand account on how “Do-it-yourself” mods can get out of control when the DIY'er is looking to get the best sound and playability of all time.
When I started playing bass, my initial focus went into mastering the instrument, the way the instruments themselves were constructed and that you could actually change it to fit your needs was something I really couldn't care less about. That changed after I bought a fairly expensive instrument and found that the pickups to my personal taste, were lacking in power. With EMG pickups being the hot item of the day, I decided that they would be the perfect choice to rectify that. But to actually get those pickups into my bass, would require some changes. There was some wood that needed to be cut away and because as a starving musician I didn't have the funds to have that done by a professional, I decided to reach for the Chisel.
Until that moment, a bass to me had been something sacred, something you wiped clean after playing, something you should baby. That instance cured me of that attitude for all time, and then the flood gates were opened and the mad professor with an insatiable urge to start experimenting took over.
The bass which got it the worst by far is a five string Music man. Which was refinished four times, had three different kinds of pre-amps installed and ended up weighing half as much as it did when it was stock. I ended up scalloping the lower frets of the neck myself and installed a stereo set up, inspired by Billy Sheehan, who has separate outputs for both the pickups on his bass, going into separate amplifiers.
It was that same Billy Sheehan who then inspired me to acquire his Yamaha Signature Model, the Attitude Limited last year. And even though I really liked playing in stereo, I eventually decided to abandon the idea, because hauling around two backlines was too much a hassle. (And because of arguments with PA crew starting to tick me off when I was just straight up refused a second channel on the desk.)
The Attitude Limited has a big humbucker by the neck and a Fender p-bass style pickup in the middle, which thanks to a small switch, which bypasses the stereo set up you can use mono. And even though the bass still has a rather surprising amount of crisp in its overall tone, I still found that I missed having a bridge pickup in there. And thus the decision to modify the Attitude was made. I went for a Dimarzio Model-J (All pickups in the Attitude are DiMarzios BTW) and wanting to spare this bass the sheer abuse I put my Music man through, I had a luthier rout the cavity very neatly.
Which turned out to be futile, after only a month I suddenly had the idea to wire up two J-bass pickups together. (Just curiosity, honest!) And to remove the neck humbucker because I never used it and even with that very little slapping I did was a big hindrance. After which a period in my life arrived when I started pushing J-pickups in there from all kinds of different makers. (And severely trying the patience from several music store employees.) I tried Seymour Duncans, Bartolinis and even a vintage Sixties Fender Pickup, which all failed to match the sheer output of the stock Dimarzio P-bass pickup of the Attitude.
At first, I tried to address the difference in output with a balance pot and not long after trying that, to install a pre-amp for the bridge pickups alone, leaving the P-bass pickup passive. And when that didn't work out the way I wanted, decided to wire up to Dimarzio Model J pickups together, using a three way selecter switch so I'd have the option of selecting either coil or both of them at the same time and to put them in series mode when they are. All of it is wired to a balance pot which mixes them with the P-bass pickup. But seeing as how the pickguard with installing and removing all those pickups and pots had turned into a piece of Swiss cheese, I had to have a new pickguard made.
Having said all of that, I decided that I liked the resulting sound so much, that I took a four string music man which at that point had always escaped the torture and placed the same set up of two Dimarzio J-bass pickups wired together in there. Strangely enough, that didn't change the overall sound of that particular Music man bass all that much. Which led to the conclusion, that the kinds of woods and the construction of the bass itself is more important to its sound rather than what kind of pickups one choses to put in there.
Okay, then, what am I getting to with this story?
First of all, I ended up reinventing the wheel a couple of times but also pretty heavily damaged my basses in the process, which makes them impossible to sell on. I also did a lot of damage to a a dump load of pickups, which I keep in a drawer. Not to mention the strain it put on my relationship with my girlfriend (Because I did a lot of late night mods because I needed everything to be in working order for the next gig.) and all the money that went down the drain.
But the upside of it all is that I HAVE learned what I want, how to get it and that led to the decision to have a bass being made to my exact specs. That bass is in the process of being made as we speak.
Of course, what I like in a bass is different from anybody else, it's as personal as a fingerprint. I also got to know myself well enough to know that there's always a chance that I'll find something which blows my mind completely tomorrow.
It keeps you on your toes and... it makes it fun!
Here's the picture of the basses he mentions in the article.
(Zombie reply alert - I hadn't looked at this thread for a long time.)
It's funny. I have a similar relationship with my Attitude LTD2. I too was floored by that same Steve Vai DVD (Live at the Astoria 2003, IIRC). I immediately knew I wanted to play like that and get that sound. No matter what I did with outboard gear and bi-amping, my Warwick Thumb couldn't do it. This bass was also messing my shoulder and back up so I bit the bullet and got my Attitude. It took a while, but I built a pedal board that got close to "that sound" using both pickups processed separately and it sounded great. The only thing was, it wasn't suitable for every gig and required a lot of rewiring for gigs where I didn't need that sound, and I was bollocksed if I wanted to use a different bass, so I ended up with a secondary nano board, where I could just use the P pickup, or a different bass, which sounded so good I used it more and more.
FF several years and when I found out that Billy worked with Line 6 to get his Pearce preamp modelled, and I realised the Helix was the best solution. I got my Helix LT with the intent to build a couple of patches for the Attitude in dual pickup mode when I needed it, and other patches in single pickup mode. Literally rebuild my pedal board on the fly - the perfect solution for any gig.
Three years later, I'm still using it in P pickup mode only. I have a couple of Sheehan-esque patches that get "that sound" but I just don't have a purpose for them anymore as my band has been moving into more pop and party territory lately and the single P pickup or my other single output basses through the Helix sounds incredible. I may still revisit the dual channel patches, it could be useful for the odd gig we're a guitarist down or playing the bike bars.
well,
since typing the post you quoted i've got more to say
since then i bought and sold a beautiful attitude 3, in blue. it was a lovely bass. Sold it in a rush to make a payment to genius luthier-artist-wonderful human Andrea Spada, who sadly passed away unexpectedly shortly after that. (P.S. if you don't know Andrea look up his work. it'll make your day!)
so, a while after that I snagged an attitude II in black. this is my 3rd attitude. It had an issue with the fingerboard so i had a refret/fingerboard level done, by the most qualified guy I could find. stainless frets, as well.
So now i've got that bass as my keeper attitude forever. Having owned both a 2 and a 3 is interesting. the upgrades on the 3 are legitimate- particularly that neck pickup, is much better. But something about the 2, i just like them more. on paper 3 is the 'better' bass. but anyway..
There's a reality to that huge organ-like richness in billy's tone. I get a really great approximation of that tone with just the P pickup into a VT bass set accordingly. it's not "billys sound," but it's in that ballpark of rich kinda crunchy P pickup stuff. I love that sound, regardless of billy and how close to his vibe it gets.
NOW..
When i did this recording i wanted to do the 'real' thing, not to sound like billy per se, but to get that huge low end combined with the rich crunchy articulation of the P pickup. using his formula to get a huge useful sound, i suppose is the idea.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/v4tLpj22vyc
This is the P pickup into a VT bass, the woofer pickup direct.
originally that bass sound was not working. it was sorta muddy and just not that great. With some tinkering i discovered the magic - the moment i set the high pass filter (around 250 or so i don't remember) it all came to life.
so, if you are using this rig in stereo (which i have since done) i would suggest this rig requires cutting the lows from the P pickup to sound good in stereo. I bought the same rolls crossover that billy uses, very inexpensive and effective.
So after years of "this P pickup into my VT bass is just as good," I now 100% get why it would be worth lugging two rigs. as long as you add some dirt to the P and cut the lows, it will be heavenly. like seriously glorious. few things on this earth can replicate the "feel" (not the sound!) of a real pipe organ, but this always reminds me of that.
