Z Bass II - Preliminary Designs Underway

[tZer]

I did, the A string on my Jazz was weak, and I thought it was the bridge or the string itself, tried a few sets and 2 diffferent bridges from hipshot. Turned out to be the pickups: they were split J humbuckers and somehow they were cancelling some of the sound of the A string.... fixed it by going with dual blade J humbuckers from SGD.

Good to know - thanks for the feedback!

I'll look into swapping out the pups.

 

[ctmullins]

There are many things I want to keep working on, but it's essentially done.

Very, very pretty!

One problem I seem to have is the A string sound weak.

Play the instrument unamplified - does the A string still sound weak? If so, then you have a mechanical problem. If not, then it's in the electronics.

 

[BassCycle]

Dude, that bass is BADASS!!!!!!!!

I've have problems with 5 string bart pickups too. Something about the way they do the split coils leaves a dead spot. It's supposed to fall between the strings, but sometimes it's right under the string.

 

[tZer]

Very, very pretty!



Play the instrument unamplified - does the A string still sound weak? If so, then you have a mechanical problem. If not, then it's in the electronics.

Excellent tip! I'll start there.

 

[stepswork4me]

tZer, I actually like this better than the genuine Ric design. Absolutely beautiful.

 

[pilotjones]

Looks great!

One problem I seem to have is the A string sound weak.

I don't think it's the string - I've had a few sets on and the A always sounds anemic.

I'm using passive J-style Barts and I am wondering if there's something wrong with them.

Has anyone every had a single string sound about 3/4 as loud as the rest?

It sounds like you might have a set of pickups that are made for a 4- or a 6-string. If they are noiseless,they likely would have a magnet and coil structure like this, which has negligible sensitivity down the middle:
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[tZer]

BassCycle, Stepswork4me, Pilotjones - Thanks! I am really pleased with the design. I love the way it looks - and as soon as I resolve the 'dull' string issue, I'll REALLY love the way it plays!

I've played it unamplified and learned two things; 1) it's definitely the pups. The strings all speak loud and clear-ish unamplified.

I say clear-ish because I also discovered that my zero fret/nut relationship needs a little work. The nut butts right up against the zero fret and the slots are just a little shallow producing a little buzz - almost sitar-like - due to the nut not allowing the string to fully sit on the zero fret.

There's still some fret work that needs to be done too. I am going to let it sit, fully strung and tuned to settle for a while, then tackle these tweaks.

I am also going to get some replacement pups. I am going for the classing passive J sound. Ideally I'd like to be able to just snip the pup leads and splice in new pups - but I don't know if that's the correct way to handle this.

Any thoughts on replacement pups that won't kill my A string?

 

[pilotjones]

Any thoughts on replacement pups that won't kill my A string?

Id talk to Bartolini, tell them the exact model # you have. Hopefully, they will confirm that it was the wrong choice, and can tell you which model would be appropriate.

At that point, you can see about trying to refund/exchange with whoever you purchased them from.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Any thoughts on replacement pups that won't kill my A string?

Tony,
You should talk to Cary Nordstrand. Most likely he could get a pickup wound for you, even if you need one fro that specific purpose......

Or, talk to John (Jworrel), he'd probably be interested....

or, talk to David Schwab (SGD), he does custom too.....

 

[tZer]

I'll be researching my options. Thx for the suggestions.

 

[SGD Lutherie]

or, talk to David Schwab (SGD), he does custom too.....

I can speak for mine... they have dual blades which run all the way across, so there would not be any weak strings or drops out as in split coil designs.

I stayed away from a split design exactly for that reason.

I also have a sidewinder Jazz pickup I'm working on. That will sound exactly like a single coil with no hum, and no drop outs or weak strings. That uses a single blade across the entire width of the cover. Good for any number of strings that will fit!

And yes, I can wind custom orders.

Oh and Jason... yours should be done soon. Sorry about the huge delay. I'm getting all caught up now.

Oh and thats a cool Rick inspired bass! Clever idea with the replaceable top.