Members Brother Mango Posted December 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 The Yamaha BBT 500H will be here Friday, the eBay seller emailed me the tracking # this afternoon. A shortscale bass w/whammy bar The 500H A dremel and some Booker's bourbon ... I might forget to take a bath and eat during the whole weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 12, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 There's a question about the locking tuners and how much they help a bass stay in tune. One piece of advice that I got is ensure that the nut is well-carved. Beyond that, the next option for staying in tune is to not use the whammy bar. After Kindess & I got the bass set up, tuning wasn't much of a problem. But that's the kind of thing that I need to live with for a while. I put brand new strings on last night, and there were tuning problems this morning. How much of that is the new strings, and how much is the whammy bar ... I can't tell yet. Does anyone else have experience with this? I know that guitarists who use vibrato also use locking nuts, locking tuners, etc. But is a bass a different animal? If locking nuts & tuners work for guitarists, are there any scientific reasons why those devices might not work for bass? Again, though. After we set the bass up (with old strings) tuning was fine; and we were abusing that whammy arm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L-1329 Posted December 12, 2007 Members Share Posted December 12, 2007 There's a question about the locking tuners and how much they help a bass stay in tune. One piece of advice that I got is ensure that the nut is well-carved. Beyond that, the next option for staying in tune is to not use the whammy bar.After Kindess & I got the bass set up, tuning wasn't much of a problem. But that's the kind of thing that I need to live with for a while. I put brand new strings on last night, and there were tuning problems this morning. How much of that is the new strings, and how much is the whammy bar ... I can't tell yet.Does anyone else have experience with this? I know that guitarists who use vibrato also use locking nuts, locking tuners, etc. But is a bass a different animal? If locking nuts & tuners work for guitarists, are there any scientific reasons why those devices might not work for bass?Again, though. After we set the bass up (with old strings) tuning was fine; and we were abusing that whammy arm. It's the exact same concept whether guitar or bass. Whenever you press down the trem, the string windings on the tuning peg go slack and move. Then you release the trem and they tension back up very quickly, so in essence all strings 'rewrap' themselves every time you press down the bar. The more windings, the more it will be out of tune when you release the trem. The locking tuners work way better because essentially there are no windings. The lock in the peg is what holds the strings, and it is only wrapped around about 3/4 of one wrap, no full or overlapping wraps at all. So this way when you dive bomb the trem, nothing gets unwrapped and the strings return to almost the exact same position every time. It's not perfect, but it is light years more accurate than a non locking tuning peg. The nut also needs to be very low friction since the strings are going to be sliding back and forth over it. A sticky nut can impact tuning with aggressive use of the trem, which is the reason slippery graphite nuts are almost mandatory on trems without a nut lock like a Floyd Rose system. The guitarists know this very well, but a bass is affected by the exact same issues, and will gain the same benefits from locking tuners. Everything that touches a string affects tuning with a trem, and the more possible things you can reduce the better it will remain in tune. You have to put those tuners on that bass, it will help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 25, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 25, 2007 UPDATE Last night I was shopping online for preamps. That became my highest priority because the Ibanez comes with a 3-way tone switch. It was driving me crazy! Suddenly this thought came to me: The Seymour-Duncan has an active Music Man pickup. Why not try to attach the electronic circuitry from the SD to the stock pickup in the Ibanez? And since this is already crazy, why not make it an 18v mod instead of the 9v???? I consulted w/ Guttermouth and Kindness, and felt encouraged to at least give it a shot. Here are photos ... Can't yet say if this is gonna work. I've been routing wood, desoldering & soldering, and I'm tired Now it's time to put the bridge back on, string up the bass and see what happens. Or .... maybe it's time to sweep up this sawdust & go to bed. Ah ... Merry Christmas, everyone!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L-1329 Posted December 25, 2007 Members Share Posted December 25, 2007 Freakin' awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassman1956 Posted December 25, 2007 Members Share Posted December 25, 2007 Oz, I can't wait to try out this Frankenbass of yours! So, if I understand you right, you're using the original Iby pup, with the SD electronics. Do I have it right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 25, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 25, 2007 Oz, I can't wait to try out this Frankenbass of yours! So, if I understand you right, you're using the original Iby pup, with the SD electronics. Do I have it right? Correct. I took the volume and 3-way tone switch out of the Ibanez, but left the pick-up in. Took the SD active curcuit and soldered it to the Ibanez pup. Bad news. I tested this by putting the batteries in, plugged the bass into an amp, then knocked on the pup. Didn't hear anything. I don't know if this just isn't going to work, or if some wires wrong. Gonna get some sleep and try again. This is definitely a lot of fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 25, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 25, 2007 It works it works IT WORKS!!!!!!!!! This afternoon I found a loose wire. Soldered that thing into place and ... well ... I had to get over the fear of plugging the bass in and still have nothing happen. It works and it sounds beautiful!!!! WOW! The next step is to plan & route spaces for the preamp and the batteries. And since I saved myself $120 for a preamp, maybe I'll go nuts and get some ruby-encrusted tuning head. To summarize: The Ibanez had stock components including a crappy 3-way tone switch. The Peavey had a Seymour-Duncan Basslines SMB4D I left the Ibanez pickup, and desoldered it from the volume & tone knobs. Desoldered the S-D pickup from the active circuit. (First I had to go to Radio Shack to buy soldering materials.) Kindness called from the grocery store and helped me clarify what was about to happen: what wires needed to be soldered to what. Then in order to go to 18V instead of the original 9V, we had to research whether the batteries went parallel or in series. They go in series. Now this bass is sounding incredible! But I can't play it with the batteries & preamp dangling from the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted December 26, 2007 Moderators Share Posted December 26, 2007 You have me excited to hear it. I had a dream last night about whammy basses and someone rocking the hell out of one. Maybe it was a premonition... I'm glad my call helped you sort the wires out. It also got me out of grocery shopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Awesome, the kayler looks so much better on the Ibanez! I expect some clips when your done! :poke: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members L-1329 Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Sweet! Just wait until Robear gets his mitts on it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guttermouth Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 This afternoon I found a loose wire. Soldered that thing into place and ... well ... I had to get over the fear of plugging the bass in and still have nothing happen.It works and it sounds beautiful!!!! WOW!. awesome man -glad it works. i was thinking about that yesterday and wondering what that pickup/preamp combo is gonna sound like. you gotta get some clips up when you get it goin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xOriginalNinjax Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Now, I'm curious here...what's happening to the SD MM pickup? Glad to hear all is going well though! I either need to arrange to ship the new Fullerton to Kindness or come up there soon...cuz it needs some loving care...bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 awesome man -glad it works. i was thinking about that yesterday and wondering what that pickup/preamp combo is gonna sound like. you gotta get some clips up when you get it goin. Yes! I'll get clips up when this is happenin'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Now, I'm curious here...what's happening to the SD MM pickup? Glad to hear all is going well though! I either need to arrange to ship the new Fullerton to Kindness or come up there soon...cuz it needs some loving care...bad. I don't know what's going to happen with the MM pickup. Wondering if it'd be worth anything on eBay. You interested in it??? (Hmmm ... it might fit in my OLP, but I love that bass the way it is: stock pup w/ OBP3 preamp. Not gonna go fiddling around with it.) The SD MM pickup wasn't moved over to the Ibanez because the Kahler bridge doesn't allow for the strings to sit directly over the center of the polepieces. Maybe 2 strings would be centered, one would be slightly off, then one would be barely on it's polepiece. So, as of now, the SD MM pup has no home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 awesome man -glad it works. i was thinking about that yesterday and wondering what that pickup/preamp combo is gonna sound like. you gotta get some clips up when you get it goin. One more reason for you to get to Chicago ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 You have me excited to hear it. I had a dream last night about whammy basses and someone rocking the hell out of one. Maybe it was a premonition... I'm glad my call helped you sort the wires out. It also got me out of grocery shopping. I planted that dream in your head to get you thinking, and give yourself permission to whoop the whammy jam on the FW fans who don't know that they need it. That was YOU rocking that whammy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Used a dremel to clear away some wood to make room for the preamp Painted (sloppy, yes) & glued small velcro strips in the cavity to hold the preamp. Put the preamp in place. Now the batteries need a home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted December 26, 2007 Moderators Share Posted December 26, 2007 Nice. If you start getting any noise in the bass, we can shield that cavity with shielding paint. I don't remember the Peavey being noisy though, so you might not have any issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Nice. If you start getting any noise in the bass, we can shield that cavity with shielding paint. I don't remember the Peavey being noisy though, so you might not have any issues. The Peavey never was noisey. But we'll see what happens with this project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t3ch Posted December 26, 2007 Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 (Hmmm ... it might fit in my OLP, but I love that bass the way it is: stock pup w/ OBP3 preamp. Not gonna go fiddling around with it.) The SD MM pickup wasn't moved over to the Ibanez because the Kahler bridge doesn't allow for the strings to sit directly over the center of the polepieces. Maybe 2 strings would be centered, one would be slightly off, then one would be barely on it's polepiece. So, as of now, the SD MM pup has no home. I'm actually interested if you decide to unload it. I was looking to get a SD MM into my SX-MM clone... This would help both of us out Can't wait to hear clips of the whammy bass Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Question: as I plan routing a hole for the batteries, are there such things as bad or ideal locations? One issue is in being able to run wires between the control cavity & the battery compartment. Also:Is there anything to worry about by making so many holes on the bass body? Might there be an argument to stick with 9v (1 battery) because that would be a smaller hole, and scrap the "huge hole" 18v (2 batteries) idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Kindness Posted December 26, 2007 Moderators Share Posted December 26, 2007 Ideally the length of wire is kept to a minimum and the route doesn't interfere with the bridge or pickup routes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 Ideally the length of wire is kept to a minimum and the route doesn't interfere with the bridge or pickup routes. And it's not significant to worry over a 1-battery hole vs. a 2-battery hole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brother Mango Posted December 26, 2007 Author Members Share Posted December 26, 2007 I'm actually interested if you decide to unload it. I was looking to get a SD MM into my SX-MM clone... This would help both of us out Can't wait to hear clips of the whammy bass If you're interested, PM me ... I'm definitely not keeping the pickup. And just as a reminder: it's only the pickup without the electronics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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